Pronounced "dingy" - actually, if said correctly in Russian it's more like "dyengee". As is usual, many don't understand my American accent, even with a simple word like this. Therefor it is best to add some kind of hand/body motion no matter what I say (this can get embarrassing at times i.e. CAT FOOD = "kushaet meow meow"). So while saying "dingy" with hands pointing up, I rub fingers with my thumb in a fast motion, this is a motion I suspect means the same around the world...."money money money"
Money here is called Leu – sounds
like “lay” (bills) and Bani (coins). It still feels like play money, especially
the coins, they feel like tin and are as light
as a feather. And they’re tiny compared to our coins. Each bill is a different
color and gets larger in size as they go up. Makes me wonder how foreigners
to America figure out how to tell our bills apart since it’s all green and the same
size. We quickly learn that 1s and 100s are difficult to tell the difference between, though a slight different in size they are the same color. Although American coins are different size, not so here. If I need to give
change I dump it all on the counter and let them figure it out.
He is the countries “hero”, a prince from the 1400s. There are sculptures of him everywhere as well as portraits of him in schools and public buildings. Just as “Main Street” is common in America, Stephan Cel Mare is here.
The sculpture in the center of my town
Though the exchange rate varies, it is usually somewhere around 14 leu per $1. This is an excellent exchange rate. An 85 lei pizza is about $6.00. Although it really is a mistake to convert to $$ when purchasing because it tends to “justify” spending money on something you probably shouldn't be. Conversation goes something like this.
PCV 1: “1400! Leu! Wow! That is too much!"
PCV 2: "too much? it is only $10!"
PCV 1 : "wow! you're right it's only $10! AMAZING"
PCV 1 now purchases herself/himself something that they probably didn't need - or ordered an extra dessert. In fact, PCV 2 has probably purchased one too, can't pass up the deal.
If you don't think in "leu" terms, you are in big trouble at the end of the month.
PC provides us with a monthly stipend. It is not a lot of money, though it could be thought of it that way if you compare it to the income of many Moldovans. We are given appx 3500 - 4000 a month (left after paying housing, 700 and utilities, 479-1934, depending on the time of year.) A teacher may make 3000 month but this is BEFORE they pay housing and utilities. Part of the deal with the PC is you agree to live like the people around you. We are cautioned to not present ourselves as the "rich American" they believe all of us to be.
Most Moldovan's must supplement their income by a selling fruits and vegetables or handmade goods at the village outdoor market. This is Maria - she is my host mother so I call her "mama maria" to outsiders. That may be cute from a 20 yr old but probably not so from a 54 yr old. In between her hard work harvesting her crops she's sits here tying things into bunches to bring to market. Now what am I doing while she is working away in the hot fields you ask?
Look behind her, that is my Russian studies and a coffee. Though I have been known to stop and help her. Hey.... I've even tied things such as green onions into bunches of 10, not 9 or 12 (she does check). And I do help in the garden too, but that's hard work, I can last for only so long (heat stroke, blisters, sore back) - I'd rather study Russian, and that is saying a lot.
Or maybe I'm resting with a friend. I call her " маленький (malinkee) "small, tiny, baby,..." I try to not get attached to animals here, they don't always live a full life, it hurts to think about leaving her and her one-eyed mama behind. but how can I not get attached to this! :-(
Or perhaps I'm entertaining other volunteers (that's Molly and Andrew who came from way up north)
Admiring pretty flowers and birds
Or watching stunning sunsets
Perhaps visiting with "mama Maria" and her husband Petre (Peter) when her work is done.
You don't need to know the language to tell they have great sense of humor. This is a moment when I'm thinking to myself "people speak different languages and wear different clothes but we are all the same"
The eyeless baby doll, for her granddaughter. we had a good laugh.
They were married about 6 months before I arrived. she spends most of her time at his home. They are always laughing.
This also means our kids are kept busy outside of school in their own fields. Of course this affects their schoolwork.
This is Eugenii working away in his vineyard - each time I call on him he rambles off something in Russian while squirming in his seat and making a face that is clearly saying "ooohh nnnooooo not me... I don't know!!!" I smile, as all good teachers must do, and say, for the 1000th time (in an encouraging gentle way)
"IN ENLGISH!!!!!"
he's is up there in my "favorite" group.
Unlike Eugenii, who spotted me and yelled with excitement "HI MISS SANDRA!!!" the child behind him wanted nothing to do with Miss Sandra.
There are very few Moldovan families that don’t have a relative working in another country who sends money back, in fact I met yet another one today - gone 9 months from his wife and children, sad right? Most are in Moscow. He told me there are 1 million Moldvans in Moscow, there are 3-4 million in Moldova. Many are in Canada and in the US (I had many in my town in MA). Children are left to be raised by grandparents, you see many BABUSHKAS with young children. Of course many respect the idea of education, but most believe the child belongs on the farm, and yes, most likely they will stay here and work on the farm.
It is much because of these missing parents that their is so little discipline in the children - or I should say in the teens. I have found the younger kids to be extremely respectful and polite. Not sure exactly when things went wrong but I suspect it was just about the child's 13 birthday. Yes, the language is different, clothes are different, but a "teenager is a teenager" they are all the same.
Here is Miss Sandra's worst nightmare.... in the back - Andrei - a straight A student (they use numbers, he is a 10), great kid, well-behaved (THANK GOD there are some).
On the left is Eurii, adorable isn't he? ya well I could tell you stores....
Impish grin? nope.... oh Nakita Nakita Nakita "STOP TALKING, SIT DOWN, PUT IT DOWN, LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!" over and over and over
Ivan, in the back on the left spends the entire class saying "Miss Sandra you have a boyfriend? Miss Sandra you have any деньги?" "Miss Sandra......" "WHAT IVAN? WHAT DO YOU WANT!? WHAT DOOOOO YOU WANT!?" He loves to chant "USA USA USA" . I try my best to ignore him, if I react he "feeds off it" and it gets worse.
The 2 boys in the front, not too bad.....unless they sit next to Nakita then all bets are off. \
Let me introduce you to Andrei. This week I marched him into the director's office for hitting "Miss Sandra" with a flying coin (thank good ness they are as light as a feather). The director, once again, explained the lack of parents in this country, honestly I know it's a reality but it often feels like an easy excuse for the their behavior. She threatened him with not taking his 9th form (grade) graduation exam, to call the police, to have his parents arrested! I felt terrible, if I knew it would be THIS bad I would have thought twice about it. Somehow I came out of it feeling worse than him... seeing a big tough 15 year old in tears... broke my heart. STUPID KID! this reminded me that a teenager is often still a kid underneath that exterior. I came here to help children NOT to make them cry, and that made me cry.
notice there are no girls here? That is not because they are perfect, far from it. But you know girls, they keep the whispers, laughing, giggling and passing notes to themselves. They aren't LOUD and disruptive like the boys. One day all the boys were missing, it was by far the nicest, most relaxed and productive class we have ever had. Sorry boys... but it's TRUE.
PEACE CORPS PAY
The money I receive as my monthly stipend (what is the difference between a stipend and pay check, anyone know? I don't) pretty much goes towards food and household items. I rarely have any left at the end of the month. Here's an idea of what costs what.
75 lei for
a haircut (about $5); Ticket to the city 70; a toaster 200-300; Chocolate bar
11-25'; Bottle of ice tea 25; Butter
12; Cheese 50;
2 chicken breasts (small) 50; and some expensive treats, olive oil for a small bottle 80-100; Peanut butter (NEW to Moldova) a whopping 75 for a very small jar; TP 30;
shampoo 80; toothpaste 150; deodorant 85; laundry soap 150,;kitchen cleaner
175; face cream 200; 1 banana 5; one pepper 15; lettuce (if they have it) 40
for just a few leaves (that are wrapped together in plastic). Each day I have
an instant coffee – 2.50 a shot. Broccoli (if they have it) 50 for one “stem” yes ONE stem. Veggies are sold in tiny quantities. One night in a hostel in the city 100 leu.
Oh and there is the small box of kitty snacks I get each week, oh and
school supplies such as tape, markers, large paper, pens, photocopies and
printing that is done in the center of town that I pay for, and there is candy for the kids as
awards and bribes – also some “prizes” such as fancy scissors, paints, notebooks….
it’s worth every penny seeing the excitement and their faces light up –
gives me just as much, or more, pleasure to give. Well all and all… It adds up very fast. A car can cost $10,000, yes that is in $$$, around 140,000 leu. Imagine that!
We have a specific bank that the
money is deposited in. We get withdrawals from outside “ATMs” just like home,
only here they’re called “Bankomats”. We can also pay inside some stores with an ATM card. But not all, I always keep an emergency 200 hiding in my wallet. Many villages don't have a bank, PC rule is all PCVs are within an hour from one. sure, easy for them to say. We have to pay cash to our families, and small places villages will NOT take ATM cards. And some machines limited the amount you can withdraw, these means 2 trips just to get cash, this can mean 2 2-hour tips to get cash, on those horrific vans. Me... I'm lucky, since I live in a somewhat modern town I have a lovely bank and an ATM on the other side of town.
I
made the mistake of forgetting my card and it was sucked into the machine. What
an ordeal THAT was to get it back. I had my partner write me a note to explain
what happened. It occurred to me that I if handed a note to a bank teller in
the US I would set off alarms and be arrested.
Well that pretty much does it for the story of деньги деньги деньги here in Moldova. Oh, and yes, we do pay taxes, after all we are American citizens, in fact, we are government employees (and don't we know it, the amount of reports we are required to submit is a nightmare, imagine a 30 page spreadsheet with EVERY student individually evaluated. And that is only one report). We also have a
little taken out each pay as “savings”. This money is given to us at the end
of service (if you leave early you get what you have saved). I will receive,
after taxes, appx $7000. This is considered money to “resettle", but similar to the 500 leu we receive here to "settle" (500 which simply covers a towel and sheets, that's about it) it doesn't go far, I believe the
amount was established many many years ago. OK, so this won't cover the car I will
need, moving into an apartment, etc… but oh well…. it is what it is, I am
keeping faith that things will work out just the way they are supposed to.
When I committed to this I knew it would bring
financial devastation into my life… and that it has….oh that it has….but I figured out a long time ago that money isn't how you measure success, nor is it the greatest rewards we can earn. At the end of our lives what truly is important? The money in our pockets we can no longer spend? Or is it memories of loved ones, places that we have been, people we have met, the laughs, the pain, the tears... easy answer. I'm not worried, I am rich and will only get richer as I live the crazy, difficult, painful, joyous, fun life of a Peace Corps Volunteer.
So here is to a rich life....
На здоровье!! (cheers!)
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