Road trip

Greetings oameni. It has been several weeks since an update- I’ve been burdened with the obligation of taking a vacation in Eastern Europe, and haven’t found the time to tap out a letter. My friend Aaron and I were able to take off a week of work to head up to Ukraine and Poland for one memorable, slightly spontaneous road trip.

To leave the country we went north to Balti and had dinner with a friend before we boarded a 9:30pm bus to the border of Moldova and Ukraine. Upon receiving our tickets and finding our seats (except Aaron’s seat number didn’t actually exist), we were pleased to find that we had the entire back row to ourselves, that is until two guys got on at the next stop and preceded to try and kick us out of the back seat by saying they were headed past L’viv (the final destination for the bus). In hindsight it would have been best to heed their wishes and give up the back row; while everyone else can somewhat recline their seats, the back row is stuck with no where to recline, and an even smaller space for your legs once the passengers in the seats in front of you find that magical recline button. Regardless, we hunkered down for what we thought was going to be a 19 to 20 hour bus ride and had provisions consisting of a bottle of house wine, a handful of granola bars, a $1.38 bottle of vodka, strawberry-banana juice, and two liters of water. Crossing the boarder wasn’t very difficult, mostly it was just sitting around waiting in a steaming hot bus for the border patrolmen to finish processing everyone’s passports. It got quite warm on the bus and I decided to stripe down to a wife beater and find the bathroom, except on the way there the Russian-speaking bus driver cut me off and mockingly told me “This isn’t the beach, put on a shirt.” It seems I have come full circle and it only feels like yesterday when I was getting asked by my first host family why I always have a shirt on when it’s hot outside.

To our surprise, the bus only took 13 hours and we arrived in L’viv a little before midday. I can’t tell you how nice of a city L’viv is. It’s a funky, ex-Soviet, gem of a place where it is hard not to find yourself aimlessly walking down the streets completely engrossed by all the Cyrillic signs, the incredible architecture, and the beautiful women.

To get to Poland, we took a bus to the border, walked across the border to save time instead of queuing up in the car line, and then took a train to Krakow. Krakow is another must see city that reminded me of an adult Disney World, Cinderella, and the movie In Bruge. The hostel we stayed at the first night threw a “First Day of Spring” party, and I was surprised to see a large bottle of Tabasco sauce sitting on the kitchen table. I soon found out that this was one of the main ingredients for a shot called Mad Dog (raspberry liqueur, vodka, and a dash of Tabasco) that resembled the Polish flag. We found this shot in every bar/disco we went to, and it’s funny to think that this fiery, Louisiana liquid gold has found it’s way into a national alcoholic beverage for Poland.

While in Poland I was able to meet up with a friend from back home. This is the second time since leaving for Peace Corps that I’ve seen someone from back home and in a way it’s weird to have them sitting in front of you in an environment that isn’t your hometown. Before heading back to Ukraine we went to Auschwitz and took a tour of the compound. On the bus ride I was trying to mentally prepare myself, but once you get there the emotional floodgates open and there is no turning back. There are no words to describe the feelings while walking through Auschwitz. I am more than ever still in shock of the hatred, the disgusting practices, and cruelty of humanity to carry out this horrific display of genocide. It was one of the most powerful places I have ever been, and the scenes will be with me for the rest of my life.

The remainder of the trip was pretty wild. From hanging out with locals, Eastern European discotechs, kebab stands, missing buses, semi-automatic gun ranges, castles, meeting loads of fellow traveler’s to running off an average of three to four hours of sleep a night, it was well worth the 13 hours on a bus. On returning we missed our bus because of a communication error in Russian (thanks Aaron…) and were a day late coming back. I had to present a grant at 12:30 in the afternoon the day we got back and I somehow miraculously made it clean-shaven and freshly clothed at 12:15 to meet my partner and present the proposal, not something that I would have liked to have done after three sleepless days and a 14 hour bus ride, but it went well and I find out Wednesday if the water project will be funded. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I’ve got to get my life in order and get ready for a busy week at work saving the world.

Peace.

The Opera House in L'viv, Ukraine.

Car loaded down with potatoes and onions for sale at the Ukraine/Poland border.

Sweet old Polish lady slightly disturbed by the fact that I was taking a picture of my friend passed out on the train.

Good Bye Lenin hostel in Krakow, Poland.

Krakow.

Auschwitz.

Auschwitz. "Labor sets you free"

Krakow church in the main square.

Beautiful church in Krakow.

Pretty cool that the cops have Prisus' for cars in Krakow.

One foot in Ukraine. One foot in Poland.

Villagers near the border in Ukraine.

Nice facade in L'viv.

Monument in the main square of L'viv.

A blind man walked into the fish market, right

Noroc readers. Salutations are in order to everyone that has somehow stumbled upon this blog, either purposefully or unintentionally. If you’ve been an avid reader thus far, I’m impressed at your tenacity to read all of my mindless journeys through the second world. If this is you’re first time, I guarantee you there is better things to do with your time, but I hope you go to the beginning and check out the linear story of how I ended up here.

This past week has been a whirlwind of highs and lows- not so much emotionally, but rather successful meetings, encounters, and adventures contrasted with broken appointments, frustrations, misunderstandings, and waiting hours on end for people to show up. The good news is that our sanitary water project proposal was sent in last Friday, and it marks the completion of writing my first grant. We have to wait until March 27^th to hear if we won the grant or not, but I’ve got hope. Second, work has really been picking up. I have a meeting in another small village outside of town that wants to do a compost/fertilizer demonstration plot. The details I’ve been given so far are quite vague, but I’m finally starting to see projects in agriculture come my way. I hope that we can transform this demonstration plot into a teaching aide for farmers, kids, and anyone else interested to show the benefits of compost and natural fertilizers. There is a mentality not only here, but also worldwide, that the latest and greatest industrial pesticides and fertilizers are needed for successful farming. Often you’ll hear farmers here complaining that inputs are too expensive, but they’ve never considered the alternative to these often times harmful substances. Not only that, but soil erosion is a major problem in Moldova, and my theory is if certain agriculture practices such as clear cropping and plowing are revised to keep some of the left-over plant waste in the fields for mulch, this could help combat the erosion problem and add necessary nutrients back into the soil without having to purchase additional inputs.

I had lunch at the orphanage yesterday. The family we are working with is a family that out of the kindness of their hearts has adopted ten children. Due to insufficient heating, new gas lines will be hooked up to the house and new heaters added. Instead of having to raise funds by hitting all of you up for donations, an organization has agreed to finance the full amount of the project (minus 25% beneficiary contribution) and work should begin soon. A new project has also presented itself and it is one that I am passionate about seeing through. Next to the elementary school there is a local kitchen/day care center for impoverished children. This center hosts an after school program where kids can come to eat a hot meal, have a place to do their homework, play with their peers, and have structured daily activities. Currently they are cooking with propane canisters, but don’t have the money to get a gas connection to the main gas line, which would be cheaper, and more reliable since the gas canisters run out and it can be problematic at getting refills. The total cost of the project is only $300 USD, but we first need to get state approval for this gas line since it is non-profit center. It’s not a big project, but it will be rewarding.

Lastly, I STILL haven’t seen the apartment that I am supposed to move into. There is somehow a complete meltdown of coordination between the carpenters finishing work on it, the landlord, my partners, and myself. Allegedly, the days that I am busy and have prior engagements are the times that the landlord calls saying that I should come stop by to check it out. I have my doubts on the accuracy of these reports though…

This afternoon I am leading a seminar for local NGO and community leaders about technology and new forms of communication. The last part of the seminar will be an interactive workshop helping the people setup email account, and teaching them how to use the accounts. The district is trying to make the switch over to digital, and it’s pretty cool to be able to help in the very early stages. Thanks are due to my almost computer illiterate mother for helping me hone the skills useful in teaching the basics of technology.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I’m off to lunch. La revedere!

Waiting on the trolley

The communist mayor's office in Balti.

Gotta love Soviet tanks in the middle of the town.

You're guess is as good as mine.

Selling flowers for International Women's Day

Fish market.

Hello Ladies.

Egg sellers

Pickled carrots, my favorite.

Olive seller.

At the piața

This is a picture in the village where we are doing our clean water project. These are really teenagers waiting for second period.

Entrance of the village where the water is going.

Kids summer camp and the Grounds Keeper.

One of my agriculture consultants standing at the site where the water towers will be.

Selling cakes out of the back of a van.

Shakin' hands, kissin' babies, and kickin' ass

Remember what I said about the weather turning and spring on its way? Yeah well, I lied. Several days ago winter showed it’s evil face again, and dumped a foot of snow on the ground, and temperatures have remained below freezing delaying the inevitable mud, and thus spring. This has been the longest winter of my life, and it just so happens that this is an unseasonably brutal winter by Moldovan standards as well. Schools in the country had Spring Break last week, and I could never have imagined spending my spring breaks in a long-john body suit eating pickled watermelon when I was still in school.

As to not completely ruin my mood, I’m going to switch topics from the weather (Be warned to the reader that commented two posts ago, if you say “I told you that winter wasn’t done yet”, I’m going to f-ing loose it). Village life has been good to me lately. Everyday it feels like there really isn’t much going on, but when I take a step back and see what all I’ve got my fingers in, it seems that there is plenty of good work going on. I’ve been slowly, but surely pulled away from the agriculture field, which is bittersweet. I really wanted, and still do want to work primarily with agriculture, but the wants and needs of the community are pulling me more in a business direction; this is probably a good thing considering I don’t know the first thing about farming.

My water project to bring potable water into a village of 150 households, a kinder garden, and a kids summer camp is coming along nicely. After waiting nearly two weeks for the last remaining budgetary details, I received them today and we will be finishing the grant proposal tomorrow. This process has been slow, tiring, and frustrating….but totally worth it. The other day when someone came into our office to go over another project proposal, I heard my partners arguing over the specifics of a grant, and I heard Doamna Larissa, the lady I brought with me to the three-day grant writing seminar awhile back, say “No, we have to include a clear plan for sustainability and need to include specific details for monitoring and evaluating.” This didn’t sit too well with my other partner, her boss, until she said this was something we learned at the Peace Corps seminar, and that settled it. That was the first moment I’ve had in nine months in country that really showed the first signs of me having an effective role in my community. I couldn’t have been more proud of her.

I have also started working with the Raion Council, which is the head governing body of our district. We just won a grant from the US Embassy that will help setup a program to make a database of all the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations that are non-profits that serve to better the community) in our district, facilitate communication and transparency between the government and the NGO’s, and create a website that will allow for easier NGO registration which will help eliminate corruption. With this citizens will also have a resource point to see if there is an organization already established in the areas they maybe looking to improve within their own community. For example, with my organization, a lot of farmers and people with great business ideas simply don’t know that our organization exists and never are able to get adequate help if desired.

Tomorrow I have a meeting at the orphanage in my village. The organization FRUA has agreed to finance half of the heating project that is desperately needed in the two houses, and the work should be able to commence soon. I only wish this could have been done early last year before this brutal winter got here, but better late than never. I have a special blog post to devote to this orphanage, so stay tuned for that later.

Besides from work, time keeps clicking by. Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and man you wouldn’t believe what a big deal it is here. It’s like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day combined, and on steroids. The schools were closed, as well as all the businesses and stores in the country. I don’t think I saw one woman without flowers, candy, or a stuffed animal in hand once yesterday. I was on a rutiera headed home when we stopped in some tiny village to pick up a guy standing on the side of the road with a four foot stuffed tiger in tot. It took him about ten minutes to squeeze the oversized stuffed animal onboard, down a cramped isle, and of course, deposit it in the seat next to mine. I was exhausted from a really busy weekend with mentor training and then running around a large Russian-speaking city, and after watching this debacle with the stuffed tiger, I proceeded to use it as a pillow and pass out on it. About an hour later, right when I was really catching some good Z’s, I got a nice case of whiplash when my pillow was jerked out from under my head.

Today I was supposed to checkout my new apartment that I’m slated to move into in eleven days, but once again, the guy bailed on me. Peace Corps still has to approve it, and they can’t do that unless I actually see the place first. I’m headed to Ukraine and Poland in two weeks and would really like to be out before then. So now that I’ve caught you all up to speed, more or less, on what has been going on over here in the ‘dova, I’m going to head out for what is hopefully one of the last snow runs for a long time. Once my Internet starts going fast again (the 12^th of every month…long story) I have a ton of great pictures to post. La revedere!