Ziua Raionului & Gradinita Christmas

It is currently Christmas Eve and I am patiently awaiting a phone call from my host mom. She is playing Santa at the kindergarten today and I get to go watch that happen, so that'll be entertaining, probably. 

Until then, I'll tell you all about Ziua Raionului, which my partner and the mayor took me to yesterday. 

The day before, multiple people informed me that I needed to be frumoasa, which I think was code for: step it up a little, Catea. You're going to see people besides us tomorrow. My host mom even came home and said, the mayor told me you guys are going to a fancy restaurant so you'd better wear your high heels. Um, okay. Would you like to pick out a dress for me, too? Just kidding, but really. That might have helped. 

I apparently did well, because when I got to work, everyone really liked that I looked nice (and were probably wondering why I don't put that much effort in on a daily basis - well I'll tell you, it's because I'm in a serious relationship with my snooze button.. I just can't quit it). 

After hanging out working for a while, 5 of us piled into the mayor's car, and we were off to Ștefan Vodă! When we got there, my partner asked where my friend was, and they told me my seat number multiple times before dropping me off to meet her while they went who-knows-where. So I found Kelsey in the Casa de Cultura, working hard with her Youth Fund kids. 

Then it was soon time to find my seat, and eventually the mayor and my partner showed up. It was about 3 hours of speeches, dances, songs, poems, skits.. And it was awesome. I mean, admittedly, it started out a lot more awesome than it ended.. I got tired, okay?! And ended up kind of tuning out with all the Romanian - it's very hard to have your active listening turned on for such an extended period of time. 

After the performance was over, they said it was time to go to the restaurant, so I thought it was just a special day and we were going out to eat, but we saw a big bus and my partner said, they're going to the restaurant too! So that was slightly confusing, until we got there and I figured it out. It was a big banquet hall (the mayor even told me his daughter's wedding reception had been there) and there were so many people. My partner kept pointing out important people - the wife of the raion president sat at our table, for example. 

My partner (the wife of the raion president is on the far right)

It was a very Posh Corps event. You know how you can tell you're at a fancy event by the number of forks you don't know how to use? Well, there was only one fork here, but there were three different glasses for each person. You had your wine glass, your champagne glass, and your glass for liquor. Priorities, people. The table was stocked with local wines from Purcari and Et Cetera wineries, plus others I didn't recognize, and of course, a bottle of cognac every few people (of which I did not partake). 

There was SO MUCH FOOD and I ate pretty much everything. It was the best and most I've eaten in probably 6 months. Which, if you recall, is about the whole time I've been here. I can't even tell you how great it was. There were tons of great vegetables, and there was meat, and there was the greatest smoked cheese I feel like I've ever eaten, and oh, the wine. We started out with servers, and they would politely say, ma'am, what would you like to drink, and the mayor would answer for me and we would always be trying the same wine (precious).. But eventually the men at the table got impatient and wanted to pour the wine for us on their own, so that happened. He wanted us to try basically every wine, so we had to do that. He would say, Catea, this is from Et Cetera, remember how we went to that winery together? Yes, Primar, in fact, I do. 

Then there was dancing! Suddenly the mayor stood up and offered me his hand, and we were dancing. Then we did the hora, and then I got a break while he danced with Kelsey's partner, and then we danced some more! 

Finally the night was over, though surprisingly I wasn't itching to go (sometimes I have to go to events and I get tired and secretly cranky, but not for this). My partner stole some candy for me, we got our coats, and we headed back home. It was a fun day! 

I've also now been to the kindergarten Christmas/New Year's program, which was adorable. The kids sang, danced, recited poetry, did skits.. And they were adorable. Everything one would hope for in a nursery school Christmas program. Crying and messing up and just being precious. It was great. And my host mom was Santa.. Kind of a scary Santa, but I guess it worked for her, as only one girl cried.

And I got to Skype with my family for Christmas and "open" some presents that will wait two years for me. Tomorrow I'll see my friends for Christmas Day and all will be well! 

Merry Christmas!! 

Currently #6

Currently...

Reading Adaptation by Malinda Lo (and two other books, but I've been hooked on this one for a bit). Sissy recommended it and I haven't decided if I like it or not, but I'm halfway through. I bet she tricked me into reading this without telling me it's part of a series... THANKS, Hannah.  

Writing tons of notes on this report on modern libraries. There's an organization here that works with libraries in Moldova. They have just started a PCV program where a group of us will learn something new each month to help us work with our village/town libraries. The PCV that works with this organization sent us a report to read about libraries in America and I thought it was so interesting that I took pages of notes, and got really excited about the program we're starting.

Listening to X, aka Chris Brown all day long. Amanda told her mom to send it to me and it was one of her best ideas ever. I don't know if 16-year-old me would believe that 24-year-old me isn't as obsessed with CB as she was, but I'm making up for it a little bit I think, having played this CD at least 6 times in the last two days. 

Thinking about day 200. I've been in Moldova for 200 days as of today. It feels like a lifetime and also like no time at all, which is simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. 

Smelling mint Oreos! I don't know how many days I can really be expected to stretch out this package of cookies for.. So don't judge me.

Wishing I could have been at my house last night in person instead of just with Skype. Multiple people conspired to keep me up until 2:30am so I could see them all together without even knowing that's what was happening. It was awesome. And obviously worth staying up til 4am talking to them! Slightly jealous that Becky and Rasheesh and my mother all got to hang out without me, buuuuut.. I guess I was included as much as I could have been, haha. 

Hoping we can successfully make it to Prague and have a GREAT time.. So great that it re-energizes us for the new year. Because 2015 is a lot of Moldova. It's daunting, a little bit.

Wearing sweats on sweats on sweats, duh. Actually I guess I'm exaggerating slightly (who, me?!) because it's just the one pair of sweatpants. 

Loving everyone, near and far.

Wanting it to be time for our Christmas party! We are having a tiny Christmas party at Kelsey's house for some of the lost boys so that we aren't sad and lonely on what is, for some of us, the first Christmas away from family, and for all of us, a day where we don't want to be alone. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it. 

Needing to organize my room and decide what I'm packing for Prague.. The worst part about going anywhere - packing. Nu-mi place. 

Feeling better this weekend after a week filled with feeling terrible. Turns out it's more helpful to talk about stuff than to not.. Who would have thought? 

Clicking the A to X Writing Advice, which is fun and informative. Also these most-highlighted quotes from recent fiction by women. Here's a sample: 

“For although a man is judged by his actions, by what he has said and done, a man judges himself by what he is willing to do, by what he might have said, or might have done — a judgment that is necessarily hampered, not only by the scope and limits of his imagination, but by the ever-changing measure of his doubt and self-esteem.” - The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

Currently #5

Currently...

Reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, my fifth book for the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge. It's entertaining if not occasionally a bit hard to follow. I was attempting a book in Romanian but I had to give up, because, guess what? I'm not at that level yet. Or ever. 

Writing this blog, obviously. The latest of that is my last gratitude series of November and this long thing I wrote about all the PCVs I'm obsessed with. TRY to guess who's who; you can't, and I'm not telling.

Listening to more Christmas music than any one person should. I've pretty much got my quota for the year listened to, and I'm nowhere near done. How many times can I hear Mariah Carey tell me that all she wants for Christmas is me before I get sick of it? The limit does not exist. 

Thinking about how I always seem to have accidental sleepovers at Kelsey's house. Today makes number... 3. (An accidental sleepover occurs when you plan to go to someone's house but not to stay the night, and you end up staying. I'm sure my mother is oh-so-glad that the closest volunteer to me is a female now that she knows I have so many of these.) We hung out today and I had planned to catch the last rutiera home but I got 3 phone calls in a row from my host mom so I figured I should answer.. And she said, "Do not come home." Uhhhh.. She told me it was too dangerous with the ice and snow so I had to stay here and wait for the morning. So that's what I'm doing now! 

Smelling cough drops and shampoo. 

Wishing I could think of really great Winter Wizard ideas.. We have a Secret Santa type thing that goes all the way through to the end of February (hey, winters are hard) that's called Winter Wizards. I'm really excited about it and obviously want to be the best wizard ever, but it's hard to think of stuff to write to them online/cute little gifts to send, especially when you don't know your match SUPER well (which I don't, but I love them anyway - maybe I love everyone though? It's questionable). But I did manage to find a cute little something to leave in their locker the next time I go to the PC office so that's fun!

Hoping that we get good news about our project concept note tomorrow - that's the day we find out if we made it to the next stage of applications or not. I'm really really hoping we do, because I don't know what the next step is with the project if we don't. 

Wearing the comfiest pants known to man. MOVE OVER, PAJAMA JEANS. STEP BACK, SWEATPANTS. There is a new winner in town, and I don't even own them. Kelsey is letting me borrow these sweet legging things and they are so soft on the inside I want to marry them. That, or just try to find a pair of my own in Chisinau later. Can you marry pants? It's questionable. I'll hold out for a little longer, maybe I'll fall into deeper love with a sweatshirt or something. 

Loving Christmas crafting, cookies, friends, romcoms, and sleepovers! 

Wanting my mother to open the package I sent her RIGHT NOW but also not wanting her to do it without me. I don't want to brag or anything but it's the cutest present Moldova could ever produce and I just can feel it sitting in the house, waiting to be opened. But I won't allow them to do so without me watching while Skyping, so there's that. The party line is that I have to explain stuff (which is somewhat true, but not totally necessary) but really I just want to be excited while they're excited opening the greatest present ever. Ask her about it when you see her. Maybe she'll carry it around and show everyone. Good idea, I think.  

Needing there to be stairs on our new spiral staircase. The staircase exists.. And it's usable. But there aren't exactly steps, just the shells of them, so it's still slightly dangerous.

Feeling fed and comfortable. Turns out Kelsey's a great cook (is this post JUST about Kelsey? I mean, maybe), plus, the pants. 

Clicking the amazing history of the to-do list (history's somewhat lacking in this piece, but still a good read) and an article by someone who sent all her text messages in calligraphy for a week. 

This is your brain. This is your brain on Peace Corps.

I spent November being intentional in thinking about the things in my life that I'm grateful for. But if I'm being honest, it didn't require a whole lot of thought on my part. Each day, something would happen and I would record it in my draft for the weekly post. I never sat down and thought about it at length. 

I don't speak out loud very much. It's difficult when you don't speak the same language as your coworkers and the people you live with, but it's not impossible. It's not that I don't say anything, it's just that I don't say much. I never thought about fluency in a language being a luxury, but, oh, how it is. I can absolutely communicate basic thoughts and I'm not completely lost all the time with getting around and living my life here, but I'm not able to connect with anyone on more than a basic level. 

In a book review for The Other Language by Francesca Marciano (which I have not read), the reviewer says about the book: "Yet she discovers, first as an adolescent and then as an adult, that fluency in a language doesn't guarantee her yearnings will be heard, much less understood." True, but not altogether comforting.

With all of that and with the amount of time I spend alone (most of my time), I have a lot of time to think. But I don't use my time to think. Sure, I'm introspective and I question things and journal and I spend a lot of time in my own head. But I just spent this weekend with other PCVs and for the last few days, I haven't been able to stop thinking. 

It's hard to describe what's going through my head because I can't even pin it all down; it's so varied. But here I am trying.

I'm thinking about the future. What I want in life, what I don't want, what I hope to have eventually but not anytime soon. I'm thinking about the present. What I want to do, what I am doing, what life is like. I'm thinking about the past and how somehow, all the choices I made have led me to this moment and this adventure. I don't know if everything happens for a reason but I know some things do and I've got to be here for a reason. 

I'm thinking about my Peace Corps family. I'm thinking about how you can enjoy time with so many different kinds of people who have such different life experiences, and how they can turn your world upside down just by showing you a different point of view or by saying something to you that they didn't even know would have such an impact. Maybe they'll never know. 

I'm thinking about how you can meet someone "new" at every event, because every gathering of people is a slightly different mix. The perfect mix. A beautiful mix.
You can vaguely know who someone is, speak to them at length for the first time Friday, and pull an all-nighter with them Saturday only to fall asleep with them on the couch Sunday morning. 
You can pinky promise someone to be their best friend and not have any doubt that you both mean it. 
You can dance with someone and cook with someone and play cards with someone while someone else carves a turkey in the next room. 
You can plan events with people in all the languages you know (or try to know) and laugh about how ridiculous it all is instead of getting frustrated with how difficult it is.
You can have someone look into your eyes while they're talking to you and just feel that they're getting to you all the way down in your heart and soul. 
You can get lost with someone and not even care because you're with them whether you know where you are or not. 
You can have a conversation that starts with politics and elections and ends up with a link to a multilingual version of "Let it Go." 
You can find people who inspire you and people to look up to - people who might be younger or older than you, but that make you want to say, "I want to be her when I grow up." 
You can tell someone how you really feel and not worry that they will judge you or tell the whole country all your thoughts. 
You can count on someone to tell you the Packer score (we're ahead, hopefully) and someone else to be confused about why you're a Packer fan from Virginia. 
You can have a friendship that started day one with banana bread flavored beer that you'll never stop talking about. 
You can miss the people who have had to leave, and you will.
You can only hope that people are okay with the hugs you give that are probably too long for real life but that you want to prolong because of your lack of friendly human contact. 
You can fall in love with the people in your program, the people in your part of the country, the people you just want to fall in love with. 

I'm thinking about how I can look around at a room full of PCVs and feel like I'm at home with these people I didn't even know existed 6 months ago. I'm thinking about how 6 months ago we were literally strangers, and now I can't imagine life without them. There are some that I absolutely do not want to have to do life without, and I feel like I know who some of them are at just 6 months in. I feel like I knew who some of them were at 6 weeks, or 6 days. Is 6 hours pushing it? I'm thinking about how I have absolutely fallen in love with these people, and I can say without a doubt that they are the perfect people to be on this crazy journey with. It couldn't have happened any other way. 

I'm thinking about this quote from The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan: "It's not quite love, and it's not quite community; it's just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team." In other words, "the opposite of loneliness." This perfectly describes the way I feel about the people on my team, the people in my corner, the people I'm going to be spending the next 20 months with and the ones who, even when I am lonely, manage to talk to me from another part of the country and make me feel like maybe, just for a moment, I'm not. 

I'm thinking about how I may never stop thinking. I don't know what's going on in my head but it's something. I'm thinking about how I don't want to stop because maybe I'll figure out something I need to know, or something somebody else needs to know. 

I'm thinking about how crazy I am for being here. Yes, sometimes I want to get on the first flight back home, but with weekends like this one I just had and thoughts like the ones I've been having.. With all these things I think are true, I think I'll stick to feeling crazy for a while and see what I can do here, in this place, with these people. What am I doing? I don't know. But I'm thinking.. I'm thinking I'm gonna make it.

November Gratitude #4

Tomorrow is December and I can't believe it. I feel like I was just saying how I couldn't believe November was going by so quickly and now it's really just gone! How? It's crazy how life works like that, time passing and all. 

So this is the last week in the Gratitude series! It's been fun to do and really, it's been pretty easy to do. When you're actively thinking about the good things in your life, you can absolutely find 30 things to be thankful for. Likely more. Here's my last list.

November 24: These quotes from a weekly email that I rely on for inspiration: 

"Simple. That's what it is. When it comes down to the things that shift this world and shake up souls, the ideas are simple. They're basic, not extravagant."

"Just keep going. Keep showing up for things if you ever want to see them grow. You have to swallow your pride, and swallow the parts of you that want to see a movement grow in a day, and just get used to tiny movements. Tiny, microscopic shifts that may never matter to anyone but you. Celebrate those little things and then keep going."

"And to that I say again: just keep going. Every day you are given nearly a thousand and one 'sink or swim' moments. The important part is that you remember to choose to swim. You remember to kick your arms and kick your legs and swim. You won't always feel like you want to. You won't even know where you are heading off to sometimes, what direction is shifting you where. But this was never a story about destinations. This has always, always been a lifetime full of coming & going & leaving & staying & listening to your heart when it whispers to you, 'This matters most. Pay attention.'" 

November 25: Books. I've read 22 books since I've been in Moldova. Some of them have been terrible, some of them have been life-changing. I've read almost 200 pages in 3 different books just today. I usually have one I'm reading on my Kindle and one physical book. We have tons of books in the Peace Corps library that we can take back to site and read, and I've got a bunch on my Kindle I haven't yet read. Since I've found that I have more time to read than I had had before I got here, I'm doing a Winter Book Challenge, which has added some titles to my list that I wouldn't have picked up without the prompts. I've finished 4 books for that, and I'm enjoying the challenge.

November 26: Letters and cards from people back home. I have a rotating display of them on my desk and I definitely reread them! I know everyone's don't make it here but I am thankful for the ones that do (and the ones that don't - in that case it's the thought that counts!) and it makes my day (or week, or several weeks) to see an envelope in my locker whenever I get to check it. So many different people, from family to church to friends to sorority sisters to people I don't even know in person, have sent me mail, and it's just the greatest. Anyone who's sent me anything - you're the greatest.

November 27: Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for my family, because they're awesome! While it's depressing that I don't get to eat the yummy food they are cooking, I am sitting on their counter and watching them do it! So it's basically like I'm there, except the dog gets more turkey than I do. Technology is much appreciated at times like these, as we got to "hang out" while they got ready to have their Thanksgiving. I even got a chair set up to "eat" dinner with them! 

November 28: I spent the weekend with a bunch of PCVs to celebrate Thanksgiving. It could easily be a really difficult time for all of us. For a lot of people, it's the first Thanksgiving they haven't spent with family. But everyone's attitude the whole weekend was so great. No one brought measuring cups, our beater had one beating part, the whipping cream didn't always whip.. Didn't matter; everyone was in good spirits and made the best of everything. I got to spend time with people I knew well and people I didn't know at all, and it turns out, both groups are wonderful.

November 29: My Peace Corps family. Thanksgiving with them. It's hard to describe all the feelings I've got about people here, and I'll try to do that in another post sometime soon.. But they are wonderful. We got to have TURKEY and potatoes and cranberries and dessert and vegetables and the whole room was just filled with happiness and love. I'm a little sad it's over! It was the best Thanksgiving I could have imagined for my first Thanksgiving away from home, with the best people.. And probably the best food I'll have for a while. 

November 30: The kindness of strangers. This weekend, as I went to Anenii Noi for the first time, not 100% sure of where to go, but both the driver and a young guy my host mom introduced me to on the way were set to tell me where to get off the bus. It doesn't go into the town I needed to be in, but it stops nearby so I just had to get off at the right place and walk about 20 minutes. They were both concerned about my getting off correctly and told me which way to go. Then today on the way home, we couldn't catch a bus and these guys stopped for us and put a bunch of Americans in their car to take us all the way back to our raion center! We tried to chip in for gas and they gave us back 1/3 of it because they said we were chipping in too much. We get into some interesting situations as PCVs but there is often a stranger there to help us out when we need it.

And that's it. It's practically December - just hours from now. I'm feeling pretty good about life at the moment, so we'll see how the rest of the year goes. 

November Gratitude #3

Whaaaaat three weeks of November have happened already? Are you sure? I have no idea where time goes. It's very confusing. At this rate, I'll be back home next month or something. (Just to clarify, I actually won't.)

So this is week three of the things I'm thankful for! You can find week one here and week two here.

View from my apartment this weekend

November 17: Days when my host mom and I get along. The stars aligned and we were both in a good mood. She showed me how to make plăcintă and helped me figure out better washing machine settings (which included translations from Russian to English to Romanian - the machine is German but has Russian and English labels), and then at dinner we stuck around talking for a while about tons of different things.

November 18: Lilo! I miss my little puppy and it's her birthday today!! So I hope she gets spoiled even more than usual (is that possible? Unlikely) and eats a lot of treats. Speaking of dogs, I'm thankful that our dog here is warmer. She doesn't get to come inside, which breaks my little heart, but they moved her up closer to the house and made her a better house, so A. I can play with her now (before I had to trudge through the garden) and B. She should be warm during the winter. I hope! 

November 19: Rainboots. Or whatever kind of heavy-duty boots I have, because thankfully, they work. What does the sun look like? I have no idea. I can't recall; it's been so long. But at least my feet are dry.

Probably colder than I look, even. And wetter.

November 20: Obviously, Becky. It's her 23rd birthday so I'm thinking of her even more than usual, which is already a ton, as we talk almost every day. I love that she can't stand when I don't have Internet for a day and if I forget to tell her when I know in advance, she freaks out and thinks something terrible has happened. I love that we still need each other's advice 5,000 miles away, from serious life stuff to Snapchats asking which scarf matches the outfit of the day. I love that I can count on her to always be either on my side or to have a logical reason not to be. And I love knowing that when I get home in 2 years, she'll still be there ready to be my favorite person in person again. (Actually, she'd better be at the airport to pick me up, or I take all of this back. Just kidding..... But seriously.) 👯✌️✌️

November 21: When people who you haven't seen in a while are just ready and willing to embrace you, figuratively and literally. So many people made today a great day that I couldn't begin to list them all. Special shoutout to my adopted Bunică for always being one of those people. 

November 22: The sun was shining today and that's both a fact and a summary of the day. I had the best sleep I'd had in forever in the comfiest bed, and then woke up and went shopping with two cool PCVs. We were so successful in finding things we were looking for, and it was so much more fun with company. I found the perfect present for my family and successfully navigated the post office in Romanian, so I'm pretty excited about that. Then I got to hang out with some more friends and eat some good food.. It was a very good day!

The menu just said "egg" so I was not expecting this.. But I thought it was good!

November 23: It's the opposite of fun to get up before 5am and walk 20 minutes in the dark to catch a rutiera. I have to do this if I have to be anywhere before noon. And whenever I come back at night, I have to walk back to my house in the dark. But soon this will all change! The bus is going to come all the way to my house now! So I won't have to struggle with bags and mud and darkness and cold to leave or get home, since host mom got her signatures and her support and her votes to make our side of the village a stop on the route. So I am very thankful for that. 

Next week will be the last in the November Gratitude series! Seriously, November, where'd you go?

How To Make Friends, AKA Speak English

It rained last night (obviously, because I had just done laundry and hung it up outside) but I was optimistic (AKA stupid) and decided I could make it to work without my rubber boots. I was wrong. So wrong. Thank goodness my host mom and I walked together this morning because I literally just stepped wherever she stepped and my shoes were still gross and not frumos all day long. If I hadn't followed her, I probably wouldn't have made it all the way without losing it (it being a shoe and/or the tiny bit of sanity I still have). 

Needless to say, I'll be rocking the boots tomorrow, but now you have background for why I was not in the greatest mood this morning (sorry for taking it out on you a little bit, Jeff - you're awesome!). The weather affecting my mood is not the greatest thing, but, in my defense, it's very gloomy and cold and I don't really remember what the sun looks like.

So my partner disappears somewhere (normal) but I know I'm supposed to go to the school today, and she told me when I got there that it would be after lunch. So I'm working on other stuff (like my new logo?!) when Alexandra, the other woman in the office, answers the phone and talks to my partner. She tells me that there is a class without a teacher today and that I should go over to the school.. I look at her as if she's lost her mind and repeat what I do relatively frequently, "Nu sunt profesoara." She says she knows I'm not a teacher but all I would have to do is read with them like I do with my partner's daughter. I figure, why not, how hard could it be, I'll just wing it. Like I do with everything these days! (I also have not been able to confirm if this is even an English class.. Maybe I'm about to walk into Biology in Romanian or something.)

I get about a third of the way to the school and I hear my name from behind me. It's Alexandra, telling me to come back to the Primaria. She says the kids just left and I don't have to go, so we go back to our office. Then my partner comes back and says my English group is here. Have I mentioned my English group yet? No? That's because I've never met them! So we're having our first meeting! I head to the mayor's office (he's out somewhere so we get to use it) and my partner puts me on one side of the big long table facing 5 girls and 1 boy, all in the 6th form, I think, so they're about 12? Maybe. Actually, they decide it's best if one of them sits next to me, so they put a chair next to mine for the boy. 

One girl is my partner's daughter, who I already know and who practices English with me every so often already. Another I know from Hram - we rode in the căruță together and then danced the night away, so I'm glad to see her again! The others are new and I asked their names enough times (and messed up their names enough times) so I actually think I remember all of them now! But I said the boy's name over and over and I still lost it, so I'll have to hope they say it for me again next time. 

They have these short stories to read that are less than a page long, so they take turns reading it aloud and I correct their pronunciation - this is the important part to them. I'm pretty sure they don't know what the stories mean when they're reading them to me, and I think we would have translated them had we had enough time. We didn't today, but they are going to come back again! It was so much fun and they were so precious. Most importantly, it improved my mood tons! (Or is the most important thing that they got help with their pronunciation? I'm conflicted.) 

After lunch, my partner's daughter came to the office by herself and we worked on translating it some, but she got tired of doing that after about a third of the story and played on my phone and made me get a profile on what is basically Russian Myspace.. So for as long as I tried to avoid that, I'm on there, and I have one 12-year-old friend. Feeling pretty popular. Maybe the other girls will be my friends too and then I'll really be makin' it. 

The first meeting of my English club (that I didn't know was happening til it was happening) - I think I can safely call it a success! Then I made it home without falling in the mud, and talked to my little friend Iana on the way, so even if today didn't start out so great, it's not too bad now! 

P.S. Happy birthday to my little pup who I love and miss so much! 

November Gratitude #2

When you have 15-20 minutes to walk to work every day, you have 15-20 minutes to think every day (twice). A lot of the time this means I'm thinking, oh my gosh, WHAT am I doing here?? So it's helpful to remember the good things going on in life, which is why I'm doing daily gratitude for the month of November. (Plus, Thanksgiving.) If you missed the first one, it's here.

Side note about my walks to work: Becky recently informed me of this ridiculously addictive podcast, Serial. It's a nonfiction story told week by week, and this first season it's about a murder from 1999. They're trying to figure out if the guy in jail really did it, so naturally I'm hooked. Now I can't wait to listen to that for 20 minutes each way. 

November 10: Alexandra, the woman in my office who is not my partner. She always talks to me and actually tries to understand me AND help me with Romanian. This is not true of everyone so I really appreciate her effort. 

November 11: Veterans Day makes today an easy one. But I'm also thankful for my partner's daughter, because when I help her with her English homework, I actually learn more Romanian.

The herd of turkeys that wanders the village..

November 12: Homemade wine to go with plăcintă ghițmane, which is only the greatest food in Moldova. It's a pastry of sorts that can be made with different fillings, sweet or savory.. My favorite is with potatoes. The ghițmane kind is baked in the oven with yeast (sometimes they're fried on the stove, and sometimes they just use flour without yeast) and it's the greatest. Mark your calendars for when I come home and we have plăcintă night where I make pounds of it and we all burst. 

November 13: The exchange of skills and communication that goes on with PCVs. I might design a business card for someone and then he might read something of mine and help convince me that it's not awful.. It's always nice when people don't tell you you suck! There's a lot of support within the PC community, and it's good to have. We all risk insanity without having each other to talk to, I think. (Wait, is that just me??)

Cute little kindergarten boys helping each other put on shoes

November 14: Just Dance and hot showers. I know I've said it before, but the fact that people put Just Dance songs on YouTube is just the greatest. I make my bed into a couch and get my exercise, and today I even had the foresight to plug in the hot water when I started so I would be ready by the time I was done! (When I want to shower, I have to plug in the hot water heater thing and wait an hour.. So cleanliness requires a lot of planning.)

November 15: Clear nights in the village—there are some where you can see what feels like a million, trillion stars. It's breathtaking. Also for a good PCV traveling companion who wants to talk but also wants to nap some, too. I travel alone so much so it's fun to not for once! 

November 16: Naps. 

Come back next Sunday to read more about what I'm thankful for this month. 

November Gratitude #1

It's a popular time to express gratitude, what with it being the month of Thanksgiving and all. While I'm usually such a trendsetter (ha, ha), I've been seeing (and loving) a bunch of people telling the world what they're thankful for, so I thought this time I'd be a bandwagoner instead.

I plan to do a weekly roundup of at least one thing I've been appreciating each day, because let's face it, is it ever a bad idea to count your blessings? Didn't think so. 

November 1: The fact that I've made it through 150 days in Moldova. Can you even believe it? I can't. As of this posting, it's been just a smidge over 5 months.

November 2: My godson Kamci and all the pictures his mom posts on FB so I can see how big he's getting! 

November 3: My parents for (among other reasons) still solving my problems from 5,121 miles away, even if my mother is so terrible at Skype that when I can see them, they're upside down. LYLALAL! Also thankful for You've Got Mail. 

November 4: Being relatively close (less than an hour, usually!) to one of my COD friends and getting to share pizza, beer, and chocolate with her while we speak English quickly and fluently. 

November 5: When I get messages that make me feel good about myself, like: "It's actually impressive how solidly you've been able to provide me with any and all information I've needed these past couple days." I am pleased to be a real live version of Google for you, babe. 

November 6: Personally productive days - maybe I didn't do anything at work but I read 60 pages of my book, studied Romanian, did a dance workout, posted a blog, &c. 

November 7: Iana, my 8 year old friend. After a not-so-great first tutoring session, I met her on the way home and she ditched her friends decided to walk with me, hold my hand and listen to my iPod with me while we walked. When I feel like crap she looks up at me and tells me how beautiful I am, and she's totally patient when I have no idea what she's saying. I think I'll keep her around. 

Little Iana

November 8: Lovely, lazy November Saturdays where I can sit outside to finish a book and get some fresh air and sunshine. 

November 9: Pajama jeans, time to read, fresh homemade bread, anyone I've met in the last 5 months, and sunshine. 

Check back on Sundays in November to read about what I'm thankful for this month. 

Currently #4

Currently...

I know I only post sunrise pictures, but in my defense, that's the direction my house faces.

Reading July, July by Tim O'Brien. It's my second book for the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge, which I'm fully excited about. It will also be the 20th book I'll have read in Moldova. I also just finished How They Met by David Levithan, reaffirming him as my favorite author. 

Writing nothing! My journal is looking at all the books I'm reading and feeling neglected. But I think it'll survive.

Listening to 1989, obviously. I currently can't relate to people who aren't obsessed with the new Taylor Swift album. Also Sam Smith, because he's excellent, and In the Lonely Hour is fantastic, and sometimes you need a break from Taylor. Hypothetically. 

Thinking about Prague! A PCV friend and I have decided to go there for a little winter/New Year's vacation. We're so excited. 

Smelling burning leaves. This morning as we left the house, my host mom handed me a box of matches and told me I had to set the leaves on fire when I got home. Excuuuuse me? What makes her think I'm qualified to do that? Don't know, but I did it. I think. Haven't checked on it in a while. 

Wishing I could get a Peppermint Mocha in a red cup from Starbucks and Instagram it. So if everyone living near an SB (aka, anyone in the States) could just go there and have a holiday drink of your choice and think of me while you do it, that would be great. I'll be over here with my instant coffee, living vicariously through you. (Feel free to Instagram it and tag me, as we all know that you didn't really go to SB if you didn't post a picture on Instagram.)

Hoping the turkeys I saw this morning on my way to work are somebody's Thanksgiving birds. Just kidding, they don't have that here. But don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm not celebrating my favorite holiday! There are a bunch of PC Thanksgivings throughout Moldova, and I will be attending the most fun one, obviously (I've just declared this, so..). A bunch of us will be getting together in a raion relatively near the one I live in, so that should be really fun! I'm looking forward to it, AND to getting together for American football the week before.

Wearing sweatpants, duh. Is there any other option?

Loving when I get to see friends! I had to go to the raion center to use the ATM so I got to visit Kelsey at work Tuesday and we went out for pizza afterward! It's always nice to feel like I have a modicum of a social life.

Wanting to dance! YouTube is the greatest thing, did you know that? I haven't been motivated enough to go for walks in the cold, but I have found yoga on YouTube, and after I post this, I'm going to do a ballet workout. It's like I've got all these dance teachers online just waiting for me to come to class.

Needing to find appropriate Romanian materials, as I'm going to search for my tutor for the first time tomorrow (yes, search.. The church she's at, which I've never seen, was basically described to me today.. So I hope I can find it - we all know how great I am at directions, and these ones were in Romanian. Luckily I'm way better at finding things when I walk rather than drive)! My tutoring packets are in my room somewhere..

Here's a picture of our puppy, just because. Isn't she cute?

Feeling somewhat accomplished for the week. After site visit, I met the president of our local NGO and we just spent time together working on a concept note for a grant competition, which we finished A DAY EARLY and successfully submitted! Now we wait to see if we even did it right and get to move on to the next stage.. So fingers crossed!

Clicking this post of things to remember. (Inspirational quotes are my jam, you know.) Also, this Apple commercial, which I watched without sound at first and still wanted to cry. So precious. If you don't cry when you watch it, you might be heartless. 

That's what I'm up to these days! Life is not bad.

Thoughts I Have During a Masă

First off, I'll tell you what a masă is, in case you are unaware/forgot/never knew.. The word technically means "table" but when we say we went to a masă, we didn't go to a table - or we did, but there was a crap ton of food on the table. So it's what we say for birthday celebrations, holiday celebrations, Tuesday nights.. Basically whenever there is more food and drink than there should be for the amount of people attending the meal, it's a masă. 

Yesterday was someone's birthday (actually I don't think it was, but I think we were celebrating her birthday from a few days prior) and I went to the longest masă I'd ever been to. I thought I would never get to leave. Let me just bring you into my head for this experience. 

For example...

"Catea, come to my office at noon for a masă, it was my birthday." 

Yeah, okay, sure. 

Okay, it's past noon and I'm alone in my office.. Should I get up and find that woman? Maybe they forgot I'm here? They're probably just on Moldova time. 

"Catea, it's Pasha's birthday. Let's go!"

Yep, Moldova time. 

Huh, that's weird. A traveling salesman. Is this a coincidence or are we having like a Tupperware party masă, but with appliances? 

Okay, coincidence. But he's gonna join the masă, because, why not? 

Wow, she's really making sure all those shots of cognac are equal. I hope she runs out of it so we don't have to have more than one. 

Now, how can I avoid everything with mayonnaise? Wait, does everything have mayonnaise? 

Aha, some cucumber-cheese-bread slices. No mayo. Gotta sit near those. 

Is that Spongebob Squarepants on that candy wrapper? Yes it is. I'll have to try that later. 

Oh, man. What are those. Hot dogs? In buns? With... Oh, with mayo. Among other toppings. I'll avoid that. 

"Cat, here, have a hot dog." 

Crap. 

So how can I scrape off the top without anyone noticing me.. 

Nailed it. So stealth. 

Okay, let's do this. One shot of cognac and I will not have any more. 

They're really gonna toast forever. Maybe I won't even have to drink it. 

Ughhhhh. 

No, don't bring me any more of that. 

Fine, but it better be the tiniest amount. 

Do I want wine? Uh, duh. Especially if it means I don't have to have more cognac. 

Oh my gosh, these Spongebob things are so delicious. 

Sure, let's talk about my finding a nice Căplani boy. Or we could just not. 

Another glass of wine to toast to my finding a man.. If they toast it enough, do they think it will really happen? 

"Do you like Moldovan wine? It's the best, right?!"

"I like wine from every country."

"Ahhhh, excellent! Have some more!"

Oops.

Getting kind of tired, wonder if I can leave anytime soon. 

That's a hard no, birthday girl is bringing out more bottles of wine. Is that bottle 2 liters or 3? It's gotta be 2, these women can't have had almost 3 liters. 

No thanks, I'm done. No more wine for me. 

Oh. Okay. Well since it's 2014 and not 2013, that must mean I have to try it; you're so right. 

"Caterina! How do you like Moldova?"

So that's three names for the day. 

"Katușa! Do you have a boyfriend?"

Four, and no. 

"What about one in America?"

Still no. 

"Cheers to Catea finding a nice man!"

Fine, cheers to that. If you're so concerned, just matchmake me already. 

No, wait, don't do that. 

I have to go to the bathroom. And then can I leave? 

Oh, I apparently need accompaniment. Birthday girl is going to come. Yay for communal outhouses. The new frontier.

Please do speak Russian to me, because I'm not lost enough of the time. 

Wait I know that word! Thanks, Chad.

No seriously, I know that word. You don't have to teach it to me again.

Okay, it's cold, let's get a move on.

Who filled up my glass while I was gone, I swear.

Whatever, I'm taking a nap after this anyway.

Sure, let's sing. Wow, that is a terrible song. 

"You don't understand when we talk fast, do you?"

Step back - we have a winner!

"Well yeah, and we're speaking Russian."

Lovely.

Oh, it WAS 3 liters.

No, I promise I can eat more Spongebobs with the wine - it's okay. I know the Spongebob thing is sweet. Don't worry about it. 

More singing. 

WHAT, it's past 3:00?? So, I can go, right?

Except I can't get a word in because of all the singing. How much have they HAD? 

Okay, let's make moves. 

No, I don't want anymore wine. 

Someone is here to see me? Oh good, I'll go talk to her! 

Oh, and then we'll both return to the masă, great. 

We'll leave together? Okay, sweet, finish your drink. 

No, I don't want anymore wine.

"Where is your glass?!"

"I don't have one! Too bad!" 

So since I'm not drinking anymore, I can leave, right? Oh. More singing. 

"Where is your glass?!"

Nope. 

Yes, they're letting me go get my stuff! 

Finallyyyyy! 

It was past 4:00 by the time I got to leave, and I did not actually get that nap. But I went to bed very early! (After having MORE wine, because you can't have plăcintă without wine, for some reason..) These thoughts are quite condensed, as I was there for literally 4 hours, but this is basically the gist. The women of Moldova want me to eat more, drink more, and find a man.. And it turns out when they're doing 2/3 of those things, they're really all about the third. 

Now do you want to join me for a masă already or what?