Here is a look at the kickin' shoes I bought while I was in the capital. There were 939 lei which is about 74 dollars. I have never spent that much money on shoes in America, let alone a foreign country. But I LOVE them and decided my life would be drastically improved if I owned them. So far, so good. 

Gobble Gobble

This entry is late, but I want to wish every a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season! I hope your holidays are filled with love amongst friends and family and tons of holiday cheer. I spent my American holiday in the capital, Chisinau, with all the volunteers in the country. We discussed secondary projects, safety procedures, had a talent show, and even ate a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner.
It was a really nice time and I enjoyed being around my new family for the holiday. The dinner was amazing, and the ballroom looked gorgeous. Every small detailed was taken care of and no one walked away hungry. I have to give a big thanks to the volunteers that coordinated the dinner and the festivities and hope that the new volunteers (my group included) will accomplish the same level of greatness that the others have this year.
I am sad to head back to my village, like the end of all my trips to Chisinau for PC conferences. I have spent most of the weekend speaking English and conversing and sharing stories with other volunteers. It is hard to leave and go back to my village where I am among people who speak a different language and we merely discuss the weather, school, or food. I am thankful for the LCFs who have given me the ability to speak Romanian as well as I can, but it is lonely and gets depressing when you can only speak about surface level or a bit below the surface level things. Sometimes you just want to blurt your hopes and dreams and when I do that (or try to) I feel that I am not taken seriously because I may not use the correct grammar or do not have the right words to explain what I mean. I sometimes feel (and kinda know) that when I try to discuss something and am speaking for a while the nationals tune me out or try to think ahead to what I will say and cut me off early because they have already guessed what I am about to say instead of letting me finish my comments. I don't know if that makes sense to you the reader. I can improve this situation by studying more, learning more words, and brushing up on my grammar. I just have to find the motivation somewhere.
With the days getting shorter and darkness beginning at 4.30 I am ready for bed by 6. This is not very condusive to the working girl, considering I get home from school at 4 and 2 hours isn't enough time to accomplish everything I need to accomplish.
But enough of me. I hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving, that you didn't get plundered by the shoppers the day after, and that your plans are going smoothly for the rest of the holiday season.

Oh the weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful...
You know the rest of the song...don't you? Monday was the first day of snow, so welcome winter to Moldova. I walked to school under falling snow. When classes were over with I walked home under falling snow and this time, with the sound of snow crunching under my feet. It was really pretty, like every Moldovan promised it would be. Walking out of the school house and down the designated path to reach the road was quite tricky. I slipped and almost fell a few times, hoping no one was watching and laughing at the crazy American trying to maneuver through the "foreign" snow. That day every class I had asked me if I had seen snow before, as if it was only an occurrence in the tiny country. I attempted to explain to them that where I am from there is only snow about once a year, but in the North of The United States there is snow and it is just as cold as Moldova. They didn't seem to grasp the concept of weather and how the farther north you go in the world, the colder it will be. Unless you are far south and getting closer to the equator as you are going north. Do they not teach weather, climates, and geography in this school? Or is it only limited to what pertains to their country? Anyway, the day was very pretty and I enjoyed seeing everything covered in snow. To me, it felt like it was a holiday, or soon approaching one. I guess because I am not accustomed to seeing snow often (from living in the South) it feels magical to me to have snow falling. I am sure this feeling will wear off about the 100th day it is snowing.
I am leaving tomorrow to head to Chisinau for a long weekend of All Volunteer meetings, an American Thanksgiving Dinner, and a Language Weekend. I am excited to see everyone and to eat some turkey. Don't worry, it will be Avian Flu-free. I will get to meet the new volunteers that arrived in September and just completed their Pre-Service Training last week. They are in the areas of Agriculture and Community Development. I will be sure to take pictures and spread them across the Internet. Till then, sweet wishes and best dreams!
 

Lingerie and Husbandry

Lingerie in Moldova.
A friend and neighbor of my host mom came over tonight for some wine and toast. They started talking about lingerie and sleepwear and my mother asked me if I wore pajamas to bed. I told her yes and she asked me why. I was telling her that I like wearing pajamas and helps me stay warm, especially in the winter or when it is a little cold. My neighbor also wears pajamas, but she is married and has three children. My host mother was explaining to us that men don't want us to wear clothes when we go to bed at night. There is too much to take off and they get tired. Because I don't have a husband it is ok for me to wear pajamas. But for my neighbor, it is extremely wrong. Even though her husband is working in Moscow and she sleeps by herself, she should still not wear pajamas to bed. She is a married woman for Pete's sake. She went on about what kind of clothing we should wear to bed for our husband (for when I get a husband, gasp). She was saying we should wear see through tops with tiny spaghetti thin straps and the boob part cut out. Our bottoms should be very small and easily removable. Ha! My neighbor then asked my mom "what do you wear to bed?" and she replied "pajamas."

A favorite picture I just dug up. Krista and I outside of Green Hills (the best actually supermarket in Moldova) after our lunch of pizza in the parking lot. Krista is holding some good ol Nutella. 

I Did It... I am Bad *ss

We Didn't Start the Fire!
But I Did!
I made my own fire, successful! I am very proud of my fire, even if it isn't as grandeous as my host mom's...it still will keep me warm.
Today I made alfredo sauce and spaghetti to go with the meatballs my host mom bought at the store. We had a neighbor over, which means we drank tons of wine. I set up the table all nice with napkins, plates, cups and everything. We drank two and a half glasses, and then the pitcher was empty. But have no fear, another neighbor stopped by to tell my host mom something. So my host mom went and got another pitcher of wine. We all had about five glasses of wine. This doesn't mean we sipped on them, like crazy Americans. We chugged them, in wine raise to our lips...because this is the Moldovan way. As I sat there trying to pay attention to what was being said...my mind kept wandering. It was a good time though, and everyone enjoyed the food that I made.
I love this country and how they are friends with their neighbors. I want to move somewhere where neighbors drop by unexpectedly and it is a cause for a celebration. Everytime a neighbor comes by for a visit, we go into hospitality mode. Being from the South, I guess I am used to it. We immediately go to the table, I go to the cupboard for glasses for the wine and begin to cut some bread for the table as my host mom goes to the cellar for wine. We set our guest up with a plate and fork, regardless if they have already stuffed themselves with food at their own house. They are forced to eat more, if they ventured into our house. We are bound to show them how great our wine and food are.
Where can neighbors simply walk to another neighbors house and begin to celebrate life, health, friendship, and happiness. When I go with my host mom to someone's house I feel so happy and honored because they make such a fuss over us, and not just me because I am American. It is truly great and I think people in America forget how important just sitting and talking and celebrating each other can be. Just simply celebrating life, health and happiness and not a raise, a job, a life-changing move. Just the simple things.

Peeing in An Outhouse

Krista and I keep our sanity by constantly reminding ourselves of what we have to look forward to after 2 years. The first thing that comes to our minds is a toilet. Whenever we are having a tough time, things are difficult, or the Moldovan system pisses us off, we remain calm by repeating our mantra "at least I won't pee in an outhouse the rest of my life." This seems to put things into perspective, adds humor to the situation and in the end makes us feel better.

Keeping our sanity while squatting in the cold. 

Hram 2005

Hram 2005

I thought this holiday, Hram (Village Day), was going to be more spectacular and filled with drunks than it was. We didn't have anything great at our house, seeing as it was only myself, my host mom, and my 2yr old niece. We did manage to have three glasses of wine (chugging them, because that is how they do it here) with our lunch. Then around 5:30, after we had relaxed and taken naps, we went over to the neighbor's house. My host mom is good friends with another woman who has three young daughters. We headed over there where we ate good Moldovan food (not chicken jello, put pork jelly...how great right?) and took two double shots of cognac. The neighbor called two other women over and we had a nice girls' night. We blared Moldovan music and danced around the kitchen after pushing the table to the wall. Older gals dancing around semi-drunk in the kitchen is what American is missing. It was a lot of fun, and you forget about embarassing yourself when you see a 60 year old bust through the door in a dance resembling the Irish gig. After about two hours of that, my host mom the neighbor and I decide to head to the House of Culture (casa de cultura) to check out the scene there. It was sooo great! They blare music that you can here three miles outside of town and everyone of all ages gathers to dance around. I danced around in the traditional Moldovan circle and practised the great art of the step-step-clap dance. They even mixed in a few popular American songs. I had to call it quits when a grandmother began to grind in the middle of the circle to The Black Eyed Peas "Don't Phunk With My Heart." When then walked back to the neighbor's house for some late night beers before calling it a night. Now it is back to work after my extended Fall Vacation. But I don't seem to mind :)

Me with host mom and some neighbors for Hram. Pick out the American...you can tell because they are always the only one flashing a smile. I am working hard not to, but I do not succeed. 

The view from my hotel room while in Chisinau for a Technical Session with other TEFL volunteers 

Steph and I at the Dublin Pub in Chisinau. We are trying to look seductive. She succeeed. I just look like I ate bad Corned Beef and Cabbage. All in all, it was a great time.