My cohort of M32s arrived in Moldova a year ago, on June 7, 2017. I remember that I was exhausted, and was wearing my Seattle spring-weather lightweight wool dress pants in 90+ degree humid Moldovan summer heat and just wanted a cool shower and to sleep. To be honest, I don't remember much else about that day. We were met at the Chisinau airport by some M31s with welcome signs, and then had to wait forever because some people's luggage didn't make it. Then we loaded onto busses and were driven to a resort where there was food and some info/meeting sessions. Eventually, I did get to go to sleep and I was grateful.
The few days that we were at the resort were a blessing so we could adjust to the time zone and to Moldova. I know we had language lessons and ate fresh cherries. I didn't spend a lot of time talking to my fellow PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees; you're not considered a PCV until after you swear in at the end of PST), because I just needed the time to recover from exhaustion (not only from the journey to Moldova, but also from the sleep deprivation for the previous several months job hunting, preparing for departure, and working two jobs). I would have loved to spend more time with everyone before we were split up into our respective training sites, but at this point in my life I also know when I need to rest and I try to do a better job of taking the time that I need. Anyway, here we are a year later and I am trying to reflect on all that has happened during this year.
I was sick for a long time this year, beginning during PST. I think my body was just reacting to all the stress it endured in the process of getting me here, and then to the actual environmental changes. It was extremely frustrating to not feel well and be exhausted all the time, and made it very hard to get motivated to work on projects or study Romanian. I feel like I've finally turned a corner, healthwise, and I feel good most days. It's very freeing and I feel much more energetic to work on projects and be active in my community. I also just had my first pedicure and my second haircut since I left the U.S. Those seem like simple or even silly things, but they help me feel more like myself again (and required foreign language confidence that I didn't have for a long time).
I feel somewhat confident about my Romanian language skills at this point. They are not perfect by any means, but more often than not I can understand what people are saying if I concentrate. In the past few weeks, I have been able to do some errands and talk to locals without feeling nervous or miscommunicating, which feels like a huge win! I am able to have good conversations with my host family now, and even joke with them. I have somewhat adjusted to the heat here, so although I do still feel hot and sweat, I don't actually feel like I am going to melt (although it's only June, so ask me again in August! haha). I still hope to improve my grammar, and also verb conjugation. I've also been trying to learn a bit of Russian. The words that are similar to Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian are relatively easy for me to pick up, which is nice.
Of course I still wish, probably like many PCVs, that I had a bunch of amazing and successful projects to show for myself. But, you can only do what you can do. I'm trying to be ok with slow, steady progress. I'm very proud of my Technovation team, and hope to work with another team next year. I feel like our English clubs that my site mate Okxy and I have at the children's library have been going well. I'm really happy that the youth English club has a service learning component now, as the participants are translating the descriptions of the items at our town's historical museum into English. I still have high hopes for the documentary/communication club, but it has been delayed. Hopefully, we will be able to start it in the fall. The librarians like the idea of the Women in IT seminar I proposed and have suggested that we organize it in the Fall. I hope we can tie it together with recruiting a Technovation team and maybe even screening Code Girl. This summer, the main projects I will be working on are a dance camp in July and an intensive adult English course in August, both in collaboration with other PCVs. I also plan to help with the summer camp that the children's library will be doing in June.
I've enjoyed spending more time with local friends recently, too. I was happy for that chance to have my friends from home, Lisa and Jeff, visit and get to meet some of my friends here in my town and also other PCVs. One of my friends, Olesea, and her son even accompanied us on excursions to monasteries and other sites in Moldova (Soroca Fortress, Cricova winery, etc.), and invited us over to make pelmeni! My site mate Valerie and I have gotten to spend some time recently with our local friend Tatiana who is an English teacher here. I also really enjoy my language lessons with my tutor Lucia. She's a great tutor and also a good friend. My librarian counterparts are also great. I mostly see them at work, but the other evening we all went out to eat pizza at a local restaurant for one of their birthdays. It was nice to spend time with them just chatting - and I understood part of what they said! Haha.
I'm currently working on my second tri-annual report for Peace Corps. It's interesting to see which projects have been successful and which didn't work out well. That is helpful information for planning future projects. I would definitely like more collaboration with my counterparts in the planning process for projects, but often they are very busy or my language skills are lacking, so that has been a challenge. Hopefully in year two, we will be able to find a better balance for this.
Around town, lots of things have changed. More streets have been repaved, the church facade has been torn off and it is being refurbished, the stage in the Piața Horelor is nearly done being remodeled, Andy's Pizza has been totally remodeled inside, El Cafe moved to the building where the business incubator is and Family Pizza opened in its place in the Globus mall, the old cinema building was torn down and a Linella grocery store will be built on that site across from the university. I still make comparisons to the building and construction going on in Seattle, although I'm much removed from that now. In most ways I feel like the renovations here are good and beneficial for locals, but I know many people are sad about the cinema being torn down. Such is life, though, I suppose.
Summer plans involve the dance camp and English intensive course, as well as trying to find ways to stay cool from the summer heat. I'll also be saying goodbye to the M31s as they start to COS (Close of Service). Melinda is a Health Educator who lives in a village in our raion, and she will be going back to the U.S. next month. I will miss her visits when she would come into town to buy supplies and groceries! The new group of M33s arrived in Chisinau this week, and I went to the airport with some of my fellow M32s to welcome them when they arrived. It's strange to think that soon the M31s will leave and the M33s will swear in. Time marches on. I hope to take advantage of opportunities this year to see new places in Moldova, work on good projects, and continue to build good relationships with Moldovans and PCVs. These times of transition make me think about the future, and I've started considering what I will do after PC Moldova. Nothing is certain yet, but it's good to start thinking about because I am sure this year will go by quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next year has in store.
Well, that's a quick update and snapshot of this point in my Peace Corps service.
Jeff and Lisa visiting Cahul!
