...Off-line, off-work, and off to see Russia and Mongolia. As I finished up most of my computer classes this week, I thought to myself, "I could really use a vacation." And here it is and I'm very excited about it. Will be back in a couple weeks. Might make some posts or check email over vacation, but probably not. Don't bother calling my cell phone because it doesn't work outside of Moldova.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Uzbekistan Revisited
Wow, this is an amazing story. Seems more info - a video (albeit government censored) - has gotten out about the protest/revolution/massacre that occured in the Andijon region of Uzbekistan while I was serving as a PCV there. This event proved the straw (or thousand tons of bricks) that broke the camel's back and ultimately led to all PCVs being evacuated and PC completely shutting down there.
Interestingly, one of the new Moldovan Volunteers who arrived about a 2 weeks ago said she was supposed to go to Uzbekistan to re-open the post there in January, 2006 - only 6 months after the post was closed. To me, this seems a bit hasty. I say this NOT because I think Uzbekistan would be a nation too dangerous for PCVs. I say this because PC host-countries must invite PC to work there, and only as of June 2005 the Uzbek government was refusing to renew our visas so we could continue to work there, to answer their phones or open the door when PC staff called, and they even failed to respond to an official communiqué from the US ambassador. Does this sound like the kind of host you want to have for two years?
I do think it is important for PC to re-establish itself in Uzbekistan, but it should be done at the right time and in the right way to prevent yet another evacuation.
Interestingly, one of the new Moldovan Volunteers who arrived about a 2 weeks ago said she was supposed to go to Uzbekistan to re-open the post there in January, 2006 - only 6 months after the post was closed. To me, this seems a bit hasty. I say this NOT because I think Uzbekistan would be a nation too dangerous for PCVs. I say this because PC host-countries must invite PC to work there, and only as of June 2005 the Uzbek government was refusing to renew our visas so we could continue to work there, to answer their phones or open the door when PC staff called, and they even failed to respond to an official communiqué from the US ambassador. Does this sound like the kind of host you want to have for two years?
I do think it is important for PC to re-establish itself in Uzbekistan, but it should be done at the right time and in the right way to prevent yet another evacuation.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Silent Killer
This is a common topic among PCVs in this part of the world, but one that I have yet to address on this blog. The silent killer of which I speak is called "The Current." In America, we would call it wind.
Here, the Big C has taken on almost mythical proportions. It kills, it maims, it lays the healthy low, and is the cause for just about any health problem from the common cold to a stroke. [Seriously, another PCV's family insists that the reason half of their grandmother's body is paralyzed is because a few days before it happened she was outside and exposed to the air.]
This is more than just the typical American mother telling her child to bundle up before going outside to play. This is closing all windows in cars and houses on the warmest days and nights. This is wearing hats and sweaters when I'm dripping in shorts and a t-shirt. This is wrapping babies in so many layers that even their fingernails sweat. The Current is a deadly adversary against whom all must be on their guard.
I think one reason why the threat of the Current is so tangable here is that the other causes for illness are perhaps too difficult to face. Why does Junior need an operation? Is it because his mother can't afford to buy him nutritious food or doesn't understand that so much oil and fat and alchohol and candy are bad for his health? Is it because the well water is unclean due to the proximity of outhouses? Is it because the mercury in the house during the winter never rises above "I can see my breath?" These possibilities (or probabilities) call into question the ableness of a
family or community to raise a child, a tough pill for any culture to
swallow. Far easier, though ultimately less productive, to blame it on some some supernatural, omnipresent, and unstoppable force.
The recent upshot of all this in my life is that all modes of transportation (save my bike) have taken on a striking resemblence to a saunas on wheels. There's rarely air-conditioning available, and if there is it is most certainly not on. Windows are closed. On public transportation, tiny sun-roofs that can be pushed up about two inches (for the very purpose of letting fresh air in, I might add) are quickly clamped down once a bus starts moving. We're packed like sardines into these mobile steamrooms, most of us smell bad to begin with, and by the time we get out we're worse.
I think it's far more likely that people get sick due to breathing in everyone's germs in this sealed environment than from cracking a window. But that's just me. And while I do believe that eventually this belief will fall by the wayside, it certainly won't be during my two years of service here. So, I just try to get a seat by the window or stand by the sun-roof and through the glares of "What the hell is he doing?!" and the occasional protest, I open a crack to let in just a little bit of our nemesis. Our wonderful, refreshing, cooling, invigorating nemesis.
ps - How many people can you fit onto a marshutka (minibus)? One more.
Here, the Big C has taken on almost mythical proportions. It kills, it maims, it lays the healthy low, and is the cause for just about any health problem from the common cold to a stroke. [Seriously, another PCV's family insists that the reason half of their grandmother's body is paralyzed is because a few days before it happened she was outside and exposed to the air.]
This is more than just the typical American mother telling her child to bundle up before going outside to play. This is closing all windows in cars and houses on the warmest days and nights. This is wearing hats and sweaters when I'm dripping in shorts and a t-shirt. This is wrapping babies in so many layers that even their fingernails sweat. The Current is a deadly adversary against whom all must be on their guard.
I think one reason why the threat of the Current is so tangable here is that the other causes for illness are perhaps too difficult to face. Why does Junior need an operation? Is it because his mother can't afford to buy him nutritious food or doesn't understand that so much oil and fat and alchohol and candy are bad for his health? Is it because the well water is unclean due to the proximity of outhouses? Is it because the mercury in the house during the winter never rises above "I can see my breath?" These possibilities (or probabilities) call into question the ableness of a
family or community to raise a child, a tough pill for any culture to
swallow. Far easier, though ultimately less productive, to blame it on some some supernatural, omnipresent, and unstoppable force.
The recent upshot of all this in my life is that all modes of transportation (save my bike) have taken on a striking resemblence to a saunas on wheels. There's rarely air-conditioning available, and if there is it is most certainly not on. Windows are closed. On public transportation, tiny sun-roofs that can be pushed up about two inches (for the very purpose of letting fresh air in, I might add) are quickly clamped down once a bus starts moving. We're packed like sardines into these mobile steamrooms, most of us smell bad to begin with, and by the time we get out we're worse.
I think it's far more likely that people get sick due to breathing in everyone's germs in this sealed environment than from cracking a window. But that's just me. And while I do believe that eventually this belief will fall by the wayside, it certainly won't be during my two years of service here. So, I just try to get a seat by the window or stand by the sun-roof and through the glares of "What the hell is he doing?!" and the occasional protest, I open a crack to let in just a little bit of our nemesis. Our wonderful, refreshing, cooling, invigorating nemesis.
ps - How many people can you fit onto a marshutka (minibus)? One more.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Feedback
During the 4 years I worked after college and before PC, I always had feedback sessions at my places of employment. For those unfamiliar with this term, it's a time for an employer and employee to give each other an honest assessment of the other's work and suggestions about how to improve in the future. When done correctly, each person walks away feeling good about their accomplishments to date and excited about continuing to grow their skills and abilities. When done poorly, both parties can feel hurt and resentful.
Now that my 4 computer classes are about half-way through, I decided to distribute a feedback questionnaire to my students to learn their likes and dislikes, what they were most looking forward to learning in the remaining classes, suggestions for the future, and even common grammatical Russian mistakes they've heard me make.
[Amusing sidenote: Turns out the Russian word for "folder" is only one letter removed from the word for "ass." So from time to time when I've asked people to open a particular folder on the computer, well... you can figure it out.]
While virtually all the forms were complimentary and there were some good suggestions that I've since incorporated into our classes, it seemed there was a general lack of understanding about the purpose of the questionnaire. Many of the answers were word for word copies from their classmates and most answers were only vague generalities like, "I like everything." And while it could be possible that everyone really does like every class just as much as every other class - I mean lets not forget the stud-meister whose teaching these babies - I think it's more likely that they just didn't want to be so direct in criticisms.
This is a running theme in Moldovan culture - there's a lot of indirect, non-confrontational maneuvering around the main point. And there's a lot of confrontation and yelling for no good reason that fails to resolve a lot of issues. Ironically (to an American), it's the indirect offenses that are often more hurtful than the yelling matches, which people seem to shrug off as if it were simply a typical conversation.
But I digress... let's get back to feedback. So my Russian tutor is helping me translate some of the answers on these feedback forms when she asks me, "What exactly is feedback?" She said that this word appeared a few years ago in Moldova and every time she go to a seminar people ask for feedback this and feedback that, but none of her peers in the audience really know what it is.
I explained the concept and with an example of what if all the teachers could give feedback to the principal and vice-versa? People could explain what problems they had and more importantly offer solutions - of course all in a way so as to not offend the feedbackee. She really liked the idea, and so did I. So I think sometime I'm going to give a seminar at one of the schools (and maybe some other organizations) about giving and getting feedback, and hopefully that will make the school run a little better.
And of course, in the next set of computer classes, I will explain in greater detail how feedback works.
Now that my 4 computer classes are about half-way through, I decided to distribute a feedback questionnaire to my students to learn their likes and dislikes, what they were most looking forward to learning in the remaining classes, suggestions for the future, and even common grammatical Russian mistakes they've heard me make.
[Amusing sidenote: Turns out the Russian word for "folder" is only one letter removed from the word for "ass." So from time to time when I've asked people to open a particular folder on the computer, well... you can figure it out.]
While virtually all the forms were complimentary and there were some good suggestions that I've since incorporated into our classes, it seemed there was a general lack of understanding about the purpose of the questionnaire. Many of the answers were word for word copies from their classmates and most answers were only vague generalities like, "I like everything." And while it could be possible that everyone really does like every class just as much as every other class - I mean lets not forget the stud-meister whose teaching these babies - I think it's more likely that they just didn't want to be so direct in criticisms.
This is a running theme in Moldovan culture - there's a lot of indirect, non-confrontational maneuvering around the main point. And there's a lot of confrontation and yelling for no good reason that fails to resolve a lot of issues. Ironically (to an American), it's the indirect offenses that are often more hurtful than the yelling matches, which people seem to shrug off as if it were simply a typical conversation.
But I digress... let's get back to feedback. So my Russian tutor is helping me translate some of the answers on these feedback forms when she asks me, "What exactly is feedback?" She said that this word appeared a few years ago in Moldova and every time she go to a seminar people ask for feedback this and feedback that, but none of her peers in the audience really know what it is.
I explained the concept and with an example of what if all the teachers could give feedback to the principal and vice-versa? People could explain what problems they had and more importantly offer solutions - of course all in a way so as to not offend the feedbackee. She really liked the idea, and so did I. So I think sometime I'm going to give a seminar at one of the schools (and maybe some other organizations) about giving and getting feedback, and hopefully that will make the school run a little better.
And of course, in the next set of computer classes, I will explain in greater detail how feedback works.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Visa II
My trip to the Russian Embassy today was... well, you can read about it and decide for yourself. Once again, there was the usual crowd of yelling Moldovans outside the gate. Once again, I saw an elderly woman burst into tears when whatever document she wanted apparently wasn't going to be completed. And once again I walked away only partially satisfied. [For the first leg of this journey, click here.]
This time I returned, having made the decision that I would get one single-entry visa for the first part of my upcoming vacation and one transit visa for my second (and shorter) stay in Russia. I was armed with an official invitation, purchased online and UPS-ed in its original non-copy, non-fax form. Below is an excerpt from my conversation with the man in charge of granting visas.
ME: I would like a single-entry visa and a transit visa
HIM: [After seeing my invitation], Vell, I cannot geeve you a tranzit viza because yu doo not hav yoor plane tickets.
ME: But I do have them, right here [I pull them out of a folder.]
HIM: ... [He takes the plane tickets and invitation wordlessly and disappears into another room]
I had countered his typical defense with the secret weapon of preparedness. Fortunately for him, 5 minutes later he was able to regroup and strike down my strategy with an even mightier one: absurdity.
HIM: Vee cannot give you a tranzit viza because vee cannot give you two viza at same time. You go to Russian Embassy in Mongolia. They shut one viza and give new viza.
ME: But...
HIM: I already said you. Go to Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar.
So, the saga continues. I paid $60 and in two weeks I can come back and get my single-entry visa, so at least I'll be able to (in theory) get from Moldova to Moscow to Mongolia. The tricky part that remains will be getting out of Mongolia, through Moscow, and back to Moldova. Hopefully procuring a transit visa from the Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar won't prove too difficult or waste too much of my vacation, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
Moral: There are plenty of places on this earth that I haven't been that don't require visas. Why don't I go there?
This time I returned, having made the decision that I would get one single-entry visa for the first part of my upcoming vacation and one transit visa for my second (and shorter) stay in Russia. I was armed with an official invitation, purchased online and UPS-ed in its original non-copy, non-fax form. Below is an excerpt from my conversation with the man in charge of granting visas.
ME: I would like a single-entry visa and a transit visa
HIM: [After seeing my invitation], Vell, I cannot geeve you a tranzit viza because yu doo not hav yoor plane tickets.
ME: But I do have them, right here [I pull them out of a folder.]
HIM: ... [He takes the plane tickets and invitation wordlessly and disappears into another room]
I had countered his typical defense with the secret weapon of preparedness. Fortunately for him, 5 minutes later he was able to regroup and strike down my strategy with an even mightier one: absurdity.
HIM: Vee cannot give you a tranzit viza because vee cannot give you two viza at same time. You go to Russian Embassy in Mongolia. They shut one viza and give new viza.
ME: But...
HIM: I already said you. Go to Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar.
So, the saga continues. I paid $60 and in two weeks I can come back and get my single-entry visa, so at least I'll be able to (in theory) get from Moldova to Moscow to Mongolia. The tricky part that remains will be getting out of Mongolia, through Moscow, and back to Moldova. Hopefully procuring a transit visa from the Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar won't prove too difficult or waste too much of my vacation, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
Moral: There are plenty of places on this earth that I haven't been that don't require visas. Why don't I go there?
Good Links
Ok, so every now and then another PCV hits a subject so squarely on the head that it would be pointless to try to rewrite an excellent blog entry in my own words. So, for your cultural education today, please direct your attention to these other blogs...
How a Woman Becomes a Grandmother
Drinking Habits
Homework Helper
How a Woman Becomes a Grandmother
Drinking Habits
Homework Helper
Friday, June 02, 2006
Internet Update
This entry doesn't so much relate to the cultureal "goings-on" of Moldova, but I think it's an important development in the life of PCVs in Moldova (including PCV-ME) and perhaps PCVs worldwide.
Technology - mostly through the Internet - is increasingly important in the lives of PCVs. For example, I'm teaching several computer classes, maintain a blog, and email regularly with friends and family in the States. I'd be lying if I said that the last two items were solely to complete a PC goals to share information about our host country with Americans, but it happens all the same. And though many PCVs throughout the world live without electricity and thus without the Internet, I'd wager that 99.99% of Volunteers currently serving use email every time they're in their respective PCOffices.
So, after repeated requests by our Volunteer Administration Committee to the powers that be, we now have several ethernet plug-in cords for laptops in the PCLounge. Given that the percentage of PCVs with laptops has exploded over the last few years, this is an important step by PC toward more fully integrating technology into our service. There are plans in the works to provide wireless Internet in the office in the (hopefully) near future.
So, to my PCV brethren in other posts, use Moldova as an example to revamp your own lounge and upgrade your Internet service. It means you can call home or other countries with services like Skype for free (or virtually free) and that you won't need to waste time moving files between laptops and lounge desktops or waiting in line for a computer. I've already called a bunch of people in America for 2 cents a minute to any landline or cellphone and for free to another computer with a Skype account. It's fantastic!
Technology - mostly through the Internet - is increasingly important in the lives of PCVs. For example, I'm teaching several computer classes, maintain a blog, and email regularly with friends and family in the States. I'd be lying if I said that the last two items were solely to complete a PC goals to share information about our host country with Americans, but it happens all the same. And though many PCVs throughout the world live without electricity and thus without the Internet, I'd wager that 99.99% of Volunteers currently serving use email every time they're in their respective PCOffices.
So, after repeated requests by our Volunteer Administration Committee to the powers that be, we now have several ethernet plug-in cords for laptops in the PCLounge. Given that the percentage of PCVs with laptops has exploded over the last few years, this is an important step by PC toward more fully integrating technology into our service. There are plans in the works to provide wireless Internet in the office in the (hopefully) near future.
So, to my PCV brethren in other posts, use Moldova as an example to revamp your own lounge and upgrade your Internet service. It means you can call home or other countries with services like Skype for free (or virtually free) and that you won't need to waste time moving files between laptops and lounge desktops or waiting in line for a computer. I've already called a bunch of people in America for 2 cents a minute to any landline or cellphone and for free to another computer with a Skype account. It's fantastic!
Visa - It's Everywhere You Want to Be (Except Russia)
Have been trying to figure out the whole visa thing for an upcoming vacation to Mongolia via the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. And let me just say it's a royal pain in the arse.
The main problem stems from the fact that I will be entering Russia twice - once from Moldova and once from Mongolia. Therefore, one might think I would need a "double-entry" visa. However, I learned from several Internet sites that these double-entry visas are only good for travel between CIS nations (Commonwealth of Independent States, i.e. nations that were formerly part of the USSR), which Mongolia is not. So, do I need to get two single-entry visas? Or, given that I won't really be staying anywhere in Russia save a moving train, could I just get a couple of transit visas, which are good for up to 72 hours and usually used if someone needs to switch between airports on flights passing through Russia?
I thought perhaps these questions might be answered at the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, which only processes visas on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I was mistaken. First, let me describe the madhouse that is standing outside the gates. There are about 50 Moldovans waiting for various officials to come outside and let them in so they can get Russian passports or other documents. People are yelling and pushing and crying and certainly not listening to the poor Russian official who tells them that they have the wrong document or such and such process only occurs on Mondays after 2pm. It really makes me never want to work in customer service. As an American, I'm supposed to push my way to the front and announce my nationality, after which I get special treatment and am let in ahead of the crowd.
So back to the official... Before he would answer my question about what kind of visa I needed, he kept telling me I needed an invitation. [In order to get a Russian visa, you must first have an invitation from a Russian individual, hotel, or organization. There are many online services that provide this document for a fee.] I explained that I knew I needed an invitation, but have not purchased one yet because I didn't know what kind(s) I needed - double, single, transit, or something else. He said double.
I don't really agree with this. I think he just wanted the more expensive fee that a double-entry visa entails. So, based on the information I've found on several internet sites and replies from various travel experts who I've emailed, I've decided to go with one single-entry visa for the first leg of the trip (because it will be longer that 72 hours allowed by a transit visa) and one transit visa for the second leg. I've ordered the necessary single-entry invitation, and as soon as it arrives I will head back to the Embassy.
I suppose there is some small chance that I'll get stuck in an airport or Mongolia, but isn't that the fun of travel?
The main problem stems from the fact that I will be entering Russia twice - once from Moldova and once from Mongolia. Therefore, one might think I would need a "double-entry" visa. However, I learned from several Internet sites that these double-entry visas are only good for travel between CIS nations (Commonwealth of Independent States, i.e. nations that were formerly part of the USSR), which Mongolia is not. So, do I need to get two single-entry visas? Or, given that I won't really be staying anywhere in Russia save a moving train, could I just get a couple of transit visas, which are good for up to 72 hours and usually used if someone needs to switch between airports on flights passing through Russia?
I thought perhaps these questions might be answered at the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, which only processes visas on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I was mistaken. First, let me describe the madhouse that is standing outside the gates. There are about 50 Moldovans waiting for various officials to come outside and let them in so they can get Russian passports or other documents. People are yelling and pushing and crying and certainly not listening to the poor Russian official who tells them that they have the wrong document or such and such process only occurs on Mondays after 2pm. It really makes me never want to work in customer service. As an American, I'm supposed to push my way to the front and announce my nationality, after which I get special treatment and am let in ahead of the crowd.
So back to the official... Before he would answer my question about what kind of visa I needed, he kept telling me I needed an invitation. [In order to get a Russian visa, you must first have an invitation from a Russian individual, hotel, or organization. There are many online services that provide this document for a fee.] I explained that I knew I needed an invitation, but have not purchased one yet because I didn't know what kind(s) I needed - double, single, transit, or something else. He said double.
I don't really agree with this. I think he just wanted the more expensive fee that a double-entry visa entails. So, based on the information I've found on several internet sites and replies from various travel experts who I've emailed, I've decided to go with one single-entry visa for the first leg of the trip (because it will be longer that 72 hours allowed by a transit visa) and one transit visa for the second leg. I've ordered the necessary single-entry invitation, and as soon as it arrives I will head back to the Embassy.
I suppose there is some small chance that I'll get stuck in an airport or Mongolia, but isn't that the fun of travel?
Nothing New, Except the Pics
How's that for an exciting title? Well, it's really the reason I haven't posted in sometime. Now that the big changes are over - moving to a new place, starting a bunch of computer classes, and acquiring my new mode of transportation (bike) - my life has taken on a more scheduled pace. I get up in the morning and study Russian, Gagauz, or for the GMATs; head to the office; teach a computer class or three; ride my bike home; workout; eat dinner and hit the sack. Not a bad modus operandi, though not exactly the stuff for the next Hollywood summer blockbuster.
However, today marked the end of the school year all across Moldova. There are no snow days here - or if school is closed for some reason it does not get tacked on to the end of the year like it does in America. Schools start on September 1 and end on May 31. Period.
I decided to skip the graduation ceremony this morning - once you've seen one ceremony filled local dances and long-winded speeches by officials who only show up to give a speech but actually have nothing to do with the success of a project, you've seen them all. But I did go to the "after-party" with the teachers at the local "campground" for a big picnic.
I busted out my camping hammock, which was a huge favorite, and got to play a little soccer and just chill.Riding my bike home, I was also able to snap some awesome pictures of the corn fields where everyone - and I mean everyone - is basically weeding by hand until the corn is tall enough to grab all the sunlight.
ps - Craig, now you really have to update your blog.
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