The 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps in Moldova was in March. To celebrate this event the Peace Corps volunteers of Moldova have started a blog to share special moments and daily life in Moldova. Check it out:
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
120. Sick Pig
Me: *Looking for the pig in his pen, but he was back in his shelter*
Host Dad: The pig is sick.
Me: Yeah? Why?
Host Dad: He was castrated today.
Me: O…
It is a good thing the verb ‘to castrate’ in English is very similar to the verb in Romanian or I wouldn’t have understood what was wrong with the pig.
Friday, May 27, 2011
119. If I lived in the US…
A Moldavian once told me that if she lived in the US she would never leave the country for a vacation. She said that the US is huge and we have deserts, mountains and everything in between. This statement reminded me of just how blessed I am in that aspect, the conversation also reminded me that there are a lot of places I have not visited in the US.
While Moldova is a beautiful country with rolling green hills, it is around a third of the side of the State of Ohio so eventually you could see it all. I am sure in my two years in Moldova I will not see even half of the important sites. If you stay in the country, from the center of the country the furthest border crossing is 5 hours away. It is nice to be in the US where you can drive for hours without showing a passport.
When it comes to leaving the country, to my knowledge, Moldavians can only visit the Ukraine and Russia without a visa. Many Moldavians have reminded me that when the Soviet Union was in power they were able to move about the Soviet Union with ease.
Many in Moldova have the dream of joining the European Union, which will open up the potential to travel. I think it is possible, but it will take a little time to bring the economy up the European Union par.
Leia Mais…
Thursday, May 26, 2011
118. Singing
I have a 2.5 year old host nephew that spends some time at his grandparent’s house (where I live). He is quite a handful and times but he is a also a lot of fun. To him, I am the coolest thing since sliced bread. He doesn't mind that my Romanian language skills are not that good.
I also see why it is so easy for children to learn another language. Children have not gotten use to using their own language and they can speak without thinking, so speaking another language is easy.
As I said before, he thinks I am very cool. The other day I was singing a song, I sung, “He’s Xbox, I’m more Atari” and my host nephew says, “Atari” as clear as day. I need to remember to be careful with my words (not that I generally use crude language), even if he does not understand it, he could always repeat it and his parents know English.
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
117. Informal Americans
One thing about learning a new language that has been difficult for me is using a formal tone. In Romanian like many other languages, but unlike English, has a different way to conjugate verbs when speaking formally. Technically, I should speak to people I meet for the first time and anyone older than I in a formal tone unless they say otherwise, but for some reason it has been difficult for me to use.
Americans are generally known for being informal. Other than teachers, professors and meeting an important person I barely use “Mr” or Mrs” when addressing someone in English. At around the age of eight I stopped saying “aunt” or “uncle” before saying the name of an aunt or uncle. But in Moldova that does not seem to be the case. If the person is older, they address them formally and people will call family friends aunt or uncle.
The other day I was with a group of volunteers and I said something like, “Will Sasha help?”. I was think told that I should make sure I never call him Sasha because he is older than me (this man is in his 50’s) and that I should call him Alexandru (his full name). I was reminded that his friends and those older than him can call him Sasha, but I should not.
At first I thought this was strange. When I meet someone who is younger or older than me, I introduce myself as Tim. But then again, I do know people who were called Bobby when they were young, so their family and older people that knew him at that time call him Bobby, but as he got older he went by the name of Bob.
Leia Mais…
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
116. Hay Fever
Spring, what an enjoyable and happy time of year. People are playing tonsil hockey in the capital, there are baby animals at the house (chicks, kittens and lamb), plants are flowering and the gardens in town are growing.
But it also means the start to my allergy season. The hardest part of having allergies is explaining it. Telling some Moldavians that you have allergies/hay fever does not really convey that pollen, dust and dander affect me by causing sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. So if I exhibit signs of hay fever some Moldavians believe that I am sick and that I should dress warmer, rest and other suggest other remedies to cure the “sickness”.
One day I was stuffed-up and had sinus issues, I was asked what was wrong, I said allergies probably from the flowers (I don’t know the word for pollen); the person told me that it could not be allergies and that I must be sick because the air in the village is clean.
Last year I believe that my host family thought that I was sick all fall because of my hay fever. This year I am being faithful with taking medication and I hope to not have any other issues.
Leia Mais…
Friday, May 20, 2011
115. Ways to Cross Yourself
My host mother is the choir director at the local Orthodox Church. It has been a lot of fun and interesting learning about the Orthodox Church and the many celebrations/practices of the church.
We had one discussion about how they ‘cross themselves’. I have not spent much time with Catholics or Orthodox Christians so I do not know the proper ways to cross myself nor the proper name for this action. In Moldova when people cross themselves they put their thumb and the first two fingers tightly together (makes a trinity design) and go from forehead to belly (sometimes they touch the ground) to right shoulder to left shoulder. I believe my host mom said that Catholics switch the shoulder order and use three fingers instead of the two fingers plus thumb.
At the monastery at Orhei Vechi this poster on the gate as you enter showing you the proper way to cross yourself (my host family got a laugh out of the demons, it is not something taught):
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
114. You never know who you will meet
One Sunday I missed my normal bus back to my village. I tried a second option, which was getting on a busy to Odessa, Ukraine which would drop me off on the outside of my village. It was my first time trying this route. I tried to talk to the driver of the bus I wanted to take, but he was from the Ukraine and did not know Romanian.
There was a man on the bus that knew English and helped translate for me. The man and I started talking and he is a Ukrainian citizen with Bulgarian heritage. He lives in Odessa, Ukraine and Seattle, USA; he has a little finance business in the Ukraine and has worked in business and for a missionary organization in the US. He speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian and English. It was very interesting to talk to and to hear about his experiences. His daughter teaches Russian at a university in Seattle. I also learned that the Ukraine does not allow its citizens to have dual citizenship.
I love random meetings with people, especially when they have some kind of a connection with you like language or country. There are always such fun stories. The world continually gets smaller.
Leia Mais…
Friday, May 13, 2011
113. Calluses
I was helping with some physical work at the community center I work at. We were digging, breaking concrete and pouring concrete. I realized how soft my hands had become, after a day of working I had blisters.
It has not always been that way. During high school I mowed lawns, worked in our garden and help my father with home improvement and landscaping jobs. My hands were tough. But when I started college all of my jobs have been in front of a computer, catering, traveling or doing educational programming.
I miss having tough hands that do not need gloves, I guess that means that I need to start helping around the house more here in Moldova.
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
112. What I have gotten use to
The group of volunteers that helped to build a park and mini-golf course in my village stayed with different host families in the community. Two students stayed with my host family, it was very interesting living with them for their week in Moldova.
It reminded me of how different some aspects of Moldova are and how much I have actually integrated/become use to life in Moldova. The volunteers had a little trouble getting use to the outhouses, the food and walking on the muddy roads which are things I have come accustom too.
One guest told me that my host family’s outhouse was smelly; I told him that it was one of the best and most comfortable in Moldova but would I have said the same thing if it was my first time in Moldova? Throughout the week the volunteers ate traditional Moldovan food, some of the meals the volunteers did not particularly enjoy, but I was eating as much as possible while trying to remember if I liked the same meal when I came to Moldova. It was also interesting watching the students walking down the muddy road and how dirty their pants and shoes would get, I realized that I have learned to stay somewhat clean, but now quite as clean as Moldovans.
It was an interesting reminder of where I have come from and how much I have changed in 11 months. Another reminder of how much I have adapted to life in Moldova will come this summer when the new Peace Corps volunteers come.
Leia Mais…
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
111. I didn’t know you talked so much
One of the evenings when the group of volunteers were in my village assisting in the building of a mini golf course and doing outreach to the community (see last post) a group of youth from the village had a social night with the group. I was running around trying to help and translate and my Romanian tutor told me that she did not know I talked so much.
I did not really notice, but I was talking a lot more than usual… but at the same time, it is so much easier to speak in English than it is for me to speak in Romanian. I was speaking a lot with our visitors in English and my confidence was high and I knew most of the Moldovans that were attending the event so I was striking up conversations in Romanian.
Not only did the volunteers’ visit help build a park in the community but they also showed the community that I could speak Romanian and boosted my Romanian confidence. I am somewhat shy when it comes to meeting new people and even more so when I am trying to meet new people and speaking Romanian. So by me translating for people and being forced to be more outgoing by the group of volunteers that could not speak Romanian many have observed that I am not really a hermit and can speak some Romanian so they are now more likely to come up to me and speak to me.
Leia Mais…
Monday, May 9, 2011
110. Mini Golf
Last year I was brainstorming with the staff of the “Communitas” Association NGO (www.communitas.md), that I volunteer with, about ways to improve the community as well as discussing upcoming projects. One interesting idea that came up during those discussions was the creation of a park in our community because other than some open grassy land, there is no park in my community. That idea continued to grow and slowly morphed into a park, mini golf course, pavilion, and grill.
I and the “Communitas” association staff found some potential funding sources, applied for grants and asked for community support. We also found a group of students from the Black Forest Academy (www.bfacademy.com) in Germany who were interested in working as well as an outreach/educational program for the community’s youth during their spring break.
In April, 15 students and 4 staff from the school visited Moldova for a week. They took an empty field and created a mini golf course during the mornings and in the afternoons they did a four day childrens programming which had 35 to 90 participants from the ages of 8 to 14 from the village.
To my knowledge this is the second mini golf course in Moldova and it is in a village of less than 3000 people. Not only will this give the youth and families of the village a place to relax and hang-out, but it will also be a point of pride. It could also influence the economy of the village if tourist companies visit the park for a rest, round of golf and lunch.
Over the new few weeks the Communitas NGO, “Vitarina-Prim” company (www.ammi.md) and community volunteers will be working to complete this project by installing park benches, picnic tables, flowers, trees, a grill and installing the artificial grass to the mini golf course.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
109. Happy Mother's Day!
Holidays are always a little difficult for Peace Corps volunteers due to being away from family, but it is also difficult on the Peace Corps volunteers' families.
But even so I am wishing my mother a happy Mother's Day! Have a great day! The time is passing quickly and I'll see you again soon.
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