Ninje tare tare

There's enough snow for everyone. This week the temperature got down to -23 C, which is -10 F. Here's my good ol' village of Zguriţa.

Traditional house in the village.

Main road out of my village. There is a town 20 km straight ahead.

My bus stop is at the bottom of this hill. I usually hitch hike, so this is the road I use to thumb for cars to stop when driving into town.
One of my favorite houses in the village.

This is my soba (fireplace) that keeps my apartment heated. When I moved into the building there was a statue of Lenin on top of the soba.

Reading Communism: A History by Richard Pipes and having Lenin's head looking across your living room is a very bittersweet thing.

Me and Justin thinking up grand plans to bring change to the world.

First Moldovan masa at my place with Justin and Kim, two awesome Volunteers who live in my district of Moldova.



This Friday I am leaving with four other Peace Corps Volunteers for a 12 day vacation to the Middle East. We'll be seeing Romania, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Check back in a few weeks for lots of pics of camels, hummus, hookahs, Jews, pyramids, Muslims, and 75 degree weather. Peace.

Iarna a venit.

Winter has come and the snow is here to stay for a while. Here's a view from my balcony on the fourth floor.

The last time it snowed in South Carolina I watched a dog mark his territory on my snow man. Not cool.

How to enjoy a beer in Moldova

To enjoy a cold beer in a Moldovan village, you may need to take the following steps:


Buy six cubic meters of wood. Have a friend with a tractor and trailer help you transport it.

Hire someone in the village with a chainsaw, and hold the logs while he cuts them.

Find an ax, put on a pair of gloves, and split wood for several days.

Stack the split wood by the soba, which is used to heat the house.

Stack wood on the balcony.

Stack wood in the kitchen. In fact, stack wood anywhere and everywhere.

Learn the art of starting the fire.

When the house warms up, invite a Moldovan in to play the guitar.

Sit by the soba and take a personal day.