213. Pastor

My host family told me yesterday that I would be a good pastor/priest.  Well, I guess I got that going for me in the future.

Leia Mais…

212. Strange word in dictionary

Have you ever used "toad-in-the-hole" in a sentence?  It was in my English-Romanian dictionary.  The definition translated into English means sausage baked in dough.  So, maybe in America we would say "pig in a blanket"?

I guess it must be a British thing:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_in_the_hole.

Leia Mais…

211. Foods Americans miss

CNN Go (CNN International) wrote an article called 10 Foods American Miss Most While Abroad.  This list is:

Mexican food:  Very true, I've had Mexican food twice (Romania and Moldova) and it wasn't too good.  But I would love to have a nice taco, even fast food Mexican food sounds awesome to me.

Cinnamon toast crunch (or other American cereal):  In Moldova there is only a few types of cereals are available, they are also expensive.

Chili fries:  I don't know if I miss these.... wait now I do.

Root beer:  I love root beer and it isn't in Moldova.

Proper hamburger:  McDonald's is good, but there aren't any thick juicy restaurant variety hamburgers here.

Bagels:  No bagels in Moldova, I think I had a bagel for breakfast every other day before I left.

Pizza:  There are lots of different pizza companies in the larger cities in Moldova, but they aren't too good.  They aren't bad, but they try some toppings that we aren't use too, corn, and the sauce isn't quite enough and the cheese is too expensive to put enough on the pizza.

Popcorn:  In Moldova we have popcorn, they sell popcorn on the streets in larger cities, and they even sell microwavable popcorn.

Ice:  I do miss having an ice cold coke with ice in it.

Ketchup packets that you don't have to pay for:  Paying for condiments is pretty annoying.

A few other things that could have been included on the list is:  Free refills, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, and a few other things.  But overall I have enjoyed the food in Moldova and I hope to prepare some dishes for my friends and family.

Leia Mais…

210. Visiting a friend

I visited a fellow Peace Corps volunteer on his birthday a month ago.  He is a Community and Organizational Development volunteer and works primarily with the mayor of his small village of around 1,000 people.  We had a fun time celebrating his birthday which had both Moldovan and American influence.  The day after the celebration we took a walk and saw some of the activities he’s involved in and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

Library

Computer center at the school, one of the Peace Corps volunteer's projects

Very old tree near the village

Old water fountain in an area where everyone goes for picnics

Beautiful area around the village

"House of Culture" where cultural events, disco tech and other events are held

Leia Mais…

209. Memorial Easter

In Moldova the Sunday or Monday after Orthodox Easter (Orthodox Easter was a week after our Easter) Orthodox Christians celebrate Memorial Easter.  This is a celebration to honor and remember those that have died. 

This holiday was very interesting for me.  I am use to American cemeteries in which the only events that take place in are funerals and maybe a Memorial Day event.  On Memorial Easter the cemetery is very lively, it is filled with people eating and drinking and remembering loved ones.

I showed up late, but from what I understand in the morning people place a cloth on the grave and then place special bread, a colored egg (red), some candy, and a slender church candle.  This is later given to other people and saying, “for the soul of…”.  This is sort of a sacrifice/tradition in the belief that the person’s soul has all he or she needs in the afterlife.

Beside most of the graves are small tables and chairs where the food is placed that will be eaten by the family members of the deceased.  The priest then comes through burning incents and praying/singing.  He makes a cross by pouring wine on the graves while saying a blessing.  The families usually give some money and one of the bread arrangements that was on the grave to the priest/church.

After those festivities people continue to eat and drink and socialize.  There were tons of people.  Eventually around lunch time the celebration moves home.  I arrived at around 1pm and there were still a lot of people in the cemetery, but most had already left.  I ate a little food and drank some wine with friends.  We then went home and some family members and the god couple of my host family (in Moldova every newlywed couple selects a slightly older couple to be their godparents and to support the new marriage). 

Leia Mais…

208. Water

This winter started out very mild, but then it became very cold.  Generally the weather in Moldova is similar to Ohio.  But this year there was multiple days in a row that were below freezing, even down to -20F.  It was so cold that they shut off the 'city water' because they were worried about the pipes freezing.  In February and March we did not have water for 5 weeks, all of our water came from the well in front of our house.

I have never missed water so much.  It was hard to wash cloths and the dishes.

Now, our water has a black tint... I do not know if there are related or if something else is wrong with the water.  I also do not know what made it turn black, but it does not smell different.

Leia Mais…

207. Birthday photo

The sheep had finished giving birth and we have a total of four lambs.  I was talking with my host family about how cute there were they are all different colors: red, black, white and gray.  It was getting close to my mother’s birthday, so my host parents suggested that I take a photo with the lambs and send it to my mother to wish her happy birthday.

My host mother said, “Tell your mother that now you have lambs in your arms, but one day you will come home to her with children in your arms.”

Leia Mais…

206. Well, you didn't add a scar

I returned back to my village after two weeks of vacationing and the first thing my host dad says after saying hello was, "Well, I see that you didn't injure the other side of your face".

He is referring to the last time I was on vacation when I had an accident and had to get stitches.  My host dad is quite a comedian.

I told my host dad that everyone was scared of me, so I did not get any more stitches or scars.

Leia Mais…

205. Pizza in Moldova

I was eating pizza with a Moldovan friend in the capitol the other day.  He asked me, how Moldovan pizzas compare with American pizzas.

I said, "Well, they are both round."

Leia Mais…

204. April Fool

Last Sunday morning, which was April 1st, I woke up later morning.  My host mom, like usual, is at the church leading the choir.  My host dad is watching television with his grandson.

When I came into the room my host dad said, "Someone called you on the house phone.  They said your name and then all I heard was English.  It was some young girl, maybe your girlfriend.  You said you were very tired and you have been working a lot, so I decided not to wake you up."

I had recently woken up and was a little groggy.  The first thought that went through my mind was, "Who did I give my home phone number to who cannot speak Romanian or Russian?"  I continued to think about it and watch TV.  I did not really say much else put kept thinking.  Maybe thirty minutes later I got up to leave, my host dad asked, "Where are you going?"  I said, "To check to see if that person also called my cell phone."

My host dad then said, "Do you know what today's date it?"

It then hit me.  He got me good.

Leia Mais…