Cold

Winter is here. Apparently today is the coldest day in Moldova since 1946. Temperatures during the day are about 1F and probably around -10 to -25F with the windchill. My room, the warmest in the apartment is usually 50-55. Over the weekend we got a few inches of snow, the temperature dropped precipitously, and the wind freezes any body part not covered.

I spent the better part of today at one of our schools, observing how things are done there, and about half way through the
day they sent all the younger children home through tomorrow. Throughout Gagauzia, young kids are supposed to stay at home because of the severe temperatures.

On the brighter side of things, I do feel a bit like a mountain man when my beard freezes as I walk around town. But any feelings of manliness are checked by the fact that today I broke down and used a pair of those hot packets in my boots to keep my toes warm. [Thanks, Mrs. J]

Most of the teachers and the school director were pretty nervous about me observing them. One drunken night watch man thinks I'm an American spy, and even called one of the teachers on Sunday during my English Club meeting to say that an "American spy" was sending a secret message to America from the school after suspiciously meeting with some children. [I was reading a text message on my cell phone after teaching English] Others fear I'm somehow evaluating them or going to blast them for poor work. But really, I just need to know what the situation actually is if I'm going to be able to help. And
I think I have some good ideas about a potential computer class, redoing the library, or maybe some sort of structural improvement - like new windows. We'll see.