So, I had this dream that after 8 weeks of training I would be able to speak the language well. I am slowly realizing that this probably will not happen.
After talking to other volunteers from years before these 8 weeks of training provide me with the tools and the grammatical understanding of the language to do my job. But I have to continue studying on my own and more importantly get out and talk with people to develop my language and more importantly my confidence.
2.5 weeks of language and technical training down. 5.5 weeks left...
My new goal is to get out of my house and visit with people and try to develop my language skills outside of the classroom. I don't like going outside of my house and visiting with people I do not know in the US, so it is time to force myself to grow.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
16. Language Dream
Monday, June 28, 2010
15. Opening Umbrella's and Whistling
Superstitions are funny. Most people do not actually believe them, but it still affects many people's actions.
In Moldova you are not suppose to whistle inside or you will loose money. Many thought this was funny and illogical. But I was thinking and speaking with my Peace Corps mentor and whistling inside in Moldova is pretty much the same as opening an umbrella inside in the US.
While I am not superstition, I do not usually open an umbrella inside. My mentor said she was shopping in Moldova and saw a woman open and close an umbrella inside of a store and that she was "uncomfortable" because in the US that is something we do not generally do.
So, I will try not to whistle inside while I am in Moldova (which is harder than not opening an umbrella inside in the US).
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
13. Mothers
What is the common link between my American and Moldovan host mother? They both like the Hallmark channel.
Leia Mais…Thursday, June 24, 2010
12. Another World
It feels like the world is standing still, unfortunately I am reminded that the world outside of Moldova is still in full swing. Bits of news from back home and stories from other Peace Corps Volunteers remind me that things are still going on outside this little world I am living in. My days consist of studying Romanian in and out of class for about 7 hours a day 6 days a week, 3 hours of technical training, sleeping and eating.
It seems wild to me that I have been in the hands of the Peace Corps for 17 days. At times it seems so much longer. I have been in Moldova for just 14 days.
There were 71 of us signed up to go to Moldova. 69 of us made it on the plane (1 never showed, 1 had a family emergency). Now in country we have had two leave for family and personal reasons. So now we are at 67. We will see how long we stay steady at this number, hopefully two years.
Upcoming important dates for me: July 6th the Peace Corps will announce where I will be located for the next two years and August 6th if things go as planned I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
11. Mail
If you are interested in sending me a card, it cost Kim 0.98 dollars and only took about 10 days for me to receive.
This address will work:
Timothy Hornsby, PCV
Corpul Pacii
Str. Grigore Ureche 12
2001 Chisinau
Republica Moldova
Monday, June 21, 2010
10. 4-H Connections
4-H has followed me all of the way Moldova. While traveling for FarmHouse Fraternity I met people that I knew or knew of due to my 4-H involvement. I thought this would be the case, but I did not expect the 4-H family to reach Moldova.
In September of 2006 I was a facilitator for the National 4-H Conference in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Paul, one of my co-facilitators (there were 19 of us in total), was from California. Katie, one of the women in the agribusiness and rural business development Peace Corps program (16 total in my group, 4 women), is also from California and knows Paul through her time in California 4-H.
No matter where I go, even 7 time zones ahead of New York, I can find 4-H connections.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
9. Mixture
Peace Corps Vocabulary:
Trainee - Someone in country currently being trained.
Volunteer - Someone sworn in as a volunteer that has completed the training.
There is a great mixture or people in the Peace Corps, at least in Moldova. There are 69 trainees in the country and just over 95 volunteers currently serving. Moldova, per capital, has the most Peace Corps Volunteers than any other Peace Corps Country.
In my group (69) there are 4 volunteers from Ohio including me. Besides that, there at least 3 volunteers from Ohio currently serving.
Currently the 69 trainees are being trained in 6 different sites. During these next 8 to 10 weeks these smaller groups will be doing language training and technical training. In my group of 15 there are a few with masters degrees, some from farms, form all over the country, from age 22 to 58. It is a lot of fun to get together and learn with a retired 55 year old farmer from Arkansas, a masters student off a New York dairy farm, a 58 year old former railroad man and a guy with dual citizenship with a few languages under his belt already. That is just to name a few, the rest of my group is just as interesting.
The weather has thankfully cooled down and I am greatly enjoying my time here. In about 4 weeks I will learn of the village and partner I will be working with after completion of the training.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
8. Pre Service Training
I have recently moved to my pre service training host site. This is where I will do 2 months of language and technical training before being sent to my permanent site.
I have language class from 8:30 to 1pm Monday through Saturday. Monday through Friday from 2-5 we have group homework or an experiential learning session or a technical session (how to do our job & activities to get us use to the culture). Most days my host mother goes over all of what we did in class with me again and helps me with my homework for an hour or two. So I think I will get the language pretty fast, right now we are working on the male and female nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (both plural and singular, so 4 versions of everything).
Saturday, June 12, 2010
7. Pre-Service Training
I will be traveling to a village outside of the capital for language and technical training. Every group is taken to a different village and all of us will meet together once a week.
During this time I will only be able to be online once a week when I travel to the main site.
I am enjoying this endeavor. I have made some good friends and am excited to get to the village and start intensive training.
This evening I will be meeting my first host family. I will stay with them for 8 weeks.
Friday, June 11, 2010
6. Safely in Moldova
We have safely reached Chisinau, Moldova! Starting my first in-country training today.
Leia Mais…Wednesday, June 9, 2010
5. Philly
I made it through my first day as a Peace Corps Trainee!
This morning I almost missed my flight to Philadelphia. I hung out with my parents a little too long and security took a little longer than I thought. I walked up to the gate and asked if they had boarded the plane to Philly and they said "Yes, please board the plane Mr. Hornsby." Needless to say I was the last one on the plane.
I got into Philly with no problem and had a few quarters to call my aunt Susan, who lives near Philly, who picked me up at the airport. We went to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and finished our time together with a cheese steak. It was a lot of fun and I was glad I was able to hang out with my aunt and see some historic sites.
There are 71 people heading to Moldova with me. I knew a fair amount of their faces because I am friends with most of them on Facebook. I have made some pretty good friends so far. It is a fun group. I have a roommate with a 50+ year old man (there are 3 men over 50 on this trip, one of which has served 4 years in the Peace Corps) who is originally from Cleveland but now lives in California. He has a wife and child but has always wanted to do this. I also met a two other people from Ohio.
Today we went over paperwork, rules and regulations, expectations, fears and ambition. It was good to hear others who have similar concerns and fears. Tomorrow morning we head out at 7:30a on a bus to JFK. We then have a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt before flying to Moldova.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
4. I Could Lose Those I love
About one month before I left for a Dominican Republic study abroad (January 2008) I lost my grandmother on my dad's side. And about a year ago I left for a 6 week study abroad trip to Beijing, China (June 2009). The night before I left for Chine my grandmother on my mom's side was rushed to the hospital. She died three days after I had been in China.
One of my largest fears is losing a loved one while I am gone. I know it is somewhat of a silly fear, and chances are it could happen to a grandparent. But I knew that Grandma would want me to continue to be in China and I know that those that I may lose would want me to do what I want as well.
I wrote this and my father read this at my grandmother's funeral while I was in China:
Other than my mother, my grandmother has been the most influential woman in my life. Everyone loved her and I have never heard any ill words about her. She was a very godly, loving, and caring woman. She put EVERYONE else before herself, even those she had not met.Leia Mais…
Grandma has an amazing talent of making whoever and whomever she was talking to feel like the most important person in the world. If you spoke with her or were physically in her presence you would feel like you were the only person on this earth. And if you were family or a friend she usually had a good story to tell to others about you. I feel like it is time to turn the tables and tell stories and talk highly of her, she defiantly deserves it.
So many fond stories come to mind that I could share about her, many that I remember and others that were told to me.
One time, when I was younger about 5, I told her that we should go to Burger King for lunch because she liked their coffee the best.
She always liked to “embarrass” me by telling people and friends that I was a talker when I was a child, and how she use to take me around her house or wherever we were asking me to identify what the animal or object was that she was pointing at. So it is her fault if I pronounce some words incorrectly and the fact that at times I talk too much.
I am glad I am her “relation”, which is a word that only her and Auntie use. I try to use it whenever I can and always think of her and Auntie when I say ‘relation’.
I also remember fondly of her singing to me, while it was not the best, she sang to me a lot when I was younger. She use to sing, “I’m a lovely little petunia in an onion patch” as well as others. There is one question she asked me countless times that I remember fondly to this day. She would look at me and ask, “Guess what?” I would respond, “What?” and she answered, “I love you!”
She was not racist, but I remember one event were people may have thought so. She was visiting Auntie in the hospital and she was telling Aunt Susan about Auntie’s roommate, she said, “There was a colored woman in the bed next to Auntie… and she was really nice!” Clearly you can see that she did not prescribe to the idea of political correctness, and since you all know her, you know that she loved every human being.
Grandma, I know you would not want me to miss this experience in China and that you are always with me. Grandma, I wish I could be here today and tell you this myself: “I love you and will always miss you. I know you understand why I am in China and would not want me to miss this opportunity. It is hard to write this because I cannot see the monitor through my tears. I am glad you are with grandpa now, say ‘hi’ to him and Grandma Hornsby for me. I cannot wait until the day I see you and ask you “guess what” and wait for your answer of “what?” then I would say as I hold you tight in my arms and tell you that “I love you!”
Grandma, thank you for giving me, Timothy Hornsby, best title I have ever had: A Grandson of Mae Eileen.
Monday, June 7, 2010
3. Bags are packed for Moldova
