Engagement and the next steps

As the end of March approaches, I smile at the events of the past several weeks, at the long-awaited coming of Spring, and at the next couple years of foreseeable future before me. I have been fighting off a mild respiratory infection for the past couple weeks, thanks to the final throes of Winter in Moldova, and I have been thankful for the extra time (between coughing fits and long naps) to appreciate where I am in life, and to come to grips with the mountains of work that now lie before me.

On February 13, shortly after my last post to this blog, I officially proposed to Tatiana through a fairly-elaborate, romantic Valentine's weekend surprise. Following her affirmative response, we have been busy preparing for the wedding and figuring out the complex process of marriage and visa paperwork. As all aspects of bureaucracy, the visa process is mundane, so I will omit the details for now. The wedding preparations, on the other hand, are quite exciting.

Tatiana and I have decided on July 24-25 of this year for our wedding date. The event is two-fold: first the religious ceremony, which will be at a beautiful church in Chisinau, and then a day to rest and prepare for the crazy traditional Moldovan nunta (reception), also in Chisinau. We have already booked most of the venues and players, including the church, priest, reception hall, and musicians. Items still on our check list include the photographer and formal invitations. Initially, we wanted to keep the guest list fairly small, but it looks like the event will probably be around 120 people, which is still only "medium-sized" for a Moldovan wedding. More details to come, on that.

Last week, I also received confirmation on my admission to graduate school. I will begin my studies at Bentley University at the very end of August, this year. Bentley is in the Boston area, which I have heard is a great area. My course of study will be a two-year program combining a MBA and a MS in something called Human Factors in Interface Design (HFID). It's hard to briefly explain what HFID means, but it has to do with user experience, usability, and product design. I expect the program to be very intense and fast-paced. My only concerns, right now, have to do with the short time-frame in which Tatiana and I will be arriving and settling down in a country that neither of us have been to for a couple years, minimum, in a city that neither of us are at all familiar with. It looks like I will have a lot of support from the Bentley staff, though, so I'm sure there is nothing to worry about.

I am down to the final stretch of my Peace Corps service; I can count the months remaining on one hand. Time really has flown in this second year in Moldova. As I reflect back on it, I am very happy for all my experiences here. I wish I had been able to do more, and I wish I had been in closer contact with my good friends back home, but I've had a great time.

Tatiana and I plan to make a stop in Portland for about a week or two before we head out to Boston. I look forward to seeing as many of my friends and family as possible in that time, so if that's you, keep me in mind. We'll likely have some sort of Portland reception to which you will all be invited.

One last thing: I've started putting all of my irreplaceable photos online, starting with the oldest ones and working my way up to the present. I'm up to the end of 2007, so far. Anybody who's interested can take a look: Jeff's Photos.

Changes

Wow, it has been a very long time since I last posted here. The first semester of my final school year in Moldova has flown by, and I'm already well into the second. For the most part, my work at the school has leveled out to the point where I spend most of each class either observing, correcting essays, or helping students on a one-on-one basis. I have also spent a considerable amount of time developing a collection of English language tips for native Romanian speakers, which I am now beginning to make available online (link to come soon).

By the end of last Summer, I had effectively cleared the hurdle. The hurdle. All of my time since has been spent well and with the confidence that I am gaining a truly valuable experience. I have come to accept certain truths about Moldova, as well as about the nature of Peace Corps in Moldova, and this acceptance has led to a much more satisfying experience for me. It's no longer about changing the world (or Moldova); opening one pair of eyes at a time is just as good. Success can be as seemingly trivial as finally convincing one high school student that allowing their friend to copy off of their paper is ultimately going to hurt both of them.

Much of what was unclear for me, as of the writing of my last post on this blog, has become much more clear. I have been honored to spend my time with a remarkable Moldovan woman who never ceases to amaze me, and I have never been more satisfied in a relationship. I have set my sights on a couple MBA programs, taken the GMAT, and have an interview with my first pick school (Bentley University, near Boston, MA) in a couple days. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Thanks to all of you who have made efforts to keep in touch with me during my service in Moldova. It makes a huge difference to me to receive little messages from home from time to time, even if it's just a little thumbs up on Facebook.

Sper să ne mai vedem pe curând.