Where is Moldova, anyway?

Another Volunteer has created a Moldova slide show, which I think is really well done. Check it out here:

Moldova in Pictures

He has a good eye for photographs, and collected many from different volunteers. The slide show does a great job of showing what we volunteers see and encounter every single day! Thanks, Gary!

The saying, “the best thing since sliced bread,” is not heard here in conversations for one principal reason– the bread here, is not sliced. Yes, you heard correctly, I am CURRENTLY living in a part of the world that is still in the mid-to-late pre-sliced bread era.

Bread, in Moldova, is sold fresh. Which means, unpackaged, from the factory – or unpackaged from a store that got a delivery from the factory. They must make it at least twice a week – as bread is relatively fresh, and sits out all day long. All the loaves are connected into one big long brick. Kind of like a hersheys bar looks. You can see the individual pieces of chocolate, but they are connected. You go to the store, ask for bread, they rip off a “piece” and you are on you’re way.

And ps, all the bread here is white…

Although it’s yet to become a trend, and it is hardly popular, I have seen small loaves of brownish SLICED bread in the capital, and the other big city (Balti). But on the two times that I bought such bread – my host mom criticized it as dry and tasteless (which it was).

Sandwiches, as you can imagine, are not a popular thing here. No heros, no subs, no pb&j. When Moldovan’s eat bread, (which is almost with every meal – eating a meal without a bread could be construed as a cardinal sin), they dip it. Into potatoes, into soup, into sour crème. And dipping, is okay to do with chunks. Maybe the sandwich vs sit-down-and-eat-hot-soup-and-a-large-meal-homecooked battle is more of a cultural thing... And maybe America loses this battle -- as people in Moldova still have time for lunch, for meals, and don't always have to eat-on-the go. PLUS, their bread is fresher...

Me, I do miss good, dark bread. I know fresh bread is supposed to be “better” – but yuck white bread, in my personal opinion. I do enjoy walking home and smelling the fresh bread at the factory near our house. On the day after Christmas (I will post more about Christmas once the holiday season in Moldova is over – we still have 2 more weeks), I had a turkey sandwich with some dark yummy bread (we sliced it ourselves) that we bought in my friend’s city. (oh the advantages of living in a real city in peace corps). We also had real, spicy mustard from America. It was YUMMY…. Whoever knew a sandwich could make me so happy?

Anyway, for your winter enjoyment, here is my favorite WINTER recipe from my pre-sliced bread Moldovan town. In my humble opinion, I consider this the best thing BEFORE sliced bread...

Hot Cocoa:

2 tbs cocoa (unsweetened)
2 tbs sugar (sweet!)

Add hot water. Mix. Enjoy!

Simple yes, delicious yes, and kicks-the-pants-off Swiss Mix, yes.

Small-town politics are the same everywhere -- it's all about who you know, or how loud you talk.

Singerei, thanks in part (okay a huge hefty 90% part) to an EU development aid program, is getting gas to heat homes and buildings. Whether this is an advancement in terms of pollution and natural resources, I'm not sure -- but it is definitely easier than the chopping down wood / lugging coal process that is necessary for the sobas (stoves Moldovans use to heat their homes). And it is faster. You cannot turn on the soba to heat your house while you are at work -- it is too dangerous and will burn out without being tended. Gas heat works better when it is cold... and it is cold.

The pipeline bringing the gas to our village has been in place since September. Why, then, does no one have gas? Because no one can decide who will get the gas first.

The past two town council meetings, as well as the emergency meeting declared last week, have led to no results-- only screaming matches (screaming by the way, becomes more interesting the more languages involved -- I counted 4 at the last meeting). Construction keeps starting and stopping, moving, starting again. Holes supposedly for pipes keep getting covered in by dirt, mud and snow. Everyone wants gas before the winter.

But it is winter, already. Today I saw workers return to the original spot where they started installing gas piping in September -- down the main street of our town. The word on the street is that it was settled under the table, so to speak. But who knows for sure.

The mayor threatened to turn off the gas for good if an agreement wasn't accepted by all. Yes, that's right -- just another form of a -- if you all don't behave none of you get desert parenting policy.

maybe he's onto something...

Many of you have asked me for a "reading list" -- some suggestions of books that talk about my experience here, that describe the culture, etc. I appreciate the fact that you all want to learn more about this interesting little country. While I have been reading, and reading a lot, I need to take some more time and think about which books I should suggest... as we all know, artistic liberty can lead one astray, especially in fiction books, and especially when the books are dealing with a "fast changing/developing" nation, like Moldova.

Until then, I leave you with the following links:

Moldova Time Line: An outline of the major political, cultural and economic shifts that have marked this nation's development so far. (Note: the current territory of Moldova was referred to in the past as Bessarabia)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1113586.stm

Trans-Dneister: The basics of the rouge, break-away state on the East of Moldova-- where Russia's troop presence still draws attention to the otherwise relatively unknown area and country.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3641826.stm


Also, if you have the chance, BBC created a set of documentaries called "Places That Don't Exist". I recently watched the Peace Corps copy of this program on Trans-Dneister, and thought it was very representative of the situation. If you can find a copy, I suggest you watch it. For more on this series, look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_That_Don't_Exist,
and for a summary of the episode, check out the BBC series guide here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/4532267.stm
Warning: it treats Trans-Dneister as a "soviet theme park." Not to say that this is or is not true...

Happy learning!

Before leaving for the Peace Corps, myself, an unnamed friend, and an unnamed brother spent many hours at the Ramsey Outdoor Store, a local outing friendly sports equipment dealer. Many hours. Yes, I was leaving for the Peace Corps for two years, but did that really merit paying THAT much for "smart" socks.

It turns out, it did. And it's a good thing I was convinced into it (thank you unnamed friend who reminded me that our limbs do not regrow if they freeze off, and unnamed brother who wined enough to have the salesperson want to help us quickly to get us out of there faster).

It is cold in Moldova. Not colder than NJ, but comparable. Why am I colder here? Two factors: 1) In NJ, I drove everywhere. Here, these boots were made for walking.... and 2) Central Heating vs our coal and wood burning stove in Moldova.

I love my expensive socks for how warm they keep my feet during long, long walks. Yes, they have outlasted my regular socks which have all bit the dust by now. And they are not so clunky that its difficult to walk in them. Good purchase.

I don't know if you remember one of my earliest posts last year referring to the Moldovans "mothering" us. Where are you going without a hat? Why are you walking around the house without slippers? Why do you eat your oatmeal without spoonfuls of sugar? ... while this annoyed me at times, thinking -- I never wear slippers at home -- the Moldovans, it turns out, know more about living/surviving/being comfortable in Moldova than I do. Yes, in America we don't need to wear slippers and several pairs of socks inside in the winter, thanks to things such as central heating and insulation. In Moldova, while my soba (the name for the coal burning/wood burning miracle that keeps my room warm) really does work -- the ground, and the walls are linked straight to the outside. So while I fought against wearing socks all the time, and didn't understand why my host mom didn't want my bed to be next to the wall -- now I do. It's cold outside. And its colder inside when that which is separating you from the outside, isn't so thick. (if that sentence made sense).

While I am glad I brought my intelligent wools, though, I love my Moldovan socks oh-so-much-better for time spent at home. My Moldovan socks were "darned" for me by my host grandmother, who upon inspection of the socks I brought with me from America, deemed that I didn't pack right, and would hence freeze. They are thick, cozy and home made. And I wear two pairs at a time, and I love it... and I love them. I think, however smelly they end up being or however worn -- they are coming back to America with me.... so look out world.