365 Days Project

So this is a quick one to let you know that March 1, 2011 marked 50 years of Peace Corps. Although I would imagine that back home in the States this made the news a little. Well, there are events and projects in all the Peace Corps countries happening all year in honor of this achievement. In Moldova there is a committee of volunteers who are leading our project "365 Days of Peace and Friendship". I have included a link to the blog where every day beginning with March 1 volunteers in Moldova have posted a short story and pictures about a project they are doing in their village. Just thought this would be a fun way to hear about the work others are doing here in Moldova. Check it out!!

365 Days of Peace and Friendship

My blog post for this project is dated March 18!

Winter Blues and the Blue Mosque

Its been a very long while since I've posted anything here. I just haven't had much motivation to write.

This has been a harsh winter for me. Last winter was much colder for longer with a lot more snow, but somehow this winter has been more difficult emotionally and mentally. Maybe it was going into winter with so much of my mind and thoughts with my family at home. Maybe it was that the winter I was expecting never seemed to settle in because the temperatures would warm up just a bit, but enough to tease us then plummet again. I thought going home would be a good break. See my family and friends, get the chance to say goodbye in my home city to family members who had passed, hug my mom and enjoy warmer temperatures, soft comfy beds and American culture. But coming back to Moldova, I just couldn't get back on my feet. I know the weather played a big role. The lack of sun, bone chilling temperatures and an inability to never fully be warm started to take its toll. Talking to others here and at home helped take the edge off. Knowing (logically) that Spring was just a few months away helped (a microscopic amount). But really at this point pure stubbornness and knowing that I just gotta make it through these first few months of 2011 is the only thing that has kept me here.

I've also realized more so after this winter, the important role fruits and vegetables play in one's mental, emotional and physical well being. I've been mostly living on cheese, chicken, pasta, rice and beans because I can get those at markets that are close to my apartment as opposed to walking to the valley to get the fruits and vegetables also (which motivationally is hard to do when its -20 degrees and snowing). But without having those, I am lethargic and tired all the time. I found the few times when the weather was decent enough to go shopping and I bought fruits and vegetables that during that week I ate them, I felt much better. We take it for granted in America (at least in California) that we can just hop in our car and run to the market where we have whatever fresh produce we want at our fingertips. Sure its a little more expensive, but there are always bargains to be found. Not so true here. Produce is more expensive (tomatoes in the summer are about 6-8 Lei per kilo, in the winter 28-30 lei per kilo) and there is much less variety and the quality is not always great.

The winter while taking a toll on my mental health took its toll on my physical health as well. I've been down with the flu twice (Jan and Feb) and most recently intestinal issues (this past week). The problem is that it break my momentum I start gaining at school. Just as I start getting back on my feet with school, teaching, working out and trying to get myself into a happier place I get knocked down.

Why do I tell you all this? Its not to bring you down or to whine. I'm simply telling you where my head has been of late. But I did find ways of pushing through. I created milestones for myself such as "Well, there's only XX many more days until vacation/end of school/end of service/Spring/Summer (fill in with whatever). I also started working on a big project that I am putting together for my partners. I started reading a lot again. Anything that kept my mind busy.

So here I am sliding slowly into Spring. The temperatures are indeed warmer, the weather is not overly inviting outside but still much better than two weeks ago and the sun is making more appearances. I am pretty sure I am through the roughest part and now that intestinally I'm feeling better I'm looking forward to more days of teaching, being outside and being more productive and motivated. With that more positive end to a very sad beginning I move onto a highlight of the last dreary months...my trip to Istanbul, Turkey!

Istanbul was wonderful!!!

I loved it and I want to go back and see more of Turkey. The food was great, the sightseeing was amazing and the people are really nice. Although, I went hoping for warmer temperatures than Moldova and was greeted with two days of snow, wind and coldness while Moldova had sunshine and warmth. Just my luck. However, the last 2 days in Istanbul were gorgeous and sunny. Despite the weather, we walked and fulfilled our tourist duties with grit and determination.

I went with Dan and Matt, both volunteers and English teachers in my group. Dan and I have traveled a couple of times together. He and I went to Greece and Ukraine last summer. I have also traveled with Matt to Spain during my first Christmas here and Ukraine last summer. Matt had lived in Istanbul for almost a year so it was wonderful having our own personal tour guide who could tell us the history of certain places and knew how to get around. It was kinda nice not having to think and just be able to follow (although there is no way I could tell anyone how we got to any particular place since I just blindly followed haha). Oh and some of the men were downright gorgeous (that is for Suzette one of my fellow volunteers who loves men and told me to appreciate them while I was in Turkey)!!

The hands down highlight of the trip for me was the Turkish bath. Since men and women are separated (because the country is about 99% Muslim) I was alone for the two hours I was there while the guys got to hang with each other but that was ok with me. It was wonderful. At first it was a little uncomfortable cause I was in the main bath area naked but eventually I just went with it and relaxed since all the other women were naked and they weren't all a size 4! Honestly though, I don't think I have been that clean in years haha. The bath woman scrubbed me down from head to toe then washed my whole body then gave me a full body oil massage. After 3 days of basically nonstop walking and standing it felt great. Then she washed and conditioned my hair and I got to hang out in the dry sauna. It was awesome and a great way to start our day. The other women tried to talk to me a few times in broken English, but mostly I just sat back and watched how they all interacted with each other. It was like they were all family the way they teased and joked with each other. It was interesting to see how free and relaxed they were about being naked with each other, then as we all dressed I noticed them getting back into their head covers.

Another fun part was sitting at the hookah bars drinking, kicking back, smoking hookah (in a variety of flavors) and playing Backgammon. Love that game now and I've gotten a little better although I am still really slow at it. I took a ton of pictures (almost 800) but I've only posted about 70 on Facebook. I've also included a few of my favorites in this post.

Istanbul was beautiful and it only made me want to go back an explore more of the country!

Our first night in Istanbul

While strolling through Taksim, I took this

Inside the Haghia Sophia

At the Spice Bazaar. One of my favorite places.

Dan playing Backgammon. We both learned how to play while in Istanbul.

Enjoying breakfast (and the view) on our last day at the hostel

Peacocks ran wild in one of the palace gardens

View of the Haghia Sophia while exiting the Blue Mosque

Inside ceiling of the Blue Mosque. So named for all the blue tile work inside.

Me standing in a park near the Blue Mosque (which is in the background)

Matt and Dan goofing around at Topkapi Palace. I said act like your like each other and this is what they did.

Throwing the gauntlet

This link has quickly been making the rounds on Facebook by many of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). Its a really interesting concept and a great way to share my experience with people back home (at least it is in my opinion-those of you at home may not feel the same haha).

So consider this my challenge to my dearest friends and family at home. For one week-live (at least in some aspect) like a Peace Corps Volunteer. If you are up to the challenge, message me and I will be happy to describe what you can do to have a little taste of my life in Moldova beyond reading my blog. I know you can do it!!

If you'd like to read more about this go to the Live Like a PCV Challenge website.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Wash all of your dirty clothes by hand in the bathtub

Walk don't drive (or take public transportation)

Make ALL your meals from scratch with fresh ingredients for an entire week (no eating out or pre-made/pre-packaged food)

Sweep your carpets and floors rather than using a vacuum

Turn off the electricity and/or water for one full day and night

I have others so if your interested and up to the challenge just ask me! Let's see who will respond :-)

Funny yet true video

So you want to join the Peace Corps...hilarious in its sarcasm and honesty. Some days I feel like the guy, others I feel like the woman. This experience is definitely a mixture of idealistic optimism and sometimes crushing reality.

Giving thanks, snow, Christmas and a new year

I had every intention of posting around Thanksgiving (I even started a post on November 22 but it was only two lines long). Then I thought about this blog towards the end of December as Christmas and my journey home for a visit was drawing closer, but I worried that I would get too excited about coming home and mention something then the surprise for my mom would be blown. Then of course, the blog was a fleeting thought while at home with my friends and family, but I was running around so much I didn't have the time to sit down and formulate the million thoughts and emotions running through me.

So here it is, almost a week since I returned to Moldova from Americaland and 4:50am (I am battling a wicked case of jet lag) and thought what better way to use my early morning time than to update everyone-especially since there is much to update. Now, I sit in bed half under the covers (cause its a wee bit chilly) with a cup of instant coffee (mostly because I am too lazy to bring out the french press and make real coffee) and settle in for the next 20 or 30 minutes while I type and upload pictures. Also, you'll notice the new look of the blog-figured new year, new look!

Warning: this is unfortunately going to be text heavy and light on the photographs since at the end of October I had a problem with my memory card and subsequently was unable to take many photos, but I will include what I do have which will include some recovered photos and videos from Halloween day.

I last left you with a post about my birthday celebrations. But what I did not mention was how great the Halloween day at my school went. Our classroom was a revolving door of students (some who were not mine but heard of the good time that was going on) wanting to complete Halloween activities, bob for apples, get wrapped up in toilet paper, play pin the head on the monster and listen to my retelling of scary stories (with translation of course and my partner did a wonderful job of mimicking my scary voices and well timed whispering to add to the effect).

Some of my students participating in the activities

At the end of the day we moved the party outside for the Toamna Aur (Golden Autumn) celebration. Each class set up tables of food and crafts and sold them while a mini concert and for some reason a wrestling match took place in the center of the courtyard. It was great and I pleasantly surprised my students by being able to dance the Hora (traditional Moldovan dance). Sadly, I was not able to stay for very much of the celebration because I headed to Chisinau. Since Halloween was on a Saturday, PSN (Peer Support Network-a volunteer led group I belong to and am Events Coordinator for) put on a scary movie marathon at the Peace Corps office. It was a lot of fun and we actually had a decent turnout.

November was an interesting, bittersweet month (sweet: birthday fun, Thanksgiving with my Peace Corps family and students, and gorgeous weather / bitter: more sad news from home and a lot of time spent contemplating whether I would stay in Moldova or go home). Let me explain fully. I spent the first week (as previously mentioned in my last post) in Chisinau to facilitate training sessions for the new English Education (EE) volunteers. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and warm which is entirely unusual for that time of year in Moldova, but I relished it! And luckily that beautiful weather continued for about 2 more weeks. Regrettably, it had to end and winter came on with a vengeance with our first snow and the freezing temperatures decided to settle in for the winter. Shortly after returning to school after our holiday break, my last grandparent (my grandfather) died. This was only 2 months after my uncle's passing and was incredibly rough on me being over 6000 miles from home and my family. I took some time off from school and a good friend came to stay with me for a few days. My little Peace Corps family stepped up and gave me a lot of love and support. Not wanting to dwell on this, I will move onto the sweet of the month. Now enters Thanksgiving. Since I am counting everything this year as "my last" in Moldova, my last Thanksgiving was wonderful-I had 3 of them! The first was similar to last year. PSN puts on a big Thanksgiving feast either the weekend before or the weekend after Thanksgiving day for all the volunteers and staff in Moldova. Last year I was on a cooking team, this year I coordinated the whole thing and boy was that exhausting. But it went off without a hitch. This year we cooked 4 turkeys and enough mashed potatoes and stuffing for about 90 people. Let me tell you, that's a lot of potatoes and bread crumbs! The food was delicious and I was fortunate to have a wonderfully hardworking crew of cooks who prepared everything! Sadly the big difference between our T-Day dinner and a usual one back home...no leftovers. Everyone cleaned up! My second thanksgiving dinner came on the real Thanksgiving day with the sitemates. We made chicken instead of turkey (mostly because of cost and chicken being easier to get) along with the traditional trimmings. It was great just having our little Floresti family together (only we were missing Lindsay who couldn't make it from her village).

Thanksgiving Dinner Pose

My final T-Day dinner came in the form of a masa with one of my partner teachers and her 11th grade class. She is working on moving up to the next level as a teacher and wanted to do a special presentation about Thanksgiving for one of her classes and some colleagues who would be observing. I worked with her to layout the masa and to talk about the history (a semi nice glossed over version) and how the tradition has changed over the years in America. Then we enjoyed some delicious Moldovan food (no traditional T-Day food except for the apple pie I made). It was really nice to sit with a group of students I do not teach and have the opportunity to talk with them and share a bit of my culture.

The first snow on November 26

December was a blur of snow, celebrations, anticipation of my trip home, tests and finalizing grades. Most of the days were pretty normal for my Moldovan life and they mostly were just what led to my going home on December 23rd to surprise my mom for Christmas. She believed I was going on vacation with another volunteer Tom to Sweden for two weeks. All of my friends and most of the family knew otherwise. The look on her face was priceless. The story was that my best friend Staci had a package for them from me with their Christmas gifts. She delivered it Christmas Eve morning. While she was talking to my mom after bringing in one piece of my luggage she said she had forgotten one other thing. At this point I came running up to the house and stood in the doorway. My mom sat in the chair looking with disbelief at me simply saying "What? No! What? Really?" over and over. As I hugged her she asked if she was in heaven. I laughed and told her no and that I was really hugging her in her living room in Sacramento. After that moment, it was all happiness, love, lots of running around and general glee over the little things I have missed (e.g. driving, brunch at Tower Cafe, sushi, playing cut throat Uno with the girls, movies in English in a theater, sunshine in rain, only wearing one layer of light clothes in the winter, hugs from my family, my aunt's cheesecake-which incidentally is THE best in the world and kisses). The two weeks home went by too fast and I am sad that I was not able to see everyone I had hoped to see. However, I am grateful to those who I was able to see and especially to those who I was not expecting to spend so much time with. Coming back was really hard to do, but I am happy to be back in Moldova and even more happy to have been home. Going home in a lot of ways was a great way of seeing some of the changes in me that my new friends and family here would not necessarily recognize. And I came back with a new perspective about myself. More to come soon about the new year and what's coming up this year!

La Mulţi Ani Rebecca

La Mulţi Ani (pronounce: la multz an) translated is Happy Birthday in Romanian. I have heard this a lot over the last week and I love this phrase. The literal word for word translation is At More Years.

This is the story of how my birthDAY turned into my birthWEEK:

My last birthday in Moldova was a spectacular one. Like last year, my birthday fell during the Autumn vacation week and I was in Chisinau for the English Education volunteers' IST (in-service training) Monday through Friday. The difference between this year and last is that I was not a participant in the IST, I was facilitating some of the training sessions. It brought back a lot of memories and when I first arrived at the hotel on Monday, I was a little sad that none of "my people" were there. I really like the new volunteers and this past week was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them better, but that first night was a bit odd for me because my EE (English Education) volunteers were not there. Plus my group of volunteers had recently lost two of my favorite people making some of my memories from last year a little bitter sweet. Thankfully, Jonathon a volunteer from the group before mine was there and we hung out.

The week went really well and by Tuesday I was joined by some other M24s (Moldova 24-24th group in Moldova). The days were filled with training and the nights were filled with fun. We could not have asked for better weather the whole week (typically around 65 degrees and sunny). The night before my birthday, a group of us went to dinner then to a bar where others had gathered to celebrate the birthday of one of the Health Education volunteers. After the bar we moved onto a karaoke bar. Last year during this week, I went to a karaoke bar and (very badly) sang with some friends. This year, I just sat back and enjoyed the show! But at midnight, the group I was with wished me a Happy birthday and sang to me. It was great, because some of the Moldovans who were at the karaoke bar joined in. And one even purchased a song to sing in honor of my birthday. My favorite part of that night however we a duet by Jonathon and Kelley. They sang Scorpion's "Winds of Change" and it was one of the most entertaining and funny renditions I have ever seen in my life. We all got home really late and I was happy that I was able to sleep in a little before my session.

When I got to the school where our training was held, I was greeted with congratulations, happy birthdays and singing in both English and Romanian. It was awesome! After the day concluded, me and a small group of my closest friends (Dan, Annika, Jonathon, Matt, Erika, Mackenzie and Lindsay) went to a restaurant called Tulip. They have amazingly good Thai food and I left very full of Pad Thai and very happy. Later we met up with more volunteers at a nearby bar where again, as I walked into the room I was greeted with the birthday song (Thank you Dan). It was great spending time with everyone. I was greatly complimented and a little taken aback when one of the M25s Alex pulled me aside and said "Becca, only you could get this mix matched group of volunteers all in one place to celebrate. They are all here for you." For me, it was one of the nicest things anyone had said to me and I was smiling the rest of the night (even bigger than I had already been). As the group dissipated and volunteers turned in for the night, those of us who are hard core and night owls, decided to move onto the karaoke bar AGAIN! So we hailed several taxis and descended upon the small, Russian Karaoke bar. We jammed ourselves into a corner, ordered songs to sings, beers to drink and danced our butts off. I could not have asked for a better way to spend my last birthday in Moldova. And as a side note-Dan Falknor, one of my closest friends here, was the party coordinator for the night and he kept me moving from place to place in a timely fashion. Gotta say it was pretty nice not being in charge and letting someone else run the show!

The next day in a very hung over and tired state I made my way back to my village with Dan and Annika. Later we were joined by Tom, Matt and Erika. It was another wonderful night and relaxing night with my friends over a little Mexican food and some Margaritas!! The next day our little group expanded to 16 people as other volunteers came into Floresti for my birthday celebration. The weather was gorgeous and sunny as we walked through the piaţa to purchase food for the party. We even enjoyed a game of beersbee (frisbee drinking game). I had so much fun making dinner for all my friends, sipping margaritas and talking with everyone. After dinner, so as not to make all my neighbors angry, we took our loud group out on the town. We played a little Russian billiards then moved on to the disco where we danced the night away (and I tried to avoid making an ass out of myself in front of many of my students who were there).

After a long, busy (and usually late night) week and weekend I was exhausted! Sunday afternoon everyone went home except for Tom and his girlfriend Virginia who helped me clean my apartment and get everything back in place. When they left I kicked back for the night trying to rest before the first day back to school.

As I got to school I was greeted with a few "felicitare" (congratulations) from students and teachers who knew my birthday had been the prior week. But during the longest break between classes, the bell rang three times signalling a meeting. So I went with my partners. There was the usual business: reminders about staying current in the grade book, arrival of a new student, and information about a parent meeting occurring the next day. But then my director turned to me, smiled and started talking about an important day that occurred last week-my birthday. She gave a little speech about my being part of the faculty, how the kids like me, that I am a beautiful and open person which in turn makes others more open and that the students and teachers are lucky that I am here. It was really sweet! Then she gave me a bouquet of flowers and a coffee serving set from the faculty (I've included pictures of all my gifts). It was a wonderful gesture and I love my gift. I also received gifts from one of the faculty members Tanea (pronounced Tanya) our music teacher, from my 11th grade class and from my partner Elena.

This could not have been a better birthday in Moldova!! I felt love from all of my Moldovan family as well as family and friends in America. My cheeks are hurting from smiling non-stop since last week.

All of the lovely gifts I received

Flowers from the faculty

A cactus from my 11th graders for my computer (to help absorb the radiation from it)

Lovely smelly stuff from friends and Tanea

My new coffee serving set-I love it!!

A new purse and scarf from Tom and Virginia

A handkerchief that my lil sis Sarah made for me

Whitewashing and October only means one thing...

...it's time for HRAM (and Autumn too)!!

October 14th is the day of Hram for Floresti. "What is this hram you speak of?" you may be asking. Well hram is the anniversary of when the village was blessed. Every city, raion, town and village in Moldova has one. Not all villages celebrate or really observe this day, but Floresti does. This being my second year in Floresti it was of course my second (and last) hram. For those that have been following along at home, I did write briefly about hram last October.

Last year's Hram was great. I ate a ton of wonderful food, attended a concert and carnival in the center of town, froze my ass off since it was the first really cold day of the year (and I was so very not prepared for it) and hung with Kyle, my sitemate at the time. I didn't know what to expect so it was all a surprise. But this year was great again because A) I had the day off; B) I enjoyed a big masa (dinner party) with my old host family, one of my sitemates (and little sister) Sarah and two other volunteers who came from other villages to enjoy the festivities; and C) Got to watch all my site mates enjoy the party for their first time like I did last year. After the masa we headed into the center of town where, like last year, we enjoyed a carnival and concert. We drank, we danced, we watched Moldovan teenagers ride carnival rides and we ate cotton candy! To say a good time was had by all would be an understatement.

Now, you may be wondering what "whitewash" has to do with Hram. For about a week before Hram, all the towns folk get to making the town pretty. The whitewash comes into play because the tree trunks and street curbs all get painted with it to brighten things up. All of the planter boxes throughout the town get a fresh coat and many of the buildings get a coat or two. Everything looks its best for the village anniversary!

My favorite part though about the whitewashing is how it contrasts with the gorgeous Autumn colors. As most people know, Autumn in Moldova is my favorite time. The colors here are so beautiful and fit so well with the weather! Even though the cold came earlier this year, I have been making myself go out (in many layers of clothing) to get pictures whenever I can in between rain storms. It was almost over night that the little splotches of yellows and golds overran the green.

A big event in October is also the annual International Wine Festival. Sadly this year's festival was not as fun as last year's because the weather was absolutely miserable. It rained most of the day and was freezing the whole day. However, a group of us did head over to partake in the festivities, if only for a few hours...did I mention the event is an outdoor event?? We stayed out in the lightly falling rain and mild gentle hurricane winds for as long as possible then moved on to a restaurant for dinner. For those of us who are doing all of these events and activities for the last time, there was no stopping us from seeing them. And like Hram, there was drinking of tasty wine and of course dancing!

Now I am working towards Halloween and am frantically making activities and gathering the needed supplies for games for our school celebration on Friday, October 29. I have made a whole wall in our classroom just dedicated to Halloween. Some of my younger students are drawing pictures, I created a poster with the "Trick-or-Treat" poem that all my students will learn and even made a vocabulary poster so that they can fluently speak Halloween!!

Have I mentioned that I love this time of year?!? Especially since I am not totally ready for the full on coldness of Moldovan winters. But I am happy to report that I now have heat in my apartment which has drastically bettered my home life!

Here are some pictures from my October so far!

Originally this picture was taken as a joke during our Hram Huddle, but it turned out to be a keeper! Clockwise from me (I'm at 3 o'clock) is Lindsay (she is in my raion in a nearby village and works at a school teaching Health Education), Travis (he is in Floresti and works at the Primaria-the Mayor's Office), Sarah L (she is in Floresti and works out the Consiliul-The District Council Office...and she's my little sister and she lives with my former host family), Sarah C (she is in Floresti, is married to Travis, and teaches English at one of the other schools here), and finally Katie (she is in a nearby raion center similar to mine and is a Business Development volunteer).

Me with my little sis Sarah!

Last year Kyle would never buy cotton candy with me so I made a point of buying some this year and sending Kyle a picture of me eating the last bite!

Me with several of my 12th graders. They all had cameras and I felt like I had been cornered by the paparazzi!

Katie just loved this cat mascot at the carnival!

Like I said, there was dancing..this is Lindsay with the shiny shoes

One of the bands that performed

Inna and Igor, two of my 12th graders, doing a Moldovan waltz

These were all taken from my apartment windows during and after a quickie rain storm that moved through Floresti earlier this evening.

Sunsets here are really amazing sometimes, just wish I had a camera that could more accurately capture them!