The End is Coming...

Last Saturday, Sept 12, 15 of the 21 of us who remain celebrated two years since the day we arrived in Moldova. Craaazy! We met up in a town where two volunteers live, and we just hung out together. We ate a lot, drank a little, and had tons of fun. We watched a slideshow of pictures from the past two years, and man was that a riot. There were pictures of the 19 volunteers who left early, there were pictures of things we don’t remember happening, there were pictures of great accomplishments, pictures of goofiness, and pictures that made us want to cry. It’s been a good two years.

A couple of weeks ago we had our Close of Service Conference, at which Peace Corps told us a list of ten bajillion things that we have to do before we can leave. Medical examinations, forms, reports, more forms, more reports, returning things, interviews, good bye parties, and oh, forms and reports. Plus they made us start thinking about – GASP – the future! Resumes, job applications, grad schools, etc. So anyways, I have 50 days to do all of that, plus I am planning a 19-day, 5 country trip on my way home, plus I’ve got regular work to do, and there are the usual Moldovan fall activities – village days, festivals, weddings, harvests, wine-making, etc. And I have a LOT of goodbyes to say. I carry my camera and a ‘master to-do list’ with me at all times. My official last day of service is November 6, and I’ll be home on November 25, just in time for Thanksgiving, my birthday, and the wedding of a dear friend. Up until now, I haven’t really been really thinking about the End. But now a part of me is screaming at time to slam on the breaks, and a part of me has what the Moldovans are calling ‘suitcase syndrome’ – I’ve got my ticket home, and all I can think about is leaving.

The 2009 TARE Development Course (aka, women’s empowerment camp) went pretty well. We had 62 women ages 17 to 24 over 5 days, who participated in 12 seminars on various topics relating to health, personal development, and gender roles, 3 discussions with ‘Women of Success,’ a vigil for victims of domestic violence, and a presentations by the International Organization for Migration about human trafficking and Catholic Relief Services about their work here. We also had fun activities like group games, pinatas, bracelet making, tie-dye, a bonfire with s’mores, and a talent show. The women came from all over Moldova, and when they return to their homes, they will be putting on seminars in order to share their experience and knowledge gained with the young women in their local communities. As with last year, it was a very rewarding experience because it was so tangible. We could see the young womens’ enjoyment and their change in attitude from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. The week was not without gliches. There was a sudden epidemic of getting their period and not wanting to go to lessons. The daily hot water that was promised us failed to materialize because the water pump mysteriously broke the day before we came. The camp was invaded by village boys (I was bad-cop on that one). Our main Woman of Success speaker cancelled at the last minute. And one night a key got stuck in one of the cabin doors (the upstairs level) and no one could get the door open, and the camp director didn’t want to help. So we called the DJ from the disco to come, and he climbed up a latter into the open back window and after trying in vain for an hour, he broke the front window, and the girls went in and out through the window for the remainder of the camp. But of course we handled all of these setbacks with speed, intelligence, and grace, and the camp went on wonderfully. I can’t believe it’s over. Now only the not-as-fun stuff is left – grant reports to funders, transferring the leadership to our Moldovan counterparts, and monitoring the results.

And now for a few random words on sunflower seeds. Moldovans love sunflower seeds and joke that eating them is a national sport. They have a handful in their pockets at all times. The other day I was waiting at the bus stop for a ride into Soroca, when a gas station worker from across the street walked over and into the field behind the bus stop. I thought perhaps he was going to the bathroom, but that would be weird because there is an outhouse by the gas station. A few minutes later he reappears carrying a huge sunflower head and returns to the gas station and begins eating the seeds. I guess his pocket stash ran out. The other day while running I stopped to witness a family doing a mass harvest of their sunflower seed crop. There were five of them crouched around a plastic tarp at their gate, each of them with a good-sized stick which they were using to beat the sunflower heads. The seeds fall out onto the tarp. So there was a huge pile of de-capitated sunflowers on one side of the tarp, and another pile of de-seeded heads on the other side. Interesting. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me while running.

Alrighty, I suppose that’s enough for now! Poka, poka! (bye bye!)