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.