Hiking in Moldova?!?!

This past weekend, my program manager, invited me and several other volunteers to go hiking with her and some of her friends. We headed by rented transportation to an are north east of where I live, called Tipova (pronounced tsipova). I had such a wonderful time! I have forgotten how nice it is to get outside, and lose myself in nature! Life seems to be in such a clearer, more manageable perspective after hiking, and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. The group ended up being pretty large. There were 20 of us in all. We hiked all over the place, going from waterfall to waterfall. However, to get to the waterfalls, we ended up climbing up almost sheer hillsides, hanging onto brush and plants to keep us from rolling down the hills. The waterfalls were very beautiful (although I think I've been spoiled a bit by places like Yosemite National Park and Half Dome :) In the photo above we posed on an old tree trunk. It was a great mixture of local Moldovans and American volunteers. In the next photo, several of us posed by one of the waterfalls. From left going clockwise: Carrie, Nick, Adam, me, Liliana (my program manager). The scenery was truly amazing, and the day was beautiful. We were right next to the Nistru River and could see across the river to Transnistria. Throughout the hike, I saw people camping, so I'm definitely going to have to go back sometime with a tent and sleeping bag and several friends, and have a camp-out. How I miss the great outdoors!

Pictures taken in my front yard today: 1) A butterfly perched on those colorful flowers, 2) A vine of grapes winding through the railing of my front yard staircase, 3) One of my adorable kittens. Still trying on names: What do you think about Charlie (like Charlie Chaplin because of the mustache)? The only problem with Charlie, is it's a girl.

Cute Animals, Colorful Flowers, and Recea

My host mom was stepping outside the door the other day, when she stopped in her tracks, started laughing, and told me to come look. This is the scene that she had happened upon. Apparently, Velcro (one of our adorable kittens. Yes, I named him. He sticks to people. He just hops up on you and starts climbing 'till he gets to your shoulder and then he perches there. And if you take him off and put him down, he hops back on again. Sticks like velcro, and thus the name. ) decided that my host mom's mud shoe made a perfect-sized bed for him, and he looked so comfortable all tucked away in it. Then a day or so later, I found all the animals snuggled up together. Amanda is the larger cat, Ewok is the puppy (he used to look a lot more like an Ewok than he does now, but he still sounds like one. Very squeaky, but cute :), Velcro, and the as yet unamed kitten, are the kittens. Right now, there are some beautiful flowers in bloom. They look like daisies only in such a variety of colors. They're everywhere, and they're so pretty! And then, there's Recea. I keep finding landscape photo ops. in Recea, and just can't help myself. Thus, another picture of the Recean landscape. I love my village! Things are going well here in Moldova. My main concentration right now is on trying to motivate the local mayor to get on the ball, and really start working with me on a water project that would bring running water to Recea. After being here for almost a year, I finally feel like I'm at a point, linguistically, and culturally, where I can start really working to help the community. The most expressed interest from all I talk to within this community, is running water. Thus, the drive to make it happen! I will meet with the mayor again tomorrow, and see how his progress is coming.