Corpul Pacii: Moldova

Joyeuses Pâques! Happy Easter! I just returned from my spring break which, in this lovely country, is two weeks long. First I went to Moldova and then to Turkey. I'm going to have to write about them separately in order to not be overwhelmed with wonderfulness. 

So to commence: Moldova. You may ask why I chose to visit this small Eastern European country, especially when I have not yet been to many of the European destination spots, like Italy, London or Prague. Hopefully I will someday make it to those wonderful places. But currently I have two dear friends, Jess and Vin Noth living in Cahul, Moldova as they serve in the Peace Corps. And in my experience, visiting 'locals' always trumps simply being a solo tourist, no matter what locale. Here we are in their kitchen:

  Vin and Jess have been in Moldova for almost 21 months now, with about 3 remaining. Jess was my youth group pastor in Middle School, and Vin led my High School youth group. Additionally, they're the bomb. Talk about every Eastbrook Church youth's dream: to hang out with them exclusively for four days. In Moldova. While in the Peace Corps. !

I flew into Chisinau, the capital city and we spent the first night and day there. There are about 2 million people in the city, if I remember correctly. My initial impression was that it looked just as I imagined Russia looking. It was, in fact a Soviet state until the early 90's. Apparently much of the upper class remains nostalgic for the Soviet era and a bunch of Lenin statues remain around the city. While I was there, we visited the Piazza (the central market where you can buy everything), the city center and took a routiera (mini bus: the Moldovan form of public transportation) to Orhei Vechi, a monastery in the side of some clifs. 

In the meat market. Every and all parts of the pig sold here.  I had a little Lord of the Flies episode at this stall. 

Attacked by a tiger in the city center. In the background is the plaza which has a bell tower, a beautiful Orthodox cathedral and an Arc de Triomphe (to the left of the frame).

The inside the cathedral.

Me and Jess near Orhei Vechi (the monastery/monk coves). Jess can talk with those horses in the background. 

Cliff in which the monk coves are found. 

Inside a monk cove. Women have to cover their heads and wear a skirt.

Next we drove three hours south to their city, Cahul. Although most of my time was spent in the cities, Moldova actually remains a rural country full of small villages. We drove through several of them, each with an abundance of vineyards, cattle and small brightly painted houses. Moldova is a Peace Corps country because it is still very much a developing nation. With it's turbulent history between various empires and powers, it was in the end spit out as independent but not well equipped.

    My time in Cahul was great because I got to see a bit of what their lives in the Peace Corps looks like. I saw much of the city through tagging along with them as they carried out their jobs and projects. Jess is in the 'health' category and Vin is in 'development,' and it seems like they both have, over time, found several areas in the city where they can pour energy and make an impact. Some photos: 

Vin posing in front of the muddy street. It rained pretty faithfully throughout my two and a half days making the roads a bit difficult. Here we were on our way to meet with the YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Cahul where Vin has led and taught on worship a few times. It's Cahul's first DTS, consisting of three Moldovan girls. Praise God.  

Jess in front of the High School where she teaches health. She teaches three 11th and a 7th grade classes, which I visited. In each class she interviewed me on my experiences in Haiti and Egypt and how it's shaped my goals for the future. It was super fun. 

A crowded routiera. 

Here's Vin with some of the kids in the after school civics club called "The Village" where the kids have to invent, create and run a mini society to learn about civil responsibility. 

 There were tons of other events I saw and people I met while in Moldova. Did I mention that Jess and Vin speak fluent Romanian?  I was planning to leave on Thursday but ended up staying until Friday because when you're with people who totally love their country, it makes you really love it too and not want to leave (at least that's what happens to me). I could tell that it will be difficult for Vin and Jess to up and leave Moldova in a few months, but it will be great to have them back in Milwaukee. Peace Corps + Eastern Europe: A+.