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

As June 10th looms closer, reality sets in more and more - forty-two days to go!! On June 10th I go to Philadelphia for Staging then fly out, me and the other Volunteers, to Moldova to begin our twenty seven month long adventure living and Volunteering in the Peace Corps.

Staging is where we get all kinds of additional information about the Peace Corps and what is expected of us, our host Country - Moldova and finish up any paperwork, get more shots and get to know each other before we head out. Then on June 12th we board our flight to Moldova. We will have ten weeks of Pre-service Training (PST). This includes language training, Romanian in my case and cultural training. After PST we are sworn in as official Volunteers and go off to our Site where we will work for the next two years. During our time there we live with host families. This helps us with our language skills as well as integrating into our communities.

I am in the process of scaling down my stuff. Donating, throwing out, giving to friends and generally reducing my things to whatever can fit into two suitcases and a carry on. I have been joking that I will be like a turtle for the next 27 months, carrying all my house on my back as it were. It's mentally exhausting to try to remember everything. Of course I have lists, mental and those that I have managed to write down, it's important for me not to forget anything, but, who knows. I have done this twice now - moved to different countries, so I am have some experience. It's still daunting though.

I have not told everyone yet, either because I am a procrastinator or I don't want to be too emotional, but I will, eventually... I still have two more weeks at my current job and am counting down the days. I like countdowns... that's the kid in me.

There are some things I will miss; food, places I go, things I do now and take for granted. Here are some examples of food I will miss.

Plan B hamburgers with sweet potato fries and a nice cold IPA
Sally's Pizza in New Haven
Tinkers Fish and Chips
Morton's Steaks
Ginza Sushi
Feng Sushi
Chinese Food
Flan

Those are just a few.. Those who know me know that I love food, yes, they know that I have tunnel vision when I am hungry and turn into a bear if not fed... it is a source of comic relief for them and I am not ashamed.

On the other hand, I do look forward to the food in Moldova. From what I have been reading, I am going to enjoy it very much. So, as I experience it, I will keep you all posted.

I also find myself thinking in "lasts", as in "this is the last time I will...." at least for a while. It's too soon to have to many of these lasts, but at those moments, the reality comes even more and I find myself getting emotional. This, I know, is inevitable so I just go with the flow and embrace the "grief".

All things considered though, I am so very, very excited about this new experience I am about to have. I have been in contact with Volunteers already serving in Moldova and some whose service is done. I am told that I am in for a great time. I look forward to serving my Moldovan community and also getting to know them and socializing with them. It is going to be great.

OK, I've got my plane ticket to Staging in Philadelphia on June 9th also my one way ticket to Moldova on June 10th. The dates changed and that means we get there two days earlier than before. T minus 18 days!!. Packing is proving to be stressful as we have, of course, very strict guidelines to follow regarding baggage.

I want to mail my winter clothing so that also presents a great deal of angst. It's expensive to ship these days since the PO has eliminated surface mail and air mail is more expensive. I sorted those things out the other day and alas, it's too much, I have to scale down. I'm trying to tell myself that I don't need everything that I have put out, but then I contradict that with "I might be sorry I did not pack it" Oh the stress!!!!

I have also started saying goodbyes. It is proving to be more difficult than I thought, more emotion mixed in with the excitement. I won't say any more. All in all the preparation process is going well. Last week was the last week of work so I gave myself a lot of time to deal with anything that comes up. I am allergic to shell fish and Ibuprofen for which I needed to get an Epipen and Medic bracelets - check!! Those were my main concerns, therefore everything else will be smooth sailing.

Until next time.