It has been raining here and it is warm, which means it mushroom time in Moldova. On my way to my daily run my neighbor screamed at me, "come to the woods with us." After five minutes of saying "another time, I don't want to, I want to go run, etc..." I gave in and climbed in the car after convincing my host mom an 3 yr old niece to join in on the fungus fun. I was a little nervous about the adventure, thinking hunting for mushrooms in random forests was illegal...I was wrong. We arrive in the supposedly "frumos" woods and I instantly and swatting at mosquitos. We begin to crawl through the woods, stepping over tree branches and pulling leaves from our faces. After about 20 minutes we exit the woods with empty pails. Guess it isn't the right time. What to do now? Go home, right? Nope. It is time to camp outside of the car to drink goat milk from a jar, tear chunks from bread and down vodka. I did not partake, but managed to pass a drop of goat milk past my lips. Not too bad. It would be even better if it were pasteurized. Our journey ends at home, but not before going to the store for some famous Chisinau beer.
Once at home, the mushroom search party convenes at my house and we enjoy some pig fat, banana bread that I made the day before, beer, and hot cognac liquor stuff. I did not enjoy it and after one go around I switched to beer. The neighbor man tried to convince me that the Russian equivalent to "f*ck you" was not a bad phrase, rather a verb that you can use in your everyday conversations. I knew better and just shook my finger at him. It was a relaxing time and the day concluded with a 50-something year old man putting a 30-something year old woman into a headlock. Good times. 

Chicken Time!

We have about 25 chickens and yesterday my host mom found one with red plastic string wrapped around its tongue. So she killed it. Another one has a bad leg and can't walk around. It is camping out, as you can see by the picture, outside until my host mom is ready to kill it...probably today. So here is a picture of what I will be eating for supper. People always ask me what I eat here, so there you go! 

A Jogger's Journal

I have started a crusade to rid myself of the Winter flubber, now that it is warmer and I no longer need its warmth. I have started, once again, to jog. I don't know that you can call it jogging, as it is just a mere second faster than walking. Still, it is a reason for me to be out and about and to work on my tan even if I am still bundled up in a 3/4 length shirt and capri pants. I am lucky to have a handful of neighboring villages that I can run to, Todiresti, Agronomovca, Alexeevca, Bumbata, Tescureni, and others that I haven't ventured upon. The sign pointing towards Alexeevca says it is 5k but the trek there is shorter than my journey to Todiresti, which is 3k. I asked my host mom if she knew anything about the validity of the sign and she said, "people just write something." Solves that mystery.

I have confirmed everyone's suspicion of me being crazy, by running in the rain yesterday. By the time I completed my run, I was dry again.

I see some interesting things while running.

Here are some of the things I have seen/done/heard/gone on my, so far, week's worth of running:
Two ducks fornicating in my path
Running through a herd of sheep
Using Cows as indicators of distance
Outrunning cars on the road (not saying anything as to my running speed)
Several people stopping to ask if I need a ride
Leaping over cow/horse piles
Being the only person for an approximate 2k circle amongst green fields
I haven't passed a drunk man, but I am sure they are just covering it up well
The many varieties of cow moos
Cars driving off into the dirt on the side of the road to dodge shallow potholes that could potentially damage some part of their car (geesh)

Wrap-Up

The school year is coming to an end. I have about a week's worth of classes left and my patience is dwindling down. I am ready for the summer and ready to rid myself of students. Most of my students are nice and attempt to do their work, it is just the horrible ones that stand out. Isn't that always the case. My summer plans: To ride my bike (which I have yet to buy...hopefully on Saturday) to friends' villages, Falesti (36k) and such, meet Emily in Istanbul to rock the face of it for a couple of days, conduct lectures/lessons/information sessions for the incoming TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteers coming the beginning of June, start a bike group in my village with the female students in grades 8-12, hang out in Falesti with my friends who I miss, and whatever else seems to pop into my hyperactive head. My friends and I have a big project of conditioning ourselves and being about to bike ride to Iasi, Romania this summer. I would venture to say it is probably 50 miles. And then it will be to Brasov, which will probably take 2-3 days. We can do it, we are Peace Corps Volunteers!

WANTED!

Give me please FLIP FLOPS! The weather is getting nice and I am tired of locking my feet inside shoes and shocks. My birthday is coming up and I figured I could be a little greedy, whiny, and pushy about something. Any color, any style...although platform and/or heeled flip flops would not go over so well on the dirt roads. Size 7.5-8, use your best judgement. Just stick them into a padded envelope and send them my way! PLEASE!

A late picture. My English Club girls painting Easter eggs. Thanks Aunt Dot for the package, it was an EXCELLENT idea! They LOVED it! 

Back to School

Spring Break is over. I spent most of the time hanging out with my wonderful friends (Priya Levi Masha and Mark) in Falesti. Priya and Levi have their own apartment and I have christened it as my second home. I even have my own mug there and hopefully after this weekend, my own slippers! It is a great time there, I get to make food for them and play hostess, and just relax.
So...back to school....or is it? I had vacation until this past Tuesday and continued on, in normal Moldovan fashion, with classes till Friday. This upcoming Tuesday (May 9th) is Veteran's Day...to celebrate the end of fighting during World War II. Nope, that isn't the actually end of the war, just when Moldovans claim the war ended, or at least they stopped fighting in it. What does this mean for me? It means I don't have school Monday or Tuesday. 3 days of classes next week? Nope, I don't have class on Friday because my 10th and 11th graders are testing. We have a makeup day of classes on Saturday for the two days we are taking off for Veteran's Day. They are not normal classes, they will be shorter than normal and students from other villages will not be coming. So, it is school, but not really. Then, the Tuesday and Friday after that I don't have classes either, due to testing. The week after that is the last week of classes. Just a few more days to go and I am done! I love the month of May, and not just because it is my birthday!
I bought my plane ticket today for Istanbul where I will spend five glorious days with the lovely and always spontaneous Emma Chic. Should I be worried that the lady wrote my ticket herself? I guess anything goes here in the land of holidays!