Gazing from my apartment balcony.. over to a country that might exist soon?

A nearby apartment before a storm starts.
Transnistria is just a half a mile behind this.

I love my apartment. Usually. Right now we have some sort of monsoon season that I thought never existed in a dry, wine/grape growing country and it's getting not so fun now. When I first arrived in 2012, there were wells drying up left and right and rumors were that people were killing off livestock early because it was to hard to keep them alive in a water-less village.

But...I don't think this summer will be the same. I have buckets full of water standing in my kitchen from a not so impermeable ceiling. I have been falling asleep to the 'plip 'plop of dripping water sounds coming from my kitchen. What's more alarming than that is that I don't live on the top floor. Second to the top. Whoever owns the apartment above me is one unlucky dude. With about 7 more weeks left of living here I'm not too concerned but would love it if the wetlands could hurry and dry up in my already outrageous kitchen and we can get back to hot, sunny Moldova.

Especially in the wintertime, I spent hours in my crappy little flat and can't count the times I've stared out over the valley next to my house towards the East, towards the river Nistru and towards Ribnita, Transnistria: a big city in a country that doesn't quiet exist. It's a chunk of land that was torn away from Moldova (and also formerly Ukraine land) in the early 90s as Moldova was receiving its independence and has been a big source of conflict, more as a headache now since the Transnistrian War that killed anywhere from 230-2,000 people in a month long battle in the summer of 1992 (how you can have that shitty of a casualty estimate is beyond me). If you want to read about it more in depth about the war check this article out: http://www.blackseanews.net/en/read/55025

Transnistrian Flag

Right now they are in the process of becoming annexed to Russia...Maybe?? Like another Crimea?? Currently they get reduced gas rates, barely paying anything for gas from Russia, have improved roads, schools, hospitals and other things all in thanks from mother Russia. I am curious if this will change if they will be annexed? Doubtful. If they were to become their own official country, without this mother and baby relationships with Russia, I don't think the free/cheap gas would still fly.

When I was in the cemetery in April for Memorial Easter, my brain couldn't translate anything coming through my ears because everyone was speaking Russian. Many people from this side of the river over the years moved over to Ribnita for cheaper, nicer apartments and a reduced cost of living ( especially not paying the over-inflated prices Moldovan's have to pay for gas). Its great for citizens and business owners in Rezina here too because they can driver over, fill their tanks up with cheap gas, buy less expensive food and even swim in a public pool or catch a Russian film on a big screen (I've never been because I'm not allowed to go over there.. boo). But my big question about this wave of Moldovans moving there for the "good life" is..will they stay there and become even more united with Russia or will they return back to Moldova after the annexation? Will it be harder for them to cross the border than what it is now with just photo identification and a slip of toilet-like-paper with some scribbles on it?

I love this little country but some things here drive me crazy! Starting with the politics.... This being said, I am safe, I'm not anywhere near the conflict zone in Ukraine.. It is on the complete other side of Ukraine from Moldova. The only rumbles from the east are from big dark thunderclouds, not Pro-Russians, just lots of thunderclouds. :)

Clouds outside where I work.
I think these abandoned soviet flag posts look like flying saucers.

Just a little springtime rant...

So by now you are probably assuming I have learned loads about myself after enduring a year and a half of Peace Corps fun in Moldova. As much as I can nod my head and say ya sure and the whole nine yards, I am still not sure exactly what I learned or developed besides I know now I am wayyy more Moldovan then when I arrived.

Here's a rant of some things that I love, more of things I find completely normal and some things I still find down right wrong. This idea came to me as I sit at work wearing my winter jacket, playing uninformed secretary and sipping on Kefir like the best of Russians.(for those of you that don't know this Russian dieters go-to snack click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir). Poftim my fellow readers.

-When I get back behind the wheel... Get ready for me to bring back the heads up maneuver where you flash/flicker signal with your headlights cars approaching because you know of a cop trap you just passed that could screw them over. I don't know one Moldovan who drives a car that doesn't do it. They may not be exemplary drivers but I applaud them for their "united we stand" approach to preventative speeding ticket practices.

-One good thing about the cops here is that they won't pull you over for the bs reason of touching the center line or outside line. Mainly because there generally isn't lines painted on roads or there are potholes to avoid but either way I am really happy to see that people don't have police down their throats or sniffing around because their tire hit an invisible, imaginary bomb detonator on the other side of the line. People are fairly relaxed drivers and take whatever part of the road they feel like here because there aren't a lot of drivers on the roads. I'm going to have to forget this idea when I go back to the states.. Middle of the road driving is a big no no.

- It is completely normal here to spread ketchup on a piece of bread and eat it like its going out of style and have more mayo than cheese on your pizza or salad.

-It is also completely normal to own and purchase stuffed animals as an adult. It's as if you would take away 99% of America's indoor pet population from their owners and handed them a big, fuzzy, muted stuffed animal to fill that animal void in their hearts. Stuffed animals have not done anything for me since I passed up the age of oh... maybe 10. And even at that point it had to be one really soft, cuddly pony for me to be impressed. These stuffed animals that collect dust in the corners of family rooms, dashboards of cars, ect look like they came out of a condemned Russian theme park and they just aren't the same as the real thing. Just not the same. Sniff, Carhartt (my dog), I miss you!

Say Woof!

-This leads into my next rant... There are dogs here but they do not live lives anything similar to American dogs (minus that one football player's fighting dogs and that sort of sad shit). Typically tied to a two foot chain that weighs at times as much as they do, they live and die as a useless door bell. These useless door bells will  inform anyone/thing in barking distance of people walking on the street or sidewalk near their house and often lunge at you with snarls that look like they took time to practice. If I'm walking on the street, I think its really stupid and annoying to be viciously snarled at by useless door bells because I am in no way interested in stepping foot on their invaluable slave owners property. Unfortunately it is unavoidable... unless I want to go for walks or runs in circles around apartment complexes where only stray dogs bask in the sunlight or sleep under parked cars.

He is a rare exception in Rezina. I love this big dog.

This is Bobby (Kennedy or Marley, it's debatable depending on if you ask me) and I don't think he will ever see life further than what his chain allows him.

-I still really enjoy "watering the plants" outside but as much experience I have had before Peace Corps peeing in woods in Maine, Colorado and Wisconsin, I can't for the life of me successfully use a "Turkish toilet" or in this case, a Moldovan toilet. Try as I might, the hole they give you to squat over is just never big enough to collect my stream. I assure you, you would rather use an outhouse because they usually design a toilet to sit on to you do your business then try and use a hole in the floor toilet like I have at work.

-It's perfectly normal to see a bedroom transform into a living room or dining room or food prep room or a childrens' play room over a typical day here. Space is tight in these Soviet block apartments and you would be surprised how efficiently these people can work with the space they are given. One of my friends has their bath tub in the kitchen (they don't have running water) that is usually seen with a old door on it that converts the tub into a kitchen counter top. For a person that can't stand to make her bed EVER, it baffles me that people daily pick up all the blankets and fold their bed back into a couch or chair before they go on with their day. I see myself doing little space saving things like that too but only when I have a bigger group of people (which is never) at my apartment will I transform my bed, yet alone make it.

This is an example of a living room, bedroom and party room wrapped into one. Also my "cousin" Roman enjoying the US State quarters to add to his unfinished collection sent by my super sweet mom. (:

-I love walking everywhere instead of driving. People know how to hold a few grocery bags in their hands and walk home from the local market and if you buy too much or get caught carrying too much, usually someone stops and helps you. Plus you run into way more friends walking than you do driving. One time on my way to the bus station a kid on a bike coming from the other direction saw me walking with my backpack and a bunch of bags in my hands as if I was carrying everything own stopped and asked if he could help. I turned down the offer but that gesture still lingers. I also really dig their public transport, something I think America really really lacks.

Unless you have a horse, then you should take your horse.

-Remember those places where double dipping is a sin in some households? Not here! Salt comes in a bowl on the table and if your grimy fingers are not dipping in it to grab a pinch, your used fork or half eaten cucumber is headed towards the pool of germs so its best to throw your caution to the wind if you have "germaphobe issues". I'm totally cool with it.

-Beer can come in up to big gallon size plastic bottles. Its gross beer. Which later after being drunk, turns into a way to transport house wine out of the big wooden barrels in people's basements along with any plastic water bottles they save up. Its awesome.. "Moldovan Recycling". I carried a 2.5 litre bottle of red house wine to Germany in my backpack last week.

-When I go to Chisinau and see tp-free waste baskets in bathrooms, I still get really excited that I get to flush toilet paper down the toilet. The whole act of flushing tp is somehow really satisfying.

-Something I'm not sure I've gotten comfortable with but I sure have accepted is all the skin in business meetings. It wasn't too long ago when I was at a JCI business club meeting for the first time with top officials and leaders in the community where girls dressed in skirts even I couldn't see myself wearing to a night club passed out the information to us and claimed they were "club secretaries". Although this photo below comes from Romania, I want you to get an idea what "business apparel" for women here typically looks like.

-One thing that I am happy to say I do not follow in Moldovan footsteps is their addiction to computer and cell phone games. And I'm not just talking about children here either. Occasionally I catch my partner at work going tap tap tap, glued to some form of Tetris game and I know a handful of people that are addicted to racking up points in some sort of cyber bliss.... to the point that I am sure they have no other spare-time hobbies outside of their internet games. It's sad.

Like I said it was a rant. Full of opinion. Full of me. Full of useless knowledge about Moldova I have been collecting in my head the past few months and selected  ones that seemed somehow amusing or significant. I have three more months to go... Who know what I will come up with next!

Happy Spring! Time for me to plug my fridge back in!

Introducing to you my new Vacuubroom 9000!

Sweeping in the New Year with my new 2-1 Vacuubroom 9000. I swept it away for a rockin' $1.20.

It's by far the best thing I've bought so far this year besides the extension cord to avoid the outlet that melted. Because the outlet melted I unplugged my fridge. Because I unplugged my fridge I constructed a "fridge" on my balcony. Because I did this I will now save more money on car insurance. Just Kidding- I will  however save some cha-ching from my really enormous and bountiful paycheck! Because I have now only one working wall outlet in my entire apartment I now run the new extension cord from one deluxe extension cord from my bedroom/dining room/???room to where I plug in my hot water heater. Because I now have a gap in my "bedroom's" door where the extension cord slips through to the hallway where the melted outlet for my water heater and fridge is, 

I am

slowly

loosing

my

mind.

And also my heat. 

Hence loosing my mind. 

Did I tell you already that I haven't had more than one space heater for heating my apartment all winter?? I will be blogging from a neighbor's apartment if my endangered, coveted and prized outlet blows because once that blows... my Titanic heat source in the dead of winter goes down with it. 

Don't worry ma' I've got it covered.

Happy Happy New Year!

Before I forget, I want to write down some things I have been really, really grateful and not so grateful for in my 2013.

Top 5 things Wonderfuls

1. I have stayed safe and healthy (minus some sanity lost) through an entire year of living on my own in Eastern Europe. If you out there still have stereotypes about how dangerous Eastern Europe is and think my life is from a movie like "Taken" or "Hostel" you are terribly mistaken and I hope I can woo you into a more positive outlook on this little, dirty, corrupt-yet-friendly former Soviet country of mine. 

2. I have managed to help out the community I live in and help others, no matter how small and insignificant I may think they are. Whether it was selling jewelry at Gustar with a few teenagers to raise money for youth projects or spreading candy or cookie love from America and my parents' great care packages I hope people here look back and say I was a pretty cool chicka. 

3. I am now living proof that Americans can learn a foreign language. Hoorayyyy for that! Even if it is a language used in less than 1% of the world's population. :/ I hope to be living proof that you can leave this country without an alcohol addiction or Cirrhosis of the liver. So far, so good.

4. I am blessed with an amazing team of supporters back in the states and really from around the world. I needed money donated? I got it. My partner's husband wants a decent trumpet? Ok, no problem. Its a great relief knowing I have people behind me and thinking of me. I am one lucky girl. I don't say that out loud enough. 

5. I traveled to Romania (twice), Hungary, Austria and Italy. For next to nothing. How cool is that? Next up on my list for my first trip in 2014: The Republic of Georgia! Yes... Go ahead. Look it up. It's a really really cool country. NOT state.

Top 5 not so Wonderfuls

1. What I think and what my work partner thinks are 99.99% of the time are wickedly different. This is one of those flashy, obvious, in your face examples of the great differences between how Americans think and how people from the former Soviet Union think but man does it make my life and my work here hard. I also wish things would just work like volunteering, fundraising, thinking outside the box.... thinking  creatively in general....

2. I witnessed corruption in the schools. Think that sounds bad just as it is? Wait until I tell you the story. 

Once upon a time an oblivious girl came along and spoke English really really well. A teacher in her community reached out and asked if she could help tutor. She said, "Ok..." and away they went. One morning the teacher told her to meet in town. From there they went to an apartment the morning of oh, lets say the SAT's of Moldova or something really big and important for graduating high schoolers to get into university. The teacher was corresponding with more than one student via text message and even phone conversation to oh, lets say, WRITE THE ENTIRE TEST. The oblivious girl wanted to pull her hair out when she saw this. And still does when she thinks about the horrible teachers, Ministry of Education and the CORRUPTION that is consumed on a daily basis.  

The end.

3. After I moved from my first host families house where I learned Romanian and hung out for two months straight I moved in with a grandmother and her grandchild, an 8 year old boy. This, unfortunately is a fine example of the "Absent generation" problem in Moldova- where parents jump ship and find jobs in Europe to "support" their children or family at home because they can't find work at home. This aside, I wasn't in love with them like I was with my first host family. 

For starters, I don't know if it was a strategic trick or not but my host mom/grandmother would always tell me at the dinner table that I didn't speak Romanian well and that the last volunteer she knew spoke much better. I wanted to tell her she didn't know how to cook in return. Regular fits of crying and rage at the dinner table from the brat child, eating plain oatmeal or pasta noodles with butter one too many times, listening to toddlers sing on the radio (watch this to believe me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny6598xeurE) all while living in a three room plus kitchen apartment set me over the edge. 

One day in December last year where she called me and insisted that I get home right away for dinner. Oh boy this sounds promising! Well I was late so I rushed home in a ice-shuffle-run like way to cut time I had spent doing whatever it was instead of walking home right away. Right as I turned the corner to enter the soviet bloc of mine, I ate shit. Total wipe-out. I clearly remember as I was standing up and brushing the hellish bits of Moldovan snow and ice off me I thought to myself, I hope this dinner is good! It will make up for this spill! What would you know.. As my luck would have it, I ended up eating a nice bowl... of.... oatmeal.

4. I wish I could be the perfect role model and tell you about all the work I have been doing recently but, if you haven't heard, Moldovans do f-all whenever there is a holiday around. From about the 23rd of December until about yesterday I followed suit and soaked in my last Christmastime in Moldova. Everything was pretty typical, I sang in a few choir concerts, ate a few hundred pounds of food, drank until my Russian improved and spent time with some of the best people I know here but man, I am starting to think there are wayyyy too many holidays. I like holidays, don't get me wrong. I'm not part Grinch in any means but you must understand just how it goes down here. 

We've got Christmas X 2, New Year's X 2 (and the second one really is crap and pointless, no one wants to celebrate the New Year on the 14th of January), a bunch of Easter stuff, Women's day, city saint days (sometimes two depending on how many churches you have and how many saints they've got stuffed in them), random religious holidays that I don't really have a great conception of and lastly I'll call it the "Pick your saint day." This holiday is ongoing. It never ends. I would say its as bad as the tune, "This is the song that never ends." 

Where in the states we have a gratifying birthday once a year to think about how cool we are and the same with anniversaries, they have multiple. They are so"cool", so (un)lucky. Let me explain why. In Moldova people don't go naming their kids after pieces of fruit, action heroes or Hollywood celebs. The celebrities they name their kids after are saints, old, old saints. Every time the saint has a day declared their own, anyone with that name or updated version of their name gets to have a day of their own too. Your name is Ion? Saint John's Day was a week ago. Your name is Mihai, Mihela, Mike, Michelle, Misa you get a party sometime in the fall. This makes a year round food-binge cycle where the celebrator invites friends and family to "honor" "their" saint and then the guests do so in return when its their day because lets face it, why name your kid something different that doesn't have his or her own saint day. That would be ludicrous! 

The same goes with getting married. You have your anniversary date then you also (I would like to think pick out of a hat) select a saint that protects your marriage or family or whatever. I don't have so much grief with the marriage guardian and protector but the name thing drives me nuts. I feel its super unnecessary, adds one more day of egotistical, sometimes drunk pricks, a usually wasted day of work, and curbs creativity when selecting a name to give a baby. I can spit out 5 names, male or female if I don't remember someones name and probably be ok. 

I apologize for this random rant. If this is clear as mud, please let me know and we can chat more on it! :)

5. Last but not least... 

I am really not used to how impolite people are! People here are really, really hospitable but don't expect a thank you from adult or child for holding a door open or other small acts of kindness. Its more of a take and run sort of appreciation. I only know of my landlord who works at a local kindergarten that has taught her grandchildren how to say thank you after receiving a cookie, juice, whatever. This also is expressed through how they communicate with one another. In English or Romanian the way they say "no" or "what are you thinking" always comes off to me very harsh. Its something I don't take offense when it's directed towards me but it definitely took a few months in 2013 to get used to at work. I do however find it funny that you can professionally, delicately and formally say word for word to, "shut your mouth."

Next up in blogging.. I think I need to tell a few more stories that have happened lately and potentially point out how and to what things I have adapted to in the last year and some months here!!!

Oh the weather outside is.. terrible.

I know a lot of you are wondering where the hell I went or what in the world I am up to. I promise you it has been nothing but a lot of work and a lot of fun the past few months. The first year here was full of idle time, this year it is full of work, hosting people and tightening connections in my community.

My favorite festival in Moldova, the National Moldovan Wine Festival held every October came and went faster than what I want to admit. Last year it was two sunny days of drinking wine samples with other volunteers and endless hours of dancing the Moldovan Hora, an easy, traditional circular dance that you can manage to do no matter how intoxicated you may be. This year I hosted a friend from London over the Wine Festival and we got into our own shenanigans thanks to my much improved Romanian language skills.

Not everything great in life is free, but cheap, delicious champagne is close enough!

One conversation after another just sitting with newly met Moldovans at the fest led to free bottles of wine and sushi. SUSHI! FREE! If there is one thing I miss in America are the endless amounts of semi-affordable sushi spots so meeting a Sushi restaurant owner in Chisinau over the wine fest just about made my year.

Besides Moldova’s version of Oktober Fest I had to play ambassador and show off my favorite parts of Chisinau including the notorious second hand piata that I frequent far too often when I get free time in the big city. My friend landed a Russian gas mask for about 5 bucks and I bought Russian children’s books to help me with my Russian studies (which are very, very slow). This place is a goldmine for Stalin, Lenin, communist era enthusiasts and collectors of all things hammer and sickle-ish.

The open air flea market/second hand piata where I bought this fox had last year!

After retreating from Chisinau, the place that guzzles up my itty bitty living stipend faster than an Irishman can drink a bottle of whiskey we went exploring. And exploring we sure did.

I found us a Soviet Bunker! Well, a what would have been bunker.

To inch its way closer to Europe, the Soviet Union in the 80s started building this massive complex that in my mind looks similar to something aliens would set up after landing in this land of alcoholics. Unfortunately, or really rather fortunately their lack of overall budgeting skills led them to scraping the project when they (finally) left this region in the early 90s. I heard the locals went cookoo for cocoa puffs when they left and stripped everything useful that they could; hence the very barren look that is left there today.

The bunker goes 5 stories UNDERGROUND. We managed to get to the third level. The fourth floor is really wet and mucky and the fifth is completely flooded (I think they hit a natural spring. Whoops.

Beyond the alien bunker are the remnants of would be officer buildings, barracks, and a marble military parade and celebration center that are now overgrown with shrubs, cow poop and empty booze bottles. I want to say we met squatters as well at the unfinished barracks but I don’t want to label two men sitting and drinking next to their horse, cart and heard of rabid guard dogs. They told us there was nothing interesting to see her but I found the first floor of the empty building fascinating and innovating how (maybe they) turned it into a little storage area for hay and other farmy things for their operations whatever they may be.

Nothing to see here, yea right. There's a pony!

When I wasn't playing host I have been doing some really great things with my time.

I organized a river cleanup during the time that the International Ocean Conservancy based out of the States did a worldwide water cleanup campaign. Over 30 kids came and helped on a sunny Saturday and the news posted this to prove it! I have a brief clip in this Romanian news release- I swear its not just the cute blonde American boy speaking with his funny accent.

Following that I whipped up a Halloween Party to raise money for our unfunded youth club. Everyone seemed to have a fun time between the dancing in fog laced dance floor, pinata bashings, mummy contest, best dressed contests, a Halloween photo booth and other activities. Unfortunately some assholes busted a window on the floor below the disco room where it was being held and I had to pay to replace the huge glass window with the profits we raised. A good idea, a great event with a pathetic, disappointing ending. 

There was a significant haze from the fog machine

Future high fashion models

Helped plant over 200 baby trees in Rezina.

The blonde women is a new PCV at my site with her husband.

Rasied money for Hospice Angelus, a charity hospital organization in Chisinau by playing some footy. We were the only team with girls on it and we kicked some major but winning as many games as we lost and tied once. This is the first year in Peace Corps history that we ever scored a goal. Yes, my big head is finally getting smaller after that boast of ego and no, I did not score one of those goals but I want to think I helped make them possible.

Led a group of 6 Moldovan students from around the country through a weekend competition in Chisinau that went through how to write a business plan off the simple Lean Business Canvas Model- something that has the business world recently by storm. It was an awesome event with money raised from donations across the US thanks to an amazing business volunteer I'm lucky enough to call a colleague. I am so happy I was able to be a facilitator in this event. I fell in love with the energy and optimism in my group of kids and their interest in learning about business development. Even though my team didn't win they were really positive and I think they got a lot out of this event.

Started working with two groups of students in Ribnita (Transnistria) on a big entrepreneurial competition that will finish in February. Teams of 2-4 students in Moldova and Kenya (I'm unsure of the connection but hey!) will pitch a 5 minute presentation in front of a panel of judges with the chance to win big $$$ to put towards school tuition or start up costs for their business plan and finalists will fly to America for the final round. Again, its a lot of teaching the Lean Business Canvas Model and getting kids to think outside their comfort zones. I'm thinking flashbacks of Peace Corps in my dreams after life here in Moldova will include one too many Business Models but I'm ok with that!

The other PCV at my site talking business

Helped on a discussion panel about volunteering at a nearby city over Thanksgiving weekend. The city with the help of Peace Corps volunteers was teaching all about volunteering and other topics to students in the area over a course of a few weekends. After that I got to eat a fried turkey and all the other delectables that go with out glorious mouth-watering holiday. Yes I made amazing Pecan Pie and yes I ate amaaaazzinng Homemade green bean casserole. The Turkey was not my highlight besides watching how the boys rigged together a safe outdoor fryer (one majored in Engineering from GA Tech which explains everything) but it was great getting together with a good 25 other volunteers over Thanksgiving weekend. If you ever had fears I wasn't celebrating my American Holidays, there are no needs to fear anymore after the pictures added here!

Promoted Peace Corps and how we can be an asset to librarians in villages across Moldova through a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project fair in Moldova called NovaTeca. More chit chatting in Romanian. All day. 

Tried to raise money through yet another money generating opportunity at the International Women's Club of Moldova's Winter Charity Bazaar. All the embassies in Moldova sell cultural food and craft items as well as other big non-profits in a event that raises money for financing projects around Moldova. I made White Chocolate Popcorn sold in cups decorated with children's winter-themed drawings and sold jewelry some teenager girls and myself created over the last three weeks. Poor traffic flow, a crowded booth with too much other stuff going on made it hard to sell anything and we didn't raise a ton of money but its always a fun event to go to. I did manage to pick up some presents for people and Redfeather snowshoes (Merry Christmas to me!) made in LaCrosse, Wisconsin (started in Leadville, CO) for about 15 bucks at the Salvation Army booth. Yey for snowshoes! They will come in handy through my winter vacation in Georgia (think country not state!). 

And last but not least, I was able to raise all the money for my choir project thanks to you in the States! It was exciting to tell them about the great news and we are moving forward on purchasing dresses and matching bow-ties. Thanks a million again to everyone that helped us out! Thank you cards are on their way over!

The Rezina choir singing at a national classical choir festival in Chisinau in October

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!! Enjoy your modern appliances, grocery stores and adequately heated rooms for me! (:

September 2nd....IT'S SEPTEMBER!?

Today marks both a disturbing and enjoyable day here in Moldova. For me its just another day of work but across the country Moldovan natives grumble at the excitement over the existent-yet-nonexistent border of Transnistria while simultaneously celebrating the fact that today marks the beginning of the school year and havoc-reeking summer kids finally disperse into semi-organized school programs. I'm secretly excited as well because this means I don't have to trek around town hunting kids in a soviet block safari when I want to ask them about project ideas. All kiddos are now all neatly organized into classrooms sorta. Yes! I say sorta  because class schedules are still not official and they will probably write and re-write the goofy Moldovan school schedules for the rest of the month until everybody is satisfied.

September 2nd marks the "Independence Day" for "Transnistria" also known as the "PDR: The Pridnistrovian Moldavian Republic." Happy kinda-23rd-birthday, Transnistria. Not. Protesters today are rioting in Chisinau, the capitol of Moldova as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister (Vice President guy?) in their mind, basicaly showed up to snicker and rub Moldovan citizens the wrong way today before heading over to to booze up and boogy down in Transnistria, where he helped lead the Transnistrian (Russian) Army in the War of Transnistria as an Army Major 21 years ago. And on top of that Russia keeps poking around saying they will raise gas prices and give Moldova hell because of the new pipeline being installed between Romania and a city in western Moldova. It's no wonder Moldovans have a drinking problem.

Onto lighter things... Since when has it been September? How did it get here? Why am I wearing a sweater!?

I have to flip through my camera just to remind myself of alllllllll that has happened since I've last blogged/blabbed about life. This is going to be a multiple blog sesh so bear with me and you will get more. I want to give you quantity and quality all at once instead short, dull bits all mushed together.


This is where I left off:

Where I celebrated my birthday. I wanted this dog. It was so friendly and we found it in the middle of nowhere! It followed us into the upstairs of the kindergarten where we slept. Whoops.

For more Turul Moldovei adventure photos visit the link "Turul Moldovei" ----->

The day after the 5 day walk around Moldova ended I made my way onto a tour bus drenched from a wicked downpour that happened as I was in transit through Chisinau and headed to Romania with 30+ Monastery-hungry Moldovans. 4 days of fun-filled Monastery hopping through Romania. That was the idea. It took what was originally only 3 hours to get to the border about 7 hours because well, the drivers and the bus weren't the sharpest tools in the shed. The trip ended up being great. I saw amazing sites across Romania including the religiousish celebration remembering (Saint) Stefan Cel Mare at the site where he is buried, bonded with people in my community and learned so much more about Romania.

After that trip I was genuinely jealous of former Peace Corps Romania volunteers that just wrapped up work there in 2012. Because it was so awesome I am going to pick my brain at a later date and write a blog exclusively on the trip. We had such an impressive guy guiding us along the way I have to give him justice by documenting the route and stops we took to really show you how much I did, for such little money, on such a short trip.

Less than three weeks later I met my parents at Chișinău's airport. How surreal. With beautiful Moldovan weather, my great host family and friends I think my parents were able to see a great side of my current country of residence in only a matter of 4 days.

I made sure to organize a little party outside my apartment and welcomed just about everyone I knew in town to come and meet my parents and help me celebrate the birthday of mine they missed as I was on the walk across Moldova. In the states it's no big deal to miss a birthday but here, it will not go unnoticed if you fail to show up to your birthday responsibilities. If you want to integrate, you have to,,,,,,you neeeeed to,,,,, drop a bunch of money and pass out food and drink to all your friends and co-workers for the entire day. Usually when it is someone's birthday where I work, my feet don't walk home the way they normally do. Next year I won't be so lucky with my parents in town to help me purchase 15 kilograms of freshly killed pork neck and about that weight in fresh veggies and fruit but I am banking on endless bottles of almost-end-of-the-year-housewine from my neighbors like I did this year.

After hours of translating, eating here and there, an impromptu visit from some members of my choir, singing songs for my parents and whatnot, the only thing I can complain about is that the local kids took my ladder golf balls. I schemed and plotted like an engineer with a local construction store owner and friend to create the game and was excited to introduce it and play it at my little party.

Well, the women were not at all interested in anything involving moving away from their perches and I became emerged in small talk as the ladder golf sat for the kids to play around with. What I forgot about Moldovan kids is that when they see something not theirs, something that may seem small and unimportant becomes ever so fascinating to the point they've talked themselves into taking it. Peace Corps volunteers have warned me before watching Uno cards vanish from decks and I caught a girl (more like another girl ratted her out) stuffing a scarf of mine into her backpack at my one time horrific substitute teaching of 2nd graders. One time a girl liked this tree picture I drew at a youth center so much she walked out with it as I ducked out for a minute and went down to a store. I saw her clutching it as a newly prized possession on the street and we exchanged a strange Clint Eastwood squints. The point being is that I have a 300 lei set of ladder golf without the golf ball thingies. There are no golf balls in Moldova. Fun fact.

I have to sleep! Till next week,

Kate

I got peed on by a toad! Then I went for a walk

This was going to be/should be my post from last week. I started to write, stopped, then went on to doing other things. One of the things being packing up myself for two weeks of travel.

I am enjoying 5 days of walking from one city in Moldova to the capital, Chisinau. Some PCVs organized a "Walk Across Moldova" where volunteers can walk from either the north or the south and promote volunteerism in each of the villages/cities we crash in. Right before the walk I picked up 3rd place in my first ever 5km and managed to win 100 lei... Everyday is full of surprises!

Today I picked up trash, yesterday we met Moldovans and talked about volunteering and played games with them and the day before we weeded and hung out with the mayor of the town for my birthday. From the 30th to the 4th of July I am traveling a historical part of Romania (once part of old Moldova) and will explore 10 famous monasteries in four days. If I still remember English by the end of it I promise to write a big fat blog all about it.

Check out www.pcmoldova.org to follow what we are up to right now... There are only a few days left but if you go to the right hand side of the page you will see Turul.. These are blogs we are writing on our trip!


Catch you all on the flipside! Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes!!!



What I started to write last week... Ignore this part if you hate reading someone's unorganized thoughts.

Just now I got peed on by a toad. Prior this event I sucessfully made two pizzas and a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my neighbors in celebration of a newborn baby girl (who's name I've already forgotten) on my little soviet block.

Yesterday I hiked atleast 10km in search of the oldest monastery in Moldova from a campsite overlooking a beautiful valley with horses and goats and a secret waterfall. I went to a picnic to raise funds for a French-Moldovan based organization in a nearby village and dragged three other volunteers with me and made them sleep outside with me.

The day befpre that I made homemade pizza for the first time with my own home grown oregano and basil and finished it off with some of the best wine in Moldova I bought for a steal after visiting the vineyard with a group of Moldovans that afternoon. I also successfully started on of my projects financed by the RPCV's of Central Missouri by bringing together my business incubator residents and the residents of another business incubator in Moldova. Go Peace Corps. Thanks for the yummy wine.

Jealous yet?

I am.

Although this month makes me sing the version of I'm So Glad by Cream as I wake up everyday, I breezed through the end of April after my vacation in Hungary and May to the point I barely remember them happening. Before I know it I'll be jobless, Moldovanless and broke back in the United States. Hmpf. Disturbing thoughts.

Hungary and the Laziness Thereafter

"Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking."

Thank you Albert Einstein, you always know what to say don't you.

This accurately sums me up right now/this past two weeks/after vacation. To prove how accurate it is I'm going to admit the most effort I put into finding the advice from Einstein was google "lazy quotes" and the first site with one of the first quotes on the matter won me over, well hell, I don't really have a strong will to find something better and it sounded fitting. Maybe after my mystery novel I'll play the villain and hide my kindle for a while and quickly finish up watching Downton Abbey, the strangely addicting English PBS show I have absorbed myself into.

Me at Memento Park, home to all once important
Communist Statues in Hungary. Very interesting!

So much and so little has happened since my last archived post. I can tell you a bunch of what happened at the same time tell you how little I did anything after a ten day recess in Hungary. I can't explain the Easter activities that happened after the vacation in this posting. Its too much culture in one blog post the server might explode. So it's not exactly a funk, I'm happy to the point of giddy that spring has produced the first harvest of cherries and strawberries to consume and I have a long list of awesomeness I can add to my recent events but anything workwise was not at all present.

My vacation in Hungary was everything you would expect a really nice vacation in Western Europe (ish) to be. Belgian beer following delicious dinners, endless exploring of Budapest, including its Turkish Thermal baths, the opera house, Margaret Island, the snazziest cafe in the world and the other typical things you do and see in a big European city. The beautiful Hungarian Parliament building stood directly across from our hotel on the Danube where I caught up on what a free continental breakfast tastes like and I came across a fly fishing shop and a few second hand shops I needed to... explore. I was as happy as a hippo in a mud spa. And Chinese! Food that is. How could I forget!? We searched high and low for a place and nearing 2 hours of walking around at night before I finally asked a guy on the street if he 1) knew English and 2) could point us towards a Chinese place. It might just be the best meal I had and the free hot and spicy soup is something I should never forget (sorry traditional Hungarian soup Goulash, you came in second). Köszönjük Hungary!

After three nights in Budapest the rest of the trip was spent near Lake Balaton, a big lake surrounded by little lakes and castles and once active volcanoes but now home to summer vacation are like Wisconsin minus the mid-evil stuff but still all the cheese and sausage desired. We stayed a kilometer away from Lake Heviz (pronounced Hay-veez), the second largest thermal lake in the world. It was like swimming around in a retirement home's luke-warm pond. The weather was so hot and wonderful I actually burned when we were in Budapest and only rained once as we checked out some old castle ruins over looking Lake Balaton. Maybe it was good I held off on writing about the tannful trip as I remember Wisconsin was still mid Ice Age in April and early May...correct? It was also the time of the Marathon Bombing. I haven't watched so much tv my entire time in Peace Corps as I did that week as the craziness went on in America.

We stayed in a club resort thing that had a horse stables and clay tennis courts. Time flew by between horseback riding (duh), a day long bike ride in pursuit of a place to fish, castle hunting, playing tennis, eating everything we wanted, and glorious golfing day right on the lake at the "Imperial Lake Balaton Golf Course" that I hope you interpreted as I did with a nose in the air and snobbish tendencies. It. Was. Awesome.

Before I left for Hungary I made sure I knew how to say please and thank you in Hungarian. It's a cool language that I enjoyed trying to use. If you don't do this before traveling to far and distant lands, I recommend you start to. I felt like the tiney-weeney extra communication skills went a long way. I'll brief you on the p's and q's if and when you come to Moldova no problem but sadly don't be surprised like I was when I found out they don't say thank you when you hold doors open for them! Damn communistic times mistrust :(

          Köszönjük! (Kur-sur-nem)= Thank You!       Szívesen! (See-vah-shen)= You're Welcome!
          Kérem (Kee-re-em)= Please        Igen (E-gen)= Yes        Nem (Nem)= No
          Szia! (See-ya) Hello! <--- The strangest thing for your brain to translate because it sounds like they are saying good-bye to you before you even begin!

The Matthias Church of the Buda Castle district dating back to the 14th Century.

The Hungarian State Opera House

The notorious Hungarian Parliament Building

More to come!