Winter, kids, and The Haircut

Winter is coming. It's getting cold here, and everyone is preparing to hibernate. I'm all Long-John's from here on out. We haven't started burning wood in our sobas (ovens for heating the home) yet, but I'm counting down the days. I got up this morning, took the traditional trip to the outhouse, and realized that winter was coming to Moldova when my pants hit my ankles. Let's just say the cold outhouse is not a place to hang out, read the paper, drink coffee, and enjoy sitting on the throne.

The most common mode of transportation in my village is a căruţă.

I've been told the carts with wheels will be replaced with sleds for the snow in winter.

My biggest fans, and closest friends in the village, are definitely the kids. I have 8 or so kids that live on my road in the village who want to hang out every day. They range from ages 7-11. They all live with their grandmothers, because their parents have had to leave abroad (mostly Russia) to find work. Their parents send them money back for basic living expenses, but some haven't seen their parents since they were old enough to remember. One good thing about being in the Peace Corps is all the time I've spent goofing around and playing with the kids is time I've spent "working". The technical work that I'll be doing (maybe things like writing grants, greenhouses, community development, etc.) is only 1/3 of the Peace Corps' mission, while the other 2/3 is building friendships with Moldovans to facilitate cross cultural exchange; so yes, hanging out with Moldovans in my village is my job and I doubt I'll ever find another job quite like it.

When I was in the capital I went in for another haircut at the salon. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but for an intermediate romanian speaker in Moldova, it's a big deal. It's a big deal because the hairstyles for the guys over here are different than the ones in States, and I'm sure the hair stylists naturally want to cut my hair like the local style. To my Moldovan friends reading this, I am not saying I don't like the hairstyles of the guys here. In fact, I am sure I will have a Moldovan hairstyle before long. However, just understand that it takes more than four months of living in Moldova to build up the courage for such a transformation of my afro. I have to take my glasses off to get a haircut, and being that I have really bad eye sight, I can't see what my haircut looks like until the grand finale. When she's finally done cutting my hair and asks do I want to put on my glasses to see my hair, the first thought that runs through my head is "I don't know, do I?"

This weekend is Moldova's national Wine Festival in Chisinau, the capital. I'll be hanging out with most, if not all, of the PC volunteers in Moldova drinking wine from all around the country and coming up with obscure and meaningless english, romanian, and russian toasts.

Cheers, Hai noroc, sănătate, Будьте здоровы, fii sănătos, numai bine, mulţi ani mulţi bani, sus pahari jos chiloţi