Where is Moldova, anyway?

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... :)

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 at 11:57 PM.