Ryan

He made his final decision on a Wednesday night and after a restless night of sleep he awoke early to watch the laborious movement of the hands of the clock in front of him until it finally read 8:00 am. He made the call and by 9:00 am he had packed all of his belongings and loaded them in the unmarked car waiting for him outside the Moldovan place he had once called home. Along the way he searched the faces of the people on the buses and the streets, hoping to see just one smile, but he found the same stoic soviet faces we've become accustomed to here.

The following days were spent in headquarters filling out report after report necessary for his Sunday morning departure. I feel lucky that I was there to share this experience and will long remember that early morning hug from a friend and fellow PCV. He spoke only his usual and telling phrase, "la revedere frumos" and possibly before even one rooster crowed, he eagerly walked out the door into the cold dark Moldovan morning, homeward bound.