Первый Блин Всегда Комом

That's what my Russian professor told me earlier today. It literally means "the first blin (a Russian pancake) out of the oven is never the best." She told me this after I commented on how my paper I'm writing for her will be rife with spelling and grammatical errors. I'm genuinely surprised at how much Russian I've learned since I've been here. When I first got here my primary language was a bizarre mixture of Spanish and the Romanian that Silvia had jotted down on a piece of paper for me. About a month ago, however, as my Russian classes got more in depth and frequent, Russian took over as the main language I speak when I'm on my own. Now it's no way from good, but I can get around the city just fine with what I know, and I've even been able to carry on more than a few basic conversations over the past week or so. Pretty fun stuff actually.

In other news: I went to Odessa a week and a half ago. I was only there for a day but it was definitely the day to be there. April 1 is apparently one of the biggest annual festivals on this side of the world, and I must say it seemed that way. There were so many buses leaving Moldova for Odessa that I ended up being stuck on the Moldovan/Ukrainian border for over two and a half hours. Once I got there though it was a hell of a time. My tiredness from getting about three hours of sleep quickly vanished once I saw the Potemkin Steps.

The Potemkin Steps are best known as the setting for one of the most famous and influential scenes in the history of film. I'll save you the boring details of why they're such a big deal, but you should definitely look 'em up. I will tell you though that the most recent Star Wars movie and the movie The Untouchables feature scenes which are practically identical to the scene in question. The bottom line: I was pumped in a very nerdy way.

From there it just got better, free concerts, masses of people speaking every language imaginable (I think I even heard some Hindi and Chinese), and of course the unique architecture of the city. Quite the day trip from Chisinau. The trip also helped my grasp of Russian too.

Other than that there's not too much more to report on. I'll hopefully be able to get two weeks off for Easter and do a good bit of traveling in the Western part of the former Soviet Union (Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltics, etc.). I'll update you all when I get more info on that in the next post though.

Oh yeah, one more thing, I bought a world map labeled in Russian on the street while walking to the internet cafe today. I haven't opened it up yet but my buddies back home will definitely know what about it I'm gonna notice first.

That's all for today folks, thanks for reading.

By the by: watch Двенадцать (12), and listen to Rage Against the Machine

Also: In my last post I incorrectly used the word други (droogi). This term has no meaning in Russian. Друг has an irregular plural of другзья (droogzya), meaning "friends". Sorry

Russian Beer, Ukrainian Chips, and German Pizza.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me in this country is the variety of languages I see and hear everyday. The official language of Moldova is Moldovan, a language which is almost identical to Romanian. In the city however, Russian is everywhere, either alongside Romanian, or completely on its own. Russian is even used by a large percentage of Chisinau's population as the first language spoken. Aside from the Russian/Romanian divide in the city, there is a plethora of other languages that can be found by walking through the city streets, or even better, the city's grocery stores.

I was walking to catch my rutiera a few days ago and heard, in the space of five minutes, a group of students speaking German, a street performer singing Russian folk songs (who kicks ass by the way), two people speaking English, and another couple speaking French (a fun fact that I did not know until yesterday: Moldova is a member of La Francophonie. In case you wanted to know)

Even more striking is the diversity of products available in the Green Hills market at the bottom of my apartment building. Not only are the signs in the store posted in both Russian and Romanian, but a simple stroll down any of the isles involves encountering at least three languages. So far I've seen: English, French, Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Spanish, German, Georgian, Turkish, Uzbek, Kazakh, and there are others I am sure. Also, depending on who your cashier may happen to be, you will be addressed in either Russian or Romanian.

Even with all this seeming linguistic diversity, language remains a divisive issue here. One question I am always asked in my meetings with students is: "why are you learning Russian instead of Romanian?" The recent memories of Soviet control are still strong amongst the population, many of whom regard the Russian language as a language of oppression, some of my close friends here hold such an opinion.

While I am in no way going to preach my opinion as truth here, I will give my personal opinion, take it for what it is worth. Moldova is a highly diverse nation, a nation of many languages and political affiliations. There are regions where Russian is spoken almost uniform, and the same goes for Romanian. There are also regions where Ukrainian is predominantly spoken, as well as the southern region where Gaguz, a variant of Turkish is also spoken widely. I see no problem with having a multi ethnic, multi lingual state, which almost exists de facto here, but as I said these are my own opinions gathered from my short time in this country.

Thanks for reading droogi, keep on keepin' on on the other side of the world and I'll try to do the same. Until next time, I'm off to get a few Baltikas and a German frozen pizza.

By the by: listen to Zdob si Zdub and watch Mindwalk.

Life is just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice.

Seeing as how it's been weeks since I last updated this thing and there are far too many stories to tell, I'll just list off some of the things that have happened since the last update.

During my time in Moldova I have been stared at, laughed at, yelled at, robbed, been hassled by police, customs officers, and border patrol, been asked for bribes, been to a Moldovan hospitial, been pulled over while riding in a cab, and so many other things that would be laughable back home.

On the flip side, however, I have met people who's experiences and stories have challenged the way I think about every facet of life, had the opportunity to travel to places people back home have never heard of, gained a true appreciation of just how good people in the "West" have it, made friends which will last a lifetime, and if I were to continue the list I would fill pages.

There have been bad times and there have been good times, but that is life. Adjusting to a culture so radically different from your own while completely on your own is no easy task, and it's not supposed to be and easy task. I learn more about myself and this place with each passing day, and that was really the reason I came to Moldova.

When it comes down to it, as Mr. Hicks once said, we can change this ride anytime we want. If given the chance to start over and change the ride I've had since arriving here in January would I? There is no fucking way.

I promise a more standard issue post next time, until then moi droogs, da svidanya.

T.I.M.

I've been sick for the past few days. I knew it was going to happen at some point during my excursion into the Wild West of Europe, but wasn't exactly sure when. It seems to have dissipated since yesterday, but I didn't get out much over the past three days or so. Life goes on however, and it looks as if I'll be back in fighting form within a day or two.

In other news. I finally found a place with free wifi. It's coincidentally at a place called Bar Havana. It's a very Moldovan interpretation of a Cuban bar. There are pictures all over the place of what appears to be Cuba, as well as a giant stencil of Che Guevara right as you enter. I have noticed in my time here, however, that the music in certain places doesn't quite match up with the theme of the place. As with the Irish pub that played Reggae all night, this particular establishment seems to have a mixture of songs that sound like they came off of Pure Moods with some bad Frank Sinatra covers mixed in there, just to make things interesting (there's also a hookah in the corner which seems oddly out of place).

I apparently taught two English classes last week. It was my understanding that I was going to meet with some Moldovan students who study under some of the professors I know over at IRIM and talk with them about American life and Moldovan life and the differences and similarities. I would later find out that the time I spent talking with them was actually their English class for the day. Every group spoke English very well and some even invited me out for a tour of the city. There seems to be a significant divide between a great deal of the students I've met here. Some want nothing more than to graduate, get a job somewhere that will get them out of the country, and leave and never look back. There are others, however, who seem truly committed to seeing their homeland succeed in the way I know it can.

It looks as if I'm heading out to the village next weekend. Silvia wants to go back to Ermaclia (her hometown) for International Womens Day (March 8) and I think I'll be tagging along. It'll be my first village experience since I arrived here over a month ago and should be quite the trip. There is a significant urban/rural divide in Moldova, the majority of Moldovans live in villages or towns, with less than a million people (out of a population of around 4 million) living in big cities. The contrast between Chisinau and the village will be quite a sight.

I have learned during my (relatively short) travels, that the world is a very small place. Whether it's randomly running into a Mercer professor in a tiny town in northern France, or finding a Mercer graduate who happens to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova, people have a way of bumping into one another. This became ever more clear to me when I received an email from my mom telling me about three Moldovans who had been living in Vinings (my neighborhood of Atlanta) for the past month or so. Not only that, but they are heading back to Chisinau today, and one of them lives literally right down the street from me. I should be meeting up with them in the next few days and seeing how life back home is, as well as getting a little care package from home that they were nice enough to take with them.

Until next time friends of mine, stay healthy, stay warm, and keep the chatter up.

By the by: watch Sunshine and listen to Deftones.

On Newpapers and Transportation

I've checked every hotel, every Moldpresa, anywhere that might have something resembling a newspaper and so far the only English language "paper" I've found here has been the Tiraspol Times (the official newspaper for Transnistria). Trust me, I'd get more unbiased opinions from watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh than I would from reading the Triaspol Times. But finally, thanks to a website I found called http://www.englishmoldova.com/ I found a place to get a newspaper. Not only did they have all of yesterday's daily newpapers from the states, but they also had something I never dreamed of finding in Moldova: The Economist. It was expensive even by American standards (113 lei), which means it's outrageously expensive by Moldovan standards, but I had to grab a copy.

Speaking of the Tiraspol Times, thanks to the recent declaration of independence made by Kosovo on Sunday, Transnistria is trying (and failing miserably) to follow suit. Check it out: http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/news/transdniestria_seeks_recognition_of_its_de_facto_independence.html

In other news, I've stopped taking the trolleybus to school. For those unfortunate few who have never been to Moldova, a trolleybus is a bus which is rigged up to an overhead electric cable and runs designated routes all over the city. Most of these busses look and sound as if they were built in early 1970s and seem as if nothing has been done to them since. In other words: they're big, bulky, and incredibly slow. They are quite prone to failure, as the "horns" (as Irina describes them) often become dislodged from the wires, forcing the driver to get out and reconnect them in the middle of a busy street. Also, they get incredibly packed during rush hour, I've had to stand on the steps up into the trolleybus on more than one occasion. The upside is: they cost about 9 cents to ride.

Instead of riding the trolleybus, I'm taking the marginally more expensive, and much more fun, rutiera. A ruteria is basically a giant van that seats about 12 and has standing room in the middle. They're probably only designed to fit about 12 - 15 , but there's usually around 17-18 people per rutiera, even more during rush hour. Like the trolleybus, they run designated routes around the city, but unlike the trolleybus, there are no designated stops for rutieras. You have to flag the particular rutiera down as it approaches like you would a taxi, get on, pay the driver your three lei, and watch as he barrels down the streets of Chisinau at a speed which seems to approach the speed of sound. All of this occurs while the driver talks on his cell phone, smokes, counts money, and listens to the latest selection of Moldovan/Russian hip-hop or dance music. When you want to get off you squeeze your way through to the front and tell the driver where you would like to get off. All in all, a much more interesting and quicker way to get around the city.

While I never could, and never would want to, describe life here as routine, things are settling down. I'm learning more than I thought possible about two languages which I spoke nothing of four weeks ago, I talk about getting on the rutiera like it's no big deal, I walk around the city and actually know where the hell I'm going. I really feel as if I'm connected to this place, or at least as connected as a foreigner who's been here four weeks can feel. I thoroughly await the next four months and the experiences they will bring.

Listening to Jazz in Moldova

I almost got hit by a car today. Let me rephrase. I almost got hit by a car today, while walking on the sidewalk. Narrowly avoiding being struck by automobiles has become an almost daily occurrence since I've been here. Thanks to a lack of urban planning and the relatively recent explosion of autos into the country, there's a severe deficiency of parking in the city of Chisinau. As a solution, everyone who owns a car simply parks on the sidewalk. It makes for a very interesting commute to school when I have class, as I must dodge the cars pulling in or pulling out or squeeze through the cars that have already parked. But today: I was merely walking to school like every Thursday/Friday and I look up and this car whizzes right by me. It was the first time I've had to step into the road to avoid being hit. Ah the fun games in this city never cease.

I'm shocked at how much Romanian I've picked up passively since I've been here. I can already count to 100 and not once have I actually sat down to study it. My Russian's improving as well, which leads to some humorous situations when dealing with people who don't speak English. Sometimes I'll know a phrase in Romanian and use that at one point during a conversation, then during the same conversation I'll know the Russian phrase and use that. But mostly my conversations still consist of confused pointing, smiling, nodding, and the occasional thumbs up. Another fun situation is when I come into contact with someone who does speak English. I will say something in incredibly fractured Russian/Romanian, they will respond in English, and I, refusing to give into the temptation of speaking English, usually respond in more fractured Russian/Romanian. It leads to thoroughly confused looks on both parties faces.

The culture shock I spoke of a few days ago has, for the most part, gone by the wayside. I'm sure it will strike again, but I think now that I actually have things do (and believe me, I've got a lot of them) it should be easier to handle next time. I've got to put some grant proposals together for Clipa, study up on the Balkans, learn ten billion Russian words, and figure out just what in the hell I'm going to talk about to the Moldovan students. Sylvia's in Romania for the weekend, which means I'm probably going to spend a good amount of time with the Peace Corps volunteers this weekend. They tend to come into the city on the weekends. I've decided not to go to Ukraine this weekend, I need to improve my Russian a bit more before I venture alone into a Russian speaking country. Maybe in a few more weeks. Also, I really don't want to go through Transnistria alone speaking minimal Russian.

That's it for now dear readers, keep fighting the good fight over there and I'll do the same here.

By the by: listen to Medeski Martin and Wood, and watch L.A. Confidential

Cat Food and Breakfast Cereal

Dear friends of mine I apologise for not updating this in such a long time but I've been going through the mother of all culture shocks for the past few days. It seems to have died down a bit yesterday and today, but man, it was bad. I suppose it was a mixture of the weather, the language barrier, and the schedule I've had recently. Whatever though. Life goes on. If I wanted it easy I could have gone to England or Australia.

Quite a lot has happened since I last updated. I had my first classes which went fine but let me tell you: Russian is an incredibly difficult language to learn. I felt like I was five years old trying to pronounce the days of the week. Multilateral Diplomacy in the Balkans seems both interesting and relavant considering where I am and what's gone on there. It's going to be fun where that class goes after a few weeks.

Plans are in the works for a trip to either Kiev or Odesa in one of the upcoming weekends. There are several buses that leave the city daily for both locales. I've just got to keep up with the Russian before I leave. Odesa's about five hours by bus and Kiev's about 12. So if I leave for Kiev I'll probably have to leave right after class on friday and get back sometime on monday. I'll update you all as the information becomes available.

There's also a chance I'll be heading into Russia at some point soon. I have to figure out when exactly spring break is over here, but I think that would be a prime time to head to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The only problem with Russia is that there is so much red tape associated with heading in there I have to start planning to get a visa pretty soon (it takes about 3 weeks to month to get a visa into Russia). It also helps that Air Moldova has relatively cheap fares to Moscow. It'd be much cheaper to take the train or the bus, but flying not only saves me time (the bus takes 32 hours versus 3 by plane), but I'll also avoid Transnistria. Don't get me wrong, I do want to go to Tiraspol, but now's not the best time.

That's about all I got for now friends. Until next time, take it easy.

By the by: listen to Air