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.