My wallet was stolen!

Monday, October 22, 2007

I feel a lot better after hanging out with volunteers all weekend. Things are starting to look up. I might move into my own apartment starting November and I have an appt. to get all my id documents again. And tommorow is awesome, it's Tuesday Travel Club!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

You guys. What a day.

12pm
The dogs are barking outside. It’s a sunny but brisk day. I like how the Moldovans say that “there’s a sun out with teeth”. I also like how they “cheers” when someone isn’t drinking. This may just be in my village, but you all know everyone makes house wine here and so there is a lot of drinking going on all the time…so if you aren’t drinking and they cheers (which they do quite frequently) they tap their glass on your nose. It’s cute.

I taught (with my partner teacher) two 8th grade classes this morning. Then, I went home for a bit, and after trying out Skype to no avail, finally gave up and dialed from home…
I walked across Susleni to the hospital, dropped off some information and scheduled a meeting for this never-ending indoor toilet project….I really will be amazed if everything works out….and now I am home preparing for this weekend (a gettogether with all the Health Education volunteers to exchange information and hang out).

My meeting with the school director’s assistant and after-school girl’s club was canceled because one of our students died in a car accident yesterday so everyone is doing this lighting ceremony for him at 4. So, I will write my blog entry and then head out there to meet my students.

I didn’t know him very well, I am mainly going for support because my girls are really upset and so are the teachers. I really don’t want to go though. This will be my 4th funeral here and they weird me out. As with most things in good ol ‘Dova, censoring is not the main concern. The bodies are always right there and they aren’t as “pretty” as how we make them up in America.

I did go to my 1st wedding though recently and I will post some pics from that. It was so interesting. They have a speaker who manages the whole reception. There are lots of games and “hora”ing. (hora is this circle dance they do, FOR HOURS, it’s fun but long and if you don’t participate you suck)

Weddings here are ALL NIGHT LONG. This one started at 8pm and ended at 6am. They have activities throughout the whole thing and you eat and drink and dance in between. They prepared the food for over 100 people themselves. They also give a gift away to everyone that comes. The 1st dance is the bride and groom and helpers throw rose petals on them while they dance. Then there is a line and everyone stands across from 1 person and holds a flower up..this creates a kind of canopy…the groom carries the bride through the threshold and as they walk past you drop the flowers on the ground. Also, at one point the groom was hidden downstairs and the bride had to call him pet names and with every name she got a step closer to him and he took a step closer. They mostly use names for animals like “little bear”. I also had a wear a scarlet letter (haha) flower pin because I’m not married.

Back to my day…

We talked about personal values in class today. I just finished reading Kiterunner (which was poorly written in my opinion, but an interesting insight into Muslim culture). There is a line in that book about how there are lots of children in Afghanistan but little childhood. That is the way it is here in Moldova.

Anyway, all my host families’s chickens are dying. They are totally bummed and spending lots of money on medicine that doesn’t work. There was also a huge drought and Moldova’s crops did poorly this year too, so a lot of people complain and are depressed.

It’s very real. So in a way, sometimes it’s nice. People are transparent, which is easier on everybody, less ulterior motives and just plain honesty. But it’s also very uncensored.

Anyway, I am happy to be here to experience this and help in any way I can! I am more grateful for everything than I ever have been.


10:30pm
I am continuing to write this some hours later…..in the night.

As I left my house to go to the kid’s funeral ceremony, my host dad with his friends had just killed a pig in the driveway. It was an ugly scene, but slightly interesting in a morbid sense. I will post a g-rated picture of this. They are burning the hair off in the picture. Anyway, they asked if I wanted to help. So they wouldn’t hassle the sissy American girl, I was like, “yeah sure, I’ll be right back”. And I jetted out of there real fast.

Then I went to the funeral.

Weird day right?

So I came home a few hours ago. I walked in the door and a horrid smell of pork entered my nostrils. I wanted to vomit. All I could think of is that pig lying dead on my driveway. And then the dead boy I just saw at the funeral. Not exactly a Peace Corps highlight.

I hear voices in the kitchen..they say “Ryan sit down and eat with us!” I sit down because we have guests and I didn’t want to be impolite. There is no way I am eating ANYTHING tonight (but if you don’t sit down with the family’s masa or dinner table..you pretty much suck) So anyway, I sat, cuz obviously I totally don’t suck.

The stench of pork suffocated my lungs and I just sat there feeling as nausaus as my 1st experience with a tequila hangover. If I vomited, my host family would be embarrassed and everyone will be offended. This is a celebration, a feast, they just slaughtered a pig..it’s time to eat some of it!!!!

I tasted the saliva before vomit in my mouth. I swallowed and my host dad asked me if I wanted some house wine. I know that I have to consume something for my family to not be embarrassed of me. If it’s not this, it will be pork. That’s all there is on the table beside bread. And I can’t do pork. Or bread. So I say yes.

I slam the first glass. It washes down the vomit saliva. He pours me another. It is a little easier...

So after like 7 glasses, I feel a little calmer, although the smell of pig is still invading my nose and I am breathing small breaths while looking away and breathing into my shirt.

So I did what I think anyone in the circumstance would have done: I got hammered. I am sorry to admit weakness. I really am. But I was went to a really fucked up funeral while leaving to a pig being slaughtered in my yard. What’s a girl to do okay?

The funeral….. This kid was in a car accident.

His face was totally not a face. I tried not to look. I told you before, I went to support my students but when their eyes wandered to his body and they were upset by this, I did the same. I wish I could wash the twisted image from my mind.

They leave the body in their house for 3 days to mourn and so it is not alone. Everyone comes to visit the body. The mom passed out she was sobbing so loud and hard. It was not right. But it was so real. They can’t fall asleep leaving the body alone. So they made my students take turns all night staying with Arthur. I left. I left feeling just sick. So I came home and I told you what happened then. My house smelled like slaughtered pig and my family with guests were feasting.

I am spent.

I am sorry this is not a happy adventure. And I’m sorry that I teach about alcoholism being bad but I drank because I did NOT want to remember what I saw. I am not an alcoholic by any means, but it is clear to me why there are so many alcoholics in 3rd world countries.

Again to be clear, this is not a normal habit Mom, I swear.

I feel like I’ve become Moldovan in a way. I really understand what it means to live here. But at the same time, it’s not true because I know at any time I can check out of here and come back home to America.

Please don’t be alarmed, I am fine. Just one of those days! This wouldn’t be a real blog if I didn’t share the “bad” stuff too right?

Anyway, this whole weekend I will be out of my village and the break will be nice.

Take care of yourself and those around you.

All my love,
Ryan