no one said teaching was easy (or fun much of the time)

School
Going from teaching 0 hours to 18 has been a big adjustment, to say the least. Days seem to be filled with teaching, grading, lesson planning. As I listen to my co-volunteers doing so many projects I just pretty much get through the days. Although to be fair to myself many of them aren't teachers, they work on community projects.

When I started teaching my partner had not yet been assigned 2^nd and 4^th grade so I was assigned 5-9 two sections of each. However she sometimes teaches 2 and 4 in between our classes so I sit in the back at a table working on lesson planning.  

 

 

2^nd - From the moment they walk in the door they wrap themselves around me and line up for hugs.  With their little black and white dresses and bows in their hair and the boys in suits and sweater vests (imagine THAT in USA!) they are ADORABLE!  They also wrap themselves around Maria’s waist, which is tiny, they only make it around my legs. I love to watch them being taught, 1 clap 2 clap clap 3 clap clap clap…..

Now the 4^th? They aren’t so different than the 2^nd only they have the ability to say in English “Hello Miss Sandra how are you?” And I swear, they do a better job at it than the older kids. They too wrap themselves around me though they are taller. The only way I can move is to shuffle. After class I had an adorable girl hanging on tight to my hand and I pointed to the door telling her “class” which sounds the same in Russian meaning “go to next class”. She just looked at me and shook her head “Nyet”. Huh… now what do I do……. I walked her to the door and nicely pushed her out and said “class” and looking dejected she marched on down the hall.

 

Now we move on to the 5^th. Each time they walk in I am surprised at just how small and young they are, I just forget sometimes. Once as I sat at the desk I felt something in my hair. Imagine my surprise when I reached up I found a little hand stroking my hair as I turned the little girl said “Miss Sandra you are so beautiful” (OH MY GOD HOW CUTE IS THAT) I love this age, when I went for a certificate to learn how to teach English this is the age I chose for my class to be during practicums.

On Teacher's Day a little girl left me a note on my desk "Mrs Sandra I wish you happiness and love that you will never hurt! I congratulate you with all my heart! Happy Holidays By Tony".  I brought it home and hung it next to my mirror to read every day so when the going gets tough, and oh it does, it will remind me that its for kids like this that I'm here.

 

6^th, still doing great, not so different than the 5^th. One of the fun things about this age, and the 5^th , is they are easy to entertain and they laugh at anything. Maria and I love to be silly acting out vocabulary words and putting on little skits using new vocab words, to make a long story short… I pulled a little ghost out of a box that Maria had made out of a ball and cloth (yes that was a vocab word!). I threw it to them and yelled AAAHHH GHOST!!! Their faces as they watched that thing fly across the room, that is an image I will always treasure, very very funny.  Here is a word “lizard” –  I don’t think I’ll ever get the image of Maria out of my head trying to get across “lizard” without words, pretending she had a tail, then picking it up between 2 fingers making “ick” faces. She finally had to give in and draw it on the board. I stood there just watching her as amused as the children were.

Yup still pretty cute at this age...

 

 These kids are great, that young man in the green sweater is by far one of our best students.

Uh huh... isn't she just so innocent and sweet? This young gall is the trouble maker of her group. sweet as pie outside of school NON-STOP with me saying "STOP IT TURN AROUND"

Two more of our best students, I tell you at this age? They work hard... then the 7th hits...  This young man on the right with the big smile, no matter the question his hand is up in the air, he holds his arm up with his other hand, I finally understand why, it gets tired from being in the air 45 minutes. I hope he keeps his enthusiasm. (OH PLEASE DON'T BECOME ONE OF THEM....)

And this one... he is one of my favorites (oops did I say that? Am I not supposed to pick favorites?) , excellent at English and so polite, sweat and friendly


 

 

Now we move on to 7. I was going to say they're still doing pretty good, but I changed my mind after today. Now the troublemakers are starting to show their true colors. But they’re manageable…. mostly they still respond to reprimand. But lordy I wish I had a dollar for every time I yelled STOP TALKING TURN AROUND. I think of this as the “middle class” because next comes 8….

 

8th - And NOW the troublemakers really show their true colors. Now in addition to yelling STOP TALKING TURN AROUND I have to add in STOP CHEATING GIVE ME THAT CELL PHONE!! Exhausting. One day we had enough. Maria marched them to the director’s office (principle). When they came back Maria made an announcement to the class and up marched 8 girls to the front, some of our best students.  Then the 2 groups were off, Maria and I stood watching as the girls scolded them, we let THEM yell at them. And they had to remain standing until they gave an acceptable “I’m sorry”.  NOW THAT is some awesome class management… peer pressure.

Let me introduce Nakita. He is probably my number 1 problem, sort of. I've developed a bit of a liking for this dude.... he's smart, hard working, he has so much potential, it's hard to watch a kid like this, he is caught up in the "pack". I spend a lot of one on one time with the hopes it will make some kind of impact, who knows....  I think what makes him different is that despite him being a "problem child" unlike the others he does his homework! And he participates in class.  We selected 4 kids to create a charity to present to class, then the class would choose which one they would donate to if they were a millionaire  (the name of the lesson is " Millionaire" the next is "Lots of Zeros" and covers rich people, game shows, money money money. THIS to the poorest country in Europe, teachers can not figure what the board of education was thinking making these books) . Well his face when I picked him well THAT was worth a million dollars. But sure enough, he did it. He named it "Happy" a charity to make people HAPPY! How can you not love a kid like that....

 

The girls working hard....

 

 

The boys not so much...checkout the body language of these kids.

 

Let me tell you what I did for 10 min. in class with that tall sweet looking child in the stripes. As he continuously smacked the kids in front of him, I wrote him a note, drew a picture of a birthday cake. I  told him to translate as he pretended he didn't know what I was asking, 8th grade, didn't understand 'how old are you?" REALLY? MISS SANDRA AIN'T STUPID. They pull this "I don't understand" all the time. I finally got across to him my message "what are you 10 years old? No you're fifteen? Really? Because you act like a 10 year old ACT YOUR AGE". One of the first things I learned to say is  ты меня понимаешь (do you UNDERSTAND ME). classroom management - pull the "grow up" card.

Don't get me started on this one.... sure is nice to me outside of class.. but oh... in class.....

And then here they come… the 9^th…. What can I say….. well I’ll tell you what I say over and over and over…. STOP IT TURN AROUND STOP CHEATING GIVE THAT CELLPHONE TO ME NOW MOVE TO THAT DESK…. It goes on and on…. They snicker, they laugh at me, they are disrespectful, I especially love the mimicking, if I cough one will “cough” under his breath. If I clear my throat… on and on it goes. They ruin every class for the students that want to learn. One made kissy noise at me so I stopped the class and said, pretending I was confused, “Maria, what does KISSKISS (noises) mean in Russian?” “what?” she said. I said “ this boy is saying KISSKISS (noises) what does that mean in Russian he’s trying to tell me something, can you translate?” his response “oh it wasn’t for her I was just making it”. Classroom management – embarrass them.

 

NO PHOTOS - NO WAY WOULD I PULL A CAMERA OUT.

 

I started a new rule, I take your cellphone and if you want it back you apologize “REPEAT AFTER ME… I AM SORRY” “(I am sorry)” “LOUDER I CAN’T HEAR YOU” (“I AM SORRY”) “FOR INTERRUPTING THE CLASS (FOR INTERRUPTING THE CLASS)”. J  One day I made a chart in the corner of the board, each time I grabbed a cell phone  I marched up to the front loudly whooping and marked the board saying “ONE FOR MISS SANDRA….” this went on until I hit 4. At the end of the class I said “MISS SANDRA WINS STUDENTS LOSE” classroom management… make them look like idiots (or me, not sure which)

Today, Maria took a cell phone, what did the class do ? They announced "NUMBER ONE!"  Gotta laugh at these kids sometimes though. Interestingly enough, still trying to figure this one out - a child called me to his desk and HANDED ME HIS CELL PHONE! WTF??? Pardon my language but HUH? He wanted me to take it before class??? WHAT does that mean, anyone???? ideas?

 

This week? I will stop the class each time I find one, they will stand up (and they are taller than me I try not to let them see me shaking in my shoes)  and apologize on the spot to the other students, new classroom management - triple  whammy -  embarrass them, make them look like idiots, peer pressure… all at the same time. Yahoo… Miss Sandra winner, student loser.  

 

 

But seriously, I had enough this week, I told Maria “THAT IS IT I’M DONE WITH THEM and I want OUT I want to go to the 4^th”.  “What will I tell them” she said.  “Tell them truth I don’t care” I said. I reminded her I’m a volunteer, I came to help kids that want help. I gave up too much and came too far to deal with this.   This is not fair to the kids who CARE, but that's it, I also don't need to get upset every day for the next 2 years. I agreed to one more week as a trial. Maria called them all to come for a meeting today after school. She is talking to them about good ol' Miss Sandra, "she wants to transfer to 4th grade because she's tired of wasting her time with you do you want her to stay or not?"  so we'll see what they said.

Funny  side note. Maria was standing at the front and I mumbled quietly "they will drive me to drink" she said "what did you say" "The will drive me to drink!" well did she think that was the funniest thing!!! I also used "they are driving me nuts" and she got a kick out of that one too. Now we say she'll bring the nuts I'll bring the drinks.  Maybe that will get us through some of these classes. I have said it before I will say it again, I have the VERY BEST  PARTNER in the world. I think we sometimes have the same brain split into two. The things we come out with at the same time...

She's beautiful right? All the woman are.... you want to have low self-esteem? Move to Moldova....

 

When I walk into town, especially through the park, I am swamped with kids around me “HELLO MISS SANDRA” and they follow me around, 3 followed me home yesterday and questioned me all the way. SIDENOTE: Every bag is extremely thin and you can see through them. I thought I’d splurge and buy “heave duty” trash bags, black… well they are so thin you can see through them, so gray is a better description. In fact, I talked to a friend on skype THROUGH one to show her. And yes, she could see what I was saying. Point is… no secrets as to what is in your bags.  I tell you, I can’t make a move in this town without someone seeing me. A child came to me in school “miss Sandra you like M&Ms?” “yes” I said thinking “huh…how did she know that”. “I saw you eating them yesterday”…. YIKES…. where I don’t know, I was eating them on the way home. And another “Miss Sandra you like ice cream?” Ugh… “yes” I said, where did she see me? Even walking home they are knocking on their windows looking out and waving to me. I won’t be doing drugs or drinking in town for sure. God help me if I get a boyfriend….

 

Today I had a group of 7^th and 8^th grade BOYS (ugh) around me in the park, and funny, often it’s the kids that are the trouble makers in class that are the nicest. Ugh.. kids figure them out…. they were circled around me I had to PUSH them back so I could breathe all talking at once! The other day, what a nightmare, I cut through the park and immediately saw a line of 9^th graders sitting along a wall, though I stopped in my tracks I though “SH#! I can’t let them see me turn around” I held my head high, cranked up my music on my IPod and looked down and marched along.  “HELLO MISS SANDRA” I heard, I turned and yes, they were all smiling and waving “HOW ARE YOU TODAY MISS SANDRA”? HUH??  Where they laughing at me? I don’t know…. I would rather not know…. but I will NEVER take that short cut again.

 

Did I ever think it would be cute to be "Miss Sandra" all over town? REALLY? no matter where I go... side street thought no one would be there, 4 4th graders "MISS SANDRA"!!! walking with me, playing with  my ipod shaking their behinds dancing, ok, that was cute....

 

But ok, at home? knock on the door, a student, bringing MISS SANDRA flowers! :-) And asking, "will you start an English club after school???" Holy cannoli... this is tiring.

 

Today a girl asked me if I had a BIG house at home. I explained that not all American’s have big houses you only see them on TV and in films.  She insisted “yes American’s all have big houses”.   I THINK I got across to her the facts, before she left she said “Miss Sandra (everything she said started with “Miss Sandra”) are there poor people in America?” “Yes there are” I said. “Miss Sandra, are there hungry people in America?” “yes there are” I said.   Well I hated to burst her little bubble but it is part of my job as a Peace Corps member to teach them about who Americans are, and yes, there are poor and hungry people in America.
 

As usual, thanks to any of you reading about my experiences. Some good some not so... there are still many days of struggle but I am truly blessed to have been placed in Taraclia, Moldova ("Miss Sandra, do you like Taraclia?" Yes I say -  Я люблю Тараклия)

 



I

cultural festival and a bit more

Well I must say there are some real signs that I am truly adapting to Moldova. I know longer think twice about walking through a gaggle of geese, they get out of the way.

 

I no long flinch when a car comes within 2 feet of hitting me while going around pot holes, really fast. I now understand though you CAN’T cross the road in front of cars there is a good amount of time to do it so in front of donkey carts. 

 

 I am no longer shocked at the site of coverless manholes.

 

 

I no longer stop at unusual sites of things happening I don’t understand.

 

This is a good thing I guess…. Oh, and who knew Moldova is on an earthquake fault line! Woken up last night by two good tremors. I now take my “evacuation bag” we are told to prepare much more seriously.

 

CULTURAL FESTIVAL
What a beautiful day

Went to a wonderful cultural festival, Moldovan, Romanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Gaugazian (I’m sure that is not spelled correctly but who will notice, they are people with a Turkish background and their own language) and Roma (gypsies). The music and dancing was fantastic and just wonderful to watch. I had a moment where I was swept with a kind of joy, this is exactly what I pictured myself doing on my Peace Corp journey.  I felt like I had foreseen this whole thing, 

 

 

 

 

And the other thing I pictured were  many cute children coming to me! Hello “miss Sandra”!!  and that is what they did, handing me balloons, flags, taking my picture, adorable…. I felt that no matter what happens in life THIS memory  can never be taken away from  me, a perfect moment I will always treasure. This is the stuff  I need to hang onto when the going gets rough, and as much as things are settling down, there are still some rough days to get through. I'm sure being sick all the time is not helping... my hope is that by the time I  hit 6 months I will have adapted to my new world and stop being sick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least, my two PCV  partners, Sylvia and Marjory

 

 

 

 

  

 So after running back and forth to a kitchen with  no heat, and it is COLD OUT, making the strangest concoction I've ever made (includes canned corn, tomatoes, onions, a carrot, pasta and hot dogs) it is time for me to eat. I can't taste anything since I am sick  so it doesn't matter really how it tastes.

 

I am now cooking on  a hot plate, I think that's it for what I get from my host family for 2 years. But no problem, there are microwaves, toaster ovens and even crockpots in town to buy.

 

Oh, and thanks to Sharon and Jim for the wonderful boxes of supplies they sent full of food that only  needs water added. :-) They will come in very handy allowing me to go in and out of the kitchen real fast to cook them!

 

Over and out from Moldova. :-)

 

PS. I can't taste it but I can say the  texture is a bit unusual!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL "First Bell"

First day of school in Moldova is a huge celebration that is ALL ABOUT the first graders. They are lined up on a bench, dressed in black and white, the boys in suites and tie and the girls are in dresses with bows, ribbons, and ruffles. There are large pompoms the girls wear in their hair that are very popular even on a regular day. Some of you may remember when we were young we would get a fancy “Easter” dress. In Moldova the girls are dressed in “Easter best” x 10. They are adorable! Do not fret, If someday it seems the world has run out of ruffles, bows and sequence (and pink material) just come to Moldova there will be plenty to restock the world.

It is not unusual to see children in fancy dresses and suites in school! I had read about the clothes the woman wear in Moldova and yes indeed that is accurate…. a dress for a day of work would be something women in the US would shop for 6 months to find for a special event. They are ALWAYS beautifully dressed, hair and make-up are perfect, clothes are pressed, and while us Americans are soaking wet with sweat on a scorching hot day Moldovan’s are not, no wrinkled or sweaty clothes, make-up is staying perfect, hair holds it style. Shoes are VERY important, many of them have VERY high heels and it is part of their dressing routine to wash them in the evening. Shoes are NEVER acceptable to wear in the house. The usual thing is to have slippers at the door to slip on (hence the word slippers I guess, took me moving to a foreign country to figure that out). Because I am American instead of slippers I have thick fluffy socks with pictures on them.  Host Mama Maria looks at me like I’m nuts and tries to get me to put on some old ones she has around.

I am CONSTANTLY amazed at how beautiful the woman of Eastern Europe are. Now I fully understand why the modeling world is being flooded with them. Recently I met a married couple and again for oh…. the 10^th time that day, I thought OMG she is stunning. I mentioned the beauty of the women and the man put his arm around his wife and said, with much pride “yes, our woman are one of our nation’s treasures”. Well as you can imagine I feel like an old frump next to them. If I had any plans on finding a husband in this part of the world, FORGET IT! (Besides, if I want a husband with money the last place I will be looking is the poorest country in Europe). I think some people have tried to set me up with men, 80 yr olds, guys smaller than me, no money, NO THANKS. Though I had to struggle through the Russian to make my point I think he understood when I said “ya well the men, not so great but the women? Wow?” J

Back to school. At the first bell celebration each class performs dancing, singing and storytelling (the laughing around me indicated they were amusing).

 

 

Students pass out flowers to teachers, I was given two bunches! And a traditional 1^st day of chalk with a bow is given to each teacher and I will treasure it (well the half that didn’t break on the way home). I can imagine when I’m 80 and in a nursing home that piece of chalk will be with me and no one will have any idea why the old lady is carrying a piece of chalk, oops sorry I digress. 

 I had been dreading this day because I was told I should make a little speech in Russian. I had made it clear that NO WAY, and said “if someone wants to judge me I say let them go to America and make a speech in English in front of 400 people after 3 weeks of living in town, THEN they can judge me”.  When I saw how many people were there, I told the director NO WAY, not even in English am I doing it, FORGET IT. So I got out of that!

 

Beginning with a march with the flag and national anthem

The best part is the end of the ceremony, a small girl is hoisted up on the shoulders of an older student with a  bell. He walks around while she rings “first bell”.  

Here she is getting ready with the school director to go up on his shoulders. If you look close that's me behind them with my head down. Can you imagine just how proud this little girl is at this moment? Something she'll never forget

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time!!!! LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THAT GIRL IS! Can you STAND IT!? I  could die from the cuteness. Those pompoms... gorgeous

 

The first graders are lined up and given their first school book (I was also given one)! They march under a tunnel made by the older student’s arms. Other students then follow in and 1^st day begins!! I was invited to a home to meet two Moldovans who now live in Seattle. Like all Moldovans the family was very welcoming, always making sure I had tea in my cup and a snack on my plate and sent me home with 2 bags of vegetables from the family garden. The young man was proud to tell me that HE was the teen that carried the girl around in his last year.

 

My partner and I taught a 5^th grade class, we had fun games, didn’t teach much. After one class the students leave for the day and the REAL celebration begins! Food is brought in, cognac, Champaign, music, singing, THIS is the teachers celebrating, or more likely helping them to accept that September has once again arrived.  To say they have welcomed me to their school doesn’t begin to cover how they treat me!  After a few glasses of cognac I made a little speech In Russian, really little, like one sentence, but hey it’s a start.

I have now survived 2 weeks of school, I teach 5,6,7,8,9^th. It is exhausting as I have to work SO hard to get them to understand what I’m saying. My partner, Maria, takes the easy way out, she switches to Russian, takes her 30 seconds, now me? I am jumping, making faces, twirling, and my mind is constantly whirling trying to come up with different words to use. I do whatever it takes to get them to understand but it is especially rewarding when it makes them laugh. I was talking to a woman who is fluent in English (another visiting Moldovan that now lives in Toronto) and she said “you don’t have to talk to me so slow I understand you”. It’s a hard habit to break when not at school. No wonder when I get home I fall asleep. BUT… there is no time for sleep, gotta make more lesson plans, grade papers…. should you have a teacher in your life you thank them, every minute is planned and everything that is done is to teach you something, even the fun things.

Though I know it will wear off, right now I am enjoying celebrity status. One boy looked up to me and said with big eyes “are you really from America”? I was asked to sign autographs in one class, how funny is that? One little girl came up to me and said “hello”, when I responded she giggled, put her hands over and face, and ran. My guess is some kids “dared” her to do it. They watch every move I make and report it to other teachers! And they gather around me after class asking questions. The teachers told me that the word is out, they are loving their new American teacher. To hear these young kids saying “hello Miss Sandra” in school as well as when I’m out and about  is exactly what I dreamed off when I signed up for the Peace Corps. I was at home sick for a  few days, (long story) a teacher called to tell me they’re all asking “where is Miss Sandra”?

So all in all, as much work as it is, I think it’s going to be pretty great once I get the hang of it and am not scared in front of these kids. The young ones are easy to be around, the older ones? Well… let’s just say I already blasted them and gave a speech about the fact that “I left everyone I love and sold everything I owned including my car to help YOU and I WANT YOU TO RESPECT THAT FACT! And DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING?” They quietly nodded their heads.  The next class they were much better, so perhaps something I said (like that I sold my car which must impress any teenage boy) did sink in. If they start I noticed other kids in class turn and say “SSSSHHHHH”. Maybe peer pressure will do it.  But we’ll see, time will tell….

I have thanked my lucky stars every day for being placed in Taraclia. When I listen to situations that some of the others are in I just can't believe my luck. I'm one of those people that has always said "if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all". Well it seems my luck is changing...... finally!

 

 

 

 

SUCCESS IS NOW MEASURED IN SMALL ACCOMPLISHEMENTS

Sandra succeeds at hand washing...

“OK let’s see I saw her do this, get the metal tub”. “OK fine, no problem I can make due with cold water”. “well I guess I should only put in 5-6 small pieces of clothing (preferably underwear since small)” “wow this is going to take a long time at this rate, oh well" . "now this isn’t so bad I’ve done this lots of time (though with delicate clothes, huh but this can’t be that different)” .“la la la jeez this is kind of hurting by back” . “Those poor pioneer women this isn’t so easy”. “OK, time to squat this is killing my back”. “oh COME ON how much more?” 15 minutes…. 20 minutes… “ la la la   come on Sandra slow down, give the last group as much attention as first or they won’t be clean”. “wow this is some dirty water, ick, I didn’t know clothes got this dirty, gross”. “ooohhh my hands are going to look like I’m 100 by the time I’m done with 2 years”. “la la la... wow in addition to rock hard legs from squatting in the outhouses women here must have really strong hands” .“huh jeans are really heavy and kind of  hurt wringing them”. “well in addition to strong legs and strong hands the women here must have strong arms too”. “OK finally!  time to hang on the line”. “ugh this metal tub with all these clothes is kind of heavy, oh Sandra shut up women have been doing this 100s of years“. “OH come on, why did it have to be the jean shorts that fell in the sand? Fine I’ll re-rinse later”. “la la la.... hey wait a minute, she had more clothes hanging and there are hardly any clothespins, what the heck? ok, fine, I can figure this out, it’s just a matter of math” . “OK check – add clothespins to shopping list” . “OH PUPPIES you are SO cute but get away from my feet!”

 

“OH NO PUPPY leave my panties alone! Oh crap, dumb puppy now I have to add those to the re-rinse pile I GUESS I’m starting”. “ok… if I use one pin on those but two on those I may be able to do this”. “huh… how did she do this? I KNOW, I’ll go get some clothes hangers from my room”.  “there I knew I could do this, hang shirts on hangers”. “ok… dang it, they slide off, that isn’t going to work, now I can add that shirt into the re-rinse pile”.  “Well there ya go! I did it! Hooray! Look at that!”. "oh I forgot about re-rinses down here“. "THERE I DID IT!"." wow, that’s a lot of big ass panties I hope no one can see them….”

 

And 3 hours later. "hooray, dry! I can put away".  "yikes these are crunchy, what I wouldn't give for a snuggles dryer sheet right now". "oooh dryer, washing machine...oh dream...." " oh my god, what is this going to be like in winter? Will I be able to stand my clothes up because they're frozen (this thought made me laugh)".

There ya go, all clean  clothes put away. Well... I admit, one shirt did not pass the underarm sniff test, "darn, must have been towards the end when I was rushing, I'll do better next time".

SUCCESS IS NOW MEASURED IN SMALL ACCOMPLISHEMENTS!

Swearing in

 

 

Hello my blog readers :-)

 

First things first, some of you were wondering how I spent my 53rd b'day. I was with  a few friends in the city, this was almost our last hoorah, a day later for our REAL last hoorah was McDonalds! Nothing like a Happy Meal to get you ready for the move to a remote town. We have stopped in to MickyDs a few times because they have the BEST bathrooms around. Janet's b'day was the next day so we had Tiramisu for our "b'day cake" it was AMAZING, honestly the best I've ever had. Hooray for Tiramisu in Moldova!

 

 

Connie, Janet and KC. Oh boy did KC and Janet win the award for the roughest placement.... yikes...

 

Well it's official, I'm a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer), i.e. no longer a PCT Peace Crops trainee. It was a nice ceremony. Now unfortunately with all my computer savvy I managed to delete the photos off both my phone and computer. So if you're interested, here is a youtube clip, it's long but I'm at about 18:00 minutes, and if you feel you must watch a little more go from about 1:00 hr and on it's entertaining, fellow members did a dance and sang. Unfortunately about 90 % of the ceremony was in Romanian so I'm not sure what was said but I'm sure it was great, probably very inspiring (I apologize if these links don't work, guess you'll have to put in the harder way, typing it - unless copy paste works? But don't think so, sorry)
http://youtu.be/4jj1UrV8GJA

A great speech was delivered by our country director, it is from the inspirational Dr. Seuss, it was perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQRWeZy-S8Q

My partner teacher picked me up with a van, thankfully, because I, as well as everyone else, had an enormous amount of baggage, boxes, etc. to transport to our new homes. Not only did we COME with a lot we all had things shipped to us and the PC gave us enough books to open a library.
So now the settling in begins....

I had visited Taraclia about a month ago, I wrote about it back then... but now it's different, I live here, LIVE here! WHAT? How did I end up in a small town/village in Moldova?

So I can say without hesitation, and I will admit straight out, this has NOT been easy. I can't believe it's been less than a week. I have had a big problem with being sick. I don't know why, the food, water, outhouse, new smells which I hate, I don't know but since I've arrived in Moldova I have been sick about 8 times when at home it was maybe 1 or 2 times a year. My doctor has provided me with anti-nausea pills but sometimes even that doesn't help. It is making my adjustment rather difficult.

I had a very surreal moment the other night. As I made a run for  the outhouse to throw up the ramen noodles I tried to eat (brought from home thought I'd feel better eating American food - though surprisingly the sell them here - obviously they DIDN'T make me feel better) I only made it to the bushes, which is preferable to the outhouse so I was happy with the place I ended up. As my stomach did its thing I had a dog barking at my feet and I listened to the heehawing of a donkey and the clucking of chickens. This is when it hit me... "this can't be happening I have got to be in the middle of  a bad dream".  But nope.... here I am and there I was having a surreal life moment.

My first full day here I did make myself go to 2 stores, you just feel so darn helpless trying to do such easy mundane things! but I had to  do it and I am proud to say I came home with the 2 things. Some of the people here recognize the fact we are new Americans in town, I am lucky, they've had volunteers for about 5 years so they have seen us strange creatures around. Sometimes I  get very annoyed because I  think "oh come on that was close enough you had to have understood me" but I am told it just doesn't work that way. Now don't forget, we in the US are USE to accents and we are usually able to figure out what that person is saying, but think about other countries that have no exposure to people of different languages, if you say a word wrong, though it is CLOSE they just don't "get it".

Yesterday I met with another PCV from my own group, we muddled around town, she has been here a few weeks and is a bit ahead of me in the language. I have to get over the fear of looking, and sounding, stupid while trying out new things. So far I've spit out words, not sentences, that does seem to work, up to a point.  For example today I tried a real sentence "Ya Hachu Kupyet...." uh oh.... what is the word for ice cream? "I want to buy a.... uh oh" I tried "chocolat"? first they tried a glass jar of candy, then next they pulled a candy bar from the refrigerator, finally I had to break down and do it the old fashion way. I held up my hand as if holding a stick and pretended to lick it. Now that is attractive thing to do as a 53 year old standing in a pubic park. See what I mean about looking and sounding stupid?

Oh on a side note.... this is on the steps of my new home.... how cute is this?

 

Well just as I'm about ready to give up, after a few days, my host mama "Maria" had me sit with her on a porch. We sat under grapevines with ripe bunches of grapes hanging over us, flowers at our feet and an orange sunset in the background. It was simply beautiful. We did our best to communicate as always, I think we don't do so bad sometimes. Of course I smile and nod a lot when in fact I don't know what she's saying and I imagine she is doing the same thing.

Photos of my backyard, pretty isn't it.

 

So, now I have flashlight in hand, TP in pocket, and sandals on my feet I'm now ready for a last trip to the outhouse for the day (I pray it is, waking up at 3 am to go potty is a horrible thing, not like at home when ya stumble to the bathroom and back). I try to tell myself it's like camping... (doesn't work but I try). Those of you that have been praying for an indoor bathroom for me, please keep going, they've been working on it, PLEASE GOD let it be done before it gets cold. Keep praying please...

 

 

PS

 

I spotted this in the town that has been my "home" for the last 10 weeks.  It was a religious holiday over the weekend, it was nonstop with cars dressed in ribbons and horns honking. I will miss my town especially the pizza and beer, though I am sure we must have it in my new town since we do have restaurants. Funny... my partner Maria didn't really understand the concept of "take out food". So there goes that for a few years, going from twice a week at home down to 0 is not so easy. And by the way, though I haven't craved any particular food from America  yet just after being sick I did, and much to my surprise it was SUBWAY!

 

So over and out my friends,

Thanks for reading my blog, I appreciate any interest that anyone has in my story and in the country of  Moldova.