Meșterul Manole

Today in Criuleni, there was a celebration called Meșterul Manole. It is an international folklore festival, with groups from Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Başchiria dressed in authentic folkware. This year is a particularly important celebration because it is the 20th year of independence for Moldova.

There were a lot of venders selling all kinds of things: paintings, beaded jewelry, pieces of lace knitting and crochet, woodworks, and other kinds of handmade crafts. It was all very impressive. Doamna Parascovia had a booth as well; she was selling her knittings.

In addition to the venders, there was a lot of dancing, which was my favorite part. Each ethnic group did a performance of some kind on the stage. I often found myself bopping along to the music before realizing that people might notice me. But it didn’t matter because there were many people who danced to the music in the middle of the square. I really enjoyed hearing the music and watching the dancing. 

I wanted to know what the festival was named after, so I looked up the legend of Meșterul Manole. There are some differences between different sites, but this seems to be what I saw the most.

In Romanian mythology, Meşterul Manole (roughly meaning “the master builder Manole”) was the chief architect of the Curtea de Argeş Monastery in Wallachia. The myth of the cathedral's construction is expressed in the folk poem Monastirea Argeşului ("The Monastery on the Argeş River"). 

Negru Voda wanted to build the most beautiful monastery in the country so he hired Master Manole, the best mason of those times, along with his 9 men. Some mysterious curse made that everything Manole and his masons were building in day-time, was doomed to fall down by night. Because the walls of the monastery were always crumbling, the prince threatened him and his assistants with death. 

Manole prayed to God for help in order to continue his work. His plea resulted in a vision in which he was told that, in order to build the most beautiful monastery, he had to wall in someone very beloved by him or by his masons. He told his masons about it and they agreed that the first wife who came there on the following morning should be the victim. The other masons warned their families, so Manole`s wife, Ana (who was pregnant) came first. 

A well-known fragment of the poem depicts the struggle the oblivious Ana took in order to reach the construction site. A devoted wife, she aimed to show up in time with her husband's meal. Manole would have been watching her from atop the walls, begging God to present her with all possible challenges. While God paradoxically listened, and unleashed all sorts of small-scale disasters, Ana kept on walking. She was sent by the destiny and built alive, with her unborn baby. She implored Manole to let her go, but he kept his promise. Thus the beautiful monastery was built and the curse vanished. 

When Manole and his masons told the prince that they could always build an even greater building, Radu Negru had them stranded on the roof so that they could not build something to match it. The action forced Manole and his team to build themselves wings out of shingles (the only material available to them) and attempt to fly off to safety. One by one, they all fell to the ground. A spring of clear water, called after Manole, is said mark the spot where Manole fell.

Baby Steps, Maggie, Baby Steps

So after the first 2 days here in Criuleni, I thought it would be difficult to have time to myself. Well, I was wrong. I haven’t needed to go into work for the past 3 days. I have been calling my partner to talk about me coming in, but there have been seminars for the teachers at the school, which are taught in Romanian. So my partner told me not to come in. I couldn’t tell if they were telling me to stay home because they wanted me to rest or because they didn’t know what do with the American. I’m assuming the first.

But I finally got to go in again today. But it ended up not being exciting at all. My partner teachers were busy with their responsibilities, which they didn’t need my help with, or perhaps they didn’t want my help. So I ended up just sitting by myself and working on retyping a document I needed. After a little while, Svetlana told me I could go home.

I didn’t really accomplish much in terms of collaborating and planning with my partners, but it was nice to just be at the school. Although it was completely unintentional, I felt very left out. I was hoping to help with something; maybe planning our first lesson or coming up with a disciplinary plan. But since it’s the beginning of my relationships with my partners, I didn’t want to come in being demanding and controlling. Today reminded me that this whole experience will require a lot of patience and flexibility from me. We’re taking baby steps. And I won’t be in control the whole time. Just typing this makes me stop and realize how much work these next 2 years will involve. Whew.

The 4 Times I Almost Cried During PST

So far, I have not cried, which I think is a big accomplishment. I thought there would be at least one break down by now. However, I did have my weak moments when I almost cried. And the surprising thing is that for all but one time, I almost cried over something I didn’t think would make me cry.

1. It was during the first week of Practice School (7 weeks into my time here in Moldova) when I was teaching by myself. I had been working until 11:30 every night for 3 nights now, and I was not yet feeling particularly proud of my lessons. It was 6:00 and I had at least 5 hours of work ahead of me. I was walking my 40-minute walk home and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work we have to do and what is expected of us. I was starting to cry as I was walking, but I still had 10 minutes before I got home and no sunglasses. I did not want everyone in my neighborhood to see me cry as I walked into my host family’s home.

2. My host family was having a masă. I was noticing my host mom and sister interacting, and they reminded me of my mom and me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with missing my mom, which grew into me missing my family and friends. I started to get teary-eyed, but there were 15 people around me and I did not feel like explaining why the American is crying when everyone was being very hospitable.

3. It was 3 days before I was leaving Cojușna. I was walking home when one of the neighbor kids has said hello to me. I had recently learned her name, Mihaela (Cute story: she always says hello to me, and her cuteness stands out compared to the others. One day, she said “hello, Maggie” to me and I said hello back. Her brother was with her and tried to tell her how to say “my name is Mihaela” in English, but she just ended up saying “hello Mihaela” instead. It was very cute. I understood well enough, and now I knew her name). It was very dark, and I could barely make out shapes. But when Mihaela said hello to me, I could easily tell it was her. She giggled when I said “hello, Mihaela”, and I could hear her talking about me once I left. All the sudden I realized that I would not be seeing her or any of the neighborhood kids any more. It took me 2 months to make friends with them, and I walk through a neighborhood everyday. In Criuleni, my house is practically on the main road. I was very upset at the thought of not making friends with neighborhood kids. But I was almost home, and I didn’t want to explain to my host family why I showed up in tears. So I held the tears back.

4. It was the last night in Cojușna, and I was spending it with Holly, Jim, Matt, Lauren, and Cassie at the Cojușna winery. On our way out, I said something about how I was going to miss them. And then it hit me that I was going to be the only American in a 30 kilometer radius, and that I was going to see these guys for several months. My eyes started to water, but Cassie demanded that I stopped because she would start to cry as well. So I did.

Miss Independence

Doamna Parascovia and Roman took me to Chișinău today, and I was able to purchase the things that I needed, including internet. I wasn’t allowed the sign the contract, so Roman signed for me. Due to language barriers and I didn’t know I was going to purchase internet today, I didn’t quite get what internet plan I wanted. But it works fine. Now I will be distracted during my free time, so I won’t be able to solve world hunger and poverty. Perhaps another time. They also took me to Metro, which is Moldova’s version of Costco except much smaller. I was able to get everything I needed.

Today’s interactions made me miss my independence in America. I did not feel like a 25-year-old adult woman. I need be driven places. I need someone else to sign contracts for me. I need help reading what a product is (a lot of things are just in Russian, and I don’t know every Romanian word). I don’t have the flexibility to go purchase anything I need whenever I want. And while I appreciate how helpful Moldovans are with me, I miss the ability to work independently. Well, I’ll try to think of it as something that will make me a better person.

Lingually Challenged

This summer, I was learning Romanian because the school I will teach at has students who speak Romanian. However, I am living with a family that speaks Russian in their home because Roman only knows Russian. Doamna Parascovia speaks Romanian to me. I found all this out when I visited my host family in June.

So today, I found out a couple more challenges with learning Romanian. Camilla is from Italy, and apparently Doamna Parascovia can speak Italian. So when they are talking to each other, it’s in Italian. Finding this out made me feel a little better because I never understood anything they said to each other. Now I know why. And Roman is from Ukraine, but his family is Polish, so sometimes he uses Polish words. Although I haven’t been told such yet, I’m guessing that Roman will also uses some Ukrainian words since that is where he is from. So the following languages are spoken in my new home: Russian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, and possibly Ukrainian. It’s a good thing I’m teaching English because otherwise, I don’t know if I would recognize the language after two years of living here.

Who Needs Internet

Well, I was supposed to have this day off since I didn’t get yesterday off. But I woke to Svetlana knocking on my door asking me for copies of the lessons plans I wrote this summer. I didn’t have to go anywhere, but being awoken by a colleague kind of throws you off. Once again, I am reminded that you never really get a day off when you’re in the Peace Corps.

Yesterday I had spent my time of rest watching a couple movies. So today, I was bored with that. Without internet, I am super productive. I have organized a whole bunch of pictures that I have been meaning to for over a year now. I organized all my papers from the PC and threw away what I didn’t need anymore. Finished up arranging my room. And all of this by 1:00pm. If I don’t purchase internet soon, I probably can come up with a solution to world hunger and poverty during my free time in my first couple weeks.

First Full Day In Criuleni

Svetlana and I met at 8:00am to walk to the school. On the walk there, she showed me around again, which was good since I didn’t remember everything she had shown/told me in June. We got to the school, had a quick meeting with Doamna Ana, and then met with the English teachers.

The meeting with the English teachers was about making long-term plans for the English department for this school year and the next 5 years. I would have probably found it more interesting if it was done in English. Alas, the teachers spoke in Romanian. I tried to follow as much as possible, but they spoke very quickly. But we did decide that I would start an English club some time during the year. And they informed me that I would be giving a welcome speech to the school the first day, in both Romanian and English. I hope I didn’t miss anything else I’m supposed to do.

The vice mayor was also visiting the school and wanted to meet me. So Svetlana and I went to meet him in Doamna Ana’s office. He introduced himself as Alexandru and shook my hand (men in Moldova don’t usually shake women’s hands). Since he was at the school and asked to meet me, I assumed he wanted to find out a little about what I will do this year. Instead, he asked about how America handles stray dogs. I explained pounds and how many Americans are active in finding homes for strays. They asked if we shoot the dogs, and I explained euthanasia. For a first meeting, I was not quite ready for this.

On the walk home, Svetlana showed me the magazins, alimentaras, and banks. I bought a few essentials before we went to the Orange store to look into me purchasing internet. However, at this particular store, I was not able to sign a contract since I’m not Moldovan. I think I will have to go into Chișinău to buy something. So it looks like I’ll be without internet for a little bit. I guess this is right since I had internet the whole time during PST. I should experience no internet for a little while.

Overall, it was actually a very exhausting day. Tomorrow, the students and teachers are cleaning the school. Since there are no meetings, I’m going to have a day off since I didn’t get one today.

The Next Step

I was picked up by the rutiera today at 8:30am with all my luggage. The amount of stuff I had gathered had significantly grown, along with the other trainees. But everyone’s stuff fit, and we made our way to Chișinău for swearing-in.

The swearing-in ceremony went well. We actually swore-in as volunteers before the ceremony, and the ceremony part was just for show. We said the same oath that the president and any other government official says when swearing into office. The ceremony lasted about an hour.

After swearing-in, I met Doamna Ana, the director of my school in Criuleni, and Tatiana, one of my partner teachers I hadn’t met yet. Then there was a small reception with food. I was starving, and didn’t really know when else I was going to get lunch. And Doamna Ana and Tatiana were ready to leave. So I ate quickly.

The drive was different than the way the rutiera goes, but still beautiful. And there were 3 churches I saw that I absolutely loved. Hopefully I can eventually figure out a way to visit them. Entering Cruileni was just as I remembered; fields and fields of sunflowers all around.

Svetlana met up with us, and we took my luggage to my new home. Everyone helped me get my stuff upstairs to my room. Then my host mother, Doamna Parascovia, made me lunch. I should have known I was going to eat once I arrived. I was stuffed from the reception, but Doamna Parascovia’s cooking was too delicious to resist. First she served broth soup, with noodles and potatoes. The entrée was duck with a yummy tomato sauce.

Once lunch was over, Svetlana wanted to help me unpack. She helped me for a little while before we realized that this was really something I had to do on my own. So we discussed our plans for tomorrow, and she left. I was able to take it easy for the rest of the day, which is good since I have to go to school tomorrow to meet everyone. I was hoping for a couple days of rest to regenerate from the overwhelming summer. But I guess there are no breaks in PC.

Pre-Service Training Summary By The Numbers

Today I will be sworn in as an English Education Peace Corps volunteer for a 2-year commitment. With this coming up, I have thought about all I have learned and experienced during my time in PST. I have summed it up below.

10 ½ hour plane ride here
5029 miles between Richmond and Moldova
10 weeks of language and technical training to prepare me for working in Moldova
40 minutes twice a day walk to school
156 hours of language training 

12 ½ hours of cultural training
11 hours of health and safety training
139 hours of technical training 150 lei for new pair of sunglasses
9 lei for a Coka Cola Light
7,000 people living in Cojusna
0 number of times I have cried
4 number of times I almost started to cry but I was able to hold back the tears because other people were around
13 sixth grade students in my class during practice school
7 eleventh grade students in my class during practice school
8,000 people living in Criuleni
40 kilometers from Criuleni to Chisinau
588 photos taken
1 shirt ripped while doing laundry
2 pieces of luggage and 1 backpack packed to move to Moldova
3 pieces of luggage, 1 backpack, 2 boxes, and 1 guitar to move from Cojusna to Cruileni
1 language proficiency interview
1 wine tasting at Cojusna’s winery
Countless memories

LPI And Assessment Interviews

Today, I had to go into Chisinau to take my LPI (language proficiency interview) and assessment interview. I had my LPI first, and it went better than I thought. I understood everything but 2 things my interviewer asked/told me. Mind you, I didn’t always understand every single word, but I understood the content of the phrases/sentences. It started off with simply asking things about my life: what I was doing in Moldova, where I live, what I did before joining the PC, what I do in my free time, and describe my host family. I tried my best to just use what I know and not try to formulate sentences I was not sure about. I probably sounded like a 2-year-old talking.

I was also given a fictional situation to ask questions about. My situation was that my school will be closed and I need to find out details. And after I asked how long it was closed and why it was closed, I couldn’t think of anything else to ask in English, let alone Romanian. Oh well. I will still need to continue to study Romanian, but I still think I did better than I was expecting. I’ll get the results in a couple weeks.

I also had an assessment interview, where I meet with Nina. It was pretty chill without much pressure. Nina was just checking on me and how I felt. She asked for some feedback for Practice School and technical training. She also suggested that I help with PST next summer. She thought I would be a helpful in PST, which was nice to hear. Overall, I think my interviews were successful.

Swearing-In Request

County Director,

I would like to be swore-in as an English Education volunteer for Peace Corps Moldova on August 17, 2011. Over the last 10 weeks, I have dedicated my life to language, cultural, and technical training to prepare me to work in Moldova, teach English, collaborate with my partner teachers, and integrated into the Moldovan culture.

Learning the Romanian language has been my greatest challenge, but my dedication and determination to continue to learn will not end with pre-service training. My commitment and enthusiasm will make me a successful volunteer, and it will more than make up for my struggling Romanian.

Pre-service training has only begun to open my eyes to the beauty of Moldova, and I am very eager to continue to learn and grow in Moldova as I promote world peace and friendship.

Maggie Farmer

Practice School Complete

Wow, I have never been so exhausted in my life. But practice school is finished. I just taught 11th grade for 1½ weeks. I liked it more than I expected. I already know that I like teaching, but I’m used to teachings the young ones. So teaching students who are taller than me is a little intimidating. But I liked it. The material was more fun to teach because it was a higher level of thinking and the conversations were more fun. I think I’m going to be able to do this. 

After class today, we stayed after for youth activities with the students. Jim taught a group of boys how to play American football. My favorite moment was when one of the boys wanted to intercept a pass, he decided to kick the ball away from the receiver. I guess that’s what happens when you teach soccer players a game called “football”. 

We also had a dance room. Here, some of the students tried to teach us the hora. But no one ever really showed us what to do with our feet. There is something about kicking and doing the grapevine. Anyways, I couldn’t figure it out, so I ended up just running around in the circle.

Young Frankenstein

I have clearly watched this movie too much. There are many men named Igor here in Moldova. And every time I meet someone with the name “Igor” or see the name “Igor”, I think in my head ‘Ī-gor’ with a long ‘i’ sound. I have to consciously tell myself to say ‘Ee-gor’. Not to mention I have a little giggle when I think about the name. Oye. At least now I know what movie I’ll watch tonight.

Emotional Rollercoaster Ride

Overall, I can say with certainty that I have not yet doubted my choice to join the PC. However, that does not mean I have loved every minute of it. I have had my good days and my bad days. I have had my good weeks and my bad weeks. But that’s not really any different than America.

What is different? Each day seems to be an emotional rollercoaster ride. I will start the day thinking how happy I am to be in the PC. But then on my walk to school (40 minutes everyday twice a day of walking by myself, left with only my thoughts can be too much thinking sometimes) I begin to worry about whether or not I can complete my service successfully. Once I’m at school and see Americans in the same boat I am in, my faith grows and their presence gives me that high you get from being around others. Then I struggle with my Romanian and I wonder how can I be an effective volunteer if I can’t talk to the people. And it’s only 10 o’clock in the morning!!

And I’m a pretty positive person. I don’t experience emotional downs too often. So getting them 4 or 5 times a day everyday is difficult. And many times, when I experience one emotional down, another grows from it. For example, today I realized that I was thinking about the faults in others. This is not me. Now I know that everyone is not my best friend. But for the most part, I can get along with anyone if I try. And those who I might not get along with as easily, I put extra effort into getting along with them. And I try to look for the good in others, not the faults. But with the stress that comes with PST, I am mentally worn out. And the good and logic that I usually have are gone. I’m not myself. Then of course, I realize that thinking about the faults in others is not okay, and I am really hard on myself and have doubt in my ability to be here. And then I realize how often I have been complaining about things. And I’m hard on myself once more. Do you see the snowballing happening here? My mental capabilities are not strong enough to handle this well.

When I am starting to think it is too hard or too much or too humid, I frequently tell myself that it will make me a better person as a way to console myself. For example, I might be really tired from staying up really late planning a lesson. I tell myself that I made a better lesson and the students will benefit, and it will make me a better person. I might get frustrated at the difficulty I am having with language. I tell myself that it will teach me patience with students as they learn new things, and it will make me a better person. These “words of comfort” are starting to not be as comforting anymore. I have been thinking about how often I say it to myself and concluded that if every time I say to myself this hardship will make me a better person proves to be true, I’ll be a saint by the end of my service.

The Roads Are Driving Me Crazy

The roads and the driving habits around here take some getting used to. The drivers remind me of NYC taxi drivers; you go as fast as you can, where you can, however you can. Traffic signs are merely suggestions, and pedestrians have no business being on the road. Speed limits are nonexistent. There have been many times when I have been scared for my life as I walk on the sidewalk and a car zooms passed at 50 miles/hour in what would be considered neighborhoods in America.

The only road sign I have seen in Cojusna, other than children crossing signs.

The roads are pretty bad. Giant potholes are everywhere. People fill the roads in with rocks (not gravel, rocks the size of baseballs) and broken plates or tiles in attempt to smooth it out. And walking on the road isn’t pleasant either. It’s basically like hiking a rocky terrain while dressed in professional attire carrying a heavy backpack.

At first, I thought walking on the giant rocks and tiles was harder than just filling the potholes with dirt. But when it rains, the water all flows down into the valley and all the dirt washes away. And walking uphill on only mud is not fun. The rocks are the only things that keep me from slipping and sliding and falling on my butt, although not a guarantee.

Recently, they came and repaved part of the road that leads to my house. I was so excited when I first saw them working on. I thought this would be a blessing. But now, the drivers can zoom through this windy street, and I have to walk with extra caution.

And just to get a sense of how bad the roads are, if my explanation wasn’t enough…Chisinau advertises itself as the city with bad roads.

Practice School With 6th Form

So my first half of practice school is complete. What a fun time! I taught 14 lessons (2 lessons a day for 7 days) to the 6th form (grade) over the last week. Overall, it went really well. The girls liked the way I dressed and wanted me to stay in Cojusna to teach. And on several days, at the end of the lessons, the students wanted another lesson. It was really nice to get such compliments from the students. 

My 6th form students and their certificates.

Ms. Magge is Teacher gud, and beautiful.

Overall, I would say the students I taught in practice school weren’t very different than American students. There were many levels of English knowledge among the students. Those who struggled were quieter and less willing to participate. Those who excelled would get impatient with the pace being a little too slow for them, and I would need to provide them with extra work. Sometimes a student would be apathetic towards learning, and I had to work very hard to motivate them to participate.

These students signed up voluntarily to take this class during their summer vacation, so I would guess that most of them want to learn English. I’m interested to see how the dynamics change once I’m working in the school.

Thursday I will begin the second half of practice school. I will be working with the 11th form, and I will be team teaching with my partner teacher from my school in Criuleni. This last week was long and hard, but I’m excited about starting team teaching. Bring it on, Moldova.