So, internet hasn't been that reliable so what I have been doing is writing posts on my computer, then saving them to my flash drive to upload to this blog later on.
Well, do I have a lot for you.
Here is my first post after arriving in Chisinau, Moldova.
June 12, 2008
It is 5:30 am here in Chisinau, Moldova on Thursday, June 12th and a lot has happened in the last couple of days. As I listen to the roosters and barking dogs in the background of a city where the sun has already fully risen, listen and I will relay to you the first part of my adventure.
On Tuesday afternoon, all 38 of us (the Moldova 23s – that means the 23rd group of Peace Corps Volunteers to go to Moldova) left in a charter bus from Philadelphia to New York to fly out of JFK airport at around 1:15pm. There were two buses so each of us had enough room to stretch out in our own row. The bus ride was a little over 2 hours, all in thanks to NYC traffic and we arrived around 3:30 or so. We all piled off the buses and headed to check in for our Lufthansa flight leaving at 9:40pm. Yes, you heard me correctly. We arrived at the airport at around 3:30 and our flight did not leave until 9:40. The Peace Corps wanted to make extra sure that we were on time for our flight. No problems there.
During check in, it seemed that none of us were charged excess luggage fees even if we were over. We were all allotted 100 pounds of luggage total, but each bag could only have a maximum of 50 pounds. My big bag was about 53.5 pounds and it went right through. All in all, I only had about 75 pounds in luggage, which was way under the limit. Many people had well over 100 pounds and were prepared to pay the $50 fee, but the fee was waived on pretty much everyone’s bag. I have a feeling Peace Corps had something to do with that.
After getting through security, we all waited around for 6 hours before our flight took off, playing cards, eating and drinking and just chatting with each other. When the time finally came to leave, we got our passports ready and got on the plane. All buckled in, 9:40 came… and promptly passed. “Weather delay, 30 minutes,” came the pilot’s announcement, mind you all in German first. After a lot of flying in the past couple of years for work, I know that 30 minutes always means at least an hour and usually more like two. 10:30 rolled around, no update. Another update came around 11:00 and the captain said another half hour. We were teased a few minutes earlier when we pulled out of the gate, but we were then at a standstill for a while longer. Bored out of our minds, Suzanne, a fellow volunteer, and I started playing 20 questions. All of a sudden, we were finally moving. Close to midnight, we finally took off. Those two and half hours were the worst of the whole flight. I slept on and off for about five hours and we landed in Frankfurt, Germany after an 8 hour flight. We were expecting a 3 hour layover before heading out to Chisinau, but this was obviously taken from us given our problems with the weather in NYC that delayed our first flight.
Once in Frankfurt, all of us M23s organized ourselves and headed out to our next gate. After a bit of confusion, everything was figured out and two separate security lines later, we were rushed onto a bus that eventually took us to our unmarked plane that would be our transport into the country we will be spending the next 27 months in.
When we landed in Chisinau, we were taken off the plane and shoved onto a bus right away to take us to the baggage claim area. We probably waited on the bus for about 10 minutes and it was packed to the brim. The doors finally closed and the bus took off. About 45 seconds later it stopped to let us off. The bus only drove us probably a couple hundred feet, which we could have easily walked and probably gotten there earlier. Great introduction to Moldova!
We got our passport stamps, met the Country Director and got our luggage. 10 people had missing bags (so happy I was not one of them), but we were told to only bring with us a 3-day carry on bag anyhow to last us the rest of the time we’re in Chisinau. We would all see the rest of our luggage on Sunday. I packed two dress shirts, two undershirts, three pairs of underwear, two pairs of socks and one pair of dress pants to last me the next three days. Not very much stuff, I tell you, and I already smell, but this is the Peace Corps, right?
After leaving the airport we boarded a bus, met some of our mentors who are already serving in Moldova and were rushed to a school to have a quick meeting where we would end up meeting a lot of the country staff and find out about our schedule for the next few days. We were fed pizza at the school, but this pizza was probably not what you’d expect. The slice that I had was chicken, cheese, mushrooms, onions and… mayonnaise. The mayonnaise was actually pretty good on the pizza, but the mushrooms had to go, and as I sat there picking mushrooms off of my pizza, I already felt like a spoiled American.
After eating, we were then all shoved into 2 rutieras (pretty much just minivans that are like buses, but have only about 12 seats, but probably hold over 25 people), and driven to our hotel. After arriving at the Zarea Hotel, we scoped things out – we’re all on the 11th floor, there are 2 showers on the floor, a few toilets in the hall and a few sinks here and there as well. Our beds are twin beds, but I’m not sure they’re really beds and the setup in the hotel is very minimal, but the view is great!
Many volunteers decided to go out drinking after we got settled into the hotel, but I was way too tired and just decided to crash. First, I went to brush my teeth and wash my face though. We can’t drink the water here, so I just brushed my teeth dry, then I went to wash my face, but half way through, I got a whiff of how bad my armpits smelled, so I wiped off my face and headed for the shower instead.
All cleaned up and really tired, I finally rested my head. With the windows open and the dogs howling all throughout the city, I was lulled to sleep by noises that would keep most awake.
I will be the first to admit this – last night when we got into Chisinau and were rushed through the city and to the school to meet the staff, I had my first feelings of apprehension. What was this strange city and why was I here? What was I getting myself into? While I’m sure those questions will be answered in full during my stay, this morning many of the apprehensions were already put to rest. When I woke up on the 11th floor of a hotel building in the middle of a big city listening to dogs barking and roosters crowing, I know now that while this experience will certainly take some adjusting, this is going to be an unbelievable adventure.
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