Well it's almost Christmas, but I bet everyone in America knows this right?  .  They celebrate it fully on the 7th of January, because according to the orthodox calendar that is when it is.We will be in Vienna with our youngest 2 to celebrate but I wanted to write my Christmas letter on the blog so it could have pictures with it.  Sorry Auntie it is more then 2 pages but most are pictures.   I feel this year God has been working on me to be grateful so I will write about what I am grateful for.
 I am grateful to speak a bit of the language and be able to buy food and get on a bus the right direction with the right money and know where to get off. sounds like that would be easy right? Well if you put 40 people on a 20 passenger van you can''t see much and sometimes don't know they have past your stop till 20 people have gotten out so you can see.
I am grateful for the health to walk the 30 minutes to and from school at 8 AM and again at 3 or 4.
(It's kinda dark at 4 so I try to get out by 3)

the 8am exercise ride

 I am grateful for my bike so I can ride when i know I will be late I am grateful for warm boots and a down coat because of the cold winter and the cold house.

I am grateful for 2pm when the family makes a fire in the soba ( ceramic brick chimney that heats up and radiates heat after the fire is out

the Soba where I keep the desk so I am warm to study

indoor bathroom with outdoor temperatures 

I am grateful for the 2 days a week we can turn on the hot water heater and heater in the bathroom for a hot shower a house in winter.




I am grateful that the we have running water in the bathroom so I don't need to fetch it every day at the fintina (well) lijke the majority of the people in town have to.

Our fantina we use it when the water does go out in the house.

I am grateful for the electric blanket that warms the sheets so I can get into a warm bed with a warm man to keep me warm when the fire has gone out. (Makes it hard to get up though)

I am grateful for a hot pot so I can have tea when I get back from school. ( I wish I had a kitchen but that is in the main house and the family cooks most of our evening meal. I make breakfast and lunch)

I am grateful for a family that talks to us, includes us in celebrations, gives us gifts of fruit and fresh bread, ( They commemorate dead relatives on the day of death by giving treats to children on the way to the cemetery and in the home they give a loaf of colac (circle shaped braid of bread) sweets a towel, a lit candle and cup with water in it. |Grandma\s husband died on the 8 of December so we both received this gift.

Masa (special meal) for Mariamnn'a birthday praty

I am grateful to live so close to the river so I can stroll it after school and watch the swans and ducks and see the day end.

That is the full moon coming up with the swans a swimming 

I am grateful for the friendships I have made here with other volunteers and the community I am living in.
I am grateful that Tom has been able to recover from his neck injury is back to talk English with
I am grateful for the iphone to use so I can call home
I am grateful for each of you who keep us in your prayers!
I am grateful for Jesus saying yes, to do something so hard, so that I could have faith and a better here after.
 My love from Moldova, Marc and Tom

Santa is not as thin as he was in Uganda.  Merry Christmas or Craciun Fericita! 

Home sweet Home!  In the background you can see the Ukraine and right behind us is what the village is known for.  We have a quarry of white stone here and men are stone carvers. The road has several of these huts with mens names on them and that is where they do the carving.

A celebration in school.  When a message needs to be given a different home room teach is given the task to prepare the kids to be our educators for an hour program. This is class 5 doing a presentation for teachers day and how great they think the teachers are.  After the program school was dismissed (at 12) and the teachers all gathered in our conference room for champagne and cake. Then many of the teachers and I left for a program in Soroca, (the next large village 7km from us) where there was an awards ceremony and supper. 

One of the teachers daughter turned 1 and she brought treats and champagne to celebrate the day. The teacher standing is the home Ec teacher and she made the placinta.(Bread dough rolled out in oil and folded around vegetables, cheese, or fruit. It is 10 in the morning. Notice we all have our coats on in school? We teach in them alot of days as the concreate building is not warm and the hot water heating system doesn't stay warm enough to heat the size of the school.

Below is a collection of  TOAMNA  pictures.  This is a celebration of the harvest and each class decorates fruit and vegetables and they have a display with loud music and dancing, in the halls, during the breaks between classes. What you see below are all fruit & vegetables that are the decoration. 

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That's this weeks news from Cosăuți. Love Marc

Last Saturday was the apple festival in Sorocă the larger village south of us that has the fortress. Our community walked in the parade and I was invited to go to join in the celebration...  I have never been to Bayfield,  Wisc. but I think this one would have put it to shame...

This was our parade entry... Most of the villages in the Rayon (County) had a showing with either dancers or school children in costume marching.There was one band and a few accordion and drums..
                                                                 The Ukraine is across the river and they came in their customs and danced during the exhibitions. Moldovan women do not wear the flowers wreathed in their hair.  The dances were beautiful and very lively with a different lilt to the music. Interesting for the differences in custom, culture and dress that are only separated by a river.

Again the food was amazing.  Different parts of the N have traditional foods that are judged and if you are from the village you come after the judging and share in the feast.. Some of the bakery's here who still grind flour had some wonderful pastries that were less then a quarter.  I ate enough for each of you!

Can you see how they decorated the pig?  The last photo I think took a lot of patience.  Watermelons are grown here and eaten everyday while in the 2 month season. Moldovan people don't like drinking water like we Americans do. So they eat the melon to replace the fluids and electrolytes .  I ate my share so I wouldn't get dehydrated either..... 

Love from this side of the globe, Marcy

Long time since I have opened this to write.  It has been grape harvest and every home has grapes as well as every field hill and valley. This harvest is rich and wine making has begun.
Bunica and Ala collected there grapes and said they weren't very big but they had enough to make 3 barrels. They drink very little of the wine themselves (which is unusual for Moldovan s who on average consume 28.8% pure alcohol/year, but they are sales people and know everyone n the community who does consume.

 So this is the preparation of the barrel and now the wine is fermenting and we are onto another gathering.
I asked Bunica what she was doing a few Saturdays ago and she said collecta porumb (picking corn) I asked if I could help she questioned me that I really wanted to help and I said sure it would e a cultural experience so Saturday is cold  50s cloudy she has gathered food for lunch 2 axes, gloves a neice and me.  Ala is working and Marianna is in the capital. Up the hill we go becuse they have a field of grapes, sunflowers, and corn on top of the hill.  The hill is straight up for 29 minutes and when at the top you can see Ukraine just over the river.

I am thinking we pick corn for a while and then put it in bags and go home. NOPE  First the field is pretty big and we start picking and peeling by hand and throwing corn in a pile. Natasha and Bunica are doing 2 rows to my one and talking 25 miles an hour so I wasnțt really getting a language lesson but I was getting exercise and fresh air...                                        

Now that the corn is picked off you take the axe and chop the corn off at the bottom and then pile the stalks in heaps, and the field is pretty big...Bunica and Natasha again are working circles around me and I am trying to keep up. Natasha's ax broke so I let her use mine while I went and bagged corn

But first we had lunch.  You can see the Ukraine behind us. Lunch didn't last long enough and were back at it....

After the corn is bagged you call someone to haul it down the hill for you and here came Stella and ? 

So we pile these 50lb bags of corn on the wagon until it is ready to tip over and off they go to bring it to the house and we walk down the hill. Its about 4pm.  Did I mention that Bunica is 76 years young.

We get to the bottom and Bunica gets the stove going and makes some supper as we wait. When Stella and the driver show up we unload and start filling the corn crib. By 7 we were eating and by 8 I was in bed... 

Tom was in Chisinau and missed all the fun... He was there because he has neck pain with numbness in his R arm and thumb.  He has 2 bulging discs and was getting 3 weeks of treatment. The treatment was helpful but he continues to have the lingering pain so is coming back to the states (PA) for evaluation and opinion.  It is thought by us that it will be sometime this week. I will be staying here working and waiting. Right now we are together for the week.  

Here is a God story! One of the girls in my Health training sector is from Pittsburgh and her mom is a Dr. Ingrid called me when she heard of Toms dilemma. She gave us contact info and Tom has been in contact so he shouldn't need to go get a whole new set of everything that has been done here before he sees a specialist there.  Toms sisters and Kate will be around to help him out too if he needs special care.  So that is a bit of life here in Moldova. I miss you all and send Love from here to there!  Marcy.  

Well 3 weeks have quickly gone past in our new acasa (home) in the N, I started language lessons and found I am too confused yet to retain what I learn so I am on vacation from learning but not from speaking. So it is forced language learning but eventually I get it across or the person walks way cause I have taken up too much of their time....

Grapes are starting to come in season at the market

I have not started to cook yet because gramma makes the most wonderful vegetable dishes for lunch and supper with fresh fruit in between that there has been no point in learning how to cook in the outdoor kitchen or getting in her way as she cooks.  Breakfast I do not want to get up earlier to cook so for $3.50/per person/day we eat fresh organic food which is not much. Unless your budget is $128/month and rent and utilities have to come out of that too.  Which here, they do, no free housing. So economically I have to start to cook next week,,,,

More of the selection at the market in Sorocca

I have traveled to the nearest town Sorocca, for supplies so I thought I could tell you about travel
 It still is van transport with 20 seats and space in the isle for 5 more but 15 get put in. The people believe that disease is carried in the current (air) so the windows do not open and the roof has a hatch but the people only want it 1/2 open so you have 35 hot bodies riding together in a small space sharing all sorts of germs that the current could carry away but no, the current carries the disease so no open windows... It is still 85-90 everyday here so the ride is not pleasant even if you have a seat, Like Africa but it beats walking or riding your bike in the hot sun...                     
We went to a festival yesterday in Sorocca.  It was Independence Day in Moldova. The pictures are of the dignitary's laying flowers at the foot of the Stephen Cel Mare (Steven the Great) statues throughout the country. A loud intercom announces that people should pray for wisdom and guidance and health for themselves, neighbors and country.
       Then after everyone that wants to leaves flowers the dancing and singing started with the band.  They even had a parade    

                                                                           





Sorocco has a fort that the Polish people, who once were the rulers in the area  defended and this year they were invited to come.  They wear traditional costumes, brought weapons, did sword fights, cooked, gave samples, and did a mini renaissance festival, (no horses or critters).

So those are my pics. I will take one of the (taxi) ruteriara when I decide I want to go somewhere again.  Mostly I just go down to the river to walk and talk to God... It is lovely! Marcy
Next week first bell or SCHOOL STARTS! All prayers appreciated!

                                 

A place called home in Moldova.  I have been staying in Liuba and Vasile Cherchevan home for 10 weeks and leave tomorrow. Luba had cooked for me hugged me when I cried ( I find I’m doing that more here) scolded me for taking a nap with the door downstairs unlocked on Sunday, shared her swimsuit and listened and corrected my bad Romanian when her 1st language is Russian. Vasile is a trucker from Turkey to Moscow so hasn’t been home much.  Just me and Luba.  She works at a post office shop for the newspaper and magazine sales 8-5 then cooks for us, goes to the garden and digs around. She doesn’t really have any vegs except pumpkins and fruit trees.  We pick fruit, I climb the tree or ladder. She canned for winter in her basement kitchen. ( I helped with tomatoes). 

The goat herder I meet in the field.  We have a conversation about his goats. 

He speaks Russian.

 It has been nice staying here with the quite and some beautiful fields I take a walk in after supper, before I go back to my Romanian studies. We have an indoor toilet, hot water, screens on the windows (no bugs indoors) and a fan for my room,  so I did well on my homestay. So, Thursday I go my own way with Tom who is in Chisinau having dental work done.  We’re ready to live together again, cook some food and figure out our new town and life. 

My breaks or our vacations will only be when school is out so when planning a visit (600 round trip) plan school break time.  The country is small but in the middle of some other inexpensive country's. We have some language skills and could help if you think you may want to see this part of the world.... Will write from our new home.... Love from Moldova where the pears are now ripening . IN HIM,  Marcy

How some of the other health volunteers methods of destress

http://www.canal2.md/tcnews/vor-ajuta-moldova-sa-devina-mai-receptiva-50-de-noi-voluntari-de-la-corpul-pacii-au-depus-juramantul_49382.html
We made the news in West Africa if you want to watch.  We were interviewed and it remains in English so you  can understand it. Just 5 more days of training and then I am off to join Tom and take some more language lessons.....  Love from Moldova where the sunflowers are blooming.

Life in Moldova as a trainee has been difficult.  If anyone is thinking of joining and you are accepted for a country of your choice start practicing or learning the language you will be speaking. Especially if you have never studied language.  After 6 weeks of training and being a pain to my instructors I figured out that to say a sentence about myself I have to use a form for a word and the form is different for who ever you are speaking to or about. So, I am 6 weeks behind in language. But knowing this has helped me make sense of how to speak and given me more confidence to speak. When talking it sounds like I just got off the boat but people are gracious and google helps with the words I am stuck on.  

Two other health volunteers I taught with Katie and Jessica

 In the Health program I am in we stay in school 2 extra weeks to practice teach and have more language classes since we have to teach in Romanian.  Last week was the first week of practice school.  My partner is the English language teacher in Cosauți.  We taught about microbes, which is a concept never heard of by most but the biology teachers...It was exciting and pretty easy once we found each others strengths. She talks and I ask questions and do the activityțs with the kids.  The kids correct my bad Romanian and we had fun. This week we do it again with our other partner teacher.  This one does not speak English or understand it so I will be stretched more.  

One of our 3 classes

We had Swearing In when we officially become volunteers and go from $8/week to $112 and promise to be strong courageous and responsible to/for the people of Moldova. Tom and I were in a dance together but he got sick 2 weeks into the practice and I had to have another partner.  For Swearing In we preformed in Moldovan costumes. It was 88 humid degrees out and the dance troop had on linen undergarments with wool wrap skirts and belts on.  We sat through speeches in Romanian and then danced. It was hot! But the food served after was reviving. These are some pictures from the day. 

Tom went to Cosauți with our host family and his partners and most of our junk.  I am still here working away at language and continuing to learn more about teaching. And it is still hot humid Mediterranean weather... But I have a fan and the house is made out of concrete so it is cool most of the time I am home. My school day is 8-5:30 with ½ hour walk to and from school M-Fri Then supper and 3 more hours to make sense of the language again.. Sat. Is a short day only language till 12:30. Life is not boring but it is dull. 

Today my mamma gazda (host mom who gets paid to feed me and give me a bed) had a day of remembrance for her husbands sister who died a year ago today. Liuba cooked for 2 days and invited the neighbor, her sister and best friend, son his wife and me.  We had Masa, which means table but is understood to be much food in celebration. It was lovely and I understood a bit of the conversation.  I showed pictures from home and they loved the ones of us in the Jeske garden. Since they all have gardens they wondered what was grown that was different and why there was no cock for the hens.  Since there is a cock that wakes me and the stray dogs up every morning at 5 and then the dogs bark I explained we like to sleep and so do the hens and they do not need a cock either.  No one bought the idea. Especially the neighbor with the rooster...

That.s all I know today.  Keep the prayers coming language test is next week Monday.  Tom did well on his so he does not need to have a tutor but we both do not feel like we can carry a conversation so we will have tutors for at least 3 more months.  I am sure I will have one until I come back to America...Love you all, miss you much, and keep you in my prayers.... Marc