New Photos!

The Many Meanings of Worker Bees

Buna Ziua!

Today marks my fourth day in the office and almost a week out of training. Crazy how time flies!

Last Friday I swore in with fellow ARBD (businessy) and COD (community developmenty) PC volunteers. What I thought was going to be a long day was, but it was great, really great. It started off with coffee, ice cream and  Bailey's Irish Cream for breakfast. Whatever events followed by that as your breakfast should and will be awesome. Hands down. I had to laugh as I came down stairs and saw that on the table waiting for me. It was raining of course in the morning as we were all dressed up in our outfits packing suitcase upon suitcase into the private Ruteara (minibus/ Mercedes Spirit van) but Moldovan optimism believes rain on an important day means luck for those involved. So far so true.

The US Ambassador for Moldova gave a nice speech along with our Country Director and two volunteers, our program directors announced with a slide show where we are from in the US and where we were going to work, we stood for the Star Spangled Banner and the National Anthem for Moldova and most importantly, raised our right hands and were sworn into service. Not to boast about how cool it was to do so but... but...Peace Corps volunteers say the same oath the President of the US does when he swears into office. :) Pretty sweet.

Following the ceremony and a discussion about housing with our host family we dispersed like little worker bees and fluttered away to our future sites. I think the longest anyone had to drive was 5 hours. Not bad. My drive was about an hour and a half thanks to my work partner's driving abilities even with the occasional stop to check under the hood. By bus it takes about 2 and a half hours. The day continued to be great when we got to the apartment and Tatiana's (my new host mom) friends greeted us at the doorway with the traditional welcoming braided bread and salt and a table full of food ready to be devoured. Its such a cool feeling to be completely welcomed and emerged in a culture different than your own.

Mama gazda, Tatiana is an absolute sweetheart. She is a busy little nurse in the Romanian school in town and the special needs (boarding?) school. I'm pretty sure she never stops running around. She organizes "monastery excursions," sings in the choir and probably knows just about everyone in town. During the school year her daughter's son, Adele comes to live with her and attends school in Rezina while his parents work in Italy. Such a crazy concept but this isn't the only example of missing parents and a missing generation in Moldova. He is proving to be a great little host brother as well and I think he think's I'm not to bad either. (:

And just when I had about enough to say in this long winded blog, a neighbor dude walks into the apartment with a jar of bees and really really long tweezers.

I guess Tatiana hired him to do what I would say is the craziest thing I have seen yet in Moldova. Tatiana sat with her back to him and he picked out one bee at a time with the tweezers and had the bee sting her on four parallel parts of her lower and upper back. Some people get chiropractic work, some massages, some use Cannabis others depend on pharmaceutical drugs and in this case, Apis mellifera (honey bees) to relieve chronic pain. Since I dig acupuncture and understand it to a point (haha get it, a point) it doesn't completely surprise me that Tatiana is using it for treatment of back pain and chronic headaches but it sure was cool to watch. An article online suggests the sting provides the stimulation needed to activate the adrenal gland and start producing Cortisol. If you want to learn more google apitherapy.

Well that's all for today, I didn't want to talk a ton about Rezina or my job yet because I just don't know that much about either. So far both are great, I like it here and have no complaints! Well one complaint, ironing. Who thought that with joining the Peace Corps I would have to start ironing my clothes?!? Mama gazda gives me the up and down eye to make sure I look completely fit to go out of the apartment if not......):

:)

Kate


"If it doesn't challenge you, It doesn't change you"


Here are photos people took at the swearing in ceremony. I also added a bunch of photos in the "Photos" link under Moldova.

This week I've trying to think of what I need to write about. I can't say nothing has happened, I'm not that lame but I really have a semi-lazy brain right now. Recently I wiped my butt with Russian literature, drank some more house wine, went bowling (crazy, bowling!), carved a happy birthday card into a harbuz (watermelon) for a fellow volunteers birthday, carried mentioned harbuz through the beloved, infamous cow field between Ciorescu and Cricova to get to the party, had a blast at the party, became friends with a dog I named dude, stared at a few goats, slipped down the stairs in my house (ouch), have proceeded to get more and more lost in the language thanks to daily lanugage classes and had an epic time with Moldovan women in a fitness class held in the Romanian school's basement.

Funniest moment that gets the cake this week: Walking into a bus and noticing a pair of dentures chilling on a bench. Hanging out. Outside their owner's mouth... Who walked off the bus without their dentures!? Who in their right mind put their dentures on the nasty bus bench in the first place!? Either way we all were in near tears as the pair of dentures traveled on down the road via autobuzul until a women handed the nearest gentleman a baggie to put them in and hand to the driver of the bus.

I do want to go on a rant about whiners. Complainers. Debbie AND Danny downers (dudes this includes you). Negative Nancies. Whatever you want to call a person you want to throw something very spikey, smelly and painful at when their bitching, whining, and complaining starts pouring from their mouths start polluting my ear noise. This sort of toxic waste is fine, in small doses. Everyone can eat a little mercury in their lives and everyone can handle some gripe BUT, but... I've run into this type of character on my little Peace Corps adventure already and I must say, I grind my teeth, roll my eyes and try if possible to leave the room everytime their poor choice of words and phrases interrupt my precious, blissful time on this planet. I'm no saint but I signed up for this VOLUNTEER position to try out and feel the shoes of someone that gives their life for others, not care so much about myself for a while, I doubt Mother Teresa and I wear the same shoe size but geez I will try to fill hers the best I can and not complain about my surroundings...Like someone here said, we as Americans are so so privileged to take this volunteer opportunity for two years its kinda unbelievable just saying that to someone. Realistically, our families CAN survive without two years of income and we can take the time out of our life no problemo. That wouldn't be the case for people here in Moldova and elsewhere...
I really feel like I could go on and on but will hold my tongue.. or my typing fingers at this point to stop from sounding completely rude. I think Dr. Phil would be proud. :) 


Oh and P.S. I think dad, you have met your match with someone that washes their car as much as you do. My host dad I think washed the car twice in a week or ten days AND took out the front seats and washed them up too! :) 


No matter how far away I travel I realize we're all (kinda) the same... 


Kate

ViequesPRico2012

Testing this direct blog post picture thing. Technology is a bit over my head these days. I prefer the days when there were floppy disks and the biggest challenge was pretending to drive a wagon on a digital Oregon Trail :)

Hopefully the link in my photos page will also function as access to pictures of mine!

Kate

Today I write about my cheese incidence from the other day. Happy belated Independence Day and birthday to my Grandpa!

So the other day we had a break in training and a few trainees and myself played a game of fotbol with some local kids. Its alot of fun, the kids are really good and its nice to show them that a girl can actually play sports half way decent. Just like in the states, its super hot here too so we went through alot of water and took two breaks from playing. On one break I went to the outhouse next door (the field is in the "city center" next to the bus stop, store, bar and little restaurant) that is probably publicly wayyy too overused but that's not what this story is about... When I stepped out of the outhouse a girl my age was smoking and wearing a uniform for work/ cashier vest that they wear next door. She was super friendly and was trying to understand my broken Romanian and I went back to the field pretty excited that I made a new friend my age. I thought she was working this little drink stand thats right outside the Magazine (shop) where all the locals buy this kinda gross tasting iced tea drink called "Cvas." I think its the countries favorite and or official drink of choice. These stands are set up everywhere, especially in the capitol. Not thinking, I said, "I made a new friend, I think she works at the Cascaval stand!!!" Instead of Cvas, I said cheese, and I totally realized it a minute too late when everyone started cracking up. So that is the story how the girl from Wisconsin in the group got the nickname cheese girl. :) Oh the irony in life....

Hope all is well! Today I hit the north road up to my future work site in the city of Rezina! I am very excited about the NGO I will be working with as it sounds like they work in eco-tourism, small business, rural business and other earthy fun stuff. The website is http://www.habitat.md/ and it is in English so go check it out! I will post pictures of stuff next time including my future home!

"Respond to every call that excites your spirit." Rumi

Kate

Buna Seara!

This country keeps me laughing and learning. I have seen Russian ketchup and mayo come out of massive packets instead of squirt bottles, more house wine than what the state of California probably produces in a year, dogs eating chicken bones and not choking to death (sorry Carharrt, I should have trusted you), noodles and butter on my plate for breakfast and ham omlets for lunch, Cognac and Coke served in a martini glass, the freshest lemons that would have put the lemons used at work in Vail to shame and more than one women drunkenly sing Ava Maria or well, the first line over and over again as if they were Italian superstars.

So much has happened since I posted last so I will try and catch everybody up... My host family, the Padures and I went to to the padure (the forest) for a family picnic. Besides us, about 10 other relatives showed up and roasted chicken with a bunch of veggies and pineapple for desert. Although I had no idea what they were staying it was still awesome. I am so glad my host parents take me along to their social events instead of leaving me in the house to study, they laughed when I said "The Padures in the Padure" and enjoyed the attention of my fancy little camera.

Last week I passed into my 23rd year of existance and the celebrations started at about 6:30 in the morning when I was sleeping, topless in the hot summer morning. My host parents flung open my door, threw rose petals all over my room and handed me a small boquet of roses picked from the garden outside and gave me a necklace and perfume as gifts. It was sweet even with the ackwardness of clutching my bed sheet around my body as I registered what was going on an hour before I was supposed to wake up.. Haha I loved it. At school my language teacher also suprised me with roses, they all sang happy birthday in English and Romanian and some of my coluges even hooked up a cake for us to split at lunch. As a kid I got to avoid ackward birthday celebrations in school because of being a June baby but I am not complaining about recieving a delicious piece of chocolate cake in class this time around. This fiesta may or may not have continued after class with a bit of cold Moldovan beer in the pubic cow grazing field outside of town...

This past week went by so fast, we went to the capitol, Chisinau three times last week, once for lectures, once for an agriculture meeting and one time for an evening piano concert. Want to guess how much I paid to see four different pianists and a mini orchestra play for about an hour and a half? Less than the cost of bus fare in the states, 15 lei. Our language teacher caught wind of the concert sponsored by the French embassy and was nice enough to invite us on her evening adventures into the big city. This adventure also allowed us to avoid meat and potatoes for dinner and indulge in Andys Pizza, a pizza chain in Moldova (it was alright pizza but a great change of pace).

This Thursday we find out where our permanent work site will be and we are all super excited!!! I hope mine has horses and a river near by.... I will find out and let you know soon!!! :)

Hey Hey Hey

Buna Ziua!

Yet again I have relocated. I could have made my blog title be "Where in the World is Kate Van Oostburg? but it just dosn't sound right. Plus, for the next two years I know I will be residing in the Republic of Moldova, a former communist, former Soviet country near the Black sea no bigger than the size of Maryland. I took an opportunity to volunteer here with the Peace Corps and so far, after about a week of struggling through daily language lessons, I have absolutely no regrets.

I realy do have an addiction to being in transit and traveling to a completely new, unaquainted area and I have met 67 other volunteeree people with the same mentality or atleast part of the same mentality. Its realy cool how different our backgrounds, reasons for joining and goals while in service really are. Getting to Moldova took a long time to travel to, I think we were traveling for about 48 hours straightish but I wasn't a complainer...I would say the top three things during the march to Moldova include:

1. Completed homework for a NY Lambert Airport security guard with another PCT, he was nice.. I think there is a picture of us somewhere I will try and get...

2. Peoplewatching and sampling just about every kind of perfume/ colonge known to man in the huge duty-free shops in Istanbul's airport with a fellow PCT (because we had so much time to kill, not because we are smell snobs) and mooched samples of just about everything else we could get our hands on (Uzo= gross, Turkish delights and Kinder chocolate= delightful).

3. Talked instead of sleep throughout the flights with fellow volunteers who were just as excited as I was to make new friendships (when I really should have slept).

Alrighty, so I am here. But where is really here!?!

For the next two months I will live with Vera (age 51), Miheal (53) and Miheala (17); my awesome host family in my training site where I will try and learn Romanian and more about my job as an Agri-Business Rual Business Development volunteer. Life is good here. Besides being overly suprised that I don't squat over a hole outside to do my 1's and 2's and bathe in a bucket, I live in a house where the daughter speaks English, the back yard is one big fruit and veggie garden and its not a far walk to and from my language/training classes. My town has a bar, small market, Russian school and regular school, an auto service shop, a party place where people are always getting married, a hospital, and not much else. And goats. There are goats that hang out and eat the grass behind the school, goats on the side of the roads and goats in this town field thing. The people are nice and the kids are pretty curious about our strange group. I would say this is more like a vacation from reality but to be honest, if my brain could burn calories with how much it worked, after one week of classes I think I would look like I have exercise-induced anorexia.

Its not every job that you get paid to learn a second language and live with a host family that thinks you need to eat up. I gotta say, Moldova so far is pretty sweet. I hope to speak Romanian well enough soon that its not wierd if I try and play soccer with the boys in town. My mentality towards not being able to learn the language? Study, practice, get used to being completely out of my English speaking bubble. Not showering daily? Enjoy the musk and get used to it. Noisey dogs and roosters screeching 24 hours a day including the neighbor "guard" dog who's location conveniently echos directly into my room and the constant I-will-eat-you-lunge of dogs chained behind fences as I walk through my town? Learn how to sleep through just about anything and have some hot dog from my lunch saved as sacrifice and deal with it. 

Homeworkman in NYC

The countryside outside Chinsinau