One Week In..

...and the ups and downs keep coming! I have been sleeping a lot this week, but it's now Saturday and I am about to enjoy my first day off tomorrow! To recap a little, here are some observations from the week:

6/14

I began intensive language training and technical training. Four hours of Romanian followed by four ours community delvelopment training. Other than class I think I just slept? Too long ago to remember. Although I found out my host family listens to kiss FM so thank goodness for Rihanna and Shakira. They are my rocks as I navigate this new world. I am living with a lovely local family that does not speak any English with me, so I am being quickly integrated. 

6/15

Cynthia helped a goat get unstuck from barbed wire! Also we discovered two more magazines (stores) in our village! Our village is the smallest of the training villages, and can feel a bit isolating at times, but as we adventure into new parts of the village we learn of more exciting places to purchase delicious chocolates.

6/16

Our group met the other Peace Corps Trainees at hub for the first time since we left the hotel. There were plenty of exciting exchanges and you couldn't tell we'd all seen each other five days previously. We will see how those interactions change weekly.

Surprise shots again: Typhoid and Rabies. No mom I didn't pass out, and yes I laid down for them. My friend Andre and I keep winding up getting shots together; they're a little more bonding than other shots I've had.

What's better than surprise shots? Diarrhea! Yes people are already getting giardia, and yes I'm still going to eat the cereşi right off the tree, but we have now been briefed thoroughly on why we will all get diarrhea at some point during service.

After our lovely hub sight discussions, our group stopped by a store to pick up some things not available in our village. I have been yearning for some mouth wash, but I'm here for the full experience so I purchased the Russian mouthwash. After translating, it's supposedly for inflamed mouths or something, but it's got a picture of a tooth on it so I went for it. Turns out it was not spearmint but rather pinecone and soap flavored. Mmmmm.

Of course our bus never showed up so we were flexible and took multiple buses back to our village. On our walk home I saw some folks walking their cows down the strada (street) by my house, they seemed like pretty nice cows.

I was home late and my host mother told me she was worried. That's when it sunk in that I'm in The Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state, and my host mother was my age when the Berlin Wall fell.

6/17
Today it's continuing to sink in as I hear personal stories from Soviet times. There's a difference between reading about history in books that are so easily detachable, but to feel the memories from the eyes of those who lived those stories, and continue to fight through today's struggles is both inspiring and bone-chilling. A moment of emboldened passion occurred during these conversations when I looked down at my Google translate app to see the words, "ne descurcam (we can handle it)" and I knew she was right.

This week has been full of realizations, small victories, a lot of unexpected challenges, and a daily experience of shoulder-shrugging, thinking "really??", and diving into the unknown head-first. And now, for some time to let it sink in.

Day Two of Training

6/13
Wowzers was that the point of no return, from a fairly nice hotel with running water, snacks all the time, and the utmost comfort of being surrounded by English speakers, to complete and thorough confusion and a little too large of a crutch on Facebook messenger to maintain my daily grasp on the idea of functional language usage.

I moved into my host family's home on Sunday 6/13 and have been existing on vişine, chereşi, şi Google translate since. Also there's this puppy named Moți, who rolls in dirt and is adorable. We really get each other.

My host family is a couple with a son working abroad and another 17 year old son waiting to depart. He has expressed interest in me teaching him English so I'm hoping that will help us bond. The mother works in a similar field to my Community and Organization Development Program and I am hoping to bond on that commonality as well as learn more about such functions in the small Moldovan village setting. I still don't know what the father does and we don't speak much, but they seem comfortable with me as they lounge with our twelve cats so it's a solid start.

The house is very comfortable and clean, which is a large sense of pride here in Moldova. My room is on a second floor overlooking two joined rolling hills where I enjoy the view of farmers harvesting grapes for wine among other produce. Cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes are large here, and it is currently cherry season; so current that right now I am eating chereşi (sweet cherries, pictured below) while sitting next to the vişine (sour cherry) tree. We have also eaten a lot of chicken and fish lately, so I'm counting the days until I get to watch a chicken get butchered.

Language class has been absolutely exhausting the last two days, going four hours in the morning with two breaks. Yesterday I napped after class and today I napped at lunch. It's not good for my time adjustment but it's good for the soul so I'm not worried about it.

Our first technical training was today and it was a pleasant break to speak in English for a while. It's interesting how such an expected thing becomes a challenge overnight, and to such an extent that other challenges like training seem far more achievable.

After technical training I had tea (ceai) with my host mom and she said my language is improving... this was my first win! I'm still overwhelmed with the language but a slight improvement is all I need to know I'm getting somewhere!

Afterwards I watched my host brother play futbol with some other kids from the village. It was fun to watch kids have fun on the new field at the school, although the intermittent ploaie (rain) was an entertaining obstacle.

To make today the best day so far, I took my first bath since leaving Colorado, and it was the epitome of a perfect bath. Hot, comfortable, and so cleansing after a long day. As confusing and uncomfortable this language barrier may be, today was a win for me thanks to my host family. Mulƫumesc pentru toate.

Waiting to Meet My Host Family

6/10

We've been in this 80s style hotel next to Transnistria for a few days and we've all become comfortable with our existence right before we depart for our host families. The weather has been I bit humid but sunny and beautiful. The food has been a little too comforting, as I've eaten amazing pastries and hearty meals about five times a day-i don't know if this is how all trainies have it but I'm feeling quite pampered.

The Dniester River, across from the hotel in Vadul Lui Vodă

The best moment occurred yesterday during a cultural dance with some locals. We watched them dance to drums, a trumpet and an accordion to polka and similar dances. At the end we all danced together, and I had the honor of dancing with the shortest oldest lady in the circle. We all smiled and laughed, and it was one of those moments when I really appreciated that I get to experience more of the culture starting tomorrow.

I will be moving into my host family site tomorrow, which is only a little terrifying. The not knowing what to expect, and the initial awkwardness are neither dreadful as the thought that we absolutely will not communicate effectively whatsoever for the the foreseeable beginning of our time together.