I Can't Help It!

I've probably officially crossed over into the land of OCD, but I can't help myself. I just LOVE the sunsets here in Recea!!! So, here's a few more photos that I took last night. The colors are just so breathtaking to me! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.:) If not, sorry. It's my blog and I can post if I want to. (hahaha! I know that was pretty bad;)  

I spent my day at the cemetery, and you?

I think I already mentioned that here in Moldova, people celebrate Easter a week later than us American Protestants do. So, last Sunday, I got up at 2:30 AM, and got dressed up. At 3:00 AM, I met up with a neighboring family, and we all crammed into their car for the short trip to the local Orthodox church. There, they, along with the rest of the village, lined up around the outside of the church, and laid out on the ground, the food that they were to eat as their Easter feast later in the day. Then, I went inside the church with my neighbor, and we observed the Easter service, that includes lots of singing, chanting, and crossing oneself. It was actually very interesting. At about 5:30 AM, the service part was over, and everybody rushed outside to where their food had been laid out. People were lined up all around the church courtyard, and they waited while the priest made his way around and blessed all the food with holy water. After this, we all headed home to begin the Easter feast. I guess they usually eat some of the blessed food after they get home from church, and then take a nap (as most of them have been there all night long, from midnight till six. I was a lightweight, and could only handle 3AM to 6AM). After a nap, everybody starts eating again, and that lasts all day. Well, that was last Sunday. However, approximately a week after Easter (today for my host mom's village), everybody heads to the cemetery where their family and loved ones are buried. There, they set out food, yet again, flowers, and other religiously symbolic articles, on the gravesites of their loved ones. Then, the priest arrives, and circles the graveyard several times. After a few general rounds of the graveyard, he circles once more, but makes an individual stop at each and every gravesite, and blesses the grave, the relatives waiting there, and the food set out. It's pretty interesting. I went with my host mom, her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandkids. It was actually a very pretty day, although a bit chilly. I guess last year it rained, so having a dry, albeit windy, day, was a welcome relief. The pictures I have posted are in order from top to bottom: My host mom, Eugenia, and if you look closely you can see the grave of her husband in the background; a picture of Eugenia, her daughter Loretta, and Loretta's husband Vitali, and two children, Doina and Vlad, at the gravesite of Eugenia's deceased husband, Grisa; The last picture is of Eugenia and Doina beautifying the gravesite before the priest shows up. All in all, it was a very interesting day, and I saw some very interesting customs, some of which were explained, and some of which nobody quite knew why they did them, but they did them anyway. Then, we went back to the house, and ate a lot of food, which is always happening here in Moldova. Now, we're resting up for a few hours, so we can go back and eat some more food. So, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get a nap in. Life is rough. Gotta go!  

The Noi Continued

Well, after that amusing and enjoyable plimbare (walk), above Rusestii Noi, my host mom, dad, and Viorica all went to a friend's house for more food. It was a lot of fun to catch up on life with everyone, and afterwards, on the walk back to my old host family's house, we took more pictures. In this first picture, from left going clockwise: a good friend of my host family, and a very sweet woman (she was the host mom of another volunteer from my group), me, my host dad, Gregory, and my host mom, Tasea. In the second photo, I have been replaced by my host sister, Viorica (on the far right). The bottom picture is Lidia's garden (the eccentric neighbor). She has a very beautiful garden of which she is extremely proud, and I must have taken at least ten pictures of it for her. She would be so happy if she knew I posted one on my blog. All in all, it was a very enjoyable, albeit, exhausting trip, and I am glad I got to spend some time with my old host family. They're great people who I hope I will keep in touch with for a lifetime. Now, I'm going to try to catch up on some of the sleep I've been missing out on.:) Goodnight all!  

Fun in the Noi!

I recently visited my old Rusestii Noi host family, and packed a lot of fun into the two days that I was there! It was so nice to visit with the family, and catch up on our lives. I miss those guys! The weather was sooo beautiful, and the gardens are sprouting all sorts of interesting things! Everybody seems to have huge bright red tulips growing in their gardens, and it is really breathtaking. After taking some pictures of the flowers in my host family's garden, the neighbor came over and asked me to take pictures of the flowers in her garden. She is a hillarious lady. Her name' is Lidia, and even though she's somewhere in her fifties, she is young at heart. She's somewhat of an eccentric in her community, as she has an artistic flair, and a leaning towards the dramatic in everything. So, really, I shouldn't have been surprised by what followed after the garden photos. Because it was such a beautiful day, my host sister Viorica, readily agreed when I suggested that we go for a walk. Then, my host mom, Tasea, said that she would come too. Lidia, the eccentric and hillarious neighbor decided to come along as well. So, there we were, four ladies with several flowers, a bag of Easter eggs, candy, and a small bottle of wine, walking up one of the hills in Rusestii Noi. We first decided to stop in the cemetery, and there I discovered why we had brought the flowers, candy, eggs, and wine. Apparently, it is tradition to stop at the tombstones of family and friends around Easter time, and to leave food and flowers in their memory. So, Lidia poured wine in the shape of a cross on various gravesites, while my host mom, Tasea, placed eggs, and candy on them, and Viorica added flowers. It was interesting to observe this tradition, and to read inscriptions on various tombstones. I also learned that the graves closest to the fence that borders the cemetery, are the graves of those who have committed suicide, and they do not receive the same memorial ceremonies, as the rest of the dead. They are buried on the outskirts of the cemetery. After the graveyard, we continued up the hill, and I was snapping pictures left and right of the Moldovan Springtime that is now in full bloom, pun intended. It was really beautiful to see the blossoms on all the trees, the flowers scattered on the hillside, and in the gardens, and the green grass that has carpeted all the open spaces. Quite a view! But this fieldtrip got even more interesting when we reached the top of the hill, and the orchards that grew up there. Lidia, the fifty-something eccentric neighbor, decided that we should pose for my camera in all sorts of hillarious places. She made Viorica and I pose in the middle of flowering bushes, and then, she decided to climb a tree!!!! No kidding! She took her shoes off, and, in her stockinged feet, began to climb this huge flowering tree. I was laughing so hard, I could hardly snap the photos. But once she was up there, she wasn't satisfied, until my host mom, Tasea, agreed to climb up with her for a few photos. It was so hillarious, as Viorica boosted Tasea up the tree, and then Tasea and Lidia scooted out onto a branch that I was sure was going to give way beneath them. Lidia kept putting flowers in Tasea's hair, and making them hold things like Easter eggs and such. It was quite the comedy act, and we had a lot of fun!  

Still Springtime in Moldova!

For some reason, these two pictures didn't make it on to the last blog entry. So, I'm adding them now. My host mom would kill me if she saw this picture because it's a candid shot of her painting the fence. Every time I want to shoot a picture of her doing whatever she's working hard on at the time, she gets a horrified look on her face, and says, "Oh no Anna!!! I look so bad right now! Wait a minute, and I'll brush my hair." Then she proceeds to brush her hair, and try to look frumose (pretty) for the camera. So, I never get a natural shot of her doing what she's doing. So, of course, when I happened upon her painting the fence, I snapped a picture of her before she could see me do it. I think it's a great picture of her, but I think she'd be horrified. The other picture was a result of my excitement at seeing blossoms on the apricot tree in our backyard. I just couldn't help myself, and had to take a picture. Just a confirmation that Spring has arrived! Yay!!:) 

Springtime in Moldova!!!

Well, folks, I think I can safely say, "Springtime has come to Moldova at last!!!!" I waited to say anything, until we had a succession of warmer days, even weeks, without snow. Rain counts as Spring, but there have been some very warm, dry days as well. The trees are all starting to blossom, the grass is growing, and everything is so green and beautiful, and all the animals are having little babies. Spring also means Easter, and Spring cleaning! Oh yes, Moldovans do Spring cleaning too. Their version of Spring cleaning includes painting their fences in bright colors (mostly blues, whites, and greens), and planting all their crops. So, I've been helping my host mom some in the garden, and doing all sorts of fun things like: sawing branches off trees (with an old rusty soviet saw, I might add), chopping wood, and small trees down (with an old rusty soviet axe, I might further add), hoeing the garden, pulling out weeds, and so much more. It's great exercise, and when it's so beautiful outside, I'd rather be working outdoors, than laying around indoors. Plus, I've been able to up my running days, which always helps me feel better. Lately, I've been running more in the afternoons, and the responses I get from passing cars can be very amusing at times. Some honk angrily, and shake their fists as if I am committing some unforgiveable sin, some honk, and give me thumbs up or wave, some offer me rides because they think I am trying to get somewhere and have no transportation, and some ask me what I'm running from. It's always amusing. I've included some random pictures just to give you an idea of what life is like right now. The top picture was a photo op. I just couldn't pass up with the blossoming tree, the well, and the Moldovan painted fence. Such a Moldovan Springtime picture. The second photo was to show you how beautiful and green everything is getting. I love my village!!! It's got a little lake, lots of open fields, livestock rome freely, and there are little dirt paths all over the place that I can hike along. In the third picture, you have to look pretty closely, but to the right of me, on the ground, is the skeleton of a dog's head. I know, kinda morbid, but it was morbidly fascinating, and I had a visiting volunteer, Chris, take a picture of me with the skeleton. Do I need psychological help? Very possibly. The next picture is one I wanted to add in order to show the other side to Moldovan life. Although there are some extremely beautiful areas, you never have to go far, before you come across massive amounts of trash that people don't know what to do with. Unfortunately, such concepts as recycling, and communal dumps are pretty foreign here, and if people don't burn their trash (including plastic and who knows what else?), they just toss it somewhere where they don't have to deal with it. Sadly, it often tends to be in places that would otherwise be breathtaking. :(  

Praz-what?!?

I'm still recovering from the praznic we just had for my host mom's husband who passed away a year ago. For those of you who have never heard of a praznic before, allow me to explain. Every year, to mark anniversary of a person in the family who passed away, a traditional feast is created, and anyone who was close to that person is invited to attend. Let me tell you, it was quite the feast!!! Approximately forty five people were invited and the ensuing preparation was mind-boggling!!! My host mom has been cleaning and repairing the house for this ceremony for about a month. Her daughter came in two days early to help with preparations, and the night before the meal, about six wonderful women from the neigborhood stayed at the house till 1 in the morning to help prepare all the food, and set everything up!! I was up and helping too. I learned how to make some of the traditional dishes, and as you can see from the picture, the table was FULL of traditional dishes!!!! The next morning, at about 7AM, the Orthodox priest came to bless all the food, and the praznic that was to follow. I included a picture of this because it was very interesting. He sang the traditional blessings, and went through a whole ceremony, and I got to watch it all, and even take pictures! Pretty cool. After this, the eating began, and I am not exaggerating when I say we ate from 8 in the morning till about 11 o'clock that night!!!!!!!!!!!!! Although I had some food and a little wine (at 8AM, nonetheless) with immediate family, the rest of the guests began showing up around 9, and the real feast began around ten. That food statyed on the table all day, and people would come and go, and every time someone came, it was time to eat and drink again. By the end of that day, my stomach was so confused and full, and thrown off from all the eating, and the different types of foods, that it took me about two days for my stomach to feel normal again. It was quite the never-ending meal, but it was also quite interesting. Because it is lent for these people, many of them will not eat meat. So, everything was either fruit, vegetable, or soy. No milk products, no meat. But it's amazing the variety of foods that can be created from these ingredients. There was a lot of delicious food, but my host mom and I are still trying to finish it all. We even gave a ton of food to the surrounding neighbors, and still we have a surplus that I don't think we'll be able to finish! 

Fun in Balti

Well after that long week, it was nice to come back to my own room and bed. But it was also fun because within a week, four other volunteers had come to visit my village and spend the night. These last three pictures are from the most recent visit from three volunteers, Dan (the guy whose birthday party I went to) Chris, and Jessica. We wandered around the nearby city of Balti with another volunteer that lives there (Ari), and he showed us where a small amusement park was. We had a lot of fun on the Ferris wheel, and got some great pictures. This first one is of me and Jess. The second one was a view of an orthodox church from the Ferris wheel, and the third is of Ari (his back is to the camera), Jess, myself, and Dan at the amusement park. That was a fun day! Now, I'm settling in for a few weeks and actually trying to get some stuff done here in my village. I'm excited to add that the weather seems to actually be warming up a bit! Dare I hope? I even went for a run this morning! Is Spring finally here?!? I feel like I should knock on wood or something before another snowfall hits us!  

A Long but Fun Week

I know this is a lot of pictures, but a lot happened last week, and I think it's a lot more interesting to illustrate with photos. So, here was my week in a nutshell. I went down south to Dan's village of Zberoia last week for his 23rd birthday party. It was a lot of fun. Not only is Zberoia a beautiful village (it's right next to the Pruit River, and you can see Romania across the river), but his family was really sweet, and the birthday party was a lot of fun with other volunteers and locals from Dan's village. In the picture on the right are Dan, Greg and Rok, all of whom were in my training village of Rusestii Noi when we first came to Moldova. All really good guys that I have come to appreciate and enjoy hanging out with. The girl in the picture with me below is Masha. She's Moldovan, but speaks English fluently. She came to Zberoia for the party, and I really enjoyed getting to know her better as well. The group in third picture consists of other volunteers who journeyed to Dan's village for the party. They are, from left going clockwise: Chrissi, Jessica, Craig, Mary, Adam, and another Greg. I stayed in Zberoia for three days, and had a blast. After this, I traveled back to Chisinau for a conference run by Peace Corps about working with our Moldovan partners. My counterpart, Ala (president of the NGO I work for) came and we worked together on the plans for a project called "Generation House" which would primarily serve the elderly of our community and would try to bridge the generation gap between the youth and elderly of our community. The fourth picture in this series was taken at that conference. My counterpart, Ala is the women on the right in the front. The conference lasted three days. I got some helpful information from the conference, but think it could have been condensed into a day or two. But it was nice to have hotel rooms with showers and hot water! Woo hoo!:) I can't complain!