Almost Done

I hope I have not used this picture as it is one of my favorites. You might note the tin work on the down spout. Apparently that is a skill that is used to curl tin cans also.

We are nearing the end of our PST (training for the rest of the world). We have language exams and just as many classes but last week we each visited our sites. On our own we took what ever public transportation would get you there. Mine was one small bus, one large bus and in the end a private car. But on the return it was three small buses.

My site is in the south and a small village. I will be working with an NGO (local) that is much like our PTAs. They have gotten together to improve the opportunity for kids in the village through activities and improvements on the school. I will leave further description to the future as I will have a better handle on what ever this means.

The language is something of a struggle but it is coming. I suspect that living in my village with no English speakers around will cause much progress in my ability to speak Romanian. In two weeks I will find out.

Spring is here and the trees are flowing as are the gardens. Green is everywhere and as at home most welcome with the warmer weather. My new village has lots of fruit trees and I look forward to enjoying the new season.

I am hoping for a more convenient internet access. I still don't have a phone and am one of only three in our group that has not bought one. Maybe I will change my mine after I get to my village.

On line

I was not able as the last entry stated to get much on my blog the last time I was in Chisinau. I am trying again and will put the more recent stuff at the top of this blog.

By the way this picture is of a road, not un like the one I live on. But notice the make of the car on the right.

I have been in Moldova now for a little over four weeks. Today was a looong day as we had our first language exam. The effort was to get a third party’s assessment of our language progress. I managed to get assigned to the last paring of the day, which made for a long nervous wait. I have a hard time understanding what folks say to me but this week I have been able to explain to my host sister when I don’t need her to make me lunch even though I will not be home for lunch. I think that she understands me. Something of a break through!

We find out tomorrow how we did. Up until now we have stayed in our same grouping with three of us in each class and the same teacher. It is expected that maybe our groupings will be changed along with our teacher after the test, which by the way was all oral.

We also have a project that we are working on involving a fund raiser. We are working with some high school students to have a talent type concert that will benefit the preschool across the street from our Peace Corps school. After the test this afternoon we had a meeting with the mayor and we thought we had a meeting with the parents of the preschool. But apparently the parent meeting, more like a PTA, was moved to yesterday and not knowing this we missed it.

It is said that training is nothing like time in your village. I seem to remember that from the last time I was in the Peace Corps. We have little time to ourselves now but will have lots later.

Also if I can get them on, these murals are in the basement room of the preschool. In Soviet time, this school and two others in our village housed all the too young to go to primary school students while their parents worked. One of the preschools has been closed down and the other two are running below capacity. When the Soviet Union collapsed the infrastructure that held much of the activity in this country together went with it. Now that Romania has become apart of the EU, Moldova has become even more isolated. There are not a lot of choices in the way of jobs. Many families have members that are working out of this country and many are doing it legally.

But I will get to that in future blogs.

What follows is what should have been post two weeks ago, enjoy:
I have been in my host family’s home for two weeks this weekend and only away from home for three weeks. Two days were spent in Philadelphia, two days were spend traveling to Moldova and two days were spent in Chisinau.

My days start with Moldovan/Romanian language classes except on Thursday and Sunday. On Thursday we spend the whole day doing all the other stuff besides language that will fill these ten weeks of training. I have to keep reminding myself that I have only been studying Romanian for two weeks as I get frustrated trying to speak. There are very few people in our small town who speak any English and thus all communication has to happen in Romanian. Bingo, frustration.

My training group left Philadelphia with twenty nine of us. Last week one of number opted to return home. Most likely we will loose more before our ten weeks is complete and we are sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers the first week in May. The Peace Corps is working hard to make sure we all make it but at the same time they want us to know what we will face.

While we are near the same latitude as northern Michigan, spring is arriving. Most yards have been tilled and seeds are going in. The roads are filling up with mud as the rains water the seeds. Our grandfather is in charge of our garden. We are still eating food from last year’s garden. We have a rabbit and chickens in our yard. And we are all greeted by a small fluffy white dog when we come in the gate. I think he might be getting use to me as he only barks occasionally when I come home. He serves as our door bell.

My home for the next weeks is new with a nice inside bathroom, including a flush toilet and a washing machine. The washing machine is German made but the instructions are in Russian. I bought a Snickers bar the other day and with the exception of the word Snickers all the writing on the wrapper is in Russian.

In country...

Well, I had hoped to transfer stuff from my flash drive to this blog but it does not work. It is the end of my second week in Peresecina, my host town. Learning the language is frustrating and I don't as yet have a regular internet connectionso this is quick. I am doing great and hope to get on longer next time. Hi to all. By the way this is my disclaimer: I am not peace corps and only speak for myself.

The Peace Corps has really changed. Most to the better!!!!

Philly

This is the picture I tried to put on my blog in the last entry. My luggage. I am now in Philadelphia and have spend half a day with the 28 other volunteers headed to Moldova and have learned that at least on the part of the ladies, packing was impossible and we all have more luggage then we were suppose to bring.
Just a quick message to describe our group, lots of young volunteers, just out of graduate school or recently graduated. One married couple (older) a couple of other +50s, one women and one man other than myself and lots of wonderful co-volunteers. With all kinds of talents and expertise. Our biggest representation is from Texas. But there is someone else here from Michigan, Harbor Springs. Have some reading to do for tomorrow's day long session so am signing off. Idealism is running ramped. My kind of people!

Gone

I am not yet gone but on a plane this afternoon to visit my sister in NJ and then Sunday stagging in Philadelphia. Then Tuesday it should be on a plane to Moldova. Time has finally arrived. Susie is already in Romania as she left for stagging on Monday.
If there is no picture on this entry you can blame it on the wonderful wireless here in Oakland County that I have been using since I got my new computer. Beware, the old wireless cards do not fit new computers and the phone companies are not working for their customers. But I have a feeling that my wireless access maybe better in Moldova.
That brings me to the bit of information that this maybe my last entry until after training. Training is reported to be quite time consuming which means maybe not time for blogging.
The picture that I wanted to put on this entry was of my suitcases of which I have spent a good part of the last few weeks packing and repacking in an effort to get most of the stuff on the packing list and the additional stuff I thought I would need in. I look forward to discovering whether I was successful or not. That is did I bring the stuff that I will need.
Wish me Drum Bun.

Last week in Mackinaw

Heading South!!

This is our last week in Mackinaw City. Boy, did we get a dozy of a storm to send us off. The wind is whistling around the house and we can not tell how much snow we got last night as it has been blown all over. Friday we head south for the last time.

It has been a fun fall trading shelter for work here at the tip of the lower mitt. Only having three television stations, no PBS. No newspaper but the on-line versions. Walking to the post office most days to gather the mail and get the latest news from others that are also gathering their mail.

The new GLLKA offices are well on their way to being finished and we helped pull out the walls and cellings of the greasy spoon it use to be. Our trips to the Soo for Tai Chi. The weeks that we got to docent on the Icebreaker Mackinaw. Our work to get the historic village started on artifact accessioning. The folks that we knew when we got here and now know better than ever. All the new folks we now know. The difference between summer Mackinaw City and winter Mackinaw City. It has been fun and rewarding. I can't forget the great cross country skiing we have done!

But both Susie and I have our plane reservations to head off to Philadelphia and stagging. Susie leaves on the 18th of February and I head out on the 24th of February. My plan is to visit my sister Jean and her husband in New Jersey for a couple of days and then on to Phily.

Next month at this time I will be learning more Moldovan language and culture IN Moldova. I just hope I finally solve the getting everything in the suitcase problem before then. The more reading I do the more I think that winter will be winding down and it will be next winter for much of the heavy clothes. I'll let you all know.

The Countdown has begun...

Yes, these two pictures were taken less than a week apart and both with my camera. The one on the left is a blue heron following fishermen on the beach in Florida (he showed up most days to check out the daily catch) and the one on the right is me cross country skiing in the woods of Mackinaw City.

Jus and I spent Christmas exploring the beaches of southwest Florida. A friend lent us her digs as she had gone north for the holiday. We took long walks on the beach, explored the western part of Everglades National Park and stopped in the little beach towns along the coast. We even got to see Kelly and Marc, buying both Jus and Marc new suits. Isn't that why we go to Florida?

But then it was back up to Mackinaw City as I try to slow my mind down enough to make a list of those things I must do before leaving for Moldova in just over a month. The excitement is building!

My excitement yesterday was the fact that a presently serving Moldova Peace Corps volunteer discovered this blog and wrote me. It is wonderful to have direct communication with someone that is doing what you are going to be doing in just a couple of months. We have exchanged several emails in the last twenty-four hours. Information is becoming much less generic.

Next week I am off again to spend a long weekend with my kids, we are also celebrating Christmas together, to say my good-byes. It is sad to write that but this morning I was putting together information for contacting me while in Moldova with my newly acquired information that it could be entirely possible that we will be communicating by email. Along way from the snail mail letters of Bolivia.

Oh, before I forget, welcome to those of you that are visiting this blog for the first time. I am now completely sold on email holiday greetings. After sending out mine this year I heard back from many people I had not touched base with for several years with long emails. That never happened with snail mail holiday greetings.

Peace in the New Year!