There is no running water again! It's been three days. This irritates me like no other. Not the fact that we don't have access to water, but the fact that no one tells anyone that they are going to turn it off or when we'll get it back, to work on a section of the village or something for example.
Today, I came into work with all intentions of working through my check list of things to do, but as soon as I sat down on my desk, the lights went out and the internet is gone. I have no way to work, and who knows when it'll be turned back on again. IRRITATION! On the bright side, it was a good thing I charged my laptop's battery last night, having had hindsight that things like this could happen.
Ok, ok, to tell you the truth the basis of my frustrations might have something to do with a grant proposal being turned down. When I sat down at my desk this morning, I was able to log onto my email and one of the few emails I got was one from a granter that apologetically declined to grant money for the bathroom and plumbing repair project for the high school.
In an attempt to calm my nerves I have the Most Relaxing mix of classical music running, and have decided to write down my thoughts, and to later work on my Volunteer Report Form, which do not require the use of internet, luckily.
I have 3 more months left!!! The hour glass is running faster now, and of course, it is when I have so many different things on my mind to get done. One of which, is to put together a resource manual for my Mayor's office on project strategic planning, a grant list of all the grants I've come cross and grant researching and writing information. Mostly things I've been working on with them, but this way they have something to refer to when I'm not here. So far I have the information on file, I just need to put it in order and translate some of the documents into Romanian.
The other lurking objective for the next three months is to find a job. My first day of searching for one was yesterday, which did not prove successful. I think I have specific ideas on what I want to do and with which population I want to work with. Maybe I should not be so picky, considering the job market I'll be stepping into. Cross fingers that I'll land something that will get me up in the morning excited to start my day.
Looking back at this blog, it's been a long time since I've updated on my situation here. I'll try to give you some highlights. For the last few months, we've been working on grants for the bathroom repair. We've turned two in so far, one to an organization in Holland and one in America. The one in America was the one I received an email from this morning. The other one we will hopefully hear from by February. For the time being, I should see if there is another grant we can work with.
Great, Classical music is irritating too and my scrolling up and down touch pad is not working on my laptop! Oh Wow, today is really not my day, is it?
Deep breaths!! Deep inhale, exhale!!
Looks like The John Butler Trio will have to do for now.
Another aspect, getting to the brighter side of things, my host parents have been wonderful. We keep finding ourselves planning certain activities and then later realizing that by that time I will be gone. Then there is a period of silence. Time for remembrance and recollection of how close we've become and how comfortable we are to each other. Then the conversation keeps going again.
There is one reoccurring topic that seems to come up lately for me. It concerns comfort zones. How one gets comfortable with how things are and are afraid or unwilling to accept change.
For an example, yesterday at the local store I found out that they ran out of Colgate tooth paste. For all my time here, that is the only brand I've been using, solely because it is a brand I'm familiar with. The lady offered another brand with a weird logo and name, and for several seconds, I stood there undecided whether or not I really want to venture into buying it. You never know if it'll taste like feet, or whether or not has the right amout of mint or fluoride necessary for clean teeth. The women became impatient with me and even said, "It's only 6 lei (vs. Colgate for 12 lei) and forced me to say, "Ok, I'll try it."
That night, you guessed it, I did not enjoy brushing my teeth with the odd taste and lack of freshness. I looked at the back of the tube and it says the paste was made in Bulgaria. Then I got excited that for one, I learned something new, that now I know Bulgaria makes green colored tooth paste called Orbel, and another I learned something about me. The truth of it is, I like to try new things. (Don't laugh) I do. I just need a little push and shove.
Good news: The John Butler Trio is doing the trick, feeling better already.
For New Years I went to Berlin, and before that I was in Romania. About 3 weeks I was gone, I got used to life away from Moldova, eating all different type of food, showering when I want to, even having hot water at all times. That was hard to leave behind and come back to Moldova. The transition was very rough, but once I walked into my house and saw my host parents and slept on my own bed, I was home and everything was ok again.
The toughest thing in life are the transitions, I feel like. That part I don't think I can ever get used to. Does the act of putting yourself through series of transitions help one to be more immune to its effect? I wonder, because I have always been a person who have had many transitions in life presented to her, and every time I push through it, but never fully enjoying it. Question for the day, what type of person does it take to enjoy fully the transitions in life? For I want to be that person.
Now to another subject all together. As you know, my time here is limited. I am being forced to imagine life after Moldova. You can call that seeing the other side of the fence. When thinking about that, a thought occurred to me, "When was it that I jumped onto this side of the fence?"
If you read my blog, you will bond to notice that for the longest time I struggled to find acceptance to this side of the fence. To become an insider. I guess Peace Corps will call that cultural/community integration. I tried to think back to when I can say that I am in. Not just mentally thinking, but emotionally in.
After rereading some old emails I think I came across that period in time documented by me. I am going to include an excerpt from the email written at the time to my boyfriend, Tyler, who has been outstandingly supportive of my adventure, for I want this blog to come to its full circle and to truly represent my service.
Dated October 27, 2009
(A little background, this was titled "The Meeting Update", referring to a meeting my Mayor and I had with an international organization, in which we hoped would grant our bathroom and plumbing repair project)
It turned out the organization does not work outside of two or three districts outside of Chisinau and our district is too far and our village is too big for them. They are not able to come and work with us, but recommended us to wait and see if the US Army, a branch specifically from North Carolina, who wants to implement the same type of projects, around 15 or so new Eco toilets in Moldova, would want to come work in our village. We just don't know when they will start the implementation, however we registered our project with this organization for them to pass our name along to the US Army!
I bet you are thinking, the US Army??? What? Why? I asked the same thing, believe me. They told me they don't know. I'm a little skeptical of the whole thing, but whatever. If the US Army wants to work with humanitarian aid and bring Eco toilets to Moldova, poftim (which means, bring it on in Romanian).
About the translation worries I had. I didn't even need to do much translating for there was an Moldovan guy who works at the org who did a lot of the translation. Though at times I took him as being inconsiderate of my Mayor. Actually all three of the men there were very rude.
The person who translated was making jokes with the leader of the project from Switzerland in English that, "of course the sewerage system doesn't work, Do you have to ask that question?" and went on and on laughing while my Mayor was in the process of explaining how our village takes care of the sewerage. And when he asked if we have safe drinking water my Mayor said, "It's ok", and they laughed, "Well it must be, because you both are still alive (meaning me and my Mayor), hahaha," How rude!
Then when my Mayor heard about the Army, he said to me to translate that he wants to turn the abandoned old school into a cadet schools for unmotivated young boys who dropped out of school, that are left behind from working abroad parents to discipline them. Then the translator interrupted us and did the translating for me, and then the other ppl in the room quickly told my Mayor it's a nice dream to have. My Mayor quickly said that he is just saying it would be nice to do, he's not asking if they would help make it happen.
I don't know what it was, but I felt for my Mayor then. I can't place my emotions exactly, but I understood where he is coming from. These people don't know how it is in our village. I mean they don't even want to venture into a project with us, because, we are "too big". It'll be too much work. But yet, they are so quick to shut down his wishes and dreams for his village.
I do admit that when he told me his idea for the cadet school before, I was skeptical of it, of how he would find funding and what the use of it is, but from his point of view, I now can understand his urgency to implement changes, to strive for developments, to provide his people with a better place to live, a place where they can be proud to call home.
It was interesting to see how my emotions have changed at the meeting. Does this mean that I now identify myself as one of the villagers? Does it mean that I now understand the hardship? I don't know, because even through all of those identifications, I still know that I will one day leave this place. That I no longer have to think or worry about not having hot water, or about the quality of the water. Or think of the kids having to go outside to use the outhouse at school during winter months, and that there were 15 reported cases in 2008-2009 of children at the school who were sick with Pyelonephritis, because they prolong their urge to go to the bathroom all the time which then resulted in an UTI, then it gets untreated and then it reaches their pelvis and kidneys.
I looked it up, and found that in a annually report around 12-13 cases is the norm among 10,0000 people. There are 5,000 people in my village and around 780 children at the school. Is this ok? This is not to mention the cases of illness from not having a proper place to wash hands.
I find people are too quick to judge, too quick to make assumptions about how people live, about them as human beings in general, and this makes me sick, even worst, I was too, at one point in time, one of them who did the same thing. The thing about this is, it really does take 2 years to finally see the other side of the fence. I'm just glad that I was able to finally see over to the other side. Question is, will I be able to cross that fence, and not just claim to have seen it?
I feel re-motivated lately. I honestly think it's all the things I just told you. The things that made me identify with the people I live with everyday. I see how they truly live. I see the honest hardship in their everyday trivial ways of living that makes me feel more motivated to fight for their right to have the things you and I take for granted each day.
So the next time you go wash your face and turn on the faucet and hot water runs out with joy, think of me, who had to boil water the other day to take a bath (our hot water boiler is broken and my host family does not have money to fix it) (or like the past three days when it mysteriously gets turned off). I had to bathe with only one pot of hot water. I gave up half way and said, "Screw it, I'm rinsing off with jaw clenching cold water". I made it happen and did I mention that was after one whole week of not bathing.
I know that sounds bad, but there are people in my village who don't even have running water, hot or cold and have to walk to get their water from a well.
Stuff like this makes me appreciate life, appreciate our ways of living and somehow even amongst the sadness of seeing how people live, I am happy. Happy to have been blessed.
To making things happen! I'm devoted from now on!
To Devotions in promoting CHANGE!!
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