July 2010
33 posts
Dear Casey
I learned about your blog from my friend, when I asked her if there are many foreigners in Moldova.
She told that there are few of them: mostly students or volunteers.
And here she remembered about your blog:)
I wanted to ask you why did you decide to come to Moldova? Did you know about the country before?
What did you expect to see when coming here, and what surprised when you actually arrived?
Wish you a nice stay in Moldova!
Best regards
Tatiana
Tatiana, thanks for your message. Peace Corps Volunteers normally don’t choose their country, but I requested to come to Moldova, for a couple of reasons. First, the human rights issues here interested me — in particular the problems with domestic violence and trafficking in women for sexual exploitation — and I wanted to see how I could help. Second, the idea of living in the former Soviet Union has always interested me, and I wanted the chance to learn some Russian.
As for what I expected to see, I can’t really remember! I didn’t expect all the wonderful fresh fruit in June and July. I was surprised to see that so many young people are so desperate to flee the country for work. I am also continually impressed by how much everyone seems to take care of and responsibility for their neighbors, sharing and helping when it’s needed, which in my opinion is something we lack in the U.S.
I love reading about your experiences in a country that I quite honestly didn't even know existed. Ashamedly ignorant but happy to be educated on it. What gave you the idea to organize a charity run and is that something that is done very often there?
Also, I'm from Tennessee as well. I lived in Chattanooga for about 10 years, Go Vols!!!
The run wasn’t my idea; it was the brainchild of a Moldovan girl I know who has been an exchange student in the U.S. (Huntsville, AL of all places) and a bunch of other Moldovan kids who have studied in the U.S. None of them had ever run in a real race, though, and as a runner they wanted my advice on how to lay out the course, where to have water, etc.
Running in general isn’t very popular here — though it’s more popular in Chisinau with the younger generation — and when I go jogging I get stared at like I’m from another planet. The stares are pretty unnerving, and as a result I find it difficult to motivate myself to go running, which is frustrating for me because I loved running at home.
I’ve got family from Soddy-Daisy and I worked in Chattanooga for a summer, so knowing how small the place is I’m sure we know some of the same people.
Hey, I just found you, and I have to say that I love every single post I've read thus far! I've learned so much in just 15 minutes, far more than I ever did in a classroom. Keep up the good work :D
Thanks! I can’t tell from your blog: are you going to Siberia or have you been there already?
MOLDOVA AND HISTORY →
economist.com
From The Economist:
MOST victims of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact are pretty clear about what happened to them in 1940. But Moldova, once a province of Romania (and before that part of Czarist Russia) has taken a low-key, some would say muddled, approach to its history since 1991. Last month the acting president, Mihai Gimpu, designated June 28th ”Soviet occupation day”. That infuriated Russia, which prefers to highlight Soviet sacrifice in liberating eastern Europe from fascism, rather than the Stalin-era carve-up with Hitler that preceded the war. Vladimir Socor at the Jamestown Foundation summarised the reaction: ‘In a commentary issued on June 25, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs characterizes the Moldovan decree as “pseudo-history” and a move “directed against Russian-Moldovan partnership, harmful to the [Moldovan] state’s national interests.” Condemning the decree as “sacrilegious” (a term previously applied to Estonia’s relocation of the Red Army monument from downtown Tallinn), the Russian MFA warns of possible “confrontations in Moldova’s multi-ethnic society” in this connection. Instead of a “so-called occupation,” Moscow advises Chisinau to speak about “the history that we and the Moldovan people share.” The document puts Moldova’s governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI) on notice that Moscow “expect[s] pragmatic approaches to prevail in the Moldovan leadership and the AEI” (Russian MFA Commentary, Interfax, June 25). ‘The Duma’s international affairs committee chairman, Konstantin Kosachev, characterized the Moldovan presidential decree as “idiocy” and “historical illiteracy.” Kosachev also insinuated that Ghimpu was contradicting the “international community’s” position on the Russian troops in Moldova (Interfax, June 25). Well-known Russian Television pundit Vladimir Solovyov proposed calling on a “psychiatrist, to assess this document as part of Ghimpu’s medical history” (Moldova Suverana, June 25).’ Officials in Moscow impounded Moldovan wine imports. Russia’s chief sanitary official Gennady Onishchenko said it was only good for “painting faces”. He threatened a total ban on the wine, Moldova’s most important export. Moldova hastened to negotiate. And on July 12, the country’s constitutional court cancelled the presidential decree, saying that Mr Ghimpu had “no authority” to institute the day. The row comes in the run up to the referendum on September 5th which will introduce a direct election for the presidency, ending the year-long constitutional deadlock in parliament, where neither the government nor the opposition has enough votes to get a head of state elected. Keeping the economy afloat until then probably matters rather more than symbolic and divisive gestures about history, however justified and overdue some on the centre-right of Moldovan politics may find them.
RUN AGAINST VIOLENCE 5K →
allmoldova.com
This last Saturday I helped organize a 5K run to raise awareness about domestic violence in Moldova. The first one hundred people to register received a free t-shirt, and the race was followed by an award ceremony and a barbeque. At the link above, you can view a news report on the race (it’s in Romanian, but you’ll get the gist of it). My own pictures from the race are to follow.
The Romanian Embassy is not giving visas to Moldovans as easily as you think. Just last week, I spent several hours at the embassy with my host sister waiting for her to get her visa. She was applying for one in hopes of traveling to Romania this past weekend to apply for Romanian citizenship (which she is guaranteed, as her grandparents are Romanian). However, after several hours, she was rejected for no apparent reason. Earlier, she had tried applying by mail for citizenship, but each time, she would get no response. She has also had friends who had lots of problems getting into Romania in order to obtain citizenship. Right now, she feels very trapped here, and is losing confidence that Romania truly wants to get closer with Moldova. Why were you at the embassy?
That’s unfortunate about your sister’s story; I’ve heard plenty of similar stories and by no means do I think that such visas come easy for Moldovans. I hope she has better luck in the future.
As for your question, I wasn’t at the embassy, but I do walk by it every time I go to the Peace Corps office in Chisinau.
