Since the last time I have posted spring has descended upon Moldova! The days are getting longer and the sun is shining more. It seemed as if 80% of the winter was cloudy, so having the sun finally shining is a welcome change. This winter was long, cold, and snowy and I am ready for warmer days and leaving the long underwear in my closet!
Depending on who you ask, Martisor is a Moldovan holiday lasting either the first 10 days of March or the entire month of March. Martisor represents the beginning of spring and all the hopes and dreams for the coming year. There are many legends of Martisor, but most of them relate to love and death. Some represent Baba Dochia as the evil woman who causes winter to last forever and a boy or girl giving his/her life for spring. Just about every person has a Martisor pinned on their jacket, over their heart. It is red and white. Red to mean blood spilled and white for love. I’ve been given several Martisori from several students and each are different. While giving it to me they say something to the effect of I wish you a beautiful year full of hope, health, happiness, money, and your dreams coming true. There is no set way to make a Martisor other then keeping it red and white and in a bow.
My English Club at the library in Ungheni is going well. I love being in contact with students from other lyceums and discussing more topics than what there is time for in school. I have about 5 students who come every time and several others who come about half the time. At times it’s challenging to keep coming up with good ideas to keep them interesting, which also keeps me from getting lazy. One of the things I am trying to show is that women can be more than housewives and mothers (think 1950s American values). I have shown them that there are women who have both families and are successful in their jobs. I never really thought of myself as a feminist, but feel like I am one here. My Aunt Sharon sent me a Nebraska Life calendar. The March picture shows the Wayne State girls rugby team mid-tackle. Showing this image to my club was interesting. One boy said it was ugly because it isn’t right for women to do a man’s job/sport. Another girl asked him why they can’t if men can. I love when one of the girls stands up for their sex. I try not to push my views on them, since that is what is done in schools, but to show them that other views exist. I do this by showing pictures and bringing stories and biographies. I hope what I’m doing has some positive effect.
I’ve recently realized I only have 10 weeks of school left. This has made me start thinking more about how I want to spend my summer. School ends on May 31st and begins September 1st. Because I am the mentor coordinator for my program, the first part of June will be filled up with preparing for the new volunteer group (M25). I will also be involved in PST(Pre-Service Training) for the M25s which lasts from mid-June to mid-August. Not sure yet how busy I’ll be with that yet, but I do know it is something I want to be a part of. I’ve also thought about doing a summer camp in Ungheni and working with a local organization to do this. Nine months of the year are filled with teaching and having a very set schedule of things that must be done, so these three months of break will be a way to push myself to get out of my comfort zone and integrate more into my community. Of course I’m going to take a trip sometime end of July/beginning of August, but not sure where that will be.
Another thing I am currently working on is a grant to get more materials in our school to help with the foreign language programs. It’s a little intimidating to do this grant writing and to find ways for my school to raise part of the money. Many people in Moldova have never really heard of fund-raising or volunteering in the sense that we do in America. When I told my partner we usually have bake sales to raise money where I’m from she responded with, “they won’t buy things when they can go to a store and buy cookies there.” Trying to motivate people here into doing fund-raisers should be interesting. I know of other volunteers who have done it successfully so I hope to show what they’ve done to prove it can be a success.
In two weeks will be the week-long Easter vacation. I’ll be going to L’viv and Kiev, Ukraine with 3 other PCVs. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve heard both of these cities are beautiful. I also want to know what another PC country looks like in relation to Moldova.