Site Visit

Before I start this post, I would first like to say happy birthday to my mom! Also, happy belated birthday to my dad (July 10) and happy belated birthday to my step-mom (July 2) and step-brother (July 5). Also, in case I forget, happy future birthday to my step-dad (July 19) and my cousin Jake (July 19). Yes, almost my whole family is born in July.

So this weekend, I went on my first visit to my future site in Moldova. Friday afternoon, we met our school directors and after some awkard introductions and greetings, we sat through a few sessions regarding our future placements in villages and towns across Moldova. (FYI - my town is officially a "village".) My school director is very nice, but I had some trouble understanding him for two reasons: a) I don't know Romanian very well and b) he mumbled a bit, so it was extra hard to really understand.

Saturday morning, I met my school director in Chisinau and he took me on a two-hour tour of the capital and pointed out several monuments (Stefan cel Mare, Mihai Eminescu) and important places (Government buildings, war memorials, etc.). We then walked across town to the Gara de Nord (North train station) and boarded a rutiera for our village. Well, we sat in our rutiera for an hour before it left and it was incredibly hot and sweaty. I have never been in such a tight place before where people just tolerate the heat and don't freak out. In a situation like this in America, I would have gotten off the bus and demanded a refund - but, alas, things in Moldova are different and I found that I was able to tolerate it all even if a little bit frustrated.

After an hour of waiting, we finally left Chisinau and headed for our village. Along the way our driver stopped no less than 4 times to check on smoke that was mysteriously coming from our van and each time kicked the tire, shrugged his shoulders, got back in and drove off without fixing it. Along the way, we saw several fields of beautiful sunflowers basking in the summer heat. Entire sides of hills were colored with the bright yellow of these magnificent flowers and I learned that sunflowers actually shift with the sun every day.

My school director pointed out to me when we were descending upon our village and when I looked up, I was pleased to see more sunflowers and two enormous hills covered in a forest of different shades of green. It was breathtaking and I had to let it sink in that I was actually going to be living here. When we got off the rutiera, I met one of the English teachers at the school with whom I will be working. She was very kind, is younger than me and was my tour guide for the entire weekend. She pointed out the mayor's office, the post office, the grocery store, the piata where fresh fruits and vegetables and clothing are sold every Sunday. We went to the Casa de Cultura where there is a small disco and many different organizations that create music and dance with local children. We visited the Casa de Creatie, which is a wonderful place where children can participate in different programs such as the National Scouts of Moldova where they volunteer to go out into the forest and pick up trash, in addition to summer camps and many other opportunities. I definitely foresee myself working here a bit.

I was able to really get a good taste for the village and I met four different women in the village who were offering a room for me in their houses to live. I have to choose this week with whom I will live and once that is all figured out, I will post it here. I also was able to meet with 3 12th graders at the school and they were very smart and eager to use their English with me. If the students at the school are anything like these 3, teaching them will be a snap! (Somehow, I doubt that this is the case, of course.)

All in all, it was a good weekend and I am very excited to be working with the people there. Picture this: Michael Moran in a village, taking bucket baths and eating fruit off of a tree. Who would have thought? Certainly not me, but I'm finding that anything is possible and I am actually looking forward to a simpler kind of life for a couple of years. I truly feel that I have a lot to learn from these wonderful people who have spent their lives in one spot in a country that many Americans have never even heard of. I feel very privileged to be here.