Mud Pies

Mud in Moldova is different than American mud. The mud here is squishier, clumpier, and just plain sicker than any mud I have encountered in America. After a day of raining or a week's worth of melted snow the roads become gushy and hazardous. Walking to school every day takes twice as long when the roads are muddy. Sure, my road may be one of the best in the neighborhood, but that doesn't mean it is easy to walk. If the road in front of my house is the best in the neighborhood as far as having the least amount of mud, I would like to see how people travel the other roads. This mud is the kind that squishes under your shoes and gushes up the sides of them. Sometimes, if I am lucky, the mud and my shoes create a suction with each other, causing much noise and resistance.
I have tried many ways to keep my shoes from being covered in mud when I finally reach the schoolhouse, but nothing seems to work. Walking on the balls of my feet only makes me look weird and does not decrease the amount of mud stuck to my shoes. Walking on the heels of my shoes just digs my feet deeper into the mud, which I would guess is about an inch think. And trying to look graceful while walking down the muddy roads is as impossible as walking into a Target store and not buying anything.
The mud here is slippery and you are never sure if your next step will end up with you on the ground. On a good day, I would venture to say that I slip, and come inches from falling over, oh about four times in the five minutes it takes me to reach the school. Not good odds. It doesn't help to know that the mud isn't composed only of dirt, you would be naive to believe that. All the cows, ducks, chickens, and dogs you see roaming the streets are always leaving little deposits on the road. One can only imagine what they are stepping into when everything mixes together and forms mud after a nice rain. Sidewalks? Not on my road. Only the main "drag" in town has a sidewalk, and even then it is a bit spotty.
So I get to school with my shoes covered in mud. The mud is about an inch up the sides of my shoes and sticking out about half an inch around my shoes. There is a big iron bucket and soiled rags outside to wash your shoes off, but I don't even try. I just stomp my feet as hard as I can and when I reach the door I try, to the best of my ability, to smear as much mud as I can off my shoes and onto the jacket that is used as a doormat, in front of the door. I realize that this isn't very "frumos" and I am probably sending a bad signal to others who see my dirty shoes and take it as an insult that I do not respect them enough to look nice and clean my shoes for them, but until the roads are paved with pavement or it doesn't ever rain, that is the way it is going to be. I don't see either of those options EVER happening here. So...muddy shoes it is.

WANTED!!! *Tooth Whitening Stuff. The only beverages I drink here are tea and
coffee, so you can imagine how my teeth are starting to look and
how they will look after two years of it. So please, for the sake
of this country and yours....send me some.
*Baby Wipes. My one bath of week stipulates that on some of the off
days I have a mini bath consisting of baby wipes. You don't want
to smell me all the way over there do you?
*Marshmallows. Now that it is cold here, I build a fire each night
in my little casa mica. Think how much better my nights would be
if I could roast marshmallows over my fire and make smores...I can
get the other supplies, but marshmallows...not in Moldova.
*Dry Erase Markers. I finally got tired of breaking out the bucket
of water to mop the chalkboard in the middle of every one of my
classes. I have made a whiteboard from paper and tape and found
that to be a lot easier and a better use of my time. I have
markers, but like all markers, they will soon be gone. The dry
erase markers here are not of good quality and only America can
make the top notch dry erase markers that I crave.
*Reese's Mini Cups. Enough said.