Week in Review
I spent October 27th through November 2nd in Chisinau in meetings with the Peace Corps. The first two days consisted of language classes, and the final three days was teacher-training session. There were highlights and no-so-highlights all around..
Highlight: Speaking English. I can’t tell you (or anyone) just how nice it was to speak English in a normal way with Native Speakers. There is no doubt that my skills have slipped a little, as more than once I found my mind mentally grasping for a word and my grammar being a total wreck. But I was not alone in this - as a group our skills have deteriorated. I also found myself slipping aspects of Russian grammar into my English: in Russian they say ‘what’ not to often and instead say ‘which’ more, which I found myself doing regularly.
Low-light: Forgetting Russian. In fact, the day after I arrived home I met some students to work, and my mind was a total mess for about fifteen minutes while I found myself grasping for words that I knew without problems only one week before - I can’t describe totally the feeling. After that I was fine but it was an odd spat of time.
Highlight: Getting a ton of valuable new information to use in the classroom. Much of our teacher training sessions focused on us just talking with each-other in a sharing of techniques, what works and what doesn’t work - it was amazingly helpful.
Low-light: Sitting in meetings for eight to nine hours a day. It was totally exhausting, just sitting there listening for three straight days (the language was not too bad).
Highlight: Finding five packages for me at the Peace Corps office. Some stuff had been sent in July and took three months to arrive, but at least they all arrived intact. Thanks again to anyone who sent something - much has already been but to good use, and my family is especially fond of the BBQ sauce my brother sent. The first time I put it on chicken and ate, a tear almost formed in my eye.
Low-light: Trying to bring five packages worth of things home. I ended up having to be selective, bringing home only the most important things - I’ll pick up the rest when I go back to Chisinau for the conference all volunteers have at Thanksgiving. And my family has taken to the BBQ sauce a little too much - my host mom puts it (and a lot of it) on BREAD and devours it, saying how good it is the whole time. I want to scream that she’s wasting it, that I can’t simply go to the local store and buy more. It’s to the point where if she is eating I can’t be around her, because it physically hurts to watch. So if you are reading this, send more (address below).
Highlight: On Halloween seven of us went to a local disco to celebrate. They don’t really celebrate the holiday here too much but at the disco all the bartenders and many of the entrants were all decked out in costumes, making a good time for all. We where there until 3:30 in the morning, with a wake-up call of 7:30 for the next day.
Log-light: When we all went to the disco, the security were periodically stopping people from entering. Unlucky for me, I was stopped. So I waited. And waited. For an hour and fifteen minutes. No one could figure out why I couldn’t go in - I asked many times in Russian, my friends asked in Romanian, even a few Moldovans asked. No luck. But after 75 minutes the guard just turned to me and told me I could enter.
Highlight - Moldova and Chisinau have a reputation among volunteers of not being too friendly to tourists. Sometimes (usually . . . ) it’s justified, but sometimes not. Case in point - there is a bar near the center called the Dublin, an Irish bar that could not possible be more accommodation for volunteers. They love us, actually, and are more than glad to reserve a table on any night because we buy a lot and (most importantly) tip a lot, usually around twenty percent in a nation where tipping in general is rare and ten percent is wonderfully generous. And the bar itself is great - it feels like a normal small Irish bar you could find anywhere in America. If anyone comes to visit, the first place we’ll go is to the Dublin.
Low-light: However, many a places here help the city maintain it’s reputation. Case in point - Sunday night some of us went to a place called the Beer House, one of the nicer places in town and a two minute walk from the hotel where we stayed. There we ordered beer three liters at a time; it came in fresh, tall cylinders that were placed in a barrel with a tap. When one friend of mine saw it he was more joyous than I’ve ever seen a volunteer here: he wouldn’t have been more excited if twenties and not beer poured from the keg. It was amazing. However, two days later other volunteers went there hoping to have the same experience. They were quickly told that it wasn’t possible to but beer in three liter cylinders. Yes, we had just purchased then 48 hours earlier. Yes, they are listed on the menu. And for some odd reason, they were denied with no real explanation given.
Highlight: My mind was able to rest greatly. I didn’t have to think in Russian and the work we were doing wasn’t too mentally taxing - anytime I got tired I could simply allow myself to drift away until something more interesting came along.
Low-light:My body was put through the ringer. While the meetings were not mentally taxing, physically is was exhausting to sit there and do little. And at night we didn’t sleep much either, instead spending the hours talking amongst each-other. When I arrived home apparently I looked like I got hit by a truck - for two days my host-mom asked me why I had black under my eyes, and I was never asked to help with work - they were simply more concerned that I rest.
Highlight: A friend of mine went to the Russian Embassy in Chisinau and figured out just what exactly we need to get a visa to Russia. It’s nice to finally know.
Low-light: What we’ve learned has thrown our whole trip into jeopardy. The Embassy only processes visas for American’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00AM to 1:00 in the afternoon, so to get a visa would require a day trip to the city, meaning that we would be missing lessons. Secondly, everyone says that thanks to the Russian bureaucracy, we likely will have to go there at least twice, if not more, meaning a lot of missed lessons and 5:00AM wake-up calls. There is a silver lining, however: if we don’t go to Russia, it looks like Istanbul instead for the holidays. I think I could make that trade . . .
And finally, the absolute highlight of the trip: Tuesday night some of us were sitting in a hotel room drinking beer and listening to music on a computer when "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John came on. Within thirty seconds all ten of us in the room broke into chorus, singing together for the length of the song. If you’ve seen the movie "Almost Famous", it was exactly like the scene in the bus, only with giddy young American volunteers. Surreal, almost.
I will end with a request for one thing (besides more BBQ sauce - or salsa). I need books in English. If you are reading this and are able to send something, please go to every yard and garage sale, every church rummage sale you can find and just buy children’s books. You can send them here in something called a Media Bag through the USPS - it’s one dollar a pound (but will take a while to get here, something I’m perfectly fine with) to send them here:
Andy Buchanan
Peace Corps Volunteer
str.Grigore Ureche 12
2001, Chisinau, Moldova
I will thank you once in advance and once more when things are received.
Highlight: Speaking English. I can’t tell you (or anyone) just how nice it was to speak English in a normal way with Native Speakers. There is no doubt that my skills have slipped a little, as more than once I found my mind mentally grasping for a word and my grammar being a total wreck. But I was not alone in this - as a group our skills have deteriorated. I also found myself slipping aspects of Russian grammar into my English: in Russian they say ‘what’ not to often and instead say ‘which’ more, which I found myself doing regularly.
Low-light: Forgetting Russian. In fact, the day after I arrived home I met some students to work, and my mind was a total mess for about fifteen minutes while I found myself grasping for words that I knew without problems only one week before - I can’t describe totally the feeling. After that I was fine but it was an odd spat of time.
Highlight: Getting a ton of valuable new information to use in the classroom. Much of our teacher training sessions focused on us just talking with each-other in a sharing of techniques, what works and what doesn’t work - it was amazingly helpful.
Low-light: Sitting in meetings for eight to nine hours a day. It was totally exhausting, just sitting there listening for three straight days (the language was not too bad).
Highlight: Finding five packages for me at the Peace Corps office. Some stuff had been sent in July and took three months to arrive, but at least they all arrived intact. Thanks again to anyone who sent something - much has already been but to good use, and my family is especially fond of the BBQ sauce my brother sent. The first time I put it on chicken and ate, a tear almost formed in my eye.
Low-light: Trying to bring five packages worth of things home. I ended up having to be selective, bringing home only the most important things - I’ll pick up the rest when I go back to Chisinau for the conference all volunteers have at Thanksgiving. And my family has taken to the BBQ sauce a little too much - my host mom puts it (and a lot of it) on BREAD and devours it, saying how good it is the whole time. I want to scream that she’s wasting it, that I can’t simply go to the local store and buy more. It’s to the point where if she is eating I can’t be around her, because it physically hurts to watch. So if you are reading this, send more (address below).
Highlight: On Halloween seven of us went to a local disco to celebrate. They don’t really celebrate the holiday here too much but at the disco all the bartenders and many of the entrants were all decked out in costumes, making a good time for all. We where there until 3:30 in the morning, with a wake-up call of 7:30 for the next day.
Log-light: When we all went to the disco, the security were periodically stopping people from entering. Unlucky for me, I was stopped. So I waited. And waited. For an hour and fifteen minutes. No one could figure out why I couldn’t go in - I asked many times in Russian, my friends asked in Romanian, even a few Moldovans asked. No luck. But after 75 minutes the guard just turned to me and told me I could enter.
Highlight - Moldova and Chisinau have a reputation among volunteers of not being too friendly to tourists. Sometimes (usually . . . ) it’s justified, but sometimes not. Case in point - there is a bar near the center called the Dublin, an Irish bar that could not possible be more accommodation for volunteers. They love us, actually, and are more than glad to reserve a table on any night because we buy a lot and (most importantly) tip a lot, usually around twenty percent in a nation where tipping in general is rare and ten percent is wonderfully generous. And the bar itself is great - it feels like a normal small Irish bar you could find anywhere in America. If anyone comes to visit, the first place we’ll go is to the Dublin.
Low-light: However, many a places here help the city maintain it’s reputation. Case in point - Sunday night some of us went to a place called the Beer House, one of the nicer places in town and a two minute walk from the hotel where we stayed. There we ordered beer three liters at a time; it came in fresh, tall cylinders that were placed in a barrel with a tap. When one friend of mine saw it he was more joyous than I’ve ever seen a volunteer here: he wouldn’t have been more excited if twenties and not beer poured from the keg. It was amazing. However, two days later other volunteers went there hoping to have the same experience. They were quickly told that it wasn’t possible to but beer in three liter cylinders. Yes, we had just purchased then 48 hours earlier. Yes, they are listed on the menu. And for some odd reason, they were denied with no real explanation given.
Highlight: My mind was able to rest greatly. I didn’t have to think in Russian and the work we were doing wasn’t too mentally taxing - anytime I got tired I could simply allow myself to drift away until something more interesting came along.
Low-light:My body was put through the ringer. While the meetings were not mentally taxing, physically is was exhausting to sit there and do little. And at night we didn’t sleep much either, instead spending the hours talking amongst each-other. When I arrived home apparently I looked like I got hit by a truck - for two days my host-mom asked me why I had black under my eyes, and I was never asked to help with work - they were simply more concerned that I rest.
Highlight: A friend of mine went to the Russian Embassy in Chisinau and figured out just what exactly we need to get a visa to Russia. It’s nice to finally know.
Low-light: What we’ve learned has thrown our whole trip into jeopardy. The Embassy only processes visas for American’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00AM to 1:00 in the afternoon, so to get a visa would require a day trip to the city, meaning that we would be missing lessons. Secondly, everyone says that thanks to the Russian bureaucracy, we likely will have to go there at least twice, if not more, meaning a lot of missed lessons and 5:00AM wake-up calls. There is a silver lining, however: if we don’t go to Russia, it looks like Istanbul instead for the holidays. I think I could make that trade . . .
And finally, the absolute highlight of the trip: Tuesday night some of us were sitting in a hotel room drinking beer and listening to music on a computer when "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John came on. Within thirty seconds all ten of us in the room broke into chorus, singing together for the length of the song. If you’ve seen the movie "Almost Famous", it was exactly like the scene in the bus, only with giddy young American volunteers. Surreal, almost.
I will end with a request for one thing (besides more BBQ sauce - or salsa). I need books in English. If you are reading this and are able to send something, please go to every yard and garage sale, every church rummage sale you can find and just buy children’s books. You can send them here in something called a Media Bag through the USPS - it’s one dollar a pound (but will take a while to get here, something I’m perfectly fine with) to send them here:
Andy Buchanan
Peace Corps Volunteer
str.Grigore Ureche 12
2001, Chisinau, Moldova
I will thank you once in advance and once more when things are received.
posted by Andy Buchanan at 6:35 AM
3 Comments:
Andy,
I'm glad you received your packages, I was beginning to have some doubts about either the U. S. Postal Service or its Moldovan equivalent but I guess both in their own ways are functioning just fine.
Your re-entry into speaking Russian after only a one week "vacation" from it reminds me of going back to work after a long holiday and having to once again become refamiliarized with all of the corporate acronyms and forgotten passwords.
It is perhaps a very good thing that we haven't sent you any "Mrs. Renfros" hot sauce, if barbecue sauce is an instant hit then the Mrs. wouldn't last but a few seconds. Since you have plenty of produce and especially tomatoes maybe what you could really use is a decent recipe or two plus a variety of spices.
Friendly / unfriendly, it is a curious quirk. I guess it might be compared to the "Security" guards that are used here to direct traffic, etc., at public gatherings. When they see that little badge on their chest not a few of these types can very quickly get very authoritative, bossy, and arbitrary.
In the past I've been to a few classes which seem to be similar to those you described, especialy at work when in the past it was mandated to have at least 40 hours of continuing education to remain "current". It was a nasty form of passive torture to set in an uncomfortable chair in dim light having to listen first to a lecture and then to the inevitable but happily few persons in the class who were eager to make sure the lecturer found out that they were really clever and in fact knew more then the lecturer themselves.
How's the weather, it is supposed to snow a bit here tonight. Once you get yourself one of those locally made jackets you'll be harder to spot. But I'm betting the BSM & LA Lakers logos are still rare sights in the East so you will have that going for you.
Istanbul where East meets West, sounds and is ancient and exotic !
Love,
Dad
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