Moldova Moments

Sometimes I stop and think, wait, I'm in another country trying to learn and work and live and love.. How did I get here? 

Now of course I know how I got here, but occasionally I have to catch my breath and see if this life in Moldova I'm trying to make is truly my current reality. It always is. 

We all know that I've cried and struggled and so on, and I've asked myself why I'm here and why I haven't run back home to my puppy and family and friends, so today I'm going to tell you about one of the reasons. There is a phenomenon here I have witnessed, and I call it: Moldova Moments. 

A Moldova Moment could be anything, but it's usually exactly what you need when you need it, and it usually is something that makes me feel better about my life or makes me feel like I can continue with whatever I'm doing. It's like a sign, or something. I think you have to be looking for it to recognize it, because in my experience, it's usually not a big production (Moldova's not flashy like that). 

One of my first Moldova Moments was really early on in PST. I hadn't settled in yet, I was having a hard time with language, I was exhausted.. We got off the bus from Chişinău that evening and I had to face a 20-25 minute walk back to the house, which at the time, seemed like walking all the way to the end of the world, I was so tired. This was so early that we didn't all know the way home yet, so host sisters or brothers or mothers walked to the school to meet us. We got to the school and my host sister was waiting there with a car. That was the only day that ever happened, but it was the day I needed it to. That's a Moldova Moment. 

Not that I'm counting, but it's been 6 days since I've cried. Six days ago, though, I had a Moldova Moment (or what I considered to be one at the time, and have since realized it's a normal occurrence.. Though that doesn't mean that at the time, it wasn't a moment). It was not a good morning; I cried at breakfast and in my room after breakfast, and on the way to work.. And I tried to stop crying, but it was rather difficult. I share an office with 2 other women and even though I was a few minutes late, neither of them had arrived yet to open the door. That meant I had a few minutes to sit in the entry area by myself and pull myself together before I had to talk to people: the Moldova Moment of the day. 

So it could be anything, but when Moldova is like, hey girl, I want you to stay here; let me help you out a little.. that's when I think I'm in the right place.

[The pictures are from a walk I took this weekend - the Moldova Moment there was that it was thundering and lightning, threatening to rain the whole time, but I JUST beat the storm getting back.]