Its amazing how much you can communicate without speaking. The first day I went home with my host family I was overly anxious and worried about how we would communicate. But surprisingly we were able to get the point across. And if all else fails we just smile and I give a fake laugh - its great. We are just finishing our first full week of language training and its funny how many of us speak in broken english now. I'm amazed at how fast we are all picking up on the language.
My family is very curious about everything. They constantly ask how much things cost - my computer, my camera, my ipod. My "mamagazda" or host mother had her grandchild over and I took his picture and showed them how it transfered to the computer - th
ey were blown away.
The country of Moldova is a very beautiful place. But you are constantly being reminded that this place was once under Soviet rule. The streets are in really bad condition and strewn with trash. Its not uncommon to see loads of dumped trash on the side of the road. Also there are many buildings that are just a shell - having never been completed after Moldova became an independant country in 1991. Everyone has a large fence around their home with a gate near the road. Behind the gate, many of the yards are well maintained with flower plantings and fruit trees. Just beyond the gate - the road is filled with litter and fieces from cows, horses, geese, chickens, and dogs. I asked why they don't pick up the trash and the response makes sense. They said that many the people are used to living when the soviets ran everything and the only thing people had control over was their property behind the gate. So they spent all of their efforts taking care of thier personal property and left the streets to be taken care of by the government. Once the Soviet Union disbanned there was noone to take care of the streets - so everyone just over
looks it because the current government can not afford to sustain proper sanitation. Almost every house has a well and 90% of the wells are contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, and parasites. We were provided a distiller, brita filter, and clorine tablets.
The house I live in is very nice compared to some of the other homes. My room is obviously what was the dining room before I came - so I keep my stuff in the china cabinet. I have a door to the outside balcony, which is nice in the morning.
anyway enough for now -rt
My family is very curious about everything. They constantly ask how much things cost - my computer, my camera, my ipod. My "mamagazda" or host mother had her grandchild over and I took his picture and showed them how it transfered to the computer - th
ey were blown away.The country of Moldova is a very beautiful place. But you are constantly being reminded that this place was once under Soviet rule. The streets are in really bad condition and strewn with trash. Its not uncommon to see loads of dumped trash on the side of the road. Also there are many buildings that are just a shell - having never been completed after Moldova became an independant country in 1991. Everyone has a large fence around their home with a gate near the road. Behind the gate, many of the yards are well maintained with flower plantings and fruit trees. Just beyond the gate - the road is filled with litter and fieces from cows, horses, geese, chickens, and dogs. I asked why they don't pick up the trash and the response makes sense. They said that many the people are used to living when the soviets ran everything and the only thing people had control over was their property behind the gate. So they spent all of their efforts taking care of thier personal property and left the streets to be taken care of by the government. Once the Soviet Union disbanned there was noone to take care of the streets - so everyone just over
looks it because the current government can not afford to sustain proper sanitation. Almost every house has a well and 90% of the wells are contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, and parasites. We were provided a distiller, brita filter, and clorine tablets.The house I live in is very nice compared to some of the other homes. My room is obviously what was the dining room before I came - so I keep my stuff in the china cabinet. I have a door to the outside balcony, which is nice in the morning.
anyway enough for now -rt
1 comment:
That mosquitoe water sounds interesting!!! Great depiction, Ryan of life here... keep it going!
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