I finally get to update again!!!
Okay... back in Chisinau for the 2nd time this week. When I came Monday I didn't have time to do anything, really. I actually spent the time that I could have been using the internet more over-eating at McDonalds. Basic needs come first. Fries and a Big Mac never tasted so good. I would have supersized it if I could have.

So what is up with me? A LOT. Work is going well... things are going very well with my partners. I mean, as well as things will go when you share a classroom with someone and plan lessons in a foreign language. My partner, Valentina, is amazing. I love her and the 8th grade we work with. The kids are so nice and excited that I'm there. One girl told me the first day it was an honor having me come to work with them. It's all about the kids. They make the job, the stress, the transition easier and worth it.

I teach 5th and 6th class with Viorica. Viorica and I didn't hit it off well when we first met, but things have been going very well since the first day of class. Yes, she's made a few comments that made me cringe (a la to me in front of the students: "It's okay to hit students sometimes... boys, rather. We do things differently than Americans.") The younger students are really cute and bring me flowers and apples. They always say "Hello!!" I love them. My language has improved in the 4 weeks I've been at site, but I've still found the kids easiest for me to talk to. I usually am able to better communicate with adults because they speak about subjects I have vocabulary for, but the kids have more patience with me. A little girl, Lucia, lives across the street from the house I'm in now and knocks on my door to hang out with me every day. She's 11 and in my 5th grade class. She knocked at my door to give me a chocolate bar first week I was here. She went with me to church this past Sunday which was nice. I'm glad I didn't go by myself because I would have had no idea what to do once entering the church. It's Eastern Orthodox and half of the people stand and half kneel on the floor. The inside is incredibly elaborate with gold framed icons of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. It's like a palace inside. People bring food and wine and place it on the long tables inside the church. Someone stands up front and chants/sings while the priest walks around giving out candles or accepting prayer requests. You purchase candles when you walk in and light them at the various stands around the inside of the church... a candle lit represents a prayer for a person. Church starts around 7am and ends at 3pm and you come and leave when you like. I stayed for an hour and after coming home that evening my host father's mom told me "I saw you in Church. You didn't stay long." Oh, Moldova. I love the sublety here.

So the plot of my host family saga has thickened. I've spent the past few weeks looking for a new place to live. Basically, my host mother from the first week I moved in made it clear that she thinks PC should be paying more. I was told on week 2 to buy my own toilet paper for the outhouse and I feel guilty even using the light in my room because it costs "energie". PC pays the families here well so it's been upsetting being asked for more cash. I'm not supposed to pay more than is in the PC contract so I've had to tell her continually that if she has issues or questions about the money situation she should contact PC... not me. I'm seen as being filthy rich and a potential source of extra money. Valentina told me my family only wanted me for the money and prestige (It's apparently prestigious to have the American in your home). There are a lot of other things about the living situation that have made me feel unhappy and uncomfortable so I don't want to stay there after September. The dentist in my village wanted me to live with his family (his family is great!), but I then found out I'm not allowed to live with the chief doctor. Then this past week I thought I had found another great family option... but the day after visiting the lady's house she told me she will be moving to Portugal. Yesterday, my partner Valentina convinced my Romanian tutor, Ludmila, that she should be my host mother. So... Ludmila is going to try to fix the soba (heater) in her casa mica in a week's worth of time so I can move in Oct. 1. I have no idea if the construction will be finished on time. She is an incredibly sweet lady and has two children... one of the boys is in my 8th grade class. I hope this works out, but honestly... when in Moldova. Who really knows. Worst case scenario I have to stay in the house I'm in now. And even the worst things pass. This too shall pass. :)

This weekend I get to stay in a hotel in Chisinau with the other health volunteers in my group and our medical partners. I took a bus this morning. I was told we're meeting the US Ambassador today (he was not at our ceremony) and tomorrow we'll probably speak more about the medical centers where we'll be 4 hours per week.

So much to say, but I don't even know how to say it. One of my friends in the lounge here just said something that basically summed it up. "How can you summarize a month's worth of ridiculousness?" Moldova is beautiful, interesting, happy, angry, absolutely unpredictable.