Mid March Update

The past few weeks have been relatively busy. I was invited to be a judge in the nearby raion, Cahul, at the city schools' talent show. Each school in Cahul, about 10 in total, sang songs, made up skits, and recited poems in English. I was a judge along with a Fulbright scholar in the area, and two local Moldovans. It was great to see how good everyone’s English was, but more than that was the impressive and amazing performances they had been preparing. One thing most volunteers will agree on is that Moldovans really know how to put on a good performance; they are great with acting out skits and giving speeches.

Unfortunately it was kind of chaotic at the end deciding the winners, and I, along with the Fulbrighter, Rebecca, had to call out the winners. Under the pressure of choosing winners I accidentally wrote out four 2^nd places! I had to apologize in front of all the participants and crowd for being such “unorganized Americans!”

I also had a great English Club meeting one afternoon. I made memory cards of the day’s vocabulary on furniture, and they were so thrilled to play “memory.” They had never tried this concept before! I told them they could use this for studying for math, science, language classes, whatever!

Some of these same kids are also in my PA group, and they are now working on creating a health club, in response to a survey they wrote that found that most of their peers are concerned about the heavy use of alcohol and smoking among the local youth. Each week we divide up the tasks that need to be carried out. This last week has been spring break for everyone, so I’m a bit nervous about them accomplishing everything they planned before we meet tomorrow, but we’ll see! Their plan is to show a documentary next week after school and facilitate a discussion. I suggested they invite a guest speaker or professional as well. I’ll keep you posted on their progress…

Also, on March 8 is International Women’s Day and a national holiday here. We had a huge dinner at work on the Friday before the holiday… I left “early” after 4 hours of eating and drinking to go home! This is by far one of the biggest holidays here. All the women get flowers from their loved ones, and it’s one of the rare days here in Moldova where the women are thanked for all they do and their contribution to society.

On Friday Vice President Joe Biden visited Chisinau. This was a HUGE affair for Moldova. This was the first time someone of such high rank had ever visited. After getting through a mob of security and thick crowds, we watched a concert performed in front of the National Opera and then Vice President Biden and the acting Moldovan Primer Minister spoke. What was the most interesting, was the tame crowd and quiet reception. Everyone was happy he came and were excited to see him speak, but it felt as if the applause could barely last before he and his wife got to the podium! Throughout the speech and after it was quite quiet, with the occasional short applause. I was in awe of the difference of how this would have been in the States.

Before the speech and after we did some dancing to the music to pass time, and it was fun as some local Moldovans grabbed me and a few other volunteer hands to do the horah!

Afterwards Peace Corps Volunteers, Embassy staff, USAID staff and our Moldovan support staff were invited to a private reception. Our ambassador spoke, then Vice President Biden’s wife, and then Vice President Biden. He thanked the Embassy staff, and in particular their spouses for sacrificing their careers to support the US mission abroad in foreign work. Vice President Biden then posed for pictures with our whole PC group, and then told us all to focus on empowering women in our communities, and working in the fight against human trafficking here.

Friday evening I went to the north of Moldova to the city Balti (pronounced Belts) to stay with my another volunteer, my friend Laela. She is front Kentucky and joined Peace Corps shortly after passing the Bar! She is working at a women's shelter in Balti, and she is in the middle of strategic planning there. I had never visited this city before, it’s a Russian-speaking city and the second-largest city in Moldova. I loved it! It was the cleanest place I’ve visited here. There is a new restaurant being built, lots of people walking in the evenings, grandparents and babies enjoying the parks, a stadium for professional soccer games, and a lake that I forced Laela to run around with me. It’s really nice to get out and see different parts of Moldova and see what different things are working here and there. It has me back at site at the moment with some new inspiration that there is always potential to be better.

With the official start of spring coming in the next week, I couldn’t be more thrilled. I can hear the birds singing, streams of mud and water flowing down the village, and the sun is shining brightly. Today it is 60 degrees out and it’s the first day since fall that I can walk to work with only a fleece. Here’s to wishing you all back home a sunny and happy spring!