Dreams and schemes

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Location: Brunswick, ME, United States

I am fun-loving, a dreamer, but not much of a schemer. I try always to be a good friend, and a good mother, daughter and sister. I am a hard worker, and I like to work hard and also to have a good time. I am serving in the Peace Corps, in Moldova, and the insight and opinions in this blog are mine, and do not reflect the opinions of the US government or the Peace Corps. "I cannot do great things. I can only do small things with great love."

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Grapes and Walnuts

This has been the week for gathering walnuts and grapes, making wine, and preparing the last of the produce for Winter eating. Along all of the major roads, the ones that I travel between here and Chisinau at least, are walnut trees. In this village, many people go out along the road and gather walnuts for the winter. They carry long sticks to hit the branches, and then open the green shell and take the nuts, place them in very large bags, and load their bikes with a bag or two. There was one family who showed up with their car to load, but it has been my observation that most people only gather as much as they can manage to carry back home. They can, however, carry a lot. I am surprised that there are any nuts left at all, but I just came back from my walk, and there were still some people out there. Lots and lots of walnuts.

As many walnuts as there are, there are surely more grapes here. Last week and this week has been grape harvest, and wine-making in earnest. At every home there are wooden barrels, thousands of bees, and lots and lots and lots of wine. Unfortunately, there are also more than the usual number of inebriated men in the village. Apparently, tasting is the best part of wine making, and the more you taste the better it is! It is a source of familial competition, but after a pahar (glass) or two, everyone here agrees that it is all good, and that Moldovan wine is the best in the world. No comment. I did try the musty juice, just before it is fermented, and its got some funky taste going on. Its hard to describe, and not really bad, but very different.

That's the news on the home front. Work has been good, with the exception of all the kids, and now me, getting sick. The changing temperatures, cool in the mornings and evenings, and warm in the afternoon is part of it, but I don't believe that upper respiratory infections are caused by changes in the weather. Yesterday I took a day at home, did wash, and then slept most of the afternoon. I feel so much better today. I did talk to the doctor, and will see her next week when I go into Chisinau to buy the plane tickets to Frankfurt. Yippee! It will be good to have that task done and paid for. Safe travels this week for Linnea and Joe as they travel to Maine and New Hampshire, and thank you to whomever has sent me a package! I love getting packages! I received an email from Peace Corps that I have a package, but they don't tell you from whom, so thank you in advance. I really can't wait for Tuesday, and my trip to the capitol...all sorts of good things await me there! Anyway, that's all folks! I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Good Week

There was really nothing extraordinary about this past week, and still, it was a pretty good week. The weather has been great, for one thing. There have been some occasional rain showers in the evenings, but cool mornings and evenings, and warm, almost hot, comfortable days. It has been just beautiful weather for walking, for being out and enjoying nature, and for playing with the kids. I'm enjoying it while it lasts, that's for sure.

Tuesday morning I went with the kids and another staff person on a long walk over to the vineyards at Purcari. This is one of the most famous and best vineyards in all of Moldova. We got to see the grapes being picked, loaded into wagons attached to tractors, and then moved from the wagons into larger trucks which then were loaded to take the grapes into the factory where they actually make the wine. The workers were happy to show the children the grapes, we ate as many of them as we could manage, and while they didn't stomp the grapes with bare feet, they did wear rubber boots when trampling the grapes in moving them from one wagon into another. At the end of the visit, one of the workers gave us a ride back to the Center in an open horse drawn wagon, and gave us lots and lots of watermelon to eat later! Yum!

Wednesday brought the Peace Corps staff, my program manager and the assistant program manager, to the Center for a site visit. It was pretty benign, neither good nor bad, just one of those things that needs to be done. The nice thing for me was that I made a spontaneous decision to return with them to Chisinau. A free trip is always nice. I wasn't sure that I would be able to run all of my errands and make it back on the last bus, so I checked with friends in the town of Orhei, Macie and Craig, to see if they could be a back-up plan. Macie enthusiastically invited me for Thai curry chicken dinner. It turns out that I almost could have made the 5 pm bus back to the village, but knowing that there was a good dinner and time with friends, the desire to stay overnight was stronger than any desire to rush back. After all, its been over a month since I have been in the capitol. Thursday I visited briefly with Peace Corps staff, got my B12 shot, and headed back in the afternoon. Friday was more working, walking, enjoying the nice weather, and a call from Jen, who is the new volunteer in the village two towns away. We made plans to meet yesterday in Stefan Voda, and had a good time there. We visited the piata, ate some (not very good) pizza, and came back here in the afternoon. Last evening we just watched movies, made hot chocolate, visited. It was low key and very nice. The whole week was sort of low key and very nice. Now, if I could only have spent it with all of you, it would have been perfect. Happy birthday this week to Bob and Donna, and happy anniversary to John and Melba (56 years for my in-laws, Wow!) I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Sunday, September 13, 2009

September

I like September. I know what's coming, and I like it anyway. The cold, short, shallow days are in sight, I know. Still, this time of year has always been a favorite of mine. Cooler, and as crisp as a fresh apple, the air warms throughout the day, bringing memories of the summer that has just past. This past week in the village has been one like so many others. After the soaking rain of last weekend, this week has recovered nicely weather-wise. Work and life is at a steady pace. This past week, another volunteer, Jenna, took the bus to come see me and do a presentation for the staff at the Center on basic computer skills, reviewing Word and Excel for staff. She did a great job, and it was so appreciated, by both me, and the entire staff who participated.

Yesterday I got a call from the new volunteer, Jen, in the neighboring village. She came into my village this morning at 6 am with her host family to sell the pig that they butchered yesterday. It was nice to see her, and we made plans to travel into Stefan Voda next Saturday to spend the day together. It's nice to have some English-speaking time once in a while! I am so glad that I don't have that butchering thing to deal with. It is enough for me to deal with the chickens. Thank goodness we don't have pigs or cows here at the house. It's enough to make me a vegetarian!

Also yesterday, Lidia and Ion, my host family, went into Chisinau for a big wedding for their niece. They arrived back at home this morning around 7:30 am, and we are preparing for round two. I am excited, as I have not yet attended a Moldovan wedding. The event yesterday was the "modern" wedding. Held in a restaurant in Chisinau, and an expensive event, today's festivities are considered to be the "traditional" wedding celebration. Lidia has spent much of the past week with her female relatives preparing food. Everything will be home-made. No store bought food at this masa. This party is for those who could not travel to Chisinau yesterday, or for the closest of family who have been invited to both events. It is nice to be included today, and it was really nice to have the house to myself for a few hours yesterday. So far the week is shaping up nicely.

There isn't much else new. Yesterday was a sad memory day, but I had lots and lots to do (relatively speaking), and it passed, as they always do, with just a little prayer for what might have been. As always, I am counting the days until I come home. It is now just over 60 days. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami

Monday, September 7, 2009

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day here is celebrated on May 1st, but for my friends and family today is Labor Day. It is the unofficial last day of Summer, a day for picnics and parades and family gatherings. Here, today, it is too cold for a picnic. There is still watermelon on the menu daily, and the grapes are ripe on the vine, but all week-end it has been rainy, cold and miserable. The weather feels more like November than September. Since I'll be home in November, I'm gonna just let myself pretend for a bit that it IS November. Soon enough. Or not really soon enough, but only 63 days, and counting.

In an effort to save as much money as possible toward the last purchase of tickets, and because there is no real reason to travel to the capitol, I have been in the village for the past month. It is a quiet life, but busy with harvesting activities. My work at the Center is consistent and productive. There have been fewer kids and elderly folks staying there these past few weeks and the pace has been slow and easy. This past Tuesday, September 1st, was the first day of school in Moldova. At my village school they had a very sweet ceremony on the first day. It included the usual flowers and speeches that I've become accustomed to, but there was also a part of the ceremony that had the young adults of the 12th form escorting the youngest children entering school for the first time, through the village and into the school courtyard before the ceremony began. These "seniors" have a responsibility throughout the year for the two youngsters, one in each hand, that they escorted this first day of school to see that they are adjusting well, making progress, not getting picked on. Really, very nice. I'm so glad that this year I remembered my camera. Some of you saw my pictures of the graduation ceremony last year at this school, but this first day of school is much different. There is a seriousness and a solemnity to the first day of school that was replaced at the graduation ceremony with joyous over-dress and a sense of completion. Of the two ceremonies that I've been privileged to witness, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the first day of school over graduation. Hands down.

So, other than the first day of school, the weather, and counting down the days, there isn't too much new. My good friend, Teresa, just left after a long weekend visit. We worked on, and finished making a movie of my pictures so that I have it for presentations if needed when I come home. I tried to limit it to less than 10 minutes so I could put it on YouTube, but I just have too many pictures that I wanted to include and it ended up being a little over 12 minutes. It's not great, but it's something new that I've learned how to do, and I'm proud of that. It was great having her company and a productive weekend. Thanks for the mail, snail and email, and the phone calls. I miss you all. xoxo, Jami