Learning a Language

One of the benefits to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer is the opportunity to learn a new language through full immersion into another culture. As volunteers in Moldova, we came prepared to learn the national language, Romanian. A small number of volunteers also learn Russian, since as a post-Soviet country this is a common language among all Moldovans, and in some areas the primary language spoken. When I received my placement to Moldova I listened to some Romanian lesson podcasts and was instantly excited about being able to learn this beautiful language. I knew my studies in Italian would help immensely, as they are both similar romance languages.

A day after I arrived to Moldova I found that I was not going to be learning Romanian, but that I was to learn Russian. Prior to arrival I had deemed, in my own over-exaggerated mind, that Russian was the hardest language on the planet to learn. I came to this conclusion from the six months that I lived in the same city as my cousin’s family. His wife is from Belarus and spoke only in Russian to their 2-year-old daughter. As I spent much time with the family I was distraught that I could not pick up a single word being spoken to the child in six months. So, I simply told myself that learning Russian is not something that I would be able to do in my life, not something that would ever be on my To-Do list. Time moved on.

When I received the news that I was to learn Russian, I instantly became sick to my stomach. Numerous expletives floated in my head as I panicked about going home in a few months once Peace Corps staff soon realized that I wasn’t able to learn Russian. I thought to myself, I planned for so long to be here, and now I’m going to have to go home!

Well, after a few minutes and several pats on the back and encouragement from my fellow trainees, I started to think of the positives to learning Russian, and that yes, if many other volunteers have learned Russian in only a few months then I could, too!

With two excellent language instructors our group of seven had eight weeks of language training at five hours a day, six days a week. At the end of our training I came from knowing how to say “I can’t eat more” to “Serghi, your wife is the best cook in all of Moldova!” and from an unconfident “hello” to a five-minute speech rambling about the delicious Moldovan tomato and toasting to family, love, health, success, and friendships between Moldova and America!

Learning a language requires patience, dedication, time, laughter, and most of all, the willingness to make mistakes.

I’ll never forget the day I got fed up with myself for buying whichever chocolate the lady at the grocery store gave me. I was too afraid to ask for what I really wanted. So, on this day I decided to suck it up. I asked the lady for 200 grams of the chocolate I wanted. No, not the blue kind, but the one of the right, yes the red! This small victory turned into an ease of ordering and survival conversation at restaurants, grocery stores, and at bus stations.

Though, for every success a thousand mistakes will be made. I still laugh thinking about the day I asked the priest’s wife where her husband was. She was manning the watermelon stand in front of the church. She responded with, “Napoli.” I said, “Napoli?”
“Yes, Napoli!”
“Napoli, seriously?”
“Yes, Napoli!”
“He went to Napoli, Italy?”
“Yes, Yes, Yes!”
“Wow! Napoli, great!”

To my ignorance and ridiculousness, I found out that “Napoli” really meant “Na-Polee,” which translates to, “in the field…”

When I first got to my permanent site being able to explain to inquiring strangers on the street who I was and why I was in Moldova was an accomplishment. Then, it became an accomplishment to seek out strangers and ask about them, about their family, their health, and to compliment their gardens.

Most recently I’ve been excited about the language victories at work; questioning my colleagues about the importance of community spirit and volunteerism and translating for Swiss semi drivers as they unloaded donated school supplies and equipment to the village NGO.

I’ve come a long way since I arrived just short of a year ago. I still have a ways to go, and the daily language victories will continue to be varied. But I’m not doing this by myself; my village should be proud of the patience and humor of my colleagues, the grandmas on the street and at the vegetable stand, their students, my dear host mom, and my always correcting five and seven-year old host sisters.

I’m finding that while learning a language opens up many opportunities to my own personal growth, it is even more important to the integration and closeness I have with those I am living amongst, that the real language victories come from the relationships I am building. Hearing the stories about a woman’s childhood as a political prisoner in Siberia, a man’s time in the Soviet army, another’s military service in Ukraine, to learning the names of the six children of the village priest, learning how to make house wine from the local farmers, and sharing in the day to day lives of my colleagues makes every struggle worth it. Making relationships, connections, and partnerships are hard to come by through a translator. They come from the trust of relying on others, the laughter and smiles of communication, and, er, language pitfalls. That’s a true benefit of being a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Note: This was written for the Peace Corps Moldova's 50th Anniversary celebration website: www.365peaceandfriendship.com