1/26 = 1 month complete.

Well, I have been here in Moldova for exactly a month. I have settled in well and created a comfortable routine with my host family. The dogs have warmed up to me, my communication skills are improving everyday, the 'bathroom situation' is no longer a 'situation' and is now just the bathroom, my host sisters are really fun, and the raspberry bush in the garden is exploding...life couldn't get much better.

Tomorrow, one of my host sisters goes to Turkey for a dance festival. She has been asked to make the groups introduction, in English, at the start of their performance. After consulting with google translate for her write-up she decided to pass it on to me for a final check. Second sentence in, I paused and looked up at her, asking for an explanation for one of the words. The sentence read "We are young and full of beans". I began to laugh, uncontrollably. She immediately knew there was a mistake, turned a pretty color scarlet and said "No, no, no, that isn't right?". She looked up the word and began to laugh too at the google blunder. Just another funny moment in Moldova. She is currently dancing around the house singing 'We are from Moldova. We are young and full of beans."...The best.

I have composed a list for your viewing pleasure entitled: "You know you have been in the Peace Corps for one month when..." Enjoy--

10.You are so tired all the time that your host family surely thinks you have an issue because you nap whenever possible.
9. You are able to carry-on a conversation mirroring that of a two year old. "It is raining. A dog. I ate dinner. It is raining...alot."
8. You think you have the language down and feel confident enough to pay someone a compliment and it comes out as follows: "Oh, your daughter is a very beautiful boy".
7. You see kids playing soccer on the local field and realize they are using a plastic bottle instead of a ball.
6. You consider getting thorough dinner without using your dictionary a victory, and an even greater victory when they invite you to prepare meals and help preserve for the winter.
5. You realize that when getting your permanent site, if given the option between toilet and internet, you would choose internet everytime.
4. You begin to crave food from home you didn't realize you liked to begin with.
3. When you have to pay more than 2 lei (about $.22) for ice cream you think you are being overcharged.
2. The woman in front of you on the bus pays for her ticket with apricots...and you think to yourself 'wow, that's a great idea'.
1. And finally, You know your in the Peace Corps when, at random moments during the day, you smile and think to yourself, this is exactly what it is like to be a volunteer in the Peace Corps.

Stay Well ~
Peace