Abandoned Buildings

One very noticeable thing in Moldova is the numerous abandoned buildings everywhere. Anywhere you go in Moldova, there are old, run-down buildings. There are both old abandoned buildings as well as buildings that were abandoned during construction. Apparently, a lot of the abandon buildings have some kind of tie with the Soviet Union. Many of them were used by the Soviet Union, and when the Soviet Union left, they took everything that was valuable from the building, leaving the building empty and in great need of repair.

Some businesses might use part of the building, but many of the buildings just sit there unused. The history associated with the buildings often is unpleasant, and no one wants to use it because of those memories. So the buildings stay there untouched.

The buildings that are in use are very simple, yet old and run-down looking on the outside. They tend to be made out of concrete blocks and constructed very block-like. It’s very Soviet looking. Many times, the inside of the building is pleasant looking.

I can’t look at the buildings without thinking about how much the Soviet still affects Moldova. Even with the celebration of 21 years of independence today, I can’t help but think about how much further they need to go to truly be independent of the Soviet.

No More Movies

On Friday, while trying to clean up my computer, my external hard drive, which has all my movies and TV shows, stopped working. I tried fixing it on my own, which didn’t work. So I turned to the internet to find my answer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the answer, so I asked for help in a couple of forums. Waiting for a reply was awful, so I distracted myself by keeping myself busy in my room away from my computer for the next couple of hours. Once I finally started to get some replies, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to fix it. It was very frustrating.

So I made a conscious decision to spend all day Saturday not working on trying to fix my hard drive. I needed to step away from the problem. Once I stopped thinking about my hard drive, I had a rather pleasant day, and I realized how much I had been watching my movies over the last year. It was what I would automatically do when I was bored.

TV and movies have never been a big part of my life. When I was in school, we had the rule “no TV on weeknights”, so I clearly had other things I would do instead of watching TV when I was growing up. But once I was in college, I started watching TV and movies more and more. And I guess it has started to get to the point that this is what I automatically do when I get bored. It’s been particularly bad since I’ve joined the Peace Corps.

So I came up with list of things to do when bored. I wanted to think of better ways to spend my free time. And I needed to be realistic to the fact I might not be able to watch movies as frequently if I can’t fix my hard drive.

Luckily on Sunday, I found a way to fix it. It was quite a relief. Even though I have my movies and TV shows back, I want to remember all the other ways I can spend my free time. Hopefully, I’ll remember how much I enjoyed my free day without watching movies and therefore turn to more engaging actives to fill my free time.

Almost Time For School

Today I went back to school to meet with my partners. I didn’t really do much; my partners were much busier than I, so I mostly just sat there killing time on my computer. Even though I didn’t have much to do, it was nice to be back at school. There is only so much I could think of to do while stuck at my host family’s home. And even though I always feel awkward and out-of-place while trying to work within the Moldovan school system, being at the school is familiar and where I work to make a difference. Here’s the new school year!

Fish and Farmer in Cahul

I just got back from my first visit to a friend’s site. I was hanging out with my friend Maggie in Cahul, which is a southern city on the boarder with Romania. Its population is about 20,000, so much bigger than my raion, but not close to the size of the biggest cities in Moldova (Chișinău’s population is about 794,800).

It was so nice to see what another site looks like. I could see a huge difference in the kind of lifestyle you can have Cahul as opposed to Criuleni, but I could also see so many similarities. The general feel and flow of things are the same. The big difference is just that everything is bigger. There are many more stores and shops. The piața is large enough to find anything there that you need or want. There are many restaurants to choice to dine at (Criuleni only has one restaurant, but it’s very expensive). The grocery stores have a much larger selection.

It took a 3-hour bus ride from the southern part of Chișinău to get to Cahul and then another 45 minutes to get to the center of Chișinău. With pain of travel and the easy access to one’s necessities, I can understand why most PCVs who live in Cahul rarely travel to Chișinău. But regardless of the annoyance of travel, I really enjoyed seeing another site and visiting a friend. I will definitely be visiting more sites in the future.

Site Mates!!

I have finally found out that I do have site mates for this coming year. I’m so excited. Last year was so lonely, so it will be nice to have someone to help eliminate some of that loneliness. Her name is Laura, and she will be working with a cancer awareness project at Criuleni’s hospital.

I met with her today, and I found out that there are two others that live nearby. One lives a village right beside Criuleni on the route to Chișinău, and he can ride the busses that run to and from Chișinău, so he can come into Criuleni very easily. The other lives in a different direction, but still relatively close. The busses don’t run there as frequently, but this summer when I was still working in Chișinău, he would ride his bike to come into Criuleni, so it must be pretty close.

I haven’t met the two guys yet, but I’m so excited to have Americans near me. Having another person to turn to when it gets hard to cope will be incredible. Here’s to an easier year!

The Smells Of Moldova

One thing I remember getting used to last year was the different smells. And to be quite honest, I’m still not completely used to a lot of them. The most common smell is the smell of smoke. Usually, it’s the smell of trash burning since there isn’t always a trash collector. And in the autumn, the air seems to always be filled with the smell of burning leaves.

I’ve mentioned the smell of viceos before, which is like the smell from a million porta potties crammed into one outhouse. I don’t think this is too difficult to understand.

And then there is the body odor. Moldovans don’t tend to shower everyday because many can’t. For the families that have water that comes into the house, the pipes often freeze in the winter, so they go months without running water. Many must get their water from the wells, and therefore take bucket baths. And in the summer, with all the manual labor, there is a lot of smelliness. Getting used to the smell of body odor is very difficult and something I’m still not completely used to.

Moldovan Fashion: Summer

When I came here last summer, I remember how surprised I was with some of the fashions. Since we hadn’t really been told otherwise, I expected rather similar styles, but there were several things that stuck out.

The summer time in Moldova is time to get a lot of manual work done, which means many men are outside working all day with construction of all sorts. The men tend to wear shorts and a wife-beater of some sort, if they wear a shirt at all. Most will go shirtless, even when they aren’t working. And if they are wearing a shirt, they tend to pull them up to expose their midriff in an attempt to stay cool. And for shoes, most wear sandals made of a plastic that seems similar to the plastic used in Crocs.

During the summer, many women wear sheer shirts. In America, these kinds of shirts would go over a tank top or they might be used as a beach cover. However, here in Moldova, the women wear them even in a professional environment. There is no problem with it. And it is acceptable for every kind of women of any age or size to wear them.

Along with the sheer shirts, women tend to wear short shirts or shorts. And they always wear incredibility tall high heels. I’m talking 4-5 inches easily. And they walk around in these shoes all day over all kinds of terrain very gracefully. I don’t know how these women do it. They must have no feeling in their feet. Every once in a while, I have worn my heels, which have a 2-inch heel, to school on special occasions, and I could barely walk on the uneven roads without twisting my ankle. I guess my feet weren’t made for Moldovan fashion.

Moldova Fashion

Moldovan fashion is much different than America. The first thing to know is that it is important to look nice. Looking nice is a sign of respect for those you are meeting with. It means you took the time to look your best for them. This does not mean you must be dressed in suits or formal dresses everywhere you go; it just means that you have taken the time to look nice.

I have also noticed that outfits that are put together don’t necessarily match. The important thing is that you’re wearing a nice top and bottom, not that you’re wearing an orange plaid shirt with a lime green polka dot vest and a pair of dark green plaid pants.

Also, most people tend to dress for the season as opposed to the daily weather. So even if it’s 60 degrees outside during summer, many people will still wear short sleeves and shorts or skirts. And as soon as the calendar marks the first day of autumn, the winter coats and hats are pulled out, even if the temperature might be in the upper 80s. I often get weird looks because I dress for the daily weather. My host mother is very concerned for me if I’m not wearing my coat and gloves when I leave the house in the fall.

Another noticeable fashion difference here is the hair. Women of all ages dye their hair, and the most common color they dye their hair is red. However it is not the red we normally think of as a natural red for hair. A lot women dye their hair a red that is a little darker than candy apple red. I’ve always been a fan of natural-looking red hair, but this red stuck me as odd when I first got here. There is one color that I really like; it’s a dark red that is so dark it appears black and the red shows in the shine of the hair. With all the red hair around, it kind makes me want to dye my hair red again. Maybe I can pull off the bright red hair look.