Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!

After a few days of warmer weather last week, today is FREEZING! I can't get warm, even with my space heater going. I am not in a happy place right now. It will pass, but not until I am feeling a little warmer. Why am I in Moldova and not the South Pacific today (or St. Croix)? What was I thinking when I accepted this work? If the worst thing that I deal with is the weather, how bad is that, really?

The week was mostly uneventful, which in itself is an event. I was thinking about that as I was walking the other day. I think I am more or less adjusting to my "new normal". That is to say that my routines now feel routine. I usually know what to expect in a given situation and where to turn for support or guidance, something that has taken the better part of a year to figure out. So all of that is good, the cold weather aside. I have read Anna Karenina this week. Written by Leo Tolstoy, I think it was my favorite of the Russian books that I've read over the past few months. His descriptions of peasant life in the 1870's made me realize how little has really changed in this part of the world in over 140 years. I also read a really trashy book called Kink by Saski Walker and Sasha White just so my IQ stays in balance. That's all the books I have, so its back to finding other things to keep me busy (and warm!) until I go back to Chisinau next weekend.

The poor mail delivery continues to frustrate me, but I have been able to talk to Linnea regularly on Skype, and that is an awesome thing. Because we have computers with web cams, I can actually see her when we are talking. I think it is the most amazing thing ever, and I it makes me imagine how people must have felt the first time that they used a telephone. I'm not sure why it took us so long to figure it out, but most of the time when we were not able to connect it was because I didn't have regular Internet access. That is one thing that I am really thankful for. I'm trying to do a positive re-frame, can you tell?

Today it has been 52 weeks since the Sunday afternoon when our group met for the first time in Philadelphia to begin this journey. The actual date was February 24, and it was Oscar night, as it is tonight. My friend Teresa is coming to my village for a visit today, and staying until Tuesday, so that will provide a nice diversion this last week of February. In hindsight, the year has gone by quickly, although there were times that it didn't feel so fast.

That's all that's new this week. I'll be home for a visit in less than two months, and I am counting down the days! Love and miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Half Past February

February is officially more than half over! Here in Moldova they celebrate the first day of Spring on March first, so in less than two weeks we will be in Spring here. Just to remind us that it is, in fact, still Winter, on Friday the thirteen, we got about 3-4" of snow. I'm not superstitious, so I don't believe that the date had anything to do with it! Thursday it had rained all day, and it was really miserable. Friday morning, it was one of those snow days with the snowflakes that are so big that when one lands on your tongue it quenches your thirst...When I got up in the morning it was drizzling, and by the middle of the afternoon it was done, so it wasn't too bad all things considered. The snow that had fallen in January was gone, and the ground was not really frozen, so I'm hopeful that this won't last too long.

So, now you can see that I have added some pictures. At night and on the weekends, when the connection seems to be a little faster, I am trying to upload some pictures for you all. I am going back in time and adding them to the dates that they occurred. There are still big gaps of time with no pictures, so don't rush going back trying to see them yet. At the rate things upload, it will take a while. I'm working on it....

This week at the Center I have worked with the kids on covering their mouths when they cough, learning "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", the "Hokey-Pokey", "London Bridge" and "Ring Around the Rosie". The kids don't really know what they are saying, but they are so cute. I am also learning Romanian pre-school songs: "Buena Diminata" and Mamma mea, te iubesc"... We are all learning at about the same level. Today when I went to work we made some snowmen. Boy, I'll bet St. Croix isn't this much fun!!!

Yesterday I was in Chisinau for the day. I went in for the VAC meeting, and got my B12 shot, and a hot shower (!) and pretty much just turned around and came home. It's a long day doing it that way, but they had asked me to work at the Center today, and I think I wrote last time how often the kids seem to be left alone, so I was happy to be there today.

There isn't too much else new this week. I will be home for a visit in less than two months! I can't wait...I confess, I have a countdown calendar! Special get well wishes to Betsy's mom who is back at Maine Med. Greetings to all, where ever you are reading this from. I miss you all and hope that you are doing well. xoxo, Jami

Working, Reading, Writing, Walking, Falling

Working: Besides the necessary eating and sleeping, the above five verbs pretty much sum up the past week. Not in any particular order, or with any comment on frequency, this has been the past week here in my little village. I have gone to work for a few hours everyday. There is no reason not to, even on Saturday and Sunday. There are kids and old people who like company and there are always things to do. I am surprised and not always happy, although I am working on letting it go, how often and under what circumstances the children are left unsupervised. I think it is a recipe for disaster, so I try to show up often. The other thing about work that I am working through in my own mind, is the regular threatening that staff do with the kids, and the use of corporal punishment. There is a switch. Not kidding. I've not seen it used, but I have seen kids threatened with it. I have talked with the people (staff) I have seen threatening kids about the dangers of emotional abuse, but I don't think that I'm making an impact. It's a tough thing for me, and I'm trying to figure out how to make this point understood.

Reading: Since I last listed my reading list, this is what I have read: Waiting by Ha Jin, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Singing Boy by Dennis McFarland and Selected Dialogues of Plato, the Benjamin Jewett translation. Now I'm all out of books until I go into Chisinau this coming Saturday. I just finished the Plato last night, and I have lots of writing to do, so I know I can stay busy and out of trouble.

Writing: I have started working on two different grants, both with lots of writing involved. Enough said.

Walking: Everyday, my usual walking. Again, enough said. Oh, wait, I did want to add that the weather has felt Spring-like since last Friday. Although sometimes rainy and damp, it has been unseasonably warm. Its been a nice treat.

Falling: I don't consider myself a clumsy person. I don't remember the last time I fell before coming to Moldova. It might have been when Dice pulled me around the yard like I was the sled and he was the lead musher, but I really don't remember for sure. In less than one year, I have now fallen here a total of 4 times!! I fell the day of "swearing-in" on the carpet in the hotel, I fell with boiling water and burned my hand in November, I fell on ice in January and on Friday I slipped in the mud on my morning walk. The mud is as dangerous as ice here. I'm not kidding.

Nothing else new from Moldova. Have a good week. The days are longer, Spring is just around the corner, and life is good. I love and miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Groundhog Day!

Thanks to my friend Allen for the reminder: Today is Groundhog Day. Punxatawney Pavel has seen his Moldovan shadow and is predicting another six weeks of Winter. No surprise. Actually, I don't think I've seen a groundhog since coming to Moldova, unless maybe it was as mystery meat....:)

February First

The first day of February, 2009. It has been dreary and cold, snowy and wintry all week. Monday and Tuesday were spent in Chisinau at program training. The actual training was low key and not too stressful. There were all of us in the Community Organizational and Development group, as well as the Agriculture and Rural Business Development volunteers. I'm not sure what the other group did, but our group time was pretty unstructured and as is almost always the case, the real benefit was getting together and talking about what is working, and what is not working, wherever we are. I did walk away with some ideas for how to be more effective and helpful here in my little village, and a new perspective on things that are perhaps more universal than I had realized about the PC Moldova experience.

One thing that was different for me was the number of very late nights in Chisinau. Here in the village, it is dark before 5:30 (although its staying light a little longer everyday!!) and I am usually creating diversions to stay up until after nine at night. I am still having trouble sleeping, but more often, I go to bed early, and then wake up before four in the morning and think (too much). The three nights that I was in the hotel in Chisinau, it was after 3 each morning before I fell asleep and as always, I am an early riser. What a change! I didn't go out on the town, but shared a room with others who did. That, plus being in unfamiliar surroundings, with unfamiliar noises, made for some long, or short, depending on your definition, nights. It was a relief that the training was not more intense than it was. I had a great time, it was great to see everyone, and it was a break from the routine of village life. The upshot, though, is that I returned on Tuesday evening, slept for 12 hours straight through(!!), and then on Wednesday and Thursday, started with a bit of a cold. Lots of vitamin C, tea, and sleep, and I think the worst of it is over. Hopefully!

So now I am back to the village life. For the next six or eight weeks, I expect to dig in to the routine here, look for some resources online for funding some projects, write some grants, and count the days until I come home for a visit. Except for a meeting in Chisinau in the middle of the month, I don't anticipate any need to leave town. Hopefully the time will pass quickly in a boringly productive fashion.

Greetings to all, and special birthday wishes in the week that was to my friend, Ed, who was my Peace Corps inspiration, and to Kirsten, way out in San Diego. In the week that will be, Brenda, my awesome and in loco parentis to Linnea sister-in-law, and my best brother in the world, David, may you all have great birthdays. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami