Getting into a routine

9/2/2011-9/20/2011: General Impressions

The last time I wrote, school had just started. Now, I am about three weeks in and have a settled schedule. I also started tutoring lessons with the Russian teacher at my school. On the second of September I changed host families because of some issues I had with the host brother in my first one. So, I spent the first week of the school year getting used to both a new living environment and a new school.

I like my new host family situation, although I will miss the indoor shower that my previous host family had. For the last few weeks I have been taking a bath about twice a week. There is a sink indoors, but no running water. Instead there is a kind of bucket that you put water in and then push this thing up to make the water come out. The thing does not hold much water so I am constantly refilling it from one of the nearby water buckets. There is a washing machine in the main house, but it is not hooked up to the water yet. I have been told that it will be hooked up sometime in October or early November. For now, when I need to wash my clothes I use a machine that I think was built during the Soviet era. Basically, you put water in the machine, add clothes and soap and then turn the machine on. Afterwards, I bring my clothes to a basin near the well and rinse them. After that I hang them on the line to dry. I don't think that will work in the winter, but I am sure I will be told where to put them when the time comes. Although the toilet is still outside, I am happy that everything else, other than the clothes line is indoors.

At my new home, there are two buildings. I live in the main house which contains four rooms and an entrance way. It is a nice house and my room is large. The only problem is that I have to walk through my host mother's room to get to mine. It makes sense because I think my room used to be the living room. Apparently my host mother will be living in the other building once the room is finished, but for now I have to walk through it if I want to leave the house.

In the other building is the kitchen, the bathroom, an entrance way, and the unfinished room. The kitchen is pretty small and heats up a lot when food is made. At least that means it will not be cold in the winter. As I mentioned before, in the bathroom is a tub, a sink, the soviet style washing machine, and the soba. I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but a soba is basically a wood stove that heats a few room. You put wood in the slot and light a fire. The heat radiates from the ceramics. There is one soba in the small house and two in the main house. My new living arrangements are very different from what I am used to in America. but I should be fairly comfortable for the next two years/ 691 days.

School is relatively straightforward. I have three or four classes a day and a break sometime during the day. On Tuesday I have three periods free in a row. Having that time is very nice. It gives me time to study Russian or to listen to music. My classes are okay. I wish the children spoke better English, but I suppose that is why I am here. Hopefully my two years here will make a significant impact. One thing worth mentioning I guess, is that unlike in the United States, children in primary school do not have one teacher for all the subjects. There is a teacher for science, another for history, and so on. They have a homeroom class and teacher, and they have some classes in their home room, but for other classes, they go to the respective room for that subject, even in the younger grades (forms). Students in the lower grades also only have English twice a week. I think this makes it harder for them to learn the English vocabulary and grammar. 10th-12th grade have language three times a week, still two fewer than in the US.

My classes are going decently. My fourth, fifth, and sixth form classes are the most difficult because they have the most students and the students make noise. I still need to come up with an effective strategy to make them be quite for longer. In my 9th form class that I teach alone there are three boys who talk to each other during class. Hopefully I will be able to think of a strategy to make them be quite soon.

My tutoring lessons are going well too. My tutor only speaks Russian which means that I have to use my dictionary a lot, but at the same time it forces me to improve me speaking and listening skills so that I can say what I need to and understand what she is saying all in Russian. I am sure there are some words that I will begin to understand even if I don't quite understand their meaning simply through her use of them. For the last couple of sessions we have been reviewing material that I already know. At the same time, it is usual  because over the summer we were given a lot of information over a fairly short period of time. I have created a mini-dictionary with all of the new words that I am learning. Hopefully I will remember all or at least most of them.

First Bell

9/1/2011

Today was the first day of the new school year, referred to as the first bell. First, at about 8:30 there was an assembly at the school. Older students mc'd the event. At it, the director, the mayor, and some students spoke. The first graders collectively read a poem. Someone sang a song. Music was played through some speakers. Everyone was dressed really nicely. I wore my black suit. Many of the students had brought flowers to give to the teachers. Oh, and I finally danced the hora at the assembly. One of the students pulled me into one of the hora circles. The hora is basically the national dance of Moldova, although people dance it in other places. Students also brought food, mostly fruit. The assembly lasted about an hour. Near the end, bells were rung, hence the first bell name. It was very different from any in America. Apart from the music and dancing, it was also held outside. Everyone stood in a horseshoe, with the teachers near the front. The students also seemed to be organized by class. During the assembly some of the younger children played with balloons. The assembly took about an hour.

After the assembly, classes started. Students had a meeting with their homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher seems to be much more important than they are in the US, although I am not sure if the students have the same homeroom teacher throughout their time at the school, or if it changes every year. It might be like the US where the class adviser stays with the class throughout high school. There were some other classes, but I only had one. The schedule hadn't been made yet, so it was an adventure trying to figure out which classes I would have, and particularly when they would be. In between one of the classes, the 12th graders gave all the teachers food and champagne. I had a couple of pieces of kiwis.

I had my class after that. My 9th form (grade) class went well, although not as I had planned because the students didn't have textbooks. The room was also really hot. After the last class, there was a teacher's meeting where we discussed the day. At around 1:30, the meeting was over and we were done for the day. The first day of school celebration is definitely something unique to Moldovan culture, and it was fun to experience even if it was kind of a hectic, although short, day.

Summer vacation, finally.

8/24/2011

Today, I went to a meeting with a bunch of teachers from my district that was held in the district capital, a large town/ small city called Drochia. The meeting was completely in Romanian so I understood little of it. Basically, from what my partner teacher told me, the meeting was about how to improve education and contained a report about schools from the previous school year. It was interesting to notice that conferences in Moldova can be just as boring as I imagine they are in the United States. I was able to keep busy by writing a story. If I ever finish it, maybe I'll post part of it here. Who knows.

In the meeting various people talked, including some kids that role played a classroom situation. The meeting was also opened by two teenagers. After the meeting, we headed back to my village on a bus. We then hitchhiked from a nearby village to mine since there weren't any buses that went directly to my village at that time of day. I think there might have been one at 5, but we would have waited for 3.5 hours to catch that one. Here, hitchhiking seems to not be a very big deal. Every time I have had occasion to do it, someone else has been in the vehicle with me doing the same thing. Although the meeting was boring, it was nice to experience more of Moldovan culture.

08/25/11-8/27/2011:

Thursday was a pretty normal day. I went to school in the morning at about 9am. Around nine there was a teacher's meeting that lasted a really long time because the school director read from a report that I imagine probably came from or was inspired by the previous day's meeting. The mayor also spoke at the meeting.Apparently teachers are upset about class sizes in schools. Some problems transcend cultures. After the meeting, I went home and relaxed.

On Friday, I woke up a little bit before 6 and headed to Chisinau. I got there around 11:30. It takes a while, but at least the bus I was in was not very crowded for much of the time, at least once we got past Balti (pronounced Balts). Balti is referred to as the northern capital of Moldova. Cahul, another city, is called the capital of the south. From what I could see, Balti is smaller than Chisinau but has many of the same stores, including some of the major chains. I haven't been to Cahul, but I am sure it is similar.

When I got to Chisinau, I pretty much just hung out at Peace Corps for a while. At about 5, I walked over to the newest of the malls. It is called "Malldova." It resembled pretty much any mall in the US, but definitely had a European flavor. Unlike malls in the United States, this one had a large supermarket on the ground floor. The mall is not very long, but is about four stories high. On the top floor is the food court and the movie theater. There was a Mcdonalds, a KFC, and a Sbarro inside the mall. I expected the Mcdonalds, and another volunteer had told me there was a KFC. What I really didn't expect was the Sbarro. As a pizza chain, Sbarro isn't even that good. I ended up eating at one of the restaurants that were also on the top floor. I had Mexican food. It was okay, although not sufficiently spiced. I had a quesadilla that was too bland even for a quesadilla. Oh well, at least I know what to expect if I go there again. I also went to a fruit juice place in the food court. I ordered a lime juice thinking that maybe they would sweeten it, but they didn't. Although it was very fresh, it was too sour for me to finish. After I ate, I walked over to the nearby hostel.

The hostel was nice, although simpler than others I have been to. It was a three story building with a bathroom on each floor and a couple of rooms. There was a kitchen on the ground floor. Supposedly there were computers to use, although I didn't see them. There was internet though. I stayed in a six person room. Something unusual about the hostel was that the guy working the reception was from Montreal. I know now that many Moldovans move to Canada, but I didn't realize there was much of a tourist industry to Moldova. I really should have asked him what brought him to Moldova. Anyway, in my room there happened to be two other Peace Corps volunteers, one from my group (M26) and one from the group that arrived in Moldova in 2009 (M24s). The person from the M24 group has extended her service for an additional year. At around 10:00 I went to bed.

The next day, I woke up at 6:30 and headed to the bus station. I left early because I wanted to try to catch an 8:10 bus to the village near mine. The bus went all over the place, and I ended up missing my stop because I expected to come after the stop that ended up being the last one. When I got to my district center I had been travelling for about 5.5 hours. It would have been less if I had seen my stop. I was in the back of the bus and couldn't really see much. I finally got home around 3:30pm. That evening, my host sister and her family arrived from Chisinau.

8/27/2011-8/30/2011:

Saturday was Moldova's independence day. Since I was travelling all day, I don't really know what my village did to celebrate it. Apparently there was a parade in Chisinau. Anyway, when my host sister and her family arrived in the evening at about 8:30, we at roast goose. It was pretty good. It was even stuffed like we do with Turkeys on Thanksgiving. There was a lot of talking fast in Romanian. This was only the first of several gatherings that have taken place this weekend. Some other people came over on Sunday, and last night one of my host sister's friends came over with her family. Today there was another gathering. I enjoy meeting the people, but it is hard in a way because they tend to only speak Romanian when they are in a large group. They talk Russian to me, but not when a bunch of people are together. I understand more of what they say than they think I do, but I still only understand a word or sentence here and there, and I am never quite sure what they are talking about. Luckily, tomorrow should be more of a normal day since I will go to the school to work and hopefully plan for the first few days of classes. I haven't had to work the last 4 days so I feel like I have had a short summer break. Summer vacation ends and school begins on Thursday.

A Moldovan Birthday party

Today I went to someone's birthday party. I went to a meadow with my host father, his friends/neighbors, and their children. Apparently it was one of the kid's birthday. In the meadow we ate grilled chicken, cake, cheese, and some other beverages. The people talked to me in Russian, and while I understood some of it, there was much more I didn't understand. Regardless, I had a nice time.

After eating in the meadow, we went to one over their houses and ate some more food and cake. I had some fish. I didn't really like it, but apparently it was sort of a special kind of fish. The people had a really nice computer. I continue to find it incongruous that Moldovans can have really nice electronics but still only have a very simple outhouse. It kind of reminds me of my situation in Kenya where I had no running water but the family had a DVD player. Maybe it has something to do with the ability of the central government to provide essential services. Seriously, when I got to the house, the children were playing Counterstrike on the computer. After some more food, I finally returned to my house. It was really nice that people were excited to meet me. So far, my experience in Cotova has been very different from my experience in Truseni.

Below are some pictures from the day. They are mostly of me because they were taken by somebody else.

my host father is sitting to me left in the last picture.

Swearing in and Move to site

8/17/2011

Today I became a volunteer. The ceremony wasn't too long. Before the ceremony started, we were all sworn in with the oath that is used for all government offices. At the beginning of the ceremony the ambassador to Moldova swore us in with the Peace Corps Moldovan oath. It was kind of funny to be sworn in twice, but I guess that is how it needs to be.

During the ceremony, two people from my group (M26s) gave a speech. One person gave a speech in Russian and the other gave a speech in Romanian. I didn't understand all of either one, which is to be expected given that both had help writing it from their language training instructors (LTIs).

Someone from the Moldovan government also gave a speech. He gave his in Romanian so I only understood some of the words. Two M25s (the previous group of volunteers, now beginning their second year) directed the events. Some of the various directors spoke. The education and health program managers delivered their speeches in Romanian also. When the country director and director of programming and training spoke one of the Moldovan administrative assistants translated. I felt bad for her because she had to translate so much. After the ceremony, there was a short reception, and then I was driven to my village.

The drive to my village from Chisinau takes about 3 hours by car, though it went by pretty fast this most recent time. On the way we stopped and had a late lunch/ a snack. My school director had hired a van for me so we were free to stop when we liked. I think she hired a van because of all my stuff. However, I think it would have fit in a car. I only had one more bag and when I was driven to the airport before I left the US it all fit in a car. It was nice that there was more than enough space for it all though.

When I got to my village, I basically just put all my stuff in my rooms and got out my computer. I watched some TV on my computer and then went to bed around 10.

The education volunteers after being sworn in the first time

(On the right in the middle row is the country director (the man in the suit), on the left in the red/maroon jacket is the programming and training director)

8/18/2011

Today I went to Drochia, the raion (think county) center closest to my town. I had to get some things and withdraw money from my Peace Corps bank account so I could pay my host family for August. I had some trouble finding the ATM. It turns out there is one right by the bus station, but I did not know that until I had already walked around town and asked some people for directions. Oh well, at least now I know where it is.

After I went to the ATM, I went to the central market. I got a trashcan, hangers, and hand soap. There are still some things I think I need, but they will have to wait until maybe Saturday. I was at the bus stop again by like 10am, and waited for a bus that I thought would be there at 11. However, it never showed up. As luck would have it, the peace corps volunteer who has been living in Drochia showed up at the bus station. He was able to help me get back to my village. What I had to do was take a bus to the town near mine. I got off the bus there and then got a ride. I knew the van was going to Cotova because some Moldovans got in it. I just followed what they were doing and then let the driver know that I wanted to be dropped off near the school. I never felt concerned for my safety and was able to get back to my village. Although things did not go exactly as planned, I would consider my first trip to Drochia a success.

When I got home, I began the unpacking process. It has been hard for me to find a spot for all my stuff. I know I will, but the process has taken a long time.

Tomorrow work begins.

Host family conference and Harry Potter

Today was a long day.

In the morning, all the English and Health education trainees had a meeting with their host families to discuss living arrangements at our permanent sites. My host father wasn't there, but my host sister was, so I made the arrangements with her. Luckily, I was able to ask all the questions I had through a Peace Corps Volunteer who was able to translate for me. I might have been able to do it on my own, but it was nice to be certain about what we were both agreeing to. I was able to understand most of what my host sister said in Russian which was nice. The conference didn't last too long. Afterwards, some of us walked over to a nearby supermarket.

Some people went to the store to shop for food so that they could cook for their families. I thought about doing the same, but I can't really make any interesting foods that they haven't already eaten. I did buy my lunch there though. We ate our lunch in a nearby park once everyone had finished buying what they needed.

Then, when everyone had finished eating, most of the group I was with went home. I, on the other hand, went to a close movie theater to see the newest Harry Potter movie. I had already watched it on my computer, but I wanted to see if it was any different/better on the big screen in 3-D. In my opinion it was basically the same. It might have been better if I had watched it in English instead of in Russian. I understood some of the dialogue, but not a lot. If you haven't seen the movie, but like Harry Potter, I would recommend seeing it.

The movie theater itself was very nice. From what I could tell, there was only one theater, or at least only one large one. Instead of getting to choose your own seats like you can in the United States, everyone had an assigned seat. I didn't fully realize this until someone told me that I was sitting in their seat. I ended up eventually finding my seat. I was surprised that I was not able to choose my own seat and that they didn't ask me where I wanted to sit, given that I couldn't choose it myself. Oh well. The movie cost about 5 dollars (cheap for movies in the US, but expensive for me in Moldova). Despite the differences, and the fact that the movie was in Russian, I enjoyed my outing.

Things are finally finishing up. I have one more day of sessions in Chisinau and my language proficiency interview. As I've said before, I become an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I almost can't believe that training is coming to a close. Although each day was long, the summer seems to have gone by fast. Yet at the same time it seems like ages ago that I was sitting in the Manchester airport waiting for my flight to Philadelphia. After I get to my permanent site, things will begin anew.

More to come once I arrive in the North.

Today, practice school ended. On the left is a picture of the room where I had language classes during the three weeks of practice school. On the right is a picture of the 10th grade class that I taught. On the far left of that picture is my partner teacher Lidia. She is nice, but has trouble understanding me because of my American accent.

My students were all very good. They provided interesting answers to the questions I asked them. On the test, I asked them how they would change the education system in Moldova and they all gave interesting answers. I enjoyed reading them when I was grading the tests. Although I enjoyed teaching during practice school, planning was a pain. So, I am glad practice school is done.

Finishing practice school is only one of two big milestones that I needed to complete before I can be sworn in as a volunteer. The second is receiving a score of intermediate low on my language proficiency interview (LPI). I have the test Tuesday morning. My plan is to spend time this weekend studying for it.

On Sunday, I have my host family conference. At the conference, I will sign a contract with my host family stating how many meals I will eat with them, what I will pay for and how much I will pay, and other relevant details. It will be nice to get those details worked out, but hopefully the conference will not contain any long talks. Either way, if all goes as planned, the conference should be over at two, so at least I will have the rest of the afternoon to enjoy or to spend studying for my LPI.

Assuming nothing out of the ordinary happens, I should swear in as a volunteer on Wednesday morning. I have already signed a copy of the oath I will have to agree to on Wednesday. After the swearing in ceremony and reception, I will be taken to my permanent site in the northern part of Moldova. I will have internet when I get there, but I don't know when I will be back in Chisinau.

Only 5 more days to go until I am a volunteer. After a long summer, it is nice that the end of training is almost here. When I go to my village, I will be the only American for miles, so on Wednesday, the adventure really begins.