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.