The Sun

The Sun
by Mary Oliver

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful

than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone--
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance--
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love--
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed--
or have you too
turned from this world--

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?


Happy Midsummer. Happy birthday John. Happy Father's Day this Sunday, not last, as I had thought. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Sunday evening

Here it is, the middle of June. The very best time of year. Plus, its my birthday! Yippee! This year it was mostly a quiet day, after five days in Chişinău with the new trainees. That was a lot of fun, filled with busy days and late nights. Wednesday and Thursday were spent shopping for small gifts, preparing events and activities, making signs to hold up at the airport. Fun stuff, but nothing too taxing.

Thursday evening the trainees arrived. Tired, excited, overwhelmed. All of us "seasoned" volunteers spent time remembering how it was for each of us as we entered this service, and this different culture. We spent a lot of time talking about how the past year and few months has changed us, and brought a different perspective to how we view ourselves and others. For me, it was a reminder of the reasons that I wanted to do this work in the first place: the enthusiasm, the pride, the belief that one person really can make a difference. It was good for me to remember.

Thursday night after getting settled there was pizza and a little time out on the town. I met Jon and passed on the greetings from his family. He gave me a big hug and literally lifted me up off my feet! What a nice young man, one who will be learning Russian instead of Romanian. It is always good to have Russian-speaking friends! Friday and yesterday were spent moving people and luggage from one location to another, organizing meals out on the town in Chişinău, buying forgotten items for the trainees, and again, late nights. Yesterday evening by 6 pm, all of the new trainees were moved from Chişinău into their training villages. Last night it was dinner with five other volunteers and then an early evening. This morning I picked up my three (!!!) packages, sat on the bus for three hours, and now I am relaxing and catching up on all that I missed here in my village. Tomorrow it is back to work.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, especially thanks to my Mom and Dad, Linnea and Joe, Kim, Mike and Bob for the packages. Thank you all who have already made donations for my special project. It means so much for the future of the work here. I have so much to be grateful for. Happy Fahter's Day to my Dad, my brother, Nick, Joe and all my friends to whom this applies. Special thoughts this week for my friend and fellow volunteer, Justin, as he is being sent to Washington for some testing tomorrow morning. This week should be back to the quiet routine of village life. As I have learned, there really is no routine to village life, although it is usually a quiet life. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

A busy week

It feels good to be busy. I am not busy in the way that I was busy at home, but I am busy this week in my Peace Corps life. This is the week that the new trainees come into town, and there is a fair amount of preparation for all of us to do to make them feel welcome. It feels good to be a part of this effort. Teresa has really assumed the position of being the lead organizer from the volunteer perspective, and she has done a great job. Now there are just last minute details before the "newbies" arrive on Thursday evening.


This past weekend I was in Chişinău and went to a volunteer gathering at Lake Ghidighici after the VAC meeting. This lake is the largest lake in Moldova, and is located just north of Chişinău. There was a pretty good group of people at the lake and then most of us headed back to Jenna's for the evening. Again, lots of fun. Yesterday and today are work days, and then tomorrow I head back into Chişinău for a long, activity-filled birthday weekend. I am looking forward to meeting all the new trainees and helping them acclimate to this different life!

Peace Corps news: Jeffrey Goveia, who has been our Acting Country Director since the departure of the previous Country Director, has been named the new Country Director for Moldova. This is great news from my perspective. Jeffrey is fair, enthusiastic, smart, and a pleasure to know and work for. On a sadder note, my friend, Andrea, who lives in the village closest to me, has decided to return home. She has thought through her decision, and of course, as her friend I support that decision. I will miss her lots, and wish her lots of luck and happiness. Best of luck to Jen and Matt V. Good news for them! I'm looking forward to "seeing" my family on Skype this weekend, and hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the long, warm days of June. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Zuia Copiilor

Wednesday, late afternoon in early June. Since I last wrote I have had another fun weekend in Chişinău and a good and productive week here in the village. On Friday morning I headed into the city, and then out to meet with Teresa. She has been working to prepare for the new group of volunteers who will be coming a week from tomorrow. She is very organized, and I was visiting more for the company than any real work that she needed me to help with. Eden came out later in the evening, and we had such a good time. On Saturday we were up early and headed into Chişinău for a full day of meetings. It was actually a lunch gathering, and then an afternoon of meetings on providing peer support. Then back to Teresa's town for a birthday party for Lauren, who turned 23 on Saturday. What a fun time! There were 15 of us, and lots and lots of good food and funny stories. Lauren will be leaving us shortly to enter Law school this fall, so it was nice to have this time together. Sunday was spent at the Peace Corps office, and traveling back here to my village life.

Monday morning the day at work started with popsicles for the kids. June first is Children's Day (Zuia Copiilor) and what better way to start the day than with a popsicle. It works for me! Shortly after getting to work, my partner told me that there was a visiting American coming to the village for the day, and did I want to meet him? So, this man turned out to be a native Moldovan who moved to the US in the late 1950's. He was raised in Chişinău, and his ancestral home is the village I am living in. He spoke Russian very well, and since almost everyone here prefers Russian to Romanian, he fit in much better than I do. We had a really nice day, and toured the local winery, along with some interesting sites that I have already seen in the village. The website for the winery is www.purcari.md. Check it out to see the best and the brightest of Moldovan wine making. It's not typical of life here, but it is interesting. Yesterday and today have been routine, but all in all, its been a good week.

This weekend I am headed back into the capital for the VAC meeting on Saturday. I am planning to stay and help prepare any last minute things needed for the incoming volunteers. Next week will be busy for sure. My thoughts this week are with all of my Ream family as Memmy is struggling with her health, and with Michele who is headed out for a family cruise. Keep the letters and emails coming! I love hearing from everyone! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami