My Take on all Things Moldovan: A Peace Corps Volunteer's Adventures While Living and Volunteering in Moldova

Well, another week has flown by, I don't mind at all, don't get me wrong. I find however, that as Friday night and the weekend approaches, I am in a quandary as to what to do. Life here in Moldova is very different than life at home in the US. For me, Friday meant the end of the week and going out with to a nice restaurant for any kind of food I felt like having. Again on Saturday night and sometimes Sunday.

Here in Moldova, that is sometimes an option - somewhat - as there are some limitations. However, it is not an option at all when you live in a village. Now, granted, I do live in the main town of my Raoin, and there are a few places to go here but, there is no place like home!!!

So, I just try and fill the days as best I can. Now that we can move about, I will be going to visit friends at their sites. This also helps me with familiarizing myself with Moldova and seeing as much of it as possible. Next weekend, I am going to Strachen, a town north of the capital Chisinau. A bunch of us are going to celebrate another PCV's birthday. Until then, I have tutoring tomorrow and that will be the end of this weekend.

Have a great weekend yourself.

Over the last two weeks we M24 Community and Organizational Development (COD) and Agri-Business (AGs) volunteers were back in our training villages for Phase III of PST. It ended last Friday with an informal dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in Chisnau with a visit from the US Ambassador to Moldova and a champagne toast. We are officially, officially volunteers!!!

Training was great, it was also very good to see all my program colleagues and the AGs as well. We always have fun when we get together. It was even greater for me since I was with the family that I consider to be my family here in Moldova. I was super spoilt for the last two weeks and miss them like crazy already! I absolutely love them all, each member, and will be visiting even when I am done with my assignment here in Moldova. They feel so honored to have hosted an American in their home and are genuinely very good people to the core.

Another milestone that we are approaching is our three month mark!!! November 8th to be exact! This may not seem like a big deal but it really is. PC has a policy that volunteers are to remain at site during the first three months of service. This is meant to help us with our integration into our new communities and to bond with new host family. Now that our three months are up we are free to leave our communities without asking permission; to sleep away from site and.... to leave the country on vacation. We are now free to move about the country and the world!!!! So, of course being a traveler, I will definitely be booking planes, trains and automobiles every opportunity I get, starting with a day trip to Romania in the very near future. Stay tuned!!!

It’s now been two weeks since we picked all the grapes. As I wrote before, according to my host father, the grapes, once the process of preparation is complete, need a few weeks to ferment and then, “aici” – here, there is wine. So after we picked all the grapes, they were squeezed through an old fashioned, hand cranked box made of wood to extract the first batch of juice into huge barrels. After this, they were placed in the barrels with the juice to settle down. This is the first part of the process done directly after picking.

At intervals, boiling hot water is mixed in with the juice to help the process along. Meanwhile the "must" the first settling of the juice is siphoned off and placed run through a hose into the barrels in the basement which is the final resting place of the juice where it will become wine. After a week, it is time for the final part of the process to wring every drop of juice from those grapes. This "machine" is another wooden piece of apparatus and is very interesting to behold. It is hand cranked in circles to extract all the juice and can be quite tiring. All the juice joins the rest in barrels in the basement where it will ferment. Home made wine is a extensive, long and much involved process and gives me a new appreciation for the labor that goes into it.

I shall let you all know how it turns out.

I picked grapes for the first time in my life today. I know it will not be the last since I will be here for two years. Each year around this time grape harvesting starts. As I mentioned in my last post Moldovans are very proud of their wine. Almost every household has vines in their front and back gardens. Often, to get to the front door one walks under a beautiful canopy of grape vines. So now, as I walk by neighbours' homes, I see them on ladders picking their grapes.

My host family has about a half a hectare of land "indeal" or in the hills and it is planted with grapes. This morning we set out early at 9 am. with buckets and enthusiasm for a day of picking grapes. Last night the huge barrels were put in the garage and prepared for the harvest.

Surprisingly, it was easy to pick the grapes, but they were so many that our fingers are now stained and sore from picking so many. I will try to upload pics. The grapes are "frumos" or beautiful. They are also very sweet "dulce", just right for wine. The experience was great and I bonded more with most favorite host sister.

We brought the grapes back, transferred them to the barrels where they were crushed and will now be left to ferment for three or four days. The fermented juice will then be placed in the basement. More on the process later. I still have to learn more and want to chronicle each step.

In addition to each Moldovan household boasting about their wine. Moldova as a country boast of their famous wineries at Milestii Mici and Cricova. I plan to visit Milestii Mici next month and will blog about that. Basically it is a huge underground winery with thousands of bottles of wine ranging in prices up to $3,000.00. It is expensive for Moldovans to visit as the cost of tours start at 250 Moldovan Lei. Cricova is way more expensive and the majority of Moldovans can only dream touring this winery. I will visit Cricova next spring and blog about it so look out for it.

Each day life starts early here in Moldova. The roosters start to crow as early as 4:00 in the morning, the dogs start to bark just as early. Sometimes they never stop barking at night as many a Volunteer will tell you. The sun rises around 6:00 am, sometimes earlier. That's when a lot of Moldovans rise too. Many of them head to the fields for the day in their horse carts to tend whatever crops they are growing. This is, for some families a family event so mom, dad and the kids would work alongside each other. During the summer it was wheat, corn, sunflowers, watermelons and all manner of fruits and vegetables. In the gardens at home the same ritual would play out. My mama gazda in my training village is among those who work in the garden in the morning and evening when it is cooler. Weeding and picking what has ripened takes up a good chunk of time. This is not easy work, especially when the days are as hot as they were this past summer.

Since Moldova is going through a very serious drought now, many people have to water the gardens from reservoirs or fetch water from the wells. Gardens and fields in Moldova are very important since it is the produce from these that feed the population during the winter time. Now is the time when food is preserved in jars big and small and placed in the cellars for winter consumption. Everything from pickled watermelon (yes, you read right) to tomato in every form, any fruit or vegetable you can think of is preserved and consumed during the winter. This is partly because these fruits and veggies are extremely expensive during the winter, since they are imported.

The next big thing that will be harvested are the grapes. This is huge in Moldova since every other household grows grapes and makes house wine. Moldovans are proud of their house wine and every household believes theirs is the best. They all boast of how "natural" their wine is without preservatives, and guarantees you that theirs is the most gustos (tasty). This is not always the case, of course!!!! I must admit our house wine is pretty good as house wines go. Believe me, I've had some that, despite the guarantees that it is the most gustos, it wasn't. Though, of course, one has to praise said wine none the less.

So my tata gazda announced to me this morning that he will harvest our grapes on Saturday. I will definitely post about the experience since I want to be front and center. So, stay tuned for my post.

Last Thursday, August 27th was Ziua Independentie or Independence day in Modova. This year the country marked eighteen years since the country gained Independence from Russia on August 27, 1991. In my city, the day was marked with celebrations starting with a procession from the Primarie (Mayor's Office) to the bust of Stefan Cel Mare (Stephen the Great). Stephan Cel Mare is a national hero and led Moldova in the 15th century. During his reign he defended Moldova against many armies and is thought to have been vicious against all enemies of Moldova. He also built many, many churches throughout the land and is believed to be the champion of the Christian faith in Moldova.

The procession consisted of the mayoral staff, teachers and students from various schools in the city and other distinguished guests. Each group laid flowers at the base of the bust and the proceeded to the square where the celebration was marked with speeches and traditional songs, instrument playing and dances. The entire spectrum of the population of the city as represented from youth to adults.

Today, August 31st is Limba Noastra, National Language Day in Moldova. Moldovans are fiercely proud of their language and this is evidenced in their National anthem Limba Nostra. Here are some of the words:

A treasure is our language that surges
From deep shadows of the past,
Chain of precious stones that scattered
All over our ancient land.

Our language is made of songs
From our soul's deepest desires,
Flash of lighting striking swiftly
Through dark clouds and blue horizons.

Our language is the language of bread
When the winds blow through the summer,
Uttered by our forefathers who
Blessed the country through their labour.

Indeed, in Romanian, the words are as hauntingly beautiful now as when they were written as a poem by Alexei Mateevici (1888-1917).

The Romanian language is beautiful, musical and very pleasing to the ears. It rolls off one's tongue smoothly and beautifully and does indeed live up to it's Latin roots. It is a joy to know it and to be able to speak it.

Today I was officially sworn in by our CD as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The first phase of Training is over and now it is time to get to work. I also got the results of my first official Language Proficiency Exam and I scored a whopping Intermediate High. Intermediate Mid is the required level so I am pretty darned proud of myself. Eu pot sa vorbesc limba romana - I can speak Romanian.

I also moved to my host community that I will be working in for the next two years and it is awesome. My host family is great though it was sad leaving my host family in my training village. Moldovans are kind, hospitable people and I feel the love here as I did in my other village.

On Friday we had our farewell party and my group got dressed up in Moldovan national costumes and danced Moldovan dances and sang Moldovan songs in Romanian. It was so great. I even sang a duet with a fellow trainee, in Romanian! It was awesome. Imi place Moldova!!! I love Moldova.

This journey has been great so far and I look forward to all the wonderful experiences I will have here. I will share each and everyone of them with you all.

Once again thanks for all your prayers and well wishes.