The following are strictly personal views/observations and in no way reflect the views of the Peace Corp nor the federal government of the United States.
Random Thoughts From Moldova
- Top Ten Luxuries for this Peace Corp Volunteer in Moldova
10. Speaking English
9. Long Underwear
8. Meat (Preferable Not Internal Organs)
7. Pasteurized Cheese
6. Pudding
5. Any Movie Not Seen 25 Times (Three Times with the Audio Commentary)
4. Normal Sized Pillow (Not Filled with Down)
3. Drinking Water that does not Result in a Wicked Case of Diarrhea
2. Hot Running Water
1. Spring Mattress
- To All Hippies: I know having a farm and living off the land is the ultimate hippie reverie, I have had similar fantasies of self sufficiency. But no more do I have that aspiration; now that I have had a little taste of farm work and being partially self sustaining, I realize that is totally a pipedream. Farm work is hard, farm work is age you long before your years hard. So to all those hippies dreaming of getting a farm up in West Virginia and not having to live your life by anyone else’s lead, I hate to urinate in your breakfast cereal, but forget it.
- I am amazed how many Peace Corp volunteers in Moldova choose to commemorate their service in Moldova by having the likeness of Stephan Cel Mare tattooed on their body. For those of you not acquainted with Stephan Cel Mare, he was the cousin of the infamous Vlad Dracul (the Romanian ruler who was the inspiration for the Bram Stoker novel Dracula). Stephan Cel Mare and Vlad Dracul shared the familial penchant for impaling sizeable portions of the populace. Although, considering the large number of monuments and street names to his credit all over Moldova, I assume the general population of Moldova has chosen to disregard Stephan Cel Mare’s less appealing qualities. Personally, to commemorate my service in Moldova I am going to have an impaled individual tattooed on my upper right thigh.
- I had always assumed, growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, that all leaves on almost all trees changed colors in the fall. I now know that was an incorrect assumption because most leaves in Moldova do not change colors. There is almost no changing of leaf color here. There are many of the same varieties of trees as we have in North Carolina however something about the climate here makes the leaves not change. What happens if leaves don’t change colors? They just turn brown after the first frost and fall off the trees, it is incredibly uneventful and has given me a renewed sense of appreciation for the brilliant colors that emerge during the fall in North Carolina. Fortunately for me, during my time in Moldova I can remember how those brilliantly colored fall trees look, because I have an image of them forever memorialized on my lower back.
- The Moldovan word for mud is ‘glod.’ Say the word once or twice. Glod. Because the mental image that word conjures makes it the perfect word for mud, no matter what your first language. For me, the word ‘glod’ has connotations of dirty, slippery, pervasive, moist dirt; which is exactly how mud in Moldova is. Here the mud is not the kind that your feet sink into. The mud here is slippery, so slippery it makes walking treacherous with an element of futility; considering, after you take three steps forward you slide back one step. It is also not feasible to go anywhere without becoming covered in mud, somehow it always finds its way onto your clothes. Glod is unquestionably my arch nemesis in Moldova.
- Moldovans and trash have an interesting relationship. Moldovans are unquestionably resourceful and without any element of waste, however it is impossible to not create any trash. But in Moldova there is not the infrastructure to have trash pickup or landfills, thus, Moldovans are forced to cope with their trash autonomously. The most popular way to dispose of trash that can not be reused is to burn it, yet, not all trash can be burned. Trash such as old deodorant sticks, toothpaste tubes, and other such things present a disposal problem. This sort of trash they throw into the outhouse. Which I must admit seems like a unique solution, one I would never have considered. Most recently disposed of in our outhouse are broken panes of glass. They replaced some cracked windows and I guess did not know what to do with the old damaged panes, thus, into the outhouse they went. Now at the bottom of the outhouse chasm is a collection of glass shards, in addition to the deodorant sticks and toothpaste tubes. Maybe they are under the impression that human waste will make this matter deteriorate more hastily.
- Apparently it is possible for people to consume the bones of animals. I had always known it was feasible to eat the bones, I had just never witnessed it nor had the personal inclination to try it. Well, now I have seen it done and I could not help but stare with my mouth agape during the whole event. This particular bone consumer’s tactic was to crack the bone with her molars, then use her canines to disassemble the bone, finally once she had gotten the bone into pieces she would suck out the marrow with an detectable slurping sound. I felt like I had suddenly been beamed into a David Lynch movie, it was surreal and slightly disconcerting.
Random Thoughts From Moldova
- Top Ten Luxuries for this Peace Corp Volunteer in Moldova
10. Speaking English
9. Long Underwear
8. Meat (Preferable Not Internal Organs)
7. Pasteurized Cheese
6. Pudding
5. Any Movie Not Seen 25 Times (Three Times with the Audio Commentary)
4. Normal Sized Pillow (Not Filled with Down)
3. Drinking Water that does not Result in a Wicked Case of Diarrhea
2. Hot Running Water
1. Spring Mattress
- To All Hippies: I know having a farm and living off the land is the ultimate hippie reverie, I have had similar fantasies of self sufficiency. But no more do I have that aspiration; now that I have had a little taste of farm work and being partially self sustaining, I realize that is totally a pipedream. Farm work is hard, farm work is age you long before your years hard. So to all those hippies dreaming of getting a farm up in West Virginia and not having to live your life by anyone else’s lead, I hate to urinate in your breakfast cereal, but forget it.
- I am amazed how many Peace Corp volunteers in Moldova choose to commemorate their service in Moldova by having the likeness of Stephan Cel Mare tattooed on their body. For those of you not acquainted with Stephan Cel Mare, he was the cousin of the infamous Vlad Dracul (the Romanian ruler who was the inspiration for the Bram Stoker novel Dracula). Stephan Cel Mare and Vlad Dracul shared the familial penchant for impaling sizeable portions of the populace. Although, considering the large number of monuments and street names to his credit all over Moldova, I assume the general population of Moldova has chosen to disregard Stephan Cel Mare’s less appealing qualities. Personally, to commemorate my service in Moldova I am going to have an impaled individual tattooed on my upper right thigh.
- I had always assumed, growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, that all leaves on almost all trees changed colors in the fall. I now know that was an incorrect assumption because most leaves in Moldova do not change colors. There is almost no changing of leaf color here. There are many of the same varieties of trees as we have in North Carolina however something about the climate here makes the leaves not change. What happens if leaves don’t change colors? They just turn brown after the first frost and fall off the trees, it is incredibly uneventful and has given me a renewed sense of appreciation for the brilliant colors that emerge during the fall in North Carolina. Fortunately for me, during my time in Moldova I can remember how those brilliantly colored fall trees look, because I have an image of them forever memorialized on my lower back.
- The Moldovan word for mud is ‘glod.’ Say the word once or twice. Glod. Because the mental image that word conjures makes it the perfect word for mud, no matter what your first language. For me, the word ‘glod’ has connotations of dirty, slippery, pervasive, moist dirt; which is exactly how mud in Moldova is. Here the mud is not the kind that your feet sink into. The mud here is slippery, so slippery it makes walking treacherous with an element of futility; considering, after you take three steps forward you slide back one step. It is also not feasible to go anywhere without becoming covered in mud, somehow it always finds its way onto your clothes. Glod is unquestionably my arch nemesis in Moldova.
- Moldovans and trash have an interesting relationship. Moldovans are unquestionably resourceful and without any element of waste, however it is impossible to not create any trash. But in Moldova there is not the infrastructure to have trash pickup or landfills, thus, Moldovans are forced to cope with their trash autonomously. The most popular way to dispose of trash that can not be reused is to burn it, yet, not all trash can be burned. Trash such as old deodorant sticks, toothpaste tubes, and other such things present a disposal problem. This sort of trash they throw into the outhouse. Which I must admit seems like a unique solution, one I would never have considered. Most recently disposed of in our outhouse are broken panes of glass. They replaced some cracked windows and I guess did not know what to do with the old damaged panes, thus, into the outhouse they went. Now at the bottom of the outhouse chasm is a collection of glass shards, in addition to the deodorant sticks and toothpaste tubes. Maybe they are under the impression that human waste will make this matter deteriorate more hastily.
- Apparently it is possible for people to consume the bones of animals. I had always known it was feasible to eat the bones, I had just never witnessed it nor had the personal inclination to try it. Well, now I have seen it done and I could not help but stare with my mouth agape during the whole event. This particular bone consumer’s tactic was to crack the bone with her molars, then use her canines to disassemble the bone, finally once she had gotten the bone into pieces she would suck out the marrow with an detectable slurping sound. I felt like I had suddenly been beamed into a David Lynch movie, it was surreal and slightly disconcerting.
posted by Klharmon | 11:36 AM
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