Back in Moldova

It was a great vacation. I got to everything that I wanted to do for three weeks. Even though there were people that I didn't get to see, I got to see many of the people that I wanted to. Now I am back. It was not nearly as hard to leave this time as it was last year. Now there is less than a year to serve. I more or less know what to expect of the remainder of my time here, its not so scary and crazy as it was starting out. I have friends here. Life goes on.

Some of the highlights of my time home include the time I got to spend with Linnea, my parents, my brother and sister and their families, my grandparents, my new son-in-law, Joe, my step-grandson, Joey, Joe's family, meeting my new friend, Kim, seeing Bob, and Mike, and too many other family and friends to mention...you know who you are! Really, just seeing people that I love was my main reason for coming home. It was so worth it.

And now I am back. The flight back was much more uneventful than the flight home. For those of you who do not know, I got a case of food poisoning right before I flew out of Moldova. As someone said to me..."What a crappy way to start your vacation, no pun intended". Accurate, but not pleasant. I did spend the first night back here in the Medical apartment and the doctor very graciously came in on Saturday morning to talk with me about it. She said that after three weeks I was probably over everything, and had cured myself, but I am scheduled to come back to Chisinau tomorrow for them to double-check me, give me a TB and a B12 shot, and believe it or not, today, my very first day back in the village, I got bit by a dog again! That makes three. The second one didn't break skin, so I may not have written of it. This bite hurts, but I don't think they will give me another booster. We'll see. I don't know what it is with the dogs here. They are a source of curiosity for me, on so many levels.

It was good to spend a nice warm late Spring weekend in Chisinau. I was supposed to have a language training this past weekend, but while I was home it was postponed until this coming weekend. We will be having our last language exam until we finish service. Because they were not expecting me until Sunday afternoon I decided to spend the weekend in the city before re-integrating back to village life. Sort of slow things down a bit...get used to Moldova urban life before going back to the village life...which is, as I have shared, extremely slow. Saturday was a fun time. There were lots of volunteers in Chisinau, and Saturday night was a dinner at a Mexican restaurant for about twelve of us. It was Andrea's 24th birthday, and she joined the group, which was nice. Andrea is the volunteer who lives in the village closest to me. Her mother is coming for a visit this weekend, and I know she is looking forward to that. She has been having a rough week, and family visits always help.

Today when I went into work everyone, but especially the kids, all seemed so happy to see me. That was really, really great, and just what I needed to feel like this work matters. Maybe some days it only matters to one little kid, but it matters. So, with that feeling this afternoon, I left work, and went for a walk, only to end up getting bitten by that pesky mutt. Some days it is up one and back two. Today it felt like up two, and back one, so I'm still ahead. It really is okay being back here. I wasn't sure how I would feel after being home, and I'm guessing there will still be hard (lonely) days ahead, but right now I am on a "home visit high". Its sort of funny to me that while I was home there were things that were overwhelming to me (the mess in the attic, Walmart, traffic, thinking about next year when I am really home for good). Not the visiting, ever, but some of the things about our way of life are just so hectic/commercial, and I guess I had forgotten, or took for granted that everything at home would feel natural. Not always so, and a little surprising to me. I wonder if there is a middle ground? I wonder if it is just me? I wonder what's next...after tomorrow, of course.

Belated Mother's Day greetings to my mother, my grandmother, Linnea, and to all of my friends to whom this applies. Betsy's mother, Sarah, is back living at home, Michele is home from the hospital, doing well, and getting ready for a family cruise. My thoughts go out to Kim who has recently lost her father. The sun is warm, and the days are long. Spring! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami