The student council put on a program for Dragobetele Zia (Valentines Day) This is what Love looks like in Moldova to them. First you meet...
Then you dance together, 
, Girls have to feed the boys to be good Gospidina's (housewives). The boys had to know how to do the girls hair. They put it in a braid. 
They girls have to know how to sew buttons on Quickly and if you do all those things right this is where you end up...
The ultimate place to show your love! 
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| The river is melting and if you look closely you can see the swans I would like to share some of my personal observation and opinions. The reason I am in Moldova is to teach health education. Under the soviets, health was not a required subject. Health was not preserved (maybe because Russia would care for you if anything happened) it was treated when problems developed. The majority held belief in the village I live in is that the ground is fertile and the food that comes from here nourishes and sustains the people who work very hard to grow, gather and store up for winter the fresh food here. During Soviet times this little country produced much of Russia's food and wine in exchange for housing, factory type jobs (where parts produced in other satellite country's were put together here and parts made here were put together in other country's) education and infrastructure. When they left the people had and continue to have a difficulty with their identity and sense of place in Europe. But, since I am a teacher now... in Romanian... I feel a sense of responsibility to the students. This is not like Uganda where teachers could not show up and it was still ok, or where if kids were bad they got canned or sent home because they didn't have $ for lunch or a small book in the FREE Education system. Moldova is a place where teachers care about the students and want them to learn. However the amount of material a teacher is to cover in a lesson is huge and it often happens that she races through it and the kids aren't engaged to learn the material. My job along with teaching students is to teach my partner teachers how to engage the kids in learning so we do a lot of role playing, poster creating, TV advertisements, and review games that get them explaining what they are suppose to know. Of course I give test which my older kids do miserably at and the younger ones fly through... So I present to you some of the things we worked on in school as well as the months happenings. This is Bunica Eugenia coming to get our flip phone for use, while she was at the sanitarium. Her grandson paid for 18 days in one. This is how they do health care. If you have something wrong you go to a place to get better using therapy, hot baths, massage, fresh food with no salt sugar or additives, enema, ozone therapy ( don't know what that is) dancing, and pampering. This is the day b4 Eugenia left to get HEALTHY! I was teasing her about getting so healthy that she would come home with a new man. My Romanian isn't very good but I understood what she thought of that idea...not much! |
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Before she left she made bread and these little croissants with summer cherries in them and gave us raspberry jam to make tea with. since we both had hacking coughs and chest congestion. The tea worked. We're both better!
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Funny how after being away and coming back things look different. The Nistru (river) is frozen across, the swans and ducks have gone to the Ukraine side the walk on the river is still beautiful and Moldova was going to celebrate Christmas: We were just in time.... Enclosed are pictures of the kids that came and shared the ceremonies of Christmas and New Year. Bad Picture of us being a bit jet lagged but this is how they say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year here. | ||
Christmas at our Casa (Crăcuin acasa) It was -10 on Christmas day. Tradition is that the neighbor kids come by to trick or treat ( that is what it's like) they come to your door and sing and then you give them treats like fresh baked cookies, fruit. money and candy. We only had a few kids come and we invited them in to warm up with hot chocolate and sing in the room. It was nice having music in our house. Hăitura or New Years Eve (Jan. 6) when children come and read poems and play musical instruments that they have made with a can and leather string. Agian treats are given...  Plugușoru Jan 7, New Years The tradition of the little plough
The Year divinity is born, grows, ages and dies along the calendar year and revives after 365 days, and 366 in leap years.
St. Basil is the first of the holidays celebrating the important saints of the Romanian religious and lay calendar, some of the saints are young and some are elder. On every January 1, St. Basil, a joyful young man who likes love and fun, is celebrated.
On the New Year Day, the caroling bands wish people be in good health, rich and wealthy and joyful, and they receive fancy breads, wine, sausage and money, in exchange.
Shouting over the village is a night ceremonial when lads play judges sentencing those who broke the community laws and rules Perched on hills, trees or roofs they say whipping words to the spinster, the elder singles, the old women who put bad spells on people, the men who abandon their wives, the lazy, the thieves and the drunkards.
The whole community is looking forward watching the show. For cleaning and removing the evil and the bad, and fires are lit.
On the first day of the year, on St. Basil day heavens are said they stay open and prayers come true, and beasts and animals can speak like humans. This is the day of ceremonials called the Plow and Sorcova, when people are wished well and prosperity.
Again the tradition of the kids celebrating with singing and treats given like our caroling
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