10-07-07 0:39
Well it is Saturday night here. I will attempt to recap my week the best I can because I have neglected to write anything for a week now. Alright well lets see a week from tonight I went to the Discoteca. Myself and some other volunteers in my village got together around 9 or so to play some hearts (my new card game of choice) and listen to music. This went on for a couple of hours until we were escorted to the club about 5 minutes from my house by my host sister and her boyfriend. I was not really thrilled about the idea of going to this but went to it with a little optimism telling myself that it is not going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Boy was I wrong. We show up and the place is exactly like I would have pictured a Moldovan dance club to be. Snazzy dressed teenagers violently thrashing their bodies to what else? (American pop music mixed into techno with some Romanian pop techno songs thrown in. I am not much of a dancer as it is but I can sit there and mingle in with a crowed if I have to without making a complete fool of my self under normal circumstances. This was not normal circum stances. I was with 3 other Americans and all eyes were on us. I stood on the wall just taking in the scene for a while with my friends and my sister nagging me to go dance and have fun.. and then why am I not dancing.. am I having fun.. why am I not dancing…
After about 20 minutes of feeling creepy and bored and I just left the disco to stand outside while some of my friends attempted to move to the music. I followed my sisters boyfriend outside to see where he was going then found a new crowed of people hanging out there. It was here that I my sisters boy friend asked me to go over to his car so that he could attempt to speak in his best English that I should not attempt to mess around with his girlfriend or else he would have to get hostile with me. After a fun little lost in translation moment where upon I told him I don’t appreciate hostilities pointed in my direction with a few choice words and preparation for a fight telling him I have no intention of stealing his love but if he wants to have a go at me he is more then welcome to do it now. He quickly changed his tone realizing I was A: sincerely not interested in his girlfriend and B: didn’t take too kindly to intimidation and he could not bully me or C: he had no idea what I said . The end result was him patting me on the back telling me he and I would be friends and then we proceeded about our night as if nothing happened.
My friends ended up coming out of the disco because of the horrible music and interesting dance moves that were in abundance inside there ro they just wanted to see me. I stood around outside talking to some kids I had met at one time or another on the street or met through my host siblings and then proceeded back in to the dance arena with the promise to my sister that I would dance to 5 songs then I would leave along with the other PCVs who were ready to leave as well. I went in did my dance moves with all eyes on me because I am so freaking tall and because my dance moves had to have looked ridiculous as they looked nothing like the dance moves of a Justin Timberlake or some current American Pop star they were comparing me to but more of a mixture of Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby (meaning I kept it conservative with a few crazy moves thrown in every once in a while to keep things interesting for the spectators.
I quickly went to bed after making it home. The next day Sunday our group met up with our mentors for a tour of the big city Chisinau. This was a fun time and I was able to purchase a cell phone along with some other amenities. The day was uneventful for the most part but I did get to do a great deal of walking and talking in which has become a staple here for me.
The rest of the week really just consisted of more language class in the mornings followed by some technical training in the evening followed by studying at night then repeating that again and again. Some highlights of this week were going on a site visit to the south of my current location about an hour where we met up with a current volunteer at his site. We got to hear him talk about what he does there and how things are going for him. What I got out of that visit is; initiative is a key ingratiate in success. Without it nothing really gets done here, and because my goal here is to facilitate some degree of change or positive action I plan to use a lot of it.
Lets see yesterday an interesting event graced me with its presence. I was sitting in language class whooping it up as usual when the lights go out ( witch is not too odd an occurrence) and my teacher goes to the front to investigate a sound she heard. She comes back all excited jumping up and down until we run to the door to see what has got her all jumbled to realize that the power box has exploded to a small degree and flames and sparks are dancing from it. I quickly do the most appropriate thing I could think of and that is to save all of our shoes underneath the flaming spectacle. After grabbing our shoes and throwing them behind us we watch the flames and smell the see smell of a burning electrical fire. A college of mine comes out with water which we quickly suppress before we all die watching her throw water into an electrical fire. Someone gets a smart idea to grab dirt and throw it at the fire so we all do and that was the end of the fire. The owner of the house came home about an hour after the ordeal without much surprise on his face as if this kind of thing happens everyday . we seem him later on that day with some wires and tools as he goes to repair whatever caused our fun earlier that morning.
Yesterday night I would also like to throw in I ate chicken organ stew. This “stew” consisted of a skillet placed in the middle of the table and in it were cooked potatoes and what looked to be some kind of meat. After consuming a good portion of it I began to question what it was I was eating. My family then explained to me that they had killed three chickens that day and we were eating a very tasty meal that consisted of the hearts, livers, stomachs and anything else you could pull out of a chicken that I had yet to eat ever in my life or thought about eating in my life. It was not all that bad but I did have a rough time getting down to get what I have come to accept as the stomach after I found out what it was.
Also at this meal I was able to provide my sister with a first. Let me give you a little background on this first by telling you that the previous night to last night I asked her if she had ever laughed so hard milk came out of her nose. She responded no a little surprised that this would happen to a person or why this would happen. This really made me sad that she had not experienced this fun situation or seen anybody that had. I am to assume that in her 17 years nobody made jokes while liquids are being consumed.
Any back to last night after the organ stew my mom and sister were sitting around the dinner table “communicating” with hands and broken English/Romanian when I made a comment which I recall to have something to do with my pants that I brought with me were too large and that I had too many pairs then something about how maybe their father would like a pair if he could fit in them. I must have really butchered my Romanian at this point because in the middle of a sip of tea my sister performed her right of passage into taking liquids in through the mouth and out through the nose/eyes/ hysteria.
Today all most all of the Pre service training volunteers took a 3 hour bus ride south to visit a museum and listen to some traditional music and watch a very impressive dance spectacle that that local performers did for us to show us their culture and heritage. I was in awe at their dancing. It was just like you would expect from a former soviet union culture with the fur caps and squatting and extending of the legs followed by some shouts and rhythm.
GREAT FUN, This week is going to be a big one. I find out where I am to be stationed in Moldova for the next two years and what organization I will be loosely working with, our village has a horram ( Not spelled right but that is how it is pronounced) which is a big party where everyone visits each others houses and drinks wine and eats till they can’t walk anymore. Directly following that night is a language assessment examination in the morning… of course.
I hope everyone is well who is reading this… all three or four of you : - ). I also want to thank personal emails I have been receiving from a few good friends. That makes me feel good when you take the time out of yoru day to send me a message. I also apologize for the delayed responses but I do read them and think about you so just to let you all know I appreciate it.
I did eat at McDonalds this week In the city and to quote their most recent marketing slogan that is global. “I’m Lovin it”
Here is a picture
Well it is Saturday night here. I will attempt to recap my week the best I can because I have neglected to write anything for a week now. Alright well lets see a week from tonight I went to the Discoteca. Myself and some other volunteers in my village got together around 9 or so to play some hearts (my new card game of choice) and listen to music. This went on for a couple of hours until we were escorted to the club about 5 minutes from my house by my host sister and her boyfriend. I was not really thrilled about the idea of going to this but went to it with a little optimism telling myself that it is not going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Boy was I wrong. We show up and the place is exactly like I would have pictured a Moldovan dance club to be. Snazzy dressed teenagers violently thrashing their bodies to what else? (American pop music mixed into techno with some Romanian pop techno songs thrown in. I am not much of a dancer as it is but I can sit there and mingle in with a crowed if I have to without making a complete fool of my self under normal circumstances. This was not normal circum stances. I was with 3 other Americans and all eyes were on us. I stood on the wall just taking in the scene for a while with my friends and my sister nagging me to go dance and have fun.. and then why am I not dancing.. am I having fun.. why am I not dancing…
After about 20 minutes of feeling creepy and bored and I just left the disco to stand outside while some of my friends attempted to move to the music. I followed my sisters boyfriend outside to see where he was going then found a new crowed of people hanging out there. It was here that I my sisters boy friend asked me to go over to his car so that he could attempt to speak in his best English that I should not attempt to mess around with his girlfriend or else he would have to get hostile with me. After a fun little lost in translation moment where upon I told him I don’t appreciate hostilities pointed in my direction with a few choice words and preparation for a fight telling him I have no intention of stealing his love but if he wants to have a go at me he is more then welcome to do it now. He quickly changed his tone realizing I was A: sincerely not interested in his girlfriend and B: didn’t take too kindly to intimidation and he could not bully me or C: he had no idea what I said . The end result was him patting me on the back telling me he and I would be friends and then we proceeded about our night as if nothing happened.
My friends ended up coming out of the disco because of the horrible music and interesting dance moves that were in abundance inside there ro they just wanted to see me. I stood around outside talking to some kids I had met at one time or another on the street or met through my host siblings and then proceeded back in to the dance arena with the promise to my sister that I would dance to 5 songs then I would leave along with the other PCVs who were ready to leave as well. I went in did my dance moves with all eyes on me because I am so freaking tall and because my dance moves had to have looked ridiculous as they looked nothing like the dance moves of a Justin Timberlake or some current American Pop star they were comparing me to but more of a mixture of Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby (meaning I kept it conservative with a few crazy moves thrown in every once in a while to keep things interesting for the spectators.
I quickly went to bed after making it home. The next day Sunday our group met up with our mentors for a tour of the big city Chisinau. This was a fun time and I was able to purchase a cell phone along with some other amenities. The day was uneventful for the most part but I did get to do a great deal of walking and talking in which has become a staple here for me.
The rest of the week really just consisted of more language class in the mornings followed by some technical training in the evening followed by studying at night then repeating that again and again. Some highlights of this week were going on a site visit to the south of my current location about an hour where we met up with a current volunteer at his site. We got to hear him talk about what he does there and how things are going for him. What I got out of that visit is; initiative is a key ingratiate in success. Without it nothing really gets done here, and because my goal here is to facilitate some degree of change or positive action I plan to use a lot of it.
Lets see yesterday an interesting event graced me with its presence. I was sitting in language class whooping it up as usual when the lights go out ( witch is not too odd an occurrence) and my teacher goes to the front to investigate a sound she heard. She comes back all excited jumping up and down until we run to the door to see what has got her all jumbled to realize that the power box has exploded to a small degree and flames and sparks are dancing from it. I quickly do the most appropriate thing I could think of and that is to save all of our shoes underneath the flaming spectacle. After grabbing our shoes and throwing them behind us we watch the flames and smell the see smell of a burning electrical fire. A college of mine comes out with water which we quickly suppress before we all die watching her throw water into an electrical fire. Someone gets a smart idea to grab dirt and throw it at the fire so we all do and that was the end of the fire. The owner of the house came home about an hour after the ordeal without much surprise on his face as if this kind of thing happens everyday . we seem him later on that day with some wires and tools as he goes to repair whatever caused our fun earlier that morning.
Yesterday night I would also like to throw in I ate chicken organ stew. This “stew” consisted of a skillet placed in the middle of the table and in it were cooked potatoes and what looked to be some kind of meat. After consuming a good portion of it I began to question what it was I was eating. My family then explained to me that they had killed three chickens that day and we were eating a very tasty meal that consisted of the hearts, livers, stomachs and anything else you could pull out of a chicken that I had yet to eat ever in my life or thought about eating in my life. It was not all that bad but I did have a rough time getting down to get what I have come to accept as the stomach after I found out what it was.
Also at this meal I was able to provide my sister with a first. Let me give you a little background on this first by telling you that the previous night to last night I asked her if she had ever laughed so hard milk came out of her nose. She responded no a little surprised that this would happen to a person or why this would happen. This really made me sad that she had not experienced this fun situation or seen anybody that had. I am to assume that in her 17 years nobody made jokes while liquids are being consumed.
Any back to last night after the organ stew my mom and sister were sitting around the dinner table “communicating” with hands and broken English/Romanian when I made a comment which I recall to have something to do with my pants that I brought with me were too large and that I had too many pairs then something about how maybe their father would like a pair if he could fit in them. I must have really butchered my Romanian at this point because in the middle of a sip of tea my sister performed her right of passage into taking liquids in through the mouth and out through the nose/eyes/ hysteria.
Today all most all of the Pre service training volunteers took a 3 hour bus ride south to visit a museum and listen to some traditional music and watch a very impressive dance spectacle that that local performers did for us to show us their culture and heritage. I was in awe at their dancing. It was just like you would expect from a former soviet union culture with the fur caps and squatting and extending of the legs followed by some shouts and rhythm.
GREAT FUN, This week is going to be a big one. I find out where I am to be stationed in Moldova for the next two years and what organization I will be loosely working with, our village has a horram ( Not spelled right but that is how it is pronounced) which is a big party where everyone visits each others houses and drinks wine and eats till they can’t walk anymore. Directly following that night is a language assessment examination in the morning… of course.
I hope everyone is well who is reading this… all three or four of you : - ). I also want to thank personal emails I have been receiving from a few good friends. That makes me feel good when you take the time out of yoru day to send me a message. I also apologize for the delayed responses but I do read them and think about you so just to let you all know I appreciate it.
I did eat at McDonalds this week In the city and to quote their most recent marketing slogan that is global. “I’m Lovin it”
Here is a picture
2 comments:
Hey Kyle...
It's Mrs. Baker, a fellow "blogspot" blogger...bet you would have never guessed I was that hip, huh! Your Mom shared some of your earlier letters with me...LOVE your writing style, I feel like I am in the moment with you. Stay safe...and keep on sharing your journey with us!
i am still tying to imagine you in a Romanian dance club to some crazy techno music. and chandler says hello.
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