07/30/2012: In My Village and Chisinau
Dad and Karen came to visit me in Moldova before we started out on vacation in Budapest and Vienna. They arrived in Moldova the day before and spent the night in a hotel in a town near my village called Soroca. They arrived at my house around noon and apparently had little trouble finding the place thanks to my detailed directions. Before lunch, I had time to unpack the suitcase of goodies that they brought me. The bag was so full that it was heavy. After I unpacked it, lunch was served. For lunch we had stuffed peppers and meat dumplings. For dessert, we had watermelon. The kitchen was probably the hottest I've experienced while we were eating because of the stove and the temperature outside. After the plates had been cleared, my dad and Karen presented their gifts. The main gift was a nice plate made with imprinted flowers and by a salt marsh pottery company. My host mother seemed to like it. Dad and Karen also brought chocolate and candy for my host sister Felicia.
After the gift giving, it was time to show Karen and Dad my village. The first stop was the school. We couldn't go inside, but I was able to show them the grounds, including the unfinished part of the school. We then drove to the cemetery. Afterwards, we drove to store that represents the farthest point in the town that I have been to. Out next stop was the spring which was a short walk downhill. It was hot out and the spring was in the sun so we did not spend much time there. We then stopped at one of the stores to buy some soda before returning to my house. When we got there, my host mother showed us around the garden and we were able to eat some fresh raspberries and currants.
It was then time to head to Chisinau. We drove through Soroca. The trip was shorter, but the road was worse than that which goes through Drochia and Balti. The drive took us about two and a half hours. When we got to the hotel we relaxed for a bit and then headed out to have dinner at an Uzbek restaurant I had heard about from other volunteers. The food was very good. I had veal pilaf. With our dessert, baklava, we also had some traditional Uzbek tea. Before the waiter served it to us he had to perform a tea marrying ceremony. Basically, he poured the tea from the pot into a cup and back again. The idea behind doing it is to add air to the tea to enhance the flavor. The tea was very good. It was sour apple flavored. After dinner, it was then time to make our way back to the hotel and to bed.
07/31/2012: Around Chisinau and Arrival in Budapest
The next morning we got going around 11 and drove to Peace Corps headquarters in Moldova. I introduced Dad and Karen to various Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps staff. Then we walked up to the central market. It was nice to show them around. When we finished, we quickly returned to the car and then drove over to Stefan Cel Mare park. We ended up just driving by it on the way to the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and managed to have a late lunch at Sbarro which included a Dr. Pepper for me. There are only two places to buy Dr. Pepper in Moldova, the Sbarro in the airport and the Sbarro at the mall, so it was definitely a nice treat to have it at the airport. After a quick lunch, we went through security and boarded our plane. We had checked-in a short while after we got to the airport. We couldn't check in right away because check-in didn't open until an hour and a half before the flight departure time. Our first flight was to Bucharest where we had time to have a leisurely dinner. Our next flight was to Budapest. Both planes were very small propeller planes. The flight to Bucharest was only 45 minutes long. The flight to Budapest was longer, but only by about 1.5 hours.
When we arrived in Budapest, we picked up our bags and went through customs. My dad then got money from an ATM and bought bus tickets to the metro station. We caught the bus with little difficulty and arrived at the metro station a short time later. After some difficulty figuring out where to buy the tickets for the metro, we got on and went to the center of town. When we got out of the subway, we took a taxi to our hotel. It wasn't very far, but we didn't know which way to go. Our rooms at the hotel were great. We had two suites, both with a living room containing a microwave, minibar, tv, desk, and couch, a bedroom, and a bathroom with a tub. When we got to the hotel we talked for a while and then went to bed.
The Suite
Dad and Karen came to visit me in Moldova before we started out on vacation in Budapest and Vienna. They arrived in Moldova the day before and spent the night in a hotel in a town near my village called Soroca. They arrived at my house around noon and apparently had little trouble finding the place thanks to my detailed directions. Before lunch, I had time to unpack the suitcase of goodies that they brought me. The bag was so full that it was heavy. After I unpacked it, lunch was served. For lunch we had stuffed peppers and meat dumplings. For dessert, we had watermelon. The kitchen was probably the hottest I've experienced while we were eating because of the stove and the temperature outside. After the plates had been cleared, my dad and Karen presented their gifts. The main gift was a nice plate made with imprinted flowers and by a salt marsh pottery company. My host mother seemed to like it. Dad and Karen also brought chocolate and candy for my host sister Felicia.
After the gift giving, it was time to show Karen and Dad my village. The first stop was the school. We couldn't go inside, but I was able to show them the grounds, including the unfinished part of the school. We then drove to the cemetery. Afterwards, we drove to store that represents the farthest point in the town that I have been to. Out next stop was the spring which was a short walk downhill. It was hot out and the spring was in the sun so we did not spend much time there. We then stopped at one of the stores to buy some soda before returning to my house. When we got there, my host mother showed us around the garden and we were able to eat some fresh raspberries and currants.
It was then time to head to Chisinau. We drove through Soroca. The trip was shorter, but the road was worse than that which goes through Drochia and Balti. The drive took us about two and a half hours. When we got to the hotel we relaxed for a bit and then headed out to have dinner at an Uzbek restaurant I had heard about from other volunteers. The food was very good. I had veal pilaf. With our dessert, baklava, we also had some traditional Uzbek tea. Before the waiter served it to us he had to perform a tea marrying ceremony. Basically, he poured the tea from the pot into a cup and back again. The idea behind doing it is to add air to the tea to enhance the flavor. The tea was very good. It was sour apple flavored. After dinner, it was then time to make our way back to the hotel and to bed.
07/31/2012: Around Chisinau and Arrival in Budapest
The next morning we got going around 11 and drove to Peace Corps headquarters in Moldova. I introduced Dad and Karen to various Peace Corps Volunteers and Peace Corps staff. Then we walked up to the central market. It was nice to show them around. When we finished, we quickly returned to the car and then drove over to Stefan Cel Mare park. We ended up just driving by it on the way to the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and managed to have a late lunch at Sbarro which included a Dr. Pepper for me. There are only two places to buy Dr. Pepper in Moldova, the Sbarro in the airport and the Sbarro at the mall, so it was definitely a nice treat to have it at the airport. After a quick lunch, we went through security and boarded our plane. We had checked-in a short while after we got to the airport. We couldn't check in right away because check-in didn't open until an hour and a half before the flight departure time. Our first flight was to Bucharest where we had time to have a leisurely dinner. Our next flight was to Budapest. Both planes were very small propeller planes. The flight to Bucharest was only 45 minutes long. The flight to Budapest was longer, but only by about 1.5 hours.
When we arrived in Budapest, we picked up our bags and went through customs. My dad then got money from an ATM and bought bus tickets to the metro station. We caught the bus with little difficulty and arrived at the metro station a short time later. After some difficulty figuring out where to buy the tickets for the metro, we got on and went to the center of town. When we got out of the subway, we took a taxi to our hotel. It wasn't very far, but we didn't know which way to go. Our rooms at the hotel were great. We had two suites, both with a living room containing a microwave, minibar, tv, desk, and couch, a bedroom, and a bathroom with a tub. When we got to the hotel we talked for a while and then went to bed.
The Suite
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