225. Second English Camp

Playing a game to learn numbers

The summer of 2012 my organization helped plan our 2^nd annual English camp.  We worked with a Germany organization, 9 volunteers from Canada and the US, and many volunteers from Moldova to hold a week-long camp for around 70 youth from the south eastern side of Moldova.

Auction using tickets that the campers have earned all week

 The mornings consisted of English classes, in the afternoons we played sports and did cultural projects (crafts, cooking, etc) and during the evenings we had different programming, speakers, music and movies.  It was a great event and there were a good number of return campers from the year before.

Water balloon volleyball

The camp was different in many ways from last year.  This year the Moldovan team took a lot more of the responsibility of planning events and the evening programs were more powerful and enjoyed more by the campers.  There were also some difficulties but I believe that things will continue to improve.

I hope that I will have time in the future to help with this camp.

Water balloons thanks to my mother's 4-H club

Leia Mais…

224. Swiss Visit

Swiss team member, community member, mayor, school sports director and
school director  planning for the fence around the soccer field

The largest project I undertook as a Peace Corps Volunteer is when a Swiss group came to Moldova to do outreach and community improvement projects.  A small group came in the early part of 2012 to find locations to do work in, between then and July I worked to plan the activities and events they would take part in.  In July the Swiss team,f 70 members strong, came to Moldova via train and they stayed for 10 days.  The split into about four locations all over Moldova and 20 stayed in my village.

Afternoon children's program

I worked with the mayor, Orthodox priest, Baptist pastor, local soup kitchen and the organization I work with to plan the schedule, activities, food and sleeping arrangements for the Swiss team that would be in my village.  It was a lot of work and stressful, but I had a lot of help from the people I work with, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer and the people of my village.

The team had three main work projects that they worked on in the morning included: pouring and placing sidewalks, constructing a wall on the soccer field and assisting elderly people around their homes in in their gardens.  During the afternoon the group would continue to work on those projects as well as run a children’s program for 6 to 14 year old.  The Swiss team worked with local youths 15 to 20 years old to plan and create games and programming for the afternoon children’s day camp.  They did a children’s camp for 5 days and the first day there were 20 children, but the last day there were around 120 children plus parents.

Halfway through the whole trip the entire Swiss team gathered together to switch the teams and share about their experiences.  They also invited Moldovans from my community, so some of the teens that have worked beside the Swiss group went on the weekend retreat.  There was singing and lots of food to try; it was very exciting for the Moldovans because they don’t always have a time or the money to do things like this.

While it was pretty stressful for me, it turned out to be a great 10 days.  I feel that they community really got something out of it.  A few people in the community were embarrassed that so many people came from Switzerland to help the elderly in Moldova; they hoped that this would wake up Moldovans to volunteer a little bit of their time to help their own community and the elderly in their community.

Leia Mais…

223. Bittersweet

Yesterday I finished my Peace Corps service! It was a bittersweet moment. I left my Ohio home 809 days ago and found a home here. Durring my time in Moldova have experianced much happiness, considerable difficulties and have had an unforgettable experiance.
Moldova, imi va fi dor.   I have many stories to share that due to my very busy summer I have not had the chance too.  I hope that once things settle down I will post more stories.  I have also been asked to post about my life in America by my Moldovan friends, so maybe I will continue blogging.

Leia Mais…

222. Olympics

Me:  Did you know that Moldova now has two Olympic medals?

Host dad:  Yes.  How many does America have?

Me:  Uh, I think around fifty.

Host dad:  Well, just think, there are fifty states in the United States of America, most of them are larger than Moldova, but if each state won as many medals as Moldova the US should have at least 100 medals.

This conversation happened after the 4th of August.

Leia Mais…

221. Beer Tour

Due to a semi family member I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Chisinau Beer Brewing facility.  This is the largest brewing facility in Moldova and they have contracts with many other country's beer companies.  It was very interesting.

But because of this tour I am now an "expert in fresh beer".

Leia Mais…

220. Scar

Last February I received a badge of honor that required five stitches.  But, you should have seen how many I gave the other guy. (If you want the real story:  http://timothyhornsby.blogspot.com/2012/03/200-scar.html).

When my Moldovan friends saw my scar, they said, "O, well, it'll be gone by the wedding."

I was confused at first.  How do they know when my wedding is?  I don't even know when my wedding is... Well, maybe I just misunderstood.

When a Moldovan friend came back from America and saw my scar she said, "O, there is a Moldovan saying that we say when someone has a scar.  We say that, 'The scare will go away before your wedding day'."

So, if the saying is right, I will not have a visible scar on my wedding day.

Leia Mais…

219. Really?

This is a conversation I had with my host niece who is six:

Bianca:  Hello!  Welcome home.
Me:  Hello.
Bianca:  Where were you?
Me:  I was at work.
Bianca:  Like that? *as she looks at me in my flip flops, t-shirt, and shorts that I am wearing*

She didn't approve of my 'work' attire.

Leia Mais…

218. Gray

I recently visited the host family where I lived during my two months of training.  It was a fun to catch up with them.  It is fun because I lived with them when I first came to Moldova, so I could literally say, "yes" and, "no".  Now I can actually hold a conversation.

It had been a while since I have seen them.  A lot had changed with their work, family and other things.  I guess a few things have changed with me as well, because this conversation followed:

Host mom:  Tim, has life in Moldovan been stressful?
Me:  Well, at times, but usually no.  Why?
Host mom:  Because you have more gray hair now than when you first came to Moldova.

Leia Mais…

217. Ready to leave?

A few days ago I celebrated my two year anniversary of living in Moldova. It is a pretty intense feeling to know that I have lived in another country, used a different language and I am almost at my goal of 26 months as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Moldova.

Over the next two months the volunteers will be leaving from my group to go onto the next adventures. Even lately as this week volunteers have started returning to their homes. I do not leave until towards the end of August, it feels at times like a long way away, but I know the time will fly.

One of my fellow volunteers was asked by the people that he works with if he was sitting on his packed bags. I guess it is a Russian/Moldovan tradition to pack your bags before a trip and then sit on them and dream about the trip. He replied, "yes", he has finished everything he needed to in Moldova and is just waiting for the next month to pass.

When Moldovans or other volunteers ask me if I am excited about leaving Moldova I say, "No". I mean, I am excited for the next adventure, but at the same time I have two open grants (which are moving painfully slowly towards completion), I have a group from Switzerland coming to do projects in my village that I have to plan logistics, housing and activities for and a group from America and Canada coming to do an English camp. So I tell everyone, that I can't get excited about leaving until my projects are completed or at least until I can see an end to my projects.

I am actually pretty jealous of people just waiting to leave Moldova, I am sort of stressing out because of these projects and the problems that always pop-up as you get close to closing a project.

Another reason I do not thing about being in America is because I plan on traveling for a few months and returning to the US at the end of October, so I still have a good amount of time left before my feet touch US sails. But my plan is still up in the air depending on how my job search goes.

Leia Mais…

216. Bread

To be a true Moldovan when eating, you need to have your chosen eating utensil in one hand and a piece of bread in the other hand.

Leia Mais…

215. Funeral

I went to my first funeral in Moldova this spring.  It was a funeral for the mother-in-law of my host family’s goddaughter.  I did not attend the church service, but I heard that they pray and sing there for about an hour.

By the time my host father and I got to the church the precession was on its way to the cemetery.  This was an Orthodox ceremony so there were a few men carrying crosses leading the precession, then priest and the choir, then the deceased on the bed of a truck (sometimes there is no truck and the pallbearers carry the casket all the way to the cemetery), and then family and friends followed that.  About every two blocks the precession would stop and a song/prayer would be sung.

When we arrived at the cemetery we all stopped right in the entrance and the casket was placed in the center of the circle and some more prayers and songs were sung.  Then the group moved to the gravesite.  More songs sang, prayers said, scriptures read and a few words were said about the woman that died.  The family and anyone that wanted too would then lean over the deceased and kiss the icon of Jesus and then the woman’s hand or head while saying their goodbyes.  Flowers and incent ashes were thrown into the grave.

Then the pallbearers nailed the lid of the casket on with four nails and lowered it into the grave.  The priest with a shovel made a cross pattern around the grave and threw three shovels of soil into the grave in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We then headed to the school for a meal (because the church does not have the space for a meal) and the pallbearers came later after they had finished filling the grave.

I did not take any photos of this event because I wanted to be respectful.  It was very interesting event to see.  One thing that struck me was how close/intimate the preparation and the ceremony was.  In America generally when a loved one dies we pay a company to get the deceased ready for burial, change the cloths, dig the hole, and assist the family.  But in a village in Moldova, those options are not available and few would be willing to pay money for those services.

Leia Mais…

214. Does it work?

When buying electronics in Moldova, even at a store that is professional and well known across the country, they will open the box for you and test the product.  This is mostly done because returning things is impossible or difficult in Moldova.

When I bought a toaster I thought it was kind of annoying.  It was a new toaster, I was in a rush, and they had to open it up the package and make sure it heated up/pasted my inspection.

The other day I bought a ear buds/mic for my iPod, I read that not all worked, so I was very happy when I went to the store and we tested a few models.  The first pair played music by my iPod didn't recognize the mic, but the second pair worked.

So, even thought I thought it was strange, it actually worked very well and was helpful.

Leia Mais…

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…

203. Jeans

Within two weeks three of my jeans ripped in different locations.  I told my host mom that I have had these jeans for around two years and I cannot believe that they are all ripping.

My host mom said that they knew I was leaving Moldova somewhat soon so they decided to call it quits.

Leia Mais…

202. We'll give you a house

My host mom told me today that if I cannot find a job and if things do not work out in America I should come back to Moldova and my host family would give me their house.

She said that her children did not want it and there was not anyone else to give it to.  So, if things do not work out when I return to America, I'll just move back to Moldova.

Leia Mais…

201. Basketball Project

You have seen a few of the projects I have worked on/am working on over the past 1.5 years, I want to show you a project that a fellow Peace Corps volunteer is working on. You can see the details of the project on this website http://www.indiegogo.com/AneniiNoi and get the overview by watching this video:

Leia Mais…

200. Scar

I was on vacation in Bulgaria and decided to go skiing.  Due to many factors I crashed at one point and my one of my ski poles struck my head.  Then I received my first stitches (five) ever, and I got them in a foreign country!

I completed the last five days of my vacation and returned to Moldova.  My house family what thankful that the only damage I did was five stitches, but I think they found it kind of funny.  I have not recently had the best of luck medically.

This conversation took place over one meal-
Host mom:  There is a kind of cream that you can get that will help reduce scarring.
Host dad:  No, Tim does not need that.  There is a Russian saying that goes, what kind of man does not have a scar? (Meaning, that true/real men have scars).
Host mom:  But he has such beautiful skin, like a woman's.
Me:  Thanks, I guess.

Leia Mais…

199. Butchering, number 2

We butchered our second hog since I have lived with my host family.  This time I swore that I would be the one to end the hog's life.  But due to not getting directions, being a little nervous and my hesitation I got the knife taken away from me.

This is when we got 'Vasilica' but when we butchered him he was around 300 pounds

So, I did not kill this pig.  But I was afraid that I would not get the knife in the heart.  I did not want the pig to suffer, plus the more stress put on the animal affects the meat quality.  The last time we butchered a pig, my host dad missed the heard and it took a long time for the pig to die.

But this time, the guy that took the knife from me and efficiently and quietly killed the pig.  After the pig was dead the said, "Next time, you just take your hand and feel where the heart is beating and that is where you put the knife."  I appreciated the advice/direction... I just wish he would have done that a little earlier. 

If you want to see the process, you can check out my photos from the first time we butchered a pig: Post 150.  Here is some of the things that we made from the hog which was my gift to take with me on vacation:

Leia Mais…

198. Moldovan Food

Here is a blog with a few photos and recipes of Moldovan food:  TasteofPeace.wordpress.com

Leia Mais…

197. No Love

The National Peace Corps Association posted a funny little blog post titled "12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer”.  It has the top 12 reasons you should marry a returned Peace Corps volunteer, but, like usual, Eastern Europe volunteers are shown no love.

When people think about the Peace Corps they think Africa of some island where you live in a hut.  But Peace Corps in Moldova is different.  We may not have some of those physical difficulties but we do have difficulties (winter).  Also, Moldova is fairly developed in many ways, so our struggles are not teaching basic skills but trying to help Moldovans improve their processes, organizational management and networking.

So here is the top 12 list from and my reasons for why Moldova doesn’t fit into them:

1.     We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
-This is true; we can woo in Romanian and Russian… and maybe even a form of Turkish or Ukrainian. 


2. We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it.
-Moldovans do dance, but I don’t know if “the hora” makes us "better" dancers in the eyes of Americans.

3. We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it.
-I guess this is true, but we do not eat too much that Americans would consider crazy.

4. We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus.
-About 25% of volunteers in Moldova are health educators in Moldova, but I do not think anyone has done sex education in front of an entire village.

5. We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers.
-There is the occasional bug in our homes, but this isn’t a daily occurance.

6. We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.
-True

7. We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? No problem. Does it have running hot water? What luxury!
-Generally true, but a lot of us having running water.

8. You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.”
-True

9. Waiting for a late train or bus? Don’t worry, we’ve been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective.
-True

10. Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out.
-While it is true comfort is important for many Peace Corps Volunteers, Moldovans make sure they are dressed well before they leave the house. So many of us wear high heels, shine our shoes and make sure they we look presentable and fit in with the culture.

11. Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.
-True, but I usually try to say 'mom' or 'host mom' to show the difference.

12. And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.
-True. Cleanliness/appearance is important in Moldova, unless it is time to work in the fields..

So 7 of the 12 really fit Moldovan Peace Corps Volunteers.  The rest are more focused on volunteers in other parts of the world.

Leia Mais…

196. The Roles of Men and Women

I really enjoy talking with my host mom. We talk every day, we eat three meals a day together, but I really enjoy when we are cooking or doing something together that allows us to have a deep conversation. She is very interesting to talk to because she can explain the Orthodox Christian faith, she has visited America, and she lived in both Soviet and non-Soviet times in Moldova. All of those things and more makes her a very interesting person to talk with.

Our last major discussion was about the role of the sexes in America, Moldova and other countries. On that night she and I made lasagna together for dinner and were just talking after the meal. She was laughing about how her husband is pretty picky when it comes to food and that he likes the way and the kind of food his mother made and that is about it. She then said that he cannot really cook or clean because he was never required too when he was growing up.

My host mom has three sisters and one brother and they were raised so that there was no work that only one sex could do. If something had to be done around the house the no matter if the person was male of female, if he/she was available they did the work. Shen they got married she quickly realized that her husband had not grown up in this type of atmosphere. They celebrated their marriage in her village and then they came to live in her husband’s village. Her sister was in town and getting ready to leave, so my host mom was putting food on the table and asked her husband to help bring food from the kitchen and place it on the table so that they could all eat together quickly before her sister had to leave. When her mother-in-law heard her ask her new husband to help, my host mom was reprimanded by her mother-in-law because that “Is the work for a woman, not for men!”

I told her that America has people that think similarly. But she said, “No, when I was in America men would help with the children, they would carry them around and push them in strollers. Here you do not see that much, because it is the job of a woman.” She pointed out that the Moldovan mentality is changing, because there is TV, Internet and many women have traveled and lived in other countries and realize that life is not this way all over the globe.

Then we then talked about how she was in the hospital with a lady from Azerbaijan and even though it was summer, the lady had no skin showing. The lady said that when walking down the road she could not make eye contact with a man and that when her husband came home the children must have finished eating and been put to bed, she would serve him his dinner on a platter. My host mom’s point was that the way women are treated in Moldova could be worse, but she also recognizes that Moldovan’s mentality when it comes to women is and needs to continue changing and developing.

Leia Mais…

195. Heart Pains

Moldova is considered the poorest country in Europe. In my village I have heard that pension range from 50 to 200 US Dollars per month. Most Moldovans cannot live without canning and preserving fruits and vegetable form their own garden.

Due to salaries being low and work is hard to come by many Moldovans work abroad. In the village where I live there are parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends that live and work abroad. The most common countries where people my village are working are Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Italy and America.

There are children have grown up with their grandparents, only seeing their parent(s) on holidays and via webcam on a computer. Marriages and families have been destroyed due to people working abroad. Some people that work abroad send money back to support their family back home, visit when they can, and do their best to continue their relationship with their spouse and children. Others make new relationships in the countries where they have started working and never return home or support their family in Moldova.

The other day, I was using the internet at the local public computer lab and saw a scene that broke my heart. A man in his thirties brought his daughter and son to the computer lab. His children played different games on the computer while he used the program Skype to talk to his wife who is working in another country. I have seen this family before; I think they use the computer lab once a week to speak with their loved ones.

Even though I only heard one side of the conversation, it was heart wrenching. At one point the man ask his wife, “Will you come home this summer?” A few minutes later the father gave the headset to his daughter. The daughter talked a little bit, and then she asked in a barely understandable tear-stained voice, “Mommy, when are you coming home?”

At that point I wished I did not understand Romanian. My eyes filled with tears and I was thankful that my parents and siblings were always together while we were growing up.

Leia Mais…

194. Teach me more

My host family and I sat down to have dinner.  We ate fried rice that I made with my host mom.  This conversation happened during the meal:

Host Mom:  Team me more recipes, I really like this food.  It is simple and healthy, it has hardly any fat in it.
Host Dad:  Don't teach her any more recipes.  I am not tired of and like the food she normally makes.

I think my host dad will just have to deal with trying something new a few times a month.

Leia Mais…

193. Chisinau, A European Capitol

Check out this 20 minute documentary about the Capital of Moldova, Chisinau!

Leia Mais…

192. Beyond Good Intentions

An American woman has traveled the world with her backpack and her camera to try the story of international aid.  She traveled to Asia, Africa and South America and created 10 short episodes.  The stories she made are about 10 different subjects, from micro-finance to researching what works in international aid.

If you are interested at all in international aid or would like to hear some stories about how people are trying to help others all around the world, check out the website:

Beyond Good Intentions: BeyondGoodIntentions.com

She also did an episode about Peace Corps Volunteers in Madagascar:  Episode 6

Overall I think she did a good job on the episode about the Peace Corps, but she did not address the goals of the Peace Corps.  The Peace Corps' mission and goals are (PeaceCorps.gov):

Mission

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.

The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:

1.     Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

2.     Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

3.     Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

So as you can see, the Peace Corps is not your typical international aid organization.  We focus more on capacity building, education and relationships rather than aid projects.  I think the episode could have been better if she would have started out by establishing the Peace Corps goals and then proceeding into what we do.

Peace Corps also affects how other countries view America.  If nothing else, the Peace Corps helps other people understand America and American people better.  I would say that most Peace Corps volunteers are one of the first/few Americans that many of the people we generally work with meet (maybe not so much in Moldova), especially because we are Americans living in villages and speaking the native language.

Leia Mais…

191. Favorite word in Romanian

A German friend of mine who has been living in Moldova for a while looked me very seriously and asked, “What is your favorite word in Romanian?”

I looked at him and replied, “Mahala.” He then says, “Yes! That is what I was hoping you would say.”

‘Mahala’ in the dictionary means suburb, but in Moldova (maybe in Romania too) it is commonly used for the neighborhood.

The reason that this word it my favorite word in Romanian is because it is just so fun to say. For English speakers I would phonetically spell the word ‘mahala’ as Mah-hall-lah. It is just so much fun to say! Just add 'mah' to the beginning of what this guys says:

Leia Mais…

190. Die of hunger

The organizations I work with operates a computer lab.  Since more and more people have computers and the Internet in their homes the computer lab is having difficulty making ends meet.  Besides the Internet, games, and Skype we also offer printing, scanning and take passport photos.

The operator of the computer lab opens up the lab at 3pm and closes it at 10pm.  He is a high school student so he cannot open it any earlier.  We are currently doing a test to see in by me opening the lab earlier if our income will increase.

I volunteered to open up the lab every weekday from 11am to 3pm.  After a month or so, if it was beneficial, we will try to find someone who wants the job of opening up the lab earlier.  I do not know what will happen, the lab is generally just used by students but with the longer hours we could make more money through printing, scanning and taking photos.

I have worked in the lab now for five days, I really do not mind it and it is good to get to know more of the students in the village.  The worst part is that my host family thinks that I am going to die of hunger on Tuesday and Thursdays.  On those days I leave the house at about 10:30am, work in the lab until 3pm, and then I have Romanian lessons for two hours and do not get home until after 5pm.

Now, I pack myself a lunch but I do not think my host family trusts me to pack enough food.  The tradition in Moldova is that you have soup at every lunch, so they think I am unhealthy since I do not get a bowl of soup and because I eat an apple and a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Leia Mais…

189. You say crap, I say carp

The bottom dwelling fish originally from Asia which we call ‘Carp’ in English is a very common fish in Moldova.  I would guess that it is the most common fish I lakes and streams in Moldova.  It is also a very popular and inexpensive fish to eat.

For English speakers it is fun to talk about carp because is Romanian the word is crap.  So if you ask someone in Moldovva, “What kind of fish are you eating?” They will probably reply, “Crap”.

Leia Mais…

188. Girls' Hair

My host parent’s grandchildren came to visit for the holiday season.  We had a three year old boy and three girls that are five, nine and fourteen years old.

One day at the dinner table my host mom and the granddaughters were talking about hairstyles.  The discussion started because someone remarked that the grandson needs a haircut, which then started a discussion about women’s hairstyles.  My host mom was saying how it is currently popular to have hair covering part of the face but she did not like it.  The girls said that the style was no longer trendy and now long hair was popular.

My host mom then made the point that simple hairstyles that could be pulled back were beautiful and functional.  She then said, “All the girls that have visited Tim from Germany and other countries had simple and practical hairstyles that were very nice.”

Of course, both of my host nieces gave me the look of - you have lots of female visitors, huh?  I was not even in the conversation but the joke was on me.  And no mom, they were just friends.

Leia Mais…

187. America in the Eyes of a Moldovan

I am often asked about America, everything from how I heat my house to my pets to American’s second language and many others.  I will also bring up the differences between America and Moldova when I think that people may be interested in the differences (which may not be different at all).

But I really enjoy it when I hear a Moldovan’s view of America.  My host mom was in Washington DC for three months, so it is always interesting to hear her views of America.  I also talked to a young man who moved to America when he was 13 or so and came back for a month over the summer to visit family.  It was very interesting to hear what he shared with his friends about America.

Most recently I listened to a conversation between a few teachers in my village.  I was going to my biweekly tutoring lesson at the local school and found my tutor with two other teachers.  It was during Christmas break and they were finishing up some paperwork.

One of the teachers had just returned from visiting her son in America.  He has been living in America, just outside of Atlanta, for the last five years or so.  I was a little jealous when I heard of her trip.  First she flew into and visited New York City; she went to the World Trade Center site among other things.  She then travelled to Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami and then somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico.

Some of her observations were that hardly anyone lives in the city.  She said that most of the people from Atlanta actually live in one of the three surrounding cities.  The point is pretty interesting, because for the most part American cities are spread out and do not have a lot of people living in the center of the city unlike European cities.  She also mentioned that she never saw cloths hanging out to dry.  In Moldova clothes dryers are not common and everyone hangs their cloths out to dry, even in tall apartment buildings people have a clothes drying rack attached to the outside of their window.  Another teacher asked if it was true that people do not take off their shoes when entering homes, she replied that it was true because everything was paved and there was not mud or dirt that could get tracked into the home.

The more I hear what Moldovans find interesting about Moldova the better I can respond when a new acquaintance asks me to talk about America.

Leia Mais…

186. In the Middle of the Night

Generally I come home at around 7 at night.  It is dark when I get home.  I have a little light on my phone and since there is generally no one walking around in my neighborhood I might talk to myself, hum or sing as I walk to my house.

The other day I had just came up the hill turned the corner and was about 25 yards away from my house.  With my phone light in hand I am paying attention to the ground to make sure I do not fall or step in horse dung and I see some human feet in front of me.  I do not know if they noticed, but I jumped.  I then see that it was my neighbor hanging in the road outside of her house saying goodbye to her boyfriend. 

I am guessing that they were so embarrassed that I caught them making that they did not notice that I jumped when I saw them.

Leia Mais…

185. Don't Laugh

As I was walking down the snowy wet road I saw a man get out of his car.  As he walked towards his destination he almost fell, but he regained his footing.  When I saw this I chuckled to myself and said to myself, “He needs to slow down”.

About twenty steps later… I stepped in an area of the sidewalk with was uneven, tripped and fell to the ground.  Not only did I get my coat muddy but I also my pants and my whole left leg was soaked and at least one person watched it all.

As I walked home grumbling, I wondered if God was trying to remind me not to make fun of others.  Or maybe, and probably more likely, I just need to pay more attention to my surroundings.

Leia Mais…

184. New Year's Eve

Some Moldovans have Christmas trees, but they are expensive
and are not too commonly grown, so this was our tree.

This was my first New Years Eve celebration in Moldova.  Last year I went with a few friends on vacation to a couple cities in Romania.  It was a lot of fun, but I am glad I stayed this year to experience the coming of the New Year with my host family.

Raisins, sweet brinza (homemade cheese) and sour cream rolled up and then cooked.

All three of my host siblings and their families came for all or part of the weekend, so the house was full.  We ate a lot of traditional Moldovan foods such as sarmale (cabbage rolls), placinta (thin amounts of potatoes, cabbage or cheese in a disc shape surrounded in breading), Olivia (a cold salad common in Russia but first done by the French)  and salt-cured fish.  We ate a lot and often. 

Preparing for the Olivia salad.

Sarmale - Rice and meat rolled in pickled cabbage leaves.

Poems and songs are important parts to Moldovan culture, at least with the families that I have interacted with.  All of the children in Moldova, or so it seems, have memorized some poems and a few of those are about Christmas.  My host family celebrated New Years and Christmas together.  The whole family gave candy, small gifts and money to the children after they said a poem or sang a carol.

After we had our last meal of 2011 together we each had a title of a poem written by Vasile Alecsandri at our place at the table.  Vasile Alecsandri was a popular poet who was born in Romanian in 1821.  The poems we read were about life, the seasons and Christmas.  We each read the poem that was given to us.

Sometime that night a group of Carolers came by.  They had a drum and other instruments.  One was dressed as a ram which is traditional for the New Year... but I cannot remember why.  They sang a song or two and we gave them a little money for their trouble and they went onto the next house.

The last 10 minutes of 2011 we watched the television as the president of Moldova gave his will wishes for the future year.  Then a stage in the center of Chisinau, where a large concert was being held, a man counted down until the clock hit 2012.  After that there were many fireworks both on the television and in the village.  Then they played the Chariots of Fire song, which was nice but not quite Auld Lang Syne.  So as I was humming Auld Lang Syne to myself I noticed that the keyboard that my host niece has plays 100 songs, one of which was Auld Lang Syne so I played it.

New Year’s Day was not too much different.  There was a lot of eating, fireworks and some carolers visited.  It was a lot of fun and I am glad that I got to experience it with my host family.

Leia Mais…