Tentative Two-Year Plan

First of all, for the next 2+ years, please send any mail or packages to the following location taking care to consider the recommendations.
Please send any mail to:

Republic Moldova
Chişinau 2001
St. Grigore Ureche 12
John [and/or] Shelbi Rucker

Do not write anything about "Peace Corps" on the package.
You can write the following on the outside:
Nu sint banii  (No money) or a "crossed-through dollar sign" and/or
Dumnezeu te vede (God sees you) (for a little Romanian guilt trip).
US Postal Service has been recommended to us.


Our tentative two-year plan:
Next Thursday (July 5th) we get to go into Chişinau for "Hub Site" training day of which we have one weekly. The special thing about next Thursday is that we will have "site announcements," meaning where we will be living and working for the next two years will be publicly announced. It is rather exciting! Next weekend, just after the announcements, there is a big 4th of July party provided by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at the U.S. Embassy. The day after that we will actually get to meet the Director (like Principal) of our school. Shelbi and I will get to go to our future site, meet some of our Moldovan colleagues, meet and stay with our future host family, and then return to our training sites. So, the next two weeks will be very exciting and informative for us. Here is a brief look at our next two years in Moldova:

• June through ~August 15th - PST (Pre-Service Training) -We learn Romanian and tools for how to function as an English teacher and Health Education teacher in Moldova.
• August-November - Three months at "permanent site." Shelbi and I will get to live together with another host family in the town/village we are assigned to for two years. During this time we will both begin working directly with our school(s), co-teachers, and students.
• ~November - Around this time we (we're pretty sure) we will get to move into an apartment. We will continue with our jobs.
• November 2012-June 2014 - We will be working with our co-teachers with interspersed trainings in teaching and Romanian provided by the Peace Corps. We will generally follow the Moldovan school year which is very similar to the traditional American school year. During breaks we will have time to travel, as well as work on "secondary projects" which are typically more self-directed and varied.
• June 2014-August 2014 - We will have about three months of debriefing and reflection back in Chişinau.
• August 2014 - Our two-year commitment with Peace Corps will be complete.

Familia mea gazdă by John

My host family:

This is my host mom, Eleanora. Her husband works in the Canary Islands. She gets to visit him during the winter when she is happy to escape the Moldovan cold. They have three amazing kids all about the ages of Jaime, John, and James Rucker. Stella is the oldest (not pictured), Sorin is the middle at 24 years old, and Catalin is the youngest at 22 years old. The older two are married.

This is Catalin. He is currently working in New York. He speaks English very well and has an astounding sense of humor. He was a great help to me my first week but now is working abroad.

This is Cesar, and he is the son of Stella and Marcel (not pictured). He is just about to turn four and has a great personality. He is really fun to be around and enjoys anything to do with cars (mașina).

  

   Here are some shots of the home where I stay. Most are self-explanatory, but a few I felt needed explanations.

This is the only median or divided road in my village. It even has a walking path in the middle. This is rare, but very nice.

A view of the village from my 2nd floor window

 

The masonry work in Moldova is astounding! From walls to pavers to stucco on houses, it is clearly an artist's job.

 

 

Luckily I haven't spent an unnatural amount of time with this commodity. Statistically, I will.

 

 

It is very nice in the villages to have indoor plumbing. This bathroom is beautiful with excellent tile-work, a sink, shower tub, and toilet. Sometimes, though, we have lost water pressure.

My host mother thought I was crazy for taking a picture of their heating system. It is actually extremely nice for Moldovan homes. Growing up in the south, I was unfamiliar with this style of heating. Hot water is pumped throughout the whole house via the pipes you see and the heat radiators do just that. In addition, my family has an in-wall fire-burning heater. They burn fuel in a downstairs stove and the heat and smoke drift upward to heat a brick wall shared by two rooms. In the midst of mid-90 degree heat, all this effort seems superfluous, but I saw the winter lows last year.





 

These are pictures of my family's cellar (or "bec" pronounced "betch"). Under the house most families store preservatives (called "conserves" here), wine, and other commodities. It is by far the coolest place around on a hot day, but nobody stays down here.

June 15, 2012

I slept so hard last night and slept in late on accident, but I felt great because of it. I feel we don’t have time for anything. Everything is so planned out and we are always going.

Today we started once again with language class. The biggest stress of them all is not knowing the language, so therefore it’s the biggest thing to work on. After language class we went to Chişinau where I got to see John, and we had team-building exercises. We did all the stuff we used to do in youth group, like get in a circle and all sit in each other’s laps, or put all your members of the team through a web of string between two trees. It was fun, and John ended up being on my team, not on purpose, so we got to hang out more. I will get to spend the night in his city with him tomorrow. I am excited about that, but a little sad I will miss the disco here in Bacioi tomorrow night.

A view of Chişinau in the distance from John's village, Truşeni

After our team building in Chişinau, we all went back to our villages. Our group of 8 people here in Bacioi all went out to the bar to study together. Even our LTIs (language training instructors) came and hung out. We were the only ones there beside a couple with their 3 year daughter who kept coming over to play with us. It is neat how close our group has become. I am so blessed with the people around me. They are amazing people with great personalities and impressive backgrounds. At the bar the waitress invited us to a disco (or what we say in America as a dance) tomorrow night there at the bar. I will be in John’s village though it sounds like a fun cultural event.

Funny thing at the bar: I was trying to buy a glass of wine, but somehow ended up buying a BOTTLE of champagne. I just shared it with the other girls. The whole bottle was only 60 lei which is like less than 6 dollars. Not bad.

Anyways, once again I am exhausted and have so sleep. Eu sunt obosita (I am tired).

Love you all

June 14, 2012

Today was actually my best day so far. The weather has been so nice today. It has been the coolest temperature and we had a few sprinkles of rain. The previous days have been so hot, especially when we ride the bus and there are so many people crammed in there that you are sandwiched between sweaty bodies. My favorite is when we get a traffic jam of cows and goats. I’m talking a whole heard of goats and cows walking down the road (which is more like our alleys in the U.S.A.) and stopping traffic. I will get pictures sometime. Right now John has our camera and I have my Sony Cybershot, but I don’t have a charger for the battery. We were supposed to get one from the States but didn’t have time. I can’t tell you what a whirlwind of a time everything has been. All my days have run together and there isn’t enough time to sit and contemplate things. As soon as I lay down, I am so tired I can’t stay awake. 

My usual day so far consists of waking up in the morning around 6:30 or 7. I eat bread with butter and honey on it with my host family. My host mom (who is my age) butters my bread for me every morning. We drink coffee and don’t talk a lot because I know very little Romanian.

A wall with remnant character paintings

Then I get ready and walk with two binders and a purse probably about a mile to the school. (I will wear my pedometer tomorrow and find out really how far) The roads are all dirt and have rocks and bricks and spots of asphalt on them. They are very uneven and have ruts where the water runs down the hills. There are many piles of cow poo and other animal excrement on the road as the animals are everywhere. The animals are either roaming the village free or a cow or goat will be leashed to a stake in the ground somewhere random. There are many stray dogs that aren’t that bad. They don’t really bark or come near but more cower away while the pet dogs in yards are the mean ones that bark and would probably tear my face off if I got near.

Shelbi at Truşeni's Liceu (high school)

Once I get to school  I study or go over our Romanian language homework with someone. Then we start school to learn the Romanian language at 8:30. I have a packed lunch from my host mom that is usually lots of cucumbers, bread and anything from cabbage to eggs to some fried thing with cabbage in it. We didn’t have a fridge for a while so we would have our packed lunch sitting in the hot room for hours and then were expected to eat it. Yeah, I didn’t eat much those days. One day I had two boiled eggs, some bread, and some cucumbers for lunch. The two eggs accidentally cracked and were soft boiled not hard, so runny yellow yolk was all over my lunch. I ate just bread for lunch that day. Lol. 

With all the walking and not eating much I feel like I will get skinny, but then again bread, honey, and butter is not the most nutritious thing. I at least have had more cucumbers here than I have eaten in my entire life.

The wine is plentiful and isn’t awful. So far the wine I have had has all been red wine.  It kind of tastes like vodka with lots and lots of sugar with a grape juice taste. Reminds me of Manachevets (however you spell it). 

After lunch we have technical training teaching us what we will actually be doing once we actually learn the language. This part I have been a little disappointed in. I was excited about more of the community aspect of the teaching than the school aspect, but it sounds like this year is the year they are phasing out the community and going to only school. All those years I said I would never be a teacher, and here I am. In the technical training I feel like they have asked a lot of what do we want to accomplish and what are our goals. I have been saying I have no idea, because I don’t know enough about Moldova or what the needs are here. Today finally we talked about needing to know the needs of the people before pushing our agenda and our goals on them. Finally! This tech session made me feel so much better. 

After tech session we leave to go home. About every other day we have tech session in another village called Meleşti Mici (don’t know how to spell it sorry.) They are famous for their wine and huge wine cellars you can drive through (that’s on the to do list). So, we either get driven back to our village or leave from our school depending on the day. 

Improv wall

Today I walked home with some fellow volunteers to see where they live and Justin is not far from me. Justin is an interesting guy that reminds me of James Rucker so much. He is a mess and a big goofball, but an amazing person. 

Once I get home, I study, trying to talk to my family and maybe take a bath.

The Moldovan summer has been beautiful this week.

The bath situation is interesting. They have a shower, but there is never enough water pressure to use it, so we take baths in a bathtub with a bucket of water. Its not bad at all, and I think we save so much water. We get the water from the well. I can’t tell you how many times my host grandma has walked to get water and carried it back. That is one tough women. She even hoes the garden barefoot.

Everyone said nursing school was the hardest thing they ever had to do. This blows that out of the water. In a whole new country, whole new language, away from John, and many other little stresses on top of each other. It can be such a mind game at times. Sometimes I think I am doing so well in language class, and then I get back, and they are talking so fast and I don’t understand a word they are saying, and I feel completely alone and stupid. It's like a rollercoaster of emotions. I am thankful for the fellow volunteers here with me. They are such amazing people with rich diverse background that it blows my mind. These are some cool people. 

I appreciate your prayers so much and they are much needed.

June 12, 2012

OK it finally hit, I am in Moldova: a foreign country. It has been a roller coaster of a ride. One minute I think I am doing great at learning the language and the next I am feeling so dumb words can't explain.  

Moldovan produce field: corn and fruit trees surrounding

I am lying in a field on a blanket trying not to fall asleep. It seems I am always tired. I just finished doing my homework of studying Romanian and writing 5 questions using the Romanian word "to have." My host family is in the field hoeing. My view is of rolling hills planted with fruit trees and corn. My family's old Russian model car is sitting on the dirt road playing Moldovan rap in Romanian. I don't understand a single word but I am getting used to that. My host family knows very little English and I know very little Romanian. It seems so impossible to learn the language fully right now. 

My host dad (tata gazdă): Vitalie with wine

My host dad just came to the car and picked up a bottle of wine and thumped his neck. (thumping the neck is a Moldovan sign to drink alcohol with it meaning somewhat drunk). 

Yesterday was a very hard day for me. It was John's and my anniversary. Two years we have been married. I know it is just a day, but being away from him on top of all the added stress is very hard. This is probably the hardest thing we will ever do. I cried a lot yesterday and my host grandmother was there and didn't know what to do. I was trying to tell here through tears that I was ok and just missing John. 

The Peace corps has many goals. One being improve the understanding of the Moldovans of Americans and another being improving the understanding of Americans of Moldovans. These two goals I like and want to reach and enjoy doing and see how they can be accomplished. Another goal for my part is to improve the health education system in schools. Right now it is so hard to see how I am going to do that when I don't even know the language. I have such respect for those that are bilingual and for those that don't speak English in the US and are stuck in situations like this. It is a hard place to be. 

John got to tower over Mariana's lively father Vicilie

John was able to spend the night Saturday night and we spent the day together with my host family on Sunday. That was amazing. Between the two of us we could decipher so much more of what people were saying in Romanian than when I am by myself. This past weekend was a holiday. It was the cleaning of the wells. The whole neighborhood gets together to empty the well and clean it out. 
John spent time with the guys as they sent the bucket down to fetch water and then hauled it back up to dump it down the street and empty all the water. Then my skinny host grandfather (perhaps we'll provide family tree diagrams soon) is sent down inside to scrub the sides of the well.

And John helped set the table

The plates were all splendid. It is typical to reproduce the same tray down the table.

Olives, peas, fish, and a cabbage salad

I meanwhile was inside with the women helping prepare food. There was so much food!!! The table was covered. We had pork, fish, fried chicken (my favorite), some rice thing stuffed in grape leaves (traditional dish), cabbage salad, lots of cucumbers and tomatoes. Oh and wine, you can't forget the Moldovan wine. Not everybody gets a cup. They have a couple of about a 3-4 ounce glasses they pass around and take shots of the wine. The wine I have had is a red wine and very sweet. I didn't think it tasted that alcoholic but after two Moldovan shots of the wine, I could already feel the effects. It was neat that we were with my host family which are mine and John's age. We four and another couple our age were at the end of the table all trying to talk in very broken Romanian and English with the the dictionary between us. It was kind of fun. I can't wait to really speak Romanian so I can tell these people how much I appreciate them for all they have done for us. Here are the visual spoils:

Mama gazdă mea şi mama ei şi vichena ei (My host mom (in green) and her mom (standing) and her neighbor)

 

Rice wrapped in boiled grape vine leaves

I guess I feel so much more excited about the friend-making and learning-the-culture part of being here and not so excited about the technical teaching health education part, because I still don't really know what I will be teaching. It's all very vague. 

A truly relaxing afternoon feast

We haven't had much time to email and I only have internet at "hub-site days" (days all 66 people in our Peace Corps "class" meet near the Peace Corps office/lounge in Chişinau for training) which are once a week. I will try to get more organized, but we are so busy! I don't have time to even unpack my clothes.

Anyways, I will type more later. I get to spend Saturday night and Sunday with John in his village and he has internet.

Love ya'll. Keep us in your prayers. This is harder than nursing school.

June 9, 2012

A view of Chişinau from the Peace Corps (PC) office and volunteer lounge.

We are finally here in Moldova, and it has been a roller coaster of a ride with lots of chaotic lugging of bags around numerous airports, standing in lines, and my body not knowing what to do with the change in food and sleep patterns. It is 6 a.m. as I am typing this (10 p.m. in Texas) and I have been awake for an hour not being able to shut my brain off. The roosters started crowing at 4 a.m. when the Sun started to come up. Now the roosters and the goats are having a competition. I am thankful for my ear plugs.

Our group (M27 for "Moldova 27th group) being greeting by other PC volunteers at the PC Moldova headquarters.

It seems so daunting and impossible to learn the Romanian language right now. I studied some before arriving, and I am glad for the very little that I know. Before arrival with our host families, our language training consisted of the alphabet and how to say "I am Shelbi. I am from America, from the state Texas."

Our group (M27s) boarding a Turkish Airlines jet in Istanbul.

We probably had the hardest day ever yesterday (so early, you think). After more than 24 hours of traveling and our bodies freaking out with time changes, nerves, and changes in diet, we were exhausted and barely functional. 
I had to leave my husband and come stay with a family that does not speak English. My host family is amazing, though. The couple is John and my age and have a 3 year old son. When I arrived, they went straight to the computer, and we attempted to talk over Google translate: very smart on their part. One funny thing was as we were talking about going on a walk, there was a lot of confusion. Something about walking tonight or in the morning. As we were trying to communicate, Mariana (mama gazdă or host mother 25 years old) types something that translates as "get out now". She said it like three times and I just start laughing, because surely she doesn't mean that, and I have no clue what she is trying to say. I gave Marius, the three year old boy, some glow stick bracelets (thank you Jason) along with his cousin. I don't know if they have ever seen those before, but both seemed to like them. My favorite part was the first thing they both asked me was 'where is your husband.' I had to grab the paper with the name of his city on it, because I couldn't pronounce it. (I am in the village Bacioi, pronounced bu (like as in boo) cho (as in rhymns in no) ee (as in tree) and John is in Truşeni, pronounced like "true" "shin"/"shen". Bacioi is south of Chişinau and Truşeni is northwest of Chişinau. As the bird flies we are about 25 km (11 miles) apart but with public transportation here (another blog entry) we are over an hour apart.)

The Bacioi countryside from my familia gazdă's (host family's) front door

Actually, I think my favorite part was what Mariana said over Google translate She wrote, "We want to be friends with you and your husband." I wanted to cry right there. 

Mariana's mother is also here, I think she lives here too. She was great. She boiled me hot water and poured it in the bucket for me and showed me how to put the cold water from the well in the boiled water so I could bathe. I didn't understand any of her Romanian but I understood her actions. They have running water here, but the faucet is like a trickle if even that. I go to the water faucet to wash my hands. I get soap all over them and then turn on the water. It's the smallest trickle you have ever seen, and I can't even rinse the soap off. Mariana's mother comes and shows me to dip water out of the bucket to wash my hands. 

A rose in front of the house

There is a real western toilette inside. I have peed twice in it now. The first time it flushed and the second time it didn't. So, I am a little nervous of what to do if it doesn't flush today and I have to do more than just pee. The school we had training at in Chisinau has toilettes with no seats on them. They look like a normal toilette just the seat has been removed. I guess you squat over them, at least that's what I have been doing. 

I was able to talk to John last night. We have cell phones provided by the Peace Corps. My family has internet, but I guess it's a land line, because I can't find wifi here. I will hopefully get what they call an "Orange stick" today so I can have internet anywhere. That way I can Skype. If anyone wants to Skype me, my Skype name is "shelbirucker." I think once I have the orange stick, anytime I am on the internet I will keep Skype on just in case. 

Another rose in front of the house

I have my own room with a pull out couch bed. It's not heaven, but it's a bed. There are no shelves or a closet or anywhere to put my clothes. There is a table, two chairs, and a giant stuffed lion in the room. In training they made a big deal that the families want us to keep our rooms clean. In Moldova it is rude to put things on the floor but I don't know what else to do so my bags are all on the floor. I need to do a clean up this morning. They gave me a key to lock the door to my room and the door to the house. I don't really care to lock the door to my room but she (bunica gazdă mea or my host grandmother) seemed adamant about it, so I did and just left the key hanging in the door. Maybe it's so Marius doesn't come wandering in. 

Marius in the car with a friend nearby

Marius seems older than 3. He talks a lot but I have no clue what he is saying. He was playing cars with his cousin. I tried to teach him to bump knuckles, but he would just punch my fist really hard. So, instead, we did high five, low five, in the hole. Once I get him to do that a lot, I'll pull the "in the hole, too slow" on him, lol.

We greatly appreciate all the prayers, because this is not easy. It maybe the hardest thing we will do in life, but if we can survive these first three months, we will be so strong. I think knowing the language would be such a great stress relief as that is one of the biggest stresses. That and not being with John. I already asked my host family if he could spend the night tomorrow night and they said yes. Now, we just have to see how to get it through Peace Corps administration. We were told we could spend the night at each other's houses Saturday nights and we would have Sundays off. I hope that he can spend the night over here and then maybe Sunday evening hang out with John's host family in Truşeni. 

I will let John tell you more about his host family, but I will tell you the host brother knows English, so John is spoiled. He has an outhouse, though, because they only use the indoor toilette in the winter.

We will continue to write. It is rather therapeutic to write.

Why Peace Corps Moldova?

   Bună ziua! Eu sunt John şi sunt American dar sunt în Moldova. Eu am o soţie frumoasă! This is about the extent of my Romanian learning after ten days in Moldova. (translated: Good day! I am John and I am American but I am in Moldova. I have a beautiful wife!)

   I can't write about Moldova without writing about the Peace Corps. I know so many of you have already read Shelbi's excellent explanations of her experience, so please forgive me for repeating anything she has previously communicated. We are trying to correlate this joint blog, so stay tuned.
   This entry explains a little bit of the Peace Corps' expectations for us while we are here. It tries to explain why we chose to embark on this quest, specifically with the Peace Corps and in Moldova. I also comment on the Peace Corps trainings so far. 


   Our volunteering as per U.S. Peace Corps: we are currently "trainees" working through a three-month-long PST or "Pre-Service Training" time in which we learn Romanian every morning Monday through Saturday and get coached on how to perform the technical aspects of our "jobs" in the afternoons Monday through Friday. We have Sundays completely off. 
   Shelbi is an "HE" or Health Education specialists (they're nicknamed "Healthies"). I am an "EE" or English Education specialist. Although in training now, come the end of August we (hopefully) will be sworn in as official Peace Corps "Volunteers."
   What is an "HE" or "EE" expected to accomplish? I'm glad you inquired. We are expected to stay in Moldova at a site chosen by the Peace Corps staff and unbeknown to us. We will "volunteer" there for two years.
   Shelbi is expected to work with a school and co-teach classes about health and sanitation. She will teach using her currently developing Romanian skills. I am expected to also work with co-teachers of different grades (or "forms" in Moldova), but I will be teaching English. Luckily, I can use much more English in my classes. We both may have students from late elementary level to twelfth grade. It is quite a span, and the skill levels of our students in our subjects, we are told, varies immensely.
   The standards for Peace Corps are very high. We are now being oriented to various objectives and competencies we are expected to live by and report by during the next two years, but already I get a sense of the thorough approach of the Peace Corps. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reflective nature of the programs and trainings. The language classes have self and professor evaluations as well as scheduled feedback built in. The strategies and teaching methods are varied, practical, and effective. My English technical classes have been developed during the last 19 years (length of time Peace Corps has been active in Moldova) by former volunteers. It continues to undergo changes and is clearly part of an evolving process. These characteristics have helped me "buy-in" much quicker than if the program was less reflective.

   I've already written plenty but I feel as though I haven't scratched the surface. I suppose my approach is to systematically explain our experience from the ground up and unfortunately these thoughts haven't even left the ground. I wanted to give you an idea of the Peace Corps and what was expected. I haven't even mentioned the beauties of Moldovan culture. I suppose my counterpart wife has already written up some excellent observations and expressive interactions regarding that topic. I will mention Peace Corps' main goals (and our main goals by extension). I summarized them into these three:
     -to improve the lives of Moldovans through education, community development and leadership, and 
             projects enabling Moldovans to sustain healthy changes
     -to promote better understanding of Americans on the part of Moldovans
     -to promote better understanding of Moldovans on the part of Americans

   Why did we choose to join the Peace Corps, and why did we come to Moldova?
These are very applicable questions, and I'm glad I'm going to answer them only after ten days' work with the Peace Corps in Moldova (it will be interesting to reread this in a few months or even a year). Honestly, right about now we are asking ourselves the same questions. We are doubting our choice, because it is very difficult and some situations are uncomfortable. To give you a brief idea: at a Peace Corps event on Friday they were conducting an ice breaker. Everyone who agreed with a sentence would move to one side of the park path. After a few sentences, the leader said, "If you've talked about going to the bathroom more in the last week than in the last ten years of you life, move to the far side of the path." Most people, myself included, moved. (Shelbi, being the thoroughly investigative nurse that she has been, stayed put.) The bathroom example is nearly harmless, but demonstrates that we have had to talk about things and challenge ourselves in ways we didn't think about when making the decision to come.

   Shelbi and I have been married for two years. During the time we dated and after we were married we wanted to serve people in fundamental ways. We are convicted by our faith in Jesus Christ and by his example of servitude that we can make a difference in people's lives. We have talked about going abroad and seeing some parts of the world and living with the people so we can get to know the people and share life with them. In January and February of 2011 we realized that we would be debt-free within a year and the reality of quitting our jobs hit us. Due to the instability of international travel and unknown circumstances, we wanted to start this journey before having our own children. Simply put: the timing was right. Shelbi began researching programs and we discussed options. I don't know how we stumbled onto the Peace Corps' website, but after reading the goals of the program, we decided we could definitely work with those objectives. The application process was long and arduous, but the rigor of the interviews and medical assessments reassured us that not only would the Peace Corps take good care of us, but such a thorough program would doubtlessly give us the structure and training we might need to make sustainable and informed interactions.

   Working with goals like "improve the world" are ambiguous and unclear. In ten days Peace Corps Moldova has reassured me that some goals can be objective and measurable. I hope during the next two years you get an idea of those measurable accomplishments, but I think through this blog we will also communicate some of the incalculable ways we change and ways we see change.
   In early conversations Shelbi told a PC recruiter that our occupations were nursing and teaching English. The recruiter excitedly replied that we would be easily placed. When we received our official PC invitation to Moldova, I can remember our reaction vividly. We actually took a picture of the event. We opened the letter, read the formalities, and got to "Moldova" which we both said in unison. At that point the excitement stalled, we looked at each other, and we asked in unison, "Where's Moldova?"
   After some research and learning some fun facts (Moldovans supposedly drink more alcohol annually per capita than any other country; Moldova was formerly part of the Soviet Union; Moldova is the size of West Virginia... etc) we decided that we would go to this little Eastern European country to experience life and offer what services we could.
   In ten days I've not come to many conclusions. Moldovans are almost as varied as Americans and their needs share the extremity of their variances. Those are a lot of words to say: I can't tell you exactly who we'll be working with and how we'll be "changing lives." I can tell you it's a beautiful country and the culture is deep. Pray for us. Pray for Moldovans. Pray for Americans. I love you.

Moldovan flag

 For more geopolitical information about Moldovan history and its recent situation as written by a third-party analyst, visit the following website. This site does not represent views of the U.S. or Peace Corps, nor does it reflect any given Moldovan perspective or our perspective.
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20101118_geopolitical_journey_part_4_moldova