City Nights, not Lights
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.
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.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at 2:35 PM.
