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.

Staying Positive

I love this country.

I have been sick and injured for the past two weeks, solid. Pre-Service Training (PST) is stressing me out, as usual. I'm hungry, thirsty, and extremely tired. And yet, as I walked home from where the routiera dropped me off, I noticed me shadow stretched out in front of me.

I have tended to be a poet, in the past. Perhaps this is a continuing trend. In any case, I could not help but think, as I observed my casually elongated profile pacing the ground before me, that Moldova (or perhaps someOne) was trying to tell me something. For me, a poet, shadows usually symbolize memories and the past; but here, in the rural landscape of a Moldovan sunset, my shadow crosses the ground ahead of me -- the future, quite literally.

The decision to join the ranks of Peace Corps volunteers and wander off into the developing world was not an easy one, though perhaps too many of us realize this simple fact only after weeks have passed without State-side-quality sanitation, infrastructure, communication, and so forth. I joined because "it felt like the right time," and I still hold to this. But I admit, now, that I had no idea what that really meant, and means still. It means that I am in a completely different place, no matter how similar the climate, the wine, or the people. It means that I am apart from my friends and family, without whom I would have been abysmally without hope, long ago. It means that I can't go see Sigur Ros in concert, when they pass through Portland in October. It means that more responsibility and more expectations rest on my shoulders than ever before. And it means that every day is a challenge.

But seeing that shadow walking in front of me caused me to pause, and to think, and to look around. Moldova is an amazing country, and I consider myself entirely lucky to be here.

For a long time, I have wanted to live on a vineyard. Today, as I looked out over rolling hills covered with grape vines, it occurred to me that I have realized this dream, simply by living within the borders of the remarkable vineyard known as Moldova. Of course, Moldova is so much more than its wine, but this thought brightened my day. It made the particular challenges of the past two weeks seem worth the sweat.