4th of July Party

Every year on the 4th of July, or thereabouts, a party is thrown for all Americans living in Moldova, including but not limited to Peace Corps volunteers. It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed, as last year there was free all-you-can-eat ice cream, and this year, there was NO ice cream!! :( I had a good time hanging out with all my Peace Corps buddies though. In this first picture (L to R) Amy, Rachel, me, Michelle, Carrie Second photo (L clockwise): me, Adam, Amy, Carrie (up top), Craig, and Breanne There was a band that played some fun American tunes with a Moldova accent. They were actually really good, and the volunteers did some heavy duty dancing. me, Adam, Amy, Carrie, and Breanne again. :)

July's Scenery

It's amazing to me how each season has it's own natural beauty on the surrounding landscape. July brought beautiful fields of sunflowers, a few showers here and there, and the beginnings of grapes! Here's a few landscape shots from my village of Recea.

Camp T.A.R.E.

Well, I know I have a lot of catch-up to play. I am actually back in America now, but before I start filling you in my American adventures, I need to finish catching you up with my Moldovan adventures. So, let's run through the last several months, starting with.....JULY!!!! Wow! That's quite a time gap. Sorry, but my slow internet connection in Moldova was just not conducive to blogging. I'm hoping that now that I'm back in America, the high speed internet will make blogging relatively painless. So, let's give it a try. So, at the beginning of July, we conducted Camp T.A.R.E., which I also assisted in last summer. T.A.R.E. stands for Teenagers, Active, Responsible, and Equal. In short, it is a 5-day camp/seminar for young Moldovan women between the ages of 17-22. They are taught a variety of topics on life and professional skills including: resume writing and interview skills, healthy relationships, AIDS/STD's, self defense, domestic violence, good parenting, nutrition, human trafficking, and many other important lessons that many young women in Moldova do not have informational access to. It is taught in a camp environment where we do a ton of fun "camp activities" such as: bonfires (complete with American S'mores), making pinatas, tie-dying, talent contests, theatrical presentations, lots of fun sports activities, and so much more. This year we had 69 attendees from all over Moldova, and ten Peace Corps volunteers paired up with ten Moldovan volunteers as camp counselors. They worked together to present the lessons, and to lead the activities. It was a great success, even though it turned out to be one of the hottest weeks all summer.