Berlin, Prague & Moldova

The ladies I have my picture with on facebook when we started to be teachers together were with me in the capital when we shot this picture.  The only one that looks older is me. Guess that is what happens when you are over 30 which neither of them are.  We were all coming home from  a fall vacation... 

Tom and I went to Berlin for my fall break from school. It happened to be the 500 anniversary of Reformation Day while we were there so we took advantage of the statue in front of the Protestant Church in the old part of Berlin. 

 Katie has a good friend Anna, from Madrid.  She worked with her in Uganda, and is now studying for her Doctorate in Berlin so we had lunch together

Missionary Friends from Uganda are now living outside of Berlin. They drove over to spend the day with us doing a walking tour. They grew up living on the E German side. They added much to our tour. This is Check Point Charlie and we are welcoming them over to the American side from E Germany. It is a tourist trap but we thought it was a great photo op.   The next picture if of the Brandenburg Gate which is 240 years old. The same age as the US. It is the only remaining gate left entering Berlin.
We took a train from Berlin to Prague and walked around the old city and were forever lost. It has roads much like DC that come together in wagon wheel spokes into one central area and too many roads leading off it.  WE saw alot of the city but never the same place more then once even though we tried to....

 Photo of interest in Prague... I found it of interest because it was in the candy isle.  I understand that it is not legal to sell in Czech Republic but you are allowed to possess small amount and to use it for medical purpose. Which is what this stuff is I guess.

In Prague, we took a day trip to the Bohemian Switzerland Park that sits on the border of Germany and Czech Republic. These are photos from there.

We had a lovely time and now are back in our little house that is warm and snug.




Tom has started teaching basketball to our 6,7,8 grade girls with our friend from Soroca. They have had 3 practices and the girls are starting to be catty and mean and selfish...  Fun to see the girls come under some male discipline lived out through a game... more to come.  But that is all for now.
 Love from Moldova,  Marc

Happy Birthday Bunica & Cosăuți new playground

What do you give a hard working woman who has seen 77 years? A rabbit nice and plump and ready to eat. We named him Jack and ate him 2 days later. 
In Moldova they did not have iodine in the salt but people did not get goiters and this toast is the reason why. In spring the walnut tree has baby's these are picked and soaked in water in the sun for a week until the tannin's are nice and black, then you add the liquid to vodka and you have med i ca ment, good for the thyroid. Eugenia does not drink her house wine or her other distilled spirits but this we always have a toast with because we want to stay sănătoase (healthy).

 The birthday party was on the 15 which was Conor boys birthday too so I got to celebrate a day 29 years ago that was pretty special.

Had to include a pic from those days. Yes the good looking guy is his daddy!

The program for the grand opening of the new Cosăuți playground that Tom wrote a Peace Corps grant for.  Moldova is very big into festivals with dancing and singing and fanfare and today was not different. The little kids practiced in school for a week and then they perform with exuberance, enthusiasm  and gusto! The village doesn't have a lot of amenity's but it has a sense of tradition and culture that they are always sharing. Some of the Toamna Princessă performed!!!

   The final pictures of the ribbon cutting and all the dignitary's from PC and the village. After, we all went back to the school and had a meal of traditional foods and a lovely day was had by all.  

Now Tom will be looking for a new project to help the village or the school attain through another PC grant.                            Love from Moldova, Marc

Toamna (Fall) Festival Merului

 Last Sunday was the Apple (Mere) Festival in Soroca. Our big town 7 kilometers down the Nistru. It is similar to a county seat and all the towns in the county come to the parade in traditional dress  to march in the parade. This year Tom and I participated. Beautiful day, many people, food was better last year but presented equally as nice. Here are some photos from the day.

 Our villages representation

 Our area here in the N grows the apples in abundance, the south grows more peaches and stone fruit. Here are just some of the varietys we have  and below are some of the wonderful foods they make with the apples...

 We borrowed some traditional dress clothes and marched in the parade with the kids and a few teachers.

 Many communities have a competition as to who can have the best food.  After it is judged the people from that community come and eat up the display.  Our village does not do this... But I loved this chicken sitting on her nest of eggs...

 They had some games/rides for kid and caramal apples. But the caramel was crystallized sugar so when you bit the apple the coating fell off...

 
This week after class, Tom and I went and helped collect grapes to make wine. This is a picture of the bride from last post and YOU know who.
 Lots of wonderful grapes here and everyone makes house wine with them.
We brought home some fresh juice and I canned it for winter.
 Love from Moldova where cool weather has come again.

Summer and Traditions

After our summer camp I invited a fellow PC volunteer who had a dance studio in Harlem to come and teach our health club how to do a flash mob dance. Many children here have never seen an African American. New experience for them to learn a flash mob dance and have an African American teacher.  We had fun learning and have practiced the routine 2X week all summer to do a dance for some festivals we have here.  But only a few girls showed up after the 1st practice and they are not well synchronized so we did not perform yet

Life in summer for the 90 degree days  is spent at the Nistu with friends. You can see how low the river border is, the water is dirty but cooling....

 The bounty of summer ripening on the vine.

 A short trip to Croatia in the last hot (90-100) week of summer when everyone else in W Europe was there too. Beautiful but not as relaxing as we hoped. Katie and friends from Montana came and we enjoy time together in this beautiful part of the world on the Adriatic Sea

After vacation we came back to Peace Corps our mid service conferance held at a really nice hotel. Yes, We have made it 1/2 way!  Here is a picture of our still strong gang of health educator. We have only lost one person who went home to get married.

Speaking of Marriage!  We were invited to a traditional Moldovan Wedding.  In Uganda I went to many weddings, this was my first here. We did not go to a church but rather a reception that you pay $50 each to attend. That is your gift unless you are related.... It starts when a bus brings the guests and the bar is open at 7 with presentation of bride and groom & first toast of welcome. Then you eat fruit, listen to music and mingle.

 At 8:30PM you go eat and this is just the first course.  There are 3 more to come with different traditions enacted between courses. And fresh wine, cognac, and rique (sweet stronger wine) when a bottle is empty.  The wedding goes on until the bus that brought visitors leaves at 4AM. That is why so much food and alcohol, music, dancing, gift opening, traditional dancing, more food...

10PM These are the family members I know best. It is the grooms brother. His wife Liliana is my Romanian teacher and they are wonderful and inviting people. We appreciate having them to talk to and are invited to family events at Constantine's home when they are there. Like picking strawberries, preserving tomatoes, picking grapes, celebrating birthdays or just having a conversation. It has made our time here much nicer and more interesting in learning about the Moldovan way of life.

 1 AM This was part of the beautiful traditions that was shared at the wedding. A colac (round loaf of decorated bread) was presented to the bride. Together the bride and groom eat from the colac first, then they take the bread and share it with all the guests each of us taking a piece. The symbolism to me was beautiful of sharing bread, sharing joy and sharing life with the new couple.

I had to take this picture.  It is now 2AM the bride is going around greeting guests again and this woman in the back ground is scrubbing the floor all around the tables as people are out dancing.  It felt like she had to work to do, and I am doing it so I can go home....

 3AM This is the couples NASH sort of GodParents. They offer a toast later in the evening/morning. They are an older couple that are invited to watch over, interfere, and help the new couple.  They opened the gifts and dressed the couple in all the gifts so  tomorrow as they start life. Where the husband goes to work and the woman works at home...

Finally 3:30AM cake is cut and served. Thin layers of cake with sweet cream between layers and all over the top....
After the cake the ladies take plastic bags out of there purses and load up what ever is left on the table to take home. I remember my sister telling of people coming to the *all you can eat barbecue* where she worked  and hauling food off in bags so I thought this was kinda cheap.   I took a small bag to be polite.  The next day I remembered that everyone pays for the reception so you have really paid for the food and you should clear the plates left.  If I go to another wedding, which I doubt... I will take my baggies too...
Now the bus comes and everyone leaves happy, stuffed, a bit drunk, and joyfully tired.

The day before school starts and of the 10 teachers we have to teach class 1-9 in our school, here are 5 of the 6 that will teach now. 4 teachers are working in W Europe until Oct-Nov.
We are celebrating my partner teachers birthday with cake and champagne at 10AM...
Moldovan tradition

Below is 1st Bell Ceremony, speech's , each class is introduced, and the new 1st graders do a program. Then this springs outgoing class of 9th graders carry 2 of the kids around and they ring the bell that says class is now in session. Beautiful Tradition!

35 Anniversary's 36 years

Strawberry season comes early here, last part of May first part of June. This lovely woman, Tamara and her husband Constantine have a very large strawberry patch that they allowed us to help pick and eat... Tamara showed me how to preserve, in the Moldovan way, the strawberries.  We had 10 quarts of compot (strawberry flavored sugar water) and 10 pints of dulceotsa (runny jam). these 20 jars contained 3lbs of sugar total... So in the winter when we need *eneria* we open one of them and eat with our white bread... It was fun learning with Tamara, I did not understand all her words but I could watch and get the idea that I could be diabetic real easy here....
 A friend from PC Uganda (LaToya) sent us a care package and it arrived the week of our anniversary. My treat for the day was fresh chocolate covered strawberries, Toms was a cup of Starbucks.  We got news, on our anniversary, that a couple that we had met and tutored in English, had a small casa we could move into in July... What a great gift God... It has a kitchen, bathroom, and heat all in one small space and we are grateful.                      

Toms birthday was celebrated with our family gazda and a store bought cake and singing.  He got the mandatory 2 new shirts and many wishes for continued *mulți ani* (more years). The following week I did a camp here in the village.  PC brings together alot of talent to the country that often gets overlooked because it is not talent that is known about.  I am a good connector and I made some phone calls, promised to feed people if they would come help. For 3 days we had classes on sports, physical fitness,  computer, ecology, and leadership. I organized, set up, took down, locked up and got the snacks all without having to say too much in Romanian, (which I do not know well). My friends are younger and can talk really well so here are pics of what the camp looked like.  OH YEA! A big shout out THANK YOU to a church member Shirley Goering!  She gave us some $ to spend as needed.  We bought balls that were not falling apart and could not hold air anymore. 2 for basketball, 2 for soccer and 1 for volleyball. The kids appreciated the use of equipment that bounced.  Me too:  Now they want to *borrow* them. I have a few more classes to give b4 I turn them over to the school...

 
 The group was small because there was another camp at the same time outside the village that the best and brightest were at.  No one told me about it until the week b4 our camp, when I asked why kids were not signing up.  So, this small group got the extra attention of my great friends that came and helped out!        And a good time was had by all.

 The library had a class each week in June that they asked for help with.  Our first one was on good manners. Tom and I demonstrated and the librarian narrated...  We both also do English classes at the library. Tom always in the library, but me only when we can open the windows.  There is a held belief here the *current* or the wind from the open window through an open door brings sickness. So we keep windows firmly shut! everywhere... The librarian and I butt heads on this so I teach over in the school where I keep everything that will open, open.  It was 100 degrees last week.

My sister, Gigis birthday card.  She always wanted a horse, until she got one, when she was a kid, so I sent her a horse and if you look real close there is a family up on the hill having a picnic on the river.  This is as close as I could get for a card for her with all the things I hoped she could enjoy for her day and last year in the 50s!          Because it has been hot the river is low.

For my farmer friends. This is a seed planter, I do not know if it is Bulgarian or Ukrainian or Romanian or Russian, but I think the blue tractors are Bulgarian... The fields are now beautiful amber and yellow with the wheat ripening next to the sunflowers flowering... OH MOLDOVA
Love and Happy Independence to all of you.
This country would love to have a small bit of what we take for granted...Thank you Jesus we can!