American In Criuleni

So I recently found out that there is another American here in Criuleni, but he’s not with Peace Corps. He is here independently volunteering. And you know how I found out about him? I found out because he is leaving Sunday, and the youth center asked me to teach the adult English class he had started. So I only learned about him because he is leaving.

Funny thing is that I thought I had asked about whether there were any Americans in Criuleni when I first moved here. The youth center often has volunteers from other countries: Italy, Romania, Russia, America, etc. So when I learned this, I asked around if there was an American here. I guess I just didn’t ask the right people.

He actually doesn’t live in Criuleni; he lives in Chișinău and travels into Criuleni 2-3 days a week to volunteer with the youth center. He was teaching an adult English class and leading a youth English club there. He also worked with one of the Evangelist churches here, which I didn’t know we had.

Anyways, I met with him and his class to learn about taking it over. And tonight we celebrated his two-year service here with members from his adult class. He seems like a cool guy, and I’m upset we didn’t know about each other until he was leaving. It would have been nice to have someone to hang out with.

But I am excited about taking over his adult English class. I told them I would start teaching the class after spring vacation, which is this coming week, and I can’t wait to start. They seem like really kind and welcoming people. And I’m really excited about getting my own class and being able to teach how I want. Not to mention that it will be nice to know more members of the community who are older than 13 years.

Doggy Dog World

Before anyone tries to correct me, I know that the phrase is supposed to be “dog eat dog world”. When I was young, like many people, I actually thought that the phrase was “doggy dog world” and could never understand it. And even though I know that it’s just a commonly misspoken or misheard phrase, I think “doggy dog world” could apply to Moldova. 

Stray dogs are in abundance here. During my walk to school, I will see at least a dozen stray dogs around, more when the weather was warmer. You can see in their face that with each person that passes them, they have a mixed feeling of hope for food and fear of being kicked or swatted at. Some may bark at you as a defense mechanism, but it is easy to see they are still more scared of you.

Pet dogs are a little better; however, they are viewed very differently than dogs in America. Most pet dogs have one of two proposes: guards or doorbells. The dogs are kept outside, often chain very close to the front gate, which can help scare off intruders. They might also bark like crazy when a guest arrives, serving as a warning for the owners. I have seen/heard of very few accounts of dogs that are kept as companions.

As I mentioned earlier, dogs are one the two main greatest dangers for a Moldovan volunteer. When we were being told this, the PC was referring to the stray dogs. But in my experience, I haven’t been scared of any strays yet. In fact, the strays are usually quite friendly or very scared. There have only been two times that dogs really scared me, and both times, the dogs had owners. The pet dogs tend to be more aggressive toward strangers than the strays.

My host family has two dogs: Constanța and Charlie. Constanța is small and black, and full of energy. She is chained near the front gate, and she barks excessively whenever someone enters the yard. Charlie is also small, but has blonde shaggy hair. He is chained at the back of the driveway, and he is very quiet. Both are very sweet dogs, and neither one shows aggression towards me. Although Constanța barks whenever I come home, it is out of excitement.





As someone who grew up with dogs as companions and has a general care for animals, seeing the dogs in Moldova is often a very heartbreaking thing for me. Even though I’m almost nine months into my service, it is something I’m still not used to. And although I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, I am glad that my host dogs are at least sweet and seem to be treated better than others I’ve seen. When I get back to the States, I will need some serious canine love from my family dogs.

My Daily Obstacle Course

When we first got here, PC told us that the two greatest dangers to volunteers are walking and dogs. And it doesn’t take too long to understand how true that is. Out of all the countries with PCVs, Moldovan voluteers have the highest amount of injuries caused while walking.

Walking is the only way to get around. Volunteers are not allowed to drive cars, even if we had one available to us. Many of us don’t have a public transportation method that is worth taking to and from work. So we walk. Some PCVs are lucky and live only three minutes away from work. Others have a 40-minute walk. I have about a 20-25 minute commute.

The roads and sidewalks are very uneven, if there even are any. Many paths and roads are just a mix of dirt and rocks. And since I already have weak ankles, I can foresee several twisted ankles in my future. When I have to walk at night, I’m not worried about getting mugged or hurt by another person; I’m worry about not seeing what I’m walking on and falling.

And to make things more difficult, the weather adds another challenge to my walks. Rain makes it so muddy that I might lose a shoe while walking; snow hides the rocks and uneven roads, making the path more mysterious; ice makes everything slick. I pretend like everyday is a new obstacle course I must complete. I’m hoping that all this challenging walking is making my ankles stronger. Maybe this could be an Olympic event?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Wow, over the last month, it has been very cold. Now I understand what all the fuss was about. For a while, I thought that maybe I was super tough or maybe others were more sensitive to the cold. But that’s a big, fat no. I was wrong; I just hadn’t felt the real cold yet. The last two weeks we have gotten got a lot of snow and a lot of wind. In fact, several events for Peace Corps were canceled because of the weather.

Right after that first snow, there was about a week or two of extreme wind. Wind is the worst. It is so have to deal with because no matter how many layers I was wearing, the wind could pass through them. It was torturous walking to and from school. Many errands didn’t happen because I didn’t want to go outside unless it was absolutely necessary.

After those weeks, the snow really came. We probably had at least a foot of snow. It wasn’t as cold as the windy weeks, but I had a foot of snow to walk through because there aren’t plows. Some people shoveled right in front of their gate, but that didn’t make a difference in my walk.

I think part of the difficulty with dealing with the cold is that it is always cold. I have to be outside a lot more because the only way for me to travel is by foot. And the buildings aren’t very warm either. When I sit still for some time working, I get very cold after about a half hour. Layered-clothes are a necessity. Showers are even less fun. The window in the bathroom has a layer of ice around it. And the backdoor has some ice on it in the mornings. Have I mentioned how cold it is lately?

Our Backdoor In The Mornings With Ice

The Water Tower

Routinely Dazed

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. And I think that is because I have really developed a routine, and I just don’t have a lot to say about what is now my everyday life. For quite sometime, everything that happened around me was new and different. I had a lot to say about it all. But now, everything that happens around me is normal. I have a pretty predictable routine, and I’m finding it more and more difficult to find things to talk about.

Yes, there are daily difficulties that I face, and yes, there are daily reminders that I am in a foreign country, but since these are daily things, I am used to them. I’m used to being confused a lot, and I’m used to Moldovan food, and I’m used to changing everything last minute. I can predict better when things won’t go as planned, and I know what kind of conversations to expect with others. That’s not to say that I like everything and it’s easy; I’m merely used to it. So even though I don’t have as much to say anymore, it is kind of nice to think that I have a routine. I guess this means I’m integrating.