Holidaaaaaaaaaaaays

Where do I begin? The holidays have been soooo loooooong. Here's a summation of what I did besides the hours of sleeping, eating, and reading, and sleeping.

The first day of "vacation", which now feels more like house-arrest began on Friday, December 29th. I spent the first day cleaning up the house with my host-mom for family coming to stay for the holidays. I went into work for a short while to visit government employees at the mayor's office whom were forced to work on Saturdays to make up for the long vacation that was to come.

That Friday night, my coworker invited me out for a holiday party in a small bar outside of the main part of town. On our walk there, we spotted a freshly born puppy crying in the middle of the road. This was pretty traumatic because I really wanted to help the puppy, but my coworkers encouraged me to move on (and told me a car would put it out of its misery soon). Talk about an ethical dilemma. I love animals, and if I was in the States I would've taken the puppy home and taken care of it, or given it to an animal shelter. Here there are no animals shelters (yet), and people mostly take care of their own and don't have the time or ability to worry about much else. Needless to say, it was a depressing start to a party. I gave in and let the puppy cry in the middle of the road. I really hope a car came soon after. My reasoning? It would be better for the little creature to be put out of it's misery than to live on the streets begging for scraps the rest of it's life- especially during winter's freezing temperatures.

Fortunately, after a few mandatory shots of cognac I slowly stopped obsessing about the puppy and began to have fun with my new coworkers and friends. We ate a delicious meal of lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and Greek salad. Of course cognac was flowing the entire evening. I don't usually drink very much, and I think I was the most sober one out of the bunch. There was a lot of dancing and drinking, drinking and dancing. I danced with lots of different guys. I even had a stranger pick-up on me... of course I think he was drunk, but my first pick-up session in Russian was flattering. Even if I didn't understand everything he said to me.

The crazy part began with the ride home. Picture it being 2am. It's freezing cold outside, and everyone is drunk. Everyone. Including the driver that is suppose to take us home. My coworker tried convincing me that Russians drive better when they're drunk, but being mostly sober I told her I was uncomfortable and would rather walk. Eventually she convinced me to get in the car because she felt responsible for me and wanted to make sure I got home. It was freezing cold, pitch black outside, and I lived a good 45 minute walk away. Hmm... another dilemma.

Foolishly I got into the car. After a few minutes of grabbing the seat for dear life as our inebriated driver sped down residential streets I asked to be let out so I could walk. He began yelling that he was a good driver, and spurting out political innuendos about Americans.... (earlier in the evening he lectured me about the glorious Soviet Era and the many short comings of the American government). My coworker tried calming him down, telling him I had only been in the country a few months and didn't mean to insult him. It's true, I didn't want to insult him, especially since he held my life in his hands, but I also wanted to get out of the car as quickly as possible. Eventually he listened to me yelling at him to stop, and then he skidded around in a full circle before suddenly stopping at a gas station. My coworker got out with me and he sped away. A bit of a scary experience, but later I heard that he arrived home OK - hopefully without hitting any people or puppies. I ended up walking 20 minutes home which wasn't too bad, even at 2am. To my relief, I arrived home safe and sound!

The moral of the story? NEVER get into a car with a drunk driver, especially one that doesn't like where you're from. ;)

That was the most exciting and character-stretching portion of my holiday experience here so far. The rest of the time has been cozy, fuzzy, and warm with lots of family visitors, and food. Did I mention food? Or food? Yes, food.



As the days of vacation began to stretch before me, I decided to bake. I baked about 10 batches of cookies; a few batches too many. I was glad for the distraction to keep me busy. The downside is we've had cookies laying all around the house for over a week now, despite all the guests and dinner parties.

The rest of the holiday I spent reading books, watching movies, taking naps, going for walks in -15C weather, and did my best to pass the time as quickly as possible. Since I'm currently on "lock-down" (a Peace Corps rule where new volunteers aren't allowed to leave their site/town), I was home alone most of the time because my host family went to the Ukraine to visit extended family. Ukraine is a short 20 minute drive away. It's so close, but I wasn't allowed to go. Boo hoo. One day I'll get there!!

Was I homesick? Was I slightly depressed? Was I questioning my reason for joining the Peace Corps and living in Moldova? Was I struggling with culture shock? Was I dreaming of all the other places in the world I could've been at that moment? Was I wishing I could go out for a cocktail with my friends in Seattle? Was I craving Japanese, Thai and Indian food? Was I starting to lose all sense of self, babbling, and drooling? Mostly the answer was YES! But I know this is a phase that will pass. It's just crappy to live through a long holiday when you're incredibly bored and mostly alone. The sun will start shining in my little head again soon, and raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens will help me through the day as I sing "The hills are alive". Sometimes blind idealism makes life prettier and more doable, but it's a long way back down to reality. Maybe I should pour a glass of my host father's homemade wine and stop writing now. Better for all of us if I do!