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.
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