How would you define Challenge?

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 5^th.

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.

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!

Mother! Days before I left..

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! 

The most important people in my life!! Knowing the next picture like this will all be tears of joy!