I've been properly sent off (thanks to everyone who attended the Chino Latino fest on 9/6/03), gifted, and blessed - and I hit the airport at quarter to the butt-crack of dawn on Monday. Thanks Chuck for the 5am ride - and thanks to Caro and Jen for the packing (I can't even call it help because I was ordered to sit on the workbench and approve the 'remove from the suitcase' suggestions. I'm especially proud of the fast one they pulled at 4:45am when I was convinced to lose a robe, turtleneck and sweater - I think. I lost the heels and hair straightener the night before - along with my SOAP!).
I got to training alright and made friends right away. Sarah Krille (Appleton, WI) and I set out from Minneapolis together and even got paired up in the hotel. She's as much of a planner/leader/tidge bossy as I am so we've been getting along famously. The group is all over the map - about 2/3 are straight out of undergrad but have some very unique experience and the rest of us range in age from me (27) all the way up to Dennis (61) and his wife Nova (refuses to declare publically). There are 4 married couples and about half of the group of 37 (97 volunteers are in Moldova right now) are women. The bunch of us is divided into Agribusiness, NGO development, and Social Work. As my paperwork said one thing and I was told another - I don't know if I'm Agri or NGO - either way - the scenery is fine. A 6'6" Captain America farm boy from Gustavus Adolphus, an Abercrombie-type from Kansas, and the requisite assorted farm boys. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
The past 2 days have been orientation and a lot of nothin'. I do know we're getting language training in our villages, most will learn Romanian but a few will get Russian (I'm trying to be special and get Russian), there will be 10 of us to a village, we need to take a bus to the town in the center of all the villages (Ialoveni), Ialoveni is 25 minutes from Chisinau (pronounced "Quiche-ih-now"), and we're being issued -- get this -- space heaters, water filters (the big kind - so Patti's water bottle set is perfect for running around), and METAL SPIKES FOR OUR WINTER BOOTS SO WE CAN WALK ON THE ICE! (As a woman who schlepped all over the UW campus, including across a frozen Lake Mendota, to get to the Kronshage dorms - I honestly don't think the spikes will be necessary. But you should have seen the faces of the kids from California!) And the highlight has been hearing, "We don't know, you'll find out once you get in country," for the 100th time. Really working on my tolerence for ambiguity. Grrr.
Tomorrow we bus to New York at 11:30, fly out at like 5:30 (9/10), get into Istanbul ? (get Visa to be in Turkey, get thru customs, recheck bags, possibly explore the city or rent a 'day room'), leave Istanbul 5pm (9/11), arrive in Chisinau at 6:20pm (9/11 - 10am Mpls time). FYI - its 7 hours ahead of EST. We're in a hotel the first few days - rumor has it that we stay in the capital so in case anyone freaks and wants to go home, its convenient for the PC to put 'em on a plane. We meet our host families on Saturday. From there - we have no additional info.
Until Next Time,
SNBH
Short and to the point. I'm here and so is my luggage.
On the 10 hour flight to Istanbul I got to REALLY know Kristi from S.Cali. Istanbul was a mass of people & confusion and after being up for 24 hours, once we all got to our gate (at the far end of a concourse) I fell asleep on the floor (supervised by my new friends who were then offering "American, free to a good home" to passers by, and hoping I hadn't lost one of my shoes (it had fallen off and I was sleeping on it).). And then we were in Chisinau- greeted by the CountryDirector Van, the current volunteers carried our luggage and we got to breathe outside air in the 1st time since forever. Had a 'Bread, Wine & Salt' Ceremony w/native dancers, a meeing, and then, god bless - got to go to bed. The shower was hot, the bed soft, the NyQuil effective - and I slept all the way through and think I may have hopped over the jetlag hurdle unscathed (unfortunately I cannot say the same for my arms as the "carry on" backpack was significantly heavier than originally planned and I'm looking a little 'heroin addict' because of the bruising.). Today, I've had my blood drawn for HIV & pregnancy tests (let's just say I've been called a wimp in more than just English now), had 2 hours of language class (Kristi and I are together - along with Tulsa-car-dealing-Jerry, Boy-Scout-Rob, Guitar-playing-married-Nick, and uber-quiet-John in language and training classes. Let's just say French plus a competitive streak has made me a star/suckup of the class - depending on how you look at it. We've got to be Intermediate-med in 10 weeks to not get fired - and if we're Advanced by that time we get to take Russian lessons for free), and been lectured on the workings of the mafia by the security officer from the US Embassy. Oh, and FYI - I found out I'm in agribusiness. I've embraced my fate and have christened us "Team Cow".
Final note - food's been great (nothing unrecognizable), my tummy is fine, have a few pals (fabulous Will from Baltimore and Tom Keller (a different one than the GMI's QRO) from Ohio), the luggage all made it and I didn't have to pay any fines, and SEND BABYWIPES BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY GOING TO BE SHOWERING ONCE A WEEK!
Tips from training so far (actual quotes):
Volunteer: What's the situation with pesticides in Moldova?
Nurse: It used to be very bad, but now they don't have money to purchase it.
How to avoid drinking more alcohol:
Thank you, but I'm Baptist. - or - Thank you, but I have to go back to the office.
How to avoid eating more food:
Thank you, but I'm on a diet. - or the always dainty - Thank you, but I have diarreha.
Until later,
SNBH
So I've been in country 2 weeks. And a lot has changed.
First, the basics. I live in the village of Suruceni (Soo-roo-chen) which is like 25 minutes from Chisinau via Rutiera (note: Rutiera is the most adventurous form of transport I've tried - and many of you have seen me drive. Its a Minibus w/unlimited capacity. I mean it should hold maybe 8-10 passengers - but if you ignore all sense of safety, personal space, and the necessity of breathing non-foul air - you can (not exaggerating) get 35-40 people on. So far, knock on faux wood, I've kept my lunch and not pulled my normal 'bus-sick' routine. Literally, other than private taxi, there aren't other options to get to other towns or the capital. Let's just say Secret & Right Guard could really tap into a market here.)
My village has 3,000 people - a few funky bars (an not funky like Vegas), stores, a super slow internet cafe - and we're really well off. Our village is plush compared to Will's (Will from Baltimore says hi to everyone).
My house is laid out somewhat strangely. Its 1.5 stories. The kitchen is where the garage should be on the 1st floor. Its only accessible by going outside. Attached to the kitchen is the beci (pronounced "bitch" - teehee!) also known as the cellar. Upstairs there is the baie (by-ay - the bathroom) with a washing machine and indoor potty and 3 bedrooms. But I really prefer to talk w/Mama in the kitchen. We're sortof on a dirt cul du sac. Oh - gotta run, CK & I are at the Peace Corps office because she has an abcess. More on that later.
SNBH