Late Autumn
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Autumn Breeze
Here we are already close to the middle of October. Autumn is definitely here. Moldova is so beautiful right now, the hills are covered with such a colorfully woven carpet of the inevitable change of the season. I love it! It's almost like Moldova came alive.
The last few months, I've come to the realization of how much at home I feel here. It involved taking time to being away on vacation for me to come back and feel the difference at how I adjusted to being back, to being accepted once again to my community, to how comfortable I became to the daily routines of every day encounters again.
It is funny how it took all this time to get where I am, and then once I'm here I have to think and prepare myself to leaving in just a few more months (6 months).
Change is very much a requirement for the functionality of Peace Corps' life.
Lately I've been looking at things here with a new pair of lens. To fully enjoying it as much as I can. The knowledge of leaving one day has made me appreciate the very littlest things. Mostly, the relationships I have with everything and everyone.
Another reason for this too, could be that I no longer possess a camera, for it is in the process of getting replaced. Just the mere act of having to write every experience to memory have changed how I experience things. I am able to enjoy it so much more.
When it comes to work progress, I can't say that I have much more activities than I had before, but the importances of every task has an added weight than it did before. Maybe it's because I know how it works, the inner workings of time and improvements, maybe I've finally gotten to the stage of acceptance of reality. Whatever it is, I feel like my everyday efforts add to the massive.
Like today for example, one hour of sitting with my grant writing partners to go through planning of activities for this project to repair the bathrooms at the high school was such a major success for my time here.
Today I was also invited to go present myself and about Peace Corps to the 6th graders. Through my awesome and improved language skills, I was fearless, and loved every minute of it. I love doing this stuff. Yes, I completed goal number 2 today!
With that said, I want to bring up something that a newer volunteer shared with me. Recently I was told that during another volunteer's research into coming to Peace Corps Moldova, my blog scared them into joining. My reply to that was, "I'm glad that you still decided to come, and as you can see I'm still here."
For those who are at that place within your decision to leap into the amazing journey that is Peace Corps, I just want to say, that yes, Peace Corps is hard, you will face many challenges, in which, you might never ever dream of encountering. However, Peace Corps is one opportunity in your life to break through to people's heart by immersing oneself into another country, it's culture and traditions and live as they do. It'll be your chance to do something for your country, to represent all that is great and not so great in America. To build a bridge of unity within human beings. To learn more about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses and most of all, how far you can go.
Before I came to Moldova, throughout my research I didn't come across information that I now can say exposed me to the trueness of Peace Corps, and I know one experiences Peace Corps differently, but the challenges and struggles that volunteers go through was not elaborately expressed. Because of that, I believed I was not able to properly prepare myself for all that I would be facing.
I do hope that future readers of my experiences will not be discouraged to pursue Peace Corps. Better yet, I challenge you to make it your own, to get the most out of it, for there are so much there to absorb, to learn and to love.
The last few months, I've come to the realization of how much at home I feel here. It involved taking time to being away on vacation for me to come back and feel the difference at how I adjusted to being back, to being accepted once again to my community, to how comfortable I became to the daily routines of every day encounters again.
It is funny how it took all this time to get where I am, and then once I'm here I have to think and prepare myself to leaving in just a few more months (6 months).
Change is very much a requirement for the functionality of Peace Corps' life.
Lately I've been looking at things here with a new pair of lens. To fully enjoying it as much as I can. The knowledge of leaving one day has made me appreciate the very littlest things. Mostly, the relationships I have with everything and everyone.
Another reason for this too, could be that I no longer possess a camera, for it is in the process of getting replaced. Just the mere act of having to write every experience to memory have changed how I experience things. I am able to enjoy it so much more.
When it comes to work progress, I can't say that I have much more activities than I had before, but the importances of every task has an added weight than it did before. Maybe it's because I know how it works, the inner workings of time and improvements, maybe I've finally gotten to the stage of acceptance of reality. Whatever it is, I feel like my everyday efforts add to the massive.
Like today for example, one hour of sitting with my grant writing partners to go through planning of activities for this project to repair the bathrooms at the high school was such a major success for my time here.
Today I was also invited to go present myself and about Peace Corps to the 6th graders. Through my awesome and improved language skills, I was fearless, and loved every minute of it. I love doing this stuff. Yes, I completed goal number 2 today!
With that said, I want to bring up something that a newer volunteer shared with me. Recently I was told that during another volunteer's research into coming to Peace Corps Moldova, my blog scared them into joining. My reply to that was, "I'm glad that you still decided to come, and as you can see I'm still here."
For those who are at that place within your decision to leap into the amazing journey that is Peace Corps, I just want to say, that yes, Peace Corps is hard, you will face many challenges, in which, you might never ever dream of encountering. However, Peace Corps is one opportunity in your life to break through to people's heart by immersing oneself into another country, it's culture and traditions and live as they do. It'll be your chance to do something for your country, to represent all that is great and not so great in America. To build a bridge of unity within human beings. To learn more about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses and most of all, how far you can go.
Before I came to Moldova, throughout my research I didn't come across information that I now can say exposed me to the trueness of Peace Corps, and I know one experiences Peace Corps differently, but the challenges and struggles that volunteers go through was not elaborately expressed. Because of that, I believed I was not able to properly prepare myself for all that I would be facing.
I do hope that future readers of my experiences will not be discouraged to pursue Peace Corps. Better yet, I challenge you to make it your own, to get the most out of it, for there are so much there to absorb, to learn and to love.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
To Golden Leaves and an Empty Office
I realized I haven't written in awhile, so much time has passed, and yet not so many new interesting dealings to report, or has it, maybe it's that I am so used those abnormal happenings that I'd forgotten that the me a year ago would completely appreciate such an experience. Thus today I am attempting to get back on this writing wagon and tune the rest of the world in what has been happening.
As I am typing this I am sitting outside on our wonderful electric green couch that looks like it traveled in time from the 60s that has a very classic Moldovan pink and maroon blanket covering it, with Julia, my cat sitting right by me.
Earlier I saw Julia bring Markisa, our kitten, a baby rat. I was in the middle of sweeping our front porch as she came up all proud that she had found such a prize winner for her baby. As Markisa head over to the rat and gnaw at it, I was standing there in place just observing her excitement in my own excitement at such a sight.
Now Markisa has given up on tossing the poor rat around and is asleep in her little bed and the rat is abondaned a few inches away from my feet by the couch. My host dad said that it is Markisa's and we will leave it there for her. For how long, I don't know, I just know that I am not bothered at this awkward feeling of disgust at a dead rat by my feet.
With all that has been going on, I would like to express my gratitude for summer. For fruit, and vegetables and even more than that, longer days and me, with a much happier deposition to keep on learning and busting it. July was just like how the Moldovans call it, like being in an oven. It was so hot, some days, just walking to work, which is just a few feet away from my house, would make me sweat. On the other hand, having longer days allowed me to have activities going on after work and allowed me to work on the mural and help out around the house on canning veggies and making compot for winter. As the summer is narrowing down, I am not sure how my feelings are on winter, however I do have a trip (to Rome) coming up that will take my mind away form the most depressive time of the year.
* * *
Here I am weeks later staring at this update. I am currently sitting in my now empty office, with bare walls and my social assistant missing. She has left on her 3 years maternity leave, thus has cleaned out all her belongings. What does this mean? It means that my days are very quiet. No longer filled with funny stories of newly wed life (she just got married) and baby awaiting stories. I do miss that.
As of now we still don't know who will be in her place. I surely hope that the next person will be as cool as she was and will be enthusiastic with helping me write up some grants or start some sort of project. Our current project to repair the high school's bathrooms is currently at a turning point, whether it's for the better or not, I'm not sure. My partners are busy with the school year starting up again and of course, the fact that I will be on vacation has helped bury that issue a bit. I am, however, looking forward to a new start once I get back.
For now, I am enjoying my time traveling around Moldova and hope to continue to visit other volunteers in the future to get a more comprehensive picture of the country.
On Saturday I caught a bus to Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, which is an autonomous sourthern region of Moldova about an hour south of my village. People in Gagauzia are descendants of Turkey and Bulgaria and even have their own language, Gaguzian tho everyone speak Russian. Romanian is much understood there but very few actually know how to speak. It was such an experience, the moment I entered the city, all the signs and establishment are in Russian, and I felt as if though I'd left Moldova.
The reason for my visit was to visit one of my mentees, who has been there for one month in site, and is still settling down, though has been great learning Russian and finding work within her youth organization. I am so proud of her. She showed me the city, which is beautifully laid with paved roads and restaurants and big government buildings with a huge church and park with trash cans etc. I was blown away at how Western European the feel of the city was compared to what I am used to seeing in rest of the Moldova.
My mentee and I sat and talked for most of the days I was there and she ended up doing such a great job translating our conversations with her host mom who speaks no Romanian. I talked to her in romanian and some words she was able to make out, but she would reply in Russian. The history of how Moldova came to be is so interesting in how it divided up the people into these regions of separate identities of one's own culture and language.
There are only 4 more days until I get to be in the eternal city of Rome! I can't barely wait.
Signing out.
As I am typing this I am sitting outside on our wonderful electric green couch that looks like it traveled in time from the 60s that has a very classic Moldovan pink and maroon blanket covering it, with Julia, my cat sitting right by me.
Earlier I saw Julia bring Markisa, our kitten, a baby rat. I was in the middle of sweeping our front porch as she came up all proud that she had found such a prize winner for her baby. As Markisa head over to the rat and gnaw at it, I was standing there in place just observing her excitement in my own excitement at such a sight.
Now Markisa has given up on tossing the poor rat around and is asleep in her little bed and the rat is abondaned a few inches away from my feet by the couch. My host dad said that it is Markisa's and we will leave it there for her. For how long, I don't know, I just know that I am not bothered at this awkward feeling of disgust at a dead rat by my feet.
With all that has been going on, I would like to express my gratitude for summer. For fruit, and vegetables and even more than that, longer days and me, with a much happier deposition to keep on learning and busting it. July was just like how the Moldovans call it, like being in an oven. It was so hot, some days, just walking to work, which is just a few feet away from my house, would make me sweat. On the other hand, having longer days allowed me to have activities going on after work and allowed me to work on the mural and help out around the house on canning veggies and making compot for winter. As the summer is narrowing down, I am not sure how my feelings are on winter, however I do have a trip (to Rome) coming up that will take my mind away form the most depressive time of the year.
* * *
Here I am weeks later staring at this update. I am currently sitting in my now empty office, with bare walls and my social assistant missing. She has left on her 3 years maternity leave, thus has cleaned out all her belongings. What does this mean? It means that my days are very quiet. No longer filled with funny stories of newly wed life (she just got married) and baby awaiting stories. I do miss that.
As of now we still don't know who will be in her place. I surely hope that the next person will be as cool as she was and will be enthusiastic with helping me write up some grants or start some sort of project. Our current project to repair the high school's bathrooms is currently at a turning point, whether it's for the better or not, I'm not sure. My partners are busy with the school year starting up again and of course, the fact that I will be on vacation has helped bury that issue a bit. I am, however, looking forward to a new start once I get back.
For now, I am enjoying my time traveling around Moldova and hope to continue to visit other volunteers in the future to get a more comprehensive picture of the country.
On Saturday I caught a bus to Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, which is an autonomous sourthern region of Moldova about an hour south of my village. People in Gagauzia are descendants of Turkey and Bulgaria and even have their own language, Gaguzian tho everyone speak Russian. Romanian is much understood there but very few actually know how to speak. It was such an experience, the moment I entered the city, all the signs and establishment are in Russian, and I felt as if though I'd left Moldova.
The reason for my visit was to visit one of my mentees, who has been there for one month in site, and is still settling down, though has been great learning Russian and finding work within her youth organization. I am so proud of her. She showed me the city, which is beautifully laid with paved roads and restaurants and big government buildings with a huge church and park with trash cans etc. I was blown away at how Western European the feel of the city was compared to what I am used to seeing in rest of the Moldova.
My mentee and I sat and talked for most of the days I was there and she ended up doing such a great job translating our conversations with her host mom who speaks no Romanian. I talked to her in romanian and some words she was able to make out, but she would reply in Russian. The history of how Moldova came to be is so interesting in how it divided up the people into these regions of separate identities of one's own culture and language.
There are only 4 more days until I get to be in the eternal city of Rome! I can't barely wait.
Signing out.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Mural
I finally finished the mural in my host mom's 6th grade classroom, just in time before the school year starts up again.
The theme was chosen by my host mom over many different books she used over the school year. The most interesting topic to me, is the one of Prometheus (top corner left), a Greek Myth where Zeus hid fire from humans in retribution of trickery and Prometheus gave fire back to the people, therefore was eternally punished and chained on top of a rock where an eagle ate his liver out everyday. However, due to Prometheus immortality his liver regenerated every morning.
According to my host mom, in which was also the reason why she chosed to have this on the mural is that Prometheus' liver ability to regenerate is from him committing to a good deed (giving the people back fire).
I am seriously glad the mural is done, a nice feeling it is. Now it is back to free time where I don't know what to do with myself.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
If you can't be...
This morning I came into work and the lady who is the typist for our Mayor's office came and asked if I can read in Romanian. I replied, "a little", and she handed me a religious book and her church's newspaper.
I take from this several things, first, she is comfortable with me enough (we have become quite great friends, I helped her set up an email account just the other day), and likes me enough to share that part of her life with me.
Second, that she believes in my language skills enough to give me reading material.
Third, I was taken back from it at the very beginning, feeling a little impinged upon.
Fourth, After reading some of the materials in the newspaper, I came to a realization that I don't have to necessarily believe in the same main element of the whole representation of the newspaper to get away from the great messages it has. Thus I came upon a poem that I love and want to share with you. I will try my best to translate it for you.
First the Romanian version...
Dacă nu poți fi
Dacă nu poți fi un pin în vârful dealului,
Fii un tufiș în vale. Fii însă
Cel mai bun tufiș de pe marginea pârâului;
Fii o tufă, dacă nu poți fi un copac.
Dacă nu poți fi un tufiș, fii un fir de iarbă,
Și un drum va fi fericit;
Dacă nu poți fi păstrăv, atunci fii un biban-
Dar cel mai vioi biban din tot lacul.
Nu putem fi toți căpitani, trebuie să fim echipaj,
E treabă pentru noi toți aici.
Sunt munci grele și munci ușoare,
Iar sarcina pe care o avem e chiar lângă noi.
Dacă nu poți fi drum, fii atunci o potecă,
Dacă nu poți fi soare, fii o steluță;
Nu prin mărime o să căștigi sau o să dai greș-
Fii cel mai bun în ceea ce esți!
Preluat din cartea „Lasă grijile, începe să trăiești”
de Dale Carnegie
Now the translation version (which I think takes away from it, but whatever):
If you can not be
If you can not be a pine on top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley. But be the
Best bush on the edge of the stream;
Be a bush if you can not be a tree.
If you can not be a bush, be a blade of grass,
And the road will be a happy one;
If you can not be a trouble, then be a bass -
But most of all be the snappiest bass in the lake.
We can not all be captains, but we can be crews,
Ther is work for all of us here.
There are hard work and easy work
And the task we have is right next to us.
If you can not be a road, then be a path,
If you can not be the sun, be a little star;
It is not by size, you win or you fail -
Be the best in what you are!
I take from this several things, first, she is comfortable with me enough (we have become quite great friends, I helped her set up an email account just the other day), and likes me enough to share that part of her life with me.
Second, that she believes in my language skills enough to give me reading material.
Third, I was taken back from it at the very beginning, feeling a little impinged upon.
Fourth, After reading some of the materials in the newspaper, I came to a realization that I don't have to necessarily believe in the same main element of the whole representation of the newspaper to get away from the great messages it has. Thus I came upon a poem that I love and want to share with you. I will try my best to translate it for you.
First the Romanian version...
Dacă nu poți fi
Dacă nu poți fi un pin în vârful dealului,
Fii un tufiș în vale. Fii însă
Cel mai bun tufiș de pe marginea pârâului;
Fii o tufă, dacă nu poți fi un copac.
Dacă nu poți fi un tufiș, fii un fir de iarbă,
Și un drum va fi fericit;
Dacă nu poți fi păstrăv, atunci fii un biban-
Dar cel mai vioi biban din tot lacul.
Nu putem fi toți căpitani, trebuie să fim echipaj,
E treabă pentru noi toți aici.
Sunt munci grele și munci ușoare,
Iar sarcina pe care o avem e chiar lângă noi.
Dacă nu poți fi drum, fii atunci o potecă,
Dacă nu poți fi soare, fii o steluță;
Nu prin mărime o să căștigi sau o să dai greș-
Fii cel mai bun în ceea ce esți!
Preluat din cartea „Lasă grijile, începe să trăiești”
de Dale Carnegie
Now the translation version (which I think takes away from it, but whatever):
If you can not be
If you can not be a pine on top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley. But be the
Best bush on the edge of the stream;
Be a bush if you can not be a tree.
If you can not be a bush, be a blade of grass,
And the road will be a happy one;
If you can not be a trouble, then be a bass -
But most of all be the snappiest bass in the lake.
We can not all be captains, but we can be crews,
Ther is work for all of us here.
There are hard work and easy work
And the task we have is right next to us.
If you can not be a road, then be a path,
If you can not be the sun, be a little star;
It is not by size, you win or you fail -
Be the best in what you are!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Highlights of Normacly
You know how sometimes you have a lot to say, but once it is said the magic of it goes away? Well, that is how I feel at times about the omnibus activities I find myself in. Rather than put it into a million pieces of explication by my part, I am going to give you the facts. Only the facts! Hai davai!
Yesterday I spent an hour of my lunchtime lugging onions from our garden into a bucket in the hot scalding sun to the lay out on the balcony of the old house.
A massive thunderstorm embarked upon our land yesterday, just as I started painting the mural at the school. While painting, I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to escape the rain and the treacherous mud home. My host mom called and asked if I wanted her to come to the school so she can give me my boots. I said, no and then fell on my ass just as I was right at the gate to my house. I managed the rest of the 5 minutes walk before that just fine! Then I had to shower by candle light, because the lights went out. Luckily I had an hour left of battery life on my laptop so I could play spider solitare until I dozed off to sleep.
At work this morning, everyone is hyped about my social assistant's wedding. About half of the office were gone into the district center to buy flowers. I am super excited to bare witness to the ceremony later today at the church.
The janitor to my Mayor's office scared me while coming out of the door earlier today and now we've become friends and everytime he passes by my office he smiles.
Earlier today, a man I never met before walked into my office, as I have my door open and sat down while talking on the phone in Russian, without introducing himself, sat and talked on the phone while he sat and stared at me working. Then after 10 minutes he got up and left without another word, though with a gruesome glance. Weird!
It finally dawned on me that the more I see myself as being an open person, a person who excepts people as they are, the more I realize that I can't possibly be all that I think I am. There are still concepts that gets underneath my skin. Tugs at my heart. Makes me wonder, if being an open person is a praise worthy cause, if it means you give up your identity as a whole? Something to ponder over.
The other day my host parents' grandniece came over with her American friend from Alabama. She's been studying abroad there for two years and had just graduated. I sat and talked to her about issues concerning the mentality of Moldovans youth and how complicated it is, especially in rural areas to get motivation in community projects, if all they think about is leaving. I also got to see through her American friend's eyes how Moldova is like, for he just arrived and is his first trip out of America.
I want to talk about connectedness. The overall essence of a family here, especially the very apporiate ones are absolutely a tight knit one. My host mom talks to her children at least three or four times a day. She knows what is going on with them, heart and motivation.
In America, you would be lucky if I'd talked to my parents once in a week. It is rather common to be out of the house and have cut that tie. On the flip side, this builds indepedence. Good or bad, I learned early that I was on my own, though till this day I yearn to be that close to my loved ones. Making that attempt and having it be accepted from the other end is the question I guess.
At least for the most part I am getting that close tie with my host parents. Via their questions, which I took as over bearing in the beginning, has grown on me and have helped me become dependent for their concern and worries. Maybe this little taste of the otherside of love and caring will change how I raise my children. Maybe?
What is the downlow for this weekend: I have this wedding today, tomorrow a trip to the north to visit a fellow volunteer for a girl's day picnic. Fun Times!
Yesterday I spent an hour of my lunchtime lugging onions from our garden into a bucket in the hot scalding sun to the lay out on the balcony of the old house.
A massive thunderstorm embarked upon our land yesterday, just as I started painting the mural at the school. While painting, I couldn't stop thinking about how I was going to escape the rain and the treacherous mud home. My host mom called and asked if I wanted her to come to the school so she can give me my boots. I said, no and then fell on my ass just as I was right at the gate to my house. I managed the rest of the 5 minutes walk before that just fine! Then I had to shower by candle light, because the lights went out. Luckily I had an hour left of battery life on my laptop so I could play spider solitare until I dozed off to sleep.
At work this morning, everyone is hyped about my social assistant's wedding. About half of the office were gone into the district center to buy flowers. I am super excited to bare witness to the ceremony later today at the church.
The janitor to my Mayor's office scared me while coming out of the door earlier today and now we've become friends and everytime he passes by my office he smiles.
Earlier today, a man I never met before walked into my office, as I have my door open and sat down while talking on the phone in Russian, without introducing himself, sat and talked on the phone while he sat and stared at me working. Then after 10 minutes he got up and left without another word, though with a gruesome glance. Weird!
It finally dawned on me that the more I see myself as being an open person, a person who excepts people as they are, the more I realize that I can't possibly be all that I think I am. There are still concepts that gets underneath my skin. Tugs at my heart. Makes me wonder, if being an open person is a praise worthy cause, if it means you give up your identity as a whole? Something to ponder over.
The other day my host parents' grandniece came over with her American friend from Alabama. She's been studying abroad there for two years and had just graduated. I sat and talked to her about issues concerning the mentality of Moldovans youth and how complicated it is, especially in rural areas to get motivation in community projects, if all they think about is leaving. I also got to see through her American friend's eyes how Moldova is like, for he just arrived and is his first trip out of America.
I want to talk about connectedness. The overall essence of a family here, especially the very apporiate ones are absolutely a tight knit one. My host mom talks to her children at least three or four times a day. She knows what is going on with them, heart and motivation.
In America, you would be lucky if I'd talked to my parents once in a week. It is rather common to be out of the house and have cut that tie. On the flip side, this builds indepedence. Good or bad, I learned early that I was on my own, though till this day I yearn to be that close to my loved ones. Making that attempt and having it be accepted from the other end is the question I guess.
At least for the most part I am getting that close tie with my host parents. Via their questions, which I took as over bearing in the beginning, has grown on me and have helped me become dependent for their concern and worries. Maybe this little taste of the otherside of love and caring will change how I raise my children. Maybe?
What is the downlow for this weekend: I have this wedding today, tomorrow a trip to the north to visit a fellow volunteer for a girl's day picnic. Fun Times!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Result from Online Poll on Peace Corps Connect
I am surprised at first to find out that language and technical skills are so low, but it does makes sense that being resourceful and flexible are a more needed trait to have in order to be successful.
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