Tomorrow!

OhmygoshIamleavingtomorrow!!!

Of course, things tend to take longer than anticipated and there have been a lot of loose ends to tie up this week. So, it's the morning before I move to another continent and I am still trying to figure out how to get my bags packed. I am sure I will need a lot less stuff than I think, but "what if" I don't pack something and then wish I had? I think this is where my previous discussion comes in to play. Trying to remember that what I need will find me. I am sure I will look back at this post in the future and laugh at myself for spending so much time deciding what to pack. But for now, back to packing!

One week

With one week left until I move to Moldova, I have been in packing mode. I'm feeling pretty good about how it's going. Today I will buy a few last things and do a test run of zipping up the bags. Also trying to sell my car, which is a bigger project. Hoping someone will love it and want to buy it asap!

Yesterday I got to go kayaking on Lake Union. My favorite thing to do when the weather is nice in Seattle!!

Enjoying a few more of my favorite Seattle things today, namely Starbucks (our little local coffee company; maybe you've heard of it?) and Sounders. I do love that alliteration!

One thing I will miss about Seattle is the coffee shops on every corner. Although I have been told that many Peace Corps Volunteers in Moldova rely on instant coffee, I am hoping to find a nice coffee shop or two. I didn't actually drink coffee until I was in graduate school, studying full time while also working full time, and I just needed the caffeine to stay awake to write papers and get my work done. Now I drink coffee because I enjoy it, so I'm picky about only drinking really good coffee. And I sure am spoiled on that front here in Seattle. Zoka, Roy Street (incognito Starbucks), Vivace, etc.... Of course, there is argument about which coffee is the best, and people have their opinions about Starbucks. It's not necessarily my favorite coffee ever, but I do like it, and I love the accessibility! There is practically a Starbucks on every corner around here.

Starbucks on the Ave

I also love the Sounders. I never cared much about soccer growing up, despite living near Marymoor Park in Redmond - a soccer mecca in the Seattle area. One time in elementary school PE, I kicked a goal and was so excited until all the other kids on my team started yelling at me for kicking an own goal. Oof. I had never played soccer before (I'm a ballet dancer, guys!), so I didn't know the rules... That experience really soured me on the sport, and I actually have never played again other than in PE. But then I volunteered in Croatia in the summer of 2005, and studied in Cape Town in the winter of 2006. In Europe, soccer (or rather, futbol) is practically a religion and they were getting excited about World Cup 2006 in Germany. And South Africa was already preparing to host World Cup 2010. I couldn't help catching the soccer spirit! I watched as many World Cup 2006 matches as I could! I also had an opportunity to travel around Europe in 2008, and was able to watch matches with fans in several countries, as well as see the host site in Salzburg. So much fun! I was hooked. And as it turned out, right after I came back to Seattle, the Sounders had their first season in the MLS. I got to go to several matches at Qwest (now Century Link) Field that season, and loved it. It's such a great atmosphere and Seattle fans are awesome! So today I will attend my last Sounders match before I head to Moldova. They're playing the Timbers in a Cascadia Cup rivalry match, so it's sure to be a great time. And I'm wearing that same jersey I bought at the first Sounders match I ever went to. Go Sounders!! ebfg!

My first Sounders match!! 

May 2009

2 weeks

Officially down to 2 weeks left before I leave for Moldova. Although, technically I will not leave the US until June 6, I will leave Seattle on June 4 and be on the way.

Still working full time, trying to figure out packing, sell my car, see friends, enjoy places and and foods I will miss, and tie up all the final details and logistics.

Someone asked me to share my favorite things while I am in Moldova, and I think that's a great idea. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about Seattle while I am still here. This afternoon, I am sitting in one of my favorite places: the Burke Museum cafe. I have been coming here since I was a little kid, and as an adult, I have spent many hours here studying, writing, thinking, learning, talking with friends, and relaxing. This has always been one of my favorite places. I will miss it, for sure, especially because not long after I leave Seattle it will be demolished to make way for a brand new shiny Burke Museum that will have no cafe. Trying to enjoy this place as much as I can before it and I are gone.

Wine not?

Well, April got away from me and here we are in May. If you've ever applied to Peace Corps, you know that the weeks leading up to departure are BUSY. And if you haven't had that experience, I'll just say that essentially all my free time in the past 2 months has revolved around handling the details and logistics of uprooting my life to relocate to another continent for 2+ years. Unfortunately, that means I have neglected writing, and that is not something I want to do. In any case, I am back to it now and will work to be consistent. 

So. Wine. As I have researched Moldova, it has become apparent that Moldova has a great wine culture and is very proud of this. I'm not a wine drinker myself, but I can appreciate that many people love it, and I'm always interested in learning about local culture. 

Recently, I came across an article about reasons to visit Moldova wine country. Apparently, Moldova has the world's largest wine cellar. Cool! (Pun intended...). And apparently, a lot of people in Moldova participate in the making of wine:

"With a population of less than 4 million, Moldova is a small country tucked between Romania and Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union. Winemaking is deeply ingrained in Moldova's culture through its history and tradition, and it's said that 25% of the country's population is involved in winemaking. Coincidently, Moldova's borders form the fine shape of a cluster of grapes. It's epicentre is situated at the same latitude as Bordeaux, offering great conditions for grape growing."

I definitely want to check out the wine region, and see the wine cellars. Maybe I will even find a wine I like. And with this description and photo at the bottom of the article, I think I have found the topic of my next post:

"We talked about the wine, but I do not want to forget the food! Moldovan food is delicious, authentic and pairs perfectly with wine. From placinte -- a thin filo pastry filled with soft cheese or sour cherries -- to grilled meat marinated and cooked to perfection, there is a lot to experience. Once tasted, it's impossible to forget mamaliga, a dish made of polenta flour, sun-shaped, prepared and served with cheese, cream and garlic sauce. Moldovan people are very hospitable, and if you are coming for a meal, expect to be seated for at least 3 hours with dozens of colourful dishes coming your way!"

Languages, letters, and a brief historical timeline

The point of this blog is to help me (and hopefully you!) learn about Moldova. And I have learned that there are more languages spoken in Moldova than I mentioned in my previous post. Romanian and Russian are the most common, but there are also quite a few people who speak Ukrainian and Gagauz. To be honest, I hadn't heard of Gagauz before. You learn something new every day! 

Languages follow culture, and that is often based on a region's history. I didn't have a lot of time (so little free time right now!) to do comparative research or fact-check, so that will have to be for another day, but here is what I learned from http://www.factsking.com/countries/moldova/:

The region that is now Moldova has historically been inhabited by a largely Romanian speaking population. Before the Second World War, most of Moldova was connected to Romania, and about two-thirds of the population speaks fluent Romanian.

The second official language is Gagauz, which comes from Gagauzia, an area in southern Moldova. There are only around 200,000 Gagauz speakers. Look for more about Gagauzia in another post. I'm curious to learn more about it. 

Most of what is now Moldova was the independent principality of Moldavia in the 14th century. In the 16th century, it came under Ottoman Turkish rule. The region was part of the larger Romanian principality of Moldova in the 18th century. Moldova became part of the Russian Empire, under the name Bessarabia, in the year 1812. Bessarabia joined Romania in 1917-1918, after the Russian Empire was dissolved. In 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia. Later, it was split between the Ukranian SSR and the newly-created Moldavian SSR. Moldova was occupied by Romania and Germany from 1941-1944. Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Moldova gained independence from the USSR on 27th August 1991. 

Technically, the official language of Moldova is Moldovan. But Moldovan is essentially Romanian. Although, not exactly... In 1939 the Moldovan alphabet was converted to Cyrillic by the Soviets, in order to distinguish (and divide) the Moldovan ethnic group from Romanians. Shortly after Communism fell in 1989, the Moldovan government passed a law switching the alphabet back to Latin script. Moldovans are still roughly split regarding whether they speak “Moldovan” or Romanian. 

Terrible beasts??

This week's interesting fact:

The biggest animal that ever lived in the area that is modern-day Moldova was called a Deinotherium. Pretty cool! 

The name is derived from Greek; Deinotherium giganteum means 'terrible beast.' I guess I wouldn't want to meet one face to face, but in pictures they look kinda cute. :) 

Deinotherium looked like an elephant or mastodon, but with a shorter trunk. And the tusks were attached to the lower jaw and curved downward. They were about 15 feet tall and 15-20 feet long. 

Deinotherium existed from the Middle Miocene era until the early Pleistocene era (I read that that was around 7 million years ago!). They lived in Asia, Africa, and Europe; really got around. In Moldova, they lived in the plateau, which spreads through northeastern Romania, most of Moldova, and part of Ukraine. The largest Deinotherium skeleton ever found was discovered in Moldova! Now it's in the ethnographic museum there.

Citations: 
http://www.factsking.com/countries/moldova/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3142189/7-million-year-old-fossil-elephant-ancestor-east-Romanian-village.html
https://theokeden.com/tag/moldovan-culture/

Photos:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium#/media/File:Dinotherium.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium#/media/File:Deinotherium_bozasi_JG.png

Recovering perfectionist

It's March. Which means that, theoretically, I am leaving for Moldova in 3 months. I'm still waiting for it to be official before I tell the world, but given the duration of the time I will be away, I've had to start making arrangements and that means that some people around me have been finding out about my upcoming move. A pastor at my church found out the other day, and I was surprised how enthusiastic he was. He said he doesn't know much about Moldova, and tasked me with this assignment: tell him an interesting "fact of the week" about Moldova each week until I leave. A fantastic idea! And a brilliant series for blog posts. I am a recovering perfectionist, and aspiring writer. Not a great combo. This blog is my attempt to overcome the writer's block I have suffered from most of my life by embracing the imperfect and just writing. Posting a "fact of the week" will not only help me learn and share about Moldova, but will give me a way to be consistent about writing.

So this week's fact: Both Romanian and Russian Languages are spoken in Moldova

The first thing I learned about Moldova, other than its location, is the fact that Moldovan people speak both Russian and Romanian. I mentioned before that I have been to Romania and Ukraine, so I knew a little bit about Moldova. I knew that Romanian is spoken in Moldova, and that there is a separatist region (Transnistria). I knew that Moldova had been part of the USSR, and knew of some coworkers at a past job who were from Moldova and had Russian-sounding names. That was basically the extent of my knowledge of Moldova before I found out I would be going there.

As I have been preparing, I have learned that it is most likely that I - and most of my training class - will learn Romanian in our language classes. But it's possible that a few people will learn Russian, too, depending on where they will be posted. Initially, I had requested to go to Eastern Europe so I could continue to learn a Slavic language. I wasn't actually expecting to go to Moldova. Part of me hopes I will get to learn Russian. But the more rational part of me knows that I'd probably have a better time learning Romanian, given my past experience studying French and Spanish (and even a bit of Italian, if we're counting the words I know from music classes!). Russian is not an easy language to learn, but I'm enticed by the challenge and the prospect of gaining access to people, literature, and cultural understanding that have been out of reach to me without ability to speak or read Russian language. In any case, one of my primary goals of moving to Europe is to learn a language other than English well enough to be able to communicate. Whichever language I learn, I will be glad to be able to talk to people and understand people in a language other than my native English.

For further reading about the languages spoken in Moldova, I found this post (and comments) on the blog Chisinau, seriously? very interesting:

What language do they speak in Moldova?