Picnic

Video of a traditional Roma dance

In Moldova, credit is tough to come by. If you can get access to credit through a bank, the rate is going to be from 22-28%. A common family in Moldova doesn't have access to credit. Unbelievable, I know. Therefore, the people in Moldova build their houses for periods of 10 years or more. They build it with their own hands and with the help of brothers, cousins, etc. When someone has some money to purchase more materials, they'll add a little more to their house. After 10 years, they've got a beautiful home. Here's a few pics of what you see all around Moldova. There are many different stages of construction depending on how long the family has been building it, how much money they have, and how much help they have from friends and family.

Piles of stone waiting to be added to the walls of the house.

A house in it's final stages. I'm not sure about this specific house, but a house looking like this could have been sitting here for many years. However, they have no house payments :)

We had a picnic this last Sunday in the woods for the current PC Trainess. We pretty much sat on the dirt, drank wine, and ate moldovan food all day. Here's a pic of me with some of the coolest people I know.

Moldova 24 - We're the 24th group to come to Moldova with the Peace Corps.