News!

Classes have been cancelled the past few weeks so we can work in the onion fields... I'm over-saturated with onions. My teaching partner, Valentina, suggested I skip out on onions today and go to Chisinau for "Hram". It's like a birthday celebration for the city. Each rayon center (composed of different nearby villages) has a hram and Chisinau's is the largest. I'm a little lame because my bus back to village is at 4 and I've spent the whole day in the PC lounge... It's just so nice to be in the lounge. Hot shower+bathrooms, internet, library, random free stuff past volunteers leave. I'm a little scavenger. Today's find: a portable dvd player. Not bad.

Big news: I moved to a new host family. If you were unfortunate enough to receive a crazy letter from me about my other host family situation you know why. I was ready to go home so I'm glad I wasn't pushed to breaking point. I love my job so it's hard when you don't feel you're receiving enough support from the people you work for. PC is a good organization, but I felt very much like a tool to my program managers when I also needed to be seen as a person. If you live in a home where the people don't want you there and there are so many regulations preventing you from finding a new house, it's stressful. The other volunteers I've become friends with are amazing. One of my friends has been here a year and had a very similar host family situation so I received good coaching. Whenever we have problems, or just want to share something, I have a great support network. It makes everything possible.

But on with the new. My new family is fantastic. I moved in with my Romanian tutor, Ludmilla, and her two children and the grandmother. We've been doing construction on the casa mica (smaller house) so I'm staying in the larger house with the family for the next week or so. They've been so kind to me... and generous. They built me my own outhouse which is incredible. It wasn't even necessary so I feel like I don't deserve that much. Both of the kids, Alina and Sergiu, are my students for health class. Alina is 11 and Sergiu 14. After school I spend most days hanging out with the kids or helping with the construction. Alina wrote me a story about herself the other day and wrote about how happy she is I'm living with them. She said she wants to see where I'm from and meet my family. She told me that my health class is her favorite and that she wants me to teach her more about health. She's so sweet and I love being the big sister. She loves teaching me new words in Romanian and Russian so that's also nice. The grandmother told me I'm part of their family now... and I love living in this sort of atmosphere. They invite me to events and friends' homes. I feel like I have a family.

Work is going well... When we have class. We've been focusing on teaching the kids life skills this first month of classes. Good decision making, how to communicate assertively, etc. Later this month we will focus more on health issues such as drugs, alcohol, abuse, nutrition, HIV, etc. Work with Valentina is great, but it's more challenging working with Viorica. She's been hitting kids in class and I've spoken with her about it multiple times, but it's hard to change her mind on this issue. She thinks it's just an idea only Americans have. She hit my ex-host brother in the head in class the other week and my jaw dropped. He's just a little kid. It made me really mad. The use of corporal punishment has been shocking to me. Even at the onion fields teachers whip kids or pull ears if they're not working fast enough or goofing off. I told Viorica if we're teaching kids about how to communicate effectively without using violence, we shouldn't hit them. She was like "Oh, right! You're right." But then she hit a kid at the onion fields yesterday so it might be a slow change. Valentina said teachers here do it, but she doesn't think it's professional or normal. My host mother, Romanian teacher, also said she doesn't hit kids. So it's not everyone.

I have a bit of cold at the moment and have been having some stomach problems since moving in with my new family. They feed me a lot of good food, but the grandmother thinks that all leftovers should be stored in the cabinet. I've spoken with some other volunteers about my situation and it might be a good idea to start fixing more of my own food and using my own utensils to make sure things are clean. It's hard to strike a balance with the people you live with to make sure you're not coming off as being "pretentious" as my last host mother seemed to find me, but taking care of my health should probably be a larger priority of mine. I eat most everything that is placed in front of me, but when it's not fit for eating you have to find a way to refuse it. The simple, "No thank you", isn't so simple in this culture. Refusing food is seen to be very rude, whether you're full or allergic. I've become good at getting rid of certain things on my plate (toss it over your shoulder, stuff it in a drawer) to the point of hilarity. My host grandmother is a retired nurse so I don't like undermining her words. I'm trying to learn ways to suggest health practices without sounding arrogant. It's really hard to strike that balance when someone has a health degree, but doesn't know that used needles shouldn't be stored on the kitchen counter... and that scrambled eggs and cheese should be stored in the refrigerator.

Language: My Romanian is going well. I'm able to say most everything I would need to say. I can understand most people when they speak with me, they just have to speak slow and clear. I need to make ESL (English second language) friends when I return to the US because I will be the most understanding and compassion friend. I'll space every word with a two second pause and repeat sentences without rolling my eyes or acting exasperated. As irritating as we might find it to repeat things over and over slowly, it is always harder and more frustrating for the speaker. The ability to freely express myself is a continual work in progress. It takes a long time to learn a language. To really learn how to express yourself. English is very special to me. When I'm communicating with other English speakers I feel smart. I feel adult: competent and confident. I'm able to say everything exactly the way I want to say it. Every word I use carries meaning and memory. The words "happy" or "beautiful" or "sad" or "sorry" are, to me, what they mean. When I describe my emotions or experiences in Romanian, I love the words... but I don't feel them the same way I feel English.

Okay,
This weekend:
Sharing experiences event with the other new health volunteers. We'll be spending time in cabins near Transnitria to talk about how our first couple of months at site have gone. Should be a really good couple of days!
I hope to update again soon and provide photos of my village. Thanks to everyone for the emails and other updates! I miss you guys and loves hearing how you're doing!