A Pleasant Weekend in November

On Thanksgiving Day, while I was working, I made a point of telling my students about this wonderful holiday that we celebrate in the United States, how much it involves family and how we take turns around a very large meal (masa mare) to tell everyone what we are most thankful for. In fact, I also told the same students how thankful I am to have them in my life.

So, I kept the holiday in my heart, if not in actuality as there was no one to celebrate with, and my family and friends are so many hours behind, that it was the middle of the night when they were sitting down to dinner.

But... the weekend certainly made up for a quiet Thursday.

I am very thankful for Jennifer Kitson and Luma (both volunteers in the Peace Corps who also live very close to me here in Ialoveni). They provided their apartment for a wonderful dinner with several other volunteers, and it was a lovely afternoon in which we actually got to enjoy some carne de curcan (turkey). Lots of people raise turkeys here in Moldova, but few roast the birds. Instead they put the meat in stews and soups.

At any rate, we had an absolutely beautiful afternoon treated to a great meal, Christmas music, terrific conversation and wonderful hospitality. Thanks also to Kit, James, Natasha, Britney, Richard, and Charlie for sharing the dinner and bringing lots of great goodies to eat. Kit is a great chef.


James and Natasha

Then Sunday I was whisked away to Suruceni (a nearby village to Ialoveni and the birth village of my host father Valodya) for a birthday party for one of my 4th grade students (Valodya's niece). What an amazing day full of incredible food and fun. I was struck by the fact that although it was a 10-year-old's party, the primary celebration was with the adults. In fact, the kids were in another room having their own party.

While Moldova may be a poor country, no money is spared for food on special occasions. A masa is a full-blown food-coma-inducing affair. Plus a little alcohol is added to supplement the food consumption. Although I was the foreigner in the group, I was treated as one of the men, and despite some ribbing about being a spy for Mr. Obama (who really sent me here to discover the secrets of Moldovan barbecue), I was treated like an integral part of the family and included in all the conversations.

Once or twice, the conversation switched to Russian, but someone quickly translated into Romanian for me so that I would understand. Several times family members commented on the fact that after 5 months of living in the country I can converse better than a large number of people who have lived here all their lives, but never bothered to learn Romanian.

Aside from cooking the barbecue, the men pretty much were waited on hand and foot, and the women plied us with salads, various meat dishes, placinte, fruit, fish, mushroom dishes, and all the specialties of Moldova. Truly, a wonderful afternoon, ruined only by the fact that I had to get back to the house at a reasonable time to make lesson plans for the next day with several of my partners.

After the first round of eating, I begged to go for a walk in this very quaint village. Valodya went with me -- mostly because I think he was afraid I'd get lost. We walked up the street to his cousin's house, and were treated to the best house wine and sweet walnut honey. I am constantly amazed at the friendly hospitality of the people here.

All in all, it was a most pleasant weekend in November, and still I have so much for which to be thankful. Everyday is truly a gift here. So much happens in one day, in one weekend, that I almost feel I'm living lifetimes in a week. Thank you, Moldova! Thank you, to all of my friends and family. You have been so supportive and wonderful. Thanks for being there.