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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Already?


I am wrapping up 6 months here in the land of ‘ova’s…. that being Moldova.  Each night I am lullabied to sleep by the gentle snorting of 8 pigs, and the tender ca-coo of 3 roosters that seem to be either blind, or off their rocker as they announce the morning’s arrival, every half hour, throughout the night.  I feel one with nature, or at least one with the farm as my head rests four feet, separated by a pane of glass from their (the animals) seemingly endless conversations.  Everyday we open the gate to the chickens’ lair so they can rummage freely throughout the now dried and brown garden.  It actually has been a source of entertainment for me, after lunch I usually sit out –when warm enough- in the yard reading, watching the hens peck away at the flowers, the roosters chasing one another from their respective hens, or the clan of ducks quacking as they round the corner of the house into view.  Unfortunately though, winter has reappeared.  The first two weeks of October the temperature hovered around 0° Celsius.  There was no heat.  Not in the house, not in the school, my sleeping bag took residence in my bed.  Getting out of bed to visit the outdoor bathroom takes much mental preparation when one can see their breath, inside.

  Half way through October was warm again! I could reclaim my seat outside to prepare my lessons as the roosters chased one another under my bridged legs.  My clothes still froze on the line at night, but the stiff feeling was welcomed as a false-sense of scotch guard.  My hand-washing skills have seriously gone downhill with the cold weather.  Or maybe it’s a lack of patience…

  Halloween came and went, a week of training came and went, my nights at the Russian karaoke bar came and went, and finally came day of the turkey, gobble gobble day, Thanksgiving.  Again, I travelled to the capital early one morning and assumed my role as leader of the mashed potatoes group.  Four volunteers personally “delivered” four turkeys for our feast of over 90 people.  By delivered I mean, selected, axed, defeathered, and cleaned.  Luckily they kept many of the feathers for us to wear during our meal, but we did have to give it a good squeeze before attaching it to our headdress – there were some remnants….  You can see facebook for mine.

  Real Thanksgiving came (we celebrated the weekend before) and I gave a presentation to my students, all in Moldovan.  My formal presentation was apparently much clearer, because after doing a quick, off-the-cuff explanation to some fellow teachers, I over heard one telling another it was when Columbus came to America.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t once mention Columbus, and specifically said pilgrims.  Thanksgiving dinner was not the same without party potatoes, I explained them to my host mom – not so much the ingredients but about the party that occurs in your mouth when eating them.  My sister especially appreciated my elaboration of it being a small discotec beginning in your mouth, and ending in your stomach; the need to discuss its further journey seemed well, gross.  Pickled watermelon, yup, pickled watermelon, that was my Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s not something I will be bringing back to the States with me, but after quite a few sit-downs, stare-downs, and force-downs, it has actually started to grow on me.

  The day after Thanksgiving it snowed.  It snowed a lot.  The 10th graders also put on a performance for the upper grades.  It was all fun, wholesome, and disorganized, until the last skit.  Three boys dressed as cavemen walked in carrying a long stick suspended between their shoulders.  Another boy was hanging on the stick, bbq fashion.  Once they reached their spots the boy on the stick jumped off, too all of the audience’s surprise he was very scantly dressed as a Roma Gypsy.  (Background: Roma people are discriminated against here and it seems only I feel it might be hurtful…)  So that the cavemen wouldn’t eat “her” for dinner, “she” performed a pole dance on the previously mentioned stick.  I think I will use this opportunity to ask him embarrassing questions in class on Monday.

  It snows about every other day now making the trek to school everyday seems to be a little more hazardous than the day before, and I’ve even contemplated wearing my Peace Corps issued “yak-tracks” for the jaunt to my bathroom.  It feels like Christmas all the time though, and my host dad’s ring tone has finally begun to seem appropriate (jingle bells).   I have about two weeks left in the first semester at school, and yeah, I do feel like giving myself a pat on the back for that one.  There were good days, and uh, not so good days.  Some days flew by and I found myself laughing with the kids - although my laugh seemed to startle the a little being so loud...- in every period.  Other days I wanted to throw my sponge (chalkboard eraser) and pull out my hair - especially when my Moldovaneasca just wasn't flowing.

  I have a grand adventure planned for my christmas/new years break, but until then, I will spend the next two weeks dodging sledding children, running in to the school to avoid the all-school snowball fight, and building 'baba de zapata' (old women of snow - aka snowmen).

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Fall, or is it ending?


Besides being in my bed – after it has warmed up from my presence – my favorite part of each day is the walk to school.  A (and I’d like to emphasize the “a”) rolling hill a short distance away marks the edge of my village.  Colorful houses dotted between tall trees that seem to have withstood from medieval times.  Rows upon rows of grape vines – with colors ranging from white to green, red to purple, and seemingly everything in between – recently cut corn fields, gathered to resemble miniature teepees, until the deep purple sky, fading to pink, to green, and ultimately a spectrum of blue obscures what would become the neighboring village.  A Ukrainian village non-the-less, known for their “harbujaria,” or large pastures of watermelon,  where Russian is the only language spoken and the fork in the road forces a quick left-or-right decision, will it be into the corn or sunflowers this time?

At the gate of each house piled high are ears of corn and intermingled pumpkins.  Nearing the thousands, each corn of ear was hand cut, hand picked, and delivered by a horse and cart (which was probably bribed into the job by the prospect of ryciu –home made vodka).  I had the good experience of preparing the corn.  The temperature had dropped to a brisk 35 degrees and after about 5 hours of kneeling, foraging through each stalk for the hardened ear of corn, my back, fingers and I were all ready for warm bowl of borscht.  Easily, these are some of the hardest working people I have ever met.

Grape season has also come to close.  We picked each grape, picked up those that had fallen, and never had my back been so sore as that following day…..and days.  After picking, we ran each grape through a hand cranked “squisher” into a large wooden barrel.  A few days later we again pressed the grapes, using a different hand-cranked machine.  They was so much pressure on these grapes that they held the form of the barrel they were pressed into, and continue to hold form after the barrel was turned over to release them, and still a week later continue to hold form.  A bucket is placed at the bottom of this extraordinary machine to catch every last drop of juice.  It is all placed back into the large wooden barrels and left to ferment.  We have four different types of wine fermenting, natural juice, and compote (a different kind of juice that is boiled with sugar and other fruits and is delicious both hot and cold).

My family has almost completed preserving all of our food for the winter – cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cabbage, WATERMELON, various salads.  Their timing has been impeccable as the last week has proven that old man winter is well on his way, and in a very noticeable way.  A few days have reached 0 degrees Celsius, and other days aren’t too much warmer.  I thought living in Montana’s winters had hardened me a bit to cold weather, but we were always able to enter a warmed house, or to build a fire, or you know jump in the shower.  The cement of the schools and houses don’t exactly warm-up quickly when the sun hits it during the day.  All of us teachers keep our coats on during class, and so do the students.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous for the true winter to hit, that being it is the beginning of October still…

Not to worry, my family has what is called a “Soba.”  It is a wood-fire stove type contraption with ceramic tiles the covering the wall all around it.  As you build a fire in the soba, the entire wall heats up and soon the whole room is warm.  I have a feeling this winter I won’t be lingering too far from our common room, that is, where the soba is located.  I also have a feeling that my long johns might become second-skin.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Recent Times: Highlighted

Here is a list of recent highlights

*Conversations with neighbors:
      - On our way home from fetching the cow with my sister (Dumitriţa), we passed our neighbors, gave the customary "Buna Seara" (good evening) - which is required since the two women were older than us - and continued on our way.  After corralling our cow into place using fallen corn stalks (read: quick slaps from my sister, effective, and slowly increased pressure from me, ineffective) the neighbor women called down to me, "Domnişoară Kim, Veniţi aici va rog" So I walked back over and they asked I would start an english class during the evenings for the adults of the community, because their son had learned so much from me already and said English was his favorite class!! AWESOME! He is in the 2nd grade, and is adorable.  I told the women that if people from the community wanted I would definitely start a class for them too. 

*Watermelon talk:
      - When I first arrived to Moldova it was cucumber season.  I didn't have the language skills, or the foresight quite yet to fully understand what that would mean.  All I understood was that I was eating two length-sliced cucumbers with breakfast, between 4 and 6 whole cucumbers (eating it like a banana, but without the peel or monkey noises) for lunch, and 3 to 4 with dinner (cutting style depended on the cook for the evening).  After 30 consecutive days of 10+ cucumbers, I started to grow tired of the vegetable.  What I did not understand was that after cucumber season, which only lasted 2 or 3 months, I would not see another for a year - other than in pickled form.  I know understand why my family and I ate so many cucumbers in such a short amount of time, simply, it doesn't last.  Now that I sit here cucumberless, I know I took it for granted and next year will eat cucumbers until my toe-nails turn green.

      - Cucumber season has passed, but it has given way to something so spectacular that I promised myself I would not let another season go for granted.  It is watermelon season.  I have eaten more watermelon in the last month than my entire life combined.  Maybe I was too cheap in the states, but I always thought watermelon was too expensive - unless you get the kind already sliced with various other fruits - and hence only really associate it with the 4th of July..... or not that this is the time or place, certain river rafting trips.  When asked if we have watermelon in America I said yes, but that I thought it was too expensive and therefore rarely bought it myself.  They took this as -rightfully so - a source of pride that they are literally brimming with watermelons right now.  My family of 4 averages 1.5 large watermelons eaten per day, usually with dinner....or as a chaser for my father's homemade vodka.  They even decided it would be worth bringing me along to the "harbujarea." They told me to bring my camera so they could take pictures of me with a pile of hundreds of watermelon to send back America.  We drove in a friends' soviet era LADA, trailer-in-tow to a village settle by Ukrainians, a little ways from mine.  After, what I would consider four-wheeling, for 15 or 20 minutes we reached the giant guard dog for the watermelon farm.  A very attractive young Ukrainian/Moldovan man helped us select our watermelons, and after lots of Russian that I did not understand and taste-testing 2 whole melons of each variety, we paid roughly 120 Lei ($12) for 150 kilograms (330 lbs) worth of green watermelons, white watermelons, and yellow melons - which are my favorite, kind of like a cantaloupe but a bring yellow shell without the pocks and a lighter colored, softer and sweeter fruit part.  So we will be eating as well as conserving - and yes that means pickling - all 330 pounds of our watermelon.  I'm not sure how the pickled watermelon will taste, but apparently everyone in my family is really looking forward to it.

*Let there be light
      - Unlike the veceu (outhouse) at my old house (yes the one where that poor chicken met its fate....), my new one is a solid structure, not made of wood where light naturally comes in.  The door is solid, the walls are solid, the ceiling is solid.  This means, you must memorize where exactly to stand, and cross your fingers before entering and shutting the door.  Leave the door open then right? Not unless you want various animal guests as company - the chickens, ducks, the cute little cat that follows me everywhere.  Recently, and probably the highlight most shimmering in my eyes, my Tata has installed a light!  Day, night, afternoon....shut that door and I can see.  I even know where the toilet paper is....right above my head, who'd a known?

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Welcome to Mărăndeni!

I couldn't help but laugh a bit inside as it felt like my first day of elementary school again have both my host mom and dad walk me to my first day of work at a school.  Or mama Lucia and Tata Nicolai as I like to call them.  They walked on either side of me speaking rapid fire Moldovan giving me advice and the run down of the people who work there.  I laughed when they laughed, to make it seem as if I understood.  In reality I think I picked up about 63-66% of it....but just a guess.

Anyway, my first day school was a bit of a waiting game because we didn't have the text books and didn't know which grades we were teaching yet, so we couldn't start planning.  Instead, I chatted with my main partner and three other teachers for about 2 hours about various topics, mainly about if I am married, how I like the Moldovan men, and if I like Moldovan food.  I have found this to be the typical first meeting conversation.

Then the other teachers left and I waited to work with my other partner teacher, who is also the director of the school.  With school starting, she is very busy as you can imagine, so I read my book outside her office for a little over an hour.  When her meeting finished we got the chance discuss what she expects me to complete during the week before school starts.  In the middle of our meeting the Mayor of my village walked in.  He made a special trip to the school just to meet me, which was pretty cool.  Eh-hem, Sergio, and I exchanged cell phone numbers, told me to call him directly if I have any questions or need any help, chatted a bit more, shook hands (which is a huge sign of respect here if a man shakes a woman's hand) and said "La revedere."

Needless to say, I felt like a pretty big deal.

Finally my director/partner and I decided which grades I will be teaching.  They are: two 2nd grade classes, two 4th grade classes, a 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th grades.  Then I went home for lunch, and had the rest of the afternoon free.

The next day I worked on long-term plans for over 8 hours straight.  They have to follow an exact format, written in romanian, and be approved by the Moldavan Ministry of Education.  Wednesday I was invited to go to a teachers' conference in the capital of my raion (county).  There isn't a rutiera (bus) to go to Faleşti (capital of the raion) so we all piled in to the cars of two of the teachers' husbands.  Let me just say these were some sweet soviet rides.  I mean I wish I could bring one back with me to the US...but then I might be tagged as one of those russian spies that werejust arrested.

At the conference we listened to the Moldovan national anthem both at the beginning and end of the conference.  Again, I nodded along, while only really understanding about 70% of what was being said.  The high light of the trip though was finding a huge statue of Lenin!  Apparently it is for sale as well, so if anyone has 1 million euros, you can be the proud new   owner of a giant Lenin for your front yard.  I thought it was rad, and my colleagues were all very impressed that I recognized and knew who he was.  Then laughed when I wanted to take a picture.

Friday was Independence day for Moldova - 19 years!  So I went to the big city near me, Băţi, where they had traditional singing and dancing being performed all day, and street vendors all lined up.  I tried to negotiate for some sunglasses that I have been needing badly, but like everyone else in ţi, she only spoke Russian, so I'd have to say it was pretty unsuccessful, and I'm too cheap, so I'm still sunglasses-less.  The waitresses also only spoke Russian....or maybe just refused to understand our Romanian, so ordering, and paying proved to be rather difficult.

School officially begins on Wednesday because Tuesday is also a holiday "Day of our language" which to Moldovans was a more important sign of independence.  The Soviet Union had forced Moldova to use the Cyrillic alphabet, but in 1989 with perestroika, Moldova was allowed to revert back to the latin alphabet.  Then 1991 Moldova claimed its independence.  GO MOLDOVA!  Anyway, school should be interesting.  I have to give a speech.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Official Volunteer

Yes it is true, I am now an official volunteer with the United States Peace Corps.  I'd like to start by thanking our good President  John F. Kennedy for making this idealistic dream, a reality...just kidding I'm won't be this cheesy.

Yesterday though we did have our official swearing-in ceremony held at the US Embassy.  After a saying a sad goodbye to our village and families we have have been living with for over 2 months now, we boarded a rutiera with all of our luggage and headed to the capital.  All dressed up, sitting on stage, with all of our future school directors, partners, host family members, current peace corps volunteers, a returned volunteer, all the head-hauncho's of peace corps, the US Ambassador, and the Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs in attendance.  We started by taking the same oath the President, and all other government officials take before assuming their post, "I swear to defend the constitution of the United States..." Then we received our official Peace Corps Moldova pin.  It was pretty surreal to have that put on, looking at it I couldn't help but think about when I was first introduced to peace corps.  I remember in high school thinking how cool of an organization, that someday I wanted to do something like that.  Finally here, after all this time, after the two years of applying and waiting, after my 10 gruelling weeks of training, this little pin has symbolized and concentrated the reasons I have joined Peace Corps and the values I held close enough to dedicate more than two years of service for.

After we were given our pins, the assistant country director spoke detailing our training, then our program director spoke and introduced each one of us and showing on a map where we are from, and what village we will be going to.  Then the Country Director spoke, the top of ladder of peace corps moldova.  He then gave the floor to the US Ambassador, who after giving his speech officially swore us in with the peace corps affirmation.  Finally, the Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs gave a speech, which was awesome.

Directly after the ceremony I was interviewed by the national news.  I felt like a celebrity with three microphones and two cameras pointed at me while answering questions in romanian.....and then repeating my answers again, but this time in English.

There wasn't much down time after the ceremony, as we took some pictures, filled our water bottles and fetched our luggage.  It was hard to say goodbye to all the volunteers we have become like family with through training.  To think we had spent at least 12 hours a day...and on certain occasions much more than 12 hours a day, everyday, for the last 10+ weeks straight.  But with only a few watery eyes we all rode away separately with our future host families and school directors, to our separate villages, where we will be living for the next two years...a bit daunghting.

I have now been in my permanent site for almost 24 hours.  I love my new family, my new room, what I have seen so far of my new village, and tomorrow I am sure I will love my new school!  My family laughed when I referred to today, my one day of rest, as my summer vacation.  I start work tomorrow, I'll go to the school and start making the long-term plans for my partner-taught classes, and hopefully find out what grade I will be teaching solo.  I already know the school is going to be very different from what we are accustomed to in the US.  For instance we have to handwrite the student grades, in blue ink, with the same pen all year, without any mistakes - and I mean NO mistakes - in this giant book for the whole school to use, that will be turned into the ministry of education - which is a federal government entity directly in charge of all schools in Moldova.  Also, instead of students moving from class to class between periods, they stay and the teachers move to a different class.  So this means I will need to be very well organized, and condensed with my materials! It should be interesting to see how the beginning goes - but I think it will be funny to look back on at the end of my two years of service!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

And arriba's ensued

Last weekend's mexican fiesta was a petrece (party) for all petreci (parties).  I think at least that's how you make that word plural.  My eyes welled with my first bite into that burrito.  It also fell apart with my first bite, so that too could be the cause of the tears in my eyes.  I guess I was a bit too ambitious with the size of my burrito for the homemade tortilla.

On our way to the other village we had to first travel to the capital, Chișinău, so we decided to stop off at the piaƫă - where we found avocados! along with everything else necessary for guacamole.  Yes, yes, YES we made the most delicious, with a bit a of a kick guacamole - I might even say it -  I have ever had.  We ate, drank house wine, and danced.  We danced to American music - even that one song I think it might be called the hip hop cha cha or something like that - anyway, it was the one played at all the 'hoop dances' that told you what to do, "now slide to the left, stomp one time..." it was great.  We also, of course because no party in moldova is complete with out doing at least three different versions, danced the hora.  I affectionately called one version the Hora bunny hop, because it resembled the bunny hop, just with a couple extra steps.  Any who, lots of hora'n it up.  Then sleeping in a sunflower field.  


The next day a few of us ventured back into Chișinău, where we strolled around the piaƫă again, I bought q-tips, a hand fan (which is just precious, I might add) and some kiwis to bring back to my host family.  We at pizza, I had pineapple (anăs) on mine.  Then when headed to peace corps headquarters.  At headquarters there is a big library where you can exchange books and movies, computers for people to use, free printing, and SHOWERS.  So I showered.  Nothing has ever felt better than standing in cold water while it pours DOWN on you, so much better than when I cup and splash upwards toward myself while squatting in a bucket.  Not that I mind, I kind of like my bucket now, just its a whole different world when it comes from above.  After experiencing bliss, I cleaned my ears with the before mentioned q-tips.


We parted ways with the other village's volunteers and caught a rutiera back to Răzeni, enjoying the view of the country from the steam dripping windows while eating 1 lei (about 7 cent) ice cream.  I have really become quite fond of this ice cream as it comes in its own plain style cone.  Also, recently it has been reaching almost 40 degrees celsius, which is roughly 104 degrees fahrenheit, I think.  Lets just say I sweat in my sleep.


Probably more importantly, I met my future partner teacher!  She came down from my future village to Răzeni to co-teach the 11th grade class with me.  For the real school year I will co-teach classes with her (Natalia), my other partner teacher (Veorica - who is also the director of the school), and will have one class I teach alone.  But, she is awesome!  She is 25 and super hip.  Much hipper than I am.  I'm not sure, maybe its her high heels verse my chacos.  We have now been working everyday together for 4 days - and she has already invited me to her house (which is in a neighboring village) and to her wedding in October!  She also told me she was very nervous coming to work with me, but now she is very happy.  I think we hit it off pretty well.  I am super stoked to work with her and my other partner this school year.  I also have the feeling she will be only friend in my new village for a while - and by a while I mean that she may be the only other person between the ages of 18 and 40.  Typical for villages in Moldova.


I have this week left of teaching, on friday the volunteers are throwing a party for all the kids that came to practice school.  We'll be playing "american"  games- as in frisbee and football, because that is all we have with us- probably some soccer, a waterballoon toss, there is even talk of a cake walk.  It should be pretty fun.  A key word we hear all the time from peace corps is "community integration" as in the more we become a member of the community the safer and more effective we are.  We're thinking this party will definitely integrate us with the chit'lins of Moldova - or at least Răzeni.


Then on Saturday we have our "la revedera masa" (goodbye party) for all our host families and friends in our village.  We are to prepare American food.  Today in Chișinău we visited a supermarket that took the super to a whole new level.  Guess what I found there....well lots, but Teriyaki sauce!  So, guess who's make'n stir fry for the masa!  It may not be totally american, but it's what I ate in america at least 3 nights a week! Holla!


To continue, at the farewell party we will also perform our 3 traditional moldovan dances that we have been preparing, as well as singing a traditional moldovan song.  We have been practicing it so devoutly, that other volunteers practiced their singing in the streets of Chișinău on their way back from the disco at 3 am, while having guest singers join them, all the way down the street.  I believe someone has a video camera, so don't worry I will share the video of us dancing and singing, while in traditional moldovan clothes.


So now for pictures... This is me and my 7th grade class on our last day of practice school
This is how my little brother beat the heat...



And this is my little neighbor eating the sunflower seeds straight from the flower we just picked after visiting a gigantic sunflower field - I went for the flower the size of my head, I told her we could find one the size of her head too, but she liked this one I guess...





Also, today while trying to get home from Chișinău I boarded the wrong rutiera and ended up at the airport.  This little excursion, getting back, finding the correct rutiera, and walking a great distance took me a little more than 2 hours...in very full, very hot, rutieras.  I think I will be bucketing myself again tomorrow morning.