Everyday on my way home, there is a group of kids ranging from the ages of 3 or 4 to about 13ish, hanging out together outside a house about 300 feet from my driveway. It usually is the same kids, and there is always at least 6 of them there. They seem to be there everyday on my way home between 4 and 6 o’clock, as well as anytime on the weekend.
About three weeks ago, a few of them started saying hello to me every time I walked passed them. And about a week later, one of the kids asked in English what my name was. I could tell the only English he knows are simple greetings, so I talked clearly and slowly. I told him my name and asked for his. He told me his name was Victor, and we told each other good-bye.
A couple days later, one of the girls stopped me to ask me my name. We told each other our names, and I continued home. She was the last kid of that group to ask me my name.
Somewhere in the last week, all the kids have learned my name. Now, every time I pass them, they say, “el-LOH Meg-GEE”. And they never seem to say it all at once. They each have to individually say hello to me. Unfortunately, I don’t know but two of their names, and I don’t think any of them know more than a couple words in English. But I say hello back in response to each of them with a smile and they all blush. The kids just think they are laughing at the American, but it’s a nice little ritual that I have come to appreciate since it gives me a smile at the end of any day. It can make my long and strenuous day feel a little lighter.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Practice School
Practice School started on Monday. Practice school is a 3-week program where the EE trainees teach Moldovan students English. The Moldovan students volunteered, so it’s not 100% accurate to what a really classroom will be like since all of these students want to learn. But it’s good practice. And we teach from the textbooks that are used in all schools, so we start to get familiar with to how to use them.
Each day, we have language class for 2 hours in the morning. And then we teach 2 lessons back-to-back. I’m teaching to 6th grade the first half and 11th grade the second half. After our lessons, we plan with a resource teacher for 3 hours. Then I go home around 5 (remember, I have a 40 minute walk home) with about 5 hours of work to do to prepare for the 2 lessons.
It is proven to be a very busy week, leaving me with practically no time to myself. Who ever told me that being in the PC would involve a lot of free time was obviously not talking about EEs. I may not be able to write very much over the next 3 weeks because of how time consuming planning is. Or perhaps I’ll write more often than ever because when is there a better time to write in a blog than when you have 5 hours of work ahead of you at 6:00 at night?
Each day, we have language class for 2 hours in the morning. And then we teach 2 lessons back-to-back. I’m teaching to 6th grade the first half and 11th grade the second half. After our lessons, we plan with a resource teacher for 3 hours. Then I go home around 5 (remember, I have a 40 minute walk home) with about 5 hours of work to do to prepare for the 2 lessons.
It is proven to be a very busy week, leaving me with practically no time to myself. Who ever told me that being in the PC would involve a lot of free time was obviously not talking about EEs. I may not be able to write very much over the next 3 weeks because of how time consuming planning is. Or perhaps I’ll write more often than ever because when is there a better time to write in a blog than when you have 5 hours of work ahead of you at 6:00 at night?
Monday, July 25, 2011
Honoring Loved Ones In Moldova
Tonight, I went to the Cojusna cemetery with my host mother and sister. It was at the top of one of the hills, and it looked very different than US cemeteries. For each grave, there is an iron cross instead of a gravestone. The simpler graves have just the person’s name, birth date, and death date. But some people have very elaborate graves, with marble memorials in addition to the iron cross.
It was my host mom’s mother’s birthday. We walked to the grave, and set all of the stuff we brought on the table beside her grave. They began to remove some of the shrubbery that had grown on her grave. Then, my host mom poured a glass of wine to pass around to each person to make a cheer in honor of their loved one.
My mother pulled out some candles and lit them, and we placed them in the grave. My family then passed around a pastry, two cookies that were basically giant flavored marshmallows, and 4 plain cookies. I didn’t really know what to do at this point because I thought them might be put on the grave or something. But they were for us to eat in honor of my mom’s mother. So I joined my family and had the giant marshmallows. And like my family, I took the rest home to be eaten later.
There are also small picnic tables throughout the cemetery. It seems that families come to honor their loved ones and use the tables to have meals in honor of their loved ones. And it doesn’t look like there is much of a groundkeeper because the grass doesn’t look like it has ever been cut.
It was my host mom’s mother’s birthday. We walked to the grave, and set all of the stuff we brought on the table beside her grave. They began to remove some of the shrubbery that had grown on her grave. Then, my host mom poured a glass of wine to pass around to each person to make a cheer in honor of their loved one.
My mother pulled out some candles and lit them, and we placed them in the grave. My family then passed around a pastry, two cookies that were basically giant flavored marshmallows, and 4 plain cookies. I didn’t really know what to do at this point because I thought them might be put on the grave or something. But they were for us to eat in honor of my mom’s mother. So I joined my family and had the giant marshmallows. And like my family, I took the rest home to be eaten later.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Salami Finger
I got stung by a bee this morning. It was sitting on my lunch when I reached in to grab it without looking. It stung me on my middle finger on my left hand, and my finger has swollen up and turned a lovely shade of pink. I’m already self-conscience about my short little sausage fingers. Now I have a finger the size of a salami between my sausage fingers. Not cool.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
My First Conflict
I was on my way from Chisinau to Cojunsa tonight, and I was riding the trolley with Jim and Natasha to the bus stop we needed (we have to take 2 buses to get to Cojusna). While we were riding the trolley, we were talking to each other. After about 5 minutes of talking, a man yelled at me for talking in English and how he didn’t understand. It was clear he was not okay with us talking in English. Needless to say, we were quiet the rest of our trip.
But before we got off the trolley, a Moldovan woman came and talked to us, saying how we shouldn’t believe that all Moldovans are like that and that she was sorry for his behavior. He was a drunk man with stupid ideas. It was comforting to hear this, considering I was not comfortable with being yelled at.
When we got on our next bus to go into Cojusna, we sat close to each other and talked more quietly so as not to attract negative attention again. However, I noticed a man staring at me for a good 10 minutes. In Moldova, staring seems to be a bit more accepted. People don’t look away necessarily if you catch their eye. Even knowing this fact, it still makes me uncomfortable. And I was afraid a similar incident was about to take place once more.
He eventually began talking to us (in Romanian), and asked where we were from and what we were doing. We explained we were from American and working with the Peace Corps. He immediately smiled and wanted to know more (although we couldn’t understand him most of the time). He was also intrigued by Jim’s beard, saying it was European or Italian, I couldn’t tell which he was saying.
It was interesting to have both incidents happening almost simultaneously. The first event was unnerving, but since both a Moldovan woman apologized for his behavior and another Moldovan man was friendly and interested in us because we were Americans, it made things seem better.
And it reminded me of how there are people in America who feel that those who live in America should speak English. Now, I didn’t agree with this before, but being on the other side now, I can empathize better with those who speak another language in America. Besides, some people with prejudices should not reflect a people as a whole. It was comforting having those kind Moldovans remind me of that.
But before we got off the trolley, a Moldovan woman came and talked to us, saying how we shouldn’t believe that all Moldovans are like that and that she was sorry for his behavior. He was a drunk man with stupid ideas. It was comforting to hear this, considering I was not comfortable with being yelled at.
When we got on our next bus to go into Cojusna, we sat close to each other and talked more quietly so as not to attract negative attention again. However, I noticed a man staring at me for a good 10 minutes. In Moldova, staring seems to be a bit more accepted. People don’t look away necessarily if you catch their eye. Even knowing this fact, it still makes me uncomfortable. And I was afraid a similar incident was about to take place once more.
He eventually began talking to us (in Romanian), and asked where we were from and what we were doing. We explained we were from American and working with the Peace Corps. He immediately smiled and wanted to know more (although we couldn’t understand him most of the time). He was also intrigued by Jim’s beard, saying it was European or Italian, I couldn’t tell which he was saying.
It was interesting to have both incidents happening almost simultaneously. The first event was unnerving, but since both a Moldovan woman apologized for his behavior and another Moldovan man was friendly and interested in us because we were Americans, it made things seem better.
And it reminded me of how there are people in America who feel that those who live in America should speak English. Now, I didn’t agree with this before, but being on the other side now, I can empathize better with those who speak another language in America. Besides, some people with prejudices should not reflect a people as a whole. It was comforting having those kind Moldovans remind me of that.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Moldova Makes Sure I’m Happy
Friday was an interesting day. I woke up not feeling my 100%. I don’t think I was sick; rather, it was a combination of many things. I have been having a hard time sleeping (I think it’s because it’s so bright very early in the morning). It’s been really hot and humid this week, so I’m dehydrated. And then there’s overall exhaustion from so much working. But Moldova made sure I didn’t go to bed upset.
Thursday was my host mom and dad’s 32 wedding anniversary, and around 9pm Friday night, I realized we were celebrating this occasion. I had been resting in my room when Diana knocked on my door saying it was dinnertime. I walked out to go wash my hands and found myself in the middle of about 10 people waiting on the deck (I have to go outside to get to the bathroom). My family’s friends greeted me warmly, and then tried to figure out if I was a ma’am or sir. I told them I was a ma’am, but I could hear them still discussing the issue after I walked away.
Dinner was served, and I was happy to sit and eat, but since I was thinking I was dehydrated (and I realized I was sunburned as well), I decided not to drink alcohol. Luckily there was water, even though it was carbonated. I was able to finish all of my food without anyone saying I needed to drink the wine. However, when you have friends in Moldova, your glass is never empty.
After I had finished my meal, a friend of the family came in and sat beside me. He knows a little English in addition to 5 other languages. So together, we had a mini English lesson. He would say something to me in Romanian and ask for the English translation. It started off uneventful until he wanted to cheer every time he learned a new word or phrase. And my glass was suddenly frequently refilled.
He then tried to explain to me that it was my host mom and dad’s wedding anniversary, but he was not using words I recognized. Once I finally caught on to what he was trying to say, I said the Romanian word for marriage. He hit himself in the head and rolled his eyes because he didn’t realize I knew that word.
Once he established that I understood what we were celebrating, he made me stand up to give a toast. I didn’t mind too much, except that I couldn’t figure out what he wanted. I thought he wanted me to do it in Romanian, which I am not capable of. Eventually, I figured out that he wanted me to say it in English and he would translate. But he didn’t know what I was saying, so he just ended up repeating the English words I said.
He began talking to me about how he likes to sing, and I mentioned I played the guitar. Our conversation ended with him wanting us to go to Chisinau to sing and play the guitar together and make enough money to buy 2 ice creams for ourselves.
There was also a 3-year-old here that night. Later in the night, she discovered my room and curiosity got the best of her. Luckily I saw her wander into my room. I came into my room to find her playing on my bed with my pillow. And then she liked to open and close my guitar case. Eventually, my host mom came in and told her that it was my room so she should leave. So the little girl said good night to me, and as she left the room, she turned the lights off and closed the door on me.
I ended up staying up much later and drinking more than I had meant to. But I went to bed with a smile on my face. It was a nice feeling. And luckily, I was able to take the rest of the weekend off and get some much-needed R and R.
Thursday was my host mom and dad’s 32 wedding anniversary, and around 9pm Friday night, I realized we were celebrating this occasion. I had been resting in my room when Diana knocked on my door saying it was dinnertime. I walked out to go wash my hands and found myself in the middle of about 10 people waiting on the deck (I have to go outside to get to the bathroom). My family’s friends greeted me warmly, and then tried to figure out if I was a ma’am or sir. I told them I was a ma’am, but I could hear them still discussing the issue after I walked away.
Dinner was served, and I was happy to sit and eat, but since I was thinking I was dehydrated (and I realized I was sunburned as well), I decided not to drink alcohol. Luckily there was water, even though it was carbonated. I was able to finish all of my food without anyone saying I needed to drink the wine. However, when you have friends in Moldova, your glass is never empty.
After I had finished my meal, a friend of the family came in and sat beside me. He knows a little English in addition to 5 other languages. So together, we had a mini English lesson. He would say something to me in Romanian and ask for the English translation. It started off uneventful until he wanted to cheer every time he learned a new word or phrase. And my glass was suddenly frequently refilled.
He then tried to explain to me that it was my host mom and dad’s wedding anniversary, but he was not using words I recognized. Once I finally caught on to what he was trying to say, I said the Romanian word for marriage. He hit himself in the head and rolled his eyes because he didn’t realize I knew that word.
Once he established that I understood what we were celebrating, he made me stand up to give a toast. I didn’t mind too much, except that I couldn’t figure out what he wanted. I thought he wanted me to do it in Romanian, which I am not capable of. Eventually, I figured out that he wanted me to say it in English and he would translate. But he didn’t know what I was saying, so he just ended up repeating the English words I said.
He began talking to me about how he likes to sing, and I mentioned I played the guitar. Our conversation ended with him wanting us to go to Chisinau to sing and play the guitar together and make enough money to buy 2 ice creams for ourselves.
There was also a 3-year-old here that night. Later in the night, she discovered my room and curiosity got the best of her. Luckily I saw her wander into my room. I came into my room to find her playing on my bed with my pillow. And then she liked to open and close my guitar case. Eventually, my host mom came in and told her that it was my room so she should leave. So the little girl said good night to me, and as she left the room, she turned the lights off and closed the door on me.
I ended up staying up much later and drinking more than I had meant to. But I went to bed with a smile on my face. It was a nice feeling. And luckily, I was able to take the rest of the weekend off and get some much-needed R and R.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Nobody Nose The Troubles I've Seen
Imagine this…you are walking through a garden filled with flowers. There is that clean and fresh scent in the air, evidence of a summer rain that had only happen a couple hours ago. The flowers seem to spray a burst of sweet floral mist as you walk past each kind, and you can’t help but smile at nature’s miracles. There is a small, brick building at the end of the garden. You open the door and a gust of warm summer air hits you.
You breathe in the air and your nose is suddenly filled with the foulest scent you can possibly imagine. You know that if you turn and leave, you won’t have to continue to experience this odor, but there is nowhere else civilized to do your business, so you proceed on into the building. As you shut the door, you take yourself to your happy place to escape the God-forsaken stench that seemed to grow worse at the mere action of closing the door.
As you sit there with your nose in your shirt to dull the smell, you wonder if you would be able to hold your breath during your remaining time in there, knowing full-well it would result in you fainting, making matters worse. When it is time to leave, you walk away from the viceo so quickly that you don’t even have a chance to smell the flowers of the garden you have to walk back through that you were so keen on noticing only moments before.
Okay, so I’m being a little melodramatic. There are a lot of viceos that are way worse than my family’s; in fact, there are viceos that are just holes in the ground (and I know that the title is inaccurate seeing as many others have to use viceos, but I thought it was clever). But there have been times when the smell in the viceo was so awful, I lost my ability to think reasonably and imagined my few minutes in there as such. On the really hot days, the smell is obviously worse. And on the days when it’s cooler from a rainstorm, the floral scent is stronger, making the contrasting scent of the viceo seems worst. One day, it’s bound to be less noticeable, right?
You breathe in the air and your nose is suddenly filled with the foulest scent you can possibly imagine. You know that if you turn and leave, you won’t have to continue to experience this odor, but there is nowhere else civilized to do your business, so you proceed on into the building. As you shut the door, you take yourself to your happy place to escape the God-forsaken stench that seemed to grow worse at the mere action of closing the door.
As you sit there with your nose in your shirt to dull the smell, you wonder if you would be able to hold your breath during your remaining time in there, knowing full-well it would result in you fainting, making matters worse. When it is time to leave, you walk away from the viceo so quickly that you don’t even have a chance to smell the flowers of the garden you have to walk back through that you were so keen on noticing only moments before.
Okay, so I’m being a little melodramatic. There are a lot of viceos that are way worse than my family’s; in fact, there are viceos that are just holes in the ground (and I know that the title is inaccurate seeing as many others have to use viceos, but I thought it was clever). But there have been times when the smell in the viceo was so awful, I lost my ability to think reasonably and imagined my few minutes in there as such. On the really hot days, the smell is obviously worse. And on the days when it’s cooler from a rainstorm, the floral scent is stronger, making the contrasting scent of the viceo seems worst. One day, it’s bound to be less noticeable, right?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Criuleni Miscellaneous
Some much was going on this weekend, it was hard for me to fit in all into the last 2 blogs. So here are some other miscellaneous things that happen this weekend that I forgot to mention in the last posts.
My partner teachers mentioned yesterday that I look Moldovan. It was nice to hear since I am trying to integrate. Apparently when Svetlana was meeting Veronica and me, she didn’t think I was the American at first. It’s nice to know that until I open my mouth and butcher the Moldovan language, I blend in.
Although, I don’t know how well I will be able to dress Moldovan. Women here wear heels almost everywhere, despite the fact they need to walk up and down hills and on rocky roads. Since we were supposed to dress professionally this weekend, I wore my heels. My leg muscles were burning from walking so much, and my shoes rubbed blisters on my feet. Not cool.
I was also able to talk to my host family’s son, Feodor, and Sarah on Skype. Sarah assured me that my host family is a nice family to live with. And Feodor told me to watch out for his father. Apparently, Ramon likes to play jokes. I should also stay strong when I don’t want any more wine. Feodor said not to listen to Ramon when says things like “I don’t respect him” when I refuse a drink. It’s good to know because I’m not sure how well I will read his sense of humor in Russian.
Yesterday morning at breakfast, my host mom mentioned that there have been 3 PCV who married someone from Criuleni: Sarah (their daughter-in-law), David (the one Svetlana mentioned Saturday), and Lawson. Sarah and David had worked at the school and Lawson had worked in a bank. I don’t know the details because this explanation was given to me in Romanian, but she made it very clear that 3 PCV had married a Moldovan.
Add to to-do list: learn as many Romanian words as possible related around the topic of marriage to better approach this conversation in the future.
My partner teachers mentioned yesterday that I look Moldovan. It was nice to hear since I am trying to integrate. Apparently when Svetlana was meeting Veronica and me, she didn’t think I was the American at first. It’s nice to know that until I open my mouth and butcher the Moldovan language, I blend in.
Although, I don’t know how well I will be able to dress Moldovan. Women here wear heels almost everywhere, despite the fact they need to walk up and down hills and on rocky roads. Since we were supposed to dress professionally this weekend, I wore my heels. My leg muscles were burning from walking so much, and my shoes rubbed blisters on my feet. Not cool.
I was also able to talk to my host family’s son, Feodor, and Sarah on Skype. Sarah assured me that my host family is a nice family to live with. And Feodor told me to watch out for his father. Apparently, Ramon likes to play jokes. I should also stay strong when I don’t want any more wine. Feodor said not to listen to Ramon when says things like “I don’t respect him” when I refuse a drink. It’s good to know because I’m not sure how well I will read his sense of humor in Russian.
Yesterday morning at breakfast, my host mom mentioned that there have been 3 PCV who married someone from Criuleni: Sarah (their daughter-in-law), David (the one Svetlana mentioned Saturday), and Lawson. Sarah and David had worked at the school and Lawson had worked in a bank. I don’t know the details because this explanation was given to me in Romanian, but she made it very clear that 3 PCV had married a Moldovan.
Add to to-do list: learn as many Romanian words as possible related around the topic of marriage to better approach this conversation in the future.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Just Let Go And Fall
I’m such a worrywart. For those who don’t know me as well, I like to plan and think and understand. I like to know what is going on and understand what is to expect. So when I found out I was going to be visiting Criuleni last week, I want to plan the weekend. I wanted to know what I need to do, where I need to go, who I need to meet, how to fit it all into a weekend, what questions I have to ask, how do I get there, how do I get back, etc. Needless to say, I did not get the answers to these questions before this weekend. Yet it went well. I knew that going into the PC I would be get a chance to practice flying by the seat of my pants. I think I’m beginning to handle it better.
I met up with Svetlana, and she walked me to the school where we’ll be teaching together. We met up with Veronica and two of my other partner teachers, Maria and Valentina. Both women were very excited to meet me, and Maria greeted me by kissing my cheeks. There is one more English teacher, but she was out of town (I know, I know… I thought I had understood Veronica the night before saying there were 3 English teachers, but there are actually 4. Maybe that interview from yesterday wasn’t accurate?). We went into the school and they showed me their classrooms.
Then we went into what I think functions as the teachers lounge and sat and drank apple juice and ate chocolates. Veronica proceeded to update Svetlana, Maria, and Valentina about the Peace Corps and what I was doing in Romanian. It was weird being talked about right in front of my face and not understanding it, but oddly enough, it didn’t bother me.
After that, my partner teachers took me on a tour of Criuleni. It is beautiful. I love the wild flowers that grow in Moldova, and the gorgeous rolling hills in the background. Criuleni is located beside Nistru River, so we walked to see that. It’s wonderful here, and I can’t wait to be able to take walks through this town daily.
While we were walking, I found out that not only did Sarah marry my host mom’s son, but the last PCV was a man and he too married someone from the village. Svetlana asked me if I was married and I obviously told her no, to which she replied “don’t worry, you can.” She meant it as a joke, and I, of course, laughed.
I am starting to understand the warnings to single ladies in the PC about people in other countries expecting marriage. Now, no one has pressured me and I do not feel uncomfortable, but I have heard the word “marriage” more in the last 24 hours than it is said in a romantic comedy starring a single woman in her mid-30s.
I met up with Svetlana, and she walked me to the school where we’ll be teaching together. We met up with Veronica and two of my other partner teachers, Maria and Valentina. Both women were very excited to meet me, and Maria greeted me by kissing my cheeks. There is one more English teacher, but she was out of town (I know, I know… I thought I had understood Veronica the night before saying there were 3 English teachers, but there are actually 4. Maybe that interview from yesterday wasn’t accurate?). We went into the school and they showed me their classrooms.
Then we went into what I think functions as the teachers lounge and sat and drank apple juice and ate chocolates. Veronica proceeded to update Svetlana, Maria, and Valentina about the Peace Corps and what I was doing in Romanian. It was weird being talked about right in front of my face and not understanding it, but oddly enough, it didn’t bother me.
After that, my partner teachers took me on a tour of Criuleni. It is beautiful. I love the wild flowers that grow in Moldova, and the gorgeous rolling hills in the background. Criuleni is located beside Nistru River, so we walked to see that. It’s wonderful here, and I can’t wait to be able to take walks through this town daily.
While we were walking, I found out that not only did Sarah marry my host mom’s son, but the last PCV was a man and he too married someone from the village. Svetlana asked me if I was married and I obviously told her no, to which she replied “don’t worry, you can.” She meant it as a joke, and I, of course, laughed.
I am starting to understand the warnings to single ladies in the PC about people in other countries expecting marriage. Now, no one has pressured me and I do not feel uncomfortable, but I have heard the word “marriage” more in the last 24 hours than it is said in a romantic comedy starring a single woman in her mid-30s.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Destination Criuleni!
All around, today was a great day to follow a rather dreary week. Today I traveled to my soon-to-be permanent site, Criuleni. The day started out positive with me successfully going to the magazin and selecting a box of chocolate to give to my host family for letting me stay this weekend. The reason this was so exciting was because it was not a scripted conversation like those practiced in class. Mind you, it was only about a 60 second conversation, but it involved her showing me choices and me selecting the box of chocolate I wanted. So for those of you interested in traveling to Moldova and needing help buying a box of chocolate, I’m your girl!
I proceeded to go to language class, in which we had a progress report. It was an interview conducted with one of our LTIs, so it was testing our speaking and listening skills. Despite my nerves and self-consciousness of my Romanian ability, I didn’t do too badly on the interview. If I were to convert their ranking to grades, I would say I got a B. Svetlana was the one who interviewed me and she said that I’m doing great for where I am. It was nice to hear.
Team Cojusna then traveled into Chisinau to meet up with our directors/representatives from our schools. Veronica was the representative from my school, and she teaching Romanian at my school. She does not speak any English, so it was a real test of my Romanian skills.
I was able to successfully tell her that I had taught before, I currently live in Cojusna, and I’m the oldest of 2 sisters and a brother. I learned from her that Svetlana (a different Svetlana from my LTI) was my partner teacher, that there are 3 English teachers at my school, the younger grades (I didn’t understand how young) were in a different school, and that I have big shoes to fill because a previous PCV married a man from the community. It was somewhere in that part of the conversation that I started to get confused, and I think I might have accidently implied that I had a baby. Luckily, a current PCV was walking by and straighten the whole thing out (I hope).
Veronica then took me to Criuleni. She showed me where to catch the bus that goes to Criuleni and told me it was about 40 kilometers from Chisinau, so travel there is easy. The bus ride took a little more than an hour, but it didn’t feel like it. Now, I’m not one who really believes in signs, but I felt like the fact I was pretty much smiling the whole way to the Criuleni can’t be a bad one. The view the whole way was gorgeous, and I loved seeing all the animals everywhere. But my favorite part was the fields of sunflowers at the entrance of the raion. I fell in love!
Veronica and I got off the bus and met up with Svetlana. We walked to my host family’s house and had dinner together. My host mom’s name is Parascovia and my father is Roman. It was then I learned that the previous PCV in the town who married a man from the village is named Sarah, and she is their daughter-in-law. I’m pretty sure there will be pressure for me to marry someone here.
My host family is really friendly. Neither of them speak any English except a couple words, and my father only speaks Russian. Hmm, not prepared for that. But my host mom speaks Romanian, so it’s likely I will be mostly communicated with her. However, I didn’t catch on most of the night that he was speaking Russian (I know, sad, especially after I was feeling so pound of myself from my interview this morning), and I understood a lot of what he was saying (or maybe I should say what he was miming).
This is right.
I proceeded to go to language class, in which we had a progress report. It was an interview conducted with one of our LTIs, so it was testing our speaking and listening skills. Despite my nerves and self-consciousness of my Romanian ability, I didn’t do too badly on the interview. If I were to convert their ranking to grades, I would say I got a B. Svetlana was the one who interviewed me and she said that I’m doing great for where I am. It was nice to hear.
Team Cojusna then traveled into Chisinau to meet up with our directors/representatives from our schools. Veronica was the representative from my school, and she teaching Romanian at my school. She does not speak any English, so it was a real test of my Romanian skills.
I was able to successfully tell her that I had taught before, I currently live in Cojusna, and I’m the oldest of 2 sisters and a brother. I learned from her that Svetlana (a different Svetlana from my LTI) was my partner teacher, that there are 3 English teachers at my school, the younger grades (I didn’t understand how young) were in a different school, and that I have big shoes to fill because a previous PCV married a man from the community. It was somewhere in that part of the conversation that I started to get confused, and I think I might have accidently implied that I had a baby. Luckily, a current PCV was walking by and straighten the whole thing out (I hope).
Veronica then took me to Criuleni. She showed me where to catch the bus that goes to Criuleni and told me it was about 40 kilometers from Chisinau, so travel there is easy. The bus ride took a little more than an hour, but it didn’t feel like it. Now, I’m not one who really believes in signs, but I felt like the fact I was pretty much smiling the whole way to the Criuleni can’t be a bad one. The view the whole way was gorgeous, and I loved seeing all the animals everywhere. But my favorite part was the fields of sunflowers at the entrance of the raion. I fell in love!
Veronica and I got off the bus and met up with Svetlana. We walked to my host family’s house and had dinner together. My host mom’s name is Parascovia and my father is Roman. It was then I learned that the previous PCV in the town who married a man from the village is named Sarah, and she is their daughter-in-law. I’m pretty sure there will be pressure for me to marry someone here.
My host family is really friendly. Neither of them speak any English except a couple words, and my father only speaks Russian. Hmm, not prepared for that. But my host mom speaks Romanian, so it’s likely I will be mostly communicated with her. However, I didn’t catch on most of the night that he was speaking Russian (I know, sad, especially after I was feeling so pound of myself from my interview this morning), and I understood a lot of what he was saying (or maybe I should say what he was miming).
This is right.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I Am A Wet Sponge
So I think it’s starting to get to the point where the amount of work put on us is starting to get to us. The amount of information thrown at us each day can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Every time more information is given to me, I feel like I lose some piece of information I learned before.
Yesterday, I noticed a couple trainees getting annoyed with small things that would not normally bother them (or at least, they wouldn’t react to it so much). I felt like I had to really tread carefully yesterday. It was not fun, especially since I already have to pay such close attention to how my actions are read by Moldovans. I don’t like having to change my behavior because a couple people are in bad moods. But seeing as I have had my harder days, I can understand how they might feel. Besides, we are a team. We need to be able to lean on each other, and I will need extra patience from them on my harder days.
Having 4 hours of language class is proving difficult. My LTIs are incredible, and they have a great amount of patience with us (particularly with me and my terrible Romanian). Whenever I mess up (which is a lot), they seem to blame themselves when it is not their fault at all. I probably should explain to them how often I mess up with the English language!
Some of my Romanian mess-ups:
I was trying to conjugate the verb “can” to say “he can” and ended up saying “he smells.”
I wanted to say “I worked in a school” but ended up saying “I lived in a school.”
And my favorite, I was trying to say “In 2010, I decided to join the Peace Corps” but I ended up saying “in 2010, I died.”
Yesterday, I noticed a couple trainees getting annoyed with small things that would not normally bother them (or at least, they wouldn’t react to it so much). I felt like I had to really tread carefully yesterday. It was not fun, especially since I already have to pay such close attention to how my actions are read by Moldovans. I don’t like having to change my behavior because a couple people are in bad moods. But seeing as I have had my harder days, I can understand how they might feel. Besides, we are a team. We need to be able to lean on each other, and I will need extra patience from them on my harder days.
Having 4 hours of language class is proving difficult. My LTIs are incredible, and they have a great amount of patience with us (particularly with me and my terrible Romanian). Whenever I mess up (which is a lot), they seem to blame themselves when it is not their fault at all. I probably should explain to them how often I mess up with the English language!
Some of my Romanian mess-ups:
I was trying to conjugate the verb “can” to say “he can” and ended up saying “he smells.”
I wanted to say “I worked in a school” but ended up saying “I lived in a school.”
And my favorite, I was trying to say “In 2010, I decided to join the Peace Corps” but I ended up saying “in 2010, I died.”
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Drum Roll Please...
I found out my permanent site today. I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. I will only give the information I know for sure right now, and I’ll fill you in as I find out more.
For the next two years, I will be living and working in Criuleni (pronounced Kree-oo-lin). It is located about 40 km northeast of Chisinau. The population is about 9,000, which is classified as a large village or small town. I also found out that I am located close to Chisinau because I will be traveling into Chisinau to conduct seminars for English teachers throughout the year. More to come on that.
I will be traveling to my permanent site this weekend to meet my host family and partnering teachers, so I can fill you in on more once I visit.
For the next two years, I will be living and working in Criuleni (pronounced Kree-oo-lin). It is located about 40 km northeast of Chisinau. The population is about 9,000, which is classified as a large village or small town. I also found out that I am located close to Chisinau because I will be traveling into Chisinau to conduct seminars for English teachers throughout the year. More to come on that.
I will be traveling to my permanent site this weekend to meet my host family and partnering teachers, so I can fill you in on more once I visit.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Countdown Until Next Good Hamburger…364 Days
This weekend was lots of fun. I was able to attend a USA Independence Day celebration put on by The American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova. There was food and drinks and music.
The food was very good. It was hotdogs and hamburgers. When I first got there, only the hot dogs were out. And by the time I got a hamburger, I was so excited about having it, I gobbled it down before I could take a picture of it. I was told by some of the current volunteers that this celebration is the only time they get a decent hamburger. I’m already counting down until my next one.
It was so great to have American food. That is something I have been missing pretty much since I have been here. I feel like the 3-year-old who wants what she can’t have. As soon as I find out I can’t have hamburgers, that’s all I want no matter what else is offered.
I found the interpretation of the “American” food interesting. The meat of the hotdogs and hamburger were delicious, but buns were much larger then the pieces of meat and were very chewy. Everything else is not what I would generally think of as American. The sides were couscous and pasta salad; both delicious, but the flavors reminded me more of Greek. And the cupcakes were very dense cake with raisins in it. And although I enjoyed the food a lot, the Moldovan version of American food made me wonder about how much America probably butchers ethnic foods.
The food was very good. It was hotdogs and hamburgers. When I first got there, only the hot dogs were out. And by the time I got a hamburger, I was so excited about having it, I gobbled it down before I could take a picture of it. I was told by some of the current volunteers that this celebration is the only time they get a decent hamburger. I’m already counting down until my next one.
It was so great to have American food. That is something I have been missing pretty much since I have been here. I feel like the 3-year-old who wants what she can’t have. As soon as I find out I can’t have hamburgers, that’s all I want no matter what else is offered.
I found the interpretation of the “American” food interesting. The meat of the hotdogs and hamburger were delicious, but buns were much larger then the pieces of meat and were very chewy. Everything else is not what I would generally think of as American. The sides were couscous and pasta salad; both delicious, but the flavors reminded me more of Greek. And the cupcakes were very dense cake with raisins in it. And although I enjoyed the food a lot, the Moldovan version of American food made me wonder about how much America probably butchers ethnic foods.
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