Motorcycles and the upcoming election
I love motorcycles. I have loved them since taking my first ride many, many years ago. There really is nothing quite like the feeling you have on a motorcycle: the wind, the rush, the paying attention to the road in a new way. Amazing.
It's a firm and emphatic rule of Peace Corps that for safety reasons we are not allowed to ride on, or operate motor vehicles (except tractors with special permission). That's a pretty good rule, given the roads and the drivers here, and probably in most of the countries where volunteers are serving. I love them anyway, knowing that they are so unsafe, and a risk. I always follow the rules. The heat the past few days has been so oppressive that it has been almost unbearable. A nice ride would be welcome. Over the past few days I have seen even more motorcycles than usual, or maybe I am just more attuned to them. Either way, I have seen some amazing things related to motorcycles over the past year, so I thought I would write about some of them now.
There are mostly Russian motorcycles here, and for practical reasons almost all of them are equipped with a side car. They are often the only means of motorized transportation that a family might have. Last summer I saw a motorcycle with a side car transporting seven people!!There were four in the side car and three on the motorcycle. Earlier this week, in the big heat, I saw a young family riding a scooter. Not really a motorcycle but a scooter. The father was driving, one preschool aged child standing on the running board, and a second toddler wedged between her father and her very pregnant mother! Four on a scooter! I haven't written about this kind of sighting for quite a while, because in some ways I am now more accustomed to seeing this kind of craziness. The heat this week helped me to observe this kind of activity in a way that I did at the very beginning of my time in the village, but now seems ordinary. That is my observation for the week.
The heat has been very bad all week, but finally broke last night with a big thunderstorm and lots of rain. The temperature has been above 40* Celsius all week, but today is in the 30*s. It's much nicer today. The upcoming elections will be held this week, on Wednesday. We'll see what the outcome brings for Moldova. Our Peace Corps staff have said that they are not anticipating the trouble that occurred here in April, but really, anything can happen, and we have to be extra careful with our reporting if we leave our villages for any reason.
There isn't much else to write about. This is a big birthday week at home, so I am sending out special birthday wishes to Nick, Michele and Steve, Ginny Z., Stephen, and my beautiful daughter Linnea. I wish I was home to celebrate in person. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami
It's a firm and emphatic rule of Peace Corps that for safety reasons we are not allowed to ride on, or operate motor vehicles (except tractors with special permission). That's a pretty good rule, given the roads and the drivers here, and probably in most of the countries where volunteers are serving. I love them anyway, knowing that they are so unsafe, and a risk. I always follow the rules. The heat the past few days has been so oppressive that it has been almost unbearable. A nice ride would be welcome. Over the past few days I have seen even more motorcycles than usual, or maybe I am just more attuned to them. Either way, I have seen some amazing things related to motorcycles over the past year, so I thought I would write about some of them now.
There are mostly Russian motorcycles here, and for practical reasons almost all of them are equipped with a side car. They are often the only means of motorized transportation that a family might have. Last summer I saw a motorcycle with a side car transporting seven people!!There were four in the side car and three on the motorcycle. Earlier this week, in the big heat, I saw a young family riding a scooter. Not really a motorcycle but a scooter. The father was driving, one preschool aged child standing on the running board, and a second toddler wedged between her father and her very pregnant mother! Four on a scooter! I haven't written about this kind of sighting for quite a while, because in some ways I am now more accustomed to seeing this kind of craziness. The heat this week helped me to observe this kind of activity in a way that I did at the very beginning of my time in the village, but now seems ordinary. That is my observation for the week.
The heat has been very bad all week, but finally broke last night with a big thunderstorm and lots of rain. The temperature has been above 40* Celsius all week, but today is in the 30*s. It's much nicer today. The upcoming elections will be held this week, on Wednesday. We'll see what the outcome brings for Moldova. Our Peace Corps staff have said that they are not anticipating the trouble that occurred here in April, but really, anything can happen, and we have to be extra careful with our reporting if we leave our villages for any reason.
There isn't much else to write about. This is a big birthday week at home, so I am sending out special birthday wishes to Nick, Michele and Steve, Ginny Z., Stephen, and my beautiful daughter Linnea. I wish I was home to celebrate in person. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami
posted by Jami | 8:39 AM
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