Blogs from Moldova, Europe
January 8th 2012
I’m not as worldly as Jonathan Swift’s Mr. Lemuel Gulliver. I’ve never been to Blefuscu, Brobdingnag, Glubbdubrib or Japan. There was an occasion in 2002 however when I sort of made it as far as Lilliput. The journey began in April, in that Soviet apartment in Sviatoshyn on the northern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. It was suitable accommodation for the one-month teaching methodology course in which I’d enrolled. I was destined to share the apartment with another out of town teacher attending the course, and after some time the doorbell rang. With a fluster of red hair by choice rather than design, forty-ish Alex bustled in with her luggage, hastily telling something to the driver who’d brought her there. It was all in Russian, which she subsequently tried on me. She’d been led to ... read more
Transnistria: the country which dosnt exist
Published: September 23rd 2011Europe » Moldova » Transnistria
September 12th 2011
From Moscow i managed to hitch a fast car all the way to Kiev in only 12 hours. i payed a 20p English coin to get through customs quicker - my smallest bribe ever! i felt slightly uncomfortable getting into Kiev when the driver started negotiating with street hookers whilst i was still in the car. i quickly left. Although almost completely destroyed in WWII, Kiev is an incredible city, with plenty of magnificent churches and a huge park at its center. Its strange how all the girls look like beautiful models and all the guys seem to be punching above their weight. As it worked out cheaper to get the train than to hitchhike (as the night train was cheaper than a night at a hostel), i got the train to Ivano Frankivsk then onto ... read more
August 28th 2011
Ah, Finally came to the conclusion that it is good to share and I have much to share about Moldova. Yesterday was our 20th anniversary of Moldavian independence and in the next few days a celebration for our national language, Romanian. It is a big deal after many decades of Soviet control, so the next few days of holiday time away from work is a great and relaxing pleasure. I know my wife and son are excited to have me home (as he is excited to be home from kindergarten) and we will get out and about in the city and perhaps a few of our wonderful parks, for we have many.... read more
August 26th 2011
So I’m in this nightclub ‘BoozeTime’ in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. I see this girl on the dance floor but wasn’t sure if I should go up and dance with her so I didn’t. Later on I see her sitting by herself for the past 15 minutes and I’m thinking ‘You know what. A good looking girl like that should not be sitting by herself’ so I went over and had a chat with her. We start chatting and she speaks really good English. She’s a uni student from Chisinau but just got back home after a year in America studying. So we get along pretty good, a few jokes here and a few jokes there and we are both laughing. She’s at a table, which I’m now sitting at and we’ve talked for about 15 ... read more
June 23rd 2011
As we come to the end of our time here in Moldova, it is difficult to put into words the way we feel about this place we have called home for the past 11 months. Of course we have grown to love this country and it's people, and saying good bye will be bittersweet. After a loooong winter, we were delighted as the first signs of spring came and the days began to lengthen. It was like a procession of blooming, starting with the apple and cherry trees. Then came the lilacs, tulips, daffodils, peonies, and now that summer is here...the roses! As the days grow hot and long we have been like two bears coming out of hibernation and rediscovering our surroundings all over again. In these last months, we are spending as much time ... read more
Accommodation Nightmare Chisinau; Vlaicu Pîrcălab Str.
Published: November 3rd 2010Europe » Moldova » Centre » Chisinau
November 3rd 2010
I am writing to tell about an unfortunate experience myself and family endured during a recent visit to Moldova. We recently travelled to Moldova for a wedding, the visit was tarnished by some very nasty people seeing our happy weekend as a means to exploit us by assuming we would pay large amounts of money to prevent them from spoiling our happy time. Below I write a long, quite detailed account of the situation. I apologise for posting such a long version, but I thought it would be better to provide too much detail rather than too little. The story below relates to problems we had with a lady by the name of Galia and her daughter, their business is property rental aimed at tourists / visitors to Chisinau. The property in question is located just ... read more
September 26th 2010
We have been teaching for about one month, and the theme of our cultural studies unit is Moldovan culture. Kelsey set up a field trip to the Monastery of Capriana, and I brought my Intensive English students along also. Our bus arrived at school at 9am and we loaded up the kids and headed to the Village of Capriana which is approximately 40km north of Chisinau. We were very fortunate to have clear blue skies. The ride was very pretty passing vineyard after vineyard and drove into the forest which used to have bears, wolves, and deer, but they are no longer around. I have yet to find out if it is from over-hunting or some other reason. Heading into the village is a narrow road with a steep grade I was hoping that our bus ... read more
September 12th 2010
We have now been in Chisinau for a month! Some days I feel so comfortable, like I have been living here for years. Other days, the fact that we are not in the U.S. is so blatantly obvious. But one thing is constant...Nick and I are in this together, and no matter what we are doing, we are having the time of our lives! This is an amazing country full of contradictions. Just today, I walked into three "frizeries" (barber shops) asking "vorbesc engleză?" before I found someone who spoke enough English to understand what I wanted. In the same afternoon we stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe where we were seated next to two tables of Americans! It is pretty uncommon to hear people speaking English, so whenever Americans hear one another talking, ... read more
August 29th 2010
Before we moved to Chisinau, I had an image in my mind of what living overseas would be like... Now that we are here, I am finding it to be everything I imagined and everything I could never have imagined. Open air markets, delicious bakeries and delis, new foods, beautiful people. I am still surprised every day by the similarities AND differences that we encounter. For example, all day we work with English-speaking people, in our little "English-speaking community". We have been introduced to a group of expats who get together a few times a week and have dinner, play cards, etc. They are mostly people from the states. Last night I met a girl who is doing research here for UW Milwaukee. Two kids in my class are even from Georgia and Florida! We are ... read more
August 29th 2010
Last Friday was Moldova's Independence Day! We went downtown for the festivities...Some of the highlights included fire works, a concert by a famous Moldovan rock band http://www.zdob-si-zdub.com/, various photo opportunity stands*, and best of all...spontaneous folk dancing! *These "photo stands" need some explanation... imagine if you will the backdrop for a photo shoot similar to what you find at JC Penny or on school picture day. Now add life sized stuffed tigers, lots of garden gnomes/lawn decorations, and a Harley Davidson. You choose you're booth, and get your picture taken. I still don't quite understand it, but it's all a part of the festivites!... read more
