So much to tell folks. First off - Kristi did have an abscess on her face which was taken care of and she's now sporting a bandage on her chin (Note: to Kristi's friend Matt - she's gorgeous.). We look fab together - me with my cane and her with the gauzed chin - as if we did some real damage in a bar brawl. Another member of our group, Rob, took a header out of a Rutiera (the converted mini vans that are cheap taxis) one night and sustained a decent sized cut - and he's wearing a huge bandage around his head. So out of 6 volunteers in Suruceni - 3 of us a visibly wounded. Jerry's host mom is a "vaca" (I'll let you all guess as to what I mean), so he's technically emotionally wounded. Literally, its Survivor Moldova.
Life is good here though. I'm all about assimilating into the culture. My first morning, clad in sweat pants, a long nightshirt, and my trusted hoodie sweatshirt, I popped on some family flip flops and went outside then down to the kitchen for some coffee. As I was drinking, my Dad came home (its like 8am - seriously - I was jet lagged so I was up) with a trailer full of grapes. And lo and behold, 10 minutes later I'm running buckets of grapes between the trailer (where Ana and Nicu are putting the unwashed grapes into buckets) and Tata - who is hand grinding them into a big wooden barrel. When I say grind, I mean squish grapes, seeds, stems and all - and pop it into the barrel. Then, when a bunch of grapes fell out of my bucket and onto the chicken-poop strewn driveway (Yes, there are chickens running around as I'm doing this, but I wasn't lucky enough to kick one. They're really quite gross.), I was told to just pick it up and put it back into the bucket. And that's how I made wine. (FYI, the grapes rotted in the barrel for 2 weeks and I got to drink some of the "Must" (pron.: Moo-st). Like cider, but with flies in it from sitting outside, open - with chickens taking a nibble/poop every once in a while.)
Food is good. Eating a lot of bread, hard cheese (the soft "branza" (pron: brihn-za) isn't pasteurized and therefore risky), soup, apples, pork fritters?, and hard boiled eggs. I argue with my host dad about my dislike of meat. My non-Taco Bell diet has led to looser pants. My host mom comments on this with derision.
Another highlight of the week was the soarece (pron: swahr-itch) in my bed. I was studying and hear a "skritch, skritch, skritch". Very hampster-like. But in Moldova there aren't pet stores. So it had to be a mouse. I am, as you know, very pro-rodent, so I reversed my orientation in bed and put my feet where my head was and put in some earplugs (what I can't hear can't hurt me). I told my host mom the next morning and she was aghast. The next night, I was studying again, and hear the "skrich skritch, skritch" and went to find Mom again. When I told her, she said, "I let the cat in there for lunch - didn't she eat it?" I've made peace with my new roommate.
Moldova isn't the ideal location for someone with my special superpower - smell. The water is actually yellow and sulphurus, the rutieras are a pit of funk, and farm animals abound. The best though, is a host father who likes his cognac but doesn't like baths - which makes any car ride an excersise in zen - picturing Febreeze, freshly washed towels, lemon-scented towlettes -- anything but the smell of morning-after-booze-reek. Very nice guy though. Funny and hard working. And he thinks I'm a wimp because cognac makes me do the 'this-shot-is-too-strong-for-me' face.
Our host dog is a joy. She's fabulous and has progressed to playing with me and sitting in my lap. I've asked Jen to send flea collars - because I got my 1st flea bite last week.
Ankle is getting better. The doctor thinks I'll be feeling twinges for the next 2 months. But with the boots I plan on buying next weekend, I should be fine.
Making great friends here. V. supportive and complimentary to my personality. Kristi especially - she balances out any 'Scooby-Doo' tendencies I might have. V. comforting.
Finally, quotes. (Also note - Will from Baltimore, Becky the terrier from Appleton, and Kristi from Cali and Tom K. from Ohio all say "Hello/we love and miss you/etc." to all.)
"Would you like to smell my root?" Will with a stuffy nose, sniffing a horseradish root.
"Moldova is a good country to get Malaria in." Lica, Medical Officer - on local diseases
"We have a lack of water. We have a lot of alcohol. As a result we have a lot of STDs." Lica, on dating in Moldova
"We had a meeting with the host families. We told them to cook your food with distilled water. And wash the dishes with distilled water. And use soap." Galena, Training Manager
That's about it - I'm fine and thanks to K.Saad and Supply Chain ops for their packages and Sarah for the postcard from India.
Doing just fine and leg on the mend. We lost 2 trainees in the last 2 weeks - Maureen and Jeff. Now we're a group of 35. But we've been told that its normal to have attrition during training. I'm sorry to see them go.
I was featured on Moldovan TV. It wasn't the Seanne show - but I was interviewed (in English) as was John Strauss from Milestii Mici - D�ndrea was pretending to be a waitress when they filmed class time. I discussed the marketing of the Moldovan Apple. And I looked great - full GMI uniform of lipstick, scarf, and nice bright turtleneck.
Met the Moldovan National Soccer team yesterday - the same one's from Playing the Moldovans at Tennis. Good looking but more exciting becuase I had read Tony Hawk's book.
Looking forward to hearing where I'll be placed next Tuesday. I requested a village outside of Chisinau (always thinking ahead about the potty situation). The other volunteers think I'm delusional about getting an indoor potty (including D�ndrea who's normally so supportive). But we'll see.
Note to anyone walking alone in Moldova at night: Do not talk to drunk men and offer to talk to their sons in English.
Now for quotes:
"What do you cook for Easter?- The child of a sheep?" -Ala, language teacher, trying to explain "miel"
"We have to motivate then to control us more" - Executive Director of AGRO Info on board members in Moldova
"May God bless you in your economic endeavors" - Orthodox Priest to volunteers after religion discussion
Dovas great - I'm fine - but I've got lots to talk about. Absence totally makes the heart grow fonder - I left Suruceni for a weekend to visit Cimislia and passive/aggressive host mom washed my bedding, cleaned my room, washed my towel -- and gave away the rooster that wakes me up every night. Color me impressed. Also -I've had a cold for like 3 weeks because I'm constantly chilly.
Cimislia was great. My new partner, Maria, is the director of AgroInform Cimislia - an NGO that works with farmers giving seminars, 2 milk collection points, and as a point of funding - makes photocopies for the general public. Cimislia isn't nearly as picturesque as Suruceni - but again, I wasn't accosted by unattended farm animals as I walked down the road. (Note: this morning, I actually had to say, "Scuzati, achesta este porcul tau?" - (Skooz-ahtz, ah-chest-a-yestay pork-ool tahw?) -- or, "Excuse me, is that your pig?" to the lady watching her pig mosey towards me on the road. I like bacon like the next girl, but surely not on the hoof. Add pigs to the list of farm animals that freak me out slightly (cows, goats, and menacing geese are already on the list).) Cimislia has a lot of apartaments, heat (not common to houses in Suruceni), discos, MTV, and a more European/less Green Acres feel to it. I bunked in my partners apartment w/her husband (Vova-very funny and committed to teaching me Russian, or at least teaching me how to understand Moldovan humor) and 3 kids in a 2 bedroom/kitchen/bathroom apartment. Note - no living room. It was little but awesome - warm, hospitable, and felt so much like the fam in Germany I almost cried. I also got to meet my future host fam - mom and 2 kids (although 1 daughter is in college in Chisinau) in a huge house 5 minutes from my work. There is another volunteer in the city - but she's teaching health. I'm really excited about the work and my partner and I are great - she reminds me of Caro Ringhofer.
On to other developments - Pacii - my dog. Two weeks ago, at the hub site (where we have ag and health classes 2x/wk) a fluffy brown puppy came up to me and I felt compelled to feed it my bread (I've finally explained to host mom that I'm not eating cold hot dogs for lunch anymore - thank you). After carrying it around - Kristi was appalled by the germiness - for an hour, I obviously had decided to adopt her, and asked my boss, Vitale, what I should do -- leave her outside the school where we have our classes for the day or what?. . . . Vitale told me to talk to Igor, the thin and very proper office assistant, which I translated into, "take the puppy inside the school and hand her to Igor." I deposited a sad puppy (who had up until that moment been sleeping nuzzeled on my chest) with a slightly grumpy Igor and went to class. At our first break, I found Pacii (obviously I had to name her - I name everything - including my car) asleep on the Training Director's Persian carpet. Note: Galena, the training director is generally really scary so this was really out of character. I took Pacii outside - and said "Veceu Afara" (trans. "Potty Outside") and she did. What a great dog. After break I took her back in and she hung out w/Galena the rest of the day. I took her home to Suruceni after a trip w/Jerry into Chisinau for Pet Supplies at the piata (My kingdom for a dang Petco!). Mama gazda (host mom) promptly said no - and Pacii went to Jerry's for the night - and I went to bed trying to figure out what to do with this fabulous dog and nursing a broken heart. Well - it turned out wonderfully, the agronomist who works in the farm store where we have class saw Pacii and wanted her immediately. Pacii and I went to the house, and she got a bath with a kids apple shampoo, and I bought some ribbon - and my girl was fabulous. (Note: funky towel rotted for 2 weeks until Mama Gazda surprised me by washing it when I was in Cimislia.) She now lives inside the agronomist's house and I visit her a couple times a week (with my meat leftovers from home).
Quote: "The Anti-Christ lives in America" - Old woman at the Suruceni monestary after I introduced myself.