Moldovan Time Warp

It only took me 3 months to compile an update! I've searched through my sparse journal entries during Peace Corps training and here they are for the world to see....

Some highlights of my journey to Moldova include losing a shoe after landing, and finding it 3 rows up. Very interesting crawling on my hands and knees looking under people’s seats. The group of 40 new volunteers “enjoyed” an 8 hour layover in Frankfurt and getting ousted from different corners of our gate in German.
The flight to Moldova from Germany was also memorable because the small plane was painted only white with no logo, label, or any sign it was commercial. When I got on the plane someone was in my seat. It turned out we were given the exact same seating assignment- even with tickets to prove it. Fortunately I was able to sit in an extra seat as the flight was not completely filled. Hmmm… I also remember stewardists walking back and forth along the isles with paper cartons of wine that flowed freely since leaving DC. I also had my first taste of salami, cheese, partook from the breadbasket the stewardist carried. I definitely felt like I was heading to Europe.

When finally arriving in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, I was delighted to see friendly faces of current volunteers who greeted us with cheers. That was a surprising event, and most of the next few days are now blurs. I am happy to report that the Peace Corps staff, mostly Moldovan citizens are great and very capable people! They even gave our group a traditional Moldovan welcome, as shown in the picture by presenting us a beautifully braided breadloaf that we each broke off a piece and dipped in salt, then finished down with wine. It reminded me of taking communion in church. The traditional Moldovan outfits were beautifully embroidered.

First Impressions:
Already I’m becoming accustomed to life here in Moldova, but looking back to when I first arrived there were, and still are, a lot of surprising aspects about Moldova I didn’t expect. The first night in Chisinau I was constantly awoken by stray dogs barking and fighting in the streets. There are a lot of stray dogs in cities, towns, and villages. It’s a big problem in Moldova. Someone told me that during Soviet times many people were forced to leave their homes and live in Soviet bloc apartments, but they couldn’t bring their pets, so many dogs and cats were abandoned. These poor creatures continue to reproduce and eat any scraps they can find in garbage heaps. Interestingly the stray dogs are not all mangy mutts, some are absolutely adorable!

The road rules in Moldova, if there are any, are not followed or I haven’t figured them out yet. I quickly learned in Chisinau that pedestrians never have the right of way. Literally people dodge cars and if one’s too slow a speeding car will honk at you without slowing down. Many of the volunteers in my group would run halfway across the street and turn back in fear because of an oncoming car. It was quite hilarious. I learned to stand right behind a native Moldovan and leave at exactly the same time to ensure I would get across safely. I’ve also noticed that a lot of drivers drive in the middle of two lines on purpose! The roads are pretty rough, and this is the smoothest part of the road. It’s so scary to watch though!


Continuing with life on the road and public transportation, I have a growing respect for Rutiera’s or personal vans that are the most common form of public transportation. There are bus stops and it’s possible to get onto a Rutiera there, but many Rutiera drivers aren’t legally registered so they have private stops around town. In many cases when I’m in a village off the main highway I just stretch out my arm and wait for the first Rutiera to stop on the side of the road and pick me up. This is how I get buses in rural places too. I have never hitch-hiked back home, but this really isn’t hitch-hiking as we know it back home. It’s quite normal and the quickest way to get to where you want to go without having your own car.

I’ve discovered on crowded Rutiera’s that the Babushka’s or older women like to take care of me, which has been a wonder comfort. If the driver doesn’t understand what I’m saying, such as “stop here please” in Russian, a Babushka will tell him I’m a foreigner (usually say I’m American) and she wants to get off. Babushka’s have offered to hold my bags when I’m forced to stand on a crowded Rutiera, and have also pulled me down into a freshly available seat. I love Babushka’s!

Another way some people get around in the villages are by horse cart. In many ways these horse carts are like trucks back home as they bring heavy loads of produce from their fields to home. I should mention that recently cart loads of corn stalks were brought to homes and harvested by hand in the streets. Amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen corn harvested in the States before, but I’m pretty sure people use machines and wouldn’t have the patience to do it all by hand.


For the most part I am very impressed with Moldovans self-sufficiency and hard work ethic! Most people grow their own food in their backyard or in a nearby field. The men grow grapes, and make their own wine! Many people have built their own house with their own hands. Most people in towns/villages have animals such as chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys, geese, etc for food. Many of my host family’s neighbors make their own sour cream and cheese. Many people not only grow and make their own food, but sell what remains in the local market to make ends meet. Apparently my lovely Babushka’s and older men living off of government social security only make about $30a month which in Moldova is really less than poverty wages, maybe just enough to heat your house with and that’s it.
So many people sell their own clothes, flowers from their garden, or homemade cheese in the local market to subsidize their income. These people do so many things and work so hard to feed their families. My current host father,a dentist, also knows how to butcher pigs and geese that used to live in the back yard.

As a mostly agricultural society the landscape of Moldova is absolutely beautiful and reminds me of a patchwork quilt with different colors. The fall leaves were also brilliant and amazing to watch change over the last few weeks. On the otherhand, there is a lot of garbage along the road and in neighborhoods since for the most part there is not a reliable public garbage system. There is also no recycling so a lot of plastic bottles are scattered around. I hope this will change one day!

The people my age that live in town are usually married with kids. Otherwise they used to live here, but are now abroad and sending money home. Approximately 25% of the population works abroad. Almost everytime I meet someone new they tell me their son, or cousin, or another family member is working in America. The other volunteer in my town, Neha, is living with a woman who is taking care of her neighbor’s son, five year old -Jonathan. The mother is currently working in Greece and the father is working in Romania. There aren’t a lot of well paying jobs in Moldova, so many people work abroad- at a cost to family back home.

I can only assume due to lack of good jobs, and the availability of wine, vodka, cognac, and other liquor that alcoholism is prevalent here. It’s not uncommon for me to see a man staggering up the street in the afternoon wandering home after getting toasted at the local bar, or a friend’s house. Peace Corps also warns our families not to give us too much alcohol as it is a big part of the culture here. I’m happy with an occasional glass of wine, but don’t plan on drooling on myself or falling into an open man-hole on my way home. (One of the volunteers in our group actually fell into a man-hole at night!)

On the otherhand, I was also amazed that 98% of the country practices Orthodox Christianity! In Rutiera’s near the driver often hangs a crucifix with mini portraits of saints. In almost every home I’ve seen a shrine on the wall of Mary & Jesus with saint portraits surrounding them. For a country that was forced to be communist only 17 years ago, and lived through years without churches since they were destroyed by the soviets or used as storage houses, this country is now freely expressing it’s traditional religion. Our group visited a church in a village, and the women all wore scarves on their heads and the men and women sat on opposite sides of the church. The priest was only 26 years old! He shared with us that the meaning of life was to be a good Christian, to get married, have kids, for women to take care of their husbands, and for husbands to feed their families. That was a fulfilled life.. so apparently I have a long way to go to be fulfill my role as a woman.

There are so many other impressions I’ve had about Moldova since being here, but perhaps one that surrounds me daily, particularly when watching tv is the identity struggle and political tug of war between Russia and Romania. Most of the tv channels are in Russian, yet many Romanian speakers prefer Russian speakers to learn and speak in Romanian. It's a cross-cultural and political mix that is really intriguing- opinions obviously differ depending upon one's ethnic and linguistic heritage.