52. Drink Water?

My host father was in the village talking to an older man who was finishing up making a bunch of wine.

Host father: Why did you make so much wine?
Man in Village: I don't drink water!

You may not believe it, but it has been said and I have observed that Moldavians do not regularly drink water, especially the older generations. It depends on the home, but in my home wine is on the table every lunch and dinner (unless we are having a dairy based meal). My first host family did not make wine, so alcohol was about as present in the house as it is for my family in the US.

The main way people stay hydrated here, is by having soup. It is uncommon if I do not have a big bowl of chicken based or beet based soup for lunch.

I guess I believe in the system, I don't carry a water bottle around anymore. But it isn't 90 degrees anymore and I do drink water and tea when I am at the house.

Leia Mais…

51. Life of An Artist

My host father likes to say: Noaptea veselă, ziuă tristă, aceasta este viaţa de artist.

Translation: At night cheerful, during the day said, this is the life of an artist.

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50. Mowing Lawns

I have spent a lot of time on a lawnmower in my life.  At the highest point, I would be on my mower about 8 hours a week.  What I enjoyed about mowing is the fact that my body was doing something but my brain could be thinking about other things.  I enjoy driving for the same reason.  When driving on the highway, as long as the cruise is set and you are keeping an eye out for other cars, it doesn't take a lot of brain power.  They key for me, is to be doing something.  Because if I am sitting in bed thinking, I feel like I should be accomplishing something.

Not only will I think while I am driving or mowing, but I'll sing, pray, review recent decisions and think about future options.  It is good to digest what is going on in my mind.  In a way mowing or driving is my quiet time with myself and God.

I miss mowing and driving a vehicle.  Both of which I am not allowed to do in Moldova, because of the rules of Peace Corps.  And besides, there aren't a lot of lawnmowers in Moldova.  So I have tried a few things to keep my body moving while allowing my mind to work.  I have helped my family in the fields, which is good.  I have tried running, but that's just too much work and it is hard to talk to yourself when you are gasping for air.

The best thing, I have found so far in Moldova is... assisting a local pasta manufacturing company make pasta.  I have been consulting with company and doing some labor to really understand the production process.  My job is usually to spread the freshly formed pasta into trying containers.  So it is a very easy, mundane task, but it gives me a lot of time to think, so I enjoy it.

Leia Mais…

49. A Day with my Host Father

Host father's office with map of the
gas line sin the village on the desk

There are around 300 gas 'splits'
that feed surrounding houses
that must be checked for leaks
once a month

My host father works with for the local natural gas company. He has an office in a city building, which also has the social assistance offices and the library, where he works with two other people. One person helps him with the books and tracks who has paid. The other person helps him regulate the gas and checks where the gas splits off into the homes for problems.

One day I went with him and his field assistant to update and improve the main gas line into the village. We checked the pressure and pored tar around the pipe supports.

Here are some pictures of my host father and his assistant preparing the tar to seat the supports of the natural gas pipes leading into our village.

Main gas line into the village

Host father and assistant pouring tar to seal
the pipeline

Leia Mais…

48. Sunflower Seed Oil

One of the country roads outside of my village with a harvested wheat field and a sunflower field close to harvest time.



The most popular and used oil in Moldova is Sunflower seed oil. Sunflowers are a very common crop in Moldova. I sometimes feel like I am in Kansas. Some people wish that Moldova would not grow so many sunflowers because the soil is rich enough to grow anything else, and the root system of the sunflowers is harmful on the soil makeup.

In my experiences, there is a lot of oil used in the cooking in Moldova. I believe it is because if you prepare food with a lot of oil, it is less likely to stick to the pan and it makes it easier to clean. I am glad that most oil in Moldova is sunflower seed oil, because at least it is fairly healthy for you.

My host family’s garage, there is press that makes sunflower seed oil from the pressing the seeds and hulls. The byproduct, compressed see hulls, is supposed to be very good for feeding hogs and for fishing.

A large barrel sits above this auger which feeds the machine with sunflower seeds.

 
There is a barrel that sits under the machine to collect the oil and on the left side of the picture is were the pressed sunflower seeds come out of the machine.

Leia Mais…

47. Canning

The majority of people can/preserve fruits and vegetables. I am curious and nervous to try the preserved watermelon. The people in Moldova are always surprised to hear that my family preserves food for the winter. Generally we would not purchase or purchase very few green beans, tomato soup, squash, onions and corn from the store because we would grow and preserve our own.

Here are a few pictures of what my host mother has been preserving lately.

Leia Mais…