Spring in Moldova

I can now say that I am officially twitterpated. Shortly after writing my last blog, the weather took a turn for the worse and the warmer temperatures and sunny skies I wrote about disappeared. March 1st is a big deal here in Moldova and it marks the coming of spring. Everywhere you go, you can buy mărţişoare, which are red and white handmade pins of string, ribbon, and sometimes flowers. While I am not sure of the full story behind these accessories, I do know that people here wear them until the end of March when they are supposed to pin them to a tree. March 1st actually seemed to mark the beginning of spring…for a few days at least. Then, one day, I woke up to a nice new layer of snow on the ground. There is another legend here about a baba (old lady) who takes off one layer of her winter clothing every day and beats it to remove the dust and snow of winter. She does this every day from March 1-14th, and the snow that we see here during that time is due to her “spring cleaning”. I had been told that story by my host mom at the end of February and I chalked it up to an old wives’ tale until I actually experienced that 2 week period of sporadic snow showers. It seems, however, that spring has finally kicked winter’s butt and I could not be happier. It is amazing to see what a difference seeing the sun makes in my overall mental and emotional state!

During the first week of March, all schools in Moldova were on spring break but all English Education volunteers had to go to the capital for training on project development. While I was initially less than thrilled to spend my vacation in another training, it ended up being pretty interesting. It was great to be reunited with some of my other volunteer friends during the training. We all stayed at a hotel in the capital and were able to hang out and relax together like we all did during our Pre Service Training in Costeşti. Each volunteer brought a member of their community with them so the entire thing was bilingual. Some volunteers brought their partner teachers or school directors, but I was joined by my village’s librarian. Doamna Angela is also the mayor’s wife and mother to one of my favourite students so it was nice to get to know her a little better. It was rather mentally taxing since we worked together pretty intensely for 3 days and since she does not speak English, I had to bust out my Romanian (and a lot of hand gestures). The training was to better enable us to assess our communities’ needs, wants, assets, and resources. We also covered the basics of writing grant proposals. This was helpful information since many volunteers end up working on proposals to find funding for things like running water, new wells, desks for their schools, improved gymnasiums, etc in addition to their work as teachers. The health volunteer in my village built a sports complex across from my school that was finished a couple of weeks before I arrived at site (I have some big shoes to fill). I actually have some mixed feelings about doing a project like this myself while I am here. I have felt some pressure (as many volunteers do) to find something that I can build and then put my name on. I have actually been told by someone I work with that I need to find something to do so that I can “leave a legacy” after I go back home. This is the part I have a bit of trouble with. I want my work here with the students and the impact I hope to have on them as they grow up to be my legacy. My main goal when joining the Peace Corps was not to build something that can display my name after I leave…I came here to teach. I would rather make a difference in the lives of my students than build a new well or find money for new windows or floors. I guess the conclusion that I have come to at this point in my service is that if I find something that my community really needs, or if I am approached with a good idea for a project, then I will absolutely be willing to help…but my focus, time, and best efforts will continue to be on the kids I work with every day.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my Odyssey of the Mind teams were asked to go to Belarus and participate in the Eurofest competition in April. While I am extremely excited about this amazing opportunity for my kids, there have definitely been some stressful moments while preparing for the trip. I have been amazed by the generosity of so many people and their willingness to help raise the funds for this experience. I really appreciate all of the contributions that people have made and I know that my students do too. The other issue that has been a source of stress for me lately is obtaining the proper travel documents for all of the kids. Travelling is not easy for Moldovan citizens, and although they don’t have to have a visa to go to Belarus (but I do), they have to get passports and official documents designating my partner teacher as their official chaperone while out of the country. The problem with this is that the document is supposed to be signed by both parents and I have quite a few parents who have one or both parents out of the country. One of my students was actually unable to obtain a passport because her parents’ official documents all have their family name listed with the Russian spelling, while hers has it listed with the Romanian spelling. In order for her to get a passport, her parents would have to go have all of their documents changed officially…this would cost too much money and take more time than we have before the competition. In the end, due to problems like this, I now only have 12 students going instead of the original 14. I think the next month will continue to be stressful as we prepare for the trip, but I know that it will be well worth it once we get there. We will spend 5 days on a campground in a forest north of Minsk and then, on the way back to Moldova, we will stop in Minsk and Kiev for some sightseeing.

We will have the first week of April off due to Easter (which is a huge deal here…my host mom has already started preparing for the meal) and then I will be gone for over a week later in the month for Odyssey of the Mind. That only leaves 2 weeks in April and then the month of May before the end of the school year. I can’t believe I have almost made it all the way through my first of 2 school years here!

I attended my first Moldovan funeral a week ago. One of the Romanian teachers from my school, and one of my host mom’s close friends, had been fighting cancer ever since I came to Bravicea. I never actually met her, but everyone I spoke to said that she was an amazing woman and teacher. On the day of her funeral, every teacher from the school, most of the high school students, and many other members of the community gathered outside of the gate of her house. She was placed in the front yard in an open coffin so that the priest could come and say some prayers before moving her. There is a tradition of giving presents to close friends and family members of the deceased person so each teacher was called into the front yard and given the traditional circular loaf of bread and a towel. Other people were given blankets, rugs, and towel sets. After the prayers were finished at the house, the coffin was carried to the school (her house was right next to the school) where the mayor, the school director, and one student all said some words in her honour. It was very emotional and everyone there was crying. After the speeches, a couple of women (I think they were the woman’s sisters) draped themselves over the coffin, wailed, and sang. I have heard that this is a tradition at Moldovan weddings. When the women were finished, the open coffin was then carried through the village to the church and everyone followed behind it. As we walked down the street, we met with another funeral procession that was taking place at the same time. I did not go to the actual church service or to the ceremony, but after the burial, everyone gathered once again at the school cantina for the praznic (funeral meal). Since we are in the middle of Post (Lent), none of the dishes contained meat. My host mom was in charge of the cooking for this praznic since she was such a close friend of the woman and she spent a full 2 days before the funeral preparing the food. Once everyone was seated, each guest was given another round loaf of bread and a candle. The tradition is to light the candle, kiss the bread, and then stick the candle into the bread and leave it on the table throughout the meal. Each person is also given a glass of wine with the bread and candle and it is traditional to drink in honour of the deceased person. This tradition is repeated throughout the meal. The whole experience was very intense and unlike any funeral I have ever attended before.

On a lighter note, after the funeral, I went to my partner teacher’s house to celebrate her birthday. There was a lot of food, drinking, and even some dancing. Svetlana’s son and daughter in law (the couple whose wedding I attended in January) came back to the village from the capital to celebrate with the family and there were a couple of other teachers there as well. I always have a great time with Svetlana and her family…like my host family, they have really made an effort to make me feel at home here which I appreciate immensely.

This past weekend, my host mom put together a workshop at the school about folklore and traditional food, handicrafts, and songs. It was based on the old tradition of women gathering together for a sort of sewing circle. While this tradition isn’t really practiced any more, my host mom wanted to teach some of the students about it. Some of the students and teachers brought in examples of different embroidery and other handicrafts that have been in their families for years. They were made by their grandmothers, mothers, aunts, godmothers etc, and it was really interesting to hear about the stories behind some of them. A couple of older ladies that were there sang some old traditional songs that they learned as children from their grandmothers. After the songs and handicrafts were presented, there was a meal. Each of the girls that came brought a traditional dish (again, since it is Post, there was no meat) that they had made. There was, of course, some wine to be sampled…but the students just got a taste. It was a really interesting event and I am glad I got to attend it. I have posted some of the videos that I took of the singing…I hope you find it as cool as I did.