The Good, the Bad, and the Nonsensical

I created a few lists of random observations/opinions.  Hope you like them.

Good-  Things that Make Me Smile

• The cute little babas (grandma's) that wear whatever they want and also always a scarf on their head regardless of how scaldingly hot it is (I believe along the lines of their Orthodox tradition as well to keep that darn "current"  away from getting them sick).  Although they may be wearing the same thing that they wore 5-10 years ago and have a distinct odor at times, they still get the respect that I see Grandma's get where I'm from.  Don't mess with them.  They've earned their keep.  But here, they're still earning their keep!  Every morning and night there's this baba who looks as tough as nails, maybe age 75, who takes her calf to the pasture and back home again.  I pass her on my walk to/from work, but other times while I'm going for a run on the road in that pasture.  She surely thinks I'm a bit crazy.
• Aw the Moldovan hospitality.  They want to serve you everything and make sure you're nice and comfortable.
• My host family- my host dad, the soft-hearted, yet stern, yet joking big guy; my host mother, the chatty, spry keeper of the house; and my host brother, the tall, young guy with whom I can sympathize (being  a 20-something year old wandering what to do with life and making the most of it while pondering this question). My family is pretty easy going and so kind to me.
• Snickers. They're at every little shop, satisfy my chocolate craving, and remind me of home (& I always tell the story of getting Snickers from Grandpa Swan!).
• The calm lifestyle of this place.  Moving away from DC, there are definite things that I miss there (hanging out with good friends, easy access to all types of entertainment, great restaurants and neighborhoods, etc).  But fortunately I'm a sucker for quiet mornings, country roads, and lazy, calm evenings.  I get a lot of them here.
• My very blue and white room.  I've never had such a coordinated, "frumos" room in my life.  I feel like a princess sometimes.
• Working with youth.  Last week, I played the guitar and led a song for ~15 kids that attend an after-school program for at-risk youth.  What fun!   I've also enjoyed my brief time, interacting with students in English classes I've visited.
• Fall weather!  Although my toes have already gone cold from time to time, I love the crisp, fresh air!  Not so crisp you don't want to breathe, but enough to put on an extra sweater/scarf.

Bad-  Things that Don't Make Me Smile

• Number 1 issue:  the service industry.  There's this huge disconnect in my mind.  Moldovans are so hospitable at home, but formal hospitality in the service industry has been quite disappointing.  I thought I was a pretty reasonable customer in general when I go out for a meal/drink.  But I've learned that I have strong preferences for good service.  My question is… how do you improve this culture? Tipping isn't really a thing here, so maybe that would help incentivize the industry. 
• When I'm excited for a masa (or party), and then I realize that they all are going to speak Russian the whole time.  Wohwohwoh.  Debbie Downer.  I've picked up a few phrases enough to get some ew's and aw's.  And then they say I'll learn Russian, for sure, in two years.  Yeah…  I'm just trying to keep my head above water right now with Romanian.  Throw Russian in there?  I'm sure to drown.
• When people don't want to collaborate and don't trust each other.  We're lucky to have such a "team" attitude in the United States amongst companies and amongst organizations.  Certainly there are disagreements and fierce competition in the U.S. too that don't encourage collaboration, but in general, people and institutions work together for achieving shared outcomes or for the improvement of the industry they share.  This is surprisingly not as common of a practice as I sincerely wished it would be here. Cooperative development works in the states.  It's a harder sell here (and to some, it sounds too similar to communism).
• My English grammar- it's not so good.  My grammar is poor in all languages I thought I knew well.  My vocabulary bank is convoluted.   I'm not full from a meal anymore.  I'm saturated from a meal now.  I don't need to check with my colleague.  I need to verify with my colleague.   But of course, this is part of the fun.

• Thinking about winter.  And cold.  And people that might be hungry this winter in Moldova, due to the poor crop harvest this year.  

Nonsensical- I Just Don't Understand.

• Why Moldovans don't believe in neutering their pets.  There are way too many vagabond dogs.  And they're skinny little dirty things, poor guys. 

• Why my host family has a spice rack… full of mild pepper varieties.
• The outhouse tradition.  Why continue to use the outhouse when you've got a nice clean toilet inside?  It's way more frumos (pretty), Moldovans.
• "House wine is always better than bottled wine, because it's natural without added water or sugar."  Checking with how bottled wine is made, no water or sugar are added  to it either.

• Why there seems to be just two stations to listen to on the radio and two genres of music in stores/restaurants.  Traditional Moldovan music (musica populara) or else pop music from the      states/international scene.   Where's the variety?  Jazz/blues, alternative, folk, country, samba, classical, etc.  (yes, those would be my preferences)

• Is it soo necessary to fry everything?  I eat prajiture (fried things) about every day.   I do like fried food- don't get me wrong- but is it necessary?  Every day?  With that much oil? 

This is rather a hodge podge of information, but hopefully you like it.  Happy Toamna (Autumn)!!!

More Training and Moldovan Traditions

Another few weeks have passed by soo quickly!  It's finally feeling most certainly like fall.  Three weekends ago, I took off from Causeni for first a wedding weekend in the north of Moldova, then two weeks of language training and program-related meetings with Peace Corps and other NGO's, followed by the National Wine Fest.  Busy weeks and weekends but fun, educational ones as well!

I unfortunately had my camera stolen, so I can't show you all the fun wedding pictures I snapped.  Thankfully, they're all saved, just not on my computer.  So I'll post about that joyous, interesting, and long cultural experience later on.

Many of us volunteers were not necessarily thrilled to go back for more training- including me.  But on the other hand, what's not to love about being with some of the coolest people in the world (i.e. other Peace Corps volunteers!)? ...  We were just getting settled at site and then had to leave again for a couple weeks.  However, as it turns out, I took away some more grammar lessons and some valuable insight regarding projects I hope to implement in my town.  First and foremost, I'm working on starting an interactive Business Course in English for high school students.  I have a lot of ideas floating around on what sessions I can facilitate for them, and it's a bit nerve-racking to plan for it.  But God willing, it will work out well!  Scheduling is one of the biggest issues I've been told, as many students who would be the type to participate in such a class often are busy with school, work, and extracurricular activities. 

Below is a picture of a few of the coolest people in the world, dancing it up in Chisinau to the song, "Staying Alive", in an effort to promote National Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month.  Stay tuned for a video clip perhaps as well. 

To top off a couple weeks of me contemplating my goals and objectives for the next few months in Causeni, I celebrated the National Wine Holiday in Chisinau with some fellow volunteers.  I feel I'm lucky to have already made some friends in the wine industry in Moldova.  They're some really hard-working, talented, and kind people, for which I am already grateful to know them.  Maybe I'll be of use to them by the end of two years.  Certainly, I'm telling all my friends to check them out and buy their wine!  For a number of years now, I've wanted to learn more about the whole process of viticulture, winemaking, and wine tourism/sales. So I'm quite happy to be here in Moldova.  We'll see what more I can learn!