Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cookie Monster

Rarely do I get the house to myself. I love my host mom, but she just doesn't seem to understand my need for random awkward blaring house dancing. So, a couple of Saturdays ago when host mom was out visiting with friends for the night I knew it was my chance to dance all over the house without judgement. This, paired with a pasta mix from America and some Moldovan tea cookies was going to be my big Saturday night in. I'm not going to lie, these are often my favorite nights.

So, that evening when host mom called to say she wouldn't be home and that I was on my own for dinner I knew just what my plan was. The day had been very gray. The sky was overcast, as it usually is this time of year. The wintery mix had been falling all day and I had been tucked in my bed with a cup of tea and some Harry Potter. It had been the perfect day. I knew in order to top the day off perfectly I needed to make the five minute walk down the street to buy myself some tea cookies. This would be my desert after my delicious pasta. I had put it off all day long, who wants to go out in yucky weather when the alternative is to laze about? I also knew my only reason for making the trip was to buy cookies...I mean it's not like I was going to buy bran flakes and apples.

But, at about 7:30pm when I decided it was time to get dinner cooking I knew if I was going to go to the store it would be now or never. I bundled up in leggings and pants, shirt and sweater and jacket, gloves and hat and scarf. I pulled up my boots and popped open my umbrella. This was going to be a quick trip because this girl needed her cookies. (I realize the light this is shining on my cookie problem.)

At this point in the day the sun head set hours ago. The gate was covered in a slush mixture that made the lock to the gate even harder to find in the pitch black. I began my walk. It was really disgusting out. The snow and rain mixture were coming in at an angle that my pathetic umbrella just couldn't handle. As I was walking I started laughing at myself. All of this for some cookies. My dad would be so proud. As I got closer to the store my spirits picked up, almost there!

As I approached the store I saw that the gate was closed. No worries, I know how to open a gate. But, this gate was locked and all the lights in the store were off. WHAT? No, this store is open everyday until 9pm. Why on the one day I decide to venture out is it closed?

I knew there was another store a few blocks further, and I made the executive decision that I had come this far and I wasn't leaving without these cookies. As I turned down the next corner an older gentleman, seeing that store was closed, yelled 'what time is it?'. I yelled back, 'it's 7:30'. He seemed just as annoyed as I was that he had come all this way only to find the store was closed.

I began the trudge down the next street. When, all of a sudden, I fell flat on my bum. I went down, and I went down hard. I quickly got up and gathered my umbrella ...and my pride. All of this for some cookies, really Brittany? I finally reached the store, it was open. SUCCESS. I happily walked in wiping the slushy snow mixture off my pants and explaining what happened to the store clerk. At least she was nice and told me that it happens to everyone. Although her understand probably disappeared when she realized I had only come to the store to buy cookies.

As I reached into my pocket, my heart sank. My pocket was empty. I had put money in my pocket before I left. Where was it? ...Probably on the street where I had fallen. Great. So, I asked the kind lady working at the store if she had a flashlight so I could go find the measly 11lei (about $.90). Sure enough there it was. Sitting in the skid mark I had left from my fall. I picked up the soggy bills and made the walk back to the store. She was happy that I had found the bills. I was questioning my sanity over the mess I had gone through for a few mediocre cookies.

I tucked the bag of cookies in my pocket and carefully made my way back through the snow to my house. Luckily, I followed through with the solo dance party and this raised my spirits as I waited for my pasta to boil. I sat down to my meal, happy in my triumphant over the elements. At the end I pulled out the bag of cookies I had been pining for all day.

The cookies were stale. I ate every. single. one.

Peace :o)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Opening The Doors To Fire Safety

This cold winter has brought with it lots of work. I am very excited to tell you about one of the projects I am currently working on in my community. The fire department, here in Nisporeni, reached out to me earlier this winter asking for help with a project they have been trying to complete for many years.

The fire house in Nisporeni was built during the Soviet Union, over two decades ago, since then the house has been maintained by the department. Though the fire house has been well maintained it has also seen the wear and tear of two decades of harsh weather conditions. These weather conditions paired with old equipment has made it challenging to operate at a consistent level of operations. The fire house garage doors are made of large slabs of wood. With more than twenty years of wear, the doors no longer create a tight seal. In the winter months this has resulted in the doors freezing shut. This happening in an emergency situation has led to critical time lost.

The department came to me for help with a two-part project that will both change-out the old doors with new garage doors that will meet fire codes, and a safety seminar program that will teach fire safety to the youth at the five local schools. This was a project I knew would hugely benefit the community that I now call home.

So, I got to work and wrote a project proposal through the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP). This is a program that allows any current Peace Corps volunteer (PCV) to write a project and receive funding through donations from friends and family back in the US. After the tragic passing of a local hero, the fire chief from my hometown in New Hampshire, I knew that this was the way I wanted to honor him and reach-out to friends and family for support. The project is currently in the fundraising phase.

The project is posted in the Peace Corps website and was found by an American working in Chisinau. He has helped volunteers in the past with this sort of project and has generously offered to host a benefit evening this Saturday in Chisinau. I am excited to present the project to the attendees and hopefully raise some money for my community.

If you would be interested in helping me with this project please copy and paste the link below into the URL bar. This will bring you to the project page. (There will be a column on the right where donations can be made.) Feel free to read the project summary. Also, if anyone has questions about the project or how to donate leave a comment here and I will respond as quickly as I can.

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-261-002

Thank you in advance for your support!

Peace

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Some Fun In The Bleak Mid-Winter

So, after a winter break I am back and at it in Moldova. Over the holidays I went home for a much needed break, and I can say that after more than a year and a half I was very overwhelmed by how much I had missed my family and friends. The two weeks I spent at home were restorative and helped me to refocus my energy for my final six months of service.

I arrived back in Moldova just in time to celebrate Orthodox Christmas with my host family on January 7th. As usual it was celebrated in full Moldovan fashion, days filled with eating lots of food, and drinking many toasts. I was slightly disappointed when I returned home in Moldova to find the house barren of any form of Christmas spirit. Where is the Christmas tree? I asked host mom. She told me that because I hadn't been around she didn't think it was necessary to drag out the tree and all the decorations. She could tell I was very disappointed by this and so she promised me the next day should would bring out the tree for me to decorate. She knows me so well. This year we had two trees. One artificial tree in the living room and one small fresh tree outside on the stoop. I got to decorate both! I am so lucky that my family both in the US and Moldova understand my slightly ridiculous need for a Christmas tree. It just isn't Christmas without a tree!

The days leading up to Christmas are spent preparing and cooking food for the big day of eating. I also know its the holidays when my host mom decides to drink coffee, she usually opts for tea. Host sister arrives, and the party truly starts. She is always dressed to the nines, and her hair and makeup are always perfectly in place...makes me feel like a frumpy old granny.

This year was special, host dad was home from Moscow. He works abroad making a higher income than if he lived in Moldova, this is very common in Moldova and almost all families have at least one member working outside of Moldova. So, it was a great chance to visit with him.

Winter has sunk in here, I can't help but think that this has contributed to my lack of blog posts. Winter here is awfully tough. It's not just the cold and snow, but it's the lack of sunlight, minimal exposure to other volunteers, and absence of fresh fruits and vegetables that begins to disrupt the natural flow of things. Everyone has a bought of the winter blues and could use a little more sunshine in their lives.

On a more positive note, I am keeping busy with my two big projects. A technology/computer project with the mayors offices in my district, and a fire department project (that the next blog post will be dedicated to). Between these two projects they should keep me pretty busy until late May. So, on a day-to-day basis I am taking care of different aspects of these projects, trying to stay connected with friends and family both in Moldova and the US, and drinking lots of tea.

Hope the winter isn't getting you down. If it is, remember Spring is on its way!

Peace
Brittany