Baking cookies

Not a lot of discussion here. It took many weeks to obtain the supplies, and all the energy and language skills I could muster to make this happen, but the photos speak for themselves. I was VERY happy about this, and my host family also seemed pretty pleased with the results! First chocolate chip cookies in Moldova!

Sunt obosită

As of yesterday, I have been living in Moldova for 4 months. There have been a lot of really great experiences, and of course, many challenges. All in all I am happy to be here. But I am SO TIRED. Or in Romanian: sunt obosită.

My life in the U.S. before I came to Moldova was exhausting (I've posted about that before), and the 10 weeks of training were exhausting. I guess I thought it would get easier after that. But I am still so tired all the time. Trying to learn a new place, and build a whole new community of relationships, and think in another language, and create programs, and plan activities, and create lesson plans takes a lot of energy. I suppose I knew that but it's one thing to know something theoretically and entirely another thing to live it. 

This weekend it rained. Like really rained. Not super hard, but it has been raining for 3 days so far and is supposed to rain tomorrow, too. It was a good excuse for me to stay home all day today and just rest. I needed it. I have been trying really hard to learn Romanian and integrate into my family and community, but today I stayed home and watched American TV shows on my computer. 

One thing I have learned really well in life is that it's ok to rest. In fact, it's necessary. When I am rested I think better, learn better, and feel better. And I think especially as a Peace Corps Volunteer where we are being faced with challenges and new experiences every day, it is really important to take time to rest when we can. 

A Mossback's love affair with rain

This article has come around at the beginning of Fall the past few years. It resonates so much with longtime PNW residents. And here in Moldova I find myself missing the Seattle rain. It was a brutal summer here (for me): 4 months of hot, humid weather with many 90-100-degree days. On Sept 22, the first day of Fall, the temps dropped and I felt so much relief. The reason for that is largely because of what this writer discusses. Today, I walked to work under gray clouds and a few small drops of rain. It was glorious.


"It's not simply the arrival of rain, but the transition to a different environment and way of life. The drear has a certain dark beauty; a low-contrast softness. There's no need to squint or close the blinds. Even the sound of the rain on our house is music to my ears, a lullaby. 

...The best way to describe the feeling is "coziness." Home feels like a refuge from the elements; a place to relax and live life more slowly. Coffee seems to taste better when it’s raining."

Although the temperatures here in Moldova have gotten cooler with the arrival of Fall, the days have still been dry and sunny. I'm not complaining; Seattle's 9 months of rain do get to me after awhile. But still, it will take me some time to get used to not seeing the Fall rain I have been accustomed to for most of my life. 

What is it like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer?

A month ago, I swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and moved to my site. Now that I have been here for a month, I have started reflecting on what I have experienced so far in my Peace Corps service, and thinking about what the Peace Corps experience is like for other Volunteers. Which leads me to the question:

What is it like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer?

It's a very good question, without a single answer. Because each country where Peace Corps Volunteers serve is different, and each community in each country is different, and each Peace Corps program within each country is different.

During our Peace Corps training here in Moldova we talked about the danger of the "Single Story." The linked TED talk is great, and made me think about not only how I view the country I live in, but also how people view Peace Corps Volunteers. When I first told a close friend that I was considering joining the Peace Corps, her response was, "But you like to shower..." That's true! I definitely do like to shower. And it's also true that there are Peace Corps posts where it might be might challenging to bathe, but it's also true that there are posts where it's possible to shower every day. This is even true from site to site within one country.

My blog captures my experience in my town, but every other Volunteer will have a different experience. If you'd like to learn about what life is like for other Volunteers, you can check out the blogroll on the sidebar. Last week, I started watching videos on YouTube about different PCVs' experiences of living in their host countries. There is so much variety! Here are a few that I have enjoyed watching:

Mongolia

Azarbaijan

Jamaica 
(this one made my day because she has Sounders stuff up on her wall! at this very moment I am wearing the Sounders MLS Cup Champions shirt my dad mailed to me :) ).

Armenia

This week, two of my Peace Corps colleagues who live in the same region of the country visited my town. One of them came with his librarian partner to attend a Novateca event that my library hosted. The other, who lives in a very small village, came to purchase some items from the supermarket in our town that he isn't able to buy in his village. Talking with both of them made it clear that our experiences in our sites have been very different.

For example, one lives in a town that is a bit smaller, but almost exclusively Russian-speaking. The other lives in a village of about 5,000. I live in a town of around 30,000 people. People speak Romanian, but also Russian. There are restaurants and supermarkets here. There is a also university, and I have heard English spoken around town a few times. There are two other PCVs posted here, which is not common; most PCVs are the only American in their village. However, my site mates' experiences are different, too. Both are educators, but they teach different subjects at different schools. One lives in an apartment. They each have a retired host mom, but I live with a family where the parents work and the son who lives at home attends university. So even in one town, our experiences are quite different.

All this to say, I hope that my blog give you some insight about Moldova, and some insight about being a Peace Corps Volunteer, but it's only one little glimpse! And I've only been in-country for 4 months, and at site for 1 month. So there is a lot more that I will discover while I am here!

Ziua Independenței: Moldovan Independence Day

I knew very little about Moldova when I found out I would be moving here. I tried to do some research before I arrived, but with all the other things I had to do before I left the U.S., there wasn't much time. So, every day that I'm here I learn more about this interesting place that is now my home.

Yesterday was Moldova's Independence Day, and my town celebrated with festivities similar to what we do in the U.S.: honoring service members, a parade, speeches by local officials, fireworks. But they also celebrated by dancing! Maybe there are places in the U.S. where doing traditional American dances on holidays is typical, but not where I come from. However, in Moldova, traditional dances are a point of national pride, and from what I have seen in the few months I have been here so far, Moldovans are excellent dancers!

After the parade and speeches in the morning, several dance groups performed in the main square:

It was lovely to watch all the groups dancing. Later we were treated to more dancing, and beautiful fireworks!