I dream in Romanian.

I am now starting to think in the romanian language. I know this because I had a dream the other night and no english was spoken by anyone. The Moldovans are very patient, and they get excited when you try to speak in their native language. Funny thing is, my 3 weeks worth of intense study has only taught me the tip of the iceburg, so I walk around saying phrases like: "My shirt is blue", "The weather is nice", "I am not a tourist". I'm sure it's hilarious. One of the first things I've learned about myself is that I'll be much more patient with immigrants learning english in America. Learning another language is one of the most excited things about being in Moldova, but in no way is it easy.

My host sister, Anna, invited me to her high school graduation ball last weekend. It wasn't simliar to an American graduation at all. The presentation of diplomas lasted only about 20 minutes, and they did not wear cap and gowns. I guess they saved their money for the "masa". "Masa" translated means meal, but if you get invited to a "masa", be ready. I would recommend not eating for the two days leading up to it. I have never seen one long table of food half the size of a football field. We ate, drank, toasted, and laughed until it was time to start dancing. Everyone was doing the hora, which is the national dance. Teachers, students, families, friends, and even the principal danced the hora. I danced until 3:30 am until I called it quits, but when I left most of the crowd was still in a circle. The video below is from the graduation ball.

A pic taken while we were celebrating my host sister's graduation from high school.

This week we made a few cultural learning trips. I visited a beekeeper who has been raising bees since 1978. He started with 3 families of bees and now has 28 families producing honey. This honey is not "high fructose corn syrup", this is the real deal. I'm going back in the next week or so to buy a kilogram for my host family.

The pic above was taken in the garden of the beekeeper. Each box contains a bee family.

We took another trip to visit a volunteer who has been in Moldova for a little over a year. I got to meet him, see his office, and see one of the projects he is working on. It helps to meet experienced volunteers, because it gives me ideas on projects that I can start once I finish training and become a Volunteer. First though, I have to learn the language before I can initiate a project in my community. Anyways, while we were visiting the volunteer, we took a small trip to the Nistru River. I was very excited about this. If you take the time to read anything about Transnistria, you will be amazed. To tell you a little about it Transnistria, it is a "country" within Moldova that is not recognized as a country by the rest of the world. The Nistru river, which we visited, seperates the rest of Moldova from Transnistria. When Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Transnistria area was supported by Russia and they established their own separate entity. They have developed their own currency, government, military, and they elect a president every four years, but since they are not recognized by any other country in the world, no organization oversees their elections. I was amazed just to stand on one side of the river and take a picture of this type of place. I highly doubt they would allow US passport holders inside their border, but Peace Corps won't even let us try to go there. I'm bummed about that. I think it would be surreal to walk in those gates and see Soviet statues on the town corners. If you're interested in reading more about Transnistria, there's tons of info on the net...or you can just ask me.

This is a pic of the Nistru River. I am standing in the mainland of Moldova and across the river is Transnistria.

My village of Milestii Mici is still treating me great. We've eaten and canned all the raspberries and cherries, but apricots and plums are in full bloom now. The fruit is always delicious here, and there is a tree every ten steps. I went out today and picked some apricots and plums for Doamna Tatiana, my host mom, so that she can make some compote. Compote is boiled fruit, water, and sugar, and it's an old tradition in Moldova. They make compote out of every kind of fruit, and we drink it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We'll drink a lot of compote this summer, but we'll also store a good bit for winter.

I just got back from the garden. We had the whole family picking the potatoes out of the ground. We ended up with 12 crates full, and Domnul Andrei (host dad) said this was a good harvest. Last year he came up short. They are so funny to work with. The entire family works together, and they joke with each other the entire time. I guess as long as the potatoes are plentiful then there are no worries. Also, the language lessons I get working in the garden seem to be more successful than the formal lessons in the classroom.

I found out some cool news today about my village of Milestii Mici: I am living on the largest wine collection in the world. No kidding, the soil my house is built on is literally on top of a huge underground tunnel of wine. Milestii Mici was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 for having the "Largest Wine Collection" in the world. Finding this out has answered a lot of confusion I've been having lately about trouble with water. I've been helping Domnul Andrei by pumping water out of our well, transporting it with our tractor, and pumping it into a friend's well down the road. I was told today by a history teacher that there are water problems in this section of Milestii Mici because it was built on top of the wine tunnels. Who would have known?

Another typical sight on my walk home from school.

Most Moldovan homes have a canopy of grapes growing for shade (and obviously for wine).

Moldovans have a holiday once a year where all the families go to the cemetary and have a huge meal and drink lots of wine in honor of their loved ones. Hence the picnic tables.

Fruit trees everywhere.

This is a pic of Juan. He gave us a tour of his house and showed us the handmade quilts his mom makes and sells. Juan, like most of the Moldovan kids I've talked to, is a true gentleman. He walks his older sister to the bus stop by my house every day and his manners are superb.

Some of the houses are full of colors. All of the houses are full of plants.

Outdoor shower. Fill the metal container up with water and let the sun heat it up.

Until next time, I love you all. Peace.