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Hello again friends! So, a lot has happened recently here in Moldova (for me at least). On August 16, 2007 I was officially ‘sworn-in’ as a Peace Corps Volunteer. (for those of you keeping track, that means my 2 years of service have officially began).
In preparations for the swearing-in ceremony, the PC staff organized some singing and dancing lessons for those of us interested. At swearing-in, those people would then perform what they rehearsed. Well, as many of you know, I can’t sing, so I decided to do the dance lessons. The dances we learned were traditional Moldovan folk dances. (our accompanist played an accordion). The lessons were quite fun! We all had dance partners and practiced 3-5 times a week for the last 4 weeks of training.
Well, when it came down to it, they could only have 4 couples in the dance for the actual swearing-in…and not surprisingly, some of the cuts were based on who would be most likely to fit into the costumes. It kinda stinks that I wasn’t able to dance for the swearing-in, but I understand the reason.
Along with our training coming to a close, I have had to say good-bye to my host family that I have come to know and care for very much. It kinda stinks to have to say good-bye, but I will keep in touch with them. In fact, my host sister is getting married in 1 month, so I will see them at the end of September.
So, the last few days I was at their home, I had to pack up all my stuff. OMG – I can’t believe how much crap I have accumulated!!! When I left the States, I had 2 checked pieces of luggage, a back pack and computer bag. Granted, when I left my PST host family’s home, I didn’t do the greatest job of packing, but still…. I had all the luggage I came with plus: 2 large ‘pungas’ (woven sacks that are about 2”x2”x1”), my laundry hamper full of stuff, and two boxes of more stuff, and a guitar I bought from a PCV whom left for home already.
Some of this stuff was sent to me by friends and family back home. (Thank you all again!!!) However, most of it was stuff from PC. 1 entire punga was full of just PC books and resources. I also had my water distiller, britta filter, etc. When we got to Chisinau (for swearing-in) we got more stuff: a space heater and fire extinguisher.
Sorry for the tangent…
Anyway, the last few days at my host family’s home were kinda bittersweet. I was excited to get started with my actual service, but sad to be leaving them. The last day I was there we took some great photos. I’ll send them out to you all in an email (for some reason I can’t seem to post photos here). We had some awesome Moldovan food and lost of wine. (Have I mentioned the wine before???!!!)
I am at my new site. Its close to the capital…only about 1 hour away in a rutieria. I am living with a very nice couple. My host mom is Natasa and my host dad is Vasile. They have 2 grown kids who both live and work in Italy. They have hosted another volunteer a few years ago, so they already have an idea of how weird and crazy we can be.
My living arrangements are quite nice. Although I am living with a host family, I have my own separate space called a “casa mica” (or small house). It is really the nicest living arrangement I have seen for any PCV (and other PCVs have said the same). I have a bed room, living room/kitchen area (but without a stove or oven), and my own bathroom. Unfortunately, there has been a very serious drought this summer in Moldova, so in this city, they have limited the hours that water is available. At the moment, we have water for 4 hours a day…yikes! So, I have been using the quazi-outdoor shower. It’s enclosed (don’t worry). There is a water bucket on the roof with a knob inside to allow the water to be turned-on. The water in the bucket is heated by the sun, so by 11am it is a nice temperature. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it is also the toilet. Yeah…there is a ceramic “squattie pottie” in the floor of this “outdoor shower room” so it sometimes smells like piss.
To make this situation even more frustrating…it is really hot here. This is the 3rd really bad heat wave this summer…and with limited running water, it is hard to stay cool (remember – there is practically no AC in the entire country). According to their records, this is the hottest summer in over 100 years, and Moldova is the hottest place in all of Europe this summer.
As you may know, my ‘job’ here is to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL) in high school. I have a partner whom is very kind (she is also an English teacher). We had a meeting on Monday with all the teachers at the school. It was nice to meet my collegues. I definitely think that I am very spoiled b/c not only are there 2 English teachers at my school, my director/principle speaks English as does one of the French teachers and one of the Romanian teachers. My school has had 5 PCV TEFLs teaching at in the past, so they definitely know what to expect from Americans. I am counting on this to be an advantage.
After the meeting, I was suppose to find out which classes I will be teaching, however there was an argument between my partner and the other English teacher, so this has not yet been decided. Unfortunately the argument was completely in Romanian, and I didn’t understand all of it. So, I’ve been here for almost a week and have yet been unable to start prepping for my classes because I don’t know which classes I will be teaching.
Well, I hope that you find this interesting, or at least gave you a reason to stop doing your work and play around on the internet for a while. I’ll keep you all up-to-date on what is going on here.
I am so pleased and proud that your writting style is so wonderful and enjoyable to read. I only wish that you would make more entries.
Kay () - 29 08 07 - 10:27
What town are you in? I love reading your entries, it brings me back :)
Molly () - 31 08 07 - 12:51
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