Volunteering is...

Volunteering is... Sexy.

This is one sample of a skit of many performed during our training in Armenia.  Topics included: volunteering, discrimination, stereotypes, intercultural dialogue, and democracy.  This week, I hope and plan to post a number of videos from Armenia.  Get excited!

Spring Has Sprung

After a few weeks back in the Republic of Moldova, I'm back into the swing of life here.  As you may remember, my primary work placement is with ACSA, the rural extension agency in Moldova more or less.  Unfortunately, they have not had any more funding since I arrived at site.  Since January, they have not even paid salaries to any ACSA employees, which includes the 3 employees in our office (plus part-time cleaning lady and part-time accountant) and all of our local consultants (paid part-time).  Thus, the situation has been pretty bleak and difficult.  The federal government must agree to fund ACSA for the next five years hopefully.  They say they will have an answer by April 22, but they've given several deadlines like this with no results.  What they seem to not understand on the national level is that some offices are closing out of necessity and may not reopen so easily.  Our office has stayed open almost every day on a volunteer basis.  Some farmers still come in to complete paperwork for grants/subsidies previously received from the federal government.  A handful of farmers every week come in to ask questions on other matters. 

As my primary work placement hasn't had much work for me to do, I continue to focus my efforts in other areas.  The biggest area is youth development.  Last week on April 3, the English teacher I've been working with implemented a GLOW workshop for ten 10th grade girls, focused on self-esteem and self-confidence.  I was really proud of her!  The girls weren't all that excited to be there at first, but by the end of the workshop, they were enjoying talking about the topic of self-esteem and doing activities that they wouldn't otherwise do.  Video below is an activity that helped to explain what GLOW Girls Leading Our World) was all about.

Last weekend, Moldova ATiP had an informational session on anti-human trafficking efforts in Romania.  The leaders of the marketing campaign, Not For Sale, which is a program of the Ratiu Democracy Center in Romania, shared about their efforts in mobilizing youth and adults in Romania in educating society on human trafficking, risk factors, and also preventative measures to take.  Also, a person from La Strada in Moldova, came and spoke about the organization's Hot Line (Linia Fierbinte).  The call line is available 24/7 for anyone in Moldova or abroad who suspects trafficking of persons; has missing family or friends who may have been trafficked; or is concerned that they may be trafficked themselves. 

Finally, I must share with you my "spring (almost) has sprung" evidence.  At least there are new baby animals around:

Baby puppies and a kitten at my host family's house in Cricova (family from last summer).

I'll end with a list of other things that have made my last couple weeks:

• My host dad told me the last time I visited that he started putting ginger in his tea. Okay, it's not that big of a deal, but the first time I made ginger tea and he tried ginger, he cringed and afterward would not at all go near it! 

• My host family bought a travel package to visit other countries, one week per year for the next three years, on vacation.  Since when did my host family get the urge to travel?  And since when did Misha think he could overcome his fear of flying?  Once again, I'm happy for them and slightly amused that they would do this, knowing that a few months ago they said they have everything they need and could want in Moldova.  Why would they leave?  ("Vacation, sight-seeing, cultural enjoyment, and new perspectives!" I said previously. Maybe they believed me, that it's quite fun to travel.)

• My roommate, Lindsey, is pretty much the best.  She's a good friend, a good cook, a clean roommate, one who will share her food and clothes (expanding wardrobe, woohoo!), one who allows me to bounce my crazy work ideas off her, and one who makes you go out and exercise with her.  We're a pretty good team!

• We had a fantastic Easter celebration with a few close volunteer friends, celebrating the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.  We're so blessed! 

Armenia and Italy

I've just spent three weeks away from Moldova.  Half in Armenia and half in Italy.  It was a wonderful adventure, full of memories that will last a lifetime.  Armenia was a fun learning experience and a place I never thought I'd visit perhaps in my lifetime.  I am glad I did, though.  The people were warm; the food was quite delicious; and the particular training in which I participated was like nothing I've experienced before.  If you can imagine 22 young people from 11 different countries, all with open minds ready to learn and broaden their perspective about their own societies and including all people (socially outcast groups of people, socially vulnerable and unaccepted groups) into them, it was quite the intense event.  Even being in a room with this diverse, quite social group of people was an event and a learning experience in itself.   Take for instance the Greek woman, Maria, the gem of a lady a bit older than the rest of us, who has such a warm Greek spirit, a career in counseling, and strong opinions backed by experiences about the trials of democracy or lack thereof in her home country.  Or another example, Josip, a Croatian gentleman who works with people who are hearing-impaired and nonverbal to better include them in society and improve their opportunities in life.  Or there's Maka from Georgia, who works with victims of domestic violence.  I could go through the whole list of participants with the same conclusion that leaves one in amazement because of such a diverse, engaging group of individuals, all sharing a goal to meet new people that share their common interest of making a better society in their respective countries through social inclusion. 

Presentation through dance/music of the qualities of a good volunteer.

 Social inclusion?  What's that?  It took me a while to figure out exactly what that meant, but it's about including into society all types of discriminated, excluded members or groups of societies.  We did a number of activities that allowed for discussion, active participation, and role playing.  For one activity, an adjective/subject was attached to our forehead that we could not see ourselves (for example, Lady Gaga, gay, homeless, rich, Muslim, bisexual, just-released prisoner).  Everyone treated each other as society would generally treat that person with that stereotype, according to the description on the person's forehead.  After ten minutes of treating others as society (or we ourselves) might treat them, we talked about how we felt due to the way we were treated.  I was treated like a rockstar. I was Lady Gaga.  Others felt shamed, isolated, or not understood.  It was obvious that all of us discriminated in many ways against certain populations (during the activity and in reality as well), even without knowing them personally or verifying that any of the stereotypes we construct in our minds are true. 

We created a video of Super Volunteers, doing good work even on a mountain top.

We did a host of different activities like this, and the training should be helpful for both Svetlana and me back in Moldova.  We hope to facilitate workshops raising awareness about accepting all people into society in which we live and also to utilize some of the activities and methods we used during the training.  My time in Armenia was well spent, fascinating, educational, and applicable.  I feel so lucky to have visited!

Italy

After Armenia came Italy, which was most definitely a vacation.  An amazing one with my best friend, Karla, who flew  from Iowa to meet me!  Whenever we're together, we never cease to keep life spicy, warm, and delightful. (for those of you that know us, is that accurate??)  Italy, of course, was no exception.  We were in Rome for 5 days, at an Agroturismo for a day, Florence for 3 nights, Siena for a day, and Milano for an evening.  Along the way, we had amazing espresso and pastries, pasta, pizza, wine, olives, cheese, bread, gelato, and everything we could possibly handle to eat in a week's time on the Italian cuisine menu!  We made some new Italian acquaintances almost everywhere we went.  Our favorite in Rome was Gelato Man as we affectionately called him (real name, not important/unknown).  He showed us the best gelato in Rome, the best takeaway pizza, fried risotto balls (I couldn't stop thinking of H Street's Taylor Gourmet!), the hidden old garden patio unknown even to most Romans, and so on… Thanks, CouchSurfing for the meet up in Rome, where we met Mr. Gelato Man!

Roman Forum on a rainy day

The Agroturismo was enchanting and beautiful.  I could have stayed there a couple months I think.  Sor Giulio, the name of the place, sits on top of a beautiful big hill, overlooking miles of Italian countryside and towns.  The owner, Francesco, was so kind to us and even showed us around a couple Medieval-aged monasteries.  He cooked us some Italian pasta, while we sipped on his house wine (something worked out right compared to white house wine in Moldova, that's for sure).  We spent a morning, doing nothing but enjoying the sunshine on the roof of the century-old farmhouse, reading and pondering the good life (and good God) we have.   Couchsurfing, once again, did not lead us astray on this fun, off-the-beaten track adventure.

Agroturismo Sor Giulio at Fara in Sabina.

In Florence, we stayed through AirBnB in the apartment studio home of an artist.  We had our own room but were so lucky to have our host give us tips of what to do and see and to grasp what life might be like for native Florentine's, particularly those who are in the art scene.  Please recall that Florence is the heart of where the Renaissance movement began in the 14th century.   Artists like Michel Angelo and Leonardo di Vinci sipped their coffee there, drank their Tuscan wine, and sculpted and created masterpieces for the world to see and remember for centuries.  We also took in some of the art at the Uffizi Gallery, the sculpture of David by Michel Angelo at the Acadamia, and let's not forget the artwork in the apartment where we stayed.  Although I am admittedly not the artsy type and lack the mind and creativity of an artist, I agree that there's something to learn from what we saw there.  We did talk to a handful of aspiring artists, though, which Karla and I found amusing but sometimes could barely stand.  "So what do you do?" I asked to one named Alberto.  He responded seriously and honestly, "I create."  In which after some hesitation, I apologized for my American heritage (which demands a more direct, informative response) but told him that I didn't know what that really meant for him.  So could he explain a bit more for me?  In which he responded in his British Albanian accent, "Well we all create or are creating something at all times…."  (Exactly!  So please!  Tell me what YOU create!)  … It turns out he was a gallerist, one that helps "create" the experience and design of the artwork in the gallery.  So although the people and the food and the slow tradition were all lovely, we struggled to be so empathetic to understand the life of an artist in Florence.  I'm sure if you'd give me a few weeks living there though, I'd have a handful of friends and a much better understanding and appreciation for those characters.

We took a day trip from Florence to Siena.  This is in the city square.

 Our last stop was Milan, our least favorite part of the trip.  Big city, too much graffiti, too difficult to get to our housing…  But we survived and made the most of it.  We had a lovely dinner and had to leave hours later back to our respective homes.  It was refreshing to spend over a week with my bestie, who is the ideal travel companion and who I hadn't seen in 10 months.  She's a huge blessing to me!

Moldova greeted me with a biting cold wind and snow flurries.  I was less than impressed.  Since arriving, more snow has fallen and the cold has remained.  Sorry, everyone in Moldova, that I came back and winter came with it!  Oh, no!  Soon enough, spring will come and STAY.

To all my friends and family back home, have a joyful Easter holiday!  Jesus is risen!  We'll be celebrating here in Causeni in our still new apartment.  (and then celebrate with the Orthodox Christian here in May!)

Adventures in Armenia

Բարի գալուստ Հայաստան! Greetings from Armenia! After a long travel- a rutiera ride to Buchuresti, a 4 hour wait in the airport beginning at 3am, a flight to Paris, a 4 hour wait there, and a 4 1/2 hour flight to Armenia, we arrived!  We stayed with a host Armenian and were welcomed at 10 at night with a traditional Armenian snack and wine.  After some lovely conversation in English (and of course a bit of Russian with Svetlana, my Moldovan counterpart), we fell fast asleep.  

We had a lovely day in the capital city, Yereven.  In the morning, I met with two PCVs that lead the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) initiative in Armenia.  They had a lot of good ideas that I hope to take back to Moldova.  We met at this coffeeshop called the Green Bean, which felt like any coffeeshop at home in the U.S. (or Moldova friends, think the Tucano of Yereven).  After a great discussion with the PCVs here, we took a walking tour of the city center guided by our kind, new Armenian friends, Armen and Narek.  The sun was out and the weather not all too cold.  We had the requisite shaurma, which was delicious and filling.  We walked by the opera house, Swan lake, the cascade steps, Republican Square, and more.  We sat at a cafe for quite a while, talking about Armenia, the U.S., and Moldova and all types of subjects, my favorites being music; social habits, differences, and similarities in our countries; and the many things that brought us laughter.  We ended with a traditional Armenian dinner, which was delicious and filling.

Republican Square, Yereven

Since Monday, I have been in a little ski resort town an hour outside of Yereven.  The sun finally came out today to display the glistening icicles shining outside our conference room window.  The reason I'm in Armenia is to attend a training course called, "Best Practices for Inclusive Growth", sponsored primarily by the European Commision's Youth in Action Program.  Over 20 participants are here representing 11 countries.  So far, through non-formal education techniques, we've gotten to know one another; discussed the benefits, problems, and qualities related to volunteerism; role played the effects of discrimination of certain groups of society; and also had an inter-cultural evening.  

I feel so lucky to be here and I'm already learning a lot from the training, mostly through informal dialogue with other participants.  I'm learning a lot about all these respective countries represented (Greece, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Spain, Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia, and Moldova) and their economic/political/social situations.  I'm also learning about attitudes of Europeans about volunteering, which is really interesting to me.  I find one of the greatest challenges I see in Moldova and particularly within my town is that individuals lack the inspiration, initiative, knowledge, and drive for volunteering and serving their community.  Youth, in particular, think it's crazy for me to come here for two years and only on a volunteer basis.  "Why?", they ask.  So as we discuss the motivations for volunteering or lack thereof during this training, it gives me some perspective.

Presentation on getting to know each other and the town and country

In a small group today, we were asked to brainstorm the qualities of a volunteer.  Already, three groups had written their responses, and initially my group saw no new adjectives to add.  But there was one quality that I thought was missing, which was a "humble attitude toward service."  I introduced the group to the idea of Servant Leadership, which I described as the type of natural leader that leads first and foremost through humble service to others.  Regardless of the type of service, one will be learning and growing and helping meet the needs of people/organization/company (as leaders should do) as they are focused on serving them in that manner.  Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay, The Servant as Leader, said, "The servant-leader is servant first... It begins with the natural feeling that one want to serve, to serve first."   I haven't read the essay, but I'm curious and skeptical about this comment.  I'm actually quite a selfish person.  Sometimes, I don't naturally feel the desire to serve. Not my community, not my roommate, not my host family, not anyone but myself. However, I have learned and have relearned the idea that giving of yourself to others (your gifts, time, skills, positive attitude) will be given back to you at least 100% and usually double or triple fold what you gave in some way (personal growth, satisfaction, new friends, new life lessons, etc).  Also, I've learned about and now believe wholeheartedly in the idea of leadership being best when it's done with a servant's heart.  These lessons were discovered through experiences through organizations such as FFA or the Nebraska Human Resources Institute, in combination with my Christian faith and values.

Bringing it back to my question of motivating Moldovan's to serve their community, I'm not so sure that individuals in my town have a natural feeling that they want to serve members of their community who aren't in their tight-knit circle of family and friends.  Certainly they care deeply for their loved ones and wish to serve in that way, but when it comes to a larger community service event, people are not so willing to volunteer.  Some say it's due to how, during Soviet times, they were forced unwillingly to participate in community events.  As I've mentioned in past posts, they were told what to do and how to think in some ways, and they were not inspired by personal motivation or discovery.  Secondly, after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the fallback in the economy of Moldova as well as political dissension in the last 20 years, many Moldovan's have quite a negative attitude toward their country's future.  I'm casting wide brush strokes, but it's evident that their past has had large effects on their attitudes toward volunteering and service to their community.

As I enjoy my time in Armenia with 20 new friends from all over, I ponder answers to questions like the one above.  Hopefully, through conversation and activities, I'll find at least more context to set me in the right direction toward answers.

Long Overdue Update!

The last two months have flown by, just like my entire service thus far.  I began the new year with a trip to the  mountains of Romania.  My almost site mate, Philip, and I joined a bus-full of Moldovans for 4 days.  We enjoyed lovely accommodations, some skiing, castle touring (including Dracula's!), new friend-making, and pleasant dining.   I came back to my host family's Christmas celebration, which was pretty tame but continued for about a number of days.  After all of that rest and celebration, I was ready to get back to work on all the projects I had left behind before the holidays.  When I say projects, one may wander what exactly that means but hopefully this post will give you some idea of "projects" that I'm working on currently.

Project Design and Management Training

At the beginning of February, my program had a Project Design and Management (PDM) Training.  I brought with me to the training my secondary partner, Svetlana, who teaches English and German through her non-profit that focuses on cross-cultural dialogue and exposure.  Svetlana has a passion to develop youth and youth opportunities in Causeni, much like I do.  Thus, we are working on a project proposal that offers the opportunity to develop a handful or two of youth as leaders through non-formal education.  We hope to train these leaders, which will be from my town as well as from surrounding villages.  These leaders will then lead their peers in fun, interactive activities that focus on such topics as leadership, relationships, communication, volunteering, self esteem, etc.  It's a vague proposal as of now, but the need is there.  Many kids especially in villages have very few opportunities, and this program would allow them once a week to have fun and gain some new skills. 

Language

After the PDM Training, we had two days of language training, which was actually quite enjoyable.  I've been enjoying how words, whole sentences, even whole thoughts can roll off my tongue rather smoothly these days!  I can never catch quite everything people are saying around me, but my language has improved significantly. Case in point: I visited my PST host family from last summer also in January, and this time I could hold entire conversations with my loquacious host mother.  My listening skills pick up a lot more (including what is Moldovan talk and what is Romanian), and I can respond as well (with the Moldovan dialect for kicks and giggles or in clean Romanian)!  Here's a comparison between the Moldovan dialect I speak of and clean Romanian:

Some Moldovans speaking Moldovenește might say, "Aș șiba mai ghini așa."

Whereas Moldovans speaking clean Romanian say, " Aș fi mai bine așa."

I should probably voice record the difference.  It took a few months for me to get it. 

GLOW/TOBE Training & Prom (and planning for the next training)

After that training, I had a couple weeks to prepare for a GLOW/TOBE Training of Trainers.  I led our team of directors to put on a fun and useful training for a few PCVs that want to activate GLOW/TOBE in their communities.  We gave them the tools for them to effectively train a Moldovan leader to facilitate events that develop youth and their capabilities to be leaders in the workplace, community, and home. 

We GLOW/TOBE folks know how to make trainings fun.

For me in Causeni, I have also been working with a high school English teacher, Elena, on GLOW events in the future.  We have hopes to have a summer camp for at-risk youth from the villages.  We're first focusing on a few workshops with girls in town on subjects such as self-esteem, leadership, and service.  We hope to make a few of them into camp counselors of sorts.  I'm excited to see where this goes!  Having worked two summers at a camp and growing up going to camps, this is right up my alley!

Developing a self-esteem workshop with Elena

Also last weekend, we had an epic event: Peace Corps Decades Prom.  The first of its kind in Moldova, it was a huge success.  After 2-3 months of winter, most volunteers can agree they are ready for any pick-me-up's that they can get.  The prom was definitely one.  Of course, PCVs know how to shine their shoes (required by all Moldovans in fact) and dance! 

Other Updates

ATiP- There are a few other smaller projects with which I have been engaged.  Our ATiP (Anti-Trafficking in Persons) Initiative has been organizing itself to become a more dynamic and informative organization.  Please like our facebook page!  On Valentine's Day, I worked with that same English teacher, Elena, with her students to promote One BillionRising, a campaign for 1 billion women and men to rise up against violence against women.  It's quite the social media feat, I must say, and it wasn't much work to participate.  Elena also led a lesson on domestic violence in her class that week.

Color Run- As many of you may know, I'm a runner.  I've inspired a fellow PCV and her work partner to organize a Color 5k Charity Run this spring!  I will thus be helping them spread the word about the event and plan a few small logistics for the event.

Moving- One other rather big update is that a fellow PCV and friend, Lindsey, is moving to Causeni!  She will be working on various projects, much like I do here, but has a primary partner with a center for mothers and children coming from poor living situations.  It will be a big change for me, too, as I will be moving out of my host family's house and into an apartment with Lindsey.  I will in fact miss my host family at times, but I am most definitely looking forward to the independence and convenience of having a space with only one other American. 

Host family boys and I

Aggie work-  I haven't spoken much about my primary partner, and that would be due to the lack of financing the organization has currently and thus the lack of work there is to do.  In the next few weeks, we will find out whether not the rural extension agency nationwide receives funding for the next five years.  Until then, the work is slow.

Work Travel in Armenia-  In only 10 days, I will embark on a fun adventure to Armenia!  I will be participating in a training there for over a week with Svetlana, my secondary partner.  The training will focus on working with youth in rural areas of Eastern Europe and the Caucuses region.  I'm really looking forward to this opportunity, as it will be both fun and productive.  I think Svetlana and I will both learn a lot from it and will have the chance to develop plans to improve our youth development strategy in Causeni.

Play Time in Italy- Directly following my time in Armenia, I will spend over a week in Italy with my best friend from college, Karla.  My mother's words about the trip say it all: "You and Karla should have a lot of fun.  Italy might not be the same." 

When I return to Moldova on March 23, I'm hoping that spring will have sprung and that the sun will stay bright and shining for days on end!  

In preparation for my host dad's birthday, I burned the hairs off recently slaughtered chicken.

Then my host dad gave it a "maneecure".

  

Bringing in 2013

The biggest holiday celebrated over what we call "the holidays" in the states is most definitely New Year's. Santa Claus actually comes to Moldova on New Year's, not on Christmas. (Following a tradition from Soviet times, where Santa was forbidden to come on a religious holiday, I am told) And in fact, most Moldovan's don't celebrate Christmas on December 25 but rather on January 7, following the tradition of the Orthodox Christian calendar. So what does that mean for me? I celebrate them all! I celebrated "new" Christmas with fellow volunteers. I am staying home with the host parents for New Year's Eve. (They seem to have built it up a little too much... Come to find out, it will just be the three of us!) I'm headed to the mountains of Romania for a few days later this week, and then I will be back in town for Christmas here on the 7th. (Perhaps we'll also have a small celebration of Old New Year's on the 14th.) Work essentially comes to a halt and celebrations/relaxation continues these few weeks.

As we've got a good amount of snow and then some sunshine this month, sidewalks and streets are often snow-packed and glazed over with ice. It's cold outside and in some rooms in the house that are cut off to heat, it's cold inside as well. (our bathroom for one is cold- which makes the thought of showering not near as attractive).

At the end of every year, I do think it's wise to look back, take stock, and prepare for the future. So as I look back at the last year, I think to myself, Whoa! What a year! Over the last year, I’ve moved from Washington, DC, to this little country in Eastern Europe called Moldova.  I’ve made more than a handful of new friends, who have supported me since arriving in June.  I’ve learned the basics of a whole new language and quite pleasantly settled into a new town, into a new culture, and with a new Moldovan family.  And every day, I seem a bit more grateful for where I’m from, for my family and friends back home, and for all the simple things I have often taken for granted.  I can’t help but feel so blessed for all that God has given me.  

As I look ahead, I couldn't feel more assured that where I am is exactly where I am to be and that 2013 will be a year of learning, teaching, working, relaxing, traveling, and living my dreams! Challenges from day-to-day will arise. A good attitude will be necessary. And like I said before, I already know that the support of my friends/fam will come in handy. So as we look forward to 2013, I leave you with this great new "Recipe for a Happy New Year" that I found from an anonymous cook:

"Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor."

La Multi Ani!  Happy New Year!

Christmas already?

I can barely believe that Christmas is just around the corner.  Well, that is the first Christmas I will be celebrating.  It's going to be about a month of celebration.  Moldovan's celebrate primarily New Year's Eve on December 31st and Christmas from the Old Church calendar (Orthodox tradition) on January 7.  In between those two holidays, I will spend four glorious days outside of Moldova in the mountains of Romania.  This will mark my first trip outside of Moldova since arriving over six months ago!

I'm trying to figure out how exactly time has slipped away and how exactly I've spent it in the last few weeks.  As a Peace Corps volunteer here, a lot of activities happen on the weekends, related to Peace Corps initiatives and activities (i.e. GLOW/TOBE, Peer Supporting, etc.).  Thus, one week transitions into another with less of a stop and pause between them.  I really don't enjoy this process and weekly try to step back at some point and establish my priorities/to-do list for the week.  Don't get me wrong though- the flexibility of my service is something I really enjoy!

Winter has arrived here, and snow and cold came with it.  Some places in the north of the country have been snowed in for a few days.  In the southeast, we have had less than a foot of snow (8 inches maybe?).  So if you ask me how I'm doing, it will depend on the moment.  At about 4:30 pm when it's already getting dark and I'm walking home from class in the freezing cold, I might want to cry through my frozen face.  If it's an hour later eating dinner with my family, then I might be rather jolly.  If it's the third day since I've showered and I have to shower in the cold bathroom, I may have mixed emotions.  Mixed emotions.  That's what I have quite often.

Back to what I've been up to the last few weeks, here is a summary:

• Class- I'm wrapping up class with my 25 students with Business Plan Presentations.  I ask them to create a business (the more realistic, the better) and use all that we've learned to create a business plan.  Yesterday, I had an expert judge (i.e. another business volunteer) come in and offer suggestions for their presentations, which was actually helpful and fun for them.  Evaluations from the students are telling me that they enjoyed class, that it was helpful, and that they want more!  So it appears I have no excuse to be without activities in the next few months.
• Grant writing- I helped our town hall complete a grant application for cultural preservation for restoring the exterior parts of our old historic church in town.  This took up some significant time at the beginning of the month and was a good practice in Romanian (the grant had to be written in English so I had a lot of communicating to do before I could draft the proposal).It was my first try in grant writing as a PCV and a good team building exercise for me and those at the Primaria (town hall).  Now we get to sit and wait a few months to see if we will win the grant.
• Events in Chisinau- 
• I attended a Winter Charity Bazaar, where multiple embassies and organization sell crafts and goodies, with all proceeds going to charity.
• GLOW/TOBE Meeting- we're upgrading the training materials, and I'm excited about it and thankful for my background with Nebraska FFA and summer camp for this!
• I attended Vernisajul Vinului, a wine tasting event at the National Palace, where Parliament usually meets. I was reminded of receptions on the Hill, as the room was filled with young bucks that are pretty cool or think they are anyway (me included!) or older politicians/NGO leaders/ex-pats, making the rounds and shaking hands.  Also add on the actual Moldovan winemakers and wine enthusiasts, who make the whole event worthwhile. 
• Staying warm- Here's a list of theories/strategies- tea, shots of cognac, izvar (the delicious hot, sweet, peppered wine), real heat, layers and layers of clothing, eating raw pork fat (I choose not to participate), and soup
• Staying happy in gray Moldova- And another list of strategies- get in the sun when it's out (it hides behind clouds quite often), exercise in your room (i'm sore from 10 minutes of exercise- not a good sign), take your vitamins, do things that make you happy (emails, skype dates, ukele playing, reading, hanging out with other volunteers)

DYK (Did You Know):  Moldovan's actually give sleigh rides to their kids as a means of transportation.  I guess there's one reason they don't so much shovel the sidewalks.