My First Trip Back

As most of you know, I work in a mayor’s office. Out of the 130 or
so PCVs in Moldova, about 7 of us work in mayor’s offices, and we
seven were invited to participate in a conference this past week
sponsored by USAID and the Urban Institute’s Local Government Reform
Project (LGRP). This is, in my opinion, an excellent program geared
toward opening up the local governments in Moldova, making their
actions more transparent and participatory for local citizens, and in
general improving their ability to fix local problems independently.
I made a few good contacts, including one former PCV who helped set
up my current site and as of two weeks ago works for the Urban
Insitute – thanks Ross. I think with LGRP’s help, I’ll be able to
get a lot done here.

It was also an opportunity to take a hot shower. The daily bus from
Copceac to Chisinau leaves at 4:45am and arrives in the capital
around 8am. I had the first shower in the PCOffice that day, and it
was glorious. I mean it – glorious.

I also got to see some friends, eat some hummus, and make a few
purchases – most notably my 200 liter water container. My plan is to
load it up with water from our well every Sunday, and that should be
enough to last Mom and me through the week. This way I don’t need to
make daily trips to get water for cooking, cleaning, washing clothes,
showering, distilling, etc.