American BBQ in Moldova

The last couple of weeks have been very busy and I have a number of things to share about my experiences and life in Moldova.  I hope to do so in a few brief posts.  This is the first one to get you and me caught up . . .   

On Wednesday afternoon, July 8, 2015, after the COD Site Team conference, our group from Milestii Mici went to the Smokehouse in Chisinau to celebrate our permanent assignments and share stories about our site visits.  The Smokehouse is a new restaurant, having opened since we arrived in Moldova.  It is owned and operated by two former PCVs, I believe M27s. When their service ended they decided to stay in Moldova and open an American restaurant.   However, as I understand it, doing so is a complicated process and among other things they had to have a local partner because they are not citizens of Moldova.  It took one year from start to opening.

The Smokehouse is centrally located in downtown Chisinau just off the main thoroughfare, Stefan Cel Mare Strada.  It is relatively small and rustic with a small bar area and a few tables. There is one special table known as "Table 27" which represents the 27 months of PCV service.  Needless to say it was the table where our group sat and enjoyed the beer and food.

The beer is Moldovan, but from a few craft breweries.  The selection is not large, but there was a variety from which to choose and we shared a couple of pitchers!!

The menu is American:  pulled pork, BBQ chicken, grilled cheese, cole slaw, potato salad, and Mac and Cheese.  Simple, but tasty. A reminder of home. Some comfort food to be sure. After five weeks a pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce and honey mustard was a welcome change! 

Please do not misunderstand though because the food we have been provided and served in Moldova has been fresh, homemade and tasty.  The vegetables and fruits from our host families' gardens have been wonderful.  One of my favorite meals has been fried potatoes and a salad of cucumbers, garlic, onions and tomatoes.  For now it is my Moldovan comfort food especially after a day of classes!!

In case you were wondering, there is a McDonalds in downtown Chisinau on Stefan Cel Mare Strada. The times I have passed by, it looks busy, but has not interested or tempted me in the least.  I have also seen a sign for KFC, but again it does not appeal to me.  I do not know if that will change but for now I am enjoying the Moldovan food.  I will, however, go back to the Smokehouse because it is real and not fast food.  Also I want to support former PCVs who are sharing a bit of American culture with Moldovans and are hopefully adding to the Moldovan economy.

              

Permanent Assignment

Thursday July 2, 2015 was another warm and sunny summer day in Moldova.  I awoke with eager anticipation, but some anxiousness about the news that was to come later in the day. The lectures seemed longer than usual.  Finally at 4:00, all the M30's along with PC staff and many M28s and M29s gathered for the "Announcement".

By program each M30's name was called, the site of his or her permanent assignment announced, and the person's picture appeared on a map of Moldova.  The CODs were the third group called and when my name and assignment were announced, I have to admit I did not really hear or understand the name of my site and had no idea where I was going to spend the next two years.   I was handed an envelope of information, but continued to listen to the names of my colleagues and watch the map.      At the end the map of Moldova was covered with faces.  We are spread out over the entire country!!

I am assigned to Rusestii Noi, a village southwest of Chisinau in the Ialoveni Raion or District. This   is the same Raion where I am currently living, but the village is essentially on the opposite end of the District.   I am to work in the Primaria or Mayor's office and my Moldovan partner is the Vice Mayor.  The information provided indicates that the Mayor and Vice Mayor also want me to be involved in the community and help in and with the library, schools, cultural center, and organizations for youth, the elderly and women.  The job description is daunting and we will need to have further discussions and perhaps do some surveys to determine priorities and focus my activities and work.  

On Sunday, July 5, I traveled to Rusestii Noi and met the Mayor and Vice Mayor who gave me a tour of the villages.  There are actually two villages:  Rusestii Noi ("New Russia") and Rusestii Vechi ("Old Russia").  The former has about 4000 inhabitants while the later has approximately 2000.  The Primaria is in Rusestii Noi where I will probably spend most of my time and where I will also live.

After the tour I was taken to the home of my host couple.  They were gracious, pleasant and welcoming.  They are retired teachers;  she taught history and was the director of one of the village schools for a few years, and he taught physical education.  Their house is more modern than my current one and seems fairly comfortable and spacious.   It is located about a mile from the Primaria, but unfortunately the roads are mostly dirt.  The walk in the rain and snow should prove interesting! 

In the afternoon, the Mayor came for me and we along with his secretary's family and the folklore group from Rusestii Noi traveled to another village for a festival of Moldovan music, song and dance.  There were Masas (tables of food) surrounding the perimeter of the performing area and the Mayor introduced me to the other Mayors present as well as many groups.  He seemed to take pride in having an American PCV assigned to his village. Needless to say I was the only American at the festival and I got the sense that most of the people I met did not have previous experience with either Americans or PCVs.  Everyone was welcoming, but after a few stops at the Masas, I had to politely decline the food, wine, champagne and other beverages offered.  That was a bit tricky since Moldovans love to share their homemade food and beverage, and are very hospitable.

The folklore group from Rusestii Noi consists of children and adults. They were all dressed in beautiful hand sown traditional Moldovan costumes.  The children played instruments similar to recorders and sang accompanied by a type of guitar.  The adults sang also and supported the children.  All in all the performance was well done and it was good to see tradition being carried forward.

Monday morning I walked to the Primaria and met the Mayor in his office. The Vice Mayor was on vacation so I spent the day with the Mayor in Rusestii Noi, Ialoveni and Chisinau. He is quite busy, but seems very approachable and social.  The Mayor won re-election in June and is beginning his second four year term.  He has a sense of humor, but speaks only Romanian and Russian.

Which brings me to the first major challenge of my assignment.  Neither the Mayor nor Vice Mayor speak English.  Similarly none of the Primaria staff whom I met speak English.  My Host couple also does not speak English although they have hosted PCVs during PST in years past.  The bottom line is that I am in a Romanian and Russian speaking village and will have to step up my language study.  After my two day site visit I was exhausted trying to listen, understand and respond in Romanian!!  One month of language study is clearly not much and my Romanian will probably be a constant work in progress.  I just hope people are patient as I continue to learn and try to speak.  Even if I do not have all the correct word endings and verb tenses, I am using the words I know to communicate as best I can. Hopefully, I am conveying something beyond nonsense and am being understood. 

Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, the Mayor and I participated in the COD Site Team Conference in Chisinau led by the COD program director.  All of the COD PCVs and their partners traveled to and attended.  It was a good opportunity to get to know our  Moldovan partners, their expectations and our goals, and to begin planning our work.  The Moldovan partners speak mostly Romanian and/or Russian, and a few know some English.

In the M30 group, there are 16 CODs with three assigned to Primarias, six to libraries, and seven to NGOs.  Some consider the Primaria assignment to be desirable.  (In the past there have been more Primaria assignments, but with the June elections not as many applied for a PCV as required months ago not knowing what would be the election results.) I was open to any assignment and would have gladly worked in a library or with an NGO. I still may do so as part of my work.  In the end, our COD program director is very good and made a concerted effort to match people to assignments.  I think we are all accepting her decisions and the conference helped us begin building relationships.

Initially I was admittedly a little disappointed when I realized where my assignment was located and  I would be spending the next two years.  It seemed that most of my colleagues were traveling to and would be living and working in other parts of the country.  The thought of being in a new place away from where we are spending our first eight weeks of PST seemed attractive in comparison.  However, as I reflected and thought more about it, I actually am in a great location.  Rusestii Noi is close to Chisinau. I am not sure of the actual distance or travel time, but I am pegging it at about a 25 minute rutiera ride.  That being the case, I will be able to get to know the capitol city and take advantage of what it has to offer including cultural events, historic sites, museums, shopping, restaurants, and very importantly, its Roman Catholic Cathedral.   And I will still be able to travel about the country visiting my PCV colleagues at their sites.  In some ways, I am very fortunate in my assigned location.

We are now in the final weeks of our language training and COD assignment preparation. The suspense is over as to our assignments.  I am already thinking about the work to come, but must really concentrate on my Romanian language learning.  As an aside, most of the M28s and M29s  who I know have worked or are working in a Primaria seem to have a partner or someone in the Primaria who speaks English.  I guess there may be a different plan for me!! 

For now,  o zi buna . . .

Debbie  

   

  

Random Musings After One Month

This first month has gone by quickly.  There have been so many different and new experiences that my head is sometimes spinning as I try to assimilate and learn about Moldova and her people.  I thought I would share some initial impressions and thoughts.  It will be interesting to see if my views change over time as my knowledge and understanding increase.  PC has emphasized that our observations are mostly on the surface, and we should not evaluate or judge because there is so much more that we do not now know.  So here are some random descriptions of what I have experienced.

We Americans are readily noticeable and do not really blend in with our Moldovan neighbors.  Whether it is our dress, backpacks, accents, newness or whatever, we stick out!!  We are a source of conversation and curiosity in the village.  If someone speaks a little English they may try to engage us in conversation which is comfortable and welcomed.  Or they may speak in Romanian which is a humbling experience at this point as I try to understand and respond.  I do know the words for "I do not understand." Nonetheless I try although it can be frustrating for both of us.  Hopefully, the effort, a smile and "da" (yes) make up for limited language skills!!  

During my second week, an older gentleman sat near me at the rutiera stop  (large van akin to a small bus) and began naming the US presidents beginning with Roosevelt and continuing through Obama.  He even mentioned a few former Secretaries of State! I do not think he knew or spoke any other English, but his attempt to converse was charming and delightful.  Unfortunately I could not respond in Romanian because I did not know the words which may have made sense or been appropriate.  We simply smiled at each other and in that way made a connection.  

The children in the village are friendly and like to say "Hello".  They actually pronounce it better than I pronounce "Buna Ziua"!!  When you try to engage them in conversation, however, many do not know enough English to do so.  They are probably just beginning to learn the basics.   The children are actually a good resource for us as we learn Romanian.  They speak more simply and slowly. 

One day a woman approached me and another volunteer while we were out walking and asked if one of us could tutor her daughter in English.  We had to apologize and tell her that we had classes all day and would only be in the village for a few weeks before moving on.  There is a desire and interest in learning English.  Many volunteers have secondary projects which involve English classes and clubs for both adults and children.  I am not sure if I will be doing any teaching or tutoring in my future assignment and/or off work hours, but beware as I may need some English language materials!!

It is fascinating to see all the T-shirts, shirts, handbags, hats and other items with American brands,  logos or words.  Be it the name of a city, state, university, sport, sports team or whatever, all things American seem quite popular.  Many do seem different or not imported from the US.  This is something I will explore when I have a chance to do some shopping at the piata or market.

We have walked through the Central Market in Chisinau a few times on our way to classes or the rutiera back to the village.  It is a fascinating collection of open air stalls and sidewalk vendors selling everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to clothing to household items to products of every description and kind.  It is a place where you negotiate and shop around as prices for the same items can and do vary.  We actually had a lesson and practiced in Romanian language class on how to negotiate at the piata!!  I'll let you know how I do when I give it a try.

Today we had our first language test.  It was an oral exam where we were given four scenarios where we had to converse with an instructor.   Mine involved describing my family in America to a new host family and asking questions about them; introducing myself to my new director or work partner, describing my experience, and asking questions about the work assignment; giving directions to the shop where I had bought a dress which my colleague admired and wanted to go to the same shop; and going to the store and piata to purchase and negotiate for food items to prepare for dinner.  I  was able to converse although I know that not all my noun and verb endings and tenses were correct.  I think I was able to show some knowledge of vocabulary and hopefully more pronunciations were correct than not.  Bottom line, I got through it and they did not hand me an airline ticket home at the end!!

In all seriousness, our LTIs (language training instructors) are great and very patient.   We will be given the results of the exam tomorrow or Saturday when we have class.  They actually give us feedback each Saturday and are helpful.  I know that my Romanian is a continuing work in progress.

Tomorrow is a big day for all the M30s as we will learn our permanent assignments.  That is, we will be told where we will live and work for the next two years.  We will learn the nature of our work and the identity of our Moldovan work partners.  This Sunday we will travel to our permanent sites to meet our new host families and work partners.  We will be at the permanent site through Monday returning for a conference on Tuesday afternoon.  This is an anxious and exciting time.  I am eager to learn and remaining open to the next phase of my journey here in Moldova.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the upcoming holiday.  We have no classes on Friday, July 3rd, as it is a US government holiday for all PC staff and employees.  We actually have Romanian language class on the Fourth of July!!  In some ways it will be good for us to be together as Americans learning what we need to do to be ambassadors of goodwill and peace, and of service.  

I wish you all a wonderful Fourth of July and hope you celebrate our independence day with family and friends.  I can honestly say that I treasure and value the freedom and life we enjoy in America now more than ever.  God has truly blessed the USA.

Peace and prayers,

Debbie