Peace Corps Email #17

August, Also August in Romanian

Original Sent Date: August 3, 2005

Greetings from Moldova, the hottest spot in the world!

What is new back home?  I haven’t heard any big news lately, so maybe that’s for the best!  How is everyone?

The other day, my host ma told me that it was 48 degrees Celsius on the hill in the sun.  I didn’t really think much of it, until I found my phone to do the math…and that’s about 118 degrees Fahrenheit!! The weird part is that it really doesn’t seem all that unreasonable at all.

I have discovered and quickly accepted the Moldovan solution to the heat—sleep.  It’s wonderful.  You  wake up in the morning, do what absolutely has to be done for the day, and get ready for lunch. After lunch, it becomes difficult to both breathe and function, so you go back to bed until 5 or so.  After supper, you eat ice cream and piddle around.  Maybe it’s not the most productive schedule, but what to do?

Last week, my site mate Maria and I put on an English Camp for the children in Calarasi.  It was such fun!  We had 35-ish kids show up for the camp (all were required to speak conversational English)… the activities were things like pictionary, Simon Says, and all those leadership games we do all the time back home.  I, however, was in charge of arts and crafts (how appropriate!).  It’s amazing how different it was to plan arts and crafts in Moldova than in America where you can’t just run out to Wal-Mart and pick up ANYTHING you need (with 5 brands of everything to add variety and price difference) and without hardly any money.  But it went well, I think.  I taught how to make friendship bracelets, collages, sand (actually salt, because it’s cheaper) art, and how to dye fabric with plants and flowers.  Maybe I should pursue a job in arts-and-crafting when I come home instead of that whole master’s thing!

In this past month, I also began an English Club for the kids in my community.  These kids don’t speak any English or have maybe take one year or two in school, so it’s completely different than the English Camp was.  I have about 8 kids come twice a week—I am always in such a good mood after they come!  There’s one little boy, Danu, who lives in Italy during the school year (like 1/3 of all Moldovans) so it’s really interesting in the class when he likes to shout out the Italian words for everything!  Can you imagine being 8 years old, speaking Romanian, Russian, and Italian while trying to learn English?  It boggles my mind!

On the 17th, the camp that you all helped me finance, Opening Doors, begins.  I can hardly wait—that might have something to do with the campsite being near a beach!  Again, thank you so much for all of your help. 

I plan to take tons of pictures for all to see!  So excited!

And, finally, some of my biggest news: (I was testing you all—you had to read to the end to know this!) I’ve planned a vacation home!  I’ll get in on September 20th and stay for two weeks.  Who would have thought a vacation home to Kansas would be the most exciting thing I can imagine?

Take care and I hope to hear from you all!

Darcie

Human Knot...always a winner.

A list of phrases that one of the boys said.

Playing a game I made up...they made a line with things they had.

..you know, shirts and shoes.

She died this fabric with leaves and berries.

Skit day.  Here Bush and Vironin dance fight.