In life we take a new step each day.. A step of faith, disbelief, courage, love, or simply for the future. The key to each of these steps is to measure out accurately what the final out come may be and is this step hindering or improving your future.
This is how I have been approaching the past few weeks in my village. Thinking day after day of the importance of being here in Iargara, the importance of completing my current project successfully, and the importance of being a good role model for the children/teenagers in my village.
Lately, each day at my center has brought me more joy. Each day I arrive at the center and I have 3-4 children yelling "Jamie!" With each time there is always this one distinctive voice. A young woman by the name of "Olga." This precious child is 12 years old and has down syndrome. She inspires me every day and always puts a smile on my face. Just seeing her at the center, and improving her skills daily, makes the journey all the more worth it. Not to mention the center has been open for three years and she hardly remembers anyones name, but I am the lucky one and she remembers me :)
As I was saying the current project I have with Junebug clothing has really made me take a step forward. Every day I look forward to checking my email, and searching through our blog to see of any responses, donations, or inspiring thoughts... This is what gets me through each day! I am so excited for the day when the children will receive their new packets of clothing with their jackets, hats and gloves. The smile on their faces will over power all the negative that has occurred thus far.
Most recently I have had several skype conversations with my friends and family back home. These conversations help me to realize how much my friends and family think and care about me, and also how much they recognize what I am doing over here in Moldova. It really helps me to believe in myself and also to gain more strength to continue.
Many thoughts run through my head on what I really want to accomplish in my service, and I can say the idea for my next project is stirring. As we know the reason why I joined Peace Corps was to see the difference in alcoholism and drug addiction in another part of the country and be able to compare it to the United States. With the five months that I have been in Moldova, I can say that I have seen much alcoholism, hardly any drug addiction, and in reality know little about either of them here in this country.
This is what I know:
Alcoholism(in my village)- I see many men drunk by 11am and they can barely walk to the next store, I have seen people passed out by noon in the grass, people rather drank wine or beer with their meals and if you don't have either of these they won't drink anything, Moldovans allow their own children to drank alcohol(the youngest I have seen is a 10 months old baby drinking beer), I had a young woman in fifth grade beg to have alcohol at her birthday party, the majority of the children at my center have parents that are alcoholics and don't get fed most of the day due to this, if you go to the local bar the majority of people there are 15 year olds enjoying their favorite vodka or beer, and if you ever go to a celebration which is basically every day you better be ready to drink.
Drug Addiction: Marijuana grows everywhere, and the only other popular drug is heroin. Beyond that I haven't found out much more information, but will hopefully be volunteering at the only IV drug rehab center in Moldova very soon!
Therefore as a whole the idea of my next project is to do a seminar about fetal alcohol syndrome. I want to educate the women and men about this possibility and to give them the knowledge of what some of their children may have. There will be a lot of obstacles with this seminar, but I am truly ready for the challenge no matter how many people back lash at me.
I thrive off of adventure, the feeling of starting and accomplishing something that no one else has even touched or thought of in this village is amazing.. I may not be able to impact every person, or have everyone like me, but I can help people to know the truth of what they are doing to themselves and their children.
To go back to my current project. I ask whoever is reading this blog to think about what is your daily routine. Do you have water? Toliet? Clothes? Car? Cellphone?... Do you eat out? Go for a drink with your friends? Go to a concert? or all the above? If so, please think if you donate 10-15 dollars to my center, you are helping one child to have a new winter coat, gloves and a hat. There are many times we can be selfish as people and that is very normal, and most of the time healthy. But for today.. Please be selfish for one of the Moldovan children.
I am excited about my adventure, excited to help, not every day I am happy, but in the end I know I will walk away from this country with success.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
October in Moldova
This past month has been full of lots of adventure, trials, joys, sadness, and every emotion possible. For starters I have been working my tail off at my center, and at the school to get things up and running for myself and my service. And I can proudly say that I am getting somewhere, and making progress.
First Project- English Clubs
5th and 6th Grade- 2pm-2:45pm
9th and 10th Grade-2pm-2:45pm
11th and 12th Grade-3pm-3:45pm
Second Project- Sports Club for Women
Monday-Wednesday-Friday-330pm-4:15pm
Third Project- JuneBug Meets Pentru Tine
-One of my first and yet biggest projects to come. Recently I connected with Tom’s shoes on facebook asking him to contact me about helping Moldovan children. Tom never contacted me in return, however another fan say the post and contacted me. That person was Wendy BigBie- proud owner of JuneBug clothing company for children. This woman is amazing and has a huge heart to help children.
-We started talking about helping the children in my center ages 2-10 because that is what her clothing line sells for. However, after I sent her all the information about my center, about Iargara, and overall about Moldova, she didn’t want to just do that, she wanted to help as much as she could.
-Right now we are working on two projects: 1 was getting the dresses and pants for the children ages 2-10, so they have nice new clothes for the holidays. And the 2nd project is a jacket, hat and glove drive for children ages 2-18 in my center.
-We are hoping to have all these supplies by the end of December. It’s not to far away, however we are working quickly and efficiently. You should really check out our blog and facebook page. And just recognize the wonderful people in this world that are willing to help others.
Email: helpingiargara@gmail.com
Facebook page: Pentru Tine Meets June Bug
Fourth Project: Meeting with Tony Hawk
-No not the famous skateboarder, the famous author and comedian.
-This meeting is to discuss partnerships in Moldova and how to find and raise funding for my center. As well all know my center is possibly closing in March 2012 and is in dire need of some strategic planning and resources.
-Tony has agreed to meet with me around December 8,2011 to discuss all these issues and to discuss possible solutions.
-Tony started an organization in Chisinau Moldova bye the name of Hippocrates Children’s Center.
-Check it out: http://www.tony-hawks.com/about.php
Fifth Project- Halloween Parties
Currently I am planning three different Halloween parties. What can you say when the American is in the village, everyone gets crazy excited about this wonderful time. J
-The first party is with a 5th grader which will take place on October 28th. This is also Erina’s birthday. We are planning lots of games, food, and overall the works that goes along with Halloween.
-It has been pretty awesome to plan a party with this young motivated girl, whom speeks English better then anyone in my village. She has a private tutor, and has really excelled.
-The downfall about this party is this young girl approached me saying “My friends want to have alcohol at my party.” As everyone who knows me can already guess my response, NO! Yet, I didn’t say it that way, simply I expressed to her that I don’t believe that having alcohol at her party was a good idea, and let her know that if she choose that I would not be attending the party. She did ask questions on “why,” and I simply let her know the culture in America and what I did for my job in the states. She understand and respected my thoughts, and said she would rather have me at the party.. “That was nice to hear.”
Sixth Project- Soccer Tournamet- Completed
-On October 22nd Peace Corps had ten volunteers play in a soccer tournament. How this applies to me is the mere fact that I put this team together and helped raised 100 Euro for charity.
-This charity is called Hospice Angelus which is for children and elderly whom are sick and dying. This organization allows people to go into the homes of the people whom are sick and help take care of them.
-It was a really awesome turn out. We did lose all three games, but to side note we were the only team that has never practiced soccer, let alone knew how to play. All the other teams were quite professional and were on leagues.
-The upside is Peace Corps was able to go against the Uk and US Embassy, and played against the ambassador of the US Embassy.
-Overall all we raised 1600 Euro for this organization, and walked away with a big smile on our face and recognized that we all had a great time!
Overall that is the projects I have going, enough to keep me busy to say the least.
Host Family Situation
-As most know I was blessed with a wonderful family in the village of Stauceni and was able to make some great bonds with them. I have to say I am very lucky to have them here in Moldova with knowing that whenever I am said and need to be cheered up, I can go spend a weekend with them and feel refreshed!
-On the other note I wasn’t so blessed with my permanent site host family. The three months that I have been living here it truly has been a nightmare, and has begun to weigh on me emotionally and physically. I would have to say I have never met a person who genuially doesn’t care about me as a person, she only cares about the money. This has really begun to hurt my feelings due to my host mom constantly throwing comments in my face such as: 1. No person in Moldova gets sick. 2. Your host family in Stauceni has life so easy and they don’t do anything to earn their keep. 3. You need to start paying your center if you want to have lunch there. 4. Your life in American is so easy, you don’t even know. 5. I won’t make you a fire because you wore a dress today (granted it was a winter dress) .. And many many more….
-Overall I can not take this abuse any more and want to move out. The Peace Corps director and doctors all agree that would be the best thing for my sanity and my health.
-November 1st is the big day. I will be moving into a “Casa Mica,” which is a small house in the yard of a bigger house. My new host mom seems great, and will give me all the privacy in the world.
-The luxury of living in a “casa mica,” is that its my own home, I will make my own food, have privacy, be able to have quests, and decorate the home how I would like it. Very excited about this!
Things that are different today in my life:
- I have to distill all my water before I drank it (takes 5-6 hours for 4 liters)
- Im use to being unclean most of the day due to the muddy roads and dirty water.
- On a daily basis I have to ask “what is this,” about the food because most of the time its internal organs or pieces of meat that I am not supposed to eat.
- There are worms in my food, and my host mom thinks that’s ok.
- I can’t remember Spanish, mess up on my English, and recognize that most of the time I am speaking in Romanian.
- Every day I am pushed out of my comfort zone into a new situation that requires patience and determination to get through it.
- I am noticed by everyone as “the American.”
- The things I look forward to the most are my skype dates with friends and family.
- Overall my whole life has changed in Moldova.
New Experiences:
- Wine Festival
- Playing Uno with my 4 new Moldovan friends(2 sets of couples)
- Looking for Grant money
- Starting my own Projects and Clubs
- Soccer Tournament
- Latin Music Concert- attended for charity
- First COD(my group) and ARBD(ag-group) seminar.
- Picking Grapes and making wine with host family in Stauceni.
Upcoming Adventures
1. House change November 1st.
2. IST-language and experience training November 4th and 5th
3. Germany Trip to see Dana(cousin) November 24-27th- Ansbach, Munich andNuremberg.
4. Spain Trip with another PCV- December 20-27th
5. Possibly Paris Trip- New Years Eve to see my friend Mandi from Iowa
There are many approaches I could of taken to summarize what is going on in my life, but I hope this does the job. In reality I can say I am happy and things are getting better with my service in Moldova. Never did I think it would be this hard being here, and never did I think it would be such a challenge. Yet this experience is making me stronger and I really feel as if I am benefiting out of being a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
How would you define Challenge?
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| Most painful walk.. away from my friends and family in Iowa.. |
How would you define a challenge?
There are many definitions of a challenge, and I truly believe for each person it will be different. We all may have the same concept in mind, but the areas of struggles are what make each of us very unique.
I have came across many of my own challenges here in Moldova.. A challenge to me is something that makes me take a step back, take a breath, get energy, and drive forward harder then ever. To begin describing some of those challenges I want to remind myself and others that I am living, breathing, and awaking in another country every day. This helps my mindset every day, with knowing that each new challenge I endure there is a chance to conquer!
My first challenge was integration into a Moldovan community. From the time I took my first step off the plane in Chisinau, Moldova- I knew my life would be different in every way. I would have to adjust to new food, houses, attitudes, stares, language, and everything in between. Do I need to say more? Exciting and overwhelming mixed into one... However here are some of the ways I have integrated thus far!
- I can say that I found a love for some of the moldovan foods such as: stuffed peppers(with rice and meat), bosteneii(zucchini with garlic), koldsenash(dough with meat, cheese or potatoes), and many others.
-As for the language I have never been more proud of myself. I recently took my language proficiency test on October 5th and received an Intermediate-mid on this :) Never in my dreams did I believe I could learn a language in 4 short months! Granted I am far from perfect, but I can get by quite well. In which here is the email I received in regards to this!
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for your hard work and dedication proved during PST and PST Phase III language classes. Keep on doing the same great job to achieve even better results in your Romanian language learning.
I want to congratulate you for getting Intermediate Mid during the Language Proficiency Interview you had on October 5th.
If you will need any support or advice, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to support you with any language, cross-culture or integration issues you may face.
Thank you and have a great service in Moldova.
-As for attitudes, stares, houses and all in between I am still adjusting.. However, I have to admit I have started calling the house in "Stauceni, Moldova with the Titco family "my home." In which I give myself credit in that sense with feeling adjusted!
Next challenge was adjusting to a whole new group of friends and people. As all my friends and family back home know, I have always been a very sociable person, and in reality I never thought it would be hard to integrate into a group of new people.. I can say I was wrong in this area, and it has been more difficult then I have ever imagined. There are many things I have had to dumb down about my personality while being in Moldova, such as my joking around. It takes a certain type of person to understand my attitude and humor, and if they don't pick up on it, many things can go wrong... In which these are something of things I have been trying to do...
-Never judge people before you know who they are.
-Accept peoples attitudes for what they are and try to go with the flow.
-Only say things in return if they are necessary, some arguments on beliefs aren't worth the stress.
-Respect each persons dreams and desires, and try to grow from them.
-Understand what brought each INDIVIDUAL to Peace Corps, with knowing that none of us will be the same.
All and all the things I have mentioned above, have helped me to get a better understanding about people, and their dreams, beliefs and desires. We won't always get along with each person, but I can say for sure we can learn something from each person. Never throw anyone to the side based on first impressions.
Following with the challenge of Moldovan life as a whole. The culture that sits in front of me each day is a challenge to overcome every minute. Some of which are the following:
-Young children drinking alcohol and their parents reinforcing it.
-Lack of sanitary conditions and beliefs about them (lack of use of soap)
-The "foarte tare," way of speaking, which essentially means VERY LOUD!
-Lack of structure, and waiting until the last minute to complete much needed tasks.
-Untimely schedule, and knowing people will never be on time.
-And lastly the burning of the trash!
These are just a few examples of the different ways of life that moldovan culture lives. Not saying that these are all wrong or horrible, they are just challenges for me to overcome. And I will emphasize on this that I have to try every minute I am in Moldovan to adjust to these new ways. As a whole I can say that I am slowly adjusting to these, with the example of people talking very loudly at each other.. I have slowly begun to not even look twice, or second guess on what is going on between people, because the majority of the time its just natural conversation that is held in a very loud tone.
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| Difference in sanitary conditions... |
The hardest challenge yet is living with out my friends, family and my cat Ellie. Not going to lie writing that sentence just brought tears to my eyes.. And all I can say in return to this specific challenge is thank you to all the wonderful people in my life that I have back home. God blessed with with the most amazing friends and family that I could ever ask for. Moldova has made me realize this even more day after day!
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| Mother! Days before I left.. |
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| Saying goodbye to my best friend! |
In conclusion to this blog I want each person who read this to think about something that challenges you the most. Think about the way it makes you feel, and go into depth with each emotion. Such thoughts can be overwhelming, but I have always found that when you concentrate on the challenge, and want to conquer it, you always come out on top!
Go for everything you can, and everything you are!
Here are some words from some of my fellow volunteers and friends with the question of "What does a challenge mean to you?"
Marlene Lopez( PCV)- I would say something that stands in the way of you fulfilling your true potential and dreams.
Laura Hinspeter(Fellow FXB)- I would define Challenge as something that takes hard work, determination and perseverance to achieve the end goal or result... Example: it is a challenge to keep my patience when dealing with my kids sometimes.. and completing FXB was a challenge...
Rachel Gleason(PCV)- testing your limits and going beyond your comfort zone.
Krysten Pierce(Friend)- This question.. something that pushes you outside your comfort zone, that pushes you mentally and physically to overcome it...
James Tiger(PCV)- Challenge is a task or situation that tests someone's abilities.
Justin Ringer (Uncle)- A challenge once conquered, is a tool we can use to validate our personal greatness!
Justin Ringer (Uncle)- A challenge once conquered, is a tool we can use to validate our personal greatness!
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| The most important people in my life!! Knowing the next picture like this will all be tears of joy! |
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Catching up about my life here in Moldova
As you discover life can be different each day. A day of happiness, sadness, holidays, deaths, and everything in between. We really never know how to predict our life ahead of us, all we can do is live in the now and hope for the best in the future. This is the mindset that I have been trying to keep with each day I am in Moldova.
Today I have lived in Moldova for four months, and have been sworn in as a volunteer for two months.. Its really quite breath taking if I think about it... To live, sleep, wake up, breath and eat in another country every day for four months is an accomplishment in itself... But not only that its recognizing and looking back on the successes and challenges I have had along the way.. When I left America I really had no idea what to expect from Peace Corps, and to tell you the truth I still dont know what to expect with my service or my time here in Moldova, I can only go off of what has happened thus far. That is the joy and also the fright about being here.
There are many things that have happened to me over the past week that I have enjoyed to the fullest. One of those was the accomplishment with my romanian language. What I mean by this is four months ago I was not able to have a conversation with my host mom, and today I am able to have an in depth conversation. Three days ago my host mother and I got into a conversation about my mother, my father, and all the wonderful people in my life. She wanted to know why I had several sets of parents in my life. Well the truth was finally revealed about my past to my host mom, as hard as it is to talk about these areas of my life, it was also so fulfilling with being able to let her know a little about who I am and what I am about..
There are many stereotypes that Americans have about Moldovans and they have about us.. I was able to break some of those during this conversation... An example of this is the daily life of my host father here in Stauceni... His day consists of waking up, eating, working, eating and sleeping again. He really doesnt have time for anything else because he needs to work alot to provide for his family... During our conversation I was able to explain to my host mother that I had three jobs while I was back home and that I would also work all day and night to make and save money to be a volunteer.. We have the stereotype alot of the time that life is easy in America.. well it is in some ways, but is also very hard in others...
Another topic that we discussed during this time was the idea of vacations.. I let my host mother know that I am going to Germany in November to see my cousin and Spain in December with a friend. I shared this with her because she truly means something to me and I just like to share the joyful aspects of my life. Well this conversation brought up the differences in American then Moldova. Caroline explained to me that they dont have enough money to go on a lot of vacations that is why they have so many guests over at their houses so often. She went on to say that having guests over was their time to have fun and just relax away from work. This really made since to me, because when I think about it in America I really never had guests over that often, it really was only for special occasions like my birthday. This conversation really allowed me to step back and think... going on vacations in America is our time to relax and get away, when thats not possible you have to improvise and still make positive fun moments in your life.. Knowing that fun can be wherever you want it to be.
These examples are only a few of the many conversations I have had with my host mother, along with other moldovan people. There is so many thoughts and feelings to share with one another.. I know one of my main goals while I am here in Moldova is to allow myself to open up and be apart of a family, well that goal is already well on its way, I can truly say that Caroline, Peter, Katya and Nichole are my family, and will forever be in my heart..
With thinking about family and mentioning all the joys, I also look at how hard it is to be away from my family in America. I have always been close to each family member that I have, and have tried my whole life to build positive long lasting relationships with each of them. With this being said its very difficult to be in Moldova on different occassions when great events happen in my friends and families lives.. However maybe it also makes me appreciate them alot more. An example of this is my best friend in the whole world is pregnant and I wasnt able to be there for her to give her a hug and congratulate her on such exciting news.. Yet I know when I do see her and this wonderful child it will be such an amazing celebration and I cant look forward to anything more! Friendships.. families.. relationships.. and everything in between can be there for a lifetime if your willing to work at them and put in the effort..
This past week has been a great week, many lessons learned, many skills obtained, and a growth in my heart that no one can ever take away. This week I am sending out a thanks to my host mother Caroline, and my friends and family back home!
Today I have lived in Moldova for four months, and have been sworn in as a volunteer for two months.. Its really quite breath taking if I think about it... To live, sleep, wake up, breath and eat in another country every day for four months is an accomplishment in itself... But not only that its recognizing and looking back on the successes and challenges I have had along the way.. When I left America I really had no idea what to expect from Peace Corps, and to tell you the truth I still dont know what to expect with my service or my time here in Moldova, I can only go off of what has happened thus far. That is the joy and also the fright about being here.
There are many things that have happened to me over the past week that I have enjoyed to the fullest. One of those was the accomplishment with my romanian language. What I mean by this is four months ago I was not able to have a conversation with my host mom, and today I am able to have an in depth conversation. Three days ago my host mother and I got into a conversation about my mother, my father, and all the wonderful people in my life. She wanted to know why I had several sets of parents in my life. Well the truth was finally revealed about my past to my host mom, as hard as it is to talk about these areas of my life, it was also so fulfilling with being able to let her know a little about who I am and what I am about..
There are many stereotypes that Americans have about Moldovans and they have about us.. I was able to break some of those during this conversation... An example of this is the daily life of my host father here in Stauceni... His day consists of waking up, eating, working, eating and sleeping again. He really doesnt have time for anything else because he needs to work alot to provide for his family... During our conversation I was able to explain to my host mother that I had three jobs while I was back home and that I would also work all day and night to make and save money to be a volunteer.. We have the stereotype alot of the time that life is easy in America.. well it is in some ways, but is also very hard in others...
Another topic that we discussed during this time was the idea of vacations.. I let my host mother know that I am going to Germany in November to see my cousin and Spain in December with a friend. I shared this with her because she truly means something to me and I just like to share the joyful aspects of my life. Well this conversation brought up the differences in American then Moldova. Caroline explained to me that they dont have enough money to go on a lot of vacations that is why they have so many guests over at their houses so often. She went on to say that having guests over was their time to have fun and just relax away from work. This really made since to me, because when I think about it in America I really never had guests over that often, it really was only for special occasions like my birthday. This conversation really allowed me to step back and think... going on vacations in America is our time to relax and get away, when thats not possible you have to improvise and still make positive fun moments in your life.. Knowing that fun can be wherever you want it to be.
These examples are only a few of the many conversations I have had with my host mother, along with other moldovan people. There is so many thoughts and feelings to share with one another.. I know one of my main goals while I am here in Moldova is to allow myself to open up and be apart of a family, well that goal is already well on its way, I can truly say that Caroline, Peter, Katya and Nichole are my family, and will forever be in my heart..
With thinking about family and mentioning all the joys, I also look at how hard it is to be away from my family in America. I have always been close to each family member that I have, and have tried my whole life to build positive long lasting relationships with each of them. With this being said its very difficult to be in Moldova on different occassions when great events happen in my friends and families lives.. However maybe it also makes me appreciate them alot more. An example of this is my best friend in the whole world is pregnant and I wasnt able to be there for her to give her a hug and congratulate her on such exciting news.. Yet I know when I do see her and this wonderful child it will be such an amazing celebration and I cant look forward to anything more! Friendships.. families.. relationships.. and everything in between can be there for a lifetime if your willing to work at them and put in the effort..
This past week has been a great week, many lessons learned, many skills obtained, and a growth in my heart that no one can ever take away. This week I am sending out a thanks to my host mother Caroline, and my friends and family back home!
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