Fiti Atenti !

Tomorrow my group will provide a seminar on hypertension for adults in the community, in Romanian! Just a bit nervous! Learning a new language in a new country in nine and a half weeks is absolutely exhausting. I was thinking the other day about my anatomy and physiology class, and how stinking hard it was. An 8 our course with 200 true/false question exams? Blah! However, many times in Moldova I have found myself wishing to be back in good ole Dana's classroom. The Peace Corps is quite difficult. I just keep telling myself that it will all be worth it, and we learn the most through the challenges we face.

I am really enjoying the friendships I have made here. These crazy people are the ones that keep me sane most days. Who new that I would fill my time with an armpit hair growing contest? Also, my knife skills have improved tremendously. Well, that is until two days ago when I cut my finger trying to open my first package from home. I have been using a cutit (knife, pronounced coots-eet) quite often here, cutting everything from tomatoes to cucumbers and plastic water/beer bottles. I found out today that the bottom of the bottles will be used in January/February for soil and seeds to grow certain vegetables.

A few interesting facts: 1) Cats and kittens are extremely resilient. However, they do not always land on their feet. 2) Some people in Moldova love shouting things like “Liberty America” and “Obama.” 3) Apparently, I blend in here because I look Russian. 4) Melc (pronounced milk) is the Romanian word for snail. 5) It is extremely hot in Moldova in the summer. 6) Yoga is extremely difficult, and I feel like the “beginner” videos are made to make inflexible people feel bad about themselves. 7) My host family has the largest rabbit I have ever seen in my entire life, and today I met him for the first time (very exciting). 

 8) Peanut butter is similar to cookie dough and brownie batter in that it can be used as medicine for the soul. It has serious healing powers.

I have learned to appreciate small victories, while trying not to sweat the small stuff. It's all quite confusing, and I feel like it will be for a while. Oh, Moldova.

Ah! The Language

Today we had the second of two "micro-teaching" activities during PST. The first was just two weeks ago, and in English. Today, was a different story. Just last week, we were given our assignments and partners. Since then, my partner and I have worked on preparing the lesson and translating into Romanian. Today each group presented, and did a fantastic job. I am so proud of our little group of five in Colonita!!
Today, I also helped my host parents in the garden by filling 100 small plastic bags with dirt. Due to the language barrier, the only thing I understood was that it was for cucumbers; other than that I have no idea what the purpose was. Its all part of the experience, and for some reason I'm enjoying it.

All of the 53ish volunteers that came in my large group on June 8, 2011 are split up into four sections: Health Education, English Education, Agricultural Development, and Community Development. Beyond these divisions, each section is split up into different villages each with around 7-9 trainees. In just a few weeks, we will all spread out throughout Moldova to our permanent villages. I am excited, but nervous to be the only weird American in the entire village. I say weird American because in the villages (especially with a population of about 4,000) we certainly stand out. I get many, many strange looks while jogging through the village in the evening, and I'm positive the people think that I must be running from something.

After finishing my first lesson in Romanian today I felt relieved... maybe I can actually do this. Maybe I can actually learn the language AND teach health to the children and community of Tipala. Well, I guess I will find out. For now, I am optimistic.
Next week, we will provide a seminar for adults in our current community of Colonita. I am quite nervous for this! We will be speaking in Romanian, for an hour, about hypertension. It should certainly be interesting :)
Finally, beginning on August 1st and lasting for two weeks is "Practice School" where we will work, for the first time, with our future partners. Supposedly, during this time I will be the busiest that I will be during my whole Peace Corps service. A bit scary, but I have done so many things here that I never, in a million years, dreamed I could do. I have surprised myself everyday. So, bring it on practice school!

The Beginning Slideshow

The Beginning Slideshow: "TripAdvisor™ TripWow ★ The Beginning Slideshow ★ to Chisinau, Philadelphia and Munich. Stunning free travel slideshows on TripAdvisor"

Hello Moldova

I am creating this blog to remember and share the experiences of my Peace Corps service in Moldova. I arrived in Moldova on June 8, 2011, just over one month ago. I am currently in Pre-Service Training (PST) until I am sworn in, and become an official Peace Corps Volunteer, on August 17, 2011.
I am living in the village of Colonita with a host family (a mother, father, two brothers, and a sister). The village is located about 45 minutes away (by rutiera/autobus) from Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova.
PST consists of language classes (Monday-Saturday), technical classes (three to four times per week), and "hub-site" days. On hub-site days, my entire group (about 50 people) travels to Chisinau to listen to lectures about things like physical and mental health, money, safety, etc.
After I am sworn in, I will leave Colonita for a village called Tipala, Ialoveni. Tipala is about one hour from Chisinau by autobus. I visited Tipala last week to meet my future host family, partner teachers, nurse partner, and other people of the village. It was a huge success! My future host mother is a wonderful woman, and it will be just her and I in the house. She is a Romanian teacher at the same school I will be working at, and is part of my motivation for learning Romanian as fast as I possibly can. I am excited to return to Tipala, and be able to converse with her in Romanian!
In Tipala I will work in the school and health center. In the school, I will work with two partner teachers in grades 5-8 teaching health. In the health center, it is a slightly less clear what my actual job will be. I hope to work with my nurse partner to provide seminars and general health information for the community.
Overall, my experience thus far has been wonderful. Overwhelming at times, but wonderful nonetheless. If there is one thing that I have learned in Moldova it is: If I think something will/should happen a certain way, it is almost certain that the opposite will happen. This crazy, uncontrollable way of life is both difficult and exciting. My friends and family know that I am a bit of a control freak, and that is certainly being challenged in Moldova. I am learning many things (including a completely new language), but mostly I am learning to relax and take things as they come!