Six weeks to USA

Hello All!

Autumn has finally arrived and with it the heating has been turned on and the house is wonderfully warm. In most post Soviet States, and until this day in Russia, the central heating does not turn on until 1 Nov. Given I am in the village and we have our own independent system, the conversation starting after 1 Nov often involves asking others if they have started their own respective heating systems.

We have no gas in my town, or central heating for that matter, so my family burns coal. (The gas lines were en-route just has Moldova gained its independence and laid just a few kilometers away, but the mafia and local government officials sold them for scrap.) Unlike most families in the village my family does not burn a tradition coal fireplace (called a soba), my host father bought a coal furnace that has an electric pump that circulates water throughout radiators in our home.

This past weekend also marked my town’s Saint Day or Hram as it is called in Romanian. My host family entertained roughly 35 people during two separate meals on Saturday. Some of our relatives actually brought an electric piano, speakers, and microphones. The group sang until almost seven in the morning! The next day the Mayor from the city centre and some other government representatives came, and we had yet another large meal with nearly twenty more guests. My host father actually bought Vodka by the case for this weekend! I however abstained for the second day of festivities as the first day took a bit of a toll on me.

I started a simple blogspot style website for my community to submit announcements. The site is satulviisoara.blogspot.com is not nearly finished yet, but I think when the internet finally arrives to the village it may be a simple but effective communication tool.

I am in my sixth week of the entrepreneurship program, and I am still happy to announce students are still coming often. I am currently writing a questionnaire for the students to fill out about what they would enjoy studying next semester. I am hoping they would enjoy a current events/ politics discussion group, but that just may be me projecting my wants on the group.

Katy Kennedy came to visit. It was interesting showing her around Moldova. We met with my host family for a dinner, my host sister for drinks, a few other volunteers, and really covered a lot of space. Katy was a champ when it came to the occasional outhouse, over crowded bus, or foreign food item.

Six days and I am heading to the Baltics for some much deserved R&R!!!