Wow, today marks the day when I just have four months to go as a Peace Corps volunteer... It doesn't seem like it is possible that I have been gone for over two years!!!!! What an amazing experience I have had (and will have for the next four months!). I have actually managed to get some internet wireless access for my laptop (it's a flash that gives me access to the internet through the cellular network!), so I am going to try and update pretty frequently for the last few months that I am here. (My official day to leave is the 27th, but I won't be home until the 29th. I am going to stay over for a couple of nights in Istanbul again. It was gorgeous and I barely scraped the surface of seeing what I wanted to see while there over Christmas!)

Most of the news I have right now is teaching related. I am winding things up with my fourth year students this week and next, so things are pretty hectic right now... But when are things NOT hectic with me? I have the feeling that things will only get even more hectic over the next few months as I try to wind things up at the university and with Peace Corps. In early June I will be helping to train the new group that is coming in and I will be wrapping things up down here in Cahul at the end of June. This means I will most likely move in closer to the capitol (a town called Ialovani) to help with the trainings of the new volunteers before I leave Moldova. I am already having nightmares about saying goodbye to my host family. It is going to be awful!!!!


The rumor is that Spring is on the way to Moldova, but there hasn't been a lot of evidence of that yet. Wednesday it snowed, but at least the last two days have been sunny even if it has been pretty cool. I am ready for some extended sunshine and some warm weather!!!!! Judy, Millie... any chance you guys might be up for a poker party on the boat when I get back? I never realized living in Arkansas how much gray days and icky weather can wear on you. Let me assure you... It does! When I got back from the US in January I didn't see the sun for 32 days. Yuck!!!!



What have I been doing that is fun? Well, I staged a kidnapping with a group of students that are reading a mystery novel.... We talked about the principles of investigation, the difference between hard evidence and circumstantial evidence, learned about fingerprinting and ransom, and have been following the evidence trail for about 4 weeks now. Tuesday a group of my students were able to get back the kidnappee (a stuffed cow named Botswana Bill!) without incident and are putting the finishing touches on their case for presentation next week. Poor Botswana Bill went through a lot while he was with the kidnappers, as you can see from the pictures. The whole town was involved in the case, so it was a great lesson all the way around.
I am really going to miss these amazing young people and the wonderful people of Cahul.

Moldova, Istanbul, America, Istanbul, Moldova...

...and that is just the last month of my life! I am so lucky to be living this life that I am living!!!!! I went home for Christmas by way of Istanbul (which many of you know because I saw you while I was there!) and had an amazing time (with the exception of being kidnapped several times by strange men on the street who just wanted to take me to their uncle's rug shop!--Why is it so hard for me to learn from some mistakes?) I want all of you that I saw while I was at home to know how much it meant to me to see you all while I was there. I have the most supportive and nuturing group of friends in the universe! I loved seeing everyone, wish that I had had more time with everyone, and can' t wait to be with you all on a more permanent basis.


(Above) Part of the USA gang at Jim's for New Year's. All of the guys headed out to the fire to smoke cigars and scratch themselves (or whatever it is that men do when they are together!)


(Above) Two of my favorite ladies in the universe... Ruthie and Judy! I was so happy to hang out with you guys. Thanks so much for taking the time to arrange lunch with the PV folks and to come over. Love you!!!!!



...it worries me that this man is influencing the young minds of Arkansas! Seriously though, Jim, you are delightful and I had an amazing time over at your place on New Year's. Thanks for hosting the shindig and for coming over and hanging out while I was home. Don't forget to be good to your wife! You'll never find another woman who will put up with your shenanigans!

Back in Istanbul... Splurged on a nice dinner in a rooftop restaurant that overlooked the Blue Mosque. Istanbul is gorgeous and I definitely want to go back to see it again. Picked up a few tricks on how to stay out of the rug shops and away from everyone's uncles... Life truly is a lifelong learning experience!

Random beautiful door.

Back in Moldova... I had an amazing weekend visit to a beautiful village outside of Cahul called Colibasi. I had a taste of what so many volunteers experience each day and it was fun, but also an amazing amount of work. The family Ghencia was so amazingly warm and offered a level of hospitality that is just undescribable. I got to bake homemade bread in a woodburning oven (do you know that it is possible to make yeast from scratch? I didn't!), play with the baby lambs, get water from the neighborhood well, and in general just talk to some amazing people and hear their perspectives on life in Moldova from the village perspective.

(Above) Domnul Ion shows me how the indoor soba works to heat the house.

Anna Margareta shows me ALL of her toys!

This city girl was loving it! I got to play with a baby lamb!

Ion, Cat, Elena and Anna Margareta all posing together with the lambs.

Enough for today. I miss you all, am wrapping things up (bittersweet!) in Moldova, and can't wait to see you all again. Thanks for following my journey...

Jennifer

My second foray into Istanbul was more successful, but I was pretty sad to be away from all of you. It was probably good that I could hide in my room at the hotel and be sad for a day or two before coming back to Moldova and seeing everyone. Life is so full of yin and yang experiences! I love what I have done in Moldova, but I really have missed everyone and will be so happy to get back to the US and figure out what the next adventure will be.

Well, Halloween #2 has come and gone. Those pumpkin kits that Margie sent are being well used! This was the cutting crew that got together the night before the party to get all of the decorations up and the pumpkins carved. We had a blast and it just reminded me again of what wonderful students I have. They are the greatest!!!!!

We have just finished the second of two Thanksgiving celebrations. First was down in Cahul at Naima's (Dean, you will be proud. We had CORNBREAD dressing! It was damn declicious.) Last night I headed up North to Orhei and had a great dinner at Brian and Annie's place. The food was delicious, the company fabulous, and we even played Apples to Apples after dinner. It was a little slice of home and a whole lot of fun.

So, December is almost here, the weather is cold, and I am coming home in 4 weeks!!!! Just wanted to let everyone know that I am going to be back in the Rock from the 28th of December thru the 10th of January. I am going to hunker down with Dean and Jeremy for the first few days, but after New Year's I want to get out and about and see everyone. Also, I am going to do a big open house on the 4th of January and everyone is invited!!!! We will kick things off at around 2 pm and I am sure things will last well into the night. I am going to cook my little heart out (I have really been missing my kitchen and all of those fabulous ingredients that I can't get anywhere here! Come hungry!) I can't wait to see everyone and catch up on life and everything that has been going on this last year and a half. I am going to steal Dean's cell phone while I am at home, so call me on his line. Stay warm and see you soon!

Back in the swing of things...

La Dolce Vita!

As most of you know, I spent the last two weeks of my summer in Italy with Jeremy, Dean and Suni. Jeremy came to Moldova for almost three weeks and then he and I packed up and headed for Bucharest in Romania to catch a flight to Rome. EVERYONE at my house in Moldova was sad to see our big Bebalusi (baby!) go, but I didn't think Alexandra was going to let him leave at all. Below is a picture of their final farewell. Just one more pinch of those big American cheeks!

We left Chisinau the next day on an overnight train. It wasn't a bad way to travel. We had a compartment to ourselves and a bed to stretch out on. If only the window would have opened. We had to get up several times during the night to ring the sweat out of our clothes and grab some real air. The trip took about 12 hours, 4 of which we spent at the border of Romania where they lifted the entire car (each and every one!) and changed out the undercarriage on each car. It seems that the gage of the track changes between Moldova and the rest of the world, so every car must have the wheels changed to be able to go from west to east. This happens at about 3 in the morning, so it is all a bit surreal... Below is Jeremy chillin' out and doing a little writing before I whip his ass at several hands of rummy!

Below is a picture of the greeting in the book that was in our room at our hotel in Bucharest. I particularly liked that we were being invited to dine in a "worm" environment and were assured that we "can't"be served breakfast, lunch or dinner!

This is a statue of a broken man that is a memorial to the men and women who were killed during Ciaucescu's leadership of Romania. Right behind it is the famous balcony where he gave his famous speech and was then helicoptered off the roof to safety from the waiting mobs.

This next picture finds us in Rome. We had a great apartment right off the Tiber near the Palace of Justice. It was our mission to drink enough prosecco (and other wines!) to satisfy my love of Italian wines. This was the first afternoon. Jeremy, Suni and I arrived first and then Dean arrived three days later. We decided to collect the corks for the time we were in the apartment. I am embarrassed to even tell you how many we collected during our seven days...

Suni, don't be mad, but I am including several pictures of you on the blog. Don't worry! No thighs! Speaking of Suni... She had a great idea one night that we should go out and eat African food. It was amazing and a nice change from delicious Italian food.

Dean's first "taste" of Rome was a trip to the vatican for a special tour with an art student. We got an amazing tour, and he was adorable to boot! Very cool and Roman. He even managed to show me some things I had not seen on previous tours...
...like, a statue that looks just like Bill Clinton that is in a niche in one of the papal apartments! The resemblance is uncanny!

The three amigos in front of the forum of Rome.

One of my favorite restaurants in Rome "La Carbonara" is right on the edge of the daily market in Rome called Campo Fiori. It was just as wonderful as I remembered, but man! the dollar sucks right now! The waiter helped us out and took one of the few group pictures of our trip.

Dean wanted to see the coloseum, so the coloseum it was!

This was a dream of mine... I wanted a romantic picture with the love of my life in front of the Trevi fountain. Here you go!



This is our amazing bed and breakfast in Orvieto. Over the rooftop you can see the old city perched on top of the hill.Dean relaxing in the corner on Suni's fabulous balcony!

Jeremy chillin' under the grape vines in front of the house.

This is the most beautiful cathedral (in my humble opinion!) in all of Italy. It is the duomo in Orvieto. I believe that I have another convert to the love of Orvieto. Suni mentioned on the phone that she adored it as well.

Leave it to the two Arkies in the group to find a razorback to pose with!

This trip was great on many different levels. One day Suni and Dean were too tired to go out, so I took off on my own and explored a town near Orvieto called Pitigliano. It is another one of those towns perched on the tufa hills. I had a great time exploring the town and just having some alone time.
The three amigos in Montelpuciano.

The next series of pictures is from Pompeii. Below is a plaster cast of a pregnant woman that was perfectly preserved by the "pyroclastic cloud" (Dean gave me a little schooling on the nature of volcanic eruptions and corrected my assumption that it was the lava that killed people. He told me it is the cloud of ash that gets people!)

...a man caught in the cloud...



... this person seems to have know it was his last few moments on earth...
One of the most interesting things I saw was a preserved... uh... whorehouse! There were little chambers where the women entertained their clients and above every door was a frescoe with the specialty of the woman that worked within!

It is not so easy to tell, but this is the kitchen of a public restaurant. Did you know that for the Pompeiians there was a close connection between food and sex? In their public kitchens they often had a statue of a penis for luck and health. Guess where Suni is sitting? Oh the scandal of it all!

Suni may have petit feet, but there was the dust of a thousand Pompeiians on it at the end of this day!

Finally, Deno and I were the last of the four left in Italy and we headed down to the Amalfi coast. The sky was blue, I was with my love, and I was in Italy. It just doesn't get any better than that!


Now it is time to get back to my life in Moldova and finish up my service here. It was great to see everyone, I had an amazing time in Italy, but I am happy to be back in Moldova with the amazing people I have met here. I will be back in the states for Christmas for sure, so I will post my dates so you can be sure to come by and see me while I am home! Love to all!

Sorry it has been so long....

Summer is flying by and I realize that I haven't posted on the blog since my trip to Turkey!!!! That is unacceptable, and I want to give everyone an update on what has been going on in my life in Moldova since then. School finished for me about the 13th of June, but our new group of teachers arrived on the 11th, so I have been busy all summer with coordinating the mentoring program for them (a program which basically helps the new volunteers feel welcome and helps them to get adjusted to life in Moldova.) I have also been working on the technical sessions for them during this PST (pre service training) time to get them up to speed on the technical aspects of teaching (as many of them are going to be teaching for the first time!) All that is just to say that I have been pretty busy, even though it is summer!

Lucky for me, though, I have some friends who have been brave enough (and willing!) to come and see what has been going on in this life of mine in Moldova. Margie was my first guest. She came and spent a week with me in mid-June and while it was wonderful, it put me in a bit of a funk after she left. I had almost forgotten what it is like to be around old friends and family that know you inside and out. We had many plans for her to see Moldova, but when push came to shove we spent so much time yaking and catching up that we just managed to see Chisinau and my town, Cahul. It meant a huge amount to me that she was here and that she came all that way just to see me! I missed the heck out of her when she left, but I got it together again and all is right with the world!

Most recently, Jeremy has come to see me! He arrived on Friday of last week and I immediately hustled him down to Cahul because we had been invited to a wedding (which is quite an experience in Moldova!). We got him a dress shirt and a tie, borrowed some pants from Nickolai and he was ready to go. Weddings in Moldova start at about 9 in the evening and go on until about 7 or 8 the next morning. They are chock full of interesting customs, huge amounts of food and drink and a whole lot of HORA. The hora is a dance that is traditional in Moldova and it goes on all night long. Jeremy was such a trooper! He danced all night long (even when the boys were doing the super fast hora at the end!) It has been amazing having him here with me. When I picked him up at the airport, I started pinching him (which I still do periodically) just to make sure that it is real. I love having my baby here with me!!!!!! Everyone loves him and my host mother keeps pinching her cheeks and telling him how cute he is. Nicholai is glad to have someone with him that will drink cognac! Jeremy will be with me for another two weeks and then we are headed for Bucharest to fly to Rome. My best friend Suni and my wonderful husband are meeting us there for two weeks in lovely Italy. I can't wait to see them either! It is so hard to believe that it has been an entire year since I have been home.

Alexandra, me!, Jeremy and Nickolai headed out for the wedding.

The lovely bride and groom at the head table. The groom is actually studying in America (in Birmingham!) and will return to the US in August. His bride is studying in Romania, so they will be apart for the next year while they finish their studies.

This was one of the strangest traditions of the evening. Several people danced out with raw chickens that were wrapped up in decorative paper, and "decorated" with anatomically correct boobs and/or a penis. No one could really seem to tell me why....

Not so easy to see (perhaps because he is dancing so fast!), but my son was cutting quite the rug. Everyone absolutely loved him!!!!

This was another lovely and interesting tradition. All of the linens, towels, etc. that the couple got were wrapped around the bride and groom as they were opened. Pretty cool, huh? Not so much when the temperature in the room was about 95 degrees!

We met some of the most amazing people in the course of the evening. This was one young lady who was just finishing up her high school and thinking about applying to the university in Romania. Her English was great and I really enjoyed talking to her! Best of luck Irina!

Three of my favorite Peace Corps volunteers in Moldova. Geoff, Anna and Matt!

This time of year is also sad! The "senior" group of TEFL and Health volunteers are finishing up their service and leaving. Just when you really get to know people well, you have to say goodbye to them. Anna (above) left today and Geoff will be leaving soon. Matt has extended, so he will be with us until around the time I go home! This is Ian, one of the most amazing volunteers I have met in Moldova. He was a three year volunteer in Moldova and one of my favorite people here. He left last month and is sorely missed by all of us!

Ian and I are usually tearing it up in the kitchen together, but this was his going away party, so I did the cooking and he just mingled. It was hard to keep him out!!!!!!

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up too high, but I think I am coming home for Christmas! I will keep you posted on my plans and what exact dates as soon as I book my ticket. (If anyone can find a ticket for less than $1500 from Chisinau to Little Rock=email me!!!!!)





I hope that the weather is not killing you back in the Rock and that everyone is happy and healthy. I miss you all desperately, but I am on the down hill slide. One more year to go!!!!!