Dreams and schemes

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Location: Brunswick, ME, United States

I am fun-loving, a dreamer, but not much of a schemer. I try always to be a good friend, and a good mother, daughter and sister. I am a hard worker, and I like to work hard and also to have a good time. I am serving in the Peace Corps, in Moldova, and the insight and opinions in this blog are mine, and do not reflect the opinions of the US government or the Peace Corps. "I cannot do great things. I can only do small things with great love."

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sunday in Chisinau

Today it is Sunday afternoon, and I am sitting in the Peace Corps lounge after two full days of language training. Tomorrow and Tuesday we will be attending training with the group who came before us. That group, the 21's, are also volunteers who are specializing in Community and Organizational Development (COD) and Agriculture and Rural Business Development (ARBD). There are about 60 of us who have descended into Chisinau for the two days. It should be a good time.

The abbreviated work week that just was felt understandably shorter than usual. There is a core group of regular residents at the Center, and then a fluid group of day visitors, mostly elderly folks. On weekends and holidays there have been many kids who have come during the day. The day activities seem to be mostly unstructured, and I have been working with the social assistants to develop a schedule of activities and a plan for who will be visiting the Center during the day, what time to expect each visitor, and what activities the visitors might be interested in participating in. Many people are coming just before lunch time with empty jars which are filled with soup, and then they return directly home. Others come in late morning, and then stay and visit into the afternoon hours. In the next few weeks I plan to be going with the Social Assistants to do some more home visits in addition to the work at the Center. It feels so good to be busy with meaningful work.

My parents are now on St. Croix visiting with David. I am sure that 85* and sunny beats the New Hampshire winter. Linnea is doing well. I have heard from my sister-in-law Brenda this week that my father-in-law is having some health problems that are of concern. Now that I have internet again I have been hearing from many friends via email. I am getting calls and even the sporadically delivered letter, although the irregular mail delivery continues to be among the most frustrating things for me. Yesterday my Grandmother called and told me that her Aunt Emily died in her sleep this past week. My grandmother is 91 and Aunt Em was 93. May I be so blessed to have such a long and healthy life. Thank you all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Monday, January 19, 2009

It's Cold-ova here!!!

Okay, the truth is, I've been wanting to use that as a title for a while. Now, its finally cold enough to use it as an accurate description of the weather here. I know that Maine just got another foot of snow yesterday, and we don't have much snow to speak of here, but we are now getting some of the Arctic blast that blew across the Northern United States last week.

Since Dustin left last week, I have been once again dealing with computer frustrations. I know I should be grateful to even be able to use the computer at all here. When I actually think about it, it is sort of amazing to even be able to access this level of technology. We have an outhouse, a well for our water, and broadband internet. Go figure. I paid the internet bill late this month, and because of the many holidays in the beginning of January, they were not able to re-connect the service until today. I think it is now straightened out but it is still incredibly slow broadband, as slow as dial-up.

I was in the village last Thursday and Friday, and then on Friday afternoon I went back to Chisinau for an impromptu birthday party for one of the other volunteers. We had "funfetti" birthday cake with chocolate icing, and a nice time. On Saturday, Teresa came into town and we met for book club and then headed out to the newest mall in Chisinau. It is called Mall Dova. I kid you not! It is filled with French, British, Italian and American stores. It is the first time in almost a year that I wished I was making an American salary and not living on a volunteer stipend. There has been little I have needed, and not much I have wanted in almost a year, but I did see things on Saturday that I wanted, even though I have no needs. Its good that I clearly know the difference between wants and needs, or I might have been tempted! One funny thing about the day is that Teresa and I ate at KFC, and I had chicken and coleslaw. It wasn't until yesterday that I thought about it and realized that even when I don't have to eat cabbage, I am still eating cabbage, even if they don't make coleslaw here anything like KFC coleslaw. Too funny. The mall is new and clean, very western, it was fun to check out, and a great way to spend a dreary January Saturday afternoon.

Speaking of book club, this is what I have been reading since the end of December: The Christmas Train by David Baldacci, Cocktails for Three by Madeline Wickham, Saturday by Ian McEwan, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd, Liliane by Ntozake Shange, A Common Life by Jan Karon and I am currently reading Maya Angelou's All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes.

Tomorrow is the inauguration. A proud day for America. Have a good week. I miss you all. XOXO, Jami

Monday, January 12, 2009

Dustin

I have a visitor from home! My nephew, Dustin, has been visiting me since last week. Dustin is a student at the Tyler School of Art, part of Temple University in Philadelphia. He is in a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) program in photography there, and he is here on his school break taking photographs, and checking out the local scene.

He was supposed to fly in last Friday evening, January 2. His flight from Frankfurt to Chisinau was cancelled on Friday evening. Air Moldova put him, and several, but not all, of the cancelled passengers, into a nice hotel in Frankfurt, gave them meal vouchers, and they arrived safely on Saturday evening at the appointed time. No problems with the flight on Saturday, everything went smoothly. We spent the first few days in Chisinau, and returned to the village on Monday evening. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in the village, walking around and exploring. I went to work, and Dustin joined me for most of the day on Wednesday. Wednesday was Christmas here. It is mostly a religious holiday, and the young children did get some small gifts. Thank you to my parents and family for sending stuff for me to share with the children. Everything was appreciated by everyone.

Thursday we came into Chisinau again for one night, and returned back to the village on Friday evening, where we stayed until yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. Again, the time was spent showing him around town, introducing him to the people I know, other volunteers, my host families, both the current one, and the one from training. It has been a fun week, and the time has passed so quickly. Today we have been visiting in Chisinau, and tomorrow he is planning to go off on his own for a while and shoot some photographs in the morning, and then in the afternoon we will probably look for some souvenirs for him to take home. His flight returning home leaves at 5 am on Wednesday, so he will be leaving Moldova soon. It has been a really good break from the coldness of January to have him here. I do know that the days are getting longer, and each day I believe I can really feel it, especially in the afternoon. I think I want it so badly, I am making the days grow faster than they actually do.

Last time I wrote about letting go of people whom I have struggled with trusting. I realized that I need to figure out how to work through this issue if I am to be successful here. I think that in many cases I have such different expectations than what people here have about "stuff". I often think that casualness about time or events is somehow a personal attack, when often it is just a different expectation about time frames or work. Again, I am working on letting some stuff go, but not actual people.

I am not sure if this has made the US press, but there is a problem with natural gas coming from Russia into Europe through the Ukraine and Moldova. There has been a shortage of gas, and problems with the movement of natural gas, and Moldova has been forced to tap its national reserves. There is a lot of concern that if this issue is not resolved soon that many people may be without heat or the ability to cook. In my village, school has been cancelled this week, as there is not enough gas in reserve in town to heat the school. Most homes in the village are heated with wood, so there is not as much concern about home heating in my village as there is in Chisinau. People across the country of Moldova are dealing with a basic necessity that I have always taken for granted as being available, even if expensive. It is living Maslows hierarchy at the most basic survival level.

I hope everyone is having a great January! Enjoy the longer days, make a snowman, have some soup or hot chocolate by the fire. Spring is coming. Really. St. Croix is always an option when you think you can't stand another cold minute! Have a safe trip Mom and Dad! Miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year

Happy New Year to one and all! I was hoping to update this blog yesterday, but once again, the phone service was not working. Oh well. My reflections for the past year are mostly centered on this Peace Corps work, since it has really consumed most of my time and energy over the past year, and much of 2007, as well. The year that was, was filled with lots of new adventure: meeting new friends, fellow volunteers, Peace Corps staff, and Moldovans; increasing my patience and tolerance for the many things that are beyond my control or understanding; working hard to make my needs understood in a new language; increasing my capacity to trust, and also learning to let go of things, and maybe people who have made me question if they continue to be worthy of that trust.

Now I have been in Moldova for a little over ten months. It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since I left home. In hindsight, the time has gone incredibly fast, although there have been many days that have been so long I thought they would never end.

My personal goals for the coming year are focused on the work that I have started this past year, and will be working on for all of 2009. One of my challenges will be figuring out the sustainability piece of this work, and how to support what I do here this year, beyond my time here. My village is a place with many physical needs. People see me as someone who might be able to help them find a way to finance projects. I didn't come here only to write grants for things, although I do see this as a part of my work. Some of the needs that have been identified by people in the village, from the mayor to school children that I have asked, are as follows:
  • Help with improvements at the school. There have been many days where there has been no heat in the school, and students have been sent home early because of this. The heating system needs to be replaced, and many of the desks are falling apart.
  • Money to fix, or pave the secondary streets. The main road was paved this past year, but no other streets in the village are paved. Because the village is on a hill, every time it rains the main street is filled with mud that runs down the secondary streets into the main road.
  • Musical instruments for the high school. There is a piano at the school, but there are no other instruments available for public use. There are some instruments at the School of Art, but no everyone can afford to take lessons there.
  • Help with improvements, including heat, at the teen center. This building is only available for use in the summer as it is not heated.
  • Outdoor play equipment at the pre-school and at the residential center where I am working. There is no outside equipment at the residential center, and the equipment at the pre-school is old, rusty, and unsafe
  • More jobs....

So, that is the big list. The reality, I know, will be less. I will be okay with less, but will try to help with this list as much as I am able. It's why I'm here, and there are a lot more little things that are needed, but not asked for in such a big way: Toys and toiletries for the center, benches for the park, improvements to the bus stops...the list goes on.

This evening my nephew is coming for a visit. I anticipate that he will probably be the only one of my family and/or friends to come to Moldova. It will be great to have him here, and I can't wait to see him!

I wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year! May 2009 be a great year for all of us! xoxo, Jami