September 2007
Sunday, September 13, 2007
7:45pm
Hi.
Hope life is treating you well!
I am awesome. School and Travel Club are rolling, other projects, and I have a lot of work for Moldova on my hands and less than 1 year to complete it, so I am super-motivated to get on the ball and make things happen. Wish me luck. I’d hate to come home with tattoos and that’s all. ;)
Friday day, I came into Chisinau (capital) to meet up with my program manager and country director to discuss developments on my work/living plan. Saturday was my friend Patrick’s birthday party (he is a volunteer who plays mandolin) at this disco with these American Marines who guard the Embassy-it was a late night and we met these Moldovans out who are going to drive me and another volunteer to a waterfall here, and then Sunday----today----I caught up on some zzz’s, worked on lesson plans/emails/PC work, had dinner with a girlfriend Angela in Orhei, then hung out with my host family a bit.
It is grape season and the rest of this week we’ll be picking! It’s fun, but hard work. I usually stick around long enough to get my infamous Peace Corps picking grapes pic and then start complaining like most Americans would….haha.
To catch up from the summer….
Highlights: Moldova in the summer is hot and lovely. Fresh fruits and veggies at the market, house wine under the lagoon of flowers at my host families house, loud Moldovan music on the streets even in the village…..4th of July in the capital : I conducted an activity with hulahoops and a watermelon during the American celebration concert (Adam played there)…I also helped with Vadul lui Voodstock…this festival promoting peace between Transnistria and Moldova. Adam played with his band Tixii Omut there as well and I helped an organization with ideas and activities for things to do throughout the show…we had different things there—a huge tarp we made into a PEACE WALL (they are going to keep this going as this is an annual festival and in years the wall will get longer and longer!), health information tables for youth, photo contest pics about peace, and a lottery in which I gave away a skateboard that was made by these sweet Moldovan hipsters (I am amazed to have found them here!)
The coolest part was that I announced IN ROMANIAN the winners and prizes on stage and was one of those annoying in-between-bands-girls in front of 2,000 people!!!
The festival also gave away 2 guitars to the bands with the best peace songs! I got to be a part of the selection jury when they selected the bands for the festival. I listened to 70 bands and was impressed there were so many in Moldova.
I had one other moment on a stage this summer too!!!! I was definitely not expecting these kind of opportunities here in Moldova! I threw Adam a goodbye party (he went home to America) and made a surprise blues song with his band and sang at their last concert in front of all the volunteers—it was really fun.
I had a hip-hop dance camp for my high school students and helped other volunteers with their health camps in their villages, and also spent a lot of time with Adam and our Moldovan (and American) friends in his fabulous apartment in the Center.
As for now….
I have been attempting to move to a new site about 20 minutes away (I would still be working with my village Susleni in the school). It’s been almost impossible to find a place to live. I had to go through A LOT to get this approved to begin with, and now the apartment I wanted to take no longer has a roof and the manager tried to make me pay 100 lei (pronounced lay) for even showing me the place. Shady lady. I’ve done everything within my power to find a place there but nothing has turned up. The problem is that in Orhei, noone wants to rent they only want to sell. Renting is not a popular concept in Moldova just yet….at least in ANYWHERE but the capital. But I finally had to ask Peace Corps for help. They gave me some contact info, so we’ll see how it goes…
Why do I want to move?
I love my host fam, but I need my own place. I meditate every day ideally and my host Mom is not one to knock on doors. Also, hitchhiking is not recommended by Peace Corps, but it’s totally different here than in America, in a lot of places including Susleni-sometimes it’s the only way to get around in Moldova, as there is no public transportation and volunteers aren’t aloud to drive. If I move, I will have a schedule and could probably pay one of my Moldovan friends to drive me during those times and no more hitchhiking! It’s fun sometimes, but I really prefer not to. So hopefully I can move and won’t have to worry so much about hitching anymore.
Otherwise, I am really busy with planning classes and activities with my (173 total-5th-8th grades) students, organizing Moldova Travel Club (I am directing it this year and pumped-it’s the most amazing club!), helping MoldovaTip an antitrafficking group collect resources, listening to music (xavier rudd currently), hanging out with my host fam, eating placinta (kind of like a hot pocket with a different cheese or potatoes), missing my family and friends from home, hanging out with old and making new volunteer and Moldovan friends, watching volunteers come and go home (such impressive individuals! I have yet to meet a volunteer I didn’t like), hearing about all the amazing projects and positive changes volunteers have made and are making, reading about our President online, wondering if what I’m reading is really true, waiting for my mom to send me a package she said she was sending in March (that’s right Momma-I’m CALLING YOU OUT! haha), setting the two young teachers in my school up (as a matter of fact, they are getting married at the end of September), learning tricks on how to save paper and be less wasteful in general (my host fam doesn’t even use a trash can), practicing fire-twirling (my teacher Nadia who speaks Russian but a little English is a student in Ukraine and she went back to school so I am still practicing with decoy pois-which are the chain thingys that you twirl) I don’t mean to sound like a pro by ANY MEANS-I am FAR from it, I have only practiced with fire one time, my other hobby was learning harmonica over the summer but I have stopped practicing lately due to less time with school—I plan on getting back to it soon—Adam, my teacher and boyfriend was medically separated from Peace Corps and has returned to Madison, Wisconsin—that was sad, what else…I think that’s about it in a nutshell. Maybe other random trips, planning for after Peace Corps (or thinking a lot about how I should be planning actually hehe), and just staying busy. I am pretty alone, but feel wonderful, extremely capable and motivated to make this year productive and fabulous!
Write me or send packages…I would love it and most likely send you one back! ;)
All my love,
Ry
7:45pm
Hi.
Hope life is treating you well!
I am awesome. School and Travel Club are rolling, other projects, and I have a lot of work for Moldova on my hands and less than 1 year to complete it, so I am super-motivated to get on the ball and make things happen. Wish me luck. I’d hate to come home with tattoos and that’s all. ;)
Friday day, I came into Chisinau (capital) to meet up with my program manager and country director to discuss developments on my work/living plan. Saturday was my friend Patrick’s birthday party (he is a volunteer who plays mandolin) at this disco with these American Marines who guard the Embassy-it was a late night and we met these Moldovans out who are going to drive me and another volunteer to a waterfall here, and then Sunday----today----I caught up on some zzz’s, worked on lesson plans/emails/PC work, had dinner with a girlfriend Angela in Orhei, then hung out with my host family a bit.
It is grape season and the rest of this week we’ll be picking! It’s fun, but hard work. I usually stick around long enough to get my infamous Peace Corps picking grapes pic and then start complaining like most Americans would….haha.
To catch up from the summer….
Highlights: Moldova in the summer is hot and lovely. Fresh fruits and veggies at the market, house wine under the lagoon of flowers at my host families house, loud Moldovan music on the streets even in the village…..4th of July in the capital : I conducted an activity with hulahoops and a watermelon during the American celebration concert (Adam played there)…I also helped with Vadul lui Voodstock…this festival promoting peace between Transnistria and Moldova. Adam played with his band Tixii Omut there as well and I helped an organization with ideas and activities for things to do throughout the show…we had different things there—a huge tarp we made into a PEACE WALL (they are going to keep this going as this is an annual festival and in years the wall will get longer and longer!), health information tables for youth, photo contest pics about peace, and a lottery in which I gave away a skateboard that was made by these sweet Moldovan hipsters (I am amazed to have found them here!)
The coolest part was that I announced IN ROMANIAN the winners and prizes on stage and was one of those annoying in-between-bands-girls in front of 2,000 people!!!
The festival also gave away 2 guitars to the bands with the best peace songs! I got to be a part of the selection jury when they selected the bands for the festival. I listened to 70 bands and was impressed there were so many in Moldova.
I had one other moment on a stage this summer too!!!! I was definitely not expecting these kind of opportunities here in Moldova! I threw Adam a goodbye party (he went home to America) and made a surprise blues song with his band and sang at their last concert in front of all the volunteers—it was really fun.
I had a hip-hop dance camp for my high school students and helped other volunteers with their health camps in their villages, and also spent a lot of time with Adam and our Moldovan (and American) friends in his fabulous apartment in the Center.
As for now….
I have been attempting to move to a new site about 20 minutes away (I would still be working with my village Susleni in the school). It’s been almost impossible to find a place to live. I had to go through A LOT to get this approved to begin with, and now the apartment I wanted to take no longer has a roof and the manager tried to make me pay 100 lei (pronounced lay) for even showing me the place. Shady lady. I’ve done everything within my power to find a place there but nothing has turned up. The problem is that in Orhei, noone wants to rent they only want to sell. Renting is not a popular concept in Moldova just yet….at least in ANYWHERE but the capital. But I finally had to ask Peace Corps for help. They gave me some contact info, so we’ll see how it goes…
Why do I want to move?
I love my host fam, but I need my own place. I meditate every day ideally and my host Mom is not one to knock on doors. Also, hitchhiking is not recommended by Peace Corps, but it’s totally different here than in America, in a lot of places including Susleni-sometimes it’s the only way to get around in Moldova, as there is no public transportation and volunteers aren’t aloud to drive. If I move, I will have a schedule and could probably pay one of my Moldovan friends to drive me during those times and no more hitchhiking! It’s fun sometimes, but I really prefer not to. So hopefully I can move and won’t have to worry so much about hitching anymore.
Otherwise, I am really busy with planning classes and activities with my (173 total-5th-8th grades) students, organizing Moldova Travel Club (I am directing it this year and pumped-it’s the most amazing club!), helping MoldovaTip an antitrafficking group collect resources, listening to music (xavier rudd currently), hanging out with my host fam, eating placinta (kind of like a hot pocket with a different cheese or potatoes), missing my family and friends from home, hanging out with old and making new volunteer and Moldovan friends, watching volunteers come and go home (such impressive individuals! I have yet to meet a volunteer I didn’t like), hearing about all the amazing projects and positive changes volunteers have made and are making, reading about our President online, wondering if what I’m reading is really true, waiting for my mom to send me a package she said she was sending in March (that’s right Momma-I’m CALLING YOU OUT! haha), setting the two young teachers in my school up (as a matter of fact, they are getting married at the end of September), learning tricks on how to save paper and be less wasteful in general (my host fam doesn’t even use a trash can), practicing fire-twirling (my teacher Nadia who speaks Russian but a little English is a student in Ukraine and she went back to school so I am still practicing with decoy pois-which are the chain thingys that you twirl) I don’t mean to sound like a pro by ANY MEANS-I am FAR from it, I have only practiced with fire one time, my other hobby was learning harmonica over the summer but I have stopped practicing lately due to less time with school—I plan on getting back to it soon—Adam, my teacher and boyfriend was medically separated from Peace Corps and has returned to Madison, Wisconsin—that was sad, what else…I think that’s about it in a nutshell. Maybe other random trips, planning for after Peace Corps (or thinking a lot about how I should be planning actually hehe), and just staying busy. I am pretty alone, but feel wonderful, extremely capable and motivated to make this year productive and fabulous!
Write me or send packages…I would love it and most likely send you one back! ;)
All my love,
Ry
posted by MissRy at 10:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home