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!