Alive and Well!

Admittedly, I wrote the post below without internet access. It's old but hopefully still appreciated! More to come soon! Pictures, too! I'm currently sitting in the Istanbul airport, doing my best to enjoy and utilize a 10 hour layover. I am regretful to not have gone into the city, but I probably made the responsible decision as Peace Corps would have my hide if I missed the flight to Chisinau (pronounced Key-shuh-now in Romanian) or Kishenev (in Russian). I instead bought a travel guide to Turkey, promising myself that I would come back and explore Istanbul and other areas of this country in more than a few short hours. The group of 67 of us have officially begun our new jobs as Peace Corps (PC for short) Trainees to Moldova (aka the M27's - for the 27th group sent to Moldova). Four program areas exist in PC- Moldova: Agribusiness and Rural Business Development (ARBD); Community and Organizational Development (COD); Health Education (HE); & English Education (EE). I will serve as an ARBD Business Advisor after 8 weeks of training. Training- I'm excited for this! I hear it can be rough. Hard. Frustrating. Overwhelming. But also that I won't get lonely or homesick simply because we don't have time for that nonsense. Before I left, I told my grandmother who believes strongly in education that I see the Peace Corps a different type of higher education, a fascinating, thrilling, and difficult one. And I can't wait to experience it. From the advice of a gal named Margaret from Mozambique, er Tekemah, Nebraska, I was advised to write down all the reasons I have decided to serve in the Peace Corps. I thought you might like to know a few, so that you also can remind me of why I'm on this adventure when times get tough (and surely they will): • Sticking with the Peace Corps motto, to promote peace and friendship worldwide • And I'll add to that love toward fellow mankind • To make a difference to my host community through both the friendships I make and the work that I do • To learn. A lot. • To grow and gain perspective • To motivate and inspire and to be motivated and inspired • To recognize more fully my gifts, talents, and skills that could lead to a certain vocation I hope to specify during/after the first 8 weeks of Pre-Service Training goals and objectives related to my project. My puzzle of unknown's related to where I will be living, the organization with whom I will partner, my housing situation, etc, will not be solved until then. I will finish this post with a first lesson in Romanian: Buna! (boo - nuh) Hello! Ce mai feceti? (cheh my faht - chaits) How are you? Eu nu inteleg. (yuh noo oohn-tseh-leg) I don't understand. Bine! (Bee - neh) Good! There you have it. You know just a bit less of what I know in Romanian. Imagine if you are trying to communicate anything when that's all you know. A lot of gesturing, smiles, laughter, and contented embarrassment. Just what I wanted!