Rutiera Rides

Another week down, another bottle of Tabasco consumed. I didn’t think that Moldovans would appreciate the value of a little spice in their lives, but am thankful at every meal that my expectations were wrong. Now, thanks to a wonderful care-package, I now can put Tony Chachere’s on my gigantic breakfast of spaghetti a la fried egg.

This past week I have spent most of my time crammed into one of the various means of public transportation in Moldova. If you recall from an earlier blog, I was amazed at how many people could fit onto a rutiera. It seems like each time I think that we have seen the worst, and that we couldn’t possibly fit another person on the bus, the impossible happens. I was on one the other day, and was squeezed in so tight that I was smashed against a woman sitting down, with practically all my weight being supported by her shoulder. I’m pretty sure in the states the way I was situated I could have gone to jail for sexual molestation. You know it’s bad when the Moldovans start laughing and commenting on the impractical logistics of fitting more people on the bus. The trolleybuses aren’t quite as bad, but they can get pretty ugly around rush hour. All in all though, if you have a good attitude, can appreciate the ripe body odor of 100 different people sweating in 90 degree heat, lack of following air, and aren’t claustrophobic, the 20 to 30 cents you pay for a twenty minute ride isn’t so bad.

My Romanian skills are progressing nicely. I had a milestone moment last night after helping can hundreds of cucumbers, carrots, and garlic cloves for winter when I was able to talk with my host mother about the political situation in Moldova. I am finally starting to develop a more extended vocabulary, and it feels really nice to be able to be part of the conversation, and not the topic of conversation. I have found that I know a lot more Russian than I thought I did, and it worries me a little that I can’t even pick it out from the Romanian. I will be speaking in class, and will be corrected by my teacher that I need to learn proper Romanian and not Romanian peppered with Russian. So life continues through the blistering summer heat and I have found that beer and ice cream are really great for coping. It’s Saturday evening; no school tomorrow and I can’t find my host family so I guess I’ll try to find some sort of entertainment. La revedere.