Wining & Whining - Adventures in Moldova

My Family in Moldova

2016-06-23T15:14:00.000+03:00

"Have you been crying today?" she asked as we sat down to coffee and sunflower seeds at the kitchen table that I hadn't eaten at for over a year.

How did she know? Besides the fact that I'm, um.. known for my tears, she knew because she's my mom. My "host" mom, sure. But she has been as much a real mom as she possibly could be for the last two years, even though I only lived at her house for two months when we first arrived for training in Moldova. Recently I went to visit my training host family after spending much too much time apart.

Our first Country Director said something about host families - even though you spend two years with one and two months with the other, often you'll have a stronger connection with the first, short-term family than you will with the one at your permanent site. She said this tends to be the case because when you get to this new country and you know absolutely nothing, your training host family has to teach you literally everything. When I arrived at Angela's house, I did not know one word in Romanian. I didn't know how to ask where the outhouse was (it took me two days to even try - don't ask), or how to find the school where I'd have lessons. When you can't communicate, it feels like you can't do anything, so that first family really has to help you learn how to live again. Of course this would form a strong bond; in order to survive, they are what you have.

A few hours after we landed in Moldova, we were dropped off at our host families' houses. I was shown my room, I sat down on the couch, and then a tiny person came in to investigate. She was adorable and I didn't understand a word she said, but I knew she wanted to help me unpack. I was hot, exhausted, nervous, kind of scared, and maybe a little panicky.. But then she started trying on my bras and asking what literally every single item was for, so I was able to forget about some of those feelings for a little while. That was just the beginning of our being best friends.

Day one in Moldova with Ionela.

Ionela was 4 years old when I arrived, and she was a little firecracker from day one. During our two months of training, she played with me, learned how to give me commands in English ("Come to eat, Catherine!"), fixed my hair, went through all my things, cuddled with me, drove me crazy, and forced me to watch Frozen about a gazillion times (who are we kidding though, I obviously started it - it's a quality movie). And I loved having her around; she was like my baby sister who I couldn't quite communicate with but who loved me just the same. Now she is 6 years old and she starts school in the fall. It can be hard to see time passing when it feels like every day in the village is the same, but when you walk into a house and see that the little girl you love so much is suddenly not as little, you realize that two years have indeed gone by. She is still perfect, wants to play 24/7, dreams up little kid scenarios, says I'm Anna and she's Elsa, and sleeps in my room with me. When I left to move to my permanent site, she sat in my suitcase so I couldn't pack. I already know she'll probably be the hardest person to leave.

We tried every single Snapchat filter roughly a hundred times each.

Nina and Virgillia are my sisters, too. Two years ago when Nina finally came home from school or dance practice or somewhere and could speak some English to me was the best thing. Now I could communicate a little more easily! That summer they took me swimming, and out with their friends, and let me and Ionela join in on their YouTube workout sessions. Nina helped translate for me and Virgillia could occasionally convince Ionela that I did indeed have homework to do.

After we had our coffee and sunflower seeds, mom asked, "Have you had any cherries yet this year?" I hadn't, so of course we had to go out back and pick some! Mom climbed the tree and passed handfuls of perfect cherries down to me, which I stuck in my pockets that were quickly overflowing. I spent the next two days just hanging out with everyone - playing with Ionela, walking to the store with Nina, attempting to make placinta, surprising extended family members at their house, even getting to see host dad on Skype.

I'm thankful to this family because in just 15 minutes I easily feel more part of the family than I have in the whole two years at my permanent site. I often wonder how different my service would have been if I'd been fortunate enough to have such a caring family to live with the whole time.

I remember one of my first days in Moldova, I sat down to dinner with the family and Nina said, "Catherine, you don't like fish, do you?" I may have avoided it in the lunch they had packed for me that day (and possibly another time or two). "No..." I said sheepishly, hoping that wasn't a deal breaker. They all laughed and said something like, aha, we thought so! Don't worry, it's fine! That night I truly felt like part of the family, and I'm pretty sure it's because they told me I was. Americans in Moldova use the term "host family," but not every host family uses it. It's normal to us to say "host sister" and "host dad" but to a lot of hosts, that doesn't really make sense. But here I am a sister and a daughter, and I have sisters and mom and dad.

They still remember the list of foods I don't like to eat, and the first words I learned (puțin, puțin! - a little, a little! aka self-preservation during masas). We all remember how in the past I could barely hold a conversation, and now our world is completely changed because I can. Two summers ago, mom would make me breakfast and then get back to working around the house or in the garden. Now she makes me breakfast and sits down to chat.

I had such a great time with them that I ended up staying even longer than I had planned, and I thought it would be my last visit, but I hope to make at least one more trip out there to properly say goodbye. Which I know will be practically impossible. There's so much more I could say about how much I love this family, but I really just want to say Thank you. Thank you for taking me in and helping me survive and being my family and loving this weird American girl that was put in your house for a summer. And please come visit me in America! Because I can't live without you.

As I left the house again, mom and Ionela walked me out to the road and hugged me goodbye. "If you ever feel like you want to cry, just call me, and we'll talk through it," mom said. A simple statement that ironically makes me want to cry, because of how thoughtful it is, and how we never would have been able to do that two years ago. Now that we can finally communicate, it's time for me to go. Pardon me while I go cry about it.

Something of Impact

2016-04-26T20:06:00.000+03:00

At our Close of Service Conference, we were supposed to prepare something for the "Something of Impact" session, where we all talked about ~~how awesome Peace Corps was~~ something impactful from our service. It could be anything. It WAS anything.

I did not share.

I had this prepared forever in advance, had written notes in my journal (which I carried to each session) so I wouldn't forget anything, and we had already placed bets on how many times I'd cry. But everyone said such great things - I laughed, I cried, I was inspired. So I thought, yeah, I can't do this. My natural "emotional basketcase" state plus a mountain of insecurity at the time just led to my sitting there listening to everyone else talk. Luckily I have a bunch of amazing supporters on my team, who said they still want to hear what I had to say. So here it is.

I can, with relative confidence, walk the mile or so from the bus stop to my house on a moonless night.

You're probably thinking, okay... great job, Cat. How is that Something of Impact?

My site is a small village that's three hours from Chisinau on a good day. We don't really have paved roads, and we have about 4 streetlights (and 3 of them are right next to each other). When I first arrived, my host mom made a big deal about the fact that there was a streetlight outside our house. I eventually realized that it was literally on just for me. Someone was paying to have that streetlight on because the volunteer, the American, lived there.

So when I first got to the village, if I returned to site at night (which I tended to do, due to bus schedules), I would have a few streetlights, hopefully a moon to light the way, and my flashlight (or, more accurately, the light on my phone). And I knew I was getting close because I had the streetlight in front of my house to guide me. In other words, I had a lot of help making my way through the village.

The road isn't terrible, but if you don't know it, it can be a little treacherous. There are holes to avoid. It's uneven. If it's rained, there are perfect places to step so you don't get as muddy. (The American is not good at finding these perfect places.) You never want to step directly where the cows have traveled on their way home..

Maybe you see where I'm going with this. In the beginning of my Peace Corps service, I needed a lot of help. I had my village looking out for me (with the streetlight at my house), I had my program staff, cohort, and people back home helping me out (maybe they're the rest of the streetlights), and I was trying to make it on my own (with my phone to light the way). It was really hard at first. I might trip, or make mistakes. Dogs would come out and scare me, or I would get homesick. Even if I tried to do everything right and not step where I shouldn't, some unforeseen obstacle would come out of nowhere and upset me or make me fall. It was really frustrating at times, especially when I would leave for a weekend and come back to new holes in the ground to avoid.

But it got easier. The road got renovated a little, and I started to get used to the life I was living in my village and in Peace Corps. I felt a little more sure of myself. I cried less. I had successful projects, and English classes, and trainings, and I was helping other PCVs. I became more comfortable in the work I was doing and the way I felt about it. I could speak Romanian. I felt relatively accomplished (most days). I knew which dogs had a bark worse than their bite and which ones were just curious about the American walking by. They turned off the streetlight, and I was okay.

Now I can walk from the bus stop to my house on a moonless night. That maybe doesn't sound so impressive to you. But without streetlights or natural light to show the way, most of the walk is completely dark. I'm doing this on my own, and ~~I think~~ I'm good at it. People don't keep lights on in their houses; cars don't drive by to shine headlights for a little while. But I'm used to it. I know where to step, I know what to do.

I don't need to make such an effort to keep myself from falling.

Sure, there is still opportunity for me to slip up. A flash of something in the road that isn't normally there; being told I have to run important meetings using a bunch of vocabulary I'm unsure of. An animal might appear suddenly; I might have an unforeseen complication with a grant. But there are still a few streetlights and at least I know where I'm going.

And on those nights when it's completely dark and I'm making my way slowly through the journey, I've got you guys. I've got all these beautiful stars, these constellations, some of which I know like the back of my hand and that I know I'll be seeing for all of my life, that make the whole trip worth it.

Love to you, M29, my moon and my stars. You turn the darkest night into a breathtaking masterpiece. We've come so far, and I'm forever grateful that you've been there for me this whole time (whether you're still here or whether you've already gone). We did it! Vă iubesc, și mi-e dor de voi deja.

Catch up.

2016-04-07T14:26:00.000+03:00

Has it been a hundred years?

I know, it feels like it has. I've got some soul-searching posts coming up (obviously), but since it's been so long, I thought I'd tell you what's been going on in life since the year started.

January:

Rang in the New Year with friends in the capital of Moldova.
Had a food-filled, binge-watching stay-cation during the winter holidays with a friend in my village.
Went on vacation to beautiful Romania with yet another friend and had potentially the most relaxing week of my recent memory.
Enjoyed a few snow days in the village - because we literally couldn't get out of our house; there was too much!
Found out my COS date - my last day as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova is going to be July 7, 2016. Right now that's just three months away (cue panic attack).
Helped out with the M30 Project Design and Management Conference, mentoring, answering questions, and occasionally translating (but jeez their language is good!). This was a lot of fun; the COD group gets some really stellar volunteers.
Ran a 10K in the underground cellars of the Cricova Winery. I know, right?

February:

Made 60+ Valentines to deliver to PCVs - if I could have thought of anything else clever to put on them, I would have made them for even the PCVs I don't know.
Helped my village apply for a volunteer to take my place (IN THE VILLAGE BUT NOT IN THEIR HEARTS).
Spent ~~a romantic~~ Valentine's Day eating so much food and watching so much television with a friend in her village.
Went on vacation to beautiful Poland, where I met my cousin and his girlfriend and had the best time! We did Krakow, Auschwitz, salt mines, and Warsaw. Spent a few days by myself (and with new friends) after they left, which was also spectacular.
LEAP DAY IN MOLDOVA! This wasn't actually very special but I did spend the whole day doing only relaxing things that I wanted to do.

March:

Celebrated International Women's Day (a few times) with my village, including a super fancy banquet at the raion center that we packed 12 women into a van to attend. I'm getting hungry just thinking about all the delicious food we had there.
Celebrated a friend's birthday with a weekend filled with fun and games.
Hosted half the raion PCVs at my house for another weekend of fun and games, including a hike to the lake, #buddyyoga, and a kick line or two.
Filled up my third journal.
Helped teach a computer usage seminar in the raion center library. This involved planning and teaching about browsing the Internet and setting up an email account, and made us pretty pleased at our Romanian skills. It was oddly a lot of fun to teach middle-aged Moldovan women about how to use the computer.
Met a friend's boyfriend and sister when they each came to visit, including a wonderful trip to the Mileștii Mici Winery, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest wine cellar. (See, don't worry, I'm still "wining.")
Attended and gave a presentation at the Regional Experience Exchange for libraries in our part of Moldova, where we learned about projects in other communities and talked together about advice and plans for the future in our libraries.
Did 30 days of yoga in a row (and still holding strong in April so far with the intention of doing 30 more!).

I never think I'm that busy and then I look back and see all these things I've done in just the first three months of the year! Now I've got three months left to pack in as much (or more!).

There's a lot in my plans for April (working on my final project, meetings with the health center and villagers to inform them about said project, a Bible Study retreat, another 10K, visitors to my village, our COS conference..) so it doesn't look like things are going to slow down anytime soon. I'll try to take a breath once in a while and pay attention to what's going on around me, and be thankful for the time I've got left.

Good things about the last couple of days: • delicious weekend of shopping, sangria, and foooood • the weather has been LOVELY • my bike quit working on the way to work but before heading home, a guy outside the Primaria fixed it for me, no questions asked • coffee • new whiteboards to use during English club! • meeting fellow crybabies • productive meetings with the mayor • yummy colorful salads • Gilmore Girls • outdoor yoga • YOU, for reading all of this!

Well, we're not going to baptize our children together.

2016-02-07T13:26:00.003+02:00

This is my favorite phrase that I've never actually heard.

We're not going to baptize our children together.

Тебе же с ним не детей крестить, literally "You don't baptize children with him."

One of my friends learned this phrase and told me about it. His example is - you hate your boss, and your mom tells you to get over it, you don't have to baptize your kids with him.

I think it also means: Well, we're close, but not that close. Friends, but not best friends. I'll hang out with her but I won't do something as serious as baptizing my kid with hers. An interesting way to explain the level of your relationship with someone. Maybe it's a little cheeky, as I imagine you'd never say this to someone's face (just about them), but I still think it's kind of cute.

Not having any real background on this phrase, my assumption is that if it is sometimes used, it's related to the strong Orthodox culture we have here. There are many, many religious holidays and traditions. Baptisms are kind of a big deal. They involve a big ceremony and party and seem like pretty important events. So, even though I might hang out with Mihai a lot, and think he's a great guy.. We're just not going to baptize our kids together.

This post is part of the Blogging Abroad Blog Challenge.

SPARKLES

2016-02-03T21:40:00.003+02:00

Well, it's all in the details, as they say. (Who says that, actually?) MY favorite tiny detail that you may or may not notice in Moldova is the GLITTER.

I just want everything to be sparkly all of the time, because life is obviously better when it sparkles. Moldova really pulls through on this one for me, because they put their glitter ON THE WALLS. It's in the wallpaper! Or painted on! I'm actually pretty bummed that my current room does not have any. I think my first room was at least shiny, if not sparkly.. But this house is not much for the sparkles.

LUCKILY we have a tiny little mud room area that has some! My house has different textures on all the walls too - I think this one is supposed to be like flowers.

Wonder what the chances are that I could bring this trend back to America..?

This is part of the Blogging Abroad Blog Challenge!

Meet the Mayor

2016-01-24T21:17:00.000+02:00

Do I talk enough about how much I love the mayor of my village? No? I definitely do in person, so if you're missing out there, here's a little intro to Domnul Primar (Mr. Mayor).

Whenever we are placed in an organization, we all have a designated partner. For me, that partner was the secretary of the mayor's office. However, I soon realized that I would consider her as more of an integration partner than an actual let's-work-together-on-stuff partner. Luckily, the mayor fits that working together role, so I consider him to be my true partner in crime. In, um.. Peace and friendship, I mean. Don't worry, we haven't committed any crimes together. Except for that time he "stole" a man's peaches on our way to the capital once, but I'm 90% sure he asked permission.

He is without question, hands-down, the nicest man in the village. Possibly in the country, even.

His name is Valeriu, and he's currently the mayor. Before he was the mayor, he was a history teacher at the school. He also lived in the capital for awhile and was a representative in parliament, but returned to the village to raise a family. He has daughters that live abroad, but he likes to tell people that I am his daughter in the village now while his are away. (So he always asks me if I'm warm enough at home, and how I'm doing with everything.)

Valeriu lives right next door to his brother. He's always up for a selfie. He tells me it hurts his soul to do the hard parts of his job, but he's always got a smile on his face for the good parts. He manages to keep the whole office in line during Monday morning meetings, and if there's music playing, he's asking the first person he sees to dance.

The day after my grandpa died during my first month at site, I didn't tell anyone anything, but he still managed to think I needed cheering up and took me around to all the neighboring wineries. He's pretty great at toasts and speeches (you kind of have to be here) but the sweetest one I ever heard was after one of his classmates/coworkers died.

He always includes me in any village event that he can think of, and if I ask about something, he'll find some way to make it happen. I wanted to ride in a horse carriage, so he dressed me up in the national costume and, along with a bunch of others, we rode around in one for the Hram (village day) celebration. I wanted to know how to make wine, so since he wasn't making much this last year, he brought me to his brother's house to learn. I had a friend that wanted to visit the winery in the next village, so he and his wife took us for a tour! If I wanted the moon, I think he'd find a way to get it for me. This Christmas he asked me to be the Alba ca Zapada (Snow White, Santa's granddaughter) to his Mos Craciun (Santa Claus).

The mayor is even famous among the volunteers in my sector. My partner was busy for our very first conference with partners, so he came along and was totally the class clown. We had a number of activities where we shared things with the group, goals and objectives and such.. And he told the whole group (Peace Corps staff, PCVs, Moldovan partners) that he wouldn't let me eat or sleep until I learned Romanian. He is hilarious and always has something funny to say or a great story to tell.

He makes working at the Primaria fun. I don't see him every day, because he's pretty busy and we work in different halves of the building, but if it's been awhile, he'll always come in to check on me and on whatever project we're working on. He helps me get my work done - if I ever have any questions, he's got an answer, or finds one for me. He's just so motivated! He's great to work with because he really wants to do all the good he can for the village. I think he cares a great deal about everyone here.

Sometimes he talks too quickly for me, but he always realizes it (because my face shows clear incomprehension, I'm sure), laughs, and says, oh, was I talking too fast again? Catea, you've got to remind me! He's taken to calling me puișor, which technically means chick, but I swear it's cute and not weird. A term of endearment here.

The mayor is definitely my favorite person in the village, and I'm sure he contributed to my not leaving during the time when I wanted to, just by caring about me and really wanting to work with me. He always makes sure I'm happy and taken care of, and talks about wanting to write my parents to thank them for sending me here. He makes me want to do everything I can for the village while I'm here, because if he's a part of it, I know it's going to be great.

This post is part of the Blogging Abroad Blog Challenge.

I Never Knew

2016-01-20T16:52:00.000+02:00

All it takes to make you think, man, what did I know? is trying to think about things you never knew.

So what didn't I know before I came to Moldova?

Well first of all, I'll need to admit that I had never heard of Moldova. Neither had a lot of people I know, so my go-to answer was "It's right by Ukraine." (In retrospect, I should have said, "It's right by Romania," because telling people it was right by Ukraine, even though that's literally where I ended up being placed, made them worry unnecessarily and even say, mmmm yeah you probably shouldn't go there. But I was obviously trying to be cool and dangerous, duhhhh.)

After reading this prompt, I've spent the last couple of days thinking about all the things I never knew before I came here. Misconceptions, interesting facts, superstitions.. And it's interesting, because even some of the traditions and superstitions I've learned in my village are things my fellow volunteers have never heard of. So not all of these will even end up being true for all of Moldova, but I'm going to try to list some things I didn't know a year and a half ago. Some will really be things about Moldova, but others might end up being about myself.. We'll just have to see.

I never knew...

That a village can run out of something for days. Right now, snowed in, we're out of bread. And when I say we, I mean the whole village. Recently I wanted to bake something with milk, so I went to one of the stores. "No," the woman said when I asked if she had any. "The milk car won't come for another two days." So I went to the next store and she told me the same thing (of course, they would have the same supplier! Why hadn't I thought of that?). I asked about other stores and she looked at me like I had lost my mind. "No, I told you, it doesn't come until Wednesday." Then I had the audacity to ask for another dairy product.. Nope. She said to me, "Just have your host mom call someone who has a cow." Oh, of course.
That I would be able to have discussions at work in Romanian about topics I never could have talked about in English before.. Today the mayor and I discussed renting a tractor and the process of digging underground and installing pipelines to carry water through to the center of the village. Yeah, that's my latest project. What? I didn't really expect that I'd be able to communicate as well as I have in another language. I didn't think I'd be bad at it, but sometimes my level of understanding astounds me. I definitely have days where I feel like I've forgotten everything I learned, but I have really good language days, too.
That I'd take so many selfies.
That I would simultaneously learn to love solitude and want so badly to be around people.
That I would have a favorite type of plăcintă. I was offered some by my mentor on our second day here and, having never heard of it, I panicked and thought she said "placenta" - I have to eat that?! Luckily it's plăcintă, it's a pastry filled with something either sweet or savory, it's delicious, and my host mom makes the greatest kind ever.
That finding a bay leaf in my soup meant I was going to get a letter. (This superstition has never quite been proven..)
That sitting on the floor/ground or walking around barefoot/with improper footwear would cause my ovaries to freeze and prevent me from having children. (Also not proven.)
How to make wine - even now, I'm sure I couldn't do it all on my own, but I've definitely worked through the whole process.
That my "friends" in the village would be 11-year-olds or middle-aged women, and virtually no one in between. And also the mayor. Definitely never knew I'd consider the mayor of a tiny village in Moldova to be my BFF.
I'd be able to navigate life in another country by myself for this long, starting at zero language and really zero knowledge of anything about this place.
That chickpeas signal the end of a masa in the southeast region of Moldova.
That I'd wish, on a regular basis, that I could experience life in this village when it was part of the Soviet Union, just for a day. Everything they tell me about life then.. I don't know, I just know the village would look completely different.
What true loneliness is.
The art of making a care package last practically forever - my self-control is off the charts now.
What I'd become so passionate about.
About any of the people or places that I now can't imagine life without. I never knew I could fall in love with so many of the people I've met and experiences I've had and places I've been in such a short time.

That list only makes a dent in my time here - the things I've learned, the things I've done.. I didn't think I'd be asked to be a translator for conferences, or that I'd be interested in the lives of random old ladies that I've only met a few times, or that I'd practically want to be adopted by my training host family. I didn't know I'd have any fun teaching kids English or be able to assert myself in an office full of outspoken Moldovan women. I didn't know I'd be included in so many cultural events and experiences that are sometimes unique to village life, and I didn't know that the community would end up feeling more like home and more like a family than I thought it would. The mayor will probably tell the story for years about the American girl who saw the village she had to live in and cried for two days straight, but then he'll probably have a similar story when I leave this summer. So, it turns out there's a lot I didn't know.

This is part of the Blogging Abroad Blog Challenge!

Behind the Gates

2016-01-10T17:08:00.002+02:00

Pretty much every house in my village is enclosed by a gate. That doesn't seem to make anyone any less likely to invite you in, or to shout out a "Good morning!" as they see you pass by. But they've all got a gate. My house has a brick fence separating the yard from the street. Which is a good thing, because we don't want our chickens roaming all over the village! (Though if they did, I'm fully sure they'd come right back at night.. They're pretty good at that.)

So what do we have behind ours?

Behind the gates and behind the house, we've got a fence in our backyard too. This separates the garden from the house. It's much brighter than this picture, as my host mom and I repainted before the winter came. Behind the house, we've got a small garden, an outdoor shower (on left in this picture), and fields. We've also got a "casa veche" right by the house, which means "old house." Sometimes these are called "casa mica," which is "little house." They might include bedrooms, kitchens, or storage rooms. They could be literally a little house and include almost everything. When I first moved in, we would eat in the casa veche, but now that we have a kitchen in the big house, I personally don't use it for much. One part of it is where we keep potatoes and 300 huge sacks of flour for baking (slight exaggeration).

In the main house, we have a kitchen (this is new-ish, we didn't have one when I arrived. My host mom would cook on hot plates, usually outside. Now we have a stove and cabinets and a warm, colorful place to eat and entertain.), a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a few rooms that aren't used for much. Occasionally we will entertain in one of them, but mostly they are empty. Moldovan houses sometimes have a room where they keep their nice things, and that room might be used for big get-togethers.

One of my favorite things about some Moldovan houses is the metalwork on them. This is right in front of our front door, and the detail is just so cool! I first started noticing these works of art while in my training village, and I was really happy to see that my house at my permanent site had a great big one - it felt like a sign.

A real bed tends to be rare for PCVs in Moldova. A lot of us have pull-out couches to sleep on. Luckily, mine is very comfortable. I usually leave it as a bed, but sometimes make it a couch for yoga or dancing or other fun things! (Okay, it's one of the two. The only other thing I can think of is maybe a large craft project, but those are rare.)

"I can see Ukraine from my house!" But seriously.

One of my favorite weekend activities is to bring a glass of wine or mug of coffee out to our back balcony and sit there to read, looking out at the valley. Some nights there are a million stars, some afternoons there are people working in the fields, and some mornings everything is covered with a fresh blanket of snow.

Though I called it one, it's not technically a valley that I'm looking out at. In the village (and in Moldova in general), we call anything that's above us in elevation "the hill." Anything below us is "the valley." This river separates our fields from the valley. My host dad built this bridge once the family realized I like going for walks or jogs in the valley. I'll usually pass a few cows, and occasionally a horse or two.

My host family doesn't have too many animals. I've been told that they used to have cows, but now all we have are chickens and a few dogs. In the summer and fall we'll have geese, but they'll all be killed and canned before winter comes. When the weather is nice, the birds sometimes get to roam free, but they never escape the gates.

We have two wells, which are usually where I get my drinking water from, but we have running water in the house, too, so I often use that as well - after boiling and filtering it. As far as conveniences go, we are fortunately equipped with a shower, indoor toilet, and even wifi - my host mom likes to Skype with her son in America almost every day, and I also might enjoy the use of the Internet. We're currently heating our house with wood and charcoal in a soba, or stove that heats the whole house.

My house is very comfortable, so I'm fortunate in that respect, as many other Moldova PCVs don't have all those luxuries. I enjoy my little space in the house. You can either find me in my room, the kitchen, or outside on the balcony when the weather is nice (or if my host mom isn't home to scold, when it isn't nice! Sitting outside under the cover of the balcony is lovely during a rainstorm, or even when it's cold, as long as I bundle up!). We've got a lot behind our red gates!

This is part of the #BloggingAbroad Blog Challenge!

#BloggingAbroad: Why?

2016-01-05T15:09:00.000+02:00

Are you surprised to hear from me again so soon?! Get ready for even more, because I've decided to participate in the Blogging Abroad Blog Challenge! They're sending me two prompts per week, so I'll get to share more about Moldova and you'll get to learn more! Since 2016 is the year I move back to the US, it'll be fun to do a few weeks of posts about my life here before things get really crazy and I start potentially slacking (what?! like I would do that!).
Our first prompt is: Why? Essentially, why am I here? This tends to come up a lot, and I tend to not usually have a very good answer. It feels like it's as big a question as: Why are we here? On this earth, even. I'll give something vague and just rely on the fact that Romanian is not my first language - oh, I don't know how to explain.

Wearing traditional Moldovan clothing

A lot of things went into my decision to join the Peace Corps. I recently graduated from college in 2013, and had decided that academic year that I wanted to join (so that at our commencement, I got a shoutout from the president - when she was talking about our future plans, she mentioned that one of us was waiting for a Peace Corps assignment - oh hey, that's me!).
One of my closest friends at home is very passionate about seemingly everything. He's always going to do something amazing, and he always tells me about it and I'm always excited for him. Some of these things, he really does, and some of them he just talks about. One of the latter was Peace Corps, but the summer before our senior year of college, he was really into the idea. I was not, but I listened to him talk to an RPCV that we had just met, and I decided I should figure out if I could be into it, too. Turns out I was, so I applied, and the October after I graduated, I got my invitation to Moldova. And that friend has supported me this whole time - I think of him as the reason I'm here.

That's us when I went home for a visit!

Though I guess it's more complicated than that, exactly. He didn't tell me to do it or even really suggest it to me. I just love watching him get excited about things and this was something that I could get a little excited about, too. I'm not saying I wanted to save the world, and I don't think I'm going to be in line for sainthood anytime soon or anything, but after I graduated (and before), I didn't know what to do. Or what I wanted to do. And if you don't know what you want to do, unless you won the lottery or have a lot of rich ancestors or something, you can't just do nothing. So I thought it'd be a better use of my time to see if I could help someone else. If it could be in another country and I could learn a new language, experience a new culture, and meet a bunch of cool, new people.. Even better. That seemed a lot more legitimate than adopting a cat and living in my mother's basement. (But let's at least consider the cat thing, right?)
I've been in Moldova for 19 months, and most days I love it here. So I'm excited to join this blogging challenge to share a little bit of my life here with everyone!

Making wine with my mayor and his brother!

Happy New Year!

2016-01-01T14:52:00.000+02:00

I like it when January 1st hits and we have a new year. I'm completely ready to start using my new planner, which I buy months in advance anticipating all the new artwork and blank pages to fill with plans and goals and hopes and dreams (no, seriously - my new planner is adorable and feeling neglected - thankfully it's time to use it). Is it a little silly that we wait until the 1st to start resolutions and vow to complete our bucket list and chop all our hair off and move halfway across the world..? Yes, obviously it is. We all know it is. If you want to make a change in October, you should just make it. But that doesn't stop the new year from feeling like it's got so much promise.

Although, this new year doesn't feel so much promising as it does terrifying. 2016 is not 2014 or 2015. (I know what you're thinking - yes, obviously! Only on her second paragraph and she's clearly lost it!) In 2014, I knew (essentially) what was going to happen - I was going to leave for Moldova in June. I'd spend half the year at home preparing in a million ways and the other half in another country, training and learning a language and settling into my new home. In 2015, I knew (essentially) what was going to happen - I was going to spend the entire year in Moldova, working on different things and making new friends and being only the greatest PCV my village has ever seen (sorry Heath and Julia, don't worry, they still talk about you guys too).

But 2016? Half the year is still a mystery. Yes, I'll be in Moldova until at least July, which admittedly covers a lot of it. I'll finish up my last big project (Lord willing), hang out with some kids and teach them a word or two in English, travel a little bit, prepare myself to leave, cry a lot, have some heart-to-hearts over too much coffee (if there is such a thing), touch some lives, save the world - the usual. But then what? What happens after that? When I ring the bell - and when am I ringing that bell?? - that signifies our Close of Service.. THEN WHAT. It's blank. Those last 5 months of 2016 - what is going to happen? I honestly feel surprised that my new planner HAS those months included - don't they know that I don't know what goes in them? That I can't fill in those pages? That I can't predict that future? (Besides the crying. We know I'll do that anywhere.) I do know that I'll be going home, which I'm really excited about, because mi-e dor de casa.

While I casually panic about next year, let's talk about the one that just ended. Because I did this last year and it was fun.

In 2015,

I spent: 12 months in Moldova. My whole year as a PCV. Yes, I did leave the country a few times, but I lived here this whole time. Holidays on holidays, training new volunteers, meeting new people, summer camp, firsts, lasts, speeches, toasts, grand openings, tears, coffee, wine on wine on wine... And on that note, while not 2015-specific, I've been here a total of 576 days now.
I wrote: 32 blog posts here at Wining & Whining. I wrote a lot more than that during just the last half of 2014, so I'm assuming that means I was doing more actual work.. Or that I got lazy? Nahhh, doubt it. Most popular was the Penguin Dance! But I'm pretty sure that's because my dad watched the video about.... roughly a million times. He's probably 80% of the views on that video on YouTube, so.. Second place goes to A Year Of Days, which is possibly my favorite of the year, written at my one year anniversary with Moldova. (I mean, I love Moldova, but I don't think she's the one. It's one of those relationships that had a time limit from the beginning, like when you start dating at the end of senior year, or right before doing something ridiculous like joining the Peace Corps. But it's been nice while it's lasted. I think we've got a few more good months in us.)
I read: 50 books/14,399 pages, the most I've ever read in a year. My favorite of the year was If You Find This Letter. Honorable mentions go to Modern Romance, As You Wish, Sisterhood Everlasting. Truly there are too many honorable mentions, so these are really just the most recent favorites.
I traveled: 12,832 miles by plane (roughly). Including airports, I've been in 6 countries in 2015. I took trips to Italy and to the U.S., the latter of which included a road trip from Virginia to Wisconsin and back! Rutiera travel isn't even going to be part of this equation.. I would just start thinking about how many hours I've spent on minibuses and might just lose my mind.
I filled: 1 journal full of daily happenings and drawings and thoughts and love stories and heartbreak and gratitude. I'm on journal #3 for Peace Corps and hope to finish that one soon, too.
I turned: 25. Now I'm a quarter century of amazing.
I built: a park, a life, some friendships.

I had life-changing experiences and trips and sunrises. I fell in love roughly 365 times or so. I've accomplished more than I thought I could, but still spend some days feeling like I haven't done anything. I've stayed out all night and made questionable decisions and continued to live with all this passion and emotion right at the surface of my interactions with people. I've wanted to quit and I've wanted to stay extra. I've met people that have changed my life, some through pushing me to greatness and others through making me feel like I'm less than great. I've done a lot of solo dancing and solo dinners and solo hours-long walks through the city - and I've gone weeks without any alone time at all. Sometimes I don't do anything for days and other times I fit so much living into such a small amount of time that I don't even know what's happened.

In 2016,

My theme for the year is going to be honesty. 2015's theme was optimism, which I think worked out pretty well for me. Now I want it to be honesty. I met someone this year who I thought was going to play a different part in my life than they ended up playing. Spending time with them taught me how valuable honesty can be. And honestly, that person isn't part of my life anymore. But I've taken some lessons from our friendship that I am keeping around, and expressing myself in exactly the ways I want to and believe in is one of them. But don't ask me if that dress makes you look fat.

This year, I've worked really hard. And occasionally it's been really hard. But it's also often been really great. I think I can always look back at 2015 and be proud of myself for the things I did this year. The unknown of 2016 is scary, but it's also kind of exciting. And it's here whether or not I want it to be, so I might as well jump right in.

I spent the last night of 2015 with great friends, fireworks, lights, and a whole lot of sparkles, so if that's any indication of how 2016 will be, I feel like I'm ready.

La mulți ani înainte!

Maratonul de Craciun

2015-12-27T14:11:00.001+02:00

Merry Christmas from Moldova!

My Christmas was far from Christmassy, but that doesn't mean I didn't do a bunch of Christmassy things leading up to it! More Hallmark Christmas movies than I can count, a sparkling tree, hot wine with Christmas music, and dressing up like Santa Claus to lead my team of reindeer down the streets of Chisinau.

It's a good thing I've watched Rudolph 147 times, because it helped me keep my reindeer in line (just kidding, that was impossible - it did help us designate names for everyone though). There was a Christmas fun run in the capital that a bunch of PCVs decided to participate in (I say participate rather than run because our sleigh team didn't do a TON of actual running.. Why run when you can prance?!), and 10 of us dressed up as Santa and his reindeer.

Don't think we've gone crazy or anything, because it was truly a costume run. While we may not have crossed the finish line even close to first, we definitely won first prize for team spirit, holiday spirit, most creative costumes, loudest caroling, most adorable, most fun, best team ever.. I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

We got fun little gifts along the way, a covrigi medal, diploma to prove our achievements.. There was a lot of dancing, including the hora with all the other costumed participants, a lot of picture taking, and a lot of prancing! And of course, rewards afterwards in the form of brunch and beer.

The reindeer were adorable with antlers, red lips, and holiday spirit! Santa rocked an '80s onesie, and Rudolph had her red nose to light the way for us all. Blitzen and Comet kept playing reindeer games, Dasher carried us through the 12 Days of Christmas singalong, and Vixen was the snuggliest of all! Oh, yeah, and we were tied together with twine, like a real sleigh team who loves each other so much they never want to be separated! And apart from a few wardrobe malfunctions, we never were. This added challenge really tested our endurance and friendship, and I'm happy to say that both held up. Because we're amazing. No one can say that we didn't win the day.

Enjoy a million pictures! And here's a link to a news video with an appearance by our very own Rudolph the Red-Nosed PCV.

Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

Today I'm Thankful For... #4

2015-12-03T17:58:00.000+02:00

Oops, it's December, and I haven't posted my last week! In my defense, life happened. Anyway, it's crazy that it's December.. There are less than 30 days left in 2015, Christmas decorations are happening (okay, just kidding, it's not even close to America's crazy, but I do have a tiny tree in my room), I'm wearing my winter coat now (December 1 IS winter here), and I'm drinking all the Christmas tea and watching all the Christmas movies I possibly can. Here's what I was thankful for during the last week of November, and to see the first three, head here, here, and/or here.

November 23: Puppies! We have two at our house that are adorable and come greet me anytime I open the door to go outside now. More adorably, we found EIGHT puppies while walking in the raion center. At least eight. Possibly more. They were just the cutest things.

November 24: I am thankful for power. I didn't actually have it today, so there was a lot of whining (not me, I swear - my host mom!) and going to bed early. Sunset is before 4:30 p.m. so it was pretty dark pretty early.. Not much to do in the dark besides go to bed. If only I hadn't slept in until noon, that would have been easier.. I keep saying I'll buy some candles and I keep forgetting, but.. It's definitely on my to-do list now!

November 25: I'm thankful for power today because it came back this afternoon! The mayor asked me how things were going, and I said, oh they're fine! He said, things are good at the house? It's warm, all's well? Yes, sure is! Oh except we haven't had power in a while. Then he made fun of me: yes, everything's fine, except I'm freezing and have no food! Very funny. I don't know if it had anything to do with our conversation, but an hour later, the power was back. I'm also thankful for a relatively quiet English class today. We made hand turkeys and did a word search - if you ever want 5-10 minutes of quiet, sit them down with a word search in English and you'll sure get it. Until they notice that you're doing really well at it and the "cheating" starts. Which, adorably, they were really concerned about. Like, guys, it's just a word search. No big deal.

November 26: Thankful for hours spent on Skype with Mina today. "Is it too early to drink wine?" "No." "Okay I'm gonna run out and get a bottle - I'll call you back and we can share a glass!" Perfect.

November 27: Even though it was depressing, I'm glad that Amanda sent me terrible pictures of everyone from the family Thanksgiving so I could fully see what I was missing. Also glad that my host mom told me not to go to work today because I got to sleep in WAY too late, which was apparently very necessary.

November 28: Unexpected FaceTimes from my BFF, a newly organized cupboard, and Hallmark Christmas movies.

November 29: I can't stop wanting to put Hallmark Christmas movies on the list, as that's currently the best thing in my life.. Also for cake and Christmas tea!

November 30: Fresh air, the '50s-'60s jazz playlists on 8tracks, and unexpected slumber parties with some great guys.

And that's the end of this month - on to the next!

Today I'm Thankful For... #3

2015-11-23T20:13:00.000+02:00

Serios, I'm confused. I was pretty sure November just started, and then I looked at the calendar and it was half over, and then I blinked and now it's been November for three weeks. What?

This week's been okay, nothing spectacular to write home about, but not much to whine about either, so I can't really complain! Here's what I've been thankful for this week.

November 16: My favorite rutiera driver stopped and picked me up on the road today, even though I was just going to work and not leaving the village. He dropped me off right in front of the Primaria! So nice of him. It's always a better ride whenever he's driving.

November 17: Some older, wiser volunteers told us that our second year would be crazy compared to our first. It's not that I didn't believe them, but I guess I needed to get there to think, oh yeah, I guess they were right. Today's been busy and I can tell the rest of the week will be too, but I think I'm thankful that it is. I'm getting things done and the future is looking bright - even though I've got no clue what it holds.

November 18: Can I say "the mayor" again? Having a rough morning and he comes into the office, so I tell him we need to take some pictures for our next project. He takes me right out and drives me around the village to take these pictures. He tells me to write my parents to thank them for sending me here. We walk past the park and have this conversation:
"This park - you did a good thing."
"WE did."
"Yes, well. If all volunteers do something like this - how many are you? 100? - Moldova will be a much better country."
Then I sat with my host mom at dinner forever and showed her a million pictures of my family because A. I miss them and B. I think she truly enjoys seeing them. So that was nice.

November 19: A productive morning to myself, and sunset over the lake.

November 20: Becky Sharkey, 5 year anniversaries, and crossing everything off my to-do list.

November 21: Thanksgiving celebrations with the raion family that included: delicious food, desserts for days, running around with a football, pajamas, card games, and the Mirror of Thankfulness.

November 22: Dutch Blitz, movie night, and honest conversations. And pajamas again, because obviously.

So, this week was posted on Monday, 100% because I wasn't at home on Sunday, BUT it works out because November ends next Monday, so that's when I'll post the next one, too. Come back for that and the end of the month!

Today I'm Thankful For... #2

2015-11-15T19:34:00.003+02:00

It's been kind of a rough week for me, but of course I'm still keeping my list of things to be thankful for, because that's what I want to do in November! (Or all the time? But I'm going to focus on November first, because Thanksgiving!) If you missed the first one, it's here.

November 9: The mayor of my village. I put off telling him news about our latest project, because in my mind, the news wasn't great - the potential funders said the project was too big for them. They could only do up to a certain amount. But I told him in our Monday morning meeting in front of everyone and he just said, okay, no problem, we'll find the rest! Something's better than nothing! Yes, Primar, you are right. There's a good wake-up for being thankful this week - he was excited to hear what I thought was bad news. Also I love him because sometimes he comes in my office to give me a hug and ask how I'm doing, because he misses his daughters who don't live in the village. If he asked to adopt me, I'd probably have to say yes.

November 10: My mother's day off coincided with my middle-of-the-night freakout, so I'm thankful for that because I got to talk to her and she obviously helped - as much as mothers can from 5,000+ miles away. And also for the Peace Corps doctors, who (after giving me other helpful, actual medical assistance) literally said to #treatyoself, which it turns out I really needed. (If you want to treat yourself to some overpriced, no red cup drama, specialty coffee, I now highly recommend the Creme Brulee at Tucano.)

November 11: Donuts and iced coffee and conversations with the guy selling them to me. Coming home to clean sheets and the promise of a lit soba.

November 12: UM, my parents have iPhones now so I can text them 24/7, which if you know me, I really have just spent 17 months wishing this could happen. So THAT'S awesome. It was also a BEAUTIFUL day today!

November 13: Catching up with "old friends" over lasagna and a jug of wine.

November 14: A beautiful day to plant trees, and being a part of a great, big group of PCVs that went outside and planted a bunch of them. (My host mom said she saw us on the news (possibly here!) and then said: "You'll leave, but the trees will grow." How's that for a summary of our Peace Corps service.) Getting to hang out with great friends that you haven't seen in so long that the conversation never stops. Anytime there's zero desire to look at your phone.

November 15: Brunch with the girls. And the fact that I just wrote, "Brunch with the girls." #poshcorps

Come back next Sunday to read more about what I'm thankful for this month.

"Corner of Heaven" Park Grand Opening

2015-11-12T23:37:00.000+02:00

I know you've been sitting at your computers, refreshing and refreshing Wining & Whining, just hoping I would finally tell the story of the completion of the park project I've been working on for a year. Well, today is your lucky day, because here it is! I've been slowly collecting photos of the day (it turns out when you have a park opening, it's easy to be so busy and overwhelmed that you just let everyone else take the pictures - but any in this post without credit are ones I did take), and I think I've found them all now, so here we go...

The day before our Hram (or "village day" - each village has sort of a patron saint that we celebrate once a year with food, dancing, singing, and other events), the mayor sat down in my office and laid out the schedule for me. I thought for some reason I should trust this schedule, though of course I was out of my mind thinking that, because it did not go as planned.

What he told me was that something would be happening at the cross near my house at 11 a.m., the park opening would be at 3 p.m., and then there would be trântă (which they couldn't explain), and around 6 p.m. the concert and dancing would start. He invited me to all of those things, and said he would pick me up around 11:00 for the thing at the cross.

The morning of Hram, I woke up, had a leisurely breakfast, and got ready for the mayor to pick me up. I sort of question the necessity of this, as I've seen this cross and it's maybe two blocks from my house - I can definitely walk that far on my own. But he never comes and it's kind of chilly out so I decide I'll stay in rather than wander over to some event I'm confused about anyway.. Some time after 1:00 he calls and says he'll come now. I get dressed again (as if I'm going to spend hours looking nice when my sweatpants are RIGHT there) and he calls back saying, mmmm actually it might be another half hour or so, we don't want to freeze out there. It doesn't look that cold to me, but I wait another half hour and he shows up to drive me two blocks down the street.

It turns out that this cross (which was erected some number of months ago; I remember noticing it while out on a walk and thinking it was very nice-looking) was built with the donations of a family from the village - a family of 11 children. ELEVEN. This event was the blessing of said cross, with the Orthodox priest, the mayor, probably all of the eleven, and any villagers that happened to pass by. Most of Moldova is Orthodox, and they put crosses, sometimes very elaborate ones, at intersections in the road to protect travelers from accidents and the like. The priest blessed the cross, the choir sang, and then there were some speeches and presentations of gifts.

(By this time it's approaching 3:00, so of course my Program Manager and the Country Director are waiting for us at the park, and we are on the edge of the village getting holy water thrown in our faces.)

One of the 11 pulls out a jug of wine, and since the mayor announced the American's park opening during his speech, the man brings it over to us first and lets the Americans drink (my friend has also arrived from the raion center!) - he tells us, "In America you all get your own glass, but in Moldova we all share one - it's okay because we're all healthy." Okay, cool.. Thanks for letting us go first. Appreciate ya. Then the mayor drives us to the park, where Peace Corps is waiting, talking to the kids.

The kids are apparently in the middle of telling my Program Manager that they know me (I think there was a short reenactment of the penguin dance!) and I am shocked at the sheer number of children that are hanging out outside the park. I don't think I knew we had that many children in the village, even. Sometimes a grand opening is symbolic and whatever is being opened has already been in use for some time, but not our park. It's been under lock and key - so a million children are just looking through the bars of the fence as if they're stuck behind them, which they kind of are.

The mayor rounds up everyone (which is: a million kids, me and my friend Adrin, my PM, the CD, a woman from the raion center, and a seemingly random collection of a few adults) and we begin our opening. There's a sign with pictures of the process (and my name on it!), a Moldovan flag, and an American flag. We stand at one of the gates, facing all the kids, which is suddenly kind of intimidating. The mayor speaks, the CD speaks with translation from my PM, the woman from the raion speaks and presents us with some sort of certificate, and then I have to speak.

Photo courtesy of Meredith Dalton

Photo courtesy of Primaria Caplani

So in my 17 months here, I've given "speeches" that I've known about in advance, I've avoided impromptu ones, I've given impromptu ones, and I've suddenly found myself wanting to give them (this category is generally a toast at a masa.. after a glass of wine or two). I've progressed from being told about them and meticulously preparing index cards (okay, I only did that once) to declining to give them, to figuring I'd probably have to give them so I'd better at least prepare mentally, to today.. When I knew I'd have to say something and didn't prepare at all. I didn't know what to say! Of course it's not true that I didn't prepare at all, I thought about it for a while and I had some things in mind, but since I went last, everyone else had already said everything! So I stumbled through some of what I'd thought I would say, and then felt I was doing terribly and speaking awful Romanian, so I just ended with, OKAY GREAT LET'S GO PLAY or something equally horrid. It's even on tape..... So that's cool.

We cut the ribbon and the kids SWARMED the place. It's not like there was even enough equipment for them all to use, but that didn't seem to make a difference. The opening happened around 3:30 and the kids were still playing when I left the center of the village around 11:00 p.m. - how cute is that!

Photo courtesy of Adrin Vargas

Photo courtesy of Meredith Dalton

Photo courtesy of Adrin Vargas

We were then taken around to the back of the building that the park is adjacent to to see the trântă, which means wrestling! This was kind of traumatizing, because though we didn't stay for long, I had to watch my sweet little boys from English class fight each other.. I'm pretty sure I heard that my tiniest one lost a tooth while we were watching. (Although another one of mine won his "division" so I'm proud of him! I'm conflicted about it, obviously.) There were three "divisions" called "Rabbit," "Rooster," and ..I'm unsure of exact translation on the last one, but possibly "Ram." (Just noticed it's alliterative in English, so I'm into that.) I guess these are either weight or age, or possibly both. They were awarded prizes later on that night, and if you guessed that the Rabbit winner's prize was a live rabbit, you'd be right. The Rooster won a live rooster, and guess what, there was also a giant live ram, just handed over to probably a 15-year-old boy. I saw the end of this prize awarding last year and was so confused - took me a year, but now I finally know what I walked in on. (Picture me, walking onstage to find a struggling ram upside-down on the floor and wondering just what I'd gotten myself into in this country.) Regrettably, I did not capture that moment on film, so I'll just have to come back in 20 years for that.

After watching a round or two of trântă, the mayor wanted to take us back to the cross to show my PM and CD, so we went there and the family was still there. They invited us to their house to join their masa, so we did. It was really cool, and one of the bigger masas I'd been to. Our CD gave a toast that was translated, and the family gave a few in both Russian and Romanian that they had translated for the Americans. There was singing and they gave us colac, which is this twisted/braided bread that they present with candles in it for special occasions.

Then we went to the Primaria so they could see the mayor's office, which was also set up with a masa for later, but we got to eat some right then, because the mayor had to share some of his wife's wine. He boasted that next year if they come again, they'll be able to try wine that I made. He told them that he considers me like another daughter, which was only one of the times I almost cried that day. The mayor even told the story (twice) of how when I first visited before moving here permanently, I cried for two days straight at the thought of having to live here, and then said, "And she doesn't cry anymore." (Well, mostly.)

Photo courtesy of Meredith Dalton

Our Country Director gave a toast here, too, and it was really special to me. She talked about how just seeing this community for a few hours, she could tell that they love me and are taking good care of me. She said that she could tell that it wasn't just a community, it was a family. I'm thankful to be a part of that family (which I said later that night in my toast at the big Primaria masa, and definitely DID cry for) in my little village. The park has always been called "Corner of Heaven," or, "Colț de Rai." I don't know why my partner named it that, but we stuck with it the whole time. I thought it was kind of cute, kind of silly.. But this week I was riding the bus home from an unexpected, not-so-great trip to Chisinau, and as we neared the village, I looked out the window to see a little bit of sunlight breaking through clouds, the rays shining and looking as much like a corner of heaven as anything could have that day, or any day. I might have cried for two whole days when I first visited my village, but I think it's my Colț de Rai now. I'm part of the village family, and it's this beautiful little place (a "hidden gem," according to Adrin!) that I get to keep living in for the next 8-9 months or so.

Photo courtesy of Primaria Caplani

Photo courtesy of Meredith Dalton

As for the park - as soon as school gets out, the kids head straight there to play. I've seen them playing at the park every day that I've been by. Since the opening, we've planted trees and bushes and everyone in the village seems really proud of it. We do a lot without tangible results, so it's nice to walk by and see the kids playing, and to get to join them (I only fit on the swings.. The merry-go-round and teeter-totter are, um.. A little small) and hang out with my little friends. So I'm really proud of this too! It took a lot of work and collaboration and adapting to craziness and some struggles along the way, but (even though I just talked about tangible results and smiles aren't quite tangible) the smiles on those tiny little faces make all the crazy worth it. Now we've got a little Corner of Heaven in our corner of heaven, in our corner of Moldova, in our corner of the world.

Today I'm Thankful For...

2015-11-08T18:26:00.001+02:00

Thanksgiving is obviously my favorite holiday, because food and family and turkey.. Wait, turkey goes into that first category, doesn't it? WHATEVER. Rather than think about potential controversy surrounding the day, let's just take this time to be grateful for all that we've got. So I'm going to do that all month (like I did last year) because it's fun, and we should be doing it all the time, obviously!

November 1: Time spent with new volunteers and tours of new cities.

November 2: Messages from my godson's mother - she told me that he looks at and asks for my picture online and says, "Mommy where is my Mom? Show me my mom, please!"

November 3: Getting to go outside in beautiful weather and help plant trees in the park.

November 4: 17 months in Moldova, which I celebrated by taking myself out for coffee during the day and out to dinner in the evening, where I had possibly the greatest dessert in all of Moldova (think: an explosion of chocolate). Phone calls so long that we get cut off and have to call back to continue the conversation.

November 5: Being in charge of my own destiny, running into friends while in a completely different neighborhood, getting to see the passion and dedication of young girls pursuing technology (Moldovan girls are featured in CODEGIRL documentary about the Technovation Challenge, and it's awesome). Umbrellas, art, stars in the southern sky.

November 6: Coffee, this song, and this book.

November 7: The brightest running shoes to get through the gloom made by the entire village burning everything, ghițmane, and four sweet, snuggly puppies.

November 8: A house to myself, a clean room (space to dance!), and Aziz Ansari.

Check back on Sundays in November to read about what I'm thankful for this month.

Wining & Wining

2015-10-28T12:34:00.000+02:00

I've been doing my share of whining lately (I always do), but it's been far less than my wining, because it's WINE season in Moldova! I know you might think that every season in Moldova is wine season, and I can't say that you'd be wrong, exactly.. But the beginning of autumn is decidedly more of a wine season than the rest of the year. (My host mom has informed me that they made more wine this year, so they'll definitely have it until I leave.. Apparently they ran out a lot earlier than normal this year, so.. Oops.)

The start of the parade!

Traditionally, National Wine Day is held the first weekend in October in Chisinau. The wineries come and set up booths, there's food and music and dancing.. Kind of like a tiny Oktoberfest, but in Moldova, and for wine. Lately though, Moldova has been having a tough time politically. There has been protesting going on for a while in the main square (really throughout the country), so this year the Wine Day celebrations were cancelled in Chisinau and held other places instead. Individual wineries hosted events, for example. While I didn't participate in any of those, I knew that there was a Wine Day in my raion center that same weekend, and I had planned already to go with my village.

Villagers and PC friends at our booth

After the "wine weekend" last year, everyone at work asked me why I didn't come to the Stefan Voda Wine Day - where was I, what had I been doing?! Well, guys, you sort of forgot to tell me it was a thing, soooo.. That's why I wasn't there. But this year I knew it was a thing, so I got to go with the mayor and some ladies from the gradinita to the raion center.

Our delicious spread, which I wish I'd eaten more of..

Another village's super cool display

We dressed in traditional costume and set up a booth for our village - most of the villages in the raion were there with booths, some with elaborate setups of crafts and food and wine. It was like every village brought out their fanciest things to display, including mine! Some of them were really cool, and there were other displays out too - art exhibitions, a display from the best metalworker in the raion (who just so happened to make the fence for my park - I could tell it was the same work so I introduced myself, and of course he already knew who I was), a setup from Et Cetera (the cutest winery in the raion), and people making and selling food.

We're in the parade! It wasn't led by even ONE trombone.. But there were many accordions.

Once we were dressed and the tables mostly set up, we suddenly had to rush over to the main road. The women were practicing a song and asked if I would sing with them. I mean, sure, but I don't know the words, and you seem to have them memorized.. But I'll stand there and look pretty if you want. We didn't end up having to sing, but we did find ourselves the correct spot in the village parade, which was starting without us, because we dawdled a little bit I think. How we found our spot, I don't know.. Though I suspect the villages were lined up alphabetically, it was still pretty confusing. The parade was very short; we walked past the big crowd in the center, cheered for Caplani, and then we were done. Back to the booth! I found my friends and had lunch and wine with them, and eventually got a call from the mayor asking me to bring my friends over to the booth to have a glass of Caplani wine! Then I changed out of my borrowed costume (though not before a quick photoshoot so I could send photos to my mother, which they are always pretty concerned about) and my village left, so I spent the rest of the day with my friends in the raion. It was fun!

Last year I got to spend a long day with my friends picking grapes for wine that I would unfortunately never get to taste, but this year I didn't have the opportunity to do any grape-picking. I thought that was kind of unfortunate, so I figured maybe I could ask the mayor if I could join him one day while he was working on his wine - his wife is known in the village for making very good wine. I've been at masas where I try to leave, only to be informed that I've only tried Ana's wine from x year, and I need to also try it from y year (and maybe even from z year? It's all a blur).

Once the mayor knew I wanted to learn how to make wine, I think he got pretty excited. He seems to really love when I participate in things, which I find curious because I can't imagine not participating in community events and traditions and such. But he's always very happy to share things with me. He loves taking my picture so that I have a record of my time here, which I think is sometimes just adorably silly, but which I'm also pretty thankful for.. There's only so much you can show in a selfie, but when you essentially live alone, there aren't too many opportunities to have your picture taken in this place where you're living for two whole years. So it's nice to have some photos of me in my village, thanks to the mayor. And on this particular day when I went with him to make wine, he did not disappoint on this front. I now have over 100 pictures of myself making wine - he appointed himself the photographer for the afternoon and took his job very seriously.

One day soon after the Wine Day, I talked to the mayor at work and he asked if I wanted to learn to make wine with him at his brother's house. I think I probably said something like, "OBVIOUSLY!" So he picked me up at my house after lunch and we went over to his brother's house - coincidentally, it's right next to his. (Sorry, Hannie, but I don't think I plan to move in right next to you in the future.) I was actually confused when we arrived and thought I'd misunderstood about where we were going, but we walked through the "backyard" and were suddenly at Misha's house.

I don't know what I thought would happen, but it definitely wasn't what happened. I guess I assumed they would be at some point in the process, and they'd explain what they'd done prior and what they would be doing after. I didn't think they would be midway through every single step and that I'd get to try them all! But I did! I had barely greeted Misha when the mayor asked for my camera to start snapping, and immediately I was turning a crank to grind grapes while smiling for the camera. They were almost done with that, so we quickly moved to the next step, which involved handing me a caveman club so I could beat the grapes that were in a barrel. I was not very adept at this step, but Misha kept adding grapes and I kept attempting to squash them. At some point he decided there were enough in there, so he put a top on the barrel, weighed it down with a bunch of stuff, and added a handle, which I had to turn to squish the grapes more so that juice would come out. Eventually a longer handle was added so I could just walk around and around the barrel - this part was the most fun, I think.

Wine (or the beginnings of it) started pouring out into a container below the barrel, which we took in buckets to the REALLY big barrels in the garage area and poured it in, where it would ferment for 40 days. Luckily, they already had some fermenting (I told you they were midway through every step!), so I got to fill a jug from one of the barrels and we sat down to drink and eat - the mayor, his brother, their wives, and me. The mayor's wife thought the whole process was pretty hilarious, especially, I think, because the men would explain something really quickly, I would take a minute to understand so I'd look confused (I clearly need to add feedback to language learning - need more wine-making vocabulary), and then I'd attempt to do it while the mayor shouted directions - not about the wine, but about posing for the camera. So she laughed and laughed and took her own pictures while we were working.

Now we'll interrupt this blog post for a complete documentation of this event.

The tiny masa afterward was just as fun - it was one of those days where you feel really good about your Romanian so things make sense. I was even able to make everyone laugh with a joke or two (clearly I've MADE IT), and it was just like I was at home for family dinner. Or family wine night. Afternoon. Whatever! They joked about how whenever I went back to America, I needed to stop at the house first to get a bucket of wine to take on the plane, and when I told them how long the trip was, they said, "Oh. You're going to need two buckets."

Both Wine Day and my wine day were really fun, but odd as it feels to say (because of my love for wine and all), I don't think it was at all because of the wine. Both days were time spent with different people in the community that treat me more like family than like a visitor in their village. Last year at this time I was having kind of a hard time, but this year I feel like I'm in the right place, doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm part of the community in a way that I wasn't before, and frankly, didn't expect I ever would be. It's like I belong here, and these people are my neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family. (I'm even getting along GREAT with host mom, so you'll be happy to hear that!) The majority of the majority of my days are happy, and it's got nothing to do with the wine.

GirlsGoIT Camp

2015-09-13T16:38:00.001+03:00

I've been back at site for about two weeks since camp ended, so that means I've fully recovered, right? As evidenced by the fact that I am only just now posting this, it turns out I could probably still sleep for weeks - I may never be the same again.

PCVs Go IT

GirlsGoIT is a program that aims to encourage and support girls and women in Moldova to master digital technologies. GirlsGoIT is a joint program with UN Women in Moldova, Novateca, eGovernment Center, and TEKEDU. I've mentioned it before, as I attended one of their events in the spring with two girls from my village.

It's always time for picture-taking.

This summer, GirlsGoIT held its first summer camp - for two weeks at the end of August, roughly 40 girls came together to learn all sorts of fun things (HTML, CSS, Python, Flask, Bootstrap, &c.).

Miki, the energizer rock star, leading a team version of Rock Paper Scissors

The camp was designed to be inclusive of different social groups and was for girls ages 16-20. They were divided into 6 teams, and each team worked together on a project that culminated in the creation of a website, which, over the course of the camp, they would learn how to create. They had sessions each day with different trainers and professionals, and each team was assigned a mentor to help them with their project.

"So, should we retake that, or..?"

Cristina helping her group with something awesome.

Not ever having worked with Moldovan youth in this age group, it was really fun getting to know all these girls. They were all so dynamic, passionate, and motivated - they would (usually) make it to breakfast at 8 and then would work into the night, until midnight and later.. And then get up the next day and do it again! For two. whole. weeks. It was occasionally exhausting just watching them. This was especially cool because it wasn't as if anyone was making them work until midnight - sessions did go past dinner, but they didn't have to keep working as late as they did. They wanted to, because they were learning and wanting to perfect their projects and such. (I, of course, wanted them to go to bed, so I could imagine everyone safe and sound in their cabins while I slept.. But you can't always get what you want.)

Photo courtesy of Aba Ogundipe

We tried to break up the work with energizers, sports during breaks, a morning walk to the nearby monastery, a super cool PCV-organized scavenger hunt, among other things.. But mostly there was just a lot of coding and programming happening, alllllllll the time. It was hard work, sometimes harder than we were all prepared for, but we made it through together.

Brainstorming?!

Madalina presenting with her group

If I had made two lists: Things I Expected to Happen and Things That Actually Happened, they'd hardly resemble each other at all. It was kind of a crazy two weeks, made up of new friends, more languages than I can ever hope to learn, sleep deprivation, an inordinate amount of coffee, (not enough) dance parties, heart-to-hearts with amazing girls, Powerpoints, websites, creativity, stargazing, mămăligă, Romanian/English practice, Peace Corps powwows, serendipity, and selfies.. with a group of people that I wouldn't trade for anything.

#selfiesunday - photo courtesy of Sara Hoy

I got to see one of the girls from camp this weekend, and I loved hearing how excited she was to meet with her group and to keep working on their project. I'm pretty sure I met the future of Moldova at that camp, and I'm so excited to see what they end up doing in life.

Diana and Ana having SO MUCH FUN

Team "Fii IT" taking a much-deserved break before site launching

Check out the GirlsGoIT FB page to see all the cool things we did, to stay updated on the girls' new websites, and to see where GirlsGoIT goes from here. More to come from me about all this too, eventually.

Taking a morning walk to the nearby monastery.

Our last night celebration included adorable lantern launching.

10 Questions About My Peace Corps Life

2015-07-31T17:24:00.000+03:00

“I love you. I'm proud of you. Now go write me another blog; I want to read a new one.”

Okay, Mother. So bossy. This is what she said to me as I headed to security to get on the first plane on my trip back to Moldova. (Which, if you're wondering, was probably just as hard or harder than it was to leave the first time. I had too good a time at home with everyone! Although the first time I thought I wouldn't see anyone for over two years, and this time we all knew it'd be just one more, so at least there's that.)

Since my demanding mother requested another blog but I don't have too much to write about at the moment, it's a good thing my sweet friend Sara (probably the nicest person in Peace Corps Moldova) gave me a bunch of great questions to answer. She nominated me for the Liebster Award, which is a blogging thing that helps you get to know your fellow bloggers. There are rules about nominating other people and creating your own set of questions for them, but I've always been a rulebreaker (just kidding – we all know I follow the rules) so I'm just going to answer her questions, with the excuse that hers are so great I couldn't possibly come up with anything better. But thank you, Sara, for thinking of me! (Also, excellent answers to the questions YOU got, and now I want to know your answers to these!)

1. How many different countries have you traveled to and where?
While in Peace Corps, I've traveled to the Czech Republic (Prague) and to Italy (Rome and Naples). I've also spent some time in Romania, but that was more of a struggle than a vacation. (And to the United States, I guess!) Prior to Peace Corps I lived in Germany so I got to go to all sorts of places – France, England, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar.. Maybe even some I'm forgetting.

2. What food item do you miss the most?
When I was just at home, I found myself drinking a lot of Dr. Pepper, which I hadn't realized I missed but man, it's good! And tacos, made by my mother. I miss any kind of food that isn't potatoes, really. Mint chocolate chip ice cream, ohhh.. That's what I want right now.

3. Favorite book (or article) you have read so far since being a PCV?
I've done so much reading here that this is a tough question. Definitely the most meaningful to me at the time I read it would be Divergent by Veronica Roth. You know when you read the perfect book at the perfect time? That was one of those. I also loved Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. The former with great advice about life and love and the latter basically describing my life.

4. Favorite item you are glad you brought with you?
It's almost painful to say this now when I feel like I'm actually melting in the heat (I know, I know, I'm not serving in Africa) but my favorite thing I brought is my fuzzy Vera Bradley house robe that I wear 24/7 when it's cool/cold outside. I've forgotten what that feels like but I imagine it will happen again someday.

5. What is your favorite thing about the country you serve in?
I think my favorite thing about Moldova is just how kind strangers can be. While I don't think this is specific to Moldova (it shouldn't be!) I find that it's easier to notice here because maybe I need it more here, what with language struggles and unfamiliar surroundings. Most notably with transportation issues. It's occasionally difficult to get from one place to the next, but you'll always find someone to help you – not just tell you where to go, but sometimes they'll even take you there. Recently I was with two friends and we were on the side of the road attempting to catch a bus going north. So was this other man. He could have taken any bus that we could have, but he stopped one for us, put us on it, told the driver where we needed to go, and then didn't even get on! He waited for the next one after making sure that we were on our way. I've been picked up by strangers that somehow knew my bus wasn't going to come and directed by others when I just look like I don't know where I'm going. I used to worry about making it to places on my own, but I'm never completely alone in the world and I know I'll always eventually get there, perhaps with some extra help from a kind Moldovan.

6. If you could choose between hot summers and cold winters, which would you choose?
You're asking me this question when I'm hot at my house and at work and outside and everywhere..... Which makes my answer cold winters. I know I would regret saying that if I were answering this during winter, but at least in winter there's variety sometimes – when it's super cold outside you can bundle up inside next to the soba for warmth. Plus, cute sweaters.

7. Favorite food from your country of service?
Don't tell her I said this, but my host mom's plăcintă ghițmane. It may be her only great skill in the kitchen, but it's miles above any other kind of plăcintă I've had. If I don't come home knowing how to make it, I'll consider my Peace Corps service a failure. (Kidding, sort of.)

8. From your experience, where is the best place to travel to?
You're all going to be SO shocked when I say: Italy. Wait, you're not shocked? Weird. I've been there 4 times and my mother assumes it will be part of my as-yet-unplanned COS trip (“Knowing you, you'll stop in Italy on the way home.”). It's just my favorite place. It's not even one specific city – I would probably rank my favorites (Florence, Rome, Cinque Terre) but I love them all. If I didn't hate being away from home I'd have to try to live there next. As it stands, I'll just have to marry rich and we can travel there together later. You can start lining up now – I'm good at baking cookies (and look super cute in an apron) and I know how to feed farm animals - is that helpful?

9. If you could choose between the public transportation in your country of service or walking, which do you prefer?
Walking, definitely. I enjoy walking, most of the time. The last time I ride a rutiera won't come soon enough, and I'll often choose walking over the slightly better public transportation in the capital. In the summer they're unbearably hot and rarely will you be lucky enough to have a crowd that allows the windows to be left open, and in the winter I'm terrified that they will crash if there is snow or ice (which there is). In any season there are too many people on the bus and I don't think I've ever gotten to sit next to someone that wasn't obnoxious. But I'm whining so I will say that if you have a long trip, it's great for books on tape or podcasts or bonding or a nap, perhaps. It's possibly unwise to nap on a bus when you're by yourself, so officially I never do this, but I'm just saying, 3 hours is a long time.

10. If you could describe your Peace Corps service in one word, what would it be?

Love.

Tour of Moldova

2015-07-11T17:52:00.000+03:00

Life has been SO good lately. People keep asking me how I am and I keep answering with "Can't complain" because I really can't complain. (Is this right? Someone check the Cycle of Vulnerability and Adjustment. Should I be having a mid-service crisis right about now?)

Oh, did you want to know why? Good, I'll tell you!

First of all, M30 is here! My group is M29, and now that we've been here a year, Peace Corps decided we needed new friends so they sent 70 more people. They didn't even ask me, but so far they seem mostly wonderful, so I guess I'll allow it. I didn't think I'd have much opportunity to meet M30, but as it turns out, I've gotten to spend the last week seeing a lot of them. Mostly just the ones in my sector, but we're the best, so that seems appropriate.

Second of all, I found out that I get to be a facilitator for the GirlsGoIT summer camp, so that's really exciting! Some of my good friends are doing it too so we're going to have a ton of fun teaching girls about tech.

AND this week I've been travelling all around Moldova and having a ton of fun doing it.

I went to Ialoveni to help lead a session for the M30 COD group. Another M29 and I developed this session, which we didn't have last year, because we thought it would be fun and helpful! It was about healthy relaxation methods and we didn't bore anyone to tears, which is, I think, the mark of a good presentation. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Then I went back to Chișinău for a bit and helped out with preparing for site placement - on Thursday the M30s found out where their permanent sites are going to be! This would have been slightly more exciting if I had gotten some more neighbors, but I'm sure the two that were placed in my raion will be great.

That red triangle all the way on the right is near me!

The weekend took me to Telenești to visit my adopted bunica, the fabulous Ellen. She works at the library there and they organized a Healthy Life Festival on Sunday. It happened at the same time as a raion festival, so people from every village were there with booths and performances. For the Healthy Life part, we had games, coloring, yoga, karate, blood tests, and literature about modul sănătos de viața. I led a short yoga demonstration for the kids and helped out with whatever else people needed! The night before, we all hung out, saw the town, and had a delicious dinner together. No surprise that Ellen is an excellent host.

The week before, another friend had invited me up to visit him in the north, in Rîșcani. So after Ellen's Healthy Life Festival, a few of us made it to the main road and flagged down a bus going north that took us to Bălți. I met him and some other friends at the bus station and we went up to Rîșcani together. Two M30s were placed there, one who would have the same host family as Andrew (as he is an M28 and will COS soon!), so we got to meet him and have some Moldovan barbecue and boxed wine. The next day we got to visit the COD M30 at his future assignment, which is an NGO that's currently under construction but will soon be a cool place to work.

Then I went back down to Chișinău with the COD and his partner for their Site Team Conference. This happens right after site visits - CODs come to Chișinău with their partners and have a two-day conference about the work they hope to do, among other fun things. Our program manager had asked me to be a translator for the conference, which was so much fun. Some of the partners don't speak English and the M30s have only had a month of language training so far, so that can be a struggle. With the help of our program staff and two other M29s, I think we did a pretty good job of translating. Occasionally I would need to call for backup, but one of the partners thought I was from Romania, so that's always a compliment. I think about how a year ago, my mayor came with me to this, and he was the class clown of the group (there was one this year, too!). He told everyone that he wouldn't let me sleep or eat until I had learned Romanian, and here I am a year later doing the translating. Look at me now, Primar!

The translators!

So it's been a really good week with old friends and new ones. Things I learned on my trip around Moldova: I can easily say "Sure, I'll do that!" to things that once would have freaked me out (like leading a yoga class at a festival), Moldovans are well-versed in Botticelli (but also that I probably won't be able to marry anyone since I can't remove the picture from my leg..), don't listen to people saying ridiculous things about you, young Moldovan guys will dance with American women to Frank Sinatra, boxed wine tastes better if the box is shaped like a book, long rutiera rides can actually be kind of excellent, some days I do pretty well with Romanian, and this next year is going to be some kind of adventure - not that this last one was any different.

Lavender Festival*

2015-07-10T20:41:00.002+03:00

*Subtitle to this post: How to be alone**

**Sub-subtitle: AKA, Peace Corps

If you're living in your home country and there's an event that sounds cool but that you can't find anyone to go with, it's pretty easy to just go. You'll probably meet someone cool to talk to, or, if your life resembles a Hallmark movie, you'll maybe even meet your soulmate (I've been led to believe that the probability of meeting the love of my life at a Christmas tree lot is SO HIGH that I'm not sure I'll meet him anywhere other than there.. Is it even possible to meet someone during the summer?).

If you're living in another country (where you kind of speak the language) and there's an event that sounds cool but that you can't find anyone to go with, it's a little harder. But I decided that I wanted to go, with or without someone. Once I figured out that it would be without, I decided that I needed to make it an awesome day to myself (instead of an awkward day alone, or something).

At the TED talks, there was a woman who talked about rebranding Moldova, and I thought she was super interesting. During her talk, she mentioned some upcoming festivals, including Festivalul Levănțicii, or Lavender Festival. That sounded great, and I mentioned it to a few people, but no one ended up being able to go.

So I went alone! It was in a little village in Anenii Noi, so I had to go to Chisinau first to get there. The event sponsored rutieras back and forth throughout the day, so all I had to do was get to the place they'd be starting from. Which I'd never been to.. But when I got off the bus and saw a dozen people standing on the side of the road wearing all white, I knew I'd found the right spot. There was a dress code: all white (ne îmbrăcăm neapărat în alb) - originally I'd thought this was just a suggestion, but almost everyone took it really seriously, so if I go next year I might have to go shopping ahead of time. I did go in a white t-shirt so don't worry, I fit in.

It was way bigger than I'd thought! There were a bunch of food booths (but "no meat, no beer" - only healthy things like tons of sangria), an art competition, a huge stage with different performances throughout the day, booths where people were selling crafts, soaps, handmade pretty things, and LAVENDER. The fields of lavender were EVERYTHING. When you walked into what I'll just call the fairgrounds, to your left was lavender literally as far as you could see, and to the right was all the booths and places to sit in the fields and relax.

I started my day with stuffed peppers and lavender lemonade, and then walked all around to look at everything. Bought myself some cute jewelry and some fun things for a friend who had sent me with money and directions to plan a romantic evening. There were professional photographers there to take your picture in the lavender fields, so I did that - hello, Moldova's Next Top Model, look no further. Then I set out a blanket and tried both kinds of sangria while listening to the performances and reading my book and enjoying the beautiful sunny day! I stayed as long as I wanted and when I decided it was time to go, I changed my mind to get a lavender massage, because obviously. After that I went back to Chisinau, relaxed and happy and smelling much better than normal.

Would it have been fun with friends? For sure. But I had a great time without them - in case you've forgotten, I'm kind of a good time on my own. It meant I got to do what I wanted, when I wanted. It meant I had to be a little brave occasionally and talk to someone in Romanian to ask them to take my picture or to help me find the perfect bath salts or direct me somewhere. And it reminded me that if I don't go Christmas tree shopping anytime soon, I'll be just fine.

A Year of Days

2015-06-15T16:02:00.000+03:00

"Un an de zile."

"A year of days."

That's what I hear, all the time. If someone in my village wants to say "a year" they never say "a year." They always say "a year of days." This also works for "a month of days" or "two years of days."

At first I was confused. Why are they saying a year of days? Of course it's a year of days; what else would it be? Just say a year! When I eventually realized what they were saying, I was, of course, surprised that it took me so long. I asked a language teacher if this was a saying or if they were all just crazy, and she thought for a minute and said something like, oh you know I guess I say that too. I didn't realize. I think it's just because "un an" is so short.

I've been in Moldova for a year of days now. Our "anniversary" of stepping off the plane was over a week ago. It blows my mind, really. I don't know how that could be right. Yes, it feels like it's been forever, but hasn't it just been a couple months? Nope. It's been 12. A year of months, a year of days, a year of hours, a year of minutes.

I wasn't planning to write a post about being here for a year but then I was hanging out with my best friend yesterday, AKA my journal.. And it turned out that I had some stuff to say. I'm not a fan of sharing my journal. I've read a passage of it to one person, once. I've casually shown someone a picture from it. I might post an Instagram photo of a quote I've written inside. But it's for me. And for the future. I don't start entries with "Dear Diary," because I'm not a character in a Judy Blume novel. I don't start them with anything, actually, but I write them as if I'm writing to my grandchildren (who don't exist at the moment, obviously). I just like to think that one day they'll be hanging out at their favorite grandma's house and they'll find these old journals in the attic and say, "Bunicuță! What are these?! Can we read them??" My grandchildren apparently know Romanian in this scenario, so.. There's that.

As none of you reading this now are lucky enough to be my grandchildren, I'll just share a few of my thoughts from my journal on being here a year.

So what's happened in a year? Where do I even begin? I went from daily tears to sporadic crying. I met new, lifelong friends. I lost a few along the way. I've traveled to new and old countries and had my life changed in at least one of them. I've met soulmates, American, Moldovan, and otherwise.
I've learned to like instant coffee but still remember the magic of coffee makers. I've had to appreciate the tiniest things and I think I've gotten pretty good at that.
I've learned that it's not in me to not give, to not share my whole heart. Does this make me like my mother? Am I turning into her in Moldova? No surprise there. I've continued to want to take care of everyone, only now more so because after a year I need a little less taking care of.
I've learned to stand up for myself and be assertive - in 2 languages. Just within the last few months, I've felt myself becoming more confident and sure of myself, and consequently more sure of my relationships with others - turns out if you feel better about yourself, you'll feel better about the way other people feel about you - or don't. Because if they don't, so what?
I've found a rhythm, a routine. I don't get stressed/freaked about the small stuff - missed the bus? Okay, I'll just reschedule every meeting. But I won't cry about it.
I'm thinking in and using different languages, but one of them is still love. Do I love everyone? Oh, yes. Without a doubt. (It's my mother again!)
I want to remember everything. I know I can't. I try to take lots of pictures to help.
I'm an expert on going with the flow and a - what's higher than expert? I'm that on understanding people in languages I don't read or speak - language, who needs it?! Finding out how very true that is. Am I speaking the language of the world? Yeah, I'm also reading a lot of Paulo Coelho. How can you tell? I'm reading a lot in general. It makes my life better, my conversations richer, my heart happier.
I take more selfies. What? You went to the Peace Corps and got more self-centered? No. Two reasons. 1. When you're alone and you want to take a picture, selfie is your option. And I'm alone a lot. 2. I like myself more. Yeah I'll take a picture of myself, because I'm AWESOME. I can even look at rare selfies from a year ago and see how unsure of myself I was. But now? Oh, you've got a camera? Let me just reapply my lipstick and I'll be right over.

I don't know how much I've changed my community but I can sure say that Peace Corps has changed me so far. And we're just halfway in.

June 4, 2014

June 4, 2015

So there's photographic proof of what a year of days can do. A year of days and I'm a year of days different.. But still a year of days amazing, and still me.

The Kids of Peace Corps Moldova

2015-06-03T16:18:00.002+03:00

The first Moldovan I met was four years old.

She's arguably my favorite human being in this country. My little Moldovan host niece, who, when I was dropped off at a strange house just hours after getting off a plane, came into my room to unpack for me (AKA, try to try on all my bras and ask what everything was for when I knew literally zero words to tell her). She successfully overwhelmed me and made me forget how freaked out I was, simultaneously. I shortly fell in love with her and she brightens my entire life whenever I get to see her, which is not often enough.

If you look at the Instagram account (or photo album) of almost any Peace Corps Volunteer in almost any country, you'll see pictures of children. I just looked at #peacecorps and there are PCVs teaching children, playing with children, taking selfies with their host siblings.. (There are also pictures of animal traffic jams and huge spiders and stuff, but let's just focus on the cute kids.)

Why do we connect with the children so much? Why is an 8-year-old the only person in my village who got me to stop crying when I was doing so much of that? Why do I love the English club I have with the 4th graders, even though I don't want to be an English teacher EVER? Why do I keep going to the preschool even though I don't really have anything to do there?

The kids seem to be capable of so much more love, in such honest and meaningful ways. It's not like they're likely to speak English - I can't always communicate with them. We're not going to talk about life and love or our hopes and dreams, but we can play catch and they can race me down the street while I ride my bike home. They give good hugs and they're always so happy to see me.

Maybe it's some fascination with the American that makes them want to play with me. Maybe they think the way I talk is funny. Maybe their relatives my age have moved abroad to work. I don't know, but I don't care. PCVs in Moldova will joke about "hanging out with our friends at site" because it almost never means that we're hanging out with people our own age. Our "friends" are the kids, because they want to spend time with us. If they question our outfit choices or ask why we're not married yet, it's curiosity rather than the judgment of the older generations.

There have been a few events lately with the children, so I'm adding some pictures from those. The first few are from "Adio Grădiniță" which is the final program for the group of children who will start at the school in the fall. This is the group I work with, and I LOVE them. They are so sweet and always happy to see me. Even if I'm not visiting them, if I pass by the grădiniță while they are outside playing, I will hear a chorus of "Domnișoară Catea! Domnișoară Catea!" ("Miss Cat! Miss Cat!") and they will all rush to the fence to see me and wave. At Adio Grădiniță, there were poems, songs, skits, and dances. It was a typical preschool program, but I liked it even more this time because even though I haven't been hanging out with them for the whole year, it's like the school year is ending and my little ones are graduating! Sort of. It's going to be so exciting to see them at First Bell in the fall.

It's just like America, but with an accordion.

Roman (right) trying to pose for this picture but getting scolded because he's supposed to be posing for another one.

My little host cousin, Ana, dancing along. She got in trouble quite a few times because she was very distracted.

The next event was called Ultimul Sunet, which means Last Bell. Our school goes up to 9th grade, and then they must continue at the raion center. So at Last Bell, our 9th graders graduate. Awards and diplomas are handed out, speeches are made, there are dances and songs and poetry. I work with the 4th graders with English, so I was super excited to see them dressed up in the crowd because that meant they were going to perform a dance! They were so precious. And they must have won some sort of contest for their dancing because two days later, they couldn't come to our Children's Day celebration because they were performing their dance at the raion center! I don't even teach them dance and yet I'm so proud.

Kids getting awards - the graduates wear the sashes (they're sparkly so obviously I want one).

The 4th graders dancing.

Aren't they precious?!

The 9th graders during their "flash mob."

The last event was Ziua Copiilor, which means Children's Day. Apparently this is an international event, celebrated in a few different countries, including Moldova. It's on June 1st, but we celebrated it the day before, as it was a Sunday. The mayor told me to come at 9 or 10, but to ask my host mom because he wasn't sure of the time. She told me 11, so I got there after 11, because I know no one ever starts on time, and I think I was late but it didn't seem to make much difference. I found a kid I knew who wanted to talk about phones and how to put music on our phones..

And then the mayor saw me and told me to come talk to him. He was at the bottom of the steps to the Casa de Cultura, which is at the center of town and where big events are held. Speakers and performers stand at the top of the steps. I see two MCs and some of the women in charge at the school up at the top, and the mayor joins them, so I remain at the bottom of the stairs and the program starts (or continues? I don't know how late I was).

Then the mayor gestured for me to join them "on stage" so I went up, and he said, "So you're going to give a speech, okay?" Hahahahahaha whaaaat? To my credit, I didn't even panic. One or two people went before me with a speech, and then it was my turn to speak unrehearsed Romanian in front of the entire town (okay, it wasn't the whole town, but it was a LOT of children and their mothers/grandmothers). But I just said that we don't have Ziua Copiilor in America, so I thought it was very interesting and fun, I wished them health and peace (always safe bets), and I thanked them all for their friendship. It's not how much you say, it's what you say. Right??

Then there were songs, dances, poetry.. (Surprised?) The day finished with the hora and a distribution of a bunch of packs of sidewalk chalk. The kids all decorated the street while treats were delivered, and each kid went home with a juice box, a chocolate bar, and an ice cream bar. I didn't get any of those things, but some of the grownups did have a masa afterwards at the mayor's office, and I DID get a Snickers bar at that. So all was well.

1st graders dancing and singing

The hora!

Roman and me!

My place of honor with the other official people, surrounded by a girl reading poetry and the MCs.

So while I don't have near enough energy to play with the village kids all the time (and sometimes they try.. and sometimes I hide), I do love them! They can easily improve a bad day and they are just such sweethearts.

Why do PCVs spend so much time with children? Well, have you seen them? They're adorable. Why do I hang out with them? They're nice to me (mostly). My perceived competency is NOT important - I don't have to worry about looking stupid or speaking terrible Romanian, because none of them are going to think, well Catea doesn't know enough to do her job, does she? They give good hugs, and sometimes good advice (you should go home and rest!). They want to hear what I have to say and they want to be my friend. So with all of that, why wouldn't I?

Let Girls Learn - Girls In ICT

2015-05-20T17:19:00.000+03:00

Have you heard the First Lady talk about Peace Corps lately? No?! You're behind. Catch up.

Now that that's settled, aren't you excited about Let Girls Learn?! With this program, Michelle Obama is collaborating with Peace Corps in 11 countries - and Moldova is one of them. From the Let Girls Learn website about Moldova: "In Moldova, 25% of female youth believe that "wife-beating" can be justifiable. Education and empowerment are needed to combat dangerous social norms. There are 120 Peace Corps Volunteers in Moldova working with communities on projects in English education, health and community economic development." source

While ICT education is not education about domestic violence, it is something I find myself passionate about for girls, not only in Moldova, but all around the world. Men outnumber women in most STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). And WHY? Why can't we be scientists and engineers too? (My dad is reading this and thinking, well then why were you an art major...? I told you to take Calc 2!) But studies show that even girls who are passionate about technology don't choose to pursue careers in it! If girls in America don't think they can do this stuff than certainly girls here aren't sure either. So if I can empower them to learn skills in these areas, I feel that I should.

Girls In ICT is a global effort by the International Telecommunication Union to encourage girls to consider careers in technology. In Moldova, GirlsGoIT is a program with the support of UN Women, Novateca (the libraries program I work with), and a few other organizations. Last week, GirlsGoIT had an event for girls called Girls In ICT, so I took two of the girls I know from my English class to Chisinau so they could attend.

While the thought of being responsible for two 11-year-olds (who don't speak English) in the big city was slightly terrifying, it turned out to be okay. We got there early and walked around the parks to see the monuments of Chisinau, which they hadn't seen before. Then we went to the event, and we were the youngest attendees. ("We" meaning "them" because I'm pretty sure I was actually the old lady there.)

Massage train - photo courtesy of GirlsGoIT

There were two presenters - one woman talked about different presentation software to use online, and the other woman, a graphic designer, talked about how to make a good presentation. There was about an hour and a half for both of them, and then an hour to actually make a presentation using one of the programs they had discussed. It was a little tough for the girls I brought, because it turns out they didn't quite know as much about using computers and the Internet as I had assumed, but one of the presenters was excellent about working with them and they were quick learners!

Photo courtesy of GirlsGoIT

Each girl who attended the workshop made a presentation and sent them to the organizers of the event - voting is currently open (do it here, if you'd like! Some of the presentations are in English) and I believe that the girl whose presentation gets the most votes will win an internship with e-Government Center Moldova!

Photo courtesy of GirlsGoIT

Hopefully we can work on learning more IT skills back in the village with more kids, girls AND boys! I'll just have to learn some more specific Romanian, perhaps...

Want to know more about GirlsGoIT? Sign the manifesto here.
What about encouraging girls in Moldova to pursue STEM careers? Here's the gofundme page for a book called Elena the Engineer - they are fundraising to send it to 500 libraries in Moldova!
And about Let Girls Learn? Here's the White House page and here's the LGL Peace Corps page.

Join the Movement! - Photo courtesy of GirlsGoIT

#100happydays

2015-05-13T22:05:00.000+03:00

I decided I'd try to do the #100happydays challenge. I post a picture each day on Instagram of something that made me happy that day. Some days it's easier than others. Some days it feels impossible. But I'm halfway done and going strong. This kind of goes with my "be more optimistic" New Year's resolution.

I am finding that it's easier now to notice what makes me happy every day. When I first got to site I had a hard time, and I kept a "list of accomplishments" document open on my computer. I tried to think of things each day that I had "accomplished" so I could feel better about myself. They ranged from: "September 1, 2014: Gave a speech (that I wrote myself) in Romanian to hundreds of people at First Bell!" to "August 7, 2014: It's 8:16 a.m. and I haven't cried yet, so already that's better than yesterday!" Just like some days my post for this is a selfie with the medal I just got from a 10K and other days it's just a quote that inspired me because I couldn't find happiness in much else that day.

As for the rest of the list.. Be in a better mood? Maybe. Start receiving compliments from other people? No more or less than usual. Realize how lucky I am to have the life I have? Yes, most days. Fall in love during the challenge? Well, that's ridiculous, because I fall in love every day.

So here are thumbnails from my first 50 days. If you want to see the picture a little bigger, my Instagram feed is on the sidebar (to the right) or just click that link.

My favorite picture: That cute newborn puppy for day 4.

My favorite picture: My friends and me hanging out in my village, day 13.

My favorite picture: The tulips blossoming, day 30.


	My favorite picture: It's tough to choose between horses, Iana and her bunny sweater, and the marathon. So I won't.

My favorite picture: Okay, this one's tough too, but I'll go with crowd favorite, day 46, the goslings.

Am I happy every day? No, of course not. I'm not a superhuman (or wait, am I..?). But I don't think the point of this challenge is to be happy every single day for 100 days in a row. It's to be able to appreciate the things in your life (big or small) that make you happy. And couldn't we all be a little more appreciative of those things?

So I'm still working on this, and I'll update again in around.. 48 days, give or take. That will make 100 Happy Days. Which picture is your favorite?? :)