Another Hike to Remember

Last weekend, I went with a group of friends and acquaintances on a hike in northern Moldova. We went mainly to explore some caves in the mountains (Moldovan mountains are more like rather large hills, but still beautiful), but we were hiking most of the day. The following are some of my favorite pictures from the hike. There are a lot, but I just couldn't pick a few. There were too many scenic moments. This is me, Adam, and Carrie, some of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers. Some of the people from the group I went hiking with. Carrie created a makeshift shepherd's staff from a stick and some metal. Dechen was her "fill-in" goat, and she's trying to herd him. I've started calling her Heidi since then. This is my Community Development program manager, Lilliana. She's the one who invited us on the trip, and the man next to her is the one who organized and led the hike. Both great people, and very outdoorsy. 

 

Oh and here comes my real obsession! Sunsets!!!! The sunset this day was sooo beautiful, and it cast the richest warm-golden hue the river, and everything it touched. So, here's a collection of sunset pictures from that hike. Indulge me! That dark spot is a small row boat on the water. I think the guy might have been fishing. 

A view of this beautiful village from the "mountain" we hiked up. The river wound around it, and made for quite a scenic picture. These are all the goats being herded over the river bridge. There were so many of them. This is a very common form of transportation in Moldovan villages: a horse drawn cart, called a carutsa. I just rode in one tonight, in fact, when I helped my host mom collect the corn from her land. 

I loved the authentic "village-ness" of this picture. Right now, everybody is collecting all their corn and then stacking the remaining stalks and husks into big piles like this. I really like the architecture of Orthodox cathedrals, and this village had a beautiful blue and white one. Hard to tell from this vantage point, but this cross is actually about three stories high. The stormy sky made such a great background. 

I'm not very good at pole dancing, but Greg seemed to take to it quickly! :) Fording a stream turned out to be a bit tricky, so I took my shoes and socks off so they would stay dry. Glad I did as I slipped on a few slimy rocks several times, and would have had to hike in wet shoes. If you look closely, the bottom left corner of this picture shows the rocks down below that we crossed the river on. 

 

Fun in the Forest

I mentioned that a new group of trainees in Community Development and Agriculture, arrived in Moldova several weeks ago, thus marking the one year point or my own group's arrival in Moldova. Well, I have been fortunate enough to have been participating in some of the new group's trainings. It has been great getting to know them. These pictures are from a team building day in the forest, where the trainees enjoyed a barbecue and various interactive team building activities. This is the new group of trainess (M19-which means they are the 19th group of Peace Corps volunteers in Moldova). Of course, I found a cute, friendly dog in the forest that somehow knew if it followed me around and looked pitiful enough, I would have a few "accidents" where meat somehow slipped through my clumsy fingers and onto the forest floor. Oops! :) Here's some of the M19's participating in one of the many interactive team bulding activities. I got to help out with this one, and they did a great job. Plus it was a great chance to get to know them all better. 

Mmmm! Tastes Like Chicken!

Yup folks! That's how we do it here in Moldova! First we tai (which literally translates "cut", but means to kill) the chicken, and then hold the head, and body over a fire to singe all the feathers off. Next thing you know, you've got a chicken head floating in your zeama (chicken soup). Don't tell my host mom, but I snuck the chicken head to the kittens when she wasn't home. Is that bad? You can't see the flame here, but this chicken head is attached to a fork in it's mouth, and is being held over the flame on the stove. Here, my host mom is singeing the feathers off of the rest of the body. And in the last picture, I convinced my host mom to let me take a picture of her as well, although first she had to set the chicken down, run to the mirror to brush her hair, and then come back to continue the process. She just wanted to look frumos (beautiful) for the picture. She's so great!