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