29 December 2010

1st day

We officially made it on the boat with almost no problems. Sometimes I wonder what exactly is going on in my head at times... When we arrived at the port for the boat, we showed the people our passports. Then they said they need our tickets, which confused us at that point because we handn't received tickets from anyone bcuase we had just arrived. When we asked the workers, theyy were just as confused as us. Until I remembered I'd printed out boarding passes on Mi day right before we left. That made the prices much easier :)

We were almost afraid we were going to miss our train because I'm a smart one and I suggested taking a bus from the Vatucan to the train station that took us 40 minutes in the opposite direction. But, hey, we did get to see a different part of Rome and some beautiful apartments! And we missed out train, but there was another one 30 minutes later. So we were fine, and super early according to my typical travel habits, but pushing it according to Ross'. I think I'm going to have to start being on time (aka super early)... Ha.

We are also sitting at a dinner table with a cute couple from Arizona. Most of the people on the cruise speak Italian of French, and they're either much younger, much older, or with kids. So it's nice that they are the same age as us and also 6 months into their relationship.

Time to go explore a cloudy Genoa...

28 December 2010

Little things

It's the little things in life that I think. I miss the most about being in Moldova... like being able to drink water straight from the tap... And toilet paper being provided in the public restrooms. Now i know why Peace Corps suggests staying near your country of service.... It's going to be super hard to go back to Moldova!

Wifi

After failing miserably at finding wifi in Rome, our thirst, lack of sleep, and hunger got the best of us. So after finishing a visit at the Vatican, we stopped somewhere to eat. We found out that they don't have wifi but the Vatican does. Sweet.

... Oh, and after a late arrival in to Rome, we still managed to take a walk and we visited the Pantheon, Colossium, and Trevi Fountain. This short stay, I'd say, was a success!

27 December 2010

When travelling....

When travelling, especially when working abroad, always have all of your documentation with you. Because, if you're like me, you'll get a nice person at customs who is concerned about you getting back into the country to go back to work once done traveling, and she'll not want to stamp your passport. Imassured her Imwouod be able to get proof and everything would be okay, especially because I have my regular passport (not given to me by Peace Corps) that will allow me back in-country. (Note to self: always have all forms of identification because a passport is never enough. Unless you're in America.)

Also, make sure you are actually going up to your friend at the airport instead of a random girl who looks like your friend... Because if it's not your friend, she will be really confused as to why you're putting all of your thugs next to her when there are plenty of open seats... While speaking English.

Also, don't try to speak in the official language if the country unless you're 100% fluent. All of the employees speak English.

And finally- if you've been following the blog of someone who has been living and working in the same country as you, don't be afraid to say hello. It may seem kinda stalker-ish, but they appreciate that they're not just writing for themselves, and if we keep and open blog it's because we like the attention. At least that's what I thought when I went to say hello to Judithanne and her daughter, Peggy, as they were getting their bags all packed for their official journey back home. Little Peggy asked me if I was her mom's student, where I was going, and then she told me they had a lot of luggage (I would, too, if I were them!)

... Currently still in the airport waiting for our plane that was supposed to be taking off 20 minutes ago.

26 December 2010

Wrapping presents

Christmas for the stereotypical American child means waking up early in the morning and running to wherever the Christmas tree is in the house to see all of the wrapped presents under it that Santa brought... then one-by-one opening them to see what's inside. Some children go crazy and tear the paper all over the place, while others are more careful... hoping to preserve the paper for another present. But the excitement of unwrapping presents doesn't go away even when you're in your 20's or 90's (or even 100's, I assume). Even if you're Ross and you know most of your gifts because your Mom is too excited about them so she tells you ahead of time what they are, it's still fun to unwrap them. Basically, I can't imagine Christmas without wrapped presents.

Christmas in Moldova has changed that around a bit.

My dad sent over presents for my host mom and dad in Varatic. My host dad participates in a religion that doesn't believe in celebrating anything- not Christmas, not Easter, not birthdays... but, regardless, he was receiving a gift. When I first walked into the house to give them their gifts my host dad wasn't there, so I just gave it to my host mom. My dad had translated a message into Romanian and written it on a little card. My host mom read it, then put it aside and said, "thanks! That was nice of him." Then I had to tell her to open it. She didn't know how. So I had to show her. He had purchased a beautiful turquoise necklace- she put it on immediately. Then my host dad came in and I gave him his present. He did the same thing as my host mom- read the card, said thanks, then put it aside. Then she told him to open it. He couldn't quite get the hang of it so he asked me to help with half of it, which of course I wasn't going to say no to more present opening! He had received a beautiful sweater, which he immediately put up to his chest, just as I would have imagined my dad would have done. But then he asked how much it cost, which I'm assuming was because he wanted to pay my dad for it. I said I didn't know, and it was a gift for him. He didn't ask any questions after that.

Then Ross and I were discussing it later and he said that he thought maybe presents here aren't wrapped because when he was looking for some paper to wrap my Christmas present (see card below!), he couldn't find any.

... maybe wrapping presents isn't international after all.

Tomorrow we head to Italy to begin our 10 day vacation... we'll be on a cruise where we may or may not have internet, so I may or may not be able to update! So, just in case, have a happy new year!!! And don't feel the need to make resolutions... you can do that every day of the year. :)

A funny Christmas



I always get excited to open the gifts from my dad because it's usually a surprise. I'm not very good at giving hints or ideas as to what I want for Christmas. So when I opened 4 boxes of Clif bars from my dad I wasn't surprised. I mean, he does know I like Clif bars, so why not have a winter's supply of them?

But after opening all of the presents I got hungry. I wasn't hungry enough for lunch yet, so a mini Clif bar sounded perfect to quench my hunger but not leave me wanting more for a couple of hours. I then opened one of the boxes and when I did I realized that Clif boxes don't have green hemp bags in them usually. Maybe it was just a Christmas special? Then I pulled the bag out. It definitely wasn't a Christmas special Clif bar bag!! It was a beautiful belt.

But there's more to this belt than its beauty. You see, my dad sends me the Cowboys and Indians magazine because I like to look at the pictures and he likes the magazine and my kids can use it for projects. In the last issue I received from him I saw an ad for this beautiful "Tuscan Sun" belt by an artist who has named her company Mosaic Goddess. I fell in love with the belt the moment I saw it in the picture and had to check it out on the website. It was expensive, so I couldn't justify buying it right now but I thought the artist, Janice, needed to know how much I love her work and I hope to buy something when I get back to America. I also sent my dad a link to the belt saying, "this would be a great gift for Christmas, but I don't expect you to get it." Well, he did. And I couldn't be happier!

You see, this belt goes even beyond the funny story of how I received it. I absolutely love sunflowers and turquoise. The state flower in Kansas is, ironically, the sunflower, and sunflower oil is one of the main products produced in Moldova. And... mosaics are everywhere. This is the bus stop for Ross' village:

This was a great Christmas. Although I was away from my family, I did get to spend it with Ross- so neither of us were alone. We had Christmas music, movies, lights, decorations, presents, and snow (that started to melt, so it was more like Christmas weather in Louisiana than Kansas or Moldova)...

24 December 2010

Cookies

It's finally Christmas break and due to the excitement of it all (and finally having some freedom), I have lacked at an update. Please accept my apologizes as an early Christmas gift. :)

On Wednesday, my friend Mandy (who is site mates with Ross in Pelinia) and I spent all afternoon and evening baking cookies with the help of her boyfriend. We made Chocolate Espresso cookies (my personal favorite from the day), Chocolate Crackle, Chewy Sugar, Almond Thumbprint, and chocolate dipped pretzels (which I left at Mandy's. Oops). We were also going to make some ginger cookies but of course I left the ginger at Ross'. Oh well, that gave me something to do today!



Mandy and her host sister
Chris burned the wrapping of the butter... note: the wrapping of the butter is flammable and should NOT go in the microwave.

So I've been anxiously awaiting my Christmas package from my Aunt because she told me there was a cookie press cookie maker in it. Every year my sister and I used to go to my Aunt's house to make cookies, and Spritz cookies have always been my favorite... so this was a great surprise (even though it wasn't so much of a surprise because she told me ahead of time). But my package took longer than the usual 2 weeks to arrive- and we were getting worried that it got lost in delivery. When Ross was in Chisinau, he looked for it. Then we both went on Wednesday and looked for it and couldn't find it. But then, just as we were leaving, he looked through the package log again, and there it was! So today I baked more cookies- gingerbread and spritz.
Oh. My. Gosh. I ate too much dough... but it was so worth it! And tonight Ross and I are going to decorate the cookies to prepare for Santa :) The lights are up, the presents are under the tree, and we're ready.


3 days until Italy...

19 December 2010

Hram 1

Yesterday I attempted to make Buckeye balls. While I am incredibly possessive over the little peanut butter that I do have here, I decided to share a taste of American tradition with the people who invited me to their Hram (aka village birthday) celebrations.
First attempt at melting chocolate: fail. (Don't add butter after it's melted).
Second attempt at melting chocolate: success! (I put the pan over a boiling pot of water so the chocolate melted slower.

So this morning I was like a little kid on Christmas day. I was invited to 3 parties- which means 3+ hours total of eating about as much food as I eat in a week at every party. Eek!! But thankfully tonight they have the ball, so hopefully I'll be doing some traditional dances with the students and working off all of the food. But OH BOY is it tasty!

My first masa (aka party) was with one of my partner teachers and her family. Her husband, daughter, and daughter's boyfriend came in from Chisinau late last night and they left this afternoon. It was a quick visit, but it was so great to talk to them! Her daughter is just a year younger than me and is living and working in Chisinau... I'm glad I have a new friend that is my age, and someone to hang out with when I make my way to Chisinau.

Extra snow pics:

EEK! My alarm just went off (I was trying to nap, but it was a failed attempt after my host dad had to come get a textbook and my host mom to tend to the fire...)... time to head to masa 2 with Maria!!

Cold

I was out of the house yesterday from 2-8, visiting with a couple of students. It was so wonderful to be out and about in the village all day, and it was a new experience walking through a lot of snow in the street that hadn't been shoveled.

When I got home, I was expecting my room to be nice and toasty like it usually is because NMG is so good at keeping me warm. But it wasn't. I mean, it wasn't cold (until I went to sleep), but it definitely wasn't super warm. I found out this morning that she fell asleep at 7 (hard day of preparing for Hram!), so that is why she didn't make the fire. Thankfully I have a sleeping bag and super awesomly warm blankets so I fell asleep and stayed nice and warm all night. It was actually quite perfect.

So now she has a fire going in the soba, and I think I've figured out that it actually gets colder when the fire is going before it gets warm. I'm not sure why this is- anyone want to explain it?

Pre-hram

It's Hram! It's Hram! It's Hram!!! I feel like a little kid on Christmas day! I woke up before the sun came up and I don't have any plans for 4 hours hours. Eek!

Hram is basically the village's birthday. Everyone has been preparing food since Friday for this day, and what happens is you go from house to house (usually of your family- because most of the family is still in the village if they're not abroad) or close friends and you eat and drink lots. Then all of the highschoolers get together and have a ball until the sun comes up the next morning, and unfortunately it's on a Monday so everyone is going to be out of it for lessons... but it's ok. I get to sleep in :)

I'm SO EXCITED!!!!

17 December 2010

Outside learning

Instead of having meetings after school (like my schools used to), the teachers have meetings during breaks at my school in Moldova. Every passing period is 15 or 20 minutes long, and that is when the teachers get together (if needed). Today we had a meeting between 4th and 5th period (we have 6 in the day), and it went about 20 minutes into the actual class, so by the time I got there, there wasn't that much time to start an actual lesson after doing the warm-up activity and then checking homework. Plus, it's Friday and it was my last class for the day and I think I'm more ready for break than my students (4 more days total! That's only 2 school days!!)... so it wasn't too difficult for them to convince me to go outside. So we did. And, like the 9th formers, they practiced winter vocabulary (cold, snow, winter, icy, frosty, snowball fight, photo, etc).

I love these kids. Really, I do. And even when the other classes drive me absolutely crazy, this is the class that makes me want to go to school every day (or at least every Monday, Thursday, and Friday), and the class that puts a smile on my face when I'm having a bad day. This is the class that brought me cake and champagne for my birthday (after only knowing me for a week), took me to the disco on my birthday and taught me traditional Moldovan dances, brings me an apple every day... and today they told me that they will collect 100 lei (about $10) from every student to fly me back to Moldova for the Carnival celebration (aka Christmas+New Years... the 12th graders organize all of it... details will come on the 26th) that they will be putting on.

They are seriously awesome.
(These boys are twins!)

(On a side note, I our ice slide got covered in sand and dirt after a kid fell and broke his shoulder. Oops. lol)



And here are some quick pics from the day walking home!

(Everyone walks. Even in this weather. So carpool line for us!)


F-f-f-fresh

For those of you who don't know me, I'm lactose intolerant. Once I realized this was the cause of my stomach aches, I turned to Lactaid so I could still drink those 2 huge glasses of milk with evey meal, eat ice cream, and make delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. But then I went to France and I started abusing Lactaid pills (you really can't say no to cheese there) so I went on a strict NO LACTOSE diet, and I've held really strong and true to it since. Now I can tolerate a little bit of goat's cheese and a piece of chocolate here and there but that's about it.

Now, before I get to my short story, let me remind you that everything here is 100% natural (I'd say organic, but I think it has to technically be certified in order to be organic, and from what I know that's an expensive and timely process, and it's just not going to happen here until other countries realize what they're missing out on by refusing to trade with Moldova. But that's neither here nor there). With that being said, all of the cheese and the milk and the sour cream is all natural and fresh.

I've heard a lot of talk about drinking fresh milk, especially from my step-sisters who were raised on goat's milk from their farm. I remember them telling me that they can taste all of the chemicals in the store-bought milk my sister and I loved so much, but of course I wasn't willing to try fresh milk for myself in order to disagree with them. That is, until today.

NMG poured herself a fresh glass of milk this evening, which is the first time I've seen milk in this house. Now, when I say "a fresh glass of milk" you probably pictured a jar of cold milk coming from the fridge... just like in the movies, right? Wrong. This is because fresh milk must be boiled before it can be drank. So NMG poured it right out of the pot- and seemed to like the part that was cooked just a little bit at the bottom because she seemed to scrape it out, and I watched it plop into her mug. Then she asked me if I wanted any. I said nope...can't...lactose problems, but that didn't seem to be a good enough excuse because she was already up and reaching for a mug (she has been absolutely wonderful up to this point at not cooking anything- except my birthday cake lol- with lactose. Yay NMG!). It looked like I wasn't going to have a choice- and my Lactaid was back in my house which would mean I'd have to walk in the freshly fallen snow to go take a pill in order to drink 1 big sip of milk (yes, I did just say the Lactaid wasn't worth the incredibly short walk. Hopefully my stomach says the same thing!!).

I took my first little sip. Ew. Warm milk. I know some people like it, but I really don't unless it has chocolate in it... and marshmallows... and maybe some peppermint flavor while I'm at it. After giving it time to cool, I finished it off. And I must say- not bad. It was incredibly thick (I'm more of a 2% type of a gal), and it had a funny smell, but it wasn't bad.

Next up: Goat's milk. Maybe.


16 December 2010

Neighbors

Two of my fellow PCV's recently posted on their blog's about Moldovan's supporting each other because without the support of others, well, it would be very difficult to survive (Laquia and Lindsay)

Because they did such a great job of writing about it, I'll leave it up to you to read. However, I will add my side to the story.

I was walking home today after a particularly frustrating day, and just as I was almost in front of my house I saw a woman bending over trying to pick up something she had dropped in the road, which is still covered in snow (and will probably be until Spring). I went up to help her pick up whatever she dropped, and just as I gave it to her, she took off in a rather fast sprint... almost as if she was embarrassed she'd dropped something. Before I knew it, she had slipped in the snow. I ran up to her to make sure she was ok (I think she's in her 60's), and she just kinda sat there and was saying some things to me. At this point I realized she had been drinking, and according to other neighbors and my host family, this is a normal situation for this woman (and her husband). But, being as I experienced similar situations to this in college and was helped out by my friends, I figured it was the normal (and natural) thing to help her get home safely. So I picked her up, and we walked to her house, and I got her inside safely. She kept saying, "I brought the girl with me", and then as I was leaving, she was crying and saying she didn't have any gloves, but she brought the "girl" to the house.

Then I got home and told NMG about it. Her response, along with NTG's, was that I should have left her on the ground to sleep because she should suffer the consequences of her drinking. I'm going to agree to disagree on this one, only because I think she is suffering enough consequences already.

Paint

Today was just one of those days where I was just ready for the school day to be over so I could go home. All I wanted to do was paint, so as soon as I got home that's exactly what I did. Even though I was painting pretty simple things I still was able to relax and take a break from the stress of school.

I'm tired of fighting the "homework battle". I'm tired of fighting the "that's how they say it in Britain" battle. I'm tired of dealing with students that don't care that I left my family and friends and came thousands of miles to teach them. I'm tired of feeling unappreciated.

... but the question is: would it really be any different if I was a teacher at home, in America, or is this how it is everywhere?

Ice skiing x2

Sorry for the short post yesterday. I didn't sleep well the night before and, while I was super excited to post, I was too tired and needed to sleep.

When I woke up yesterday there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. It wasn't slippery, it wasn't much, it was just there. I thought that was it. I went to Maria's for my Wednesday tea and breakfast ritual.

Then I went to school.

The snow started, and it never stopped.


Then I got to my 9th form class and looked out the window to see this:

I couldn't stop myself from staring out the window in anticipation for the next break (I felt like a kid again... awesome feeling!).

Then my partner teacher asked me if I wanted to go play: half joking, half serious. I said I did, so she told me to go. But I couldn't leave my class behind! I told them to be quiet, and that we were going to go learn very valuable words: snow, ice, ice skating, sledding, and fun. Oh, and Merry Christmas! (I'd also post a video here)
So after filming and taking some pictures, the kids said it was my turn (I mean, I'm the reason they got out there in the first place). I was hesitant at first (embarrassing to fall in front of the kids...), but I handed my camera off and got on the ice. It was terrifying but totally worth the dog pile of students I created, my bruised hip, and my sore wrist.

Now it is just after 7am, it's still dark outside, and I'm so curious to go look at the snow that came overnight (if any). I'm anticipating some, which, had I been in KS, would definitely warrant a snow day, but because the teachers get paid hourly here and we already have to make up for that week we didn't have school due to the repairs, snow days just aren't going to happen.

15 December 2010

Ice skiing



To be continued (after a 9 hour sleep...)


14 December 2010

Back to life

This morning I woke up early because I wanted to do the painting I wasn't able to do yesterday because it took me forever to make a powerpoint for my 8th form on the subject of relative pronouns (which, btw, went really well. Well, maybe. They seemed a little confused at times and other times like it made perfect sense. But, regardless, I think this was the first day they were all 100% attentive... and on a grammar topic nonetheless).

When I woke up, I decided I wanted to do some exercise instead of paint because 1 hour really isn't enough time to do a sufficient amount of painting. Plus, I figured the exercise would be a good way to start the morning off right (man, I miss the summer).

That was all crushed when I walked to school because I saw a dog that had been hit by a car and died. My dog friend (still unnamed), had died. Needless to say I was devastated. I was walking with some little kids and they didn't seem to think anything of it. Then I told my 8th form I was sad today because of that, and they seemed to think I was pretty crazy too. Death here, especially of animals, seems to be just a part of every day life. I think I'm like most Americans in that animals (whether they're our own or someone else's) are more like humans than they are animals (they have feelings, too!). Our pets are a part of our family. But in Moldova, animals are animals and they're here to serve a purpose (which is usually to keep other animals away from the chickens, to do work, or to be a doorbell).

So today I was going to write a tribute to the unnamed dog. On my break I took my phone downstairs to call Ross and tell him how sad I was about this and to try to bed for a little bit of sympathy (which I knew I wasn't going to get, but it was worth a try). Then I looked outside and saw a little black furball with gold specks running along the stairs with some students. I ran outside, whistled, and little unnamed dog came running up to me! It was almost like she had died and come back to life (I know it sounds crazy, but seriously... that's how I felt). My 8th form students were with the dog and were bringing her with them to tell me she hadn't died.

My day is now complete. :)

12 December 2010

Calatori (travel) and Moldovan Generosity

The journey from Varatic to Pelinia is a rather simple one. You hop on any rutiera that is going to Balti or Chisinau. Then you tell the driver to stop at the intersection for Pelinia, which is where you get off the rutiera. Then you stand at the corner and flag down a driver who will then take you to the center of town, which is close to Ross' house. Pelinia is situated right inbetween the most direct route to and from Drochia and Balti, so it's rather easy to hitch a ride, and they usually don't accept money because they were going that way anyways.

But going from Pelinia to Varatic is quite another story because Varatic is way off of any main road. So, instead of going to Balti (15 minutes from Pelinia, then another 15 to the bus stop, which is then 1 1/2-2 hours from Varatic) I decided to attempt to flag down a rutiera at the intersection. The last time Ross came to Varatic he caught one at 3:30, so I was aiming for that one. I went to the center of Pelinia to try to catch a ride to at least the intersection, if not all the way to Riscani (my rayon). After 10 minutes, not one person stopped. But an unmarked rutiera arrived that goes between Pelinia and Balti all day, so I hopped on that one and he took me to the intersection, but by the time we got there he had forgotten I'd asked to be dropped off there so he kept going. Just as he crossed the road (and as I asked him again to stop), I saw the rutiera for Varatic drive by. Oh shoot. Plan B.

I stood at the intersection (in the freezing temperatures, but at least it was sunny) for about 10 minutes before someone finally stopped. If they drove fast enough (aka their normal speed) then I'd make it to Riscani in time to catch the rutiera, I thought. But then just as we started to drive, he had engine troubles. So we stopped at a gas station so the driver could get some fluids for the engine. That's another 10 minutes gone. No chance of catching the rutiera now, but I knew there would be at least one other one so I could wait. But another passenger in the car (whom the driver had also picked up) said that it would be best to go to Edinet (which is actually pretty far North because it's closer to Varatic and there should be a rutiera at 4:30, and if not, the taxi ride won't be "too" expensive. Instead of following my gut which told me to go to Riscani, I listened to this man, who is from Moldova, said he used to work in Edinet, and I supposed he should have known. But we dropped him off in Riscani. And I stayed in the car.

Then we picked up 2 more passengers, and dropped one off by the time we got to Edinet, and the remaining passenger helped me find the auto gara (bus station) once we got there. When we got to the station, it was completely deserted, other than some dogs running around and someone cleaning up the trash after a busy day of activity. Great. Stranded. Now what?

This nice man then instructed me to get in a taxi and tell the driver to take me to the roundabout and drop me off in the direction of Varatic, and there I could wait for someone (a car or a rutiera) to pick me up and take me to Varatic. After 15 minutes I'd only seen maybe 5 cars: 4 of which were going in another direction, and the one going my way was a rutiera policeman, which wasn't going to do me any good. But I did make a couple of dog friends, which is always comforting, especially because they seemed to enjoy chasing cars going the other direction. 15 minutes later, it was almost dark and I was still waiting.

Finally someone turned my way, and I said to myself, "Va-rooooooooooooog" (pleeeeeeeease), and to my luck, they stopped. When I told them were I was going, they had no idea where it was. Then they asked if I knew the road to get there, and I said absolutely not. The driver made a phone call, and as he did, his wife told me to get in the back and that they were going to find it. See, what makes things difficult here in Moldova is the fact that there are not ANY street signs telling you where to go, unless it's to major cities (like Balti or Chisinau). Before I knew it I was nice and warm in their seemingly new (and very clean!) car, and I was having a conversation with this wonderful couple. We picked up another family, dropped them off, then dropped the wife off, and then the husband continued to take me to Varatic, even though he had no idea where he was going exactly.

A couple of phonecalls later to Luminita, I was dropped off at my gate, he didn't accept any money from me (just asked God to bless me), and he gave me his number and said I could call if I ever need anything, and that they'd love to show me around Edinet and the surrounding area in the summer when the weather is nicer and it's prettier.

I couldn't believe how nice this couple was. I live almost an hour completely out of their way, but they didn't want me to stand outside in the cold and the dark and risk getting picked up by someone else. Like my host parents said when I got back and told them the story of my travel... I could have had everything stolen, been hurt, or even disappeared. They're right: there really are some bad people in this world. Luckily for me, though, I was put with the right people and some of the kindest and most hospitable people in all of Moldova. I now know Edinet is not the fastest route, and while I was lucky this time, I should stick to the rutieras. But, like my host mom also said, I have a new acquaintance in Edinet and so more connections to make friends all over Moldova.

09 December 2010

Summer sky in December

When I went outside this morning to go have breakfast I saw this sky, so then ran and grabbed my camera:
Then I walked a little further toward the gate and saw this:
Then went outside the gate and saw this:
Then turned back around and saw this reflection:
Then, just as I was about to go back inside I saw this!!
Then I snapped one more shot, thinking I was done.
Until I looked out the window while eating and saw this:
And then NMG came in and told me there were TWO rainbows, so I went back outside.
And I was able to snap one of NMG just after she said this sunrise is a summer sunrise, not a winter one.



08 December 2010

Time flies

I was going to begin this post apologizing for not updating this for almost a week and that I can't believe it's already Wednesday and that time has just flown... and then I looked at the date. Exactly 6 months ago today I boarded the flight from Kansas City to Philadelphia to begin adventure. Now I know that time really does fly. Before I know it the 27 months will be over and I'll be going home...!

Anyways... I'll give you a re-cap of the last week in photos.

More snow:


I watched a man fix a truck outside our school...
I forgot it was winter and left my flip-flops outside
I made a new dog-friend (still unnamed)
I went to the Winter Bazaar and found this:
I tutored a bazillion kids (4 pictured below)
I went on a walk in Chisinau
Saw Santa Clause
Found some little Christmas Trees
Found a big Christmas Tree
Found out Moldovans are LSU fans
Played in the rain (yes, the RAIN)
Laughed when Ross tried to go ice skating
Watched a beautiful sunset
... and decorated my own Christmas Tree (thanks Ross' Mom!!)



... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!