Picture Time!

Glod (Mud)

I had to take a knife to cut through all the mud that was attached to my shoe...I'm going to take it as a cultural experience

One of my students - Moldovan's tend not to smile in their pictures..she's actually a very happy girl

Decorations for Teacher's Day





The classroom I share with Elena. The blackboard is behind me.

the blackboard in my classroom decorated by the students for Teacher's Day

The student's dancing the hora on Teacher's Day. This is the front of my school and the field where they do P.E is across the way

A rough translation "It is your day, dear teacher"

I tried to capture the essence of the work - basically you have to crank and wheel in order to mash all the grapes..so you put the grapes into that contraption above the barrel and crank away!

more mashing of grapes

As you can tell I really got into the whole mashing grapes business

some action shots of my host father mashing the grapes - keep in mind he's 68 years old

a bath-tub of grapes

one of about 15 bags of grapes that were picked by my host parents

the gangs all here- bag-o-grapes

My family's vineyard right before we ended picking the grapes

random picture of my house...

I just had to include the vecheo....

part of the chicken coop (not sure what you would call it)

more chicken action...this is also the area where we keep Florica, our loving cow

View of the forest from my backyard

The outdoor cooking area at my house

Getting ready for winter by canning food and putting it into the cellar (beci)




Me on a carousel ride in Balti

My room

My host mother's granddaughter. It's funny how children are the same wherever you go!

A view of Balti from the top of the carousel ride

My partner teacher Elena!

I've been neglecting my page and I feel bad since there have been so many changes here in Moldova! Autumn is quickly coming to an end here and most of the hard work is being wrapped up. For the most part the corn has been shelled and sorted, with the uneatable corn being used to heat the sobas now that it is getting cold. All the grapes have been picked, mashed and stored in the cellars. Houses are being repaired for the cold weather...all of these things have been such an experience in themselves. I will never drink another glass of wine without appreciating the hard work that went into making and storing it (and I only helped with a fraction of the work).

The following pictures can basically be put into 3 groups. I have pictures of my house here in Moldova, a lot of pictures of grapes, and some pictures from Teacher's Day which was in October. Teacher's Day was basically a holiday for teachers in which all the students decorate the classroom and give flowers and small gifts as appreciation for the work their teacher's do. I was actually surprised at how big an event they made it. At my school we danced the hora (national dance) and had a huge lunch for all the teachers.

Hope you enjoy!

Soba Time

Hello everyone! So autumn is definitely here and for me it actually feels like winter! Lately during the day it has been around 10 -12 degrees Celsius which is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. At night it gets around 1 -2 degrees Celsius, which is around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. My host mother has started to heat our soba during the night which makes our small house quite warm. A soba is like fire that they heat that travels through the walls of the house. But since I'm a total wimp when it comes to the cold, I'm usually wearing about three layers of winter clothes, and I sleep with my sleeping bag plus my comforter :)

School is going much smoother. It definitely still holds its challenges, especially since the first rounds of tests are taking place. One of my challenges here will be "encouraging" my students not to cheat during tests and on their homework assignments. It is a concept that is new for them and as a teacher I'm learning that a little tough love and perseverance can go a long way. However, this will be a challenge for me and my students probably for the whole two years that I'm here.

Since I'm getting more comfortable here, I'm starting to think about my secondary projects; those projects I do outside/after school. I've been asked to do an English Club and I've already corresponded with my best friend back home, who is also a teacher, about doing a pen-pal program. Right now it is just a matter of summing up more ideas and more importantly, courage, to start these additional projects. The great thing though about Moldova is that most are eager to participate - especially those students who might be living alone without parents. One that subject, a colleague of mine here in Moldova, who works with an NGO on social issues, sent us a little video about the issue of children who's parents are working abroad. This is a huge issue here in Moldova, one that affects all the volunteers and their communities. I attached the link below for anyone who wants to check it out.

Again, thanks for all the well-wishes and questions about what school materials are needed in my village! Till next time ~

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvc6X7cFPRo

Computer Problems

One of the realities I have noticed here in Moldova is that while there is access to technology, it can be more of a headache than a convienance to try to maintain them. Here viruses are very common and unfortunatley I got a really nasty one on my computer. I've been trying to contact people who might be able to help, but so far nothing has been able to work. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to fix it since I'll be in the capital and I'm meeting up with some other volunteers who know much more about computers than I do...keep your fingers crossed! As soon as I get this situation cleared up I'll be able to post some more pictures of my village. It is so beautiful here now in Autumn! In the mornings there is usually fog and all the leaves are changing colors and falling on the ground. I got to pick grapes with my family (which is a lot harder work than I thought it would be!) and the other weekend we shelled corn. There is a lot of work that people have to do in their gardens to get ready for Winter. A couple of the nights have been really cold, but for the most part it's been cozy and pleasant!

Teaching is still presenting itself as a challange - I'm finding that English Grammar is really hard to understand, even if you're a native speaker! I just hope and pray that I'm doing my best! Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and packages!