Where is Moldova, anyway?

9/19/06
On a positive note, my host brother just showed me how to dial up to the internet through the phone line. It took a week… but I am glad he showed me. Who would have thought to include a letter in the phone number? Pshhh…at least my Modem understands Romanian commands, too bad the same cannot be said for me. Also, while he was helping me I found out he knew English and was just letting me suffer all this time. It’s for the better though… Anyway I must go put more time into the language, so I will see you all soon. If you want to get in touch with me the best way is to email me at sharonmariehakim at gmail.com. That way I can download my email onto the computer at once and not take up precious time (read: money too) reading and loading emails. Miss you all!

Today was a great day. Probably my best so far in Moldova. It started out not soo smoothly this morning when we were late for the welcoming ceremony in the village because I ironed my skirt wrong, and then walked very slowly in heels (I cannot walk in heels normally, never mind up a choppy hill). The ceremony was very gracious and warm, many community members spoke out about their positive feelings of having us in their community. We ate a traditional Moldovan feast, called the masa, and then danced traditional dances called the “hora” (think dubki, slow down the beat, and add an accordion). That was definitely a highlight of the day.
When we got back I was pretty stressed out, partly because of the new environment, and partly because I hadn’t done anything physical in a while besides walking. After a 40 minute conversation asking my host mother if it was okay for me to go for a run. But right before I left the house, she asked me to come to what I could only deduce was a birthday party with her. Hesitantly I went, which has been one of the best decisions yet. The people there were very friendly, and there were children who spoke a little English, broken, but it was still nice to have. There was a little boy around 15 who reminded me a lot of scott, because he had this look in his eyes that I knew he was up to no good. He kept taking pictures with his cell phone, and was showing me the English he knew—by singing dirty rap songs such as “my humps” and “in the club.” Try explaining to a young child that the English words he knows are “dirty…” it’s not that easy let me tell you. By the end of the night we were friends though, which is good, as you all know I relate easier to children anyway. I got going away presents of new vocabulary, walnuts (off a tree) and a rose from the garden. Very good!

While at this party I was trying to be as open as possible to the culture, I was in fact, an uninvited guest at this intimate dinner party—so I tried all the food. Including one called “Chicken jelly” which is this gel made from bone marrow and chicken fat, but it is the traditional food of Moldova. So I dug in. I probably won’t eat it again, but, heres for trying things once J The men were also drinking a lot, and trying to get me to drink a lot. Which was not going to happen, especially since they were doing shots of whisky (yuck). So I sipped it instead. The host father found it funny though to pour whisky into my glass and say “it’s okay, a few”. Sweet.

Today really reinvigorated me for the rest of the village stay. I am excited to meet more community members, to have more discussions, and to break away from my English / Peace Corps cushion. We will see what happens!

Today we met our host families in our respective villages. I am going to be spending the next three months in a village called Milestii Mici. This is a village in the southern half of Moldova but only around 45 minutes from the Capital and 20 minutes from the regional center of laloveni. Milestii Mici is a very famous village (and one of only a few tourist attractions in Moldova), home of one of the world’s largest (if not the largest-- people here say it is the largest, but I am not really in a position to be fact checking...) underground cellar for wine in the world (200km long). It is also a very nice little village, although I am unsure of the population, the land itself is spread out with farms and dirty roads (when the PC said to be sure that you can carry your own luggage, they forget to make sure you account for the fact that you CANNOT roll suitcases where there is no pavement. OYE!) , but the people are friendly, and like to greet you and laugh at your attempt at Romanian. The village has power for the most part, but no running water. I am going to be spending the next 9 weeks here with 6 other trainees.

My host family consists of a mother, who is very well educated and fairly upper class (she is a micro biologist at the wine factory), and a son who is 19, and every bit in the middle of an awkward adolescence. The son doesn’t’ talk to me that much, but the mother is very strong and very sociable. I have my own room here which used to be their living room. It is very nice and comfortable enough. They laughed at how much suitcases I had. The house is surrounded by gardens and a chicken coup, and the outhouse which is just a hole in the ground, is right next to the chickens. It makes going to the bathroom at night very noisy and inconvenient, but at least it is not snowy (yet!) The family has hosted 3 volunteers before, all of which the mother seems to have loved, so I definitely have hope for this relationship.

My first day here was definitely very awkward and not one of my best. I was feeling sick and nervous upon being dropped off (and bad for the amount of luggage I had). Also, I spoke but 3 words of Romanian. There were no children at the house to break the tension so I found myself either sitting by myself for most of the day, not sure what to do, or doing something wrong (ie going out without my skirt being ironed, or not understanding that I ws supposed to unpack.) Things definitely will get better though. I am just trying to push past this initial distaste for the situation.

9/15/06

Now starts the serious part of PC, training. Dad, Tatie, various Aunts and Uncles, brothers!—do not worry—the vast majority of time in this training is spent on either language (Romanian) or Safety practices, both of which the Peace Corps demands we take seriously, and for obvious reasons. For example, we have to draw a DETAILED map from Chisinau to our houses in the villages so that the PC can pick us up if there is an emergency, and also we need to sketch a place in our village where a helicopter can land if the need arrises. Scary stuff, but necessary, no doubt.

More about Moldova so far.

The lei, the Moldovan dollar, is weak in comparison to the dollar. The rate of exchange is 13 lei for one dollar, and goods tend to be cheaper with the exchange rate. For example one beer is 18 lei, about $1.50. And a chicken kabob meal (can you tell we are treating ourselves nicely before we go to the villages?) was about 50 lei, or $4. The things that are much more expensive here despite the conversion rate are things that are hard to find, or that are imported. For example, one lady decided to purchase a hair dryer, standard without any features, and it was US $75. Ouch. Also skin products and soap are expensive. I am glad I brought all of that stuff with me, even if it meant lugging a few extra pounds!

The city has been interesting to be in. Many others are saying it is a “typical European City” … but I do not have the ability to make that comparison. I like it enough, and it feels safer than most American cities. People in Chisinau are very fashionable, and trendy, as you imagine any city would be. But the city here definitely stands in higher contrast to the villages in terms of wealth and fashion. Also if you wander around enough, you can see the visible signs of a post-communist community—ie. Statues of Lenin.
I am definitely enjoying my time here so far. I cannot believe a week has gone by since I last was in NJ. I do have my ups and downs, and sometimes they are more extreme then they would be at home, but in general, the highs outnumber the lows—and when there are lows—I don’t have to worry, because many of the others are having them too. We are staying in Chisinau for a few more days and then we will be broken up into groups of 6-7 people to train in smaller villages more like the places we will eventually be placed. I am looking forward to that because everyone knows I am not a city girl.

Going back quickly to the title of this post… the city lights in Chisinau are very much missing. It is not your perfect example of a huge city, however, for those of you counting, it does have 3 Mc Donald’s I believe.

**As I do not have an internet connection with my host family, I am dating each entry when I write it, regardless of when I post it to my blog. Sorry if they all end up being posted at once, I will post as soon as I get the chance, but our days are long and busy!**

9/13/06 – After many many hours and many many miles we eventually arrived in Moldova! Our plane left JFK and then there was a 13 hour flight (overnight) to Istanbul. In Istanbul we were able to check into a day room for 4 hours or so to take a nap, and then we boarded a smaller plane that took us to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.

The plane flights really were not that bad, all things considered. We first took a bus from Philly to JFK—a long ride indeed, but everyone was in good spirits and carrying high energy for the first part of our trip. Also, the bus ride served as a good time to get to know people a little better.

The night before we left from Philly the whole group went out for Mexican food and drink—Apparently it is very hard to find tacos in Moldova! The hardest part of the physical trip overseas was lugging all of our baggage (Picture 37 people trying to unload a bus at JFK curbside that is full of all of their luggage for 2 years… what a mess) to the counter to check in. While I was worried before about the weight of my bags, the people were very understanding of why we were a few pounds over. Security was definitely tight on all the flights, and I have to say, luckily, the only problem I had was being stopped to have someone check my lap top to see if it turned on.

When we arrived in Moldova current PC volunteers met us at the airport, clapping, yelling, being enthusiastic, helping us with our baggage and generally welcoming us to Moldova. They all seemed very outgoing and friendly—definitely a contrast to our overtired, hesitant, and smelly (after all that travel) group at the time. It was also good to get to talk to these current volunteers because they were in our shoes only one year ago.

The Americans who will be serving with me in the Peace Corps are a very diverse bunch. Think about your stereotype for peace corps volunteers and then throw it out the window. They range in age from 21 – 50, with the median age being around 25. I was definitely surprised that I was one of the youngest—many people joined the Peace Corps around the age 24-25, not fresh out of college. Many have a lot of life/work experience and I will definitely have a lot to live up to.

The night we arrived in Moldova, we had a grand welcoming ceremony at our hotel. During our welcome ceremony we met the director of the Peace Corps in Moldova, and were welcomed to the hotel where we were staying in Chisinau by a traditional Moldovan meal of bread, salt and wine! Yummy. We are all excited to explore the city, but it is very hard because we now speak NO Romanian and many people do not speak English in Moldova. It is a good thing we have the current PCV’s with us to help sort things out (ie ordering food). Tonight was just a taste of the excitement to come! It is invigorating to think that now that the traveling part is done, we can really begin the Peace Corps part!

So, it has officially started-- Peace Corps. None of this, "yeah I'm leaving for the PC in September" business.... I'm gone, I went. Well almost.

We (37 I think. all headed to serve in Moldova) of us arrived in Philly yesterday for a little something called Staging. Think of it as orientation, for the next 3 months of your life. And in Peace Corps terms, the next three months of our Peace Corps timeline is training, training for your actual two years of service. Quite a mouthful huh? But we have been assured over and over that we will be trained and provided to handle all situations, language, saftey and culturally speaking.

Well everyone that knows me (and you must, because why else would you be reading this?) knows how anxious I was about coming, and especially about meeting the people-- I get very shy in large groups (for those of you who know me well, you might have forgotten this...) But everyone here is extremely nice and very friendly. The volunteers have a wide range of ages and backgrounds, very very wide in fact and it is a pleasure getting to interact with people from all different walks of life.... and people who understand you almost immediately... because they too landed on this crazy thing called Peace Corps, for whatever reason it was. They don't think its crazy... or they think its crazy, but they can appreciate it. We have been hanging out in small groups and larger ones, and getting to know each other a little better-- but it has been very very overwhelming with the amount of information thrown at us. I am releived now that I have met some of my peers in the Peace Corps, and realise we are all in the same place, but I am still anxious about flying and Moldova. Day by day right? :)

We are leaving soon for Moldova where training will kick into high gear. So this might be the last you hear from me in a while!

To make this easier on myself, and on all of you, let me try to clear a few things up...


What exactly is this "peace corps thingy"?

• Peace Corps is a US government organization with three goals in mind (loosely quoted from the official Peace Corps site www.peacecorps.gov) :

1. Help people with specific needs in various communities worldwide.
2. Help promote a better understanding of Americans to others worldwide
3. Help promote a better understanding of other peoples to Americans

So when are you coming back, Christmas?

• All Peace Corps volunteers serve for 2 years and 3 months. The three months portion consists of a training period where we learn language, technical skills and cultural information. During this training we live with a host family in a village where other volunteers are also living. After training we are placed with a different family in a village by ourselves for the duration of the next two years. While I do get vacation days, a trip back to the US is expensive on a volunteer's salary. Only time will tell.
  

What exactly are you going to be doing there?

• This really can't be defined right now. My position is "Community and Organizational Development" and the focus of the program is on youth. While I will not be teaching them, I dfinitely will be working with children. The part about this program that I like is that it is very grounds up-- you live in a village and learn what types of things they feel like they need help with, and work on those.
  

Aren't you scared?

• Maybe a little, but the last I checked, the boogeyman hasn't been spotted in Moldova for quite a few years.... :)
  

What language do they speak in Moldova?

• Russian and Romanian/Moldovan. I am not yet sure which one I will be trained in.
  

What will you be eating?

• Whatever the host family I live with eats. Moldovan cuisine typically consists of vegetables, potatoes and starches. As a farming nation it relies greatly on the food it produces. For more info check out
• http://www.turism.md/eng/section/39/
• https://www.ce.pims.org/countries/moldova/moldova/FoodDrinks.htm
  

How can I get in touch with you?

• You can email me (sharonmariehakim at gmail.com), write a comment on this blog (click comment), or send me "snail mail." From now until mid-november:

What are you bringing/how do you pack for 2 years?

• 100 pounds. That's the limit, and it is a generous limit-- Peace Corps increases the poundage to 100 (from 80) for those of us going to cold weather countries. Also we need to be able to carry all of our own stuff. So a lot of warm clothes, a few presents for my host families, a few toiletries and of course many books (the majority of which I am mailing to myself!)
  

Will you have power/running water/the internet?

• It all depends on where they place me, however rural or urban it is, and the amount of development. Most likely I will have no running water, relatively reliable power, and random internet access.
  

Will you miss me?

• of course! But if you keep in touch with me, it will make me miss you less.

YOU, working for the government!? You aren't exactly a good representative of America.....

• Amusing, yes, but I enjoy this question. According to the Peace Corps "The Peace Corps actively recruits people from all backgrounds... who represent the rich diversity of the American people."
  

Is it weird posting an "FAQ" section on your life?

• For sure it was, but I am trying, to the best of my abilities to keep the confusion and rumors of mass chaos to a dull roar.
  

And there you have it... :)