So, it has been about 2 weeks since I wrote here and a lot has happened.  Let me run down a recap for you:

I forgot to mention that the day I met my host family, they came to the hotel we were staying at in the capital.  They had to arrange transportation to our villages and homes for the 10 weeks of training.  My host parents (without kids) drove their very old jetta to come and get me.  I was excited that they even had a car b/c most people can't afford one.  So, we were driving the 30 minutes to my village (which seemed to take forever that first day) and I got car sick.  Well, let me explain...Moldovans do not like to feel a breeze, or what they call a "current".  They believe that you will get sick from the fresh air that Americans crave.  So, we were driving along this incredibly bumpy road (I will never complain about potholes in America ever again) in a car with no shocks, and no fresh air or A/C.  I got car sick. 

Yeah, great first impression.  :(   I can only imagine what was running through their heads when this happened.  I couldn't tell them b/c I didn't know what to say.  Lovely, huh???

When I first got to the host family, I was a bit overwhelmed by the differences in my routine made by the cultural differences.  I now have a system for the wonderful bucket-baths (I converted a 2 liter Coke bottle into my shower-head and just dump the water over myself).  I have been told that the challenge of bathing here gets much more difficult in the winter with complications such as frozen pipes, bad heating in the homes (and changing your clothes in freezing temps), going out to the well to LITTERALLY 'fetch a pail of water', etc...  I'll keep you posted on these details as the weather changes.

As I stated earlier, the house has running water in the kitchen but not in the bathroom, thus we have an outhouse.  Now, to those of you who went to camp, this is not the type of outhouse with a seat or like in a porta-pottie.  It is literally a hole in the ground with 2 2x4s next to it to stand on.  Then you squat.  Accuracy can be an issue for some.  lol.  Thank goodness I haven't gotten really sick to the point that all you want to do is sit on the toilet and stay there all day b/c that would be highly uncomfortable to squat like that for an extended period of time.  (side note:  people over here actually DO squat like that all the time.  You see them squatting while waiting for a bus rather than sit on the ground.  I guess this might explain why Europeans are better soccer players than Americans with those thigh muscles).   This is common all over the world; however these are not my favorite things.  I have learned to 'hold it' for an incredible amount of time. 

So, about a week ago, I came home from school and went to use the outhouse.  I was shocked!!!  In the outhouse, there was a seat!  My host mom (?) took what appears to be parts from an old end-table and random pieces of wood and cut a hole in the top & bottom.  It's a bit odd, but I love it!  Simple pleasures, I guess.....

Last weekend, my group of volunteers (M-20) went to the capital with a group of similar volunteers who have been here for a year already (1/2 way through their service).  It was wonderful to have a bit of freedom.  We have been on a bit of 'lock down' since we got here.  For the first 3 weeks, we were not allowed to go anywhere without either a HCN (host country national aka host family member) or on Peace Corps direction. 

So, when we were in the capital, we ate at a Mexican restaurant called "EL PASO".  I had a quesadilla, margarita, and guacamole.  It was fabulous!!!  The quesadilla was not made with a corn or flour tortilla (don't ask me what it was, but I know what it wasn't) and it was quite literally dripping with grease...but it was fantastic. 

We also saw some common places to shop:

- the Piata - an open-air market

- central commercial - kinda like a big building with dozens of kiosks

- Metro - (we didn't go into this, but saw it) kinda like target/ walmart but requires a membership like Sams

On sunday, our power was out.  This really stunk b/c my family doesn't understand a lot about germ theory and keeping the fridge door closed when there is no power (yes mom, I did actually pay attention to you on this subject).  I am thankful that they do use the fridge (some families use it like a cupboard) but they don't cover any foods...and, they kept opening the door and by noon, all the chill was gone and the living room (there is no room for it in the kitchen, so it's in the living room) smelled like rotten meat.  Still does a bit too even though they cleaned up the fridge (a bit). 

Apparently, on saturday night there was a big wind storm with no rain (too bad b/c there is a bad drought here) and this wind storm knocked out the power to 1/2 of the village.  Their water pump for the kitchen and the well runs on electricity, so we had to get all the water for the day from the well.  I helped with this a bit and got a few buckets of water out myself.  To make it worse, the drought has lowered the water table a lot so you have to lower and lift the buckets extremely far.  Thank goodness my family has their own private well.  There are dozens of public wells that I pass on my way to school.  These people have to not only fetch their water from the well, but then haul it back to their house or apartment.  I definitely appreciate everything I have more than ever.