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

Hazy, hot and humid

It's now the middle of Summer, and the weather has been REALLY hot. I'm not complaining, merely stating the fact. The temperature has been in the 90's for most of July, and for sure all weekend. It is the way Summer should be. Last year we had the rain and flooding that seems to have landed in Maine and New Hampshire this year. The only time that I struggle with this warm weather is on a very slow moving bus, over-crowded trolley, or any other mode of public transportation. I love contact with people, I just prefer a little more space, deodorant, and maybe even air conditioning. Adding to the discomfort is the belief held by many people here that windows should not be opened near small children as the "current" will make the children ill. Since I have not heard much about children getting ear infections here, there may be some truth to the superstition. It does, however, make an already hot journey even hotter.

So, weather is the big news this week. Work is going well. My days are spent working, walking, reading. The kids are so cute, and I really enjoy what I am doing. That is good. I really thought that as a Community and Organizational Development volunteer, that I would probably focus on more macro kinds of change. I have found the greatest contentment in the littlest kids, and the littlest changes. I still know I am making positive changes in my life and the lives of others, and at the end of the day, isn't that really the best reward?

This past weekend was another trip to the training house in Ialoveni for a gathering of the chronologically advanced volunteers. We call ourselves the "Old Farts", and we have a couple of "Geezer groupies". The "groupies" aren't old enough to qualify as OF's but we like them and invite them to join with us for whatever the group gets together to do. The monthly events usually involve a fair amount of eating and imbibing in adult beverages, and Saturday was no exception. Jen prepared a great dinner, there were adult beverages, and we had some of the new trainees join us. Lynn and Jen are finishing their service at the end of this month. Jen will be heading home and hopefully moving into a job in Washington, DC. Lynn is planning to spend the rest of the Summer in Budapest before returning to California. Macie, Craig, Pan and I are the representatives of our group, and there are six or seven adults in the new group of trainees who might at some point want to be included as an Old Fart. There aren't many of us, but its nice to have a peer group. Now I think I am done with the traveling for a while. We'll see, as something always seems to come up.

So that's the news from another week. I am looking forward to coming home with Natalia in November. I know we'll be busy, but I can't wait to see everyone. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

July

Summertime, and the living is easy. There isn't even much to write about this week. My daily routine has become just that, routine. Work, walk, read, walk, work, read. Village life is slow. Last week I was here in the village Monday through Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were spent in Ialoveni with the trainees, providing insight as a part of a panel discussion. It really is a highlight to be able to reflect back and share experiences, provide some support and guidance to the trainees. Saturday and yesterday were spent back here, and I'll be here until the weekend. There's really not much new, but I wanted to say hi and let you all know that I am still out here counting my time and experiences.

There is some big Moldovan election news: The elections have been re-scheduled for July 29th. I have heard many people in the village voice complaints about a mid-week election. For people living out of town, but who are registered to vote in the village, this means missing a day, or possibly two days of work. This mainly affects young voters, and there is some belief that the date was purposely set for mid-week to sway the outcome. After the upheaval following the April elections, there is concern about the results of this process, and the potential for additional rioting. There is little concern for that in the villages, and the only way it may affect us is that we may be restricted from travel to and from the capital, as we were in April.

Birthday greetings this week to Jonny and to my sister, Julianne. You'll never be as old as me! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Roman(ian) Holiday

Okay, really Romania is not much like Rome. In fact, the cities that we just visited are more German than Roman, I'm not Audrey Hepburn, and there was no Gregory Peck in sight, but what a great vacation!

It's been a while since I've written, and its been a busy and fun summer so far. The mid-summer week-end was spent in Orhei and Chişinău, mentoring the new volunteers, showing them around the city. It was a long, hot day, and week, before vacation. Work continues to go well, and I enjoy spending time with the kids so much. We have been playing a lot of water games in this heat and that has helped to cool off the hottest times of the day. All week I was at work, but really spending a lot of time thinking about my upcoming vacation. Some things are the same no matter where you live or what work you are doing!

Last Saturday Teresa and I left Chişinău on the only bus that goes to Braşov. The bus leaves at 7 pm and arrives around 3:30 am. Fortunately, we were meeting one of Teresa's friends, who was already in a hotel room, so we only had to get there and settle in for a few hours sleep. It was uncomplicated but tiring. Braşov is a very pretty city, set against the side of Mt. Tampa in Transylvania. The area was settled by Germans in the late 1400-1700's. (I guess they didn't all go to Berks County!). While the topography reminded me a little of Jackson Hole, WY, with ski slopes coming down right into town, most of the architecture was reminiscent of colonial Philadelphia. The German name for Braşov is Kronstadt. Of the three towns that we visited, it was by far the most cosmopolitan, and international. There were lots of tourists and students, and most people seemed to be able to speak English. Our Romanian was appreciated and understood, so that was cool, too. Teresa friend, Glenda, was with us for the five day vacation, and was a good addition. On Sunday afternoon, we hired a driver and went to see two different castles. The first one we went to was at Peleş, in the town of Sinaia. This castle was built in the late 1880's and is a little froo-froo, with fancy Rococco work, lots and lots of stained glass. Its very pretty, and looks like a fairyland castle.

It was the end of the day, but we found time to also visit Bran castle. This is the legendary home of Vlad Ţepeş, the inspiration for Bram Stokers' Dracula. It is a much different castle, and more impressive to me. It is more fortified and stark, and not a bit spooky. There are lots and lots of little nooks and crannies and places to explore. It is older, from the 1400's, and feels more like a fort than a castle. We were a little rushed going through, as it was late in the day. I do think we saw everything, and it was an impressive place. Just outside the entrance there were the usual tacky touristy kinds of shops. I didn't buy any vampire stuff although I had lots and lots of opportunity to. If you really want a tacky tee shirt, you'll have to go there to get one yourself. Its a place that I would recommend, if not for the souvenirs. After visiting the two castles, we also drove past the fort at Raştov. By this time it was after 8 pm, and this fort was closed. We did see it from the road, but didn't make a trip back to see it later in the week.

Monday morning we walked around downtown Braşov and just acted like the tourists that we were. It was fun. A nice lunch, some shopping for postcards and then on the train for Sibiu. What an awesome place. I'll bet most people haven't heard of it, but it is just such a pretty, quaint (I don't like that word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it) town. It is mid-sized, with three large open squares in the center of the old city. Again, the architecture is German, from the same period. The German name for the town is Hermannstadt, and there seemed to be mostly German tourists in the town. Many shops and restaurants seemed to be able to provide some German speaking staff. Glenda had lived in Germany for a few years, so she was able to converse here in German, along with our Romanian, so we were in good shape. We were here for Monday night and Tuesday, and I could easily have stayed longer. It was that pretty. Beautiful churches and museums, clean and friendly: It felt like a real vacation! Tuesday we spent the day just exploring and enjoying this city.

Wednesday morning, back on the train, this time to Sigişoara. Also German, known in German as Schassburg, it is the birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş. It was by far the smallest, most touristy, and dirtiest of the three towns that we visited. There is a small central square inside the walled part of the old city, with churches and a historic clock tower, but not a whole lot else. There are lots and lots of ticky-tacky Dracula gifts. Again, I didn't bite. (Sorry, I couldn't resist...!) We got to Sigişoara in the late morning, and by dinner time we were making plans to go back to Braşov earlier than originally planned on Thursday morning, which is what we ended up doing. Thursday Teresa and I spent the day in Braşov again, while Glenda went on to Bucharest to catch her plane home. There is a really cool gondola car which goes up the side of Mt. Tampa and a little hike at the top of the mountain. There is a big"Hollywood" kind of sign (it says Braşov, not Hollywood, of course) on the top of the mountain. We went up there and had a great view of the city. We had ice cream and coffee, and then we got back on the bus at 7 pm to come back to Moldova.

The ride back was prettier than the ride going to Romania, mostly because the evening hours when we were awake and able to see the countryside was spent driving up and down through hairpin turns as we left the Carpathians. It was a pretty sunset and really picturesque, and just a tiny bit scary. The only funny thing to happen was the bus driver stopping at the "Valley of Trousers" (written in English!) for about half an hour to go buy some pants, leaving us all waiting for him. Coming from Moldova, this is not at all surprising, but cracked me up anyway, as it is considered an "International" journey! Through many of the villages signs were written in Romanian, German and Hungarian. It was truly an international adventure and so much fun!

Friday and yesterday were spent in Chişinău, with the big US Embassy party last night to celebrate the Fourth of July. It was a good time, with hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad. There were no fireworks, but still lots and lots of fun, with almost all of the volunteers attending, along with lots of other Americans and Moldovans. Now I am back in the village, catching up on all that I've missed here. Its back to work tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to getting back into my routine.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. Thank you Mom and Dad, Linnea and Joe for more packages! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami