A Visit From Friends

Last week I had the great pleasure of having a couple of friends visit me here in Moldova. Taras and Deanna were in Ukraine visiting family and enjoying the Euro Cup and decided that a jaunt over to Moldova to visit yours truly would be a fun addition to their adventure.

 Early last Tuesday morning I hopped on a rutiera (mini-bus) and was off to the capital to pick up my friends at the airport. Everything went off without a hitch, we met up, and we were all on our way back into the city center within a matter of minutes. I took them back to the Peace Corps office to drop off their bags and have a cup of coffee before we meandered into the center and had a delicious lunch at my favorite Greek restaurant. After lunch we strolled around the center, I showed them the main square and basilica before we made our way back to peace corps and later on to the bus station where we hopped on a bus back to my site, Nisporeni.

We arrived in Nisporeni in the early evening and headed to my house to begin work on our big delicious dinner. Host mom was home and ready for us when we arrived. I got to work making the fried summer squash and host mom prepared the placinta (stuffed pastry with sheep's cheese filling). We also made bbq chicken and fresh tomato and cucumber salad. It was a huge meal that took 4 hours to prepare but, it was completely worth it. That night we watched the match between Ukraine and England in the euro cup before hitting the hay.

So, the next day we all headed into the center of my town. The walk is usually pretty enjoyable, Nisporeni is situated on a hill, and the walk is just a clear shot down the hill. Unfortunately for my friends it was by far the hottest week we have had in Moldova since I arrived over a year ago. The entire week was a forecast of heat above 90F with no chance of rain, fun times! We first walked to the craftsman house and I showed off the under-construction dance studio I have been working with since November. After we walked to my office where they met my awesome partner, Vlad. Rather than milling about the town we stayed in my office where it was cool, until it was time to head home and collect our bags. We got on an early afternoon rutiera in to the capital and spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the air conditioning at peace corps. Luckily, we were able to rent an apartment with air conditioning so we were able to escape the heat. That night we went to a fancy restaurant near the apartment, Pegas and enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

The following day Taras and Deanna rented a car to take them to the monastery Orehei Veche, the most famous monastery in Moldova. I stayed behind to get some work done at peace corps. We met up later in the afternoon and enjoyed some pizza before watching another soccer match in the city center.

The final day we walked the city a bit more, through the art market and central market and enjoyed an early lunch before it was time for Taras and Deanna to head off to the airport. It was a short visit but, it was so great to finally get a chance to show-off my new country and my new life here in Moldova to some familiar faces from home.

So, if you are reading this and have ever wanted to see a funky part of Eastern Europe this is your cordial invitation to please come visit! I have indoor plumbing (Posh Corps!), a big bed and a host mom that cooks like a chef.

Next week I welcome one of my closest friends Meaghan to Moldova, she has been in Germany for the past year and she will visit me before heading back home to New Hampshire, I am highly anticipating her arrival!

All for now!