 |
I'm currently serving in the Peace Corps, teaching English in a public jr and sr high school in Moldova
Personale
|
Comenteaza
English Resource Center in Hincesti, MoldovaHere's to all of you who have made the vision come true. While we are still ordering and recieving books, sorting and marking them, making our lists and checking them twice... WE NOW HAVE AN ENGLISH RESOURCE CENTER IN HINCESTI!!! Wahoo! And thank you, thank you, thank you to all who helped make it possible!Below are some pics of the room that was donated by the high school where I've been working, Lyceum "Mihail Sadoveanu". Before we renovated it, it was in pretty bad shape... even though it DID used to be an English classroom.
Imagine, they used to have five multimedia desks in the room. When for some reason they no longer functioned, they clipped all the wires flush with the floor... sort of.
When someone reroofed the building, perhaps it was too much trouble to create a hole for a vent... or to cover the vent that already existed. So the then-fresh tar roof leaked in... just a little bit.
There was often no money to replace worn out flooring. So when it rips, you just nail it back in place, or another piece over the top of it.
The sink that exists in every classroom LOOKS nice. But those pipes don't even connect to the real water pipes anymore. Besides water only runs at the school between 7-8am each day.
But NOW... after our brave cleaning and repair ladies put life and limb on the line...
We have (drum roll please!) several fresh coats of whitewash on the ceiling; new flooring; a single design of wallpaper on all FOUR walls; bookcases for the books, videos, and multimedia equipment; tables and chairs for the students and teachers to sit and use the books...
We have teaching manuals, dictionaries, magazines, films, art and history books, literature for children and adults, as well as games and activities that will help both students and teachers. The books, etc pictured here are not nearly all the resources we have gathered. Wait til we have everything up on the shelves. We will probably need another bookcase!
AND we even have a real live card catalogue... ALMOST like the one in the beloved county library of my childhood.
I can only do as much as my team lets me... You are my team, and you've taken me to the moon and back! You are FANTASTIC!!!More pics will follow as I get everything organized...
Sometimes you jus' feel like singing...WintertimeAnd the livin' is sneezy,Gas is pumpin'And the prices are high.Oh yo' daddy's richAn' yo' mama's good lookin'So hush, little baby,Don't you cry.One of these mornin's,You're gonna wake up seein'Then you'll spread yo' wingsAn' you'll find work in Italy.But till that mornin',The corruption won't harm youWith your Daddy in MoscowAn' mama tryin' to get by.- Lyrics borrowed from George & Ira Gershwin, Heyward DuBose
Ah, there's nothing like a good giggleHere's a version of the story of Queen Esther that I just read recently. I LOVE it! Good job, Daniel!PURIM....The Story Sexy Queen Esther A long, long time ago in a place far, far away a man and a woman had a woman child. She was born into captivity in a place also known as Iraq.One day King Whose-name-we-won't-pronounce-because-it's-way-too long and everybody else is white, so we'll just call him King Daniel. This King Daniel was married to Queen Vashti a.k.a. Kristi. One day King Daniel wanted a late night snack and asked for his wife the queen to go make him a pie in the kitchen.This is what she said: "Hell no, I know that you don't think I'm some kind of fool. Did you not see that I got my hair done today? And I know you're not asking me to get my hands dirty. I gots to get my beauty sleep, so you can get your own pie."Then King Daniel was furious and said: "Hit the road, Jack." And with that he threw her to the curb and threw all her clothes on the front lawn of the palace.So now King Daniel was on the rebound and still wanted his pie. So he decided to have a beauty contest with all the hot ladies in the land. So the King sent P-Diddy to go look for all the ladies he could find to be the new queen of Persia.All the girls were given 1 year to pimp themselves out and finally when it came time for the beauty contest, there was none more pure and more beautiful than Hadassah, cousin of Mordekhai. Not only did she win this beauty contest, but she was also a Jew, but it was hidden from King Daniel.After laying eyes on Hadassah, who would later be known as Queen Esther, King Daniel said "I like you". Then Hadassah said "I like you too". And then the King was like "Let's get married" and she was all like "I'm down with that". And with that, they were married. And they were supposed to live happily ever after, except there was this dude named Haman who decided he was somebody he was not.One day, Mordekhai, cousin of Queen Esther, snuffed Haman the wrong way and Haman was like "Oh no you didn't" and Mordekhai was like "Uh Huh, you know it". And with that, Haman said "you better watch your back". And then Mordekhai was like "My God is better than you, so you better watch yoself".So then Haman tricked King Daniel and told him that all the Jews living in his Kingdom were defiant and trying to take control of the worlds money. So King Daniel made a law that was irrevocable in those days that all the Jews should be killed because of their defiance.Then Mordekhai went over to Esther and said "They want to kill us. You were born for such a time as this, so don't be silent because they're going to come after you too." And Esther was like "Huh?" And Mordekhai said "let me put it this way, Haman be some kinda' Nazi and he think he some kind of Hitler tryin' to mess you up. So you better hurry up and tell the King to get his boys to cap Haman's (@$&%*#)."So then she was like "OK" and she fasted for 3 days and asked the God of Israel for help. And God was like "I won't let them hurt you because I love you".So then, it was illegal to go before the king unless you were summoned in those days. But Queen Esther knew that God was with her and her people Israel, also referred to as the Jews, So she went before the king with the attitude that "He can kill me, but not before I make my point". So she went before the King, and the King decided not to kill her, because King Daniel is a King of love, sort of like Shaq. She asked the king "Take me out to dinner". And he was like "Any time". Then, while they were at dinner she asked for another dinner, because she was really hungry because she had fasted for three days and the first dinner gave her the runs, so she couldn't ask the king what she wanted to ask him. Then she told King Daniel about what Haman did and the King was like "Oh, Hell no!". So then the King had Haman killed and gave all the Jews living in the land weapons to defend themselves, and thus, Israel was saved.Thanks to Sexy Queen Esther.THE END
My First Russian LessonIt was better than a hangover, but not as good as a major caffeine withdrawl. I spent 30 minutes learning the sounds of the Cyrillic (ki-RIL-ik) alphabet. Then I spent the next 1.5 hours sounding out about 100 words. After which I slept 12 hours and got up the next day still feeling wasted. Can you imagine? I even paid for this torture! There is special psychological treatment for people like me somewhere... but they'll NEVER catch me! Ha ha ha!Please study the graph below for half an hour, then go to the following page and try to read for another hour and a half. (Don't try to comprehend! That could cause serious injury and irreversible damage!) Only then will you have a small taste of the mental acrobatics required to learn a new alphabet. Click on the graph to enlarge the image. Click here to enlarge the image AND hear the actual sounds of the letters. Enjoy it in all its terrible glory!
Try out your new Russian phonics skills by reading this page!In case you're wondering "Why Russian?", the answer is two-fold:1. There is so much Russian spoken in my house, in my workplace, and just all over the place generally in Moldova, it really is necessary in order to know what's going on around me.2. Because there IS so much Russian here, it is simply too good of an opportunity to waste to learn a valuable language like Russian.Discussion on the Romanian vs. Russian langauage debate that rages here in Moldova to come at a later date.
Em's new doHave you ever had one of those days? One of those days when the feeling just creeps up on you? Something's not quite right. Something needs to change. You're feeling restless. You're feeling a little weighed down. Ok, maybe even feeling, dare I say it, a little old. Maybe it was the Moldovan lady that said,"Why don't you dye your hair? You look OLD!" (People can be pretty blunt here.) Or maybe it was all the other American girls that I was with who are 10 years younger than me and they were all doing it. It's been over a year since the last time I did it. I've been avoiding it, because honestly, you just never know what will happen! Whatever moved me, this weekend I went ahead and took the plunge... I cut my hair. Was it traumatic? Yes. Was the language barrier a problem? Quite possibly. Was it all that I hoped and more? Definitely not. Does it look cute? Of course, it's ME we're talking about.Will I live, and learn to love my hair again? Most certainly.Will I ever go back to that over-priced salon that serves coffee to their clients but DOESN'T listen to what they want, that only seems to know one hairstyle, and when it's (a lot) of MY time and MY money (more than I care to admit for a haircut in Moldova) on the line? HECK NO! But just to show you that it was only my peace of my mind and my routine that was momentarily squashed, and not my FABULOUS good looks (nor my ego evidently,) here are a couple of pics of me and the other perpetrators.
Happy Women's Day to the X-generations!Today is the day when all women are celebrated! If you are a woman: young, old, or in between. If you are a mother, a daughter, a sister, or a grandmother. If you are a friend, a neighbor, a teacher, or a colleague. If you are just passing on the street. If you are a woman, you will be congratulated, given gifts, flowers, and beautiful wishes. It just the Moldovan way.There are many conflicting stories on the origins of Women's Day. I've heard that it was started by women demonstrating against the First World War in Russia. It could also be something that was started in Chicago and was borrowed by Russia. The rumors are as numerous as they are varied. Several things are for sure, though. It is definitely a holiday recognized by the United Nations. It is widely celebrated throughout the former Soviet republics. It is the eastern version of our Mother's Day in the West. Only it's better, because here, you don't have to have a child to be part of the celebration. You only have to have an X chromosome!
Speaking of which...In one episode of 'Cheers', Cliff is seated at the bar describing the Buffalo Theory to his buddy, Norm..."Well you see Norm it's like this...A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.And that Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
What I have I will share with youI've been here nine months now and things are going pretty well. There is a "Life Cycle" on how most PCVs feel during each portion of their service, i.e. during the first three months, then during months 4-6, etc. The Life Cycle was compiled by surveying PCVs in all the regions and countries where PC serves. I found out some interesting tidbits, such as in months 9 and 15 are when PCVs typically exerience the most depression, and when many PCVs decide to go home.Letters from friends and family help a lot, as do comfort foods from home, connecting with new friends in country, and seeing how our contribution here is valuable. But ultimately, it is up to the individual volunteer to decide what kind of stay he/she will have.I am doing well but it is still hard. I consider myself good with languages and cultures, but I'm still self-concious when I speak so that it's hard to be relaxed enough to make friends. I was talking with some of the other volunteers this weekend. We all agreed that when you move to a new culture/country, you give up so many things... one of which is your voice and your personality. You literally don't have the words to express them. It's coming back slowly, as my language skills improve.You've heard about stress scale that gauges how much stress is in your life by assigning points to particular events that are considered more or less stressful, right? For example, losing a job might be 100 points, moving to a new house might be 80 points, etc. Losing a spouse (by death or divorce) is the highest amount of points on this scale because it is considered the most stressful thing that can happen. Something interesting that I heard recently was that the PC experience is around 3-4 times as stressful as losing a spouse! I have no idea if that statistic is made up or real, nor where it comes from. But I don't doubt it. Not that I feel like I've lost a spouse, by any means! But the stress seems more like an accumulation of just a LOT of little things, for example the loss of having friends and/or family close by, plus the stress of leaving my old job and learning a new one, plus... At times I feel like I'm on top of the world. Other times, it's wicked hard. It's all day by day.There are a lot of things that keep me going though, through the hard times: For example, seeing my kids (my students) smile at me. Knowing that I'm showing them something that they've never seen before: someone who's decided to stay in a hard place in order to make it better for everyone, rather than leave to someplace else where it's better for just me. Giving them ideas of how things in their lives and their country COULD be different. Showing them that if I can hope, they can hope too!
When the big bosses come to townBig Brother is looking over your shoulder. Quick! What do you do? You remember that he is just another human being like you are: you turn around, shake his hand, and ask him how his day is going... like any good American would do!Everyday I'm finding out something new about the Moldovan educational system. My school has been hosting various government officials who have been scrutinizing every aspect of our school for the past month. This week, the Ministry of Education is auditing my school. My school director and vice-director seemed to find it VERY amusing that I shook hands with the Ministry officials (both women) when I met them in the stairwell. And I also asked them how they were... Evidently, only men shake hands in Moldova, and you NEVER get so cozy with your superiors that you ask them "How're you doing?"(!).Lol! Oh well. It's a well known fact that the best way to improve the standard of living in any country is to empower women, even Ministry officials! If that means I must shake the hand of every woman in Moldova to show them they have equal status with men, and are capable of challenging the status quo, then so be it!Today in our staff meeting, my beleaguered school director and colleagues discussed the good things and bad things found by the most recent round of observations and audits. Several teachers were recommended to be promoted to the next level of seniority due to their excellent teaching. Others were chastised for not conforming to some regulations. And I found out what happens when discrepancies are found between the lessons written in the catalog and the lessons written in the "Long Term Lesson Plan" that each teacher writes for himself... It's the same thing that happens to students when they do not conform to an institutional rule: They are named in front of their peers and publicly told how they must do better. Public humiliation works pretty well in a communal society, even IF it grates on the individuality-loving American's sense of propriety, decorum, not to mention "common" decency...This reminds me, I need to devote the theme of at least one lesson in each of my classes to the apparently "American" idea of 'privacy'. PC is a cultural exchange, after all.As far as I know, this is all that happens to the teacher (as well as they are not recommended for promotion by the Ministry officials). But ALSO the school directors/principals are chastised and have a penalty letter entered into their personal files (at the Ministry?) saying how they are not doing their job of keeping their school and teachers in order. Bummer.
Pros and Cons in Education: Professionals and Con-Artists, that isTeaching is hard. There are things I like about it: like the times that my class has a discussion about something they feel strongly about. I love being able to ask them questions and watch them think about it. I like watching their opinions change and evolve as they discuss and debate about things.Of course, I like the students who come up and just smile at me, too. Some kids are gifts from Jesus because they just love me like I love them. Some of them. Some are apple-polishers, pure and simple! Lol! I've got 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th graders. A total of about 20 hours in the classroom each week, plus some extra hours in spent in extra-curricular clubs and activities. It's challenging.As for the rest of teaching, the lesson prepping is getting easier. But it's still hard. Of course, there are staff meetings. Some meetings are really interesting. Others are, well, not. Staff meetings will always be just that, staff meetings.And then there is "the catalog". This is the curse of all Moldovan teachers. It is the official register where teachers enter the students' marks. Teachers are also supposed to enter each of their lessons (name, date, and homework.) These two tasks are problematic for different reasons.Entering the name, etc of each of my lessons isn't so bad, except that the name of each lesson should cross-reference exactly with another document that I've written, my "Long Term Lesson Plan," in which I detailed every lesson that I will teach, the date I'll teach it on, and the homework I'll give. Sort of an over-the-top pacing calendar that teachers must write for themselves.Let that just sink in a bit. I agree that a pacing calendar is a good thing. But this system is so full of red-tape. If my class gets audited in-depth by the Ministry of Education, I could catch h-e-double-l if I'm not teaching exactly the lesson I said I would on a particular day. So if my kids don't get something in the allotted time, I'm not (supposedly) allowed to go back and spend another lesson on that topic again. It's the law (no kidding.) But it's horse-puckey. (Hey, that's a good word! I should teach that one in my class!) Welcome to a post-soviet culture influenced by centralized everything! (But good teachers go back anyway, and just make it look like they were following all the rules. Again, welcome to the state of bureacracy!)And then there's the grading system. Being a first year teacher in the Moldovan system, I can't help but feel that it's totally subjective! Of course, I know that any grading system is subjective to a certain degree, even in America. Let me give you an overview. Teachers give several students a mark at the end of each hour (jr and sr high) based on the student's performance in class or on the previous night's homework. Then, at the end of the semester, all the student's marks are straight averaged. No weighted averages allowed to make test marks, or homework, or a final project, more important in the overall grade. I've heard about corruption in schools where students will pay off the teachers to give them good marks. I feel very fortunate that I have not seen anything like that at my school. We have great students, and wonderful teachers. I appreciate my colleagues' work more every day, as their well-informed, respectful students sit in my classroom day after day. I also appreciate my students, as I watch their bright, curious minds, and see many of them working hard in my class.However, I'm still struggling with how to give grades in a way that doesn't seem absolutely subjective to me. I feel like a jerk when I give good marks OR when I give bad marks. Calling all professional teachers! I need a system that's feasible, that let's me weight the student's work in a way that I feel is appropriate, and is also legal in Moldova!
Merry Christmas! both Old and New Calendar!After two days on a bus from Chisinau, ankles swollen to twice their normal size, and sleep deprivation from lengthy border crossings, pit stops, and bus repairs, I finally arrived in northern Italy where, I am happy to report, that the shoes are expensive, the food is superb, and the company is incomparable.I am spending the "New Calendar" Christmas (December 25) and New Year's Eve with friends in Italy. I'll make it back (also via bus... remind me never to travel by bus again if I can help it!) to Moldova on the 6th. That way I'll get to spend Orthodox or "Old Calendar" Christmas (January 7-8) with my host family in Moldova. So I get TWO Christmas's this year! Yahoo!I have many presents to be thankful for on my traditional Christmas (Dec 25). Here in Italy I'm immensely enjoying the light cuisine (NOTHING is fried and no oil is added). I am also immensely enjoying the peace and quiet of hanging out with friends who are fairly sedentary due to having a 6 month old baby in the family. We stay in most of the days, and watch the sun rise in one window and set in another window. It's SO restful.
Here is a picture of the fabulously beautiful 6 month old Lavinia in a Christmas outfit from Moldova. I am surprised by how much Italian I understand. I only studied it for a year in university (how many years ago???) But it is VERY similar to Romanian. Lots of words that are either exactly or almost the same.It's really quite funny the cross-cultural conversations we have. I speak in my broken Italian, and my friends and their family answer in their (MUCH better) English. Sometimes I wonder how much real communication is happening. LOL! However, if I only speak English, it is much harder to get anyone to talk to me. No one wants to be the first to make a mistake and look foolish in something as 'simple' as talking. Being able to take the first step and show that it's ok somehow opens the doors of friendship and removes the major barriers of self-consciousness.Jesus, thank you for the gift of being able to be silly. It has given me family AND friends wherever I go. Merry Christmas, indeed! How can I repay my Jesus for His great gifts to me except with my heart and my service to the ones He loves?
Happy ThanksgivingWe had a big to-do in Chisinau for Thanksgiving where the volunteers actually did all the cooking, baking, serving,...and taste testing! It was great to spend time with other volunteers, to see how their lives are shaping up, what challenges they are encountering, and how they are adjusting. It was also great to get to be the first to taste the various wines that were going to be served at the shin-dig we put on for the American community here. Mmmmm!My particular part in the feast was the stuffing, the rolls, and carving 2-3 turkeys. I would post pictures, but my hands were too busy (and greasy) to be taking pictures. Sorry folks. 14 roasted turkeys and umpteen pumpkin pies were a beautiful sight to behold!Let me just say here and now, that the stuffing was some of the best I've ever had. No offense, Grandma. And to think that I made it (with the help of about 4 other people) for 300 people! I really amaze myself sometimes.There were also other activities both before and after dinner. There was a tag football game between the volunteers in the North and the volunteers in the South. There was also a talent show after dinner. Guess who made an appearance in a music and dancing number? Yep, yours truly and a couple other volunteers did a classic line dance + goof-off number for all the world to see. What a blast!I hope that Jesus blessed you all with a wonderful day with friends and family!
October SantasWow! Just when things were threatening to settle into a routine...sending me into a fit of the blues...Jesus went and moved Christmas to October...just for me! Have I ever mentioned how much I love Jesus?Yes, folks, it's true. For the first 4 months here in Moldova, the only thing I have received in the mail was an empty envelope. It had a nifty electronic gadget in it when it started it's journey, but that got appropriated somewhere along the way before it arrived to me. I was totally care-package bereft!But in the last two weeks, in response to my newsletter appeal and prompted by Jesus, I have seen an outpouring of paper clips, contruction paper, and hole punchers like I have never seen before! ;-) And with them came so much love and affection that it feels like I've received packages of pure gold. Thank you so much for your love...AND for the various treasures such as:Dry erase markers in a DOZEN different colors, markers that smell like rasberries and apples, ziplock bags, a DRY ERASE BOARD(!), all sorts of magazines, paperclips, reading books at all different grade levels, totally overprocessed FABULOUS American snack foods (thanks Grandma!), ballet slippers (thanks Mom!), cds/dvds, my favorite shampoo/conditioner, and more pens and pencils than you can shake a stick at. I'm in teacher heaven! Wahoo!!!To those of you who are still contemplating sending me packages, by all means still send them! I don't need anymore paperclips (unless I start using them for crafts...), but I can always use more magazines, comfort food, cds/dvds, postcards from anywhere in the world (ESPECIALLY America,) posters of any English speaking country (ESPECIALLY America,) and pictures/letters from you!To the wonderful person at 127 East Ninth St, Ste 801, please accept my HUGE thanks...and PLEASE tell me who you are! There was no name on the package, only your address.Jesus bless you all with peace and joy!
It's Official...It's officially COLD! I understand that winter has unmistakeably come to many places, what with record snowfall in New York, snow in Wyoming, and finally a break in the Redding summer heat (I hear the violins playing for you, California! lol!) And while I cannot say that "winter" is officially here, because the locals just laugh at me when I say that, I CAN say that it is now DEFINITELY cold!Today the low temperature is 25F/-3C and high was 39F/4C. That may not sound like much to you Arctic penguins out there, but please factor in 80% humidity and an 11mph/18kmphr north wind. This California girl already has her long johns, wool socks, wool scarf, wool gloves, and down jacket pressed into service. (Let me just say right here and now that I LOVE my sister Leanne!)At my house, the radiators have not been turned on yet, but I have an electric heater in my room. And with the host mama canning tomatoes all day, the stove has heated the house considerably. But at school, there is (as yet) no heat. We were all (students and teachers) wearing our jackets during class!So what am I going to do when it gets "really" cold??? Well, I was wearing 2-4 layers today. I can always up that to 4-6 layers, and just wear my whole wardrobe. One thing I will probably invest in while I'm here is a pair of boots. I have seen the most beautiful fur-lined, knee-high boots! Spendy, but it will be totally worth it! And they might even look kinda cool with a skirt...NOT like the knee-high boots that were in fashion here all summer, with 4 inch stiletto heels...more like the Australian-style Ugg boots that are the rage in California...Here's to being from California!
Changing of the guardFall has always been my favorite season and now it is a beautiful autumn here, like we don't get much of in Redding. There are golden leaves, nippy air, but warm sunshine. And best of all, there is harvest of just about everything. Especially grapes.If I was a regular housewife, I don't know how much I would love this season, because everyone is putting up hundreds of jars of conserves. And it's a LOT of work! My host mom is roasting peppers and eggplants, pickling cucumbers and tomatoes, canning boiled tomatoes, carrots, sweet and hot peppers with honey and garlic. But as my job mostly entails coming and going to work and admiring the wonderful smells, I have to say that this is my favorite season so far.
This California wine lover came to the right place!I just came from a wine festival in the city center that reminds me a lot of our county fairs. There was dancing, national costumes, singing and music, handicraft displays of needlepoint, weaving, and woodcarving. And lots of people.
There was the food. Every conceivable national dish was homebaked and set out to be tasted and tried: stuffed roasted peppers, placinte (fried bread with herbs and cheese inside), pickles, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh pressed cheese, roasted eggplant salad, and more.
There is a special affinity here for baking beautiful bread. Not just mouth wateringly delicious bread, but braided and adorned and shaped and molded to within an inch of its shortlived life! Shortlived because it IS so tasty! Shortlived also because it is next to sacriledge to put bread in a plastic sack. I'm not sure how the logic goes, but supposedly to keep bread fresh, you wrap it in cloth which keeps in the moisture without making the crust go soft. Not sure how this keeps the mold out...
And then there was the wine. Not only are the fall vegetables being harvested now, but also the grapes. This is the season of new wine, when last year's grapes have fermented to the point where they are truly wine, and this year's grapes are picked and crushed and started into the process of becoming wine themselves.
Every village has its own winery or wine factory. At the wine festival today, each village set up a booth out of the back of a truck or a van to show off the handicrafts, food, bread, and wine from that village. Beautiful wooden casks with half crushed grapes inside showed the process how people make their own homemade wine. Other specialty casks are ornately carved with 2-3 spigots on them which will pour out different kinds of wine. The wine is free and many varieties are very good. The food is handed out along with your filled glass. You may taste the wine with a savory treat of your choice. Or you may taste the fresh grapes that the wine was made from. For example I came home with a bunch of ripe cabernet grapes, some sauvignon, and some moldova grapes. Yes, someone named a variety of grapes after the country! They are similar to the concord, but with a more complex flavor. Call me crazy, but I taste apple, pear, and pineapple when I eat them. Very good!So if the wine and food was free, and there was no entrance fee, how was the crowd, you ask? After sampling many wines, most were only slightly inebriated, if at all. The alcohol tolerance is really quite amazing. Everyone had been dancing and eating as well. I didn't see any brawls, and I only had to fend off one gentleman who was overly zealous that I stay and listen to him expound about something to me. On the whole it was a lovely day. It's really a shame that most of the wineries are only operating at a fraction of their capacity, if at all. Russia continues its ban on Moldovan wines which has caused thousands of people to be put out of work. Some say it's because of political disaggreements over Moldova's pro-western moves, its crackdown on the porous border with the breakaway, pro-Russian Transnistrian region, or Moldova's hesitation to admit Russian to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Whatever the reason, Moldovans are losing a lot of money, and the excellant wine industry here is also suffering. If you happen to see wine from Moldova, you should definitely buy a bottle and try it!
So You Think You're a TeacherI have been teaching English and American Civilization for a month now. Well, what I mean is, I've been standing in front of classes of ten to twenty-five students on a daily basis. I've demanded good behaviour. I've expounded on the delicacies of English Grammar. My students have participated in activities designed to inspire interest and the desire to express oneself. And I've done it all in English. So, though some may disagree, I think this qualifies me as an English teacher.Sometimes I feel that I'm doing a good job. Take yesterday for example. Yesterday was Teacher's Day. It is the day when students take over the adults' jobs, "to give them a rest." The students give flowers to their teachers, and say very nice things to them, like, "We hope you'll be our teacher all the way til the 12th grade" and "I'm so glad you came to be our teacher" and "Your class is the most interesting and important of all my classes." Very possibly it is a large load of first class fertilizer. But JUST possibly, there is a glimmer of truth in some of it. As students traipsed into my class all day with flowers and small gifts, and nervously delivered speeches of beautiful words (a Moldovan hallmark), I couldn't help but feel my heart fill up. Sometimes the student was alone, which meant that the individual student bought a flower just for me. Sometimes they came in a group, which meant that the class had pooled money to buy a flower for each one of their teachers, and they were delivering the flowers to each teacher in turn. I couldn't tell if it was done out of obligation, or if they really meant it. I'm such a sap that I tend to believe it all, thus accounting for several close calls with teary eyes in front of my students. But I'm growing wiser as each year passes, and I've learned that even the best of intentions go astray.So today I was not too surprised, or even very disappointed, when I had to reprimand one class for collapsing into total chaos when I left them alone for several minutes (I returned to my class to find students on top of desks, ready to hit each other with chairs, yelling at the top of their lungs...) Nor did it phase me when I tried to lock my classroom door at the end of today, only to find that someone had jammed the lock with match sticks... Retaliation for bad marks? Backlash because the students were tired from their exemplary behaviour yesterday? Acting out because the routine had been interupted and the normal restraints were not present? I'm learning that to be a teacher means one thing. But to be a good teacher means being a master of my subject, a master of drama, and a master psychologist. Lord, help me, but I'm learning.It also helps if you can read minds and have eyes in the back of your head. For all of you teachers out there, can you direct me to the nearest teaching supply store where I can find these supplies? Directions much appreciated.
I Did It!
Yes, I've finally created a blog! Many friends and family have been requesting pics, more frequent updates, more info...and I kept saying, "When I get my blog up..." I feel like things are settling into place. I feel like I'm settling into *my* place here in Moldova. My host family is a warm family atmosphere where I really feel at home. I even have younger sisters, one of whom is a student of mine... And my kids at school are good kids, all 141 of them. Please pray that we establish good relationships. I have a good working relationship so far with my administration and colleagues. Everyone seems open to hearing about anything I have to share with them. I have had several conversations where I have gotten to share about what Jesus means to me... both with other PC volunteers and with my friends and family. This is important to me because my faith is so central to who I am. To NOT be able to tell people about my love for Jesus would be like having to hide who I really am on the inside.PC is NOT a missions organization by any stretch of the imagination. But it is interesting to me how similar their mission is to that of Jesus Christ. "Go to the nations and show them love" could be a good way to paraphrase both missions. While Peace Corps does not condone prosletyzing, they do encourage PCVs to share who we are, our faiths, our histories, our culture. And this is me: "The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Gal 2:20. My hope is to share the hope that I have with those around me.Until we meet again, I do hereby solemnly promise to keep you posted and to upload pics as often as possible!
