SOS!! Just Kidding

I am currently a hostage in my own room. I somehow seem to have developed a bit of a cold and, judging by my mama gazda’s reaction, you would think I had the plague or tuberculosis at the very least. I felt it coming on for a couple of days, but was trying to keep it quiet. Well, unfortunately for me, I was unable to stifle a cough in front of mama mea yesterday evening and all hell broke loose! After lecturing me for not wearing a scarf to school the day before, she immediately started informing me of all of the things we were going to do to remedy my cold…starting with a cup of tea with raspberry preserves in it (actually quite tasty). I was then promptly sent to bed with tea in hand and the promise of a bucket of hot water to put my feet in later (not really sure what that is supposed to remedy). All of our host families are told that they are not to, under any circumstances, give us any sort of medicine so my host mama kept insisting that I break out my Peace Corps medical kit and take something immediately. This morning, my host mom snuck into my room and felt my forehead while I was sleeping (well, pretending to sleep). I guess she wanted to make sure that I didn’t die in my sleep. When I went into the kitchen later, she asked how I was feeling and I gave a pretty convincing reply of “I feel just fine”…well, my host brother (whose room shares a wall with mine) felt like he needed to put his 2 cents in and totally blew my cover. When I left the room, he told his mom that I had been coughing all night…needless to say, moments later, I had mama gazda standing in my room, hands on hips, asking about my cough and entire respiratory system. After breakfast, I was ordered back to my room with another cup of tea and was told that I had to take more medicine, put wool socks on, and not stir from my bed all day. When I told my host mom that I needed to meet with my partner to plan for tomorrow’s classes, she informed me that I was not going to be going to school for the rest of the week. I had to break it to her that that was not an option and that I would have to venture out of the house later this afternoon. She was not pleased to say the least. I have spent the morning in bed reading, grading essays, and making visual aids for tomorrow’s classes. Mama mea has poked her head into my room approximately every 30 minutes to check on her invalid and to offer endless cups of tea (I feel like I am going to float away!).

Autumn has officially arrived in Moldova. The trees across from my house have turned beautiful shades of yellow and orange and the weather is significantly colder and damper. While the temperatures haven’t been extreme (ranging from 30-60), the damp air and lack of efficient heating systems have left most volunteers lamenting the fact that long underwear is already a welcome comfort. I have a friend who has been teaching in her coat and gloves every day (she is in the northern part of the country, while I am in the center). My host family has been lighting our soba at nights for the past week or so. A soba is a stove that, in my house, is built between the walls of 2 rooms. Those walls are made of brick and are heated by the fire…I have been surprised at how effective it can be, especially since my bed is right up against that particular wall. My house has a soba between my room and my host brother’s room, one in the bathroom (I don’t think it will be lit but a couple of times a week on bath days), and one in my host dad’s room. Last weekend, we used the “salon” a big room that we very rarely use when we had some visitors. The salon does not have a soba, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I could see my breath the whole time we were eating in there.

Last weekend, we were visited by my host dad’s sister-in-law and her family. Her son is about a year older than Saşa (my host brother) and has been living and working in Italy for the past 5 years. He studied languages at university and speaks Romanian, Russian, English, German, and Italian…made me feel quite inadequate. He is back in Moldova for about 2 months and I suspect that my host mama was trying to play matchmaker. After our meal with them (which included champagne and wine of course), I went to a birthday party with my host mom and Saşa. The birthday girl is a 7th former whose mom is also a teacher at the school. My older host brother (the one that lives in London) is her godfather and our families have been good friends for years. We had the traditional Moldovan feast (including the delightful rooster jelly), accompanied by cognac, wine, and some Grappa that friends had sent them. Dinner was followed by dancing…oh, the dancing! We were hora-ing it up! I danced with the bday girl’s dad (a doctor in the village), a couple of old men I didn’t really know, and Saşa. I am happy to say that I was told that I learned the Moldovan dances quickly and danced like a Moldovan. My host mama kept telling everyone it was because I used to be a ballet dancer. What they didn’t know is that I had no idea what I was doing and was just kinda hopping around, hoping that I didn’t do anything too outrageous. It was a ton of fun. Moldovans are incredibly hospitable and definitely know how to throw a party. The language (and politics behind the language) came up once again while I was dancing with the doctor. He was telling me about how he had studied English at school, but hadn’t practiced speaking it in 30 years. He then went on to explain that language is a source of conflict for him…he told me “I had to grow up speaking Russian, I had to learn in Russian, now I think in Russian…but I am Moldovan”. He and his family, like mine, although they know Russian, choose to speak in Romanian, and he was explaining this to me in Romanian. This is a widely discussed (usually rather heatedly) topic in Moldova. Language is closely tied to politics, and with the current political situation here, it is a common point of discussion throughout the country.

Time is flying by here! In about a week and a half, we have our autumn break from school. Since all schools in Moldova take the same week off, Peace Corps is taking advantage of the time off to call us back to Chişinǎu for training. We will spend 4 of our days off in workshops and seminars. While I can’t say that sitting in meetings for the bulk of my break sounds that appealing, I am looking forward to seeing my fellow English Education volunteers and comparing stories etc. Peace Corps puts us up in a hotel for the duration of the training and we get a per diem for food and all that, so I am sure there will also be some socializing after the sessions are done every day. Once we get back from the break, we will only have about 6 weeks until Christmas. We work right up until Christmas Eve and then we have 2 weeks off before starting the next term.

Somehow my camera broke towards the end of training…it still takes pictures but the screen is messed up so I can’t tell what I am taking a picture of until I plug it into my computer. I have posted a couple of the pictures that actually turned out ok on facebook and will try to keep posting more as I take them…just wanted to apologize for the quality.

Oh, and on a funny sidenote…I introduced my host mom to peanut butter when I got some in a package from my dad and now she is hooked. She told me she was too embarrassed to eat any more of mine, so she made her son in England send her more. Cultural sharing at its best!

Not to freak anyone out or anything...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308422.stm

It is interesting that the only news channel here in Moldova that has reported this so far is the European one...the one Moldovan channel that we get has not said a word. My host brother was quick to point out which political party runs the Moldovan tv station...any guesses?

Fake Posting

I have received a few requests for information about what it is like to teach here in Moldova.  In order to give a full and honest report, I think it would be best to leave the public domain of the blog and switch to email.  I have written up some of the observations that I have made so far about teaching here, the school system, the teachers, and students and would be happy to email them to you if you are interested.  Just leave a comment here or email me and I will send it your way.

PS...it has been raining all day...there is nothing quite like Moldovan mud.

Sitting at school...not doing what I am supposed to be doing

I am sitting in the English "lab" on Friday afternoon...TGIF! I have 2 more classes to go before my weekend begins (taught 5 already) and I really should be planning for my 10th form class on Monday, but as you can see, that is not really happening. I blame it on the fact that I now have easy access to the internet on my computer. Anyways, I don't really have anything important or earth shattering to share...just wanted to pop in and inform you that while checking the weather forecast for Moldova, I discovered that there is sleet in my future. Eeeek! Oh, and I finally got around to listening to the latest Regina Spektor album (yay internet!) and I highly recommend it. That is all. Enjoy your weekend! I will drink a glass (or 6) of wine for you. Hai noroc, multi ani, multi bani, si sanatate.

It appears that I am the worst blogger ever, but oh well, what can you do? I have now been at my site for about a month and a half now and feel pretty settled in. I really like my host family and my I have met some cool people in my village. The weather here is definitely changing. I am going to actually experience Autumn! The trees have started to change colours and it is getting pretty cool at night. My package with all of my warmer clothes just got here, and it is not a moment too soon. Sleeping in shorts was getting a bit on the chilly side! My host father was recently hospitalized for internal bleeding. My Romanian skills are not good enough to understand medical terms, but I know he has been in bad health for a while now. He used to be the boss of the wine factory in our village, but had to retire when he went into a coma last year. Apparently the whole village thought he was going to die, but he woke up as soon as my host mom (who had been working in Italy for 6 months) came home...sounds a bit like a movie, huh? Anyways, after about a week in the hospital, Boris is back home again and seems to be doing well.

I am not really sure where to begin so I will start with the first day of school (or first bell, as they call it here). The first of September marks the first day of school all across Moldova (and I am pretty sure it is the same in Romania and Russia). Things are definitely done differently here when it comes to the first day of school. First of all, Moldovans give a whole new meaning to getting "dressed up" for the first day...I am talking full suits for the boys and the biggest, puffiest, white hairbows you have ever seen for the girls. Most students bring flowers for their teachers and the whole day started with a huge ceremony. The students in the 12th form escorted the new students in the 1st form into the school. It was pretty cute to see all the little kids walking in holding hands with the big kids. Speeches were given by the village's mayor, the school director, the chief of police, the regional education director, and the Vice Minister of the National Ministry of Education....oh, and yours truly. That's right folks, I had to give a speech in Romanian in front of all of those people and the entire student body. By some miracle, I didn't mess it up and the ceremony moved onto the blessing by the village priest without a hitch. The priest spent a good 15 minutes chanting and gesticulating before the ceremony was officially ended by the ringing of the bell. I didn't actually teach any classes on the first day, so after the ceremony, I just observed a class. About 15 minutes into the class, the priest came into the classroom to bless the class. Everyone but the foolish American knew to look away and avoided the shower of holy water that accompanied the priest. I, however, was looking right at him and got a nice dose of holy water right in the eye. I am hoping it can only help.

I teach the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th forms, which adds up to 18 hours of class time a week. I also meet regularly with my partner teachers (I have 2 local teachers that I team teach with for all but the 10th form) and have about 4 hours of Romanian tutoring every week. My Romanian tutor is the only other single female teacher at my school and is in her early 30s so we have had some fun hanging out, eating, and drinking wine (of course) with one of my partner teachers.

The 5th of October was Teachers Day, and it was amazing. Apparently people here actually appreciate their teachers (novel idea right?). I was greeted at the gate of the school with a rose by one of my 12th form students and then I followed the path of flower petals and votive candles to the teachers room. The teachers room had been decorated with balloons, flowers, and candles and there was a variety of fruit and chocolate out for us. All of the classes were shortened to 25 minutes, which meant that the students basically had enough time to give us presents and thank us for being such wonderful teachers. I received a ton of flowers, chocolates, pens, and one of those stacking Russian dolls (I can't remember the actual name for them). At the end of the morning schedule, there was a ceremony in which 1 or 2 students from each class gave a speech or recited a poem to the teachers. It was all very fancy and formal. After the ceremony, we continued with the afternoon lessons...got more presents...and then we had a masa (party). All of the teachers got together in our canteen and we ate huge quantities of meat, salads, placinta (a pastry-like thing), sarmale (a rice, meat, and veggie mixture either wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves or stuffed into a pepper), and cake. Oh, and tons of booze. Yes, it was the middle of the afternoon and at the school, but hey...this is Moldova. Everyone brought their own beer, wine, vodka, or cognac and shared with the group. Dancing followed the eating of course, and I hora-ed it up with the best of them. All in all, it was a good day to be a teacher!

I have been asked to be the coach of my school's Odyssey of the Mind competition this year. The previous volunteer in my village did it with them last year, and some kids from the 8th and 9th forms have already formed a team for this year. I don't actually know anything about being a coach for the competition, but I think this will be a good way for me to get to know some of the kids and to encourage creative thinking and problem solving (both of which are virtually nonexistent in Moldovan schools.

I am really looking forward to this upcoming weekend. It is Wine Fest in Chisinau (the capitol) and most of the volunteers in the country will be traveling into the city for it. Basically it is a big celebration with tons of this years' homemade wine and grilled meats. A few volunteers have also organized a 5k run Saturday morning...I plan on practicing my cheerleading skills. A few of my friends and I are planning on renting an apartment for the night so we can continue the festivities on Sunday...it is only about 350 lei for an apt. for 4 people which is about $35 dollars. I think its a rather good deal.

I finally got my computer fixed and have access to wireless internet at my school so hopefully I will stop being such a crappy blogger.

PST is almost done...

So I realize it has been quite awhile since I updated this last…things have been super busy and my internet access has been a bit hit or miss lately.

I have been in Moldova for about 2 months now – at times it feels like we just got here, and at others it seems like we have been here forever. The first two groups of trainees (Community Organization and Development and Agribusiness) had their Swearing In ceremonies this weekend and have officially left for their permanent sites. All Health and English Education trainees will swear in on August 18^th. My program (EE) finished Practice School on Friday (sigh of relief!).

During the first week of Practice School, I taught the 7^th form on my own. We were each assigned a Resource Teacher (a Moldovan English teacher) to help with the lesson planning and to observe all of our classes, but we were direct teaching and flying solo in the classroom. My Resource Teacher was actually one of our technical trainers throughout our Pre-Service Training (sessions about teaching methodology etc). During the first week of Practice School, we would have 2 hours of Romanian classes in the morning and then we each taught 2 45-minute lessons. After lunch, we would spend the afternoons planning for the next day and making materials (because there are none here and the textbooks leave a lot to be desired). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I don’t absolutely suck at teaching! All of my students (local kids from our village) were eager to learn and excited to have an American teacher. At the end of the week, they all brought flowers and gifts (picture frames, chocolates, etc) for us and were excited to take pictures with us. I can’t think of any American kids I know who would voluntarily go to school during their summer holidays and then actually give gifts to their teachers! On the Wednesday following that first week of Practice School, Moldova held its Parliamentary elections so we were pretty much on lock down. Our school was used as a polling site so we were supposed to work from home to avoid getting involved in any political activities. All of our partner teachers from our permanent sites were bussed in to start planning for the second portion of Practice School that day. They, along with our Resource Teachers, were supposed to meet with us at our host family homes to complete our long term plans. Well, it was made apparent very quickly upon my partner teacher’s arrival that we would not be able to work together (she ended up being the school’s psychology teacher and not an English teacher at all) so my site was changed at the last minute. I am now going to be sent to the village where my Resource Teacher, Svetlana, is an English teacher. During the second portion of Practice School, we all team-taught our classes with our partner teachers. Svetlana and I taught the 10^th form together, and I really enjoyed it. Aside from some rather cheeky boys, the students were excellent and really fun to work with.

After finishing the second portion of Practice School on Friday, I was taken to my new site for another site visit. My new village is about one hour northwest of Chisinau and has a population of about 4,000 people. There is only one school – the upper grades have classes in the mornings (8am-2pm) and the younger kids go in the afternoons (2-7pm). I think I will primarily be teaching the upper grades, but I won’t know for sure until I get there in a couple of weeks. I met my new host family…I have 2 parents that are both pensioners, but my host mom still teaches a few hours of Romanian at the school. Their names are Vera and Boris and they have 2 sons, Lucian and Alexandru (Sasha or Sandru). Lucian works in London and Alexandru just moved back to Moldova after completing his Masters in political science in Romania. He is now trying (rather unsuccessfully) to find work in Moldova. My new home is right across the street from the Casa de Cultura (culture house) which houses the library and is where the community holds dance lessons and other ceremonies and events. I am about a 10 minute walk from the school and about a 5 minute walk from my partner teacher’s home. I was able to meet another Peace Corps volunteer who is just finishing up his 2 years of service in my new village while I was there. He will be leaving at the same time that I arrive, but he showed me around the village and introduced me to some of the students. It was great to get some insight into the village from him, and he has offered to stay in touch with me throughout my service in order to help me transition into the community.

Sunday I am planning to head into Chisinau (just outside of it really) to watch a baseball game…that’s right…baseball in Moldova! There is actually a Moldovan league that plays throughout the year, and during the summer, some Peace Corps volunteers play the local teams. I went last weekend, and aside from a pretty intense sunburn, had a great time. I ate fried chicken (that had been prepared over an open flame in an old tractor wheel) from a bag and some house wine…not exactly beer and peanuts, but hey, it’s Moldova.

Big news…I was given a copy of the new Harry Potter movie and am super excited to watch it this evening! Woohoo

Just an FYI - For anyone who has mailed anything to me since July 17^th…I haven’t received it yet. Apparently there was some sort of issue in Turkey, so all of our mail has been sitting in Istanbul since then. We are hoping to start getting some of it this next week.

I am going to try to post some new pictures on Facebook pretty soon so keep an eye out there for photos from the past few weeks. My new host family has a computer with internet access and my school actually has wireless internet (go figure) so hopefully I will be able to keep this updated regularly.

Take care everyone! Lots of love xoxox

New Site

Hey Hey everyone!

This week we got our site assignments for our permanent locations. I am going to be in a small village of about 3,000 people in the southern part of the country. The village is in the Cantemir raion and is about 136 km from the Chisinau. I am expecting it to be a bit more...rustic...than my current location, but I did read that I am going to have an indoor toilet! My host familiy includes two 40 year old parents and an 18 year old sister who is a university student (so I don't know if she will actually live at home or not).

I am going on a site visit on Saturday (just one night) so that I can meet my new host family and school director. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about it since my language skills are minimal (and that's on a good day!) but I am excited to see where I am going to be living. I will try to give an update when I get back.

I have my first language evaluation tomorrow, so I am off to study my limba romana now.