The Lighter Way to Enjoy Culture Shock

2008-11-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Every country has its own brand of Wheel of Fortune. Thus far I have seen Russian Wheel of Fortune called Land of Dreams and Turkish Wheel of Fortune which goes by the same name as the American version.

The most obvious deviations from the Wheel of Fortune to which I am most accustomed:

- Russian Wheel of Fortune involves children in Russian military uniforms, which might be boy scout ensembles

- There is also a tremendous amount of chanting and un-gratifying synchronized clapping in the Russian edition

- Turkish Wheel of Fortune has their Vanna White equivalent uniformed in a garish wedding gown

- While Turk Vanna White, the wedding cake topper ensembled letter turner, is not slaving away rotating portions of the alphabet she entertains the audience and home-viewers by dancing to the commercial break music, being that Turkey is a conservative country she does not remove any clothing during the dancing interludes. However, she is often accompanied in this dancing display by the show’s host.

I feel that the television game show hosts in Turkey work harder for their money than the American game show hosts, who clearly have a cushy position considering the lack of commercial break entertainment provided by the television hosts of America.

2008-11-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

Remembrance of Moldova: As an American, accustomed to the unorganized applause which is typical to the States, I must observe that synchronized clapping is really crazy the first time you experience it. The volume attained by the synced clap is just as great as the volume of US applause; the only difference is that everyone is clapping together in a coordinated fashion. Nevertheless, I imagine that synchronized clapping would be less rewarding for the receiver of the phalangical praise.

2008-11-02T02:24:00.001-08:00

At the discount grocery store, which is reminiscent of Sam’s Club in a cramped New York City basement, candy bars are sold for 20 cents a piece. (The normal candy bar price is between 50 cents and one dollar) Sometimes I feel embarrassed when I go into the discount grocery because I always buy like 10 cheap candy bars and nothing else. But thanks to the Turkish partiality for sweets, I am absolved in the check-out line because there is always at least one other person who is there solely to buy a plethora of cheap candy bars.
The moral of this story: when in Turkey, never feel self-conscious about your penchant for over-consumption of sweets; because no matter what obscene amount of dessert foods you desire the person next to you is probably there for the exact same thing.
Case in point: I have seen two men at Mado Ice-Cream Parlor shamelessly eating huge bowls of sutlac, rice-pudding, while drinking large strawberry milkshakes.

2008-10-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Turkey has bred a population that watches things. They love to watch things, especially people, to the extent that they will watch, with almost unflagging attention, the most mundane of spectacles.

To exemplify the degree of tediousness, I have come across a pack of three or four people watching the digging of a hole. Not an interesting hole, such as a hole which is being dug with the latest of John Deere and CAT’s combined technology, but a hole being dug by one man with a shovel. In this case, it was neither a unique shovel nor a unique man, just a regular guy with an average shovel.

It is quite possible that these people watching the regular guy with the average shovel were only captivated for a short period of time. But I question the brevity of their spectating since I have also seen groups drawn, and held for a considerable period of time, by activities such as putting down/taking up paving stones or washing windows on the first floor of a building. So, you can imagine the veritable melee that occurs when something interesting happens on the street, like a fight or someone getting hit by a car.

I wonder if it is enjoyable being so easily entertained. I can see how it would have its advantages in certain circumstances such as long bus rides and boring meetings.

2008-10-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Scandal of Knees

The reaction of the general Turkish male populace to the sight of exposed female knees is similar to the reaction shown by the American male populace if a woman was walking down the street with a nipple slightly exposed.

It seems that anywhere in Istanbul it is obvious when an exposed-knee woman is walking down the street due to the flock of goggle eyed men turning, staring and commenting.

What I wonder is if they stare at local knees as well as foreign knees? Being a foreigner I can only speak to my own experiences which are composed of unremitting knee staring.

My theory is that they think that foreign female knees are different from Turkish female knees, for instance maybe there is a misconception that foreign knees bend backwards, in the opposite direction of regular knees. Or maybe they think that nipples sprout from our knees instead of our breasts thus they are giving thorough visual inspection in search of a knee nipple.

2007-10-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

I always thought that fasting during Ramadan, no food or drink from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening, would result in some amount of weight loss on a nationwide scale. Incorrect!

Actually, Ramadan fasting causes a general weight gain of about 5 kilos. Because consuming nothing for more than twelve hours sends your metabolism into a tail spin and then on top of that the non-fasting hours are spent pigging out on lentil soup, lamb and flat bread.

Additionally, due to the daylight hour calorie deficit there is a decrease in physical activity. What an unpleasant way to get fat.

(In my experience, Ramadan also tends to equal general societal crotchetiness due to low blood sugar)

2007-10-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Circumcision is quite the ubiquitous tradition. The Christians in America prefer a quick slicing and dicing right after birth while the Jews have an entire party centered around the act of foreskin removal.

In Turkey, the Muslims choose to wait until the tender age range of six to eight years old. At this point they dress their boys in miniaturized pimp outfits, complete with hat and feather lined cape, and parade them down the street; thereby, allowing strangers to lavish the unknowing and unsuspecting boys in sympathetic looks.

The rest of the ceremony has a similar tone to a christening or a baptism, complete with the taking of pre-ceremonial family photos and consumption of finger foods, the main difference being that the splashing of some water and hair dampening is a painless, non traumatic event while circumcision….

2007-06-02T14:58:00.001-07:00

I have noticed since being back in America, after having been in Moldova for the period of a year that things seem a little different. In reality, things are exactly the same but not the same through my eyes. I theorize that this is because I have suddenly been put into a situation in which I am cognizant of seeing things from a different point of view. On the list of things that suddenly seem culturally interesting:
Guest Rooms (an entire bedroom dedicated solely to the possibility that someone might need to sleepover, definitely a phenomenon which occurs primarily in countries under the developed heading)
Coon Dog Days/Firefly Festival/WoolyWorm Festival (no offense to these events intended, I have attended them all and they were lovely affairs; but, one must admit that it is a unique selection of species in which to pay homage)
Petting Zoos (a place where children can pet and feed barnyard animals... creatures that in most countries are considered commonplace necessities that must be taken care of in order for consumption, not something on which you lavish affection)

2007-06-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

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.

During hot weather in Moldova, some of the men attempt to minimize the heat by being unfettered by clothes; so, they walk around in only their underwear and pastel colored flip-flops. (Side note: Boxers don’t exist in Moldova, the male underwear options here consist of tighty whities, banana hammocks or nothing.) Fetching water from the community well, walking to the local convenience store to buy bread or beer, visiting the neighbors’ house, any number of everyday activities can be done wearing nothing but underwear and flip-flops. As such, on any given afternoon on a hot day in Moldova, gaggles of men of various ages can be seen meandering around the village in small, tight pairs of underwear and flip-flops.

2007-05-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

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.

Rubbing alcohol, traditionally used as a disinfectant for cuts, is dyed dark green in Moldova. This colorant was added because so many people in Moldova were drinking it.

I am not sure if the green colorant is a deterrent to the potential rubbing alcohol drinker or if the colorant serves the purpose of making the rubbing alcohol drinkers easily identifiable; because, the colorant would definitely serve to give the lips, tongue and teeth a green hue.

When one sees a person with obviously green lips and mouth, what is the appropriate course of action? Do you comment, “you have something green all over your mouth, have you been into the disinfectant again”; or, would you just know it was time to organize an intervention.

Personally, when I see someone with green lips my first thoughts run to oral gangrene rather than rubbing alcohol drinker.

2007-05-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

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.

Last week I got stuck in an elevator with four other people.

The elevator was about half the size of the standard American elevator and was not equipped with an emergency phone.

After all five of us packed into the elevator the doors closed with an ominous slam, and we knew a problem was afoot when the floor buttons had been repeatedly pushed and the result was nil.

Once we had come to the realization that the doors were not going to open nor was the elevator going to move we began pushing the buzzer button. The buzzer button’s purpose was to make a faint humming noise in the corridor right outside the elevator; needless to say, no one came rushing to our aid since no one outside a three foot radius could have heard the noise made by the buzzer button. We then discontinued use of the buzzer button and concluded that yelling would be a more effective means of attaining assistance from someone outside the confines of the elevator.

We saved our energy, since we knew we might be in the elevator for a potentially incalculable period of time, by only yelling when we heard someone in the corridor outside the elevator. Our yelling must have seemed overly calm because despite our calls for assistance still no one came to our aid. After about twenty minutes of hollering a gaggle of children had appeared outside the elevator door.

The children didn’t do much in the way of helping, instead they harassed us like we were ‘a cat in a bag’. First, they said dirty things through the door in various languages; then, proceeded onto prying the elevator doors open just enough to stick a screwdriver through the crack between the doors. Eventually, the children tired of us and went onto other malevolent activities. Thus, we resumed our systematic yelling.

Finally, we were able to elicit the help of an adult. However, he would only help us after he went to the store. So, he left us with ‘a lick and a promise’ of his assistance upon return. We neither saw nor heard from him again.

At this point, we gave up on getting out of the elevator and began to take pictures to document our escapade. During this documentation period the elevator doors miraculously opened. When the doors opened, standing on the other side was a man who was borderline coherent due to excessive alcohol consumption. If he was the one who opened the doors, we will never know; because, as soon as we exited the elevator he began to chase us. Thusly, the five of us sprinted up four flights of stairs to our destination apartment with the not entirely coherent but shockingly spry drunk man on our heels.

Total time clocked stuck in the elevator: 50 minutes

2007-04-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

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.

There are approximately 10 holidays a month in Moldova. Not all are celebrated per se, but all are recognized to some degree. Some examples of types of holidays here: Grandmothers Day, Womens Day, Childrens Day, Saint Maria’s Day, Day of the Dead, Martisoral, New Years, Orthodox New Years, Romanian Language Day, Independence Day, Victory Day, Hram/Village Anniversary (often celebrated for your own village as well as every village within a 30km radius), Fire Day, Saint Andrew’s Day, First Day of School, Saint John’s Day, Baptism Day, Post (Eastern Orthodox version of Lint), Pre-Post, Post-Post.

Most often holiday recognition consists simply of not performing arduous tasks or doing certain types of work and consuming alcohol during the afternoon and evening hours. The only problem I have come across with the no work rule is that apparently the only type of work that is considered scandalous to do on a holiday is laundry. It is not permitted for laundry to be done the day of a holiday, the day before a holiday and the day after a holiday. Thus, two or three weeks a month laundry can only be done three or four days out of the seven days of the week. Fortunately though there is some flexibility in the laundry washing rules. Clothes can be rinsed and/or hung out on the line as well as collected from the line on a holiday they simply can not be soaped during the holiday non-work period. It is rumored that if you break the no laundry soaping on a holiday rule then God will break your legs.

Below I have detailed some of the more memorable Moldovan holidays.

This summer, approximately the third week of July, was Ziua de Foc, which translates into Fire Day. This sounds like a holiday meant for arsonists, but it actually is just the opposite. On fire day, fire must not be created, thus no cooking, no heating water, etc. Everyone just sits around, watches television and eats cold leftovers from the previous day.

Ziua de Sfintal Andre, or Saint Andrew’s Day, is in the first half of the month of December. The night before the actual holiday the boys in the village steal the gate of the girl that they have affection for. Then the next day the girls with stolen gates must find their gates’ captor and retrieve their gate. During the night while the boys are out stealing gates, the girls stay at home doing witchcraft, all of which pertains to ascertaining who will be your husband and/or making a man marry you. Some of the preferred witchcraft rituals: take the hair from your hairbrush and sleep with it under your pillow thereby inducing dreams of your future husband. Or place different objects on the floor in a room, and then bring a live chicken into the room. Whatever object the chicken goes to, that tells you something about your future husband, for example if the chicken approaches the money, then your husband will be rich. Lastly, if you sleep with the dirty socks of the boy you like then he will become your husband.

Christmas in Moldova is a unique holiday, and much less of an event than the standard American Christmas. Eastern Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th. I was expecting a huge blowout holiday, considering how excited Moldovans get about birthdays I assumed that the birthday of Christ would be the ultimate birthday, but that was a completely incorrect assumption. At a Moldovan Christmas there is limited gift giving, no Christmas trees, in fact in private homes there is no decorating done at all. Christmas festivities principally consist of drinking mass quantities of wine and cognac, and then going around to other peoples’ houses and singing Christmas carols. Then the day after the Christmas festivities everyone lies around the house and climbs out from under their hangovers.

Sfintal Vasile and Orthodox New Year’s, is the weekend after Orthodox Christmas. These two holidays are celebrated together by young people going door to door, similar to the caroling at Christmas, and giving well wishes. For example, the well wish presented to me by my students went something like: “We wish you to get married someday, have fruitful loins which produce strong boys and beautiful girls, to have much of the money, and not to get old fast.” After the toast the well wishers are invited in for candy and wine, and then when they depart they are given money, about 10 lei apiece (10 lei = 90 cents).

Pastile or Easter, is celebrated at the same time as Easter in America, so a randomly selected Sunday in April. Easter preparation requires the dyeing of uncooked and cooked eggs, however, all the eggs must be colored red. It is considered a sin to dye an egg a cheerful pastel hue. The Easter celebration in Moldova consists of going to the cemetery in the afternoon and then going to church for six consecutive hours at night, approximately 6:00pm to 12:00am. After church everyone returns home, cracks the uncooked dyed red eggs, and then smears the contents of the uncooked eggs onto their face. It is imperative that the egg is not washed off the face until the next morning.

Ziua Mortilor or Day of the Dead is celebrated on the Monday a week after Easter. This day everyone goes to the cemetery in homage to their deceased predecessors. They cover the grave in a towel and on the towel they put out bowls filled with candy, cookies, cooked red eggs, and clatite (crepes). They also take small tree branches and string candy and cookies on the tree branch, the tree branches covered in edibles are then placed in the ground around the grave. Once the temporary monument of consumables is in place the ingestion of alcohol begins. Visitors to the cemetery stalk from grave to grave brandishing a bottle of cognac or wine and a glass, give mournful toasts, and systematically get everyone present inebriated. After about two hours of alcohol consumption, when the alcohol supply is exhausted, people take the bowls of consumables and give them to each other with a standard well wish, that loosely translates to : ‘I give you this bowl of cookies/candy to help ease the suffering you feel from the loss of your forebears.’ However, when this toast was given to me by an intoxicated Moldovan speaking a slurred mixture of Romanian and Russian it sounded like this: ‘Alksdfgoi sdkffdied dckffsdiohs uiortijocxvbkj nfdgjiofds jfdgu!’ After the exchange of dishware and cookie/candy varietals everyone gathers their respective towel and departs for home to take a nap.

2007-04-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

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.

Moldavians paint the bottom three feet of tree trunk white on all the trees located in neighborhood zones.

The paint used is not high quality sealant but a thin white wash which is applied in several coats to achieve a white tone.

I have asked many people in Moldova what the purpose of the white paint is and I have found that there are three standards answers to this question:

Answer one: “I have no idea, we just do it.” (I have a feeling this is the correct answer)

Answer two: “To protect the tree from bugs.” (I question the validity of this answer
considering bugs can gain access to trees through one of the many feet above the bottom three painted feet; additionally, the paint doesn’t seal the tree it just colors it thus I think bugs can bore through the paint)

Answer three: “Its more beautiful with the bottom painted white.” (I think they are
attempting to attain a look similar to that of birch trees; however, I don’t understand why they do not simply plant birches)

They take tree painting so seriously that they paint white the bottom three feet of other things in the vicinity of trees. For example, if there is a telephone pole near a tree, they paint the bottom of the telephone pole white for the sake of homogeneity.

2007-04-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

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 - Part 5

- Worst Things Packed to Bring to Peace Corps Moldova
8) Flip flops (fall apart in about one week on the rough terrain)
7) Hair Conditioner (when showering on a bi-monthly basis, conditioner is
unnecessary)
6) Dryer sheets (dryers don’t exist here)
5) Iron (I never iron anything)
4) Shorts
3) Lotion (when showering on a bi-monthly basis, dry skin is not an issue)
2) Makeup
1) High heeled shoes (tough to operate in the mud)

- In America when we first meet someone or notice someone on the street we look at their face. In Moldova when locals meet someone or notice someone on the street the first thing they look at is their shoes. This shows the priority and importance placed on shoes in Moldova.

- Things I Miss Most
8) Spicy food
7) People being nice to me on a regular basis
6) Rectangular fiber filled pillows (here there are only square down filled pillows)
5) Movie theaters that show movies in English and American television shows
that haven’t been dubbed into Russian (somehow the Wayans brothers lose the
small amount of entertainment value they have when dubbed into a foreign
language)
4) Shower curtain
3) Private transportation
2) Avocadoes
1) Indoor toilet (they exist here but in small numbers)

- In Moldova everyone plays Russian pool and Russian cards. Russian pool and Russian cards are not the same as American pool and American cards. Russian pool involves nine balls; however, the game played with the nine balls is not the same as the game nine ball as we know it in America. Also in Russian pool all the balls are solid and white. I personally could not deduce the objective of Russian pool. Similarly, Russian card decks involve fewer cards than American cards and yet again, I could not deduce how Russian card games are played. I’m not sure if the Russians have simplified or complicated these games with the reduction in balls and cards.

- I have noticed that the majority of people in Moldova like to speak at all times at the top decibel attainable by a human voice. It is very difficult as a foreigner to distinguish solely by intonation if they are giving you a friendly greeting or saying something slanderous about your mother. I often think that my host family is having a tremendous verbal tussle when in actuality they are just discussing the weather.

- I have found there are a few advantages to living in a country where you do not speak the language fluently. One advantage is that when someone is speaking at length about some subject you find monotonous you can easily remove yourself from the conversation by telling them in a thick accent that you don’t really understand what they are saying. The other advantage is that when someone makes a request for you to do something you don’t want to do you can give a totally inapt response and they, without getting offended, desist in their request. I have found that among the most effective inappropriate responses are: “No thanks I am going to eat a hot dog at the bus station,” “I am not sure where the closest toilet is,” and “I like pickles.”

2007-03-11T01:23:00.000-08:00

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.

The public transportation to my village consists of three different buses and three different drivers that run at different times. Two of the buses are the same except for the pattern on the seat upholstery. Both buses have bench seats and two sets of doors, one set of doors at the front of the bus and one set at the mid point of the bus. The third bus is different; it is slightly smaller, has one set of doors and bucket seats. I personally prefer the third bus; I have always found it to be much more comfortable, until lately.

The third bus has always had a television in it, but the television did not work until recently because it was not hooked up to a VCR or DVD player. Apparently the bus driver has been saving to pimp out the bus on a developing country sized scale. Thus, he installed a DVD player and speakers to operate with the television.
Now at all hours of the day when riding this bus one has the pleasure of watching the first hour of various Russian action movies. All of which are shown with the volume at the loudest possible setting. Sometimes the action films are rotated with a Russian version of MacGyver, which involves two hulking Russians fighting turban wearers from an assortment of hot sandy countries. Until recently these had been the only two viewing options when on the bucket seat bus, but last week I got to experience the third viewing option. The third viewing option was porn.

When the bus started the driver put in a DVD like normal and all seemed copasetic until the film began playing. It started with a skinny peroxide blonde sitting on a couch in a tight leopard print dress drinking champagne, which seemed suspect yet was innocuous since most of the Romanian soap operas have a similar opening scene. It was after the scene change that things became dreadfully clear. The film’s second scene consisted of a pudgy Eastern European red head wearing only a black bra which made a rapid exit from the scene. Once the bra was gone the bouncing, caressing and moaning began, needless to say there was a large Caucasoid phallus involved. The bouncing, caressing and moaning continued practically uninterrupted for exactly 52 minutes and 36 seconds. I know because I spent the entire bus ride staring at my watch and praying for the film to end. However, no one else on the bus really seemed phased by the display on the television.

The porn blaring at 7 decibels for 52 minutes would not have been so excruciating if the passenger group hadn’t comprised any of my students, old women, or middle aged men who seemed to be moving excessively in their seats.

I did learn from this experience that Eastern European porn seems to forego the formalities of a plot line. There was no time wasted, they got straight to the point rather than leading up to it with a repairman losing his pants on the job scenario. I also found out that the traditional porn background music is apparently a universal pornography quality.

2007-02-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

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 – Part 4

- The best acquisition made through monetary exchange in Moldova thus far, a bucket with a lid for nighttime and cold weather urination.

- 10 Best Things Packed to Bring to Peace Corps Moldova
10) Travel mug
9) Yak Traks and Snow/Mud boots
8) Sleeping bag
7) Rechargeable batteries
6) Bathrobe
5) Tide stain removing pen
4) Flashlight that straps to your head
3) Long underwear
2) Movies and TV shows on DVD
1) Computer

- According to most Moldovan women, the best exercise for maintaining one’s figure is to hula-hoop. Thus, many Moldavian girls (ages 15-30) hula-hoop every day for 10 minutes after meals. The philosophy is that if you hula-hoop for thirty minutes (not necessarily consecutive) every day you will loose about 6 kilos/10 pounds in a month.

- I don’t take taxis often; but, I was always under the impression that when you got into a taxi and told the taxi driver your destination, the taxi driver would respond with “okay” and not “I have no idea where that is but I can drive around aimlessly in the vain hope of finding it.” I understand that it is improbable for taxi drivers to know the location of every street is in an entire city; but, it seems that in Chisinau every time I take a taxi they have no idea where anything in the city is located. The result is always me trying to give directions (assuming I know the location) in Romanian and continuously getting trapped by a one way street. I have yet to have had a Moldovan taxi ride that didn’t result in me saying, “this is close enough, just stop here and let me out” and traveling the rest of the way to my destination on foot.

- Today, I killed a chicken. A rooster to be more exact. The rooster was held prostrate while I cut off its head. Initially, the plan was that I would hold its legs down with my foot while stretching and holding its neck with my left hand and simultaneously cutting the head off with the knife in my right hand. However, it was felt among the Moldovan representatives that I was not capable of holding and killing the rooster all by myself, which I must agree was probably accurate. I feel like I have passed a Moldovan right of passage test. Post kill my feelings were mixed, somewhere between vomiting and drinking a celebratory beer.

- This has been an unseasonably warm winter in Moldova, and we just recently got the first big snow of the winter. Which, when compared with quantities of snow from previous years, this is a small snow fall. In one night it snowed about 5 inches. I know in Asheville, NC, where there are snowplows, slat and a plethora of four wheel drive vehicles, 5 inches of snow almost shuts down the entire city. Here without any snow combating equipment, 5 inches didn’t faze anyone. Everyone went about their day as usual. It resembled the march of the penguins in the morning, with all the children and adults walking in the path that had been previously made in the snow. Since most of the vehicles here are front wheel drive there are several techniques for contending with slick roads. The method most preferred is to travel in reverse. Once the tires started spinning and forward motion halted the car is simply turns around and proceeds to its destination backwards.

2007-02-14T04:21:00.001-08:00

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.

This past weekend I attended my first after school event. This event was similar to homecoming but with a class reunion twist. However, not all classes were invited only every fifth year in the past. To elucidate, the current graduating class of 2007 was in attendance along with the class of 2002, 1997, 1995, 1992, 1987, 1982, 1977, 1972, and 1967.

The evening was planned to begin at 6, which in Moldovan terms means that if the stars align correctly it is possible that the event might start around 7ish. The event got underway around 6:45 beginning with a series of presentations and performances. Each class had a representative who expounded upon their memories of their graduating year, most of the reminiscences consisted primarily of memories about the cow dying, how many piglets the sow birthed, and how much snow fell that year. Although, the farther back in history the graduation year, the more the recollections involved memories of communism and Lenin.

After about 5 minutes of recounted memories each class would then sing karaoke to a song which was popular during the year that they graduated from school. There are few experiences as unique as listening to Eastern Europeans sing “Hungry as the Wolf” by Duran Duran, of course, that was the popular song of the class of 1995.
Each time, after about three graduated classes had spoken then the current graduating class would do a performance. Their performances consisted of karaoke and dance performances that they themselves had choreographed. The karaoke sung by the current class was a mish mash of 50 cent, Celine Dion, Eminem, and the Black Eyed Peas. While, the dances had obviously been lifted from MTV Europe, because all the dances were overly seductive and involved some degree of progressive clothing removal. For example, one dance began with 7 girls dressed in men’s suits and carrying umbrellas, by the end of the dance they were wearing knee high boots and very little else while the umbrellas were being ridden in a fashion similar to a stick horse.

After all the performances and speeches had been completed then began the masa portion of the evening. The masa (feast) was the customary spread of mayonnaise based salads, salted fish, rachatoare (meat jelly), clatita (crepes), cake, wine, cognac, champagne, salami, cheeses, bread, cakes and candies.

After everyone had reached satiation, then began the disco for teachers and parents in the school gym. This was far more enjoyable than I had anticipated, traditional Moldovan music was played for a few hours and everyone partook in some traditional Moldovan dancing, all of which involved holding hands and dancing in a circle.
After the parent-teacher disco in the school gym concluded all the students proceeded to the village disco next door to the school. The village disco was a barn in its former life. It is one big empty room with wooden floors, one window, and a roof of questionable stability. On Saturday nights, two sizeable speakers and a computer are brought in and set up on a picnic table. The music selection at the village disco is a selection of rap, europop, techno and Moldovan traditional tunes. Thus, most of the dancing that occurs in this place involves lots of jumping, hair shaking, and holding hands dancing in a circle.

2007-01-18T08:23:00.001-08:00

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.

Evidently, to feed a woman is a sexual thrill for Russians.

I was unaware of this fact until recently when I was at the bar with some volunteer friends, also unaware of this feeding fetish, when a gentleman of Russian decent decided to join us at our table. Needless to say, we did not invite him to join us, we simply humored him in an attempt to be open to new cultural experiences.

Between my two friends and myself we were sharing a bag of chips. Then, without invitation the Russian decided to join in the chip consumption after he had introduced himself. We thought nothing of it, since all food in Moldova seems to be shared property.

However, things began to get bizarre when the Russian began attempting to feed me chips. Initally I refused, because his hands were probably dirty and the whole situation was generally outlandish. But, the man became so insistant that against my better judgement, I opened my mouth and let him feed me a chip. Fortunately, it was a large and intact chip so he had not touched it much. Then, he wanted to feed me another and I consented. After he had fed me about three chips I had had enough oddness, and the chips were getting down to crumbs so there was a lot of hand contanct involved.

At this point, the man and I had reached a stalemate. He was trying to feed me the chip crumbs, I was refusing to open my mouth and neither of us would yield. Finally, he began to rub the chip crumbs into my lips and mouth area. The whole time my volunteer friends were laughing and taking pictures, thereby egging him on. After two or three rounds of him rubbing chip crumbs onto my mouth and me squealing, I finished my beer and told my friends we had to leave immediately.

Of course, this Russian man did not want us to leave. He insisted we stay and attempted to keep us there by holding on to my friend’s shirt sleeve. Despite, his objections we managed to escape, and my lips recovered after three days of steady chapstick application.

2007-01-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

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.

The preferred method of transportation for most people in Moldova is the rutiera.

Rutieras range in style, from the basic old minivan to the glorified panel van with seats.

Technically, the legal capacity for most rutieras is about 15 people, with 13 sitting and 2 standing. However, the average number of rutiera occupants on a rutiera at any given time numbers around 30; needless to say, it’s not the most comfortable form of transportation. Most rutiera outings I have been on involved a plump, middle aged woman, who wore course wool fabric and opted against deodorant, unintentionally mashing her breasts onto face. That is hard to disregard for an extended period of time; not only is it awkward, but, at the end of the ride your cheek is chaffed and in need of lotion.

Usually, in addition to the excessive number of people on the rutiera, it is guaranteed that there will also be some animal life. The animals typical on the rutiera are chickens, pigs, ducks, and rabbits. Although, most of the time it is hard to distinguish what kind of animal is being transported, because animals are usually transported in mass and carried in bags. You can always recognize a bag full of animals because the bag next to you will be writing about and making noise.

People also manage to move all manner and size of objects using the rutieras. The largest object I have seen is transported is a refrigerator, but I have also seen car windshields, tires, astonishing quantities of cheese, couches, etc.

One quality endowed to all rutieras is a stomach turning smell. This smell is similar, and yet distinct varying from rutiera to rutiera. Normally the smell is a mixture of different parts: body odor, chicken and diesel, sometimes with a hint of vomit or paint mixed into the aroma.

2007-01-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

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.

The difference between housing standards in Moldova and America are staggering. In Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, the majority of the city dwelling population reside in apartment buildings; therefore, there is a tremendous number of apartment buildings in the city.

However, the vast majority of these buildings are in abysmal condition. The façade of an apartment building considered to be good quality by Chisinau standards, appears to be in worse condition than most city projects in America. The average apartment building in Chisinau would make the projects of New York City look like upscale housing.

The inside of the apartments contained in the building are quite lovely and homey. However, to judge the building solely on its exterior, I would surmise that a crack head would probably have reservations about sleeping there.

Most of the apartment buildings are in the vicinity of thirteen stories. The stairwells are totally unlit and smell of cat urine to a degree that it stings the nostrils, and about half the windows in the stairwell areas are broken out. Elevators in these apartments are almost nonexistent and even when they are present they are usually out of order. I do not know for certain, but I think it is a safe assumption that there are no evacuation routes out of the building in case of fire.

The reason for this poor external building upkeep is that people in Moldova do not rent their apartments, they own them. Thus, there is no landlord to manage basic building upkeep and none of the individual apartment owners are charitable enough to handle the general building maintenance. If maintenance or renovations are made by an apartment owner, the work occurs only inside that person’s apartment.

The ownership of apartments dates back to Soviet times. Most of the apartments owned by Moldavians are the apartments they were given as housing during the Soviet period.

2007-01-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

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 – Part 3

- In the winter in Moldova the sun rises around 8:00 in the morning, and sets around 4:00 in the afternoon. Even while the sun is up it is never really sunny, it is perpetually overcast. The main problem with these conditions is that it makes drying laundry an incredibly slow and arduous process.

- There are two varieties of car in Moldova. Cars produced before the fall of the Soviet Union, which are typically Ladas; and cars produced in the last five years, which are Mercedes, BMW or Audi. The interesting thing is that there are not really any cars occupying the price range between these two extremes.

- Because everyone in Moldova is constantly burning something, trash, leaves, corn stalks, etc. there is a weather condition that exists here called smoke. It is scientifically recognized and forecast on the weather. I am not entirely sure what casues it, my guess is something about the atmosphere on some days keeps the smoke produced by rampant burning close to the ground and thus more visible. For the uneducated observer, it is difficult to tell the different between smoke and fog, but there is a difference. Although I can proudly say that after 6months in Moldova I am aware of the difference, and now I actually find that the difference is quite distinct.

- It is difficult to find canned tuna fish in Moldova, which doesn’t seem unusual until you consider how many other canned meat products are available here. On the standard store shelf you can find in a can: chicken paste, rabbit paste, pig paste, and pate created from a variety of animals. The standard Moldovan grocery contains such a variety of canned meats that it would put a major American grocer to shame. Thus, I would think that stores would also stock some canned tuna.

- I went to Barcelona, Spain for Christmas and New Years. The only comparison I can make between Spain and Moldova is that the average dress of women ages 15-35 in Moldova is exactly the same as the standard dress of prostitutes in Spain.

2006-12-17T03:25:00.001-08:00

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.

Apparently the shower curtain is an invention which has not yet made its way to Moldova. They have computers, mp3 players, and hi-tech cell phones, but not shower curtains. I assume this is because there are few actual showers, as Americans typically use, in Moldova.

There are two primary styles of personal cleaning systems. One is the standard bathtub with a shower head attached to a hose. To wash your hair with this variety of cleaning system requires getting down on your knees, which results in dreadful knee bruises. The other style of cleaning system is the hose and hole variety. There are two knobs, one for hot water and one for cold water. However, the water comes out of an instrument closely resembling a garden hose without a nozzle and the water disappears down a hole in the floor. The hole is very unassuming, not even a grate over the hole. Both of these personal cleaning structures require an amount of skill when washing your body, because there is no way to mount the hose while utilizing the soap. Thus the two options are either to turn the water off, which is a deplorable option because once the water flow is discontinued it generally takes about 10-15 minutes for the hot water to recommence. The second option for managing the hose while soaping the body is to hold the hose in a creative fashion. The water spraying device must be controlled at all times because if the hose is released while the water is on, the result is the hose undulating about with no semblance of control. My personal tactic for hose control is to hold the hose between my knees. (If from this description you have surmised that ‘showering’ in Moldova is neither the least bit sexual nor appealing to a spectator, you are correct. The pornography business in Moldova does not include shower scenes in their videos.)

Usually both styles of cleaning system, no matter how experienced the user, result in an entirely wetted bathroom. Therefore, it is wise decision to make sure the toilet paper and towels are outside the bathroom area before proceeding with the personal cleaning process.

To get clean here it is a process that must take place in stages. Because outside the months of June and July, when one can comfortably use a sun shower, a person never takes off all their clothes to get clean. You either just wash your hair, or just wash your body, but the only regularly washed areas are the armpits and feet. It probably sounds like I am implying that everyone in Moldova is unclean, which is partially true in comparison with American standards of cleanliness. But when everyone smells a little bit and always looks a little dirty, no one notices if you are smelly and dirty.

2006-12-17T03:24:00.001-08:00

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.

To wash clothing here is a unique process. There are some people in country who have washing machines, but they are a minority of the people in Moldova. However, even those with washing machines do not have dryers. A dryer is a precious and rare commodity in Eastern Europe.

For all those who do not posses a washer, they wash their clothes by hand.
The preferred technique for washing clothes by hand:
- Put the clothes into a small plastic tub with some detergent and water.
- Once the tub is full, take a stick and poke the clothes around a little.
- Then allow the clothes to sit in the tub of water and detergent for at least 2 hours.
- Then the dump the soapy water and add clean water.
- Then allow the clothes to sit in the clean water for about half a day.

Following this method, to do one tub of laundry, is about a day long process. The tubs used are rather small. One tub holds approximately five shirts or two pairs of pants. Thus laundry is a never ending process.

Once the clothes have been poked about and soaked, they are wrung out by hand and hung on the line to dry. Drying clothes is a very different experience in the summer than in the winter. Drying clothes in the summer is a pleasant, simple task. Because most summer days are hot, and it only rains on occasion, thus the clothes dry in about a day. In the winter drying clothes takes on a whole different tone. In the winter, you hang your clothes out and then they freeze. Clothes never completely dry outside in the winter, however for them to stop dripping water takes about 3 to 4 days; due to the fact that, the sun is only up for about 8 hours and even when the sun is up it is overcast. So, clothes are left outside just long enough for them to stop dripping water. Then the clothes are brought inside and spread all around the house to thaw and finish the process of drying.

I will never complain about going to the Laundromat again!

2006-12-01T07:44:00.001-08:00

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 - Part 2

- Now that I have now spent a little time outside the United States, gotten to know another culture, and met a diverse group of people hailing from many different parts of America. I feel that my perspective on American culture has changed. I think I can now say, with total honesty and sincerity: I am American by birth and southern by the grace of god.

- Sunflowers are ubiquitous in the summer, they only bloom for about two weeks but their presence can be felt long after they are gone; because, people here are perpetually eating sunflower seeds. Moldavians have a technique for eating sunflower seeds, they put a seed in their mouth and a few seconds later shells begin to emanate from their lips. But it is a continuous and rapid action. Seeds are constantly going it, and a steady flow of black shells are issuing from their mouths. When eating sunflower seeds Moldavians do not think twice about where they allow the shells to discharge from their mouths. There are shells everywhere, on the street, on the bus, in buildings, in bathrooms. Sunflower seed shells are such a problem that on some buildings there are signs on the outside that say: no dogs, no bicycles and no sunflower seeds permitted.

- The radio is always playing in my host family’s house. What is unusual about this is the selection of music that is played. One would expect to walk into a traditional Moldovan residence and hear polka style music. Not at my house, maybe we only get one radio station, but upon entrance of our house a person is serenaded by the melodious tones of rap. I can never get over the incongruity of eating traditional Moldovan chicken soup with my 40 year old, widowed host mother while listening to the lyrics of 50 cent, crooning on about his magic-stick.

2006-12-01T07:43:00.001-08:00

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.

In Moldova there are several dishes that are on par with pickled pigs’ feet and pickled eggs as far as dietary offensiveness. The first dish I ran into was rachatoare, which is meat jello. Typically the meat flavor is chicken; however, this jello can be made from any type of meat imaginable, pig, rabbit, fish, the sky is the limit. From what I understand, they boil the meat so long that the marrow comes out of the bones. That dissolved marrow that is what achieves the jello consistency when chilled. The flavor comes from the boiled meat broth. Rachatoare tastes like salty, with a slightly detectable meat flavor. The consistency is cold and jiggley with small particles of bone, quite the unique combination of qualities.

The next dish I came across, which I found fairly unpleasant is pig skin. I know that in America we also eat pig skin, but that pig skin is fried and then consumed, but I am not a fan of pork rinds either. In Moldova instead of frying the skin they boil it. It is then served cold in long strips, which allows for the pores to be visible. The preferred method for eating a strip of pig skin is to take the skin and put salt on the side with the visible subcutaneous fat, then roll the skin up with the pore side out and eat.

I tried this dish as well, for the sake of being open to new cultural experiences, and I immediately regretted putting it in my mouth. Consumption of a pig skin requires a significant amount of gnawing because it is rubbery. Pig skin is mostly flavorless except for the salt; however, it is oily. It is so oily that it coats your lips. In my estimation the consumption of pig skin is an act that a practicing Jew would find truly offensive.

These are two Moldovan foods that I unfalteringly bypass when they come my way at.

2006-12-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

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.

I have noticed that being in Moldova has affected my emergency response time. Lately, my response time is much slower; due to the fact that before I take action I feel it is necessary to consider if my initial response is appropriate.

For example, in America, when I saw the fence next to the house on fire and no one around, I would have immediately retrieved some water and put the fire out.

Meanwhile, in Moldova: a few weeks ago, when I returned from work I noticed that the fence next to my host family’s house was on fire. No one else was home, and no one else would be home for a few hours. However, my first response was not to get some water and put out the fire; instead, I contemplated if the fire was intentionally set and whether I would be berated for putting it out.

I did not think that the fire had been set with arsonist intentions. It seemed possible that maybe my host mother did not like the fence any longer and wanted to build a new fence, thus set the old fence on fire. When I considered archetypal Moldovan actions and the line of thinking/logic pervasive among Moldavians it seemed that the fire could quite possibly have been intentional.
Thus, my time in Moldova has slowed my reaction time from 30 seconds to about 10 minutes; because, in the end I spent about ten minutes, while the fire consumed the fence, pondering the intentionality of the fire. I chose to put the fire out.

2006-12-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Home repair in Moldova is a grueling process and it was a mystery to me why it is such a nuisance until I realized that contractors do not exist here. If you want something done to your house, that you can not do yourself, you must find the person in the village that is capable of performing the necessary task.

Then, once you locate this individual, you must find time when he is free; because, such work is only a tangential profession. Thus, your repairs must come between corn gathering, nut collecting, pig slaughtering, etc.

Another problematic element is the level of alcohol consumption common among men of such trades, meaning you have to catch them when they are sober. Not an easy task.

Here is a story to explicate the issue: My host mother is converting a back room of the house into a new kitchen. To accomplish this she had to find a concrete worker (because houses here are only made of concrete and wall paper). It took three months for the concrete worker to refinish the walls of the new kitchen because he got a hernia, thus repairs halted until he recovered.

Then she had to find an electrician to put lights into the room. This only took a weekend, but it was a nail-biting event considering the electrician fell off the step stool several times due to his constant high blood alcohol content. I was stunned he did not electrocute himself. Although, the light switch in that room has to be operated with force to compel the light to turn on.
Finally, there was the cabinet installer. We are still waiting for him to make his final appearance and install the stove. He has been busy selling cheese.

Witnessing this ulcer inducing process of repairs makes me happy that we have contractors in America.

2006-11-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-11-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

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.

“You know what the funniest thing about Europe is? It’s the little differences, they got the same shit over there that they got here, its just there it’s a little different.”
- Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction

Alcohol in Moldova is the same as alcohol in America it’s just in Moldova it is a little different. Naturally, there are the usual choices of beer, wine, and liquor.

The beer selection is somewhat different than the selection of beer America. There is no American beer in Moldova. I get the impression that the flow of beer is one way, Europe to America. Europeans do not want American beer; in general, they think it is swill.

The most common selections of beer are Baltica, Chisinau, Vitanta, Tuborg, and Starry Melnick (loosely translated from the Cyrillic alphabet). My personal beer preference is Baltica, which comes in a range of zests that are labeled from 0 to 9. The numbers denote two things; the level of alcohol content and the type of beer.
Here is the breakdown:
Baltica 9 = 8 percent alcohol / dark beer
Baltica 8 = 8 percent alcohol / wheat beer / my personal favorite
Baltica 7 = 7 percent alcohol / light beer
Baltica 6 = 6 percent alcohol / very dark beer
Baltica 5 = 5 percent alcohol / light beer
Baltica 4 = 4 percent alcohol / I have never had it thus the type is unknown
Baltica 3 = 4 percent alcohol / very light beer, similar to Miller High Life, thus I suppose
it is the champagne of Balticas
Baltica 2 = 3 percent alcohol / I have never had it thus the type is unknown
Baltica 1 = 3 percent alcohol / I have never had it thus the type is unknown
Baltica 0 = non alcoholic beer / I have never had it thus the type is unknown, for me drinking a non alcoholic beer being would be like asking questions in a letter, pointless.

Beers come in larger quantities than beers in America. The standard bottle size in America is approximatively .25 liters. In Moldova you would be hard pressed to find a bottle of beer small than .5 liters.

The most popular beer in Moldova is obviously the locally brewed Chisinau. Chisinau comes in two sizes, the typical half liter bottle and a two liter plastic bottle. The size most preferred seems to be the two liter plastic bottle. There are two varieties of Chisinau, draft and blond. The Chisinau draft variety is a bit misleading because draft would imply kegs and taps however, Chisinau draft is almost never on tap. Draft just means that the label has the word draft written on it, and the bottle is green. Personally, I find the draft variety is more palatable than the blond. The blond is astoundingly similar to Bud Light. Evidently, Chisinau Blond is Bud Light’s Euro trash cousin. Chisinau blond is the variety of beer that McDonalds chooses to serve.

The other beers available in Moldova are okay, they are typical beer, nothing worth discussing in detail though.

Wine on the other hand is an in depth matter. There are three varieties of wine, red, black, and white. Most of the wine one consumes in Moldova is homemade. I have come across a few people here who drink store bought wine, but overall homemade wine is the standard; which is understandable considering that everyone makes their own wine and take great pride in their wine. So keep in mind, all my observations about wine are referencing homemade wine, unless otherwise noted.

Red wine is very similar to port, its thick and sweet. Very sweet. Black wine, is technically red in color but they call it, vin negru/black wine. I have found black wine to be very similar to the beverage served at Baptist communion but with slightly higher alcohol content. Whenever, I drink the black wine it takes me back to my childhood and I feel that it should be followed by a stale oyster cracker, and some singing. White wine is the driest of the three Moldovan wine varietals. It is rather sweet but it is the least sweet of the three.

Personally, I enjoy the wine here because I like sweet wine, thus, Moldovan wine is right up my alley. If you like that dry wine clawing sensation on your tongue, keep looking because homemade Moldovan wine is not for you.

The best deal I have found for purchasing wine is in one of the bars at the bus station in Chisinau. At this particular watering hole you can buy a liter of wine in any of the three varietals for 12 lei (about 90 cents). The wine is on tap, and if you purchase an entire liter they fill an old liter sized water bottle with the chosen type of wine. With the bottle you get one glass.

The one glass is the preferred modus operandi for wine consumption in Moldova. The glass is usually of small to medium size, the cleanliness of the glass is variable. There is one person who is designated as the glass handler and wine pourer. This chosen individual fills the glass with wine and then hands it to the person on the left, the glass is almost always passed clockwise. Every person in the circle, when they receive the glass of wine, gives a toast and then downs the entire glass of wine. Then the glass is returned to the pourer. This procedure is continued around the circle, with the pourer being the last to drink. The glass of wine continues around the group of people until all the wine is gone. The only problem I have detected with this method of wine consumption, excluding the obvious problems related sanitation, is the sense of urgency when your turn to drink arrives. Because, everyone else is waiting on you to drink so they can have their turn to drink; consequently, to sip the glass of wine slowly is considered unacceptable and comments are made if you do not drink the wine at a pace deemed acceptable by the group. Sometimes this modus operandi is also used when consuming beer, which is arduous considering that beer is carbonated, and carbonation can be quite the x factor.

The third type of alcohol is liquor. The preferred liquor drinks are cognac, brandy, and various homemade liquors. Liquor is usually only consumed on special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, christenings, the first day of school, going away parties, visits from old friends, anniversaries, etc. Often, when liquor is consumed it is imbibed in immense quantities. With liquor it is all or none. My favorite liquor is the homemade liquor that is made from sour cherries, called vişinat, it is very sweet but it burns much less than the cognac and brandy.

Every time before a person drinks, they must give a toast. It is considered quite uncouth to drink without giving a toast. The toasts depend on the occasion but the best all around, any occasion toasts are ‘Noroc’ which translates to ‘Hey,’ ‘Mulţi Ani, Mulţi Bani’ which means ‘Many Years, Much Money,’ and ‘Fiţi Sanatoşi’ which is ‘Y’all Be Healthy.’

2006-10-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

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.

I have had my first experience grape harvesting. Ever since arriving in Moldova and hearing about the grapes, I have wanted to participate in the harvesting and wine making. I can assuredly say it was not quite what I had expected. I definitely had a romanticized mental image of the entire undertaking.

I am ashamed to admit that my romanticized mental image was based almost entirely on a movie, and a mediocre one at that. The movie from which I derived my notions of grape picking and wine making was the Keanu Reeves movie “A Walk in the Clouds.”

Now that I know first hand what it is like to pick grapes I can honestly say, that movie is totally full of shit. It was not particularly fun, I suppose it was a unique experience, but grape picking is back breaking work. Grapes don’t grow at eye level. They grow closer to the ground than one would expect. So you must spend half the time stooping and half the time squatting. I personally found the squat to be a preferable stance. Grapes are also not readily visible; well, some of the grapes are obvious but not all the grapes. Some of the grapes are concealed by weeds and leaves and such, and you must get all the grapes. Thus you have to go through the weeds and the grapes vine looking for the grapes. To see someone collecting grapes, most of the time you can only see their legs because from the waist up they are incased in grape vine.

Four people collecting from two and a half rows of grapes took about three hours. The only respite from stooping that during the three hours was when hauled your full bucket to the bags at the end of the row. In summation, grape picking is not nearly as cool as you might envision.

Grape picking was an interesting look into the remnants of collectivized farming; because, peoples’ grapes don’t grow near their house and they aren’t demarcated by fences or anything of that sort. No one person has an entire field of grapes instead everyone’s’ grapes are in one field across the village near the forest. Everyone just knows which rows of grapes are theirs. To illustrate, the field in which we gathered grapes, everyone had two and a half rows. The first two and half rows belong to one family, the next two and half rows another family, etc. Although, some families had more than two and a half rows; my estimation, is that those families bought or inherited another families’ two and a half. They do not work cooperatively on the growing the grapes though, what you do with your two and a half rows is your business.

The most exciting part of grape collecting was the ride back home with the grapes. Of course the field of grapes is not readily accessible from the main road. To get to the grape fields my must traverse a sizeable field which has no discernable road. You can get to the grapes in a vehicle; but, I didn’t think it was possible without a four wheel drive vehicle. But Moldovan ingenuity proved me wrong. After grape harvesting I got to experience four wheeling in a Lada.

Before I recount this experience let me acquaint you with the Lada. Envision the stereotypical soviet era four door sedan style vehicle. What you are envisioning, that is a Lada. This particular Lada I believe was manufactured sometime in the mid 80s, and instead of having the typical car floor covered in upholstery, this car had brown wood motif linoleum covering the floor and inside door panels. This particular Lada was rear wheel drive and had a trailer attached to the back bumper with tape and wire.

Now that you know the vehicle let me set the scene. Six people in the car with several empty buckets and a few bags of grapes. In the trailer, approximately, twenty five bags of grapes of various colors and varieties.

A rear wheel drive Lada gets stuck in the mud a lot. The method of dealing with this was to wedge the accelerator to the floor and the people sitting next to the doors get out and push. Once the car is freed of the mud and the wheels gain traction the car takes off, quickly. So those who were pushing must hang on and swing themselves into the car. What was truly impressive was the flair and experience with which this maneuver was performed. I was sitting next to a door; but, fortunately my door was broken and thus I did not have to get out, push and fling myself into the car before I was dragged under a back tire.

To avoid getting stuck in the mud they like to drive at top speed to utilize maximum momentum and cyntrifical force. To warn any animals, people, etc potentially in the road/field of the approaching car they play their music at top volume. The choice of music today was Russian rap. I couldn’t understand any of the words, but I don’t think this was jovial Russian rap. From the beat and tone it sounded like disgruntled rap. The kind of rap created by people who exist in a frigid climate, live with eight people in one tiny apartment and are not happy about the situation. Or it could potentially have been about the difficulties of pimping in Russia, because I am sure that it also a frustrating situation. But I digress…

So there I was in a wood motif linoleum clad Lada that was barreling through a field slinging mud, blaring Russian rap, and chock full of people and grapes. That folks is a scene straight out of a film on the International Film Channel.

If you have never experienced an IFC moment, I pity you, it’s a unique life changing event and if you want a collection of your own IFC moments come on out to Moldova, there are plenty to go around.

2006-10-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

"Brilliant gold taps, virginal white marble, a seat carved from ebony, a cistern full of chanel number five, and a flunky handing me pieces of raw silk toilet roll. But under the circumstances I'll settle for anywhere. " - Mark Renton, Trainspotting

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.

I never realized how much of a luxury a fully functional toilet was until it was gone.

Now I see that the toilet seat is not a necessity, however, it makes toilet time much more pleasant. I must admit nothing wakes you up in the morning like the cold porcelain against the back of your thighs; better than a shot of espresso.

Toilets can also be flushed in a variety of ways. We Americans assume there is only the pull chain and the handle. Not so. One actually does not need either to operate a toilet, because neither works without running water (and many residencies in Moldova have toilets and no running water). To flush a toilet without running water one must have a bucket of water at hand. After using the toilet, one must pour water into the toilet bowl and by some magical property of physics the water and everything disappears.

I was also previously unaware of the many varieties of toilet bowls. The toilet depicted here (although it can not be seen in the image) has a shelf in the bowl portion. The shelf is flat and fairly sizeable which demands the user to be an expert aimer, because if matter is accidentally deposited on the shelf the act of flushing/pouring water from the bucket becomes a much more difficult task and much more water is required. The use of alot of water is an inconvenience because the water must be fetched from the well.

I have found the best method for avoiding soiling the shelf is the completely disrobe from the waist down and sit on the toilet backwards. Although, for this approach it is best to ensure that the door to the bathroom is locked, you most definitely do not want to be accidentally walked in on during this maneuever.

Another extravagance of the American bathroom facility is toilet paper. The cushiony quilted softness of Charmin is the height of opulence. In Moldova toilet paper ranges from the pink 'hartie igenica' to old magazine pages. None of which have the velvety sensation of good ole' American quilted T.P.

I have also noticed that in Moldova, probably due to the lack of toilet seat, people do not have the same tendency toward staying in the bathroom for an extended period of time as Americans do; I have yet to see any Moldovan in the toilet room for 15-20 minutes. In fact, I have been on the recieving end of many strange looks, when I am spotted going into the toilet room with a book.

2006-09-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Whoever introduced the futon to Moldova must be a millionaire; because, futons caught here like wildfire. Every house I have been in thus far in Moldova has at least one futon; usually the number of futons depends on the size of the house. In an apartment there is the requisite one futon, in a small house there are at least two, in a medium house three, and a large house the number of futons can range from four to six.

Outside of hotels, I have slept on nothing but futons since arriving in Moldova. It kind of scared me upon first arrival in Moldova; because I was shown my room and I saw nothing but a couch and a wardrobe.

The thoughts of sleeping on a couch for three months and the imminent joint and back pain which would result sent a tremor through my whole body. The whole day I contemplated if I should cash in my chips and go home because I was sure that couch sleeping for three months would vanquish me. I don’t like to sleep on a couch for one night if I have a choice.
Fortunately, I staved off panic and that night I was relieved to see them whip that couch out into a bed. With a sigh of relief I realized, ah a futon. Little did I know the prevalence of the futon in Moldova.

I can’t figure out the tremendous attraction to the futon. I think futons are okay, but, I personally associate the futon with apartments chock-full of fraternity boys.
I have found that the futon provides a decent night sleep, not like the glorious slumber of a spring mattress, but it is better than a couch.

2006-09-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

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.

Have you ever experience shopping in a Soviet style department store? Well, it is not a shopping experience for those who are faint of heart and lacking in intestinal fortitude. UNIC, the soviet style department store in Chisinau, is a test of one’s determination to purchase. It is four stories and has most anything one might want to buy, however, the twist is finding what you need and finding your way out of the store again.

Here is the enigma: You can only enter and exit the building from two doors on the first floor. To go to the three floors above there are escalators which can carry a person up to the next story, however the escalators only go up. There are escalators down; however, they are never operating. Is it possible to leave the store or is UNIC following the same proprietary methods as the Hotel California, you can check out but you can never leave.

The system of arrangement (that I have discerned) is: First Floor – food, small appliances, cell phones, and lay away (but with an Eastern European twist). Second Floor – electronics, office supplies, plastics, books, incense, towels, sheets, and toys. Third Floor – women’s clothes, shoes, fabric, and sewing accoutrements. Fourth Floor – men’s clothes and mattresses.

To find the escalators to go up is easy because of the loud noise they make when operating, it is the sound of grinding metal intermingled with a Stalinesque clanging noise which can be heard over the whole of the store. Thus, if one desires to go up to the next floor one must simple tilt their head to the side and follow the sounds of clanging steps making the arduous journey into the upper reaches of the building. However, once one has located the escalator there is the conundrum of how much you really desire to go to the next story of the building. Because from the appearance of the escalator it seems that to move to the next floor is risking possible bodily injury, I don’t think it would be an overstatement to say that the UNIC escalators are the sketchiest that I have ever been privy to.

The aspect of UNIC that is most different from department stores of American origin, are the customer service techniques they employ. Apparently the Russian idea of customer service is to give any potential customer the stink eye, and then when the customer asks something or wants to make a purchase is to sigh heavily thereby releasing a wave of halitosis in a last desperate attempt to drive the patron away. Although, these methods do not work on me because I am and will continue to be an avid shopper of UNIC.

Each section of the store is run separately, thus, it is more like a mall than a department store. At each booth one can meet women who look as if they recite the Communist Manifesto every night before bed and eat with a picture of Lenin over the dining room table. At most of the booths everything is behind the counter, so it is required that one overcomes their fear of the vendors and requests the items which they want to examine or purchase. It seems quite foreign to me not to be able to hand select the box of paper clips I would like to purchase but to leave such a decision up to the soviet woman behind the counter.

Despite the drawbacks of the UNIC soviet style department store, I do like shopping there because they do have almost everything one might need there. It is almost like Wal-Mart, aside from the booth arrangement, the terrifying escalators, the intimidating salespeople, and the lack of harsh fluorescent lighting. Every time, I have chosen to shop at UNIC I have successfully solved the riddle and found a way out of the store; although, never without a panic attack and a wicked case of sweaty palms.

2006-08-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Thursday was swearing in, thus I am now officially a Peace Corp volunteer. The most interesting part of the entire event was the reception. Because the reception, was an interesting look into Moldovan buffet dining. Apparently here they do not form a Q and move down the line selecting items from trays which they care to dine on. The chosen method here is to position oneselves in front of one area of the spread and dine on everything within arms reach. Once in position there is not moving from that spot before satiation.
To move into a Moldovan’s selected area of table is similar to a dog moving into territory which has been urinated on and thus marked by another dog. In other words, the consequences are dire. I watched as one volunteer attempted to sandwich between two sizeable Moldovan women who had marked their territory on the buffet, the result was that they used their size against him and removed him from the table region. However, during this rebuffing he did manage to spill an entire glass of red wine on the sizable rear end of one woman. Despite the large, obvious stain on her rump she was unphased and continued to consume, at an astonishing rate of speed, all that was before her.
During the reception I was witness to the descent of approximatively 100 Moldovans and 50 Peace Corp volunteers, all with the sensibilities of locusts, on a buffet that consisted of 15 tables crammed with food, 50 bottles of wine, and 50 bottles of water. The area was cleared of all potable liquids and all consumable foods within a time frame of 20 minutes. God himself couldn’t have summoned a scourge as fearsome as this pack.

2006-08-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

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.

I now been witness to the killing of dinner. It is a unique sensation to see an animal go from living to consumed in a matter of hours.

This week my host family killed a chicken. I admit that I found it quite exciting when they proposed I spectate this event. They took a robust hen from the barn, nuzzled it a bit and said a few comforting words, then proceeded with the slaughter. One person held the body while another held the head. Then they placed a slightly dull bread knife against the back of the chicken's head and began to saw. It only took about thirty seconds of strenuous effort to get the knife through the chicken's spinal column, once severed, the head of the chicken came off quite easily. Then the person with the responsibility of holding the body pointed the neck stub away from all people in order to avoid spraying anyone with blood. The carcass was then placed into a bucket until the conniptions discontinued.

After the chicken carcass with through flopping about, they proceeded to defeather it. Which was an astonishingly efficient process. They placed it in a wash basin and poured hot water over it, then began plucking. The feathers were removed in approximately one minute and within two hours it was made into soup and on the table for dinner.

It was a strange sensation eating a chicken that I had been acquainted with, I wouldn't say that we were friends but we had crossed paths on several occassions thus I felt bit of remorse for consuming it in the form of chicken noodle soup.

Next time a chicken is sacrificed for our sustenence I will be allowed the honor of killing it, although I think I will sharpen the knife first.

2006-07-16T02:23:00.000-07:00

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.

I feel I have gotten quite skilled in the use of the Moldovan well, thus I feel I should share the wealth and give a tutorial on how to retrieve water...
Moldovan Well Tutorial:
-Open the lid on the well
-Lower bucket into the shaft of the well using the crank arm
*DO NOT throw the bucket in and let it free fall, there is the potential that the wire attached to the bucket will break and that is very tragic because many people rely on the same well
-When all the wire is uncoiled wait for a few moments while the buckets sinks, thereby filling with cool, clear, refreshing water
-You can tell when the bucket is full because the wire will become taunt
-Once the wire becomes taunt begin raising the bucket full of water using the crank arm
-The crank arm must not be moved to quickly or with a jerky motion because the bucket will hit the sides of the well and spill most of the water
-Once the bucket is brought out of the well, pour the water from the well bucket into your personal bucket to be carried into the house
-Close the lid

I have found well use to be entertaining as well as excellent excercise because water is heavy. Pulling the bucket from the well using the crank arm works the abdominals, pouring water between buckets works the back, picking up the buckets full of water excercises the legs, and carrying the water into the house works the arms.

2006-07-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

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.

Well, the American Independence party on July 1st was great fun. The United States Marines were the organizers and those men certainly know how to throw an excellent party. The party goers were principally Peace Corp volunteers; apparently, if you offer volunteers free food and drink we show up in droves and consume all that is before us in a manner similar to locusts.

This past weekend we visited our future sites, where beginning in mid August we will be working and living for the next two years. While at site we auditioned host families, whom we will live with for a period of at least 6 months and potentially for up to 2 years; thus, the audition is important because living for an extended period of time with a family whom you do not feel comfortable is a quite intolerable situation.

During this audition I found that there is great variety in outhouses. In America I had copt many a urination in a port-a-john but never an outhouse; thus, I had always assumed that outhouses all consisted of a shanty protecting a hole in the ground. I was quite wrong. Now that I have utilized many outhouses I see there many varietals. There are squatters, boxes with a hole, benches with cushions, there are boundless opportunities for creativity in the realm of the outhouse. What is most interesting is that people are proud of their outhouses, they take great pride in the quality of their outhouse. However, no matter how much effort, thought, and creativity are put into the creation of an outhouse it is guaranteed that they all smell!

While at my site visit, my future colleagues took me on an outing to the nearby lake. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, we had barbecued rabbit, chicken, and fish as well as cucumbers, tomatoes, plachenta (pie made with meat or cheese or cabbage), cookies, cake and lots of alcohol. Rabbit is an interesting meat to consume, I found it a bit stringy and tough. Personally, I think a rabbit makes a better pet than a source of protein.

Many in the party went swimming in the lake. However, I found that the plethora of litter present, floating on top of the lake and on its shores, as well as the smell of fecal matter emanating from the water was a bit of a repellent to swimming. I just could not make myself wade through empty beer bottles to get into water that smelled like feces, but I also do not care for swimming.

2006-06-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

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.

When I arrived in Moldova, I was concerned that the summer temperatures here would be lacking the intensity to which I am accustomed. Since, the first two weeks of my stint in Moldova consisted of plentiful, monsoon like, torrenenchial rain and cool temperatures (never over 60F). However, the past week has put my apprehensions, about a cool summer, to rest because now it is hot and extremely humid. I would equate the current weather to the past summer in Asheville; which, was one of the hottest Asheville summers I have ever experienced. What made last summer bearable was climate control. Here climate control is an advertised luxury, restaurants post signs in the windows stating the perk of air conditioning. Im okay living without air conditioning but a fan would be really nice. However, fans are also an unknown commodity here.

I did learn something from the frequent onslaughts of rain, storm drains are such an incredible invention. Here there are no storm drains nor any system for removing/dispersing rain water thus when it rains the streets literally turn to small rivers. With rain, it is impossible to move about town because the water becomes calf deep within 10 minutes. So, kudos to the inventor of the storm drain!

One of the best things about living in Moldova is the produce. I never knew fruits and vegetables could be so fresh and so tasty. Right now, the most plentiful products are raspberries, strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, and a variety of plums that are the size of cherries. The raspberries are my personal favorite. In comparison with American raspberries: these are sweeter, much larger (about twice the size), they come in two colors (red and yellow) and they are cheaper here. In the piata a kilogram of raspberries cost 10 lei -translation- in the local market two pounds of raspberries cost 80 cents. The tiny plums are quite unique as well, they are the size of a cherry but they still taste exactly like a plum. Its crazy! The tomatoes available here also are better than the average tomatoes available in American grocery stores. The tomatoes are similarly sized however they are more ripe, fresh, juicy and sweet. One word: INCREDIBLE!

2006-06-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

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.

Went to Chisinau yesterday, I haven't been to the capital city since we first arrived in Moldova. We got to go out to eat, I have really missed that activity. We ate at a Lebanese restaurant, and at a pizza restaurant. The Lebanese food was fantastic, very ethnic. The restaurant had the feel of misogynism. Pizza in Moldova is pretty much the same as pizza in America but they have a more unique variety of toppings here, like pickles and corn. Moldovans don't set limits on the possibilities of pizza toppings, here the sky is the limit.
At every restaurant I have been to thus far in Moldova, all have hookah. I have yet to have partaken, but I intend to sometime. I think more restaurants in America should have post-meal hookah.
One of the coolest things here is the variety of restaurants in Chisinau, any ethnicity of food you can imagine, there is a restaurant for it in the capital city. Uzbekistan, Lebanese, Moroccan, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, British (in the form of potato bar), American, etc. I cant wait to try them all!
We went to a big alimentara (grocery store) yesterday, it was the most exciting trip to a alimentara ever. Its crazy how much you appreciate something once you have been deprived of it for an extended period of time. I got potato chips (flavored: barbecue, sour cream and dill, bacon, hot dog), white chocolate/chocolate/hazelnut nutella, a coke, and baby wipes.
This upcoming week is the American embassy/Chamber of Commerce independence party. It is in Chisinau and its for the whole American community in Moldova, which consists primarily of Peace Corp, embassy employees and missionaries. Thus it will be quite the motley crew at this affair. Its gonna be food, open bar, fireworks and lots of English speaking! (English speaking is another thing you never miss till it is gone) I have my fingers crossed for hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, and coke. But, I hear its going to be a pig roast/barbecue, known in Moldova as frigaroi, which is cool cause I do like barbecue!
Then later in the week we are taking a trip/tour of the south of Moldova. Ill let yall know how that is...

2006-06-18T05:42:00.001-07:00

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.

Finally...internet acess, oh how I have missed it.
Moldova is quite a change from the United States, more than I had anticipated.
The capital city, Chisinau, was everything I had imagined that a city in a post commuist country would be; crumbling buildings and a plethora of monuments honoring Lenin.
I am currently living in a village outside Orheii, which is a medium sized town north of Chisinau. Here in the village there are a tremendous number of farm animals roaming the streets. Goats, sheep, cows, horses, ducks, turkey, chickens, and some incredibly mangy cats and dogs. Hopefully soon I will be able to post some pictures.
The electricity is available most of the time, occassionally it will just go off for a half a day or so. Although the power not being available doesnt seem to phase any of the Moldovan locals, obviously it is a very common occurance.
There is running water, however, it is only running about one hour a day. What hour of the day it is, no one knows. Could be in the morning, could be at night, could be that it didnt come on at all. Its a guess and check system, you turn on the faucet and hope that something resembling water comes out of it. When the water is not running, which is almost all of the time, then it must be fetched from the well. The well is not the kind from the 1900s with a pump, its the kind from the 1300s with a bucket that is dropped into a stone lined hole. I have gotten water from the well several times and it is a workout. Water is heavy!
Showering/bathing is done by fetching water from the well, then heating it on the stove and mixing it with a bucket of cold water. This produces water that is just below scalding temperatures. Then this just below boiling water is dumped into two small plastic tubs which are inside a large bath tub. After all the preparation comes the process of bathing and washing one's hair.
You stand in the tub and using a plastic cup pour the hot water over you. It is difficult to capture with the written word the complete unpleasantness of bathing/showering in this manner. Needless to say, Im a dirty girl. Ive cut back on hair washing to one or two times a week, bathing to three or four times a week.
The food is good, or at least I enjoy it. Although I do need some heat, and neither spicy foods nor hot sauce exist here. The Moldovan diet, from my experience, consists of alot of homemade cheese, bread, pork, cabbage salad, and wine. The wine is drank in quantity almost every day and thus far it has all been homemade and it is awesome! (Eat your heart out Corky)

2006-05-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

The ball is rolling, faster... faster...
Sunday, June 4th the adventure begins... be sure to tune in!