Guest Posts - Public Transportation and the Winery
A BUS RIDE
We looked forward to our visit to the winery in Milestii Mici, that Sharon highly recommended . We took a taxi to get to Milestii Mici from Chisinau, because we tried the public transportation system in Chisinau. It was an adventure, but definitely not something that we wanted to repeat. The bus that we took reminded me of the buses that you would see on a National Geographic show. No one was actually hanging out the doors and windows , but I wished I had been. When we got on the bus, it was only crowded. With each additional stop more and more people crowded in and no one got off. The influx of more passengers, pushed us further and further into this very close space. We could only move if someone else shifted just slightly, as a result we became very “ friendly” with our other travelers. The windows were closed. Sharon explained that the draft from open windows was thought to make you sick. This was apparently an old wives tale that was held by most of the populace. By this time, I wished everyone had considered a shower before they had gotten on the bus. It seemed as if each person was carrying large sacks , filled mostly with produce. They were probably on their way to the piazza. The man with the sack of sticks and limbs was probably on his way to…??? After we opened our mouths and the passengers looked at our clothing , we were the Americans no one could take their eye off . As a result, we were pushed closer and closer together until I was sitting on a large sack of something I couldn’t identify. When I exited the bus, it seemed as if I was a cork exploding from bottle of champagne. Every day was a new adventure that we would not have changed for anything.
MARIA AND THE WINERY AT MILESTII MICI
We were going to meet Sharon’s first host Mom at the winery and I was a little anxious. Maria knew Sharon for more than 2 years and now she was going to meet some of Sharon’s American relatives. What were Maria’s opinions of us going to be? Maria had invited us to stay with her; in fact, Sharon said that Mara had insisted that we stay with her. When we met Maria at the winery, we were greeted with open arms and a beautiful welcoming smile. Maria had arraigned a private tour of the winery for us with an English-speaking guide. The winery was incredible. The outside of the tourist center was a huge fountain . It was designed to look like bottles of red and white wine pouring wine into wine glasses. One side of the fountain poured red and the other white. What fun! Maria is the winery’s biochemist in charge of maintaining the quality of the wine. Both the winery and Maria had won international medals for their wine. The medals were displayed proudly on the walls of the winery’s museum. Entering the winery was overwhelming. We faced 50 kilometers of wine. Only one third of the available underground space was currently being used. Can you imagine? The temperature was a constant 52 degrees F. A refreshing temperature for this Texan. The winery contained 1.5 million bottles of wine and 400 million (you did read that right) liters of wine. Americans are not aware of Moldovian wine because of import/export problems. Can you imagine what the output would be if these restrictions were lifted? What a boom to their stagnant economy. Our taxi driver joined us on our tour and he had no idea that such a treasure existed in his country. I found this hard to believe. I think this was an indication of a prevailing mindset of a many of the citizens. They had great pride in what was their own private personal realm but however ,no awareness of their own country’s wonders . (Editors Note: Or simply can't afford it. The wine cellar, unfortunately, is geared towards foreign travelers, and is out of the reach financially of most Moldovans).
When we arrived back in Chisinau, we rented a car so we could get around better. The international driver’s license we needed was known as a VISA Card. Now Curt would be driving with all the speeding Moldovian drivers. Sharon navigated and I sat in the back and watched the country go by during our return trip back to Milstein Mica Turning off the single main road, we faced narrow, deeply rutted country dirt roads. The houses were all hidden behind tall decorative metal fences. It was impossible to see the houses. When we opened the gate to Maria’s home, it was like entering a villa. We passed under an arbor that was weighed down with delicious, ripe purple grapes. We had to sample more and more as we walked. Maria had beautiful gardens, both flower and vegetable. Like the rest of her neighbors, she also raised chickens and had a plot of land not far from her home, which she cultivated. Maria had water well in the front yard and an outhouse in the side yard. I am not sure if they were far enough from each other, if you know what I mean. All the homes and public buildings that we visited had outhouses. Now, these were not your typical American outhouses. There were no seats, just a 6-inch hole in the ground. This was not the ideal situation for an old, arthritic, over weight American woman who was also suffering from “tourista”. Maria took compassion on me and let me use her newly installed bathroom that was not used often. For the reasons mentioned above, I was the exception. Even with Sharon’s translation, I never could understand why the toilet was not used. I believe it had to do with the difference between the gauge of the pipes in the house and the pipes running to the outside. (Editors Note: there is no real "piping" running in and out of the house - thus when you use the bathroom inside, it needs to be physicall emptied).
Maria’s home was sunny, neat, and clean and since her son was working in Moscow, there was room for us to have our own room for the night. Maria had recently up dated her kitchen with new cabinets and granite look counter tops. Her apartment sized appliances were also new, even the microwave Maria’s position at the winery allowed her to have a better quality of life than most of her neighbors. When Maria arrived home we started on dinner, I helped the best I could. Women worldwide are the queens in their own kitchens and work faster without help than they could with help. We enjoyed a delightful meal outside on the patio. Maria gave us some wine as a gift. Along with the wine, she gave us a towel. A towel is always given when a gift is presented. This tradition was “ lost in translation” to me and perhaps not known by Maria herself. Maria was our first introduction to the warm generous people of Moldova.
We looked forward to our visit to the winery in Milestii Mici, that Sharon highly recommended . We took a taxi to get to Milestii Mici from Chisinau, because we tried the public transportation system in Chisinau. It was an adventure, but definitely not something that we wanted to repeat. The bus that we took reminded me of the buses that you would see on a National Geographic show. No one was actually hanging out the doors and windows , but I wished I had been. When we got on the bus, it was only crowded. With each additional stop more and more people crowded in and no one got off. The influx of more passengers, pushed us further and further into this very close space. We could only move if someone else shifted just slightly, as a result we became very “ friendly” with our other travelers. The windows were closed. Sharon explained that the draft from open windows was thought to make you sick. This was apparently an old wives tale that was held by most of the populace. By this time, I wished everyone had considered a shower before they had gotten on the bus. It seemed as if each person was carrying large sacks , filled mostly with produce. They were probably on their way to the piazza. The man with the sack of sticks and limbs was probably on his way to…??? After we opened our mouths and the passengers looked at our clothing , we were the Americans no one could take their eye off . As a result, we were pushed closer and closer together until I was sitting on a large sack of something I couldn’t identify. When I exited the bus, it seemed as if I was a cork exploding from bottle of champagne. Every day was a new adventure that we would not have changed for anything.
MARIA AND THE WINERY AT MILESTII MICI
We were going to meet Sharon’s first host Mom at the winery and I was a little anxious. Maria knew Sharon for more than 2 years and now she was going to meet some of Sharon’s American relatives. What were Maria’s opinions of us going to be? Maria had invited us to stay with her; in fact, Sharon said that Mara had insisted that we stay with her. When we met Maria at the winery, we were greeted with open arms and a beautiful welcoming smile. Maria had arraigned a private tour of the winery for us with an English-speaking guide. The winery was incredible. The outside of the tourist center was a huge fountain . It was designed to look like bottles of red and white wine pouring wine into wine glasses. One side of the fountain poured red and the other white. What fun! Maria is the winery’s biochemist in charge of maintaining the quality of the wine. Both the winery and Maria had won international medals for their wine. The medals were displayed proudly on the walls of the winery’s museum. Entering the winery was overwhelming. We faced 50 kilometers of wine. Only one third of the available underground space was currently being used. Can you imagine? The temperature was a constant 52 degrees F. A refreshing temperature for this Texan. The winery contained 1.5 million bottles of wine and 400 million (you did read that right) liters of wine. Americans are not aware of Moldovian wine because of import/export problems. Can you imagine what the output would be if these restrictions were lifted? What a boom to their stagnant economy. Our taxi driver joined us on our tour and he had no idea that such a treasure existed in his country. I found this hard to believe. I think this was an indication of a prevailing mindset of a many of the citizens. They had great pride in what was their own private personal realm but however ,no awareness of their own country’s wonders . (Editors Note: Or simply can't afford it. The wine cellar, unfortunately, is geared towards foreign travelers, and is out of the reach financially of most Moldovans).
When we arrived back in Chisinau, we rented a car so we could get around better. The international driver’s license we needed was known as a VISA Card. Now Curt would be driving with all the speeding Moldovian drivers. Sharon navigated and I sat in the back and watched the country go by during our return trip back to Milstein Mica Turning off the single main road, we faced narrow, deeply rutted country dirt roads. The houses were all hidden behind tall decorative metal fences. It was impossible to see the houses. When we opened the gate to Maria’s home, it was like entering a villa. We passed under an arbor that was weighed down with delicious, ripe purple grapes. We had to sample more and more as we walked. Maria had beautiful gardens, both flower and vegetable. Like the rest of her neighbors, she also raised chickens and had a plot of land not far from her home, which she cultivated. Maria had water well in the front yard and an outhouse in the side yard. I am not sure if they were far enough from each other, if you know what I mean. All the homes and public buildings that we visited had outhouses. Now, these were not your typical American outhouses. There were no seats, just a 6-inch hole in the ground. This was not the ideal situation for an old, arthritic, over weight American woman who was also suffering from “tourista”. Maria took compassion on me and let me use her newly installed bathroom that was not used often. For the reasons mentioned above, I was the exception. Even with Sharon’s translation, I never could understand why the toilet was not used. I believe it had to do with the difference between the gauge of the pipes in the house and the pipes running to the outside. (Editors Note: there is no real "piping" running in and out of the house - thus when you use the bathroom inside, it needs to be physicall emptied).
Maria’s home was sunny, neat, and clean and since her son was working in Moscow, there was room for us to have our own room for the night. Maria had recently up dated her kitchen with new cabinets and granite look counter tops. Her apartment sized appliances were also new, even the microwave Maria’s position at the winery allowed her to have a better quality of life than most of her neighbors. When Maria arrived home we started on dinner, I helped the best I could. Women worldwide are the queens in their own kitchens and work faster without help than they could with help. We enjoyed a delightful meal outside on the patio. Maria gave us some wine as a gift. Along with the wine, she gave us a towel. A towel is always given when a gift is presented. This tradition was “ lost in translation” to me and perhaps not known by Maria herself. Maria was our first introduction to the warm generous people of Moldova.
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 11:49 AM.
