Holiday Letter

It’s January 13^th and Christmas music is still playing in every public sphere here in Moldova. The holidays don’t end until the 14^th, which is when we celebrate the old new years according to Eastern Orthodoxy (and the Julian Calendar). All this to say, I am totally justified in getting my “Christmas/holiday letter” out two weeks after New Years.

The past six weeks have been a seemingly endless string of celebrations and events. The past six months have likewise been a non-stop series of new experiences and unexpected moments. My year in total has been one full of personal challenges, successes, heartache, and growth.

In February of 2013, I accepted an invitation to serve in the Republic of Moldova with the Peace Corps. I spent the following four months both mentally and physically preparing my life for what two years of service would require. There are many things that moved me to commit two years of my life focusing on volunteer work in a developing country. After 16 years of formal education where I felt like I had been investing in myself and my own future, I wanted to spend specific and intentional time giving back. Serving others and volunteering time and skills is not location specific, it’s needed and appreciated everywhere. I however choose to work internationally given a deep-rooted desire to learn more about the world through cultural exchange. While I knew the solitude away from my home and my culture would be trying, I welcomed the challenge as an opportunity to further develop myself as well as to see how my comfortable environment had thus far shaped me. I wanted to learn a new language, to live in and be part of a different culture, and to invest myself into something bigger than the world I know.

In many ways, serving in Moldova is not what one would typically envision when imagining the life of a Peace Corps volunteer. This country is inundated with Western influences of culture, technology, and expectations. All my students have their own cellphone, most of them are smart phones. Everyone dresses to the nines if they’re leaving the house and they love new and flashy clothes. Titles and certificates mean more than work accomplished and it seems rare to find someone that has chosen a career simply because they are passionate about it.

My biggest challenges in living here have not been physical hardships or a lack of resources, but a staggering difference in ideology. I struggle to know where I fit into this changing and developing culture, and have thus spent my time and energy on projects to empower the people here rather than bring them temporary physical goods.

I work with an organization that raises awareness of human trafficking (Moldova ATIP) and with another organization that helps connect students to career and skill building resources (Career for Me). I think that helping young professionals find jobs or careers they love is preventative in human trafficking, and I want to encourage the youth to seek what makes them happy over what makes them wealthy. This is a difficult mentality to combat when they often seek work abroad to support themselves and family. The growth potential of a career you work for and love verse the temporality of a construction or a housekeeping job in Western Europe that meets the needs and desires of “now” is often not considered.

In addition to the “career mentality”, the family structure also has a very specific place. It is similar to what the States was in the 1950’s with the man in charge and the woman keeping house. My impression and interaction with the youth has shown me incredible strength and ambition in the young women, and I cringe at the idea of their potential being crushed under outdated social expectations. I am therefore also working with a mentorship program that pairs young girls with mentors to help guide and empower them to do something for themselves.

My primary job here is an English Educator. Despite loving working with my partner teachers (Oxana and Aliona) and truly enjoying all of my students, I have found myself far more invested in the other projects I work with. I have however learned so much through being a teacher. I have really been able to develop my communication and organizational skills. Creativity has also served me well in this role. I have been excited to see my students develop more critical thought through some of my efforts.

All the projects and hobbies I adopt aside, one of the greatest things about my Peace Corps experience has been the host family I live with in my Village. Vasili (Tata), Lilia (Mama), Valentina (Grandma), Sasha (brother), and Andrei (cousin) treat me like family. Vasili holds no jokes back and Lilia is the epitome of kindness in a mother. At the end of December, they indulged my love for Christmas photos and we all had a blast making some last memories in 2013.

While this letter is a long “Christmas card”, I feel like I have not done total justice to the time and experience I have had in 2013. I am happy to be a part of Peace Corps, but I love and miss home dearly and want to share life with loved ones in significant ways despite thousands of miles of distance. I  love snail mail and will always make time to reply to a message or an e-mail.

Happy 2014!                                                                                          

All my love,

Larissa Marie

NOVEMBER

I’m living in a different culture and building strong connections and friendships with people I’ve really only just met. I call Moldova home, because it is for now. I have a host family that treats me like their own family, and friends that I feel like I’ve known for far longer than I actually have. November was indeed a month of thanksgiving. Winter months here are dreary in a similar way to winter months at home, but I’ve had to find new sources of entertainment to accommodate the winter blues. My biggest grievances in leaving home for a two year Peace Corps commitment in Moldova were, fearing the winter cold, missing out on memories with friends and family, and missing local sources of entertainment.

Mom and Dad gifted me the biggest, warmest down coat I could find. I also packed all the other down pieces I had collected over the years. I’ve been living in down since the beginning of September. Sleeping bag, vest, sweater, coat. Mmmm, love me some feathers. They don’t turn the heat on until the temperature is near freezing for 10 consecutive days or until mid November, whichever comes first. So sometimes it was actually colder inside buildings than it was outside depending on where the sun was shining. I learned to bring big scarves to wrap myself in, or always carried my packable down sweater to beat the cold. Gloves felt appropriate inside as well. My favorite part about the change in weather was walking into a soba (a wood stove with piping spread throughout the entire house) heated home. The smell of wood burning stoves is comforting and cozy to me.

Bunica (Grandma) moved into the house at the beginning of October from the North of Moldova. It’s too expensive to live on her own in the winter months as the heating bill spikes with the severe cold. Pensioners (retirees) also don’t get enough money from the state to live on, so they often rely on family to make ends meet. It’s a family functioning society here, and it’s been a blessing to be a part of it. Part of Bunica’s daily contributions to the house is making the fire to the house. She is tiny, and walks with a limp due to a bad hip. But she is a tough old bird with a bright smile and a fun sense of humor. She never asks for my help (unless something is out of reach- I’ve always been good for that), and even when I insist on helping, she won’t let me do it on my own. She will reluctantly let me carry the firewood, but she always goes outside with me to fetch it and is right there with me to start the fire in the soba. Despite the pain in her hip and her being easily exhausted, she works so hard and seems to really enjoy it.

So needless to say, my fears of the cold have been calmed and I stay quite cozy. Though that’s not to say I don’t often dream of tropical beaches and hot sand.

I’m blessed to have access to people at home via Skype and Viber, and have diligently kept up extensive Skype dates with Mom and Dad on Sunday evenings just about every week I have been here. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I’ve really enjoyed being able to share in international experiences with both of them as I’ve embarked on this adventure. When they were my age, they were experiencing a similar change in lifestyle… only in tropical places with hot sandy beaches… Ariel and I can text and call each other at will using Viber, and while I miss our coffee-doodle-dates and sharing the guest room at Mom and Dad’s, it feels nice to stay close as best we can. I’m grateful for all the words of encouragement, stories shared, and memories expressed from friends via every other social network available as well. Life is life no matter where you are, but it feels good to have my roots in Idaho.

I’m also grateful for the location of my village being close to the capital city. I’ve been able to make connections with organizations that have helped fulfill my desire to gain business and organizational skills. I have also been able to experience more of the culture via working with them. I’ve found favorite thrift shops, second hand stores, and odds and ends markets to dig through. I’ve been able to attend local festivities, plays, concerts, and art exhibitions, and have even been able to enjoy yoga and rock climbing. A friend I met here likes to call Moldova a “playground for all your ambitions” where you can test your ideas and discover what it is you really want to do. While I miss my mountains and outdoor backyard, and sometimes grieve the Latin American placement I missed, I’m still able to find my place here.

The end of November brought with it the beginning of the holidays. I taught on Thanksgiving day and shared the history of the tradition with all my classes. They loved it, I loved it, and it was a happy day. I Skyped with everyone that was at Aunt Nancy’s house that afternoon and was happy to see that everything was as it should be. The Macy’s Day Parade felt as close to me on my computer as it did from my couch in Idaho, so that was fun as well. Saturday after Thanksgiving another volunteer, Emma Werner, came over and we made big American thanksgiving for ourselves and my family. It tasted like home. Roasted turkey, homemade stuffing, canned corn, fresh green salad. Yummmm. The family was really impressed, and yes, we still had leftovers.

Semester in Review. OCTOBER

Peace Corps provides volunteers the opportunity to make their work their own and their experience what they will. I’ve had the opportunity to work in a lot of different areas already, English education, women empowerment, anti-human trafficking, business trainings for youth, and many local cultural events. October was full of festivities, parties, and opportunities to work on smaller projects…

The beginning of the month started with a conference for all the business and community development volunteers. I went out of curiosity and interest and found it very productive. Before the conference began, some volunteers got together for a cold and wet game of two-touch American football. It was a blast and a great start to what I found to be a productive conference. I learned about development opportunities for Moldova and what I can specifically bring to my community. The availability of resources for this country is incredible. Unfortunately corruption and a lack of accountability are preventing a lot of development from happening. I’m still trying to find my place in all of it.

Following the first weekend in October was Wine Fest. This is a giant celebration in the center of Chisinau where wineries from all over Moldova set up shop and give tastings to the thousands that gather for the event. The main street through the city is shut down for vendors to set up on both sides. Some are super posh with glass displays, fancy lights, delicate seating, and carpeted floors. Others are more laid back with grass roofs, dirty tables, and simple wooden chairs. But for the most part, people just wander from shop to shop and taste all the different wines that are available. My not-so-guilty go to was the hot spiced wine booth we found. It was a cold day and I was staying cozy with my down sweater on the outside and izvar (Romanian for hot spiced wine) on the inside.

There is a big stage set up where traditional dancers were performing in between what I can best describe as karaoke. Every Moldovan event has this karaoke type of entertainment. A series of singers get on stage with a microphone, a little number to sing along to some pre-recorded music with, and a modest two-step kind of dance to match their song. Lame. I know I’m supposed to be culturally sensitive as a PVC here, but seriously guys, can we switch it up a little? It was these moments that I avoided the stage and snuck around catching candid shots of all the bunice (grandmas) in their adorable matching headscarves. The one with the balloons is my favorite picture in Moldova to date.

The following weekend was a big celebration for the capital city. Every city or village in Moldova has a “city day”. They call it Hram, and it’s a big deal everywhere. Hram in Chisinau was bigger than Wine Fest. The city center (the same area they used for Wine Fest, and every other event the city hosts) was packed with people crowding around the stage to watch karaoke. I don’t get it. So again I avoided the stage and went instead with another Peace Corps volunteer to one of her friend’s booths. He happened to be a wine maker. His name is Igor, his company’s name is Et Cetera, and he makes some of the best wine I have tasted in Moldova. The house wine that everyone makes is fun, traditional, and good to take in shots with lunch or dinner. But this wine was real, bold, and sophisticated. I drank it out of a tall, shapely wine glass (as opposed to shot glasses) and savored every last dry, peppery drop of it.

  

My village’s Hram was at the end of October. In light of the celebration, my school has a week of events called Autumn days. Each homeroom class chooses a culture to represent and then spends the week preparing something about that culture to present at an assembly on Friday. They can do a dance, give a short presentation, or perform some sort of skit. Most classes also had some traditional food to share. One of my partner teacher’s classes decided to be Texas, and asked me to help them with their performance. I said “game on” and went straight for the most stereotypical representation I could think of. Western-wear and line dancing. I did some you tube searching and choreographed a dance. They asked Oxana and I to dance with them, so we did despite being the only teachers to participate. I forgot the steps to my own dance midway through, but the kids rocked it and the rest of the school loved it.

Hram for the rest of the village was filled with carnival rides, wrestling matches, a stage with karaoke entertainment, dancing, and fireworks. My family spent the week making the house spic and span in preparation for the celebration, and all of Saturday preparing food for guests that would come over for a big masa.

October for me was capped off with a Halloween party in the northern city of Balți. Two other PCV’s hosted the event and packed out their apartment with volunteers from all over the country. Everyone was in costume, but I took home the gold with my representation of Moldova’s iconic hero Stefan The Great. This costume also won me a first prize of twizlers at a party a couple days prior. They like to call me creative J.

Semester in Review. SEPTEMBER.

 It’s odd to be back in the swing of school after being out of the system for a two years. And it’s even more challenging to be on the teacher’s side of things. You hear that kids? School is the cake-walk part of life. The past semester has been a blur, and I regret I have not been better at posting or sharing the happenings of it as they have come. But here comes the overview...

SEPTEMBER. This was the beginning of a big learning experience for a bunch of Moldovan students in Ciorescu, Moldova and one hardheaded, stubborn Americanca. I spent the first few weeks in a whirlwind of names (they all have the same 10 to 20 names, but they have such distinct accents I feel doomed to always mispronounce them), disciplinary trials and errors, funny miscommunications, patient partner teachers, and cultural adaptations. I jumped in with both feet and arms wide open. Each week, I introduced something new to my students (and myself as well really).

           The first week, I introduced myself. They snickered at (but I think quite enjoyed) my attempts at speaking Romanian. I am in a continual learning process of how to best communicate with, encourage, and challenge them. I feel appreciated, and am quite fulfilled in the work I am able to do with my students. They like having a native English speaker to learn from, or in some cases a noob of a new teacher they can take advantage of.

The second week, I started an English club. Attendance continues to be anywhere from 12 to 20 students and I am always drawing from my own language learning experiences, youth group games played, and a handful of resources provided by Peace Corps. The club runs for an hour and a half, and my kids are always up for one more activity (this keeps me on my toes, but I work well on the fly). My favorite games so far have been telephone and telepictionary. On e game of telephone began with “The cat was so fat it could not move” and ended with “the cat”. Nice try kids. Telepictionary consists of a series of sentences written and pictures drawn and passed around a circle. The end results were similar to telephone with “the kat” bleh bleh.

One thing that students seem to lack in Moldova is critical thinking skills. Their system is set up to create direct input and output machines. So the ability fill in the blanks, ask questions for clarification, or think outside the box are often missing. However, they have all the potential in the world to gain these skills and I am already seeing progress in this direction.

The week after English Club began, I (with the help of my partner teacher) rallied and gathered 17 of our students to bus over to another village to take the FLEX test. FLEX is a student exchange program sponsored by the U.S. that gives high schoolers the opportunity to study in the States for a year. They are chosen not on academic standing (though they must have some basic English communication skills), but on their ability to display cultural adaptability and the desire to better themselves and the world around them through education. I was elated to be sitting on that bus with a bunch of excited high school students looking to big things for their futures.

 
While some of them were only there to miss a day of school, and only a few of them passed the basic English exam and still more were not moved on to the next round because they were caught cheating (cheating on an essay where they were asked to write about themselves mind you), I was still happy to have been a part of providing them with a new opportunity to improve their education.

            The final week in September, I introduced a business project to my students called the Diamond Challenge. This project gives students the opportunity to idealize, create, and present an idea for a business and then compete for a cash prize and trip to the states where they will present their project idea on an international level. It uses a new business model, called the lean canvas business model, rather than a business plan. The idea behind this lean canvas is to encourage entrepreneurs to test their products on customers before investing big bucks into a plan they have only idealized. I continue to learn just as much as I am teaching here. My mind is spinning with my own ideas as well as how I can be a part of other's success. My students came up with some fantastic ideas, but the execution seems to be the biggest challenge (makes sense). The models are due in January. It’s go time team!

On Teaching

No one every says “teaching is easy”, but most would agree that it is rewarding. I’m two months into teaching English as a foreign language to over 100 different high school students (and some 7^th graders) and I am convinced I will never know everything I need to know to be perfect at this job. I’m also confident in admitting that being an English instructor here is teaching me far more about life and about myself than I am able to give back in English instruction.

My biggest struggles are student motivation and combatting cheating. I have a bad habit of taking both personally.

Remembering student life, I can relate to finding more enjoyable things to do with my time than study. But now, in a career setting where I’m working for and responsible for more than myself, the value of reaping education’s benefits is very evident. I want to give everything I can to promote and encourage these kids, but I’m finding that process exhausting. My hardheaded, stubborn nature often serves me well, and I think its effects will eventually be of benefit in my work here… but I know it won’t be easy.

Similar to the U.S., Moldova has a standardized test for all graduating students to take before going on to University. 90% of students typically pass this test and move on to higher education. Last year, Moldova implemented a strict “no cheating” policy during the test. They used video cameras and increased the number of test monitors. Students caught cheating were removed and required to wait until the following year to complete the test. Only 60% of the students passed.

They get real creative in their cheating practices, and parents often help. In school, parents will use bribery or sometimes threats to increase their child’s grades. During the exams, they will give answers via Bluetooth (somehow, the exam always shows up online half an hour after it begins). I’ve even heard rumors of students writing questions on pieces of paper, throwing them out an open window, a recipient fining the answer and then throwing the paper back into the testing room. It’s ridiculous. During quizzes and tests in class, I stand up front evil eying all the kids to try and put an end to it, and I still find cheaters. They use their winiest voices to complain that they were just asking another student for clarification on a question or just asking to borrow the whiteout (they’re all about the whiteout here. Just use a pencil!). Their wondering eyes pointed directly at their neighbor’s paper just happen to be their best thinking stance (go figure). Sometimes students will hold their papers up, broadcasting their answers to fellow students behind them, and excuse it as “a new angle” to look at the test (they’re very communal in their cheating practices). They use their books and cell phones when they think you’re not looking, and they take every opportunity you’re helping an individual student with an answer to share information with each other. It’s an educational circus.

            Change is slow. Yet even with an extreme crack-down on cheating, the concept of academic integrity is far from being understood... or at least practiced. One day after a battle with cheating students during a quiz, I asked all the students to stand up.

“Sit down if you think it’s appropriate to cheat during a quiz”. Two snarky girls sit down and glare at me in contempt.

“Sit down if you think it’s acceptable to “help” one another during a quiz or a test”. All but two students sat down.

My heart sank.

“Fail. Have fun taking the BAC exam twice. Now let’s get to work.”

            I was initially worried about teaching because I didn’t think I would like working with the youth. I was wrong, I love working with them. But I hate being their disciplinarian. I feel so small swimming in this system of corruption as a volunteer just trying to help where I can. The egoist in me says I should be doing more, but frustrations and mistakes humble mek.