EASTERN EUROPEAN ADVENTURES

2007-09-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

THE WEDDING!

I was honored to be invited to my first Moldovan wedding. Natalia the daughter of Rodica’s sister Liuba was to marry Andrei Pisica on the 22nd of September and I was told we were to leave at 11:30 am. I expected to celebrate into the wee hours of morning as is the tradition of the Moldovan weddings so I was glad to be somewhat rested. Greeted by Stefan at the bus stop, he grabbed my bag and escorted me home with encouragement to quickly change into the most frumos outfit I could find. I donned my newly purchased shoes which caused a bit of trouble as I navigated the rocky streets of Milestii Mici and rushed off to the home of the bride’s parents to witness the first round of events.

There I found Natalia in her wedding dress posing seductively for the photographer who would follow her every move until 5 am. She twirled about for the photographer as if she was a runway model. Soon the first guests arrived, mostly close family and friends of the bride, bringing small sums of money to drop into a basket which was strategically placed on the table full of flowers, candles, food and drink. Guests who were currently single were given small corsages. Pink for the girls and blue for the boys.

My seven “sisters” laughed when they saw that I too was wearing one!

Soon it was time to assemble outside to wait for the family of the groom who just finished having the same reception at their own house. We heard the music from a distance and watched as the grooms family walked together up the narrow street. Pails of water were thrown upon their path to signify richness in their life together.

They stopped at the gate while the mother of the bride served each of them specially prepared jello with a spoon. They were then invited in to the house. At the doorway the groom was met with two brightly decorated rings of bread. They were held up at the doorway nearly covering the bride on the other side of the threshold. Natalia held a bouquet of dried basil which she dipped in holy water, placed her hand through the bread ring and sprinkled the grooms entourage many times with the water. He then placed his hand through the other ring and sent a red cloth sailing towards her. She laughed to find that he’d played a little joke on her. It seems the package is to contain her ring along with some candy to assure a sweet life together… he’d kept the ring and only sent the sweets!!!

At this he was asked inside where the entire group ate, received more guests, drank champagne and began to dance the hora around the table. Rice was thrown over the couple and they began to dance out of the doorway. Suddenly, as they reached the threshold, the brother of the bride stepped in between them, forcing the groom outside and the bride inside. He took a knife – placed its point into the door frame and began to ask the groom for money which he placed under the tip of the knife. They continued to negotiate until the brother was satisfied with the amount of the gift. He then allowed the groom to take his sister.

Outside another table of food had been prepared where everyone ate and drank once again. Another hora this time with the mothers and fathers offering sweets and drinks to the wedding party as they danced in the traditional circle. The bride stood on a chair breaking pieces of bread and throwing them over her shoulder for her guests to catch. The groom helped her down and we were off to a tour of the local wine factory with the wedding party. As we rode out of the village headed for the winery, the villagers stood at their gates many of them with buckets of water to pour on the street in front of the car carrying the bride and groom.

Now this was the most interesting wedding chase I’d ever seen. It was similar to ours in many ways… the bride and groom being chauffered in a jet black SUV, with tin cans strung on the back and streamers across the front. A large gold crown was affixed to the top of the car and several cars followed them honking their horns all the way.. the interesting and frightening part was the drivers were playing “chicken” passing on steep hills and sharp curves to get ahead of the other cars. Made me wonder if anyone has lost their life in the pursuit of this foolish tradition.

We arrived, did a walking and driving tour of the winery and stopped in the reception room for the official ceremony. The couple made it official with their signatures and the first of several uncomfortable kisses and they were off to place the flowers at the foot of a monument in the capital city of Chisinau. I opted out of this part as I knew it was just a lot of pictures, and tossing of bouquets. Instead I took a little nap anticipating the LONG night ahead.

The bride’s family all walked together to the reception waiting at the gate for the bride and groom to come out and receive us along with the family of the groom. Sweets were offered and we were escorted into the hall to wait in a long line while each guest was receieved by the bride and groom dropping more money and flowers on the table. The music began and after a dance or two we assembled in the dining room which held long tables filled will traditional food, champagne, cognac, vodka and water. One table held all of the flowers up in an arch as the groom carried the bride the entire length of the hall to the head table.

We were entertained with vocalists during dinner often standing and dancing at our chairs. Soon we went back into dance at one point being entertained by some scantily clad dancers with glitter and fur dancing to songs such as Cher’s “Strong enough to live with out you”. Seems the bride pays for this little extravaganza to give her groom the last opportunity to look with lust upon another. After much dancing we went back into the dining hall to have a second course of hot food and more drinks of course. The time was now 2:30 am.

At this each guest was given the microphone to offer their wishes to the couple and announce the amount of their cash gift, which was placed in a large basket carried by the wedding party. It continued until everyone announced their gift and the dancing began once again until 5 am! Such are the weddings in Moldova!

all's well and Happy Labor Day!!!

2007-09-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since I last posted and currently still are short on time to do so.. I will be powering up my brand new Macbook soon and hope to have Internet access at my new place!!! It will be a whole new world! Been in the dark long enough! So..... I've had a few dear friends who have asked about my health and just want to say.. for now it's fine. Not much can be done but wait for it to get better and I continue my service here!!!! Hope all's well with all of you and I'll let you know when I get some new pictures and words up about my adventures! I'm off to Bulgaria tomorrow!~

June starts out with a bang

2007-07-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well... one day June 4th to be exact as I sat on my bed quietly reading my latest greatest novel, I kept trying to shoo a fly away from my shoulder.. after a time or two I couldn't imagine why this fly continued to land on the same place and I decided to find out what he was after! So, moments later, when he showed up again I realized it was not a fly - in fact it was not an insect at all, but rather it must be some dirt on my glasses... I took them off.. dusted them off returned them to my nose and it still continued to appear.. Oh silly me.. it must be some fuzz on my eyelash... I try to brush it off and now begin to realize this vision is not on the outside of my eye at all, but somewhere INSIDE my eye that I am seeing this black thing.

It started so suddenly and I really wasn't sure what to think, so I called the doc in Chisinau who immediately sent a driver out to my house to pick me up and get me to the capital and the comfortable medical facility. Once again.. doctor visit after doctor visit - cat scans, ultrasounds and dilated eyeballs, all of the most serious comliplications were ruled out and it was determined that possibily a recent head injury may have been the reason why it came on so suddenly although it is a normal complication with years of nearsightedness. There is a metal bar strung across the sidewalk at my residence and I don't always remember that it is there and had whacked the side of my head pretty hard with it..

It is interesting, because the way medicine is practiced here is to rule out the most serious indications first. So.. you have a headache??? Well.. let's make sure with this cat scan($48.00) that you don't have a tumor or aneurism... and now an ultrasound ($12.00) to measure the blood flow into your brain... so we can rule out a possible stroke... you get the idea... So.. the medicine prescribed was not available in Moldova, so straight from Romania, my medicine was picked up and brought to me.... Vitamin E and myrtle pills and boric acid drops for 60 days to increase the vascular fitness of my eye. Can't say they're not thorough!!!

So... I left the medical facility cleared for a planned vacation to Barcelona to see Linda Gail Erickson.. my high school partner in crime and fellow majorette... although we've been in touch throughout the years, we'd not seen each other for 22 years!!! More about Barcelona in my next post!

IWCM Night of Art

2007-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

On a Friday night in May I walked with Marisa to the International Women's Club Night of Art to sell the greeting cards that I'd made from the kids artwork at the Art school in which I work. I was surprised to see the grounds of the Moldexpo - a sort of convention center. We didn't feel like we were in Moldova!!! Here I am posing with the sign since we are the same age... a picture of the entrance, the grounds a monument and the set up of the NIGHT OF ART 25 percent of the proceeds from the artwork sold went to the Moldovan Society for the Blind.

It was a successful night for me as I sold all of the cards I'd made, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting many other Americans working here in Moldova.

The food and drink went on throughout the evening and was free to those volunteers working the show... we took advantage of it of course!!!

Mother's Day

2007-05-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

I was at the Buddhist Meditation Retreat with 10 other volunteers on Mother's Day and was treated like royalty!!! I think they even were letting me win at cards!!! ha!!! Their favorite phrase was "it's your day!!!" I didn't even have to wash dishes!!! Here is a picture of the group with me holding my card that the "kids" signed and wrote in - they picked me a bouquet of flowers and Ryan even treated me to a massage and facial!!! complete with cucumbers for my eyes!!!! How sweet they are!!! We passed around a few favorite "mom" stories and enjoyed our last meal together. It was wonderful and memorable and added to the joy I'd received from many other friends for Mother's Day wishes!!! Thank you!!!!

BUDDHIST MEDITATION RETREAT May 11th

2007-05-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

It all began Saturday morning May 12th after I'd accepted an invitation to join a Buddhist meditation treat just hoping for a few days of rest and learning. I got that and much more as I soon learned we'd be going to the woods and staying in cabins while listening to lectures about the teachings of Buddha and meditating. Here is the picture of the River Nistru which is the locale of the retreat. and next is a picture of our teacher, Petya who shared his knowledge and his personality with us. He was taken into the police station on Friday night with the rest of the "campers" for failure to register a religious gathering... I missed all of that commotion darn it.. as I was at the Internation Women's Club Night of Art. Anyway...
There were about 15 of us staying in 6 little cabins with a couple of decks and a couple of hot showers and a nice view of the River and woods. The weather was beautiful making it easy to enjoy the beautiful outdoors!!!
We took long walks in the woods,

hung out at the "beach" played alot of cards and other games, ate together, learned together, meditated together, played together and generally got to know each other much better by the time the weekend was through!

Here's Ryan with a dandelion - she worked hard to make sure everyone was happy and comfortable. And we were!!!

Here Petya cooks our frigarui for our last great feast and Angela and I pose with the vegetarian version...
and the group responsible for all the great food and organization of it... especially Masha lower left... also Rok, Adam Andy Petya and Angela

Sunday morning as we went for an excursion to the beach, we (me, Nina, Jake and Jessica) got a few good laughs when we saw the babas on the beach... one one liner after another ensued.

After packing it all up we headed back to Chisinau where we stayed one more night at Adam's Apartment and had our final meditation.. what better way to end it all than with a strawberry hookah!!!

CINCO DE MAYO

2007-05-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

Our Host and Hostess for the much anticipated Cinco De Mayo party posing at the top of their wooden staircase located on every floor of their mansion seen here from just the right view.

Holy!!! Spoiled rich kids!!!

Drew and Sarah especially Sarah has been planning this party since last June I hear... so what a thrill for me to be invited and make the seven hour bus trip to Glodeni to see them, stay in their mansion break bread with their family and see the other volunteers in Glodeni which are in my group 19!!! Here is a shot of the field of rape oilseed which I viewed nearly the entire trip... it was actually neon!!!

Joe started out the night by breaking in his brand new party apartment with a fresh pitcher of Sangria...Kelli made mojitos and of course true to form, I drank coca cola!!! The food was OUTSTANDING!!! Guacamole, Salsa, Tacos, Potato Skins, Bean Salad all the favorites and just like you'd get back home!!!
We ate and ate and then even broke a pinata before turning on the dance tunes and partying in the apartment for the rest of the nite.

Drew and Jake get it on late in the night...

Here are the three Group 19's representing.. Charlie, Me and Joe.. Charlie and Joe live in Glodeni.

Here are the 18's mostly teachers.. with whom I've had the pleasure of gettin to know through my association with Drew and Sarah..
Nina, Jessica, Drew, Sarah,Abigail, Sophia, Jake and Kelli.

It being Abigail's birthday she brought a cake and ice cream so we enjoyed some dessert late into the night and gave her a rousing round of Happy Birthday in many languages !!

On the bus trip home I was delayed nearly an hour and a half as a tractor/trailer had somehow gotten stuck across the entire road making it impassable for our bus... There were police cars allowing vehicles around, but no room for our bus!!! I watched as they borrowed a shovel from the villagers and started digging and digging and digging... thankfully someone called another truck in and finally they pulled it out with cables and we were on our way.Caused quite a stir!!!

Easter

2007-04-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

Churches here are beautiful and well kept and inspirational as was the midnight Easter luminaria service which we attended. As it is the custom for women to cover their heads when entering the church we had to scrounge around the house for a head cloth... here is the result... hmmmm.....
The midnight luminaria service was held both inside the church out out. The flame from Jerusalem was brought into the front of the church and people nearly ran to the altar with such excitement to light their own candles off of that flame... beautiful chants and songs were sung... we walked around the church perimeter serveral times and somehow I got separated from Vanny and Drea, but I stood alone amidst the sea of Romanian and thoroughly enjoyed the service. It is traditional to stand for the entire service which can go on for up to 3 or 4 hours I understand...

The next morning we ate with Drea's Granny. Granny brought out the red eggs - dyed red because Mary Magdalene brought eggs to the base of the cross and the blood from Jesus' feet dripped onto the white eggs..
You are to rub one red egg and one white egg on each cheek... for beauty of spirit or something, and then it is traditional to do this "egg crack" game with the first meal of the day on Easter.I really liked this tradition - fun for all You just start tapping the ends of your eggs with others in the room and when both of your ends are broken you're out! Vanny was the eventual winner as you see the two of us here tapping our eggs.

The next Sunday and Monday is another holiday which is the time when everyone goes to the cemetery with food and wine and they eat and drink in memory of those who have died. It seemed a little creepy to me at first, but everyone in town is theredoing the same thing... people are happy and talk about their mutual friends that have gone before them...and it is a great time to get together and remember loved ones. Here is a picture of a typical cemetery.

Here is an example of the tulips in bloom along the public sidewalk in Stefan Voda.. it's beautiful with gardens everywhere!!!

TRANSPORTATION STORIES

2007-04-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

There are alot of way to get around in this country and here are just a few of them... first of all notice here the beautiful slippers and flip flops. Stop at any Moldovan household and you will find the exact same styles at just about everybody's door... I learned quite early that there are outside shoes and inside shoes and as you walk in the door you flip the outside shoes off and slip into your indoor shoes. So for a trip to the garden or the outhouse you'd find me in the blue flip flops on the left... not uncommon to see people walking around town wearing wool socks and the lovely blue sandals... I'm not quite so brave yet... guess I'm holding on to those good old American Style Values!!!

Then we have the typical (although this on is a Benz and they're not all so pretty!!!) Rutiera. These mini buses PACK in the people, stop when someone requests and pick people up on the highway at any time with a flip of the hand! I do not look forward to spending time in them in the summer as they are hot and crowded and the Body Odor is bad enough in the winter time!!!! They also refuse to open the vents or windows lest someone get sick!!! I try to avoid them if I can!

Below is a picture that I took on my way to work. I added some effects desaturating the color and bringing back only the colors in the wool blankets atop the horses. This is a Caruta... the people from the villages use them so we see quite a few of them in Stefan Voda. I haven't had the pleausure of a ride yet, but I fully intend on doing that one day... the next Caruta picture is in Razeni... snapped it while I was walking there. I think this boy looked pretty happy to have been captured on film..
Speaking of villages.. I keep threatening my dad that I am going to take his mashina and pick up my friends in the next villages and drive to Chisinau.. He imagines it and laughs because this little mashina is a beater!!! It think he paid 14 dollars for it and he fixed it up for a few more. It gets him back and forth from the lake and around town a bit.

I'm prohibited from driving a car or even RIDING on a motorcyle... which brings me to my "dad's" next vehicle.. his pride and joy.. Is it really suzuki??? or is that just a sticker?

While in Chisinau the trolley is the cheapest and most efficient ride in town.. but it's routes are limited. One night while trying to find a restaurant a bunch of us were riding in one and all of the sudden at an intersection our driver got out and started yelling at another trolley driver who was stopped with his cable disconnected... reminded me of a pending fight at a hockey game... we all waited with anticipation to see the violence escalate!!! They went face to face nose to nose and maybe pushed back and forth once or twice and they both got scared and went back to their buses!!!! But just a few more blocks down the road an old guy who'd had to much to drink started out sitting just to my left and quickly went right down in the aisle without so much as putting his hands up to catch himself... by the time I went to help him, he was already dusting himself off - don't know how they do it... he went down HARD!!!

Another transportation option and the one that has me sitting for two and a quarter hours for any trip into the city is Autobus. Once again, they are not usually as pretty and luxurious as this one How they make it back and forth many trips each day, I really have to wonder!!!! I keep waiting for the tranny's to drop out as they labor daily back and forth to Chisinau. One day I sat down only to find that the rain outside was coming in and dropping on my seat from the luggage rack... another time I noticed failed pieces of rubber floating back and forth on a sea of rainwater in between the panes of the window...

I have a favorite driver - Sergiu - On my first solo trip... he happened to be up at the ticket window as I labored to try to communicate that I wanted to buy a ticket to Stefan Voda... he cheerfully pronounced that he would be my "sofer" and tucked me in the seat directly behind him for the trip. He drives the 9:00 bus OUT of Stefan Voda and the 3:40 back. He's happy and helpful and takes care of me!!! One day I was almost two blocks away from the station in Stefan Voda and saw the bus pulling out... I desparately waved fully anticipating that I'd missed it and would have to wait for 2 more hourse for the next one, but it was Sergiu and he actually stopped and waited as I ran up to the bus with my heavy backpack and knitting bag!!!

I've got another bus story... Marisa and I were leaving SV together it pulled up and was a late model Mercedes Benz bus which I was glad to see... it was a later morning bus which usually stops for a good 20 minutes in Causeni ( a nearby city) and I was just telling her... I usually don't get off, because I'm afraid they'll leave me... but we decided to run to the store right by the stop to get some snacks..

I purposefully talked to the driver on the way out so he would know that we were on the bus and not leave us behind should something happen... well.. lo and behold we were in the store for no more than 10 minutes.. we came out started walking toward the bus and Marisa proclaimed.. "shit - they left us!!!" I glanced over noticed it was a mercedes benz bus but figured she pays attention mor than me and immediately realized that all of my belongings are on the road with the bus that has left us behind.. I knew we had to catch up with it... so I sprung into action...

I had noticed across the street a line of taxis so I explained to one of the drivers that we needed him to follow the bus that just left us we jumped in and he drove like a bat out of hell for probably ten minutes when all of the sudden Marisa in the back seat said.. maybe that WAS our bus back there!!!! UNBELIEVABLE... I'd thought she was sure!!!!!

so.... we asked the driver to turn around and go back and there was the bus... still waiting... we jumped on and the people on the bus started complaining that they had to wait for us... I apologized all of the way back to our seats in the rear.. explaining.. "we made a mistake!" we laughed later thinking that everyone in the bus probably saw us run across and get into the Taxi and then saw us come back and jump out of the taxi.. Stupid Americans or what??

My favorite ride though is the cute little green bike complete with shiny fenders to keep the mud off my back, three speeds, a headlight and a REAR view mirror!!! It has cut my time to and from work by almost 45 minutes! I love it and the freedom it gives me! I bought it from an organization in my town which is involved with Pedals for Progress... They receive shipments of used bicycles and put them together, fix them up and re sell. My bike from Japan!!! I knew right away when I saw it (like Pee Wee Hermann) that it was the bike for me!!!!

The two brothers that run the repair shop have become my buds... they happened to see that I was wearing a cross on day and began to inquire if I was religious or not... and now we're supposed to be meeting with our respective bibles to do a little bible study.. Oh by the way, he is from the Jehovah's Witnesses... and speaks only Romanian.. He can now say Minne soh ta!!! (with an accent of course) !!! Should be interesting!!!!

Where have I been and what have I been doing???

2007-04-04T06:47:00.000-07:00

Some Miscellaneous Pictures of the winter which lasted for about two weeks...
I for one am very very thankful - it was a breeze!!!

I understand it is uncommon to have such a mild winter here and we continue to hear about LAST WINTER... the winter from hell... or when it froze over, I guess.... The coldest and longest on record ever in the history of the world...
Picture of from the Centru in Stefan Voda. The snow didn't stop the old guys from biking to work or the market.

A picture of Aliona and me in front of our house.

a shot of the bleak landscape on the outskirts of town. It depicts just how isolated and alone I feel some days!

GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!!

In March I helped organize a business development seminar. Here is a picture of the players... Larson, Dan and Greg who traveled to Stefan Voda spending two nights at my place and presented a Seminar in Romanian to 20 kids ages 12 - 17 from MUZA which is the organization in which I work. I made Chicken Wild Rice Soup for them and we also dined on Ion's Frigaruie and house wine... Lots of it!!!

We also had a poster contest sponsored by a donor organization encouraging the populace to Get out and Vote in the local elections which will be held in early June. Twelve posters will be chosen to adorn the calendar which will be distributed to further promote the idea.

Family and food

2007-02-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Aliona came home from the US in mid December and it from the minute we exchanged our first hello I LOVED her. We've had lots of talks (in english) and she is also tutoring me in Romanian as she is doing her practice English teaching at the school here in Stefan Voda. She is 22 years old and pictured here with our favorite food FRIGARUI!

This particular day was Saint Nicolas' day and the whole family went out to the park with some relatives... where we prepared a masa (which is the word for table and for huge dinner...) on the back of a car... here is Vanya cooking the frigarui.. which is marinated pork cooked bbq style... He used cherry wood that he found in the forest...

Another family favorite is preparing the traditional placinte which is a thin dough usually filled with ricotta type cheese (brinza) and green onions... or brinza and sugar (my fave... of course) or potatoes or cabbage or if I'm really lucky... apple!!! anyway... Nadia makes placinte over an outdoor fire and it is really good... so here's she and Ion proudly showing off the placinte.

Of course other days there was not so much to show off... like this fish head soup that I came home to... luckily PC has informed the parents that we are not allowed to eat any of the fish caught in local waters so I didn't have to eat it!!!

There is an older brother in the family here.. his name is Dima.. and he was only home for a few months and has returned to Moscow to work... I never did get a picture of him... but I DID snap a picture of his Manbag...as pictured below... I was so surprised to see him walk in with this beautiful purse... I thought maybe his sister had forgotten it at the party the night before or something... but turns out.. it is his!!! I had heard about these manbags before and I always wondered WHAT on earth do they carry in there??? so anyway... I became foarte curious!!! And I looked left and I looked right and there was no one in sight... I sooooo wanted to know ... I reached for the flap to look in side and it was secured by a combination lock!!!!! I had to laugh at my own self on that one!!!! Got me!!!!

I actually work here!

2007-02-22T04:59:00.000-08:00

I start out with a good morning or good evening and then ask them the questions.... what day is today? What day was yesterday and what day will be tomorrow... they scan the posters I've put up on the wall for any relevant information and come up with the answers in a style all of their own!
Here I am with my lessons on the whiteboard... and a pix of a few of my students. Yesterday during class and mind you, we've been working on questions for awhile.... I asked them to pose a few questions and we'd have a little answer session... so the first question they constructed was "who put the pen on the table?" Sasha answered..."I put the pen on the table" and he promptly dropped it on the floor only to say... "Why is the pen under the table?" "You put the pen under the table" of course was the obvious and correct response from Liuda. I was thinking things were really going well until the next question came... from Aliona... who happens to be my counterpart at work... Her question just made me laugh... MAYBE someone reading this knows the answer... "When is red old?" Think about it!!!!

MUZA - which is the organization with which I work, is having a "get out and vote" campaign in March, which I'm so happy to hear!!! Sounds like it is a well organized program by a large donor organization with posters, slogan, contests, eventual winners to be printed on calendars and distributed throughout the country... We will be hosting a seminar on business development and entrepreneurship for the kids here in March, I will travel to Chisinau with the teachers from the school here to attend a Symphony Concerto - I guess someone famous will be there!!!! I have been invited to a town to help another volunteer and his organization learn more about Photoshop... I have a couple of language and technical sessions for PC in Chisinau, a full day seminar in Romanian, a meeting with a large donor organization in Chisinau and some oratory and art competitions to attend here in Stefan Voda. so... as you can see I'm certainly busy enough and I'm really ramping up the hours I'm spending on Romanian, as I just haven't made the grade yet!

...speaking of the democratic process and the right and privilege to vote..... I've now heard from several Moldovan citizens, that the last time there were elections, it just so happened that the rutieras (the ONLY method of transportation for most people) just happened to not be running that day, making it impossible for the people in the villages to come into Chisinau to vote... Furthermore... it was held during the time the university students were out of school and it sounds like it doesn't matter much, because there are accusations that votes were just changed anyway... so... how bout that? Rivals the 2000 Hand Counted ballots fiasco!!!!

More Holiday pix

2007-02-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

A few more shots of the holidays... here is an example of a common tradition on Anul Nou. These boys were going from house to house yelling to the inhabitants to let them in the gate so they could sing their songs and hopefully receive some money and or food. They sang a few tunes and we gave them approximately 4o lei which is about 3 american dollars and a bag of apples from the cellar. Well then Christian decided he wanted a little limelight so he donned a jacket and broke into song as well.

Here is my family from Milestii Mici... sister Elena and brother Stefan....

Before dinner and after when we danced the night away in the
living room!!!

below Sergiu after having a bit too much to drink playing rock star with the broom and
with his brother and brother in law and of course ME... they were CRAZY!! they found a hat for me and insisted that I dance with them!!

and the next day.. a picture of the "dad" Sergiu cleaning potatoes in the cellar on New Year's Day...

THE CURRENT

2007-02-19T05:55:00.000-08:00

Halleluiah, I got a BRAVO from Nadia!! Some of you may be aware that I am having a bit of difficulty with the mother of the house. Seems to me that I’m just not the volunteer daughter she was hoping for. Most days it seems to me that I just don’t measure up. Her former volunteer won her heart and I am just NOT Casey. I’ve grown to accept this fact.

Although she smiles and speaks with a song in her voice, my instincts tell me otherwise. So to get a BRAVO from her is quite the accomplishment! What did I do to deserve this??? She recounted the story last night at dinner with her sister Nina who is here from Russian.

We spoke about the DREADED current which those in Moldova firmly believe. Seems Moldova is in just the right place where winds from the West and the East and the Mediteranean Sea align in some kind of perfect harmony creating an invisible demon... The Current!!!! It causes jam packed rutieras (mini buses) to be void of fresh air in the summer heat…it causes women to wear kerchiefs on their heads and children to be bundled up like great big balls of yarn…

Well... I've already told them I don't believe in the current (they've reacted about the same as if I'd told them I don't believe in God)...and they're convinced that someday I'll understand that THE CURRENT is true and I need to fear it as much as they. I remember my grandma and my mom warning about going outside with wet hair etc… and I never believed them either!!! I had all but forgotten about this, until Nadia brought it up the other day and heres how the story goes

Sometime in December, I had just taken a shower and my hair was still even a little wet and I was only wearing a sweater while I went outside to hang my clothes in the sun. She spotted me and gasped at the way I was dressed and of course I responded like I always do. Este cald afara si eu port pulover de lina. "It's warm outside and I'm wearing a wool sweater". She mumbled something about the current… and "Oh Renell" as if she feared for my very life!!!! The other day as we talked about my non belief in the current, she retold the story adding this part: "I expected her to be sick and I waited and waited and 'BRAVO Renell you never got sick!!!'"

Ryan

2007-02-10T04:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Medicine in Moldova

2007-02-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

Well I thought doctoring for three days ear wax was a little long and drawn out - but little did I know that it would be two weeks!! The medical staff here at PC is to say the least THOROUGH. One thing leads to another and they take it a step at a time to make certain they don't do anything wrong and it wasn't until 6 or 7 days of putting drops in my ear and taking antibiotics for a possible infection that they decided to send me to an audiologist to test my hearing.

So I boarded the Big white Peace Corps emblazoned SUV and headed to the "spital". After just a few minutes of waiting in the drafty hall of this concrete building with several Moldovan patients, we were whisked to the front of the line and brought into the doctor's office. She examined my ear, determined that it was unecessary to do an audiology test since its already known that I can't hear. She wrote a prescription for some drops and suggested we come back in a few days. We stopped for the prescription on the way back to headquarters and I was told to wait in the Volunteer lounge for a call to insert the drops, however I was never called.

The next morning I was called to be ready to go see another specialist in a different hospital. When I asked why we did not use the drops, I was told that they wanted a second opinion.

So once again we were taken ahead of all of the others waiting in the hall. This doctor was a ENT pediatrician. I was told that he is gentle and capable and that is why our Peace Corps doctors like to go to him. When I met him I liked him. He was older than me (which is tough to do) and he was dressed in a white smock with a paper white chef looking hat. Strapped to his forehead was an old fashioned large stainless steel disk... although he had gray hair, he looked a little like THIS:

He gave me some drops to put in my ear said to come back the next day (this was day10 by the way)... The next day was Friday and he flushed out the ear and I can hear again!!!!... so I ended up staying through the weekend because the"traumatologist" was going to read my foot xray and see me for my foot problem... oh yea.... Haven't mentioned the foot... well it's been bothering me for awhile.. I twisted my ankle a time or two in the secret mudholes of the village back in October... and for a long time before I wore them in, I was walking on the back of my shoe..I think this caused a bit of a stress injury to my tendon and now I am in FIZIO THERAPE !!!! Tomorrow is going to be the last day and it really still isn't better. So I will talk to the medic after my last therapy session... getting ultrasound massage to the top of my right foot every day for 15 minutes. If this doesn't work I'll probably just have to deal with it. It's hell gettin old!

So I have been in the medical facility (which is the nicest place I've been so far!!!) for a grand total of 18 days. I have enjoyed making cream of chicken and rice soup, enchiladas, quesadillas, grilled cheese, popcorn and hot chocolate. Baked banana bread and chocolate chip cookies and have finally gained some weight!!! I've read some great books, started knitting a sweater and enjoyed the other sickies that land there from time to time.

It is actually a good time for this to happen as I'm not in the middle of a project... have said it's a momentum breaker, but then I haven't really gotten too much going with the holidays and training breaks... Looking forward to getting back and re learning Romanian as the only words I've used are "daţi- imi varog" which means "I'll have please"

I'd never see this at home

2007-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

On a recent bus trip, I noticed a few things that I would NEVER see at home... here is a partial list... a goat and a bull tied up to a tree next to the highway - a sign pointing to a road resembling a farmer's field road with an arrow indicating the way to a town... an old lady wearing a sweater, skirt, apron and kerchief walking out of the woods miles from nowhere...with a pile of sticks in her hands. A funeral procession with people walking in front and behind the two ton flatbed truck which carries the open pine box of the deceased. Men in pointed toe shoes with skin tight pin stripe pants.. Old women on the side of the road selling sunflower seeds. Me sitting in the middle of this wondering... what the hell was I thinking!!!!

It's been a little up and down, I must admit... the time has really flown by - I have been here for over 4 months already.. that is almost 1/6th of my service!!! I don't feel as if I've accomplished a whole lot of work yet... but now that the holidays are past I have been doing alot of thinking about how I can best assist the community of Stefan Voda and I will hopefully soon be engaged in a satisfying and helpful project.

This is an interesting place... the existence of the communist government is still evident in the attitudes of the people. I was told by a Moldovan that it was common to see this phrase during the Soviet Rule... INITIATIVE IS PUNISHABLE. It really helped to make sense of it all for me and I am moving forward with a new understanding. It's gonna be a tough job to feel a sense of accomplishment but I've vowed to keep positive and affect the things I can.

How about this for getting things done in a timely manner......Monday, I decide to clean out my ears and I put something smaller than my elbow in it and now I can't hear... so I called Peace Corps Medical at 10:00 am on Tuesday. I wait for a return call and don't receive it by 11:00 so I call again and speak to the medical officer who tells me she wants me to get on a bus and come to Chisinau and bring jammies and toothbrush because I'll be staying.

So I get some things together, call my work partner, text my tutor, write a note for Nadia and head to the bus. I realize I only have 36 lei with me and the cost of my bus trip is 34 lei and the bank is a 30 minute walk from my house... No problem unless of course I decide to go by private car if the bus is late and that costs 50 lei.

Interestingly enough the bus depot, my house and the bank form a perfect triangle with each side a 30 minute walk... so after a moment of thought, I decide to head straight to the bus depot and take my chances.

I arrive at the bus depot just after 12 to find out the last bus was at 10:30 and the next one is at 2:00. So I have time to walk downtown to the bank (one hour round trip) so i have enough money in case I can find a private car which I don't... so I leave at 2:00 on a bus and now I have a 2 1/2 hour bus trip and a 30 minute walk to Peace Corps HQ. I arrive close to 5:00 they examine me and I am told that I will stay until Thursday. So it takes all of Tuesday and Wednesday and probably most of Thursday to take care of my little ear blunder. I spent all of last week in Chisinau at Peace Corps. training and now this week is nearly shot...

Have to say a bit more about funerals... just today as I walked to the bus depot I saw my third funeral procession. The first oneI saw was disturbing, although I watched it from a bus window. It was the first and only snowfall of the year here. I was wondering why the bus stopped and as I peered out the window I saw people carrying flowers, wearing arm bands and a large truck carrying the body of the deceased. The home made pine box was in just the shape you'd expect it to be and the dead woman's face was covered in snow. Because I watched from above I saw her very clearly - she appeared to be dressed for the weather.

The second procession was just last week as I walked to work. Here I knew a bit more what to expect and I recognized the procession from off in the distance. Same ritual... Men and women carrying flowers and wearing armbands, a large two ton flatbed truck with the home made casket and a woman wearing fur, but this time the women walking behind the truck were carrying baked goods and the priest walked along with his incense. I didn't know exactly what to do... I didn't want to appear as if I was gawking, but I remembered many years ago when the funeral procession for Great Grandma Stiles wound its way through the dusty roads of Walnut Grove to the cemetery and I was so moved to see a farmer in the field get off of his tractor and stand at attention as we went by.

So I decided that this would be appropriate and I stood beneath a tree on the sidewalk as they passed. There was no wailing or crying - a few people were talking.

Today however as I walked to the bus depot, I noticed in the distance a group of people walking... saw their flowers and crosses and armbands but no truck. As they passed by me I soon realized the reason. The casket was being carried on the shoulders of a man... quite possibly the father of this dead infant. As I stood at attention on the side of the road, the last man in the procession carrying a bucket and a cup came to me. I didn't know exactly what to say, so I just said " I am sorry". He shook his head and offered me a drink of the sweet water from the cup. Saying something that I didn't understand as he pointed to the front of the procession. I don't know the significance quite yet but it was an emotional moment for me.

Celebration Moldova Style

2007-01-08T05:04:00.000-08:00

ME AND MOŞ CRACIUN
Watch where you're putting those hands, hey?

I have officially celebrated my first Holiday Season here in Moldova. It started on December 23rd and lasted straight through January 9th. I reported to work a bit in between, but very little has been going on. I guess there is one more New Year to celebrate on January 14th but for the most part it is finally finished!

On the actual American Christmas I got together with a bunch of other Americans and first went to a baptist church. I cried in church during one the hymns...it was so good to be there even if everything was in Romanian... after the service we ate wonderful food with the church members... Here is a pix of the kids singing in front of the church.

And a picture with the lady who invited us...

Our Christmas dinner had quite the international fare! We had fun shopping for ingredients and preparing our dinner together! We ate deviled eggs, tacos (with shredded cabbage) because they don't have lettuce here... chicken quesadillas with home made salsa... (thanks, dad for the spices!) Italian bruschetta, (with sheep cheese of course), macaroni and cheese, Japanese fried rice, BANANA BREAD and Homemade hot fudge covered brownies and ice cream!!! After dinner we watched Christmas Vacation.

Ryan noticed right before dinner that it began to snow - so we ran out for a snapshot and a good thing, because it didn't snow long... Georgians and Floridians alike had a "white" Christmas!

I promise to write more later... I will be in training from January 14th - 21st

typical day

2006-12-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

well.. I'm beginning to see some regimen in my days... I wake up by 8:00 when my family is just wrapping up their morning schedule and leaving for work and school. I usually wait until they're gone, because I just don't want to upset their morning schedule. I go to the stove first thing to heat up water for my favorite new drink....fresh raspberry and honey tea. I take a little square bench that is stored against the wall and carry it to the table so I have a place to sit. I cut a couple slices of bread (never seems to be fresh... rare to have fresh bread) and pop it in the toaster and when it's done, if I'm really lucky, I can melt some crunchy peanut butter on it.. if not I just have butter and cinnamon sugar with my tea!!! Sometimes I'll cut up an apple or if by chance last night's dinner was actually edible, I might heat a little up...While I eat, I play Soduko.. read.. plan lessons for English classes or just eat...

Usually step out on the veranda to find out the weather while I have my morning smokey treat.... then I put two or three layers of clothes on, make my bed... pick up my plastic bag purse and off I go... get to work about 10:30 or 11:00.. twice a week I teach English at ll:00 am and three times a week at 5:00 pm. There are kids coming in and out.. sometimes I pop in on a dance class... just met the teacher who teaches clothing design... guess she might join the English classes, too.... I usually help my partner by translating... helped her organize a seminar last weekend... brainstorm for ideas and try to understand her needs here...

On Wednesday's I meet the other volunteer in town.. Lee, for French Fries - homemade and delicious.. Lee is from Alabama and brings along picante ketchup and some awesome alabama creole spice that make them even better! I walk home generally in the dark... arrive home anywhere between 6:00 and 8:00. Eat dinner visit a bit and go to my room (where I LOVE to be!)

Speaking of reading.. I read "Aint got time to bleed" and I must say I missed listening to Ol Jesse's the Body's self grandizing stories when I was done... I actually liked it and it reminded me why I voted for him in the first place!!! I remember so clearly thinking the next day "OH NO - now what?" when I found out he had won. He infused alot of energy into Minnesota politics... changed things up a bit... I thank him for that! And of course the rebate check was nice too. I just finished "House of Sand and Fog" - really liked it... am enjoying reading books again!!! Wish I had even more time to do so!!! Between the knitting and the studying and the texting at night...

Just met a young kid (probably 9 yr old) named Vladislav. He speaks a little tiny bit of English... a little tiny bit of Romanian and alot of Russian...and he wants to talk to me... Earlier I played foosball with he and his friends in the after school center. So he is here talking to me and asking me what I'm doing on the computer... he keeps talking and pointing and says when you're done with the computer and says the word for games... so I have to tell him that kids cannot use this computer for games or anything else ever( of course remember he only knows a little English and a little Romanian) Finally he says.. NO!!! I want to play foosball when you're done! Dang it's hard to figure out what's going on around here!

Just a couple of thoughts...

2006-12-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

I have a funny and typical story to share... Hope Vanny won't mind... but she went to church in her new town and afer church she was asked to leave because they had a meeting... so last week when she went to church they announced her name and she thought it meant she had to leave again... but really the whole church was waiting for her to get up and introduce herself... instead she just got up and left.. I just laugh to think of all of the people standing there anxiously waiting for her to get up and talk and she gets up and just walks straight out the door!!!!!

When I first arrived here and for quite a long time, I was really mixed up and using the word "I want" instead of " I like ". Countless times I told someone that I wanted something that belonged to them... I told my boss I wanted her jacket. One time I asked someone if they wanted the United States!!! Like it is for sale and I hold the purse strings!!! I'm wondering now how many of my personal belongings I gave away without knowing.. when someone complemented my jewelry or clothing I'd say "you want it?" What an idiot!!!!

I'm sure I said...I want your house... I want your car....I want your shoes, your husband your firstborn... who knows!!!! And what a demanding bitch... I want french fries, I want ice cream,I want raspberries... No wonder I haven't made friends!!! Ha! Life is like that here...

Gave my first English class today.. to some teachers from the school. It was really fun!! I'm looking forward to the next one when I get back from "holiday".

Holidays!!

2006-12-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here in Moldova there is a new and old church calendar.. Most people celebrate Christmas (Craciun) on the 7th of January. Although it is said that it is celebrated a bit on the 25th of December, I've yet to meet anyone that does... I know my little brother Cristi will do the traditional American leave cookies out for Santa and Santa will leave a gift..He learned this tradition from the former volunteer that lived at his house... the difference is that he doesn't get to tell Santa what he wants or write a note of request. he gets whatever Santa leaves!! So this year will be the same!!

People here actually exchange gifts on New Years.. My Americanized 22 year old sister told me after a big meal and exchange of gifts on New Years Eve..many people then go to a bar in town and party until 6 or 8 in the morning...

My family in Milestii Mici has invited me for the traditional January 7th celebration and that is what I intend to do. All of the relatives that I got to know will be there and it will be a wonderful reunion!!! I have a few nice options with friends for December 24th/25th so I won't be alone, but it will not be the same as being HOME!!! So here is wishing you all that makes you feel warm and wonderful during this SPECIAL time of year!!!! My love and thoughts are with you!!!

My package!!

2006-12-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

On Friday I received a message that the package my parents sent had finally arrived.. My dad was told it would arrive in 3-5 days which seemed pretty impossible, but it actually only took about 9 days!!! Of course when I looked at the postage today when I picked it up... I knew why!! It was a $76.00 shipping bill!!! Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

The document said that I could only pick the package up Monday between 2 and 3 pm and Wednesday between 9 and 10 am. So today I was there exactly at 2:00. I tried the door and it was locked...so I stood outside for about ten minutes when an old lady walked by me pulled on the door really hard and it opened... of course!!!!

I showed the lady behing the window my new official Moldovan ID and she said something about a passport, which led me to believe that I needed my passport to pick up the package... it took a little while to figure it out, but turns out she merely was telling me that I didn't need my passport I only need this little green ID card... so I picked up the 10 kilogram package which translates to a little more than 20 pounds, I think... and had no choice but to walk home with it..

It is a pretty good jaunt on foot from the Posta!!!!! I think about how ludicrous it would seem if my Dad had to take this package to a post office somewhere in Mountain Iron on foot to get it sent!! I think he'd have done it, though!!! I switched it from my shoulder to my back to my left arm to my right arm with every long block...

It was a bit cumbersome but I was determined because I knew I would have my own private party on my bed when I got home with it!!! And I did!

My fave of course was the hometown beef jerky... I immediately cut it up in little pieces so it would last longer and vowed to ration it... (after I devoured 1/4 of it right there on my bed)!!! A couple of spoonfuls of crunchy peanut butter and I was beginning to feel satisfied!!! I looked at each gift one at a time.. reading all of the words in English ate tootsie rolls and licorice for dessert and read the letter from my mom over and over when I realized I had left work two hours ago to pick up this package... I walked 1/2 hour across town once more and here I am back at my desk!

Miscellaneous ramblings

2006-12-18T07:12:00.000-08:00

I have a really nice house... it is almost like an American house definitely 50's style! (And they have no idea what decorating retro style means!!!) It will be a long two years, but I am enjoying the time for me to really do the things that I've always wanted to do read, write,reflect, think and was always too busy to do. It is interesting to, for example, hang my clothes on the line and to watch them dance in the breeze and it reminds me of summers when I was young and how I would go out in the backyard and talk to my mom while she hung clothes... The smell takes me back and it gives me impetus to reflect upon my life. A life that seems full of stumbles, but it's mine nonetheless!

I've had what I would consider a few small successes at "work". I'm still just trying to find out what the work means.. Organizational development is a pretty broad job description, so I'm hoping to learn more about the politics, the community, the culture and of course the language here so I can begin to narrow it down.

I really don't like the food here... although I am beginning to find some favorites. It will be better in summer when the gardens are overflowing with fresh vegetables. They say anything will grow in Moldova... If you plant a shoe you will grow a shoe tree!!! Apple trees, pear trees are plentiful and watermelons, too!

Here they have two church calendars the old celebrates on January 7th and the new on December 25th. Funny thing, I was in Chisinau this weekend.. just hanging out with a few of my volunteer friends... There was a big professionally lettered sign on the street that said
Marry Christmas. Ha! Chisinau is the capital and I love it so much. Unfortunatley for me I am a two hour bus ride away and the last bus home is at 5:00 pm. It is expensive on my "salary" to stay in a hotel and currently (a rule with Peace Corps) we are on lockdown for the first three months... which means we cannot be out of our site overnight until February 15th.

So for Christmas, my first family in my training village has invited me to come and celebrate with them. I guess its the biserica (church) and then a big meal (masa) which goes on for hours and hours and probably alot of wine and cognac and dancing late into the night. They put Christmas trees up I think and they exchange gifts but not until New Year's Eve. The traditional food that they always prepare for parties are my LEAST favorite of all food! One dish is chicken parts - feet, wings, maybe even heads... I never look.. it is put in a chicken gelatin substance and served cold... they just lap it up!!!! EEEUUUUUU!!!!!

I was at a family party the other night and tried so hard to find something to eat so as not to offend them and they finally brought out these sausage looking things and told me it was ground pork... although they started describing that the casing was made from the lining of the stomach and lucky for me I knew that that is normal for sausage and I'll just peel that part off... well my plan almost worked!!! I peeled and began to eat the ground pork and guess what it was!!!! Pork liver. so I hid it under my leftover cabbage and drank another glass of wine with them... they are more offended if I refuse wine I think.

so... I am only allowed one exception from the lockdown rule and that would be to visit my family in Milestii Mici... but it looks like the volunteers will rent an apartment for the night in Chisinau for New years...sounds like it is a fun place to beto ring in the new, as they have the countdown on the main town square... If I got caught taking more than one celebration, I could be separated from PC. Really I'd just be happier if I let the dates slip right by... I'll be glad when they're over.. it is just too sad to think about being away for the holidays. But the good news is that once this one is past I only have one more to do and then I'll be home!!!

On Thanksgiving we had a talent show after the dinner (which was scrumptious, by the way) and one of the volunteers played his guitar and sang a beautiful rendition of "I'll be home for Christmas"...I cried and cried while he sang. later, I talked to another volunteer who is in second year and she is going home for Christmas until January 7th... I started thinking that maybe that might work for me too... although I swore I was going to see Italy and Greece and Istanbul as long as I was so close! So we'll see... it may be really difficult to come back to Moldova once I'm home.

Right now I am feeling challenged with the language and just the general adaptations of life. Everything takes so long... Clothes.. luckily for me - Nadia "mom" has an automatic wash machine.. it doesn't spin very dry, though, so I still have to take my clothes to the bathroom and wring them out in the tubbie... then haul them outside and hang them on the line for a couple of days.. (in this weather)... They freeze dry, I think. We don't have any snow yet and today I walked to work (25 minutes) with just a sweater and my light gortex jacket... I think it will get cold January/February for sure.

On my way to work

2006-12-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

I thought this might help you formulate a bit of an idea of my life here... these are the some of the things that I'm likely to see on my 25 minute walk to work in the morning:

We seem to have a lot of fog here... in fact the first two weeks here I'm not sure I ever saw the sun!! The air is so wet and heavy that the trees drip with moisture as you walk under them. recently the sun has begun to shine and I often walk home toward the sunset... the sky here is beautiful.. In fact... Orion's Belt is hard to find because the clusters of stars around him are so bright!!!

Every tree trunk in the country is painted white... Here is a picture of a street in Stefan Voda supposedly it is for reasons of tree health, but mostly they feel it pretty and I think its a little like making sure the paint is not chipping on your fence or house... - to show you care about your place...

I'm likely to see a whole lotta old guys on beater bicycles. A large flock of turkeys just hanging out on the street corner... sad part is my mouth waters when I see them!!!

Someone burning a pile of leaves on the street... an old rusted out bus with no wheels parked in front of someone's house.

Everyone carrying a plastic shopping bag - including me... because when you walk everywhere you have to have something to carry the stuff you need! (It isn't just sittin there next to you in the passengers seat.)

Tons of black crows in the treetops... seems to be a bit of a nuisance even for the residents here... one day while Lee (another volunteer at my site) and I walked through the park... overhead were many of these crows and sure enough.. we both got hit at the same time... I hope it is not a sign of things to come!

It is normal to see a horse drawn cart with an older couple driving and some kind of produce in the back... its my understanding is that they are coming from the outerlying villages.. probably to buy and sell their wares! yesterday I saw a two horse team pulling a cart and beside them was a little pony trotting along so bravely!!!! obviously he was just learning the ropes... cute.

The public buildings were fortunately built really strong, but currently they are in different stages of crumble. I walk each day by the Soviet built stadium.. it is huge and was once very beautiful I am sure.. but today I watched a guy lead a cow on a leash through a big hole in the fence. I guess it is used as a pasture now.

Most people are on bicycles or on foot, but every so often comes one of these tiny little square soviet cars putzin down the road.. there are a few bmws - but mostly things are pretty simple.

I occasionally strike up a simple conversation if I find someone friendly walking my way.. for the most part... people aren't that friendly! Unless it's a group of guys drinking in the street! I usually talk to the old folks... often they speak Russian. Most people, though know both languages here. I may have to pick up at least a working knowledge of Russian.. first things first... Romanian!

Well that's it for now...

Cristian

2006-12-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

So I live with a father, mother and a 6 year old boy named Cristian. He seems like a pretty nice boy. He always remembers to turn the light off (and sometimes reminds me, too!) - He has impeccable manners... and always a big smile on his face.

One of the first days I was here I sat in his room and we were drawing pictures together. I drew a pig and a turtle and then thought I'd get fancy and draw a chicken, since being in the village I viewed them most every day... I was pretty proud when I got the body and the wings and the tail just right.. the neck wasn't exactly right but then I finished it all of with just the perfect chicken feet... Cristy looked up at me like with a big grin on his face and said in words i understood.... "Renell chickens don't have four feet!!!" Duh!!! I don't know what I was thinking, but he still thinks I'm a little stupid!!! Can you blame him? We usually just play games that don't require alot of language, since its hard for him to speak slowly and more clearly so that I can understand.

Last week I asked him one day over dinner.. "So Cristy.. how was school today?" Well... forgive me for trying his mom jumped in to remind me that he doesn't go to SCHOOL he goes to the GRADINITA... which is Kindergarten... I think it is equivalent to asking him how was college today? So... the next day I was ready... I said ... "So, Cristy.. how was the Gradinita today?" He looked at me with that blank stare and looked at him mom and she promptly told me that I'd said Gradina which is garden NOT Kindergarten... DUH once more... anyway.. I tried it one more time.. getting it right this time and he didn't answer me... his mom prompted him to answer and he said... "why do I have to answer.. she doesn't understand" That was a perhaps my lowest moment.

so... I've figured out that this little 6 year old doesn't understand it is a language barrier.. he actually thinks that I am totally incompetent!! It makes sense I guess! He was sooo shocked the other night.. He was having me solve really difficult math problems.. Okay Renell... try this one... it's difficult!!! 10 minus 3!!! The shock on his face was priceless when I answered 7 without a thought... He kept trying to stump me... his toughest test was I think 8 minus 6...

He and I were home alone last Sunday and I washed clothes... operating the automatic washer and wringing everything out in the bathtub and then hanging it all on the line... His mom later reported to me that he had told her... Bravo for Renell... she washed her clothes by herself!!!

So it goes.. his sister Aliona who is 23 just came back from a 5 month stay in the States. After the Holiday break she will move to Chisinau to finish her studies at the University. She brought him a Hummer Remote Control Vehicle back from the States... and some PEANUT BUTTER!!!

My life in Stefan Voda

2006-12-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Out with the old... my backyard and toilet in Milesti Mici

and in with the new... My new family in the kitchen at home....

I feel compelled to get this entry done because it is really the close of the first phase of my service here... really once the Thanksgiving weekend was done I physically began to call my new home "home". I live a 25 minute walk away from work. Near as I can tell I live on the southern side of town. Again, I view the moon out my bedroom window.. I am thankful for that! I live with Nadia and Ion I think they are in their forties... they have a daughter age 24 and a son 20 ish and little Cristian who is the only child to live there currently. He is six and attends the Gradinita (Kindergarten). Nadia works all day 6 or 7 days a week at a frigid hardware store and Ion is a retired police officer and now works as a chauffer nearly full time. It takes many sources of income to keep a household rolling here. Salaries are very low, jobs are hard to come by and basics are expensive considering their salaries. A large number of the young and able people although highly educated, are living abroad making money for their families. It is a huge problem... I think about what that means to a society when the best and brightest members have limited opportunities for which to stay. Anyway... My accomodations are very nice... Nadia keeps the house extremely clean... she is careful about food preparation and purchase... she likes sweets just like me. My bedroom is very comfortable and pretty! Here is a pix

MY VILLAGE IN THE GUINNESS BOOK!!

2006-12-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

We toured this place with a vehicle!!! and it went on and on and on for miles...

The qualified wine manufacturer will acquaint you with underground gallery, where the huge barrels of wine are established. The special tasting hall is arranged in medieval style with tables and benches made from tree in order you to have a good time with your friends at a glass of old Moldavian wine, the pleasant feeling of this air smothered by the aroma of wine will embrace you.

Over 50 km of the underground galleries are transformed into wine warehouses in the Milestii Mici Village (almost 20 km south Chisinau). Now, as many years ago, the underground kingdom still excites the visitors. The lucky guests who get into it have the rare opportunity to travel the darkened avenues and streets with rows and niches, where precious bottles are carefully laid down, where barrels are placed. Covered with the attributes of antiquity – spider web and grey dust – they attract all looks, just like a magnet. In order to make the time travel even more exciting, all those who wish are given the map of the wine depository, sealed with wax. The same map is present on the labels.
The constant annual temperature of +12 ... +14 oC and the high moisture level offers favourable conditions to store the high quality wine. The wine collection consists of over 2 million bottles. The grapes collected on the vineyards around Milestii Mici village are of special quality. The wine made out of these grapes has a rich and noble taste, which is stored then in the stone subways for many years. Cabernet", "Cahor", "Muscat" or "Aligote" – each of them bears the mark of the creator, his soul, energy and inspiration, though all of them are perceived as a part of the universal history of winemaking, as a part of the Moldovan culture.

Thanksgiving

2006-12-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving was all that we hoped it would be...after only a few days in our new site, we were able to assemble in Chisinau for the All Volunteer Conference and Thanksgiving Dinner. I left Stefan Voda by bus ( 3 hour ride) on Wednesday arriving at the hotel to find lots of friends. We had some sessions each day, but still had time to spend together in the evenings. Thursday night came the feast - complete with cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green been casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie all made by volunteers and it was delicious... I wished my stomach had no bottom that day! We had a riveting bird flu seminar on Saturday and departed on Sunday..

Here Anastasia dressed as Poke a Hot Ass poses for a pix with Angela, Chris and I.

A look across the restaurant where 250 were fed and we even had leftovers for sandwiches the next day! In the morning I started thinking about what time it was at home... and that my mom would probably just be putting in the turkey about now...and the kids would arrive....and I started to get very very sad... but I quickly decided to enjoy the moment in front of me and realized that I will only miss ONE more Thanksgiving at "home".

Simira, me Ryan and my site mate, Lee (wearing a wig trying to look like me - ha!) doing the traditional relaxation after dinner... although there was no football on TV!

It's Official!

2006-12-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

On the 16th of November I walked across the stage in Chisinau,

shook hands with the Country Director and the Ambassador, took the oath of service and I'm officially now a Peace Corps Volunteer. (as opposed to a PCT - Trainee!!) the distinction is foarte important!

It was a pretty uneventful ceremony, other than our traditional hora dance of course...that we'd been practicing for a month. It didn't look good at dress rehearsal, but when the show began, we danced splendidly and had a blast doing so!!

Here is the Millesti Mici gang posing one more time before we split into all areas of the country to start our service.
Sharon, Chris, Me, Vanny, Drea, Becca and Angela..

After a nice reception, I have a very tearful good bye with my family but we remind each other that Viata Merge Inainte! (Life moves forward)! I've been invited to spend Christmas with them in Millesti Mici and I plan to do that! Below is Rodica, Stefan, Me, Elena and Sergiu. Within minutes I am on my way with my new family to Stefan Voda! VIATA MERGE INAINTE!

Fall In Moldova

2006-12-04T05:39:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty typical scene in my village as I meandered through the village to my language school classroom. These goats were just stopping for a snack, I guess... this fall I learned that the best time to search the streets for walnuts was after a rain and I learned who had the pear trees in the village... straight off the tree... heavenly! There are alot of ways to crack a nut and we've tried them all... during our pouzas from classes, we'd find Chris up in the tree shaking walnuts for us... I am now looking forward to next fall so I can enjoy them again.

Just a scene from Moldova...

Here's me during a family party winning the ironing race! I must say Chris gave me a good run for the money and his mama gazda was trying to distract me to help him to win. It is a rarity here.. a boy with an iron and he actually knows how to use it!

Ioanna - Mother of my "mother" Rodica in Milesti Mici making wine.

Halloween in Moldova

2006-12-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

Here we are all dressed up and ready to go to the school for Halloween... On the left is our girl Peace and Love and lots of hugs... Drea... then comes DreamyExotica Vanny... then me... perfect... Becca Lady Liberty, Angela skin and bones, Chris in toilet paper and of course Sharon our favorite superhero!!! We took off in our costumes through the village turning heads all of the way, of course. We stopped at my friend Valiere's magazin and told him trick or treat... he really didn't know what was going on so we just held out our hands and said bomboane and sure enough, he brought us a handful of candy!
We soon found out that the kids at the school knew more about Halloween than we did! We bobbed for apples, played pin the nose on the pumpkin and were asked to judge the halloween art contest.... and then the music started and it was a mini disco in the school!!! This picture shows the kids doing their skit about the harvest... everything was in English! We tucked into the backroom with the teachers at the school and had snacks and wine by candlelight after it was all over.

My weekend in Stefan Voda

2006-10-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Well I found the right bus and even got the name of the driver who set me up right behind him for my two hour bus ride from Chisinau to Stefan Voda. It was for the most part uneventful.

I arrived in Stefan Voda to meet my Counterpart... Aliona - she is the lady I will be working with for the next two years. She started talking in Romanian and I was pretty much lost. I was able to pick up a word or two in between asking her to please slow down and she quickly realized my level of language was that of a 2 year old or less! Once she realized I'd only been in the country for one month the Bravos came more often!!! We walked through the PAVED streets of Stefan Voda in the cold rain to my eventual place of work. There we had tea and coffee and chocolates and cake and I tried to ask questions and hoped the answers were not more than I could handle.

After a little while we proceeded on foot to the home of the first host family. No one spoke any English and my Romanian is sooooo bad still ! She left me there and told me she'd call me tomorrow about going to the next family home. To my surprise the medic had two young grandchildren living with her. It is quite common here as most of the kids have good college educations but NO JOBS. So the 24- 40 year olds are away in foreign countries often leaving their spouses and children behind for years and years. The little girls fought and cried and coughed nearly the entire time I visited. I had to choke every morsel of food down as the kitchen facilities were anything but clean. I asked if she had some cream for my coffee and sure enough.. I think she went directly out to the backyard and milked the cow herself. She brought a bowl of milk with lumpy chunks that floated in my coffee no matter how hard I stirred.

When it was noticed that I wasn't eating much, she asked me what I would buy for myself if I went to the store. I told her ice cream and cake and pasta (macaroane) . Next thing I know she comes back from the kitchen with a ball of dough and starts to roll it out thin making pasta for me. She then directs her son to start shaking up a big jar which he shakes for about ten minutes and when finished he spreads it over some dry bisquits. Turns out it is smintina which is pretty much like plain yogurt. They layer it a few times, she gets some walnuts off of the tree in the back yard - crunches them up on top of the cake and a grated chocolate bar finishes off MY CAKE! It was so nice of them to try so hard, but the conditions were very depressing and I started to cry. In fact I cried into the next day.

My counterpart called to tell me that we would go to the next family at 5:00 pm on Sunday, so I just sat next to the soba (the in wall wood stove) and worked on a pair of mittens for Stefan until finally Aliona came to get me.

Fortunately House number 2 was immaculate and the accomodations are outstanding. the father even had a machine ah.. although I later figured out that he was a "chauffer" so the machina wasn't really HIS! They even have a bathtub! I still have to heat water on the stove, but during the winter when the house heat is on the water is also heated, so I will get to actually take a warm shower during the winter!!! Ion (John) and Nadia and their 5 year old son Christian also have a 24 year old daughter who will be coming back from a vacation in the United States and speaks English I guess.

Monday morning this family left for work and kindergarten so I had the whole morning to myself. I took a bucket bath and drank tea and leisurely got ready to go to "the office" at 2:00. Ion came home to pick me up as I had no idea where I was going in town. He heated up chicken soup for me and we drank a glass of cognac for the road... hmmmm... interesting way to start my day!

At the school I was introduced one by one to all of the professors and my counterpart having to go back to teach a class, left me with the Director of the School for an hour. The Director was sweet and understanding and after explaining in Romanian as much as I could handle about how things run there proceeded to sit me down in the posh chair of the Director of Rural 21 (another NGO in the school). She brought me coffee and cake and put a slide show on the computer for me.

Come to find out, a famous Moldovan opera singer Maria Biesu who is equivalent to our Luciano Pavarotti was born in a little village near Stefan Voda. She established and helps fund this Maria Biesu School of Art. It is wonderful! Seems that it is rather difficult to be able to study there. Potential students go through an application process and few are chosen. They are able to study dance (ballet to fox trot to samba) art (drawing, painting and sculpture) accordion, violin, piano. Although I do not work directly for the school, I will work for the NGO MUZA whose board of directors are all teachers at the school. One of their goals is to introduce through teaching and hands on experience the concepts of American Business to adolescents - (capitalism at its best... ) I'm excited about this prospect.

Of course I have to now visit the third family before venturing back to Chisinau for a conference. In talking with my counterpart, it was decided that since the third family lived in a Soviet Style Block Apartment with only 3 bedrooms and 3 children, if Family number 2 seemed to work, that is probably my best option. (Of course family number 2 had many comments to me to help sway my opinion!!!)

I tell Aliona that she can call family number 3 to let them know that I have already chosen my family. Family number 3 is a Priest and his wife and three children. He says that they have already planned for me for dinner and they understand but they would just like to have me over for dinner and visit for awhile which I agree to do. Robertino (father) comes to the school to get me and we stop and pick up his wife and we all walk together to the apartment. I stayed for almost four hours! We had such a good time together. The place, although nice was small. They were soooo nice and I know we will visit many more times in the future. I have been invited to join them at the BISERICA in a little village outside of town caled ANTOINESTE. They also have a home there that they stay on weekends. It was good that I had a chance to meet them.

So I will live in the home of Ion and Nadia. I have my own bedroom quite separate from the main living quarters... the kitchen is quite modern and there is an indoor toilet, although I have to go to the kitchen to plug the pump in before going to the bathroom so that I can flush it. They have a pump hooked up to their well in the back yard. They have hot water radiator heat although there is no insulation on any of the homes, so it is quite cold inside. I sleep in many layers and am soooo thankful that Bonnie bought and encouraged me to bring my fluffy pink bathrobe. It is a luxury item that I very much appreciate having now!

My language skills jumped slightly to a new level after the weekend but I was EXHAUSTED speaking only Romanian. It made me realize that I have a long way to go to anything resembling proficiency! -but it will come!

We had a field trip yesterday and briefly - I must report that we joined a community celebration for 15 minutes and the people there appeared star struck seeing all of us Americans... they were asking for autographs and taking pictures. When we walked away altogether to go to a museum in town, 50 people followed us down the street! One girl kept screaming I love America!!! Crazy!

Feel free to leave comments and/or write me at binksink@gmail.com

WORDS AND LANGUAGE

2006-10-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

As I go through my days here, I find so much humor in the language ( or sometimes the lack of it) What first comes to mind is that the Romanian language has so many borrowed words... for example... blue jeans in Romanian is bluj.... What is the name for a car??? Machine-ah. The size of towns here is measured in the number of hills it covers... I guess our town is about 1 and 1/2 hills. (It has less than 5,000 people. ) the words for punctual and fantasy and khaki are the same only with a romanian accent. When you take a shower it is a douche! Poftim is the word which seems to universal meaning. It can mean thank you and you're welcome and excuse me and enjoy your meal and here it is and I didn't hear you. When I first arrived my most widely used phrase was foarte bine!! Now it seems to be mai tirziu ( pronounced my teer- zoo) which is driving my "mom" crazy because it means later!!! "Yeah, I'll drop myself in a little bitty bucket and call it a shower - LATER!" "Yeah I'll bring my clothes outside and rub them in freezing cold water until my knuckles are raw -LATER!" "I'll get to that Romanian Language Homework - LATER!" You get the picture. I know if my real Mom is reading this she will more than relate to the frustrations of Rodica my Moldovan mama. She wants me up and out of bed so that I can first enjoy the morning air on my way to the outhouse and then in to wash up with a cup of cold water and have breakfast and sit for a half hour before school drinking cafea. Anyone who knows me well knows that aint gonna happen, here there or anywhere! So I am usually flying out of the house slurping my coffee on the way out the door. I just tell her it's the American way!

Feel free to leave comments and/or write me at binksink@gmail.com

Va fi cum va fi

2006-10-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

IT IS AS IT SHOULD BE

Today is not only Friday the 13th but it is officially one month in country... things are beginning to settle down a bit. Today I had my first language assessment. It was painful to listen to myself fumble through the description of Kaye Kelli and Michael, their ages, occupations, and names... Conjugation does not come easily, so my old mind is doing overtime. I feel sorry for the poor assessors who have to listen to each of us... I am glad that is behind me,

This weekend comes the next hurdle. I have received my permanent assignment. For the next two years I am slated to work with an organization called MUZA. Their focus is to develop student leaders ages 12-17 throughout the Stefan Voda region via intellectual and creative means! I will live in the regional center ( population 7.000) which probably means access to internet, indoor toilets (just in time for the impending winter snows!!!) and running water.

Although I must tell you that it was very exciting to arrive at home yesterday and my "sister" had a big surpize for me... Running water!!!! Tate meu Sergiu needs to get a part to get the hot water heater hooked up so for now only cold... but it is nice especially for brushing teeth in the morning... As usual I am always running late... I am driving mama mea Rodica CRAZY!!!! Actually it will be very sad for all of us when I have to move on... we enjoy each other very much!

So... from Corpul Pachii (Peace Corps) I have received my assignment, three families from which to choose and the name of my counterpart in Stefan Voda. It is now my responsibility to get on a bus first to Chisinau (the capital) and then a two hour bus ride from the Central Bus Station in Chisinau to Stefan Voda... Hopefully I will get off at the right stop and my counterpart will be there waiting for me... she speaks no English so that puts the pressure on me!!! I can always resort to telling her what color my shoes are! My conversation is quite limited... fruit, vegetables, colors, and names of public buildings! I will stay one night with each host family and then choose the one which I would like to stay for the next 6 months. After that I am free to choose my own housing. None of them speak any English, so once again... oh momma!!!

It was a kick when I brought the three choices of families out to the kitchen table for my mom and her crazy sister. They were jibbering away in Romanian and every so often I'd catch a word... usually related to someone's line of work or the funny names of the kids... they decided for me that I should live with the 55 year old female doctor (doctors don't make much here but they are very respected... I think bus drivers might make more money!!!!). She has a 16 year old son and lives in her house with all of the amenities. The other options are a priest and his wife and 3 children but they live in a "bloc" - some sort of apartment, I guess. The third choice is a young family with a 5 and 12 year old. He is a chauffer and she works at a magazin. I will be in Stefan Voda until Tuesday. I am trying to go in without prejudice.

It was rare, but there is an agricultural volunteer from my group also in the same town. I am sure we will lean on one another from time to time.

If you look at the shape of Moldova it looks a bit like a boot pointing west... I will be in the heel of that boot.. Only 1 hour from the Black sea resorts and beaches!!!!! I have to travel through Ukraine to get there, but I understand they do not have any visa requirements, so it is easy to do so. I hope that will be a perk for me.

I am excited to finish out the training, be sworn in as an official volunteer and start my work!

Feel free to leave comments and/or write me at binksink@gmail.com

Wine Wine and more wine

2006-10-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

October 5th, 2006

Well the most important thing going on around here is WINE. There are barrels EVERYWHERE!!!! You can smell grape juice everywhere in the village. Last Wednesday was some kind of Holy Day – of course NO ONE goes to church, but since the wine is intrinsically linked to Religion here… According to ????Scripture, the grapes hold within them the light and energy of the sun just as the light of God and …drinking it …well… you get the picture. The Holy Day means to some people that it is now time to get the grapes from the field and start the wine making process. So on Friday we meet with the priest at the basilica here in Milestii Mici to discuss the history and role of religion in Moldovan Society. He meets us at the front door with a comfortable smile; he’s dressed in black jeans a black button down shirt and boots! He opens the door and goes behind the altar to change into his priest outfit. The church is exquisitely filled with beautiful icons, murals and gilded crosses. We have an interpreter with us and we have many questions answered eloquently from this man of the cross. As we were winding down, he noted that it was a bit frigid in here and he has just the thing to take the chill out. He proceeds once again to the back room and comes out with a beautiful bottle of vintage (‘86) wine and a box of chocolates (they tasted like snickers). He pours the wine and we talk some more and before you know it I have finished my glass, I put it down on the table and he fills it up again. I have not really drank before this and I sort of forgot the rule of the empty glass around here, but this wine was sweet and going down pretty easily and it was the middle of a sunny afternoon and before you know it I get it filled up one more time and I am getting a buzz! It didn’t last long as I had to wipe the grin off of my face while listening to his last remarks. It seemed…. so… Moldovanesque I had to chuckle!!! I went home for a three hour nap!

On Saturday my family went to their vineyard to pick grapes and now we have two barrels fermenting in the back yard. I was unable to go as we have six days of lessons and only Sunday free. Today we drank the moosht… which is just the carbonated juice from the fermentation process, it holds no alcohol yet, but it is delicious. I looked into the barrels and it is bubbling. The whole process reminded me of my wild rice gathering days. So much of life here is similar to the people and places I’ve been before! It makes me think of all of you often!!!

This weekend is the big Wine Festival in Chisinau… sounds like a gigantic State Fair sized wine tasting party. While I am definitely interested in tasting different wines, I do not know if I will attend or not. I’ll be a fair weather attendee for sure. Milestii Mici is in the Guinness book of World Records for the largest underground Winery. We have not yet toured this claim to fame, but there will be many wines from Milestii Mici to taste at the Festival.

Today, with the help of mame mea (Rodica), I washed clothes. I went to the well… dropped the bucket down and wheeled it back up… filled a plastic bucket, brought it into the house, transferred it into a metal bucket which I placed on the gas stove to heat. Once heated, I brought it and a bucket of cold water out in the sunny backyard among the chickens and roosters and scrubbed them in a plastic basin, rinsing in another. She performed the rinse “cycle” and she had to show me how to hang my underwear VERY NEATLY on the clothesline… appearance really matters around here. Hey wait a minute!!!! This story contains no reference to wine!!!! Well… most likely I had a wine stain or two on my clothes after church!!!!! Tonight I have a date with my “mom” to watch Desperate Housewives!!! It will have Romaneste subtitles so I figured that counts for language practice!!! I can’t wait! Maybe I’ll drink o sticla of wine!!! (In English that’s a bottle!!!) You’ll never know!! Ha! Ciao!

Adventure on the bus

2006-09-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last night as the”kids” celebrated the birthday of Andrea in the bar, I decided to go to the internet café and had heard that the last bus to my village left at 7:30.. Well as usual, I dashed out of the café moments before the deadline and found myself in a pitch-black rainy night! I navigated the mud patched and deserted streets of Ialoveni to the bus stop (in my finest black sandals). As I rounded the bend I saw that last bus pulling out toward Milestii Mici and. I knew I’d never stop it in time. Fortunately as any good volunteers would do, I already formulated an emergency backup plan – I would call Anastasia. She lived in Ialoveni and I’d have to stay at her place tonight… she assured us previously that her Russian-speaking host family would molest us if we came over, so I figured it was a viable option. I might be a little late in the morning for language classes, but at least I’d get home!

I waited alone at the bus stop deciding what to do. Finally some Moldovan joined me and knowing that desperate times call for desperate measures, I started speaking Romanian to them!!! I was able to tell them that I have Renell and I am a bus…they were quite amused!

After a few more tries, I learned that the young couple lived in Milestii Mici and the last bus home was at 8:30. Once I knew this, I felt at ease and backed up under a tree to stay out of the rain.

After almost a half hour, with the rain still pouring down the white bus pulled up and I felt familiar again, that is until I opened the door and it did not LOOK like a rutiera and further more it did not SMELL like a rutiera!!! I was already in, though, and as we took off into the black night, I looked and did not find the famliar windshield sign displaying our destination and at that moment, I realized it was NOT A RUTIERA!

What I could glean from the conversation around me was this driver’s name was Dick and he had picked up his friends instead of making them wait for the bus… What then was I doing here???? I think at that moment Dick and his friends were discussing the very same thing!!!!! Oh momma!!!

I tapped my new friend on the leg and asked “Milestii Mici”? “Da” she said and turned her attention once again to the young man snuggling up next to her. I was so happy to quickly see the sign for our village and knew I was at least one step closer to home. They started talking to me at this point and I was afraid they were expecting to drop me off here and it was a very very long walk home from here!!!!! Actually in this rain and mud and my best black sandals...IMPOSSIBLE! I communicated to them “I am going to my house!” and of course the next logical question was… “Where do you live?” I said “Milestii Mici” and beyond that… how do you say…… how do I say????? Shit I don’t know where I live!!!!

Instinctively my linguistic and pantomime skills kicked into high gear as I explained I was somewhere past the disco and the soccer fields and beyond the centru and up the hill… Well the driver dropped all his friends off and it was just the two of us to figure out where the hell I lived! I just hoped he understood that he needed to drop me off where the rutiera would normally do so or I'd have NO way of knowing how to get to my house. He didn’t seem too happy having to navigate the bumpy streets of Milestii Mici, but he brought me to the familiar bus stop 5 muddy blocks from my house.

I’d heard about the mud and I’d actually packed some appropriate boots, but they were back in my house as I thought the sun would shine today. Without the trusty penlight attached to my jacket (thank you Mr. Johnson!!!!) I would have stood alone blindly in the middle of the black street and cried! Instead, I was able to take one step at a time over the rushing rivers, which were now etching caverns in the streets. I decided to take the longer route, which offered pavement, and it took me to the magazin that I visit each day after school. My friend Valiere welcomed me in as usual and when I told him I was going to my house he laughed and pointed at my best black sandals, now caked with mud. He suggested in the only language he knows (romaneste) that I call my brother Stefan to deliver my boots for the rest of the way home. Lo and behold, technology once again interferes with the best laid plans and the phone is busy due to internet usage. So Valiere helps me with my homework while I wait for the rain to subside and slowly but surely one dirt pile after another I arrive safely and soundly at home!

VISIT FROM THE AMBASSADOR

2006-09-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Today in our training village we met the Ambassador and other dignitaries from the US Embassy. It was extremely informative and good to understand more about the politcal and economic situation here in Moldova.

I am going to attempt to make Mayfred's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies tonight. I may have a little trouble finding baking powder, but I'm going to give it a shot. It is Andrea's birthday on Thursday and I figured every body would appreciate a chocolate chip cookie since they've never heard of them here. I know I will not find Brown sugar and it will be a trip to the magazine while I go through my list in Romanian. I will need UNT and Frisca Alb and something de copt.... Not to mention the utensils in my family home are probably limited and I KNOW they don't have any PAM! I hope they turn out!

I really don't have anything new to add, so I will try to get some pictures up soon. I am not doing too well with my language acquistion although I've only been here a litte over a week, so I'm not going to worry. It is hard... and my family has no patience with me struggling through every word for conversation.. it is just easier to speak English... but... gotta get in some conversations! Every day is busy - and so far enjoyable. Peace Corps treats us right even got a copy of Newsweek. Hoping I have time to read it, but I have chocolate chip cookies to bake tonight!

write to me at binksink@gmail.com !!!!!

Rules Rules

2006-09-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last night while finally getting a chance to connect to the internet on my family’s computer, my Elena was playing around with my digital camera and hit the power strip to the computer (which sits soooo conveniently in the doorway) and I was instantly disconnected. She then told me that we can only go online once daily. I have yet to figure out if that is a village rule or a household rule. One way or another, I am very limited to my access to you. So I am writing on Microsoft Word and will cut and paste during that precious internet time!

Yesterday I thought I was going to get voted off the island. My language lessons brought much frustration! Instead of crying right then and there Andrea and I were reprimanded for laughing. (Don’t tell Diane Tripp!!!) We promptly explained to our profesor de limba romana that if we did not laugh, we would cry. He did not really care. He is 23 and getting married the day after tomorrow, so he is all business and we’re hoping to loosen him up once the wedding is over! His name is pronounced ee juan. (Jon). Actually he is sooo sweet. Anyway…. Today was mult bine and maybe there is a chance that they’ll keep me around long enough to do some damage in another village at a later date. We’ll see.

We feel like kindergarteners… and I guess we are. We learned today the names for grandmother, grandfather, mother in law etc… One of the voluntari in our group, Chris is worried that his “host” sister who is two and learning to speak is going to run circles around him in no time and he is probably right. I have decided to stop speaking to Stefan and Elena and concentrate on communicating with mama Rodina. She knows NO English. We sit at the table over tea and laugh because neither of us knows what the other is saying. I’m usually armed with my dictionary and we generally get something figured out. She is a nurse and works in a neurological pediatric unit. She often practices language with me at the kitchen table. She always wants to help me with my homework! Sergiu works as a supervisor in the local vineyard. He seems very patient and friendly, although I’ve only been able to communicate with him a few times.

Life is calm and slow here. I walk home from school with my backpack on (thank you Megan II) and I just look around at the homes – they are all decorated very beautifully with stucco and brick and stone and cement. Elena says I’ll watch Desparate Housewives with her when the new season starts. I guess that’s incentive enough to keep up the language studies!

Tomorrow we will go to Ialoveni… (Yah lo vein) and meet with the other 36 voluntari from our group. It is called a hub site day. Twice weekly we jump on the unbelieveably crowded and dangerous? Bus to Ialoveni. It is there that we come together as a group and learn the technical portion of our jobs. On the other days, I walk through the village past the goats and chickens and millions of dogs to the home of our profesoara for language and cross cultural training. The animals generally don’t seem to mind, but the first billy goat stared me down a bit. I thought maybe he could smell americanca on me.

This is a crazy undertaking, but I am still convinced that it is the right move for me.

let the games begin!

2006-09-18T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hey! I have so little time with the internet, that I have decided that the only way to really keep in touch right now is through this blog. Please feel free to leave comments or e mail me so I can write back!! here is the group getting to leave Philly for Moldova.. having no idea what the adventure will bring!

Some highlights so far...

The bus that took us from the capital (Chisinau) could not navigate the streets directly to my house, so all the volunteers and others got off the bus to help me bring my luggage - it was hilarious!!! Eight people walking down these incredibly crumbly streets pulling my red luggage! It reminded me of Romancing the stone!!!

Anyway... I got to my casa and my family consists of a mom and dad Rodica and Sergiu -35 years old. The children Shtefan (pronunciation) 12 and Yelena (15) are sweet as brinza placenta! And they speak fluent English and are both VERY smart!!! They have taken me in as a brand new toy or maybe a family pet!!!! Stefan is at my side keeping me on task every minute that I'm home (and not taking a nap). "Renell sit here and watch tv with me!" Renell here are your shoes" "Renell take a picture for your father" ..... because I was telling him my dad builds houses and I wanted to get a picture of the bathroom ceiling before they put tiles on it..." "Renell.. time to take a shower!!!! " (ugh shower they call it... plastic tub for a sponge bath...) Stefan always gets the hot water for me... The good news is that the village that I am in (pronounced Milleshtee meech) has a new initiative to get water to everyone's home. Sergiu is working hard and has remodeled the bathroom with new ceramic tile, pedestal sink and NEW TOAlata!!!!! We won't be able to use if for a month or two, though. So for now when I wake up first thing in the morning and have to pee... it is out to the backyard outhouse where I rouse the chickens and the rabbits that are currently being fattened for dining... not really liking that yet very very very smelly!

When Rodica and I try to communicate we usually quickly reach an impasse and it has been a joke that she calls ..... "stefan" and he comes running to help! Last night I asked him what the weather will be tomorrow so I knew what to wear - Stefan looked at me like I was crazy and said "When you wake up you open the door and look out and then you will know!"

Elena told me that she has been wanting a volunteer for many years as her friends have had one, but there is a waiting list. They were so excited to get the opportunity but she wanted a boy and not an older lady... she said now that she knows me I am not the old woman she was thinking and my personality is just like "Daniel" the boy who she was thinking of that lived at her friends house and she already loves me. She gave up her room for me and it is Foarte Bune. (Very good@) That is all I say in Romanian so far!

Speaking of that.. today is my birthday! My family brought in two balloons and a cake with one candle (foarte buna) and they sang happy birthday in English and gave me a clock for my room! Some of the volunteers in Milesti Mici want to try to find a bar to go to tonight to celebrate. So it comes and goes... I have been having a hard time getting to sleep... listening to music, reading and practicing Romanian conversation in my head. I am enjoying my time in my room, but Stefan and Elena miss me... pretty soon the novelty will wear off!

The very good news is that education is important here... seems it is a leftover attitude from the soviet era - but most students need to leave the country to get employment.

Today was my "first day of school" and I walked to the bus stop all by myself!!! In many ways it is like living life all over again! I met two big goats on the way to the bus and was just hoping they wouldn't smell my americanca and butt me or something. WhenI mentioned the goats to another volunteer, they did what they always do.... laugh at my pronunciation!!! Goat....ha ha ha!!! They give me crap about being from Minn neh SO ta 'cause they think my accent is soooo pronounced!

Well... I think that is it for now... I am not especially fond of the food, but it is good, just a little different and my stomach is rather picky. I still have tootsie rolls and licorice left, so all is well! I had a great mushroom salad at a birthday party last night. Always serve tomatoes and bread - the family gatherings remind me of the Iron Range so I feel right at home! The same food is served over and over until it's gone... everything is conserved here. Miss you and would love to hear from you!! OH my address: This is PC Headquarters in the capital.. I will be there often so send mail!!!!!

Renell Pettinelli PCT
Corpul Pacii
Stre. Grigore Ureche 12
2001 Chisinau
Republica Moldova

Here is how you call me the country...remember the time is 7 hours later here.

011 373 268 plus 5 digit number

5 digit number is 68 -7 -85 for my home...
If you call me and they don't understand ask for Steven!!!

2006-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today is August 1st and I have just set up my blog spot preparing for my upcoming adventure to Moldova.