iTunes and NPR

This post has little to do with Moldova, except while living here I've recently stumbled upon something to bring me a little slice of America.  It is the ability to download (for free) National Public Radio through Apple's iTunes.  Everyday, NPR creates its "shuffle," a selection of stories from that day's broadcasts which are then assembled into a 20-30 minute collection.  When I'm in the office, I download several day's at once, load them onto my ipod, and then my 3-hour bus rides between my village and the capital aren't quite as long as they used to be.  In fact, it's almost like I'm back in the States (thank you, Hal) listening to the radio in my car on my way to work.

So once again, my hat is off to Apple and NPR for making the life of at least one Peace Corps Volunteer a little better.

A Visitor

Today, a generous visitor left Copceac to fly home. Her name is Edith and she has led an amazing effort in Germany to help the people of this village.

It all started a couple of years ago when one of the German teachers from our school went to some sort of training in Germany. During her three weeks there, she stayed with Edith. They became fast friends and stayed in touch after the training ended. A year later, in October 2005, Edith and her husband came to Copceac for the first time. After experiencing some of the problems that face the local residents, Edith decided to do something about it.

She organized several donation drives which resulted in new desks, chairs, computers, and clothes being sent to our village. She even made a brochure about Copceac to help explain the situation and how the people of Germany could help.

It was great to meet such a generous person - and I hope to take her up on her generous offer to visit her in Germany.

TV

We've received the money from the US Embassy for our TV project and will soon start buying things to revamp the local station. I really think this will be great for the village - highlighting successes or celebrations, starting a beginner English show, and hopefully recruiting young people to volunteer there and begin a kind of film-maker's club. I'm excited to get this project under way.

Last night, while watching a little of the news from Moscow, I saw a curious thing: local advertising. This is the wine/grape season, and across the bottom of the screen I saw scrolling messages like, "Excellent grapes! Call Sergie 50-388 or mobile 0693 87999."

Smelling the Roses

When I went to Ceadir-Lunga for the American Corner opening ceremony, I planned to walk the 30 minutes from my house to the center of the village to get the bus. I usually make this walk whenever I need to go somewhere by bus because (1) the bus doesn't come to my house and (2) there's really nowhere to leave my bike, even if it was locked up. But, I was running late that morning so I needed to ride 7 minutes instead of walk 30. I brought along my bike lock and gave one of my co-workers the key, saying I'd be back the next day and he was free to use it while I was gone.

When I came back to following day, my bike was still locked in the office, but my coworker and key were nowhere to be found. Well, technically, they could be found - in Ukraine. So for the last couple of days I've been without my bike, and it's actually been pretty nice. Usually I just whiz by people, perhaps shouting out a hello as I race past. But on foot, it's easier to get sidetracked by curious onlookers as I did coming out of a store last night and walking to work this morning. I like answering their questions about my work, my country, and myself. A big part of being a PCV is just being here to share that simple information and a couple of laughs.

So, while I'll be glad to pull back into the fast lane once I get my key back, perhaps I'll leave my "hog" in the garage every now and then and just take a stroll.

American Corner

Yesterday I attended the opening ceremony for the "American Corner" in the main library of Ceadir-Lunga, my regional capital located about 1 hour from my village.  American Corners are funded by US Embassies throughout the world and are places for nationals to learn about America through English books, newspapers, magazines, films, and the Internet.  I was particularly impressed by this Corner because it didn't seem to pull any punches in attempting to give those who used it an accurate description of America.  There were resources there that showed both the height of our achievements and the lows of our history.  In the near future, two other PCVs and I will hold one of our Poosk Business Seminars at the new Corner.

The ceremony also afforded me and other local PCVs to meet our new Ambassador, Michael Kirby, and his staff.  He and his wife have had pretty wide-ranging lives, living in all over the world and he had some good insights for me about my upcoming Foreign Service Exam (like don't put my feet up on the table during the interview...)  Ambassador Kirby also expressed interest in buying some walnuts from my host-brother's fledgling nut business, so hopefully I can set that up.

Thanks to Amy for letting me crash on her couch.

ps - Can you believe it totally slipped my mind to get my photo with the Ambassador?!  Guess I'll really have to do that TV project now so he'll come to Copceac for a visit and present another photo opportunity.

Handshakes and Beards

For men in Moldova, it's very important to shake hands.  Whereas in America a wave or head nod or simple "Hello" will suffice when meeting large groups of people, in Moldova it is often considered insulting if a man does not shake your hand.  Mind you, this is regardless of the number of people you are greeting or their relationship to you.  The hand must be shook.

I'm sure that I've managed to make some social mistakes in this quarter since arriving in Moldova - and if you're a Moldovan whose hand I forgot to shake, I apologize.  It was never intentional; it's just not something we do to the same degree in America.

So, you can imagine my surprise when my offer to shake hands with several of my co-workers was turned down.  My hand was extended, they clearly saw it, but refused to grab on.  I somewhat jokingly insisted as they retreated further from my greeting.

Then a female co-worker explained that they could not shake my hand because someone in their familiy had died.  Wow, foot in my mouth.  In the Gagauz (and perhaps Moldovan?) culture, when a family member dies the men must grow beards for 40 days, during which time they cannot shake hands with anyone.

Fortunately, most Moldovan men are clean-shaven, so in the future if I see a beard I will know to keep my hand in my pocket.  Then again, there are some men who do wear beards and I may offend them if I don't shake.  This will be a tricky situation...