MoldovAnn

Then get sick while you’re in Peace Corps! I spent most of last week at home in bed with a nasty Moldovan strain of the flu. I can now attest, though, that it absolutely true you get the best health care ever while you are in Peace Corps. Dr. Lika, as she is affectionately known, cares for each and every of the 130+ PCVs in Moldova with a vengence. She came to our apartment Tuesday, doctor’s bag in hand as well as with the most amazing supply of medications. She did the most thorough examination I’ve ever had in my life, spent a good 45 minutes here, talking with me and my host family, then called two or three times each day the rest of the week to check on my status. What doctor in the U.S. would give you this kind of attention? And I know it wasn’t the only PCV ill last week, so I didn’t extra TLC just because she had no other patients at the time. To the contrary, it’s the start of flu season, and there are, of course, the usual cases of diarrhea (the most common PCV illness around the world) and other gastro-intestinal “fun.” By Saturday, I was well enough to venture into Chisinau for a couple hours, and went back on Sunday to visit the PC office building, where I bumped into Dr. Lika – on a Sunday! She insisted on giving me another extremely thorough follow-up exam on the spot, so my quick trip to the city resulted in a 30 minute doctor’s visit. She’s the best!

This weekend was the National Wine Festival, and there was a huge event in Chisinau. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday (you could wear just a t-shirt practically), which made for perfect festival weather. I didn’t feel up to that kind of revelry yet, and I think I was the only PCV not in attendance. I hear it was great; wineries from all over the country had booths, offering free samples of their latest vintages. There was lots of food, music, dancing, the whole she-bang. President Voronin made an appearance, and I heard one of the guys in our group managed to shake his hand even! Pretty cool.

While everyone else was partying, I worked my way to a clothes store, like a factory-outlet, that my host family had shown me last week. Autumn is definitely in the air, and after my bout with the flu, I decided not to delay any longer on getting a winter coat. I found a very nice, simple, black knee-length cashmere coat for 750 lei (about $65). This factory store definitely had cheaper prices than in the department stores, and you know my love for a bargain! This company, Ionel, is a Moldovan clothes manufacturer which makes high quality clothes for men and women. I saw many beautiful coats, but opted for something simple that will be easier to care for in village life. There were also very snazzy men’s suits, and our language instructor told us that Europeans and Americans in Moldova often come that factory store and buy 5 or 6 suits to take home with them. I think I will check it out again in 2 years and maybe bring home an elegant coat with me!

Sunday, another PCV took me to the PC office in Chisinau so I could learn the way to get there. It is a large building, looks like a house on the outside, but inside is a warren of hallways, staircases, and rooms. There is a PCV lounge on the third floor, with a big TV and hundreds of video tapes. Some PCVs were watching The Sopranos. There is also a computer lab with 3-4 computers and a printer. The Resource Room is there, as well, with teaching materials, handbooks, etc for PCVs to peruse or even check out. The best part, in my opinion, is a wonderfully eclectic library, supplied over the past 10 years by PCVs who have left books for the “next guy.” They are loosely organized (fiction, travel, biographies, etc.), and you take what you want, leave what you want, return when you can. A quick scan found a good number of books to keep me busy for a couple years, and I plan to donate most of my books to the library after I’ve read them myself. It’s fun to think about who left the book you are holding – many of them have a name and the PC group number, i.e., Ann Merrill M14 (the 14th group of PCVs in Moldova). I borrowed first The Milagro Beanfield Wars – thank you Mark Sekula M7!

One big disappointment about being sick last week was that I missed the meeting with the Vice Mayor on Wednesday, but Matt and Emily reported that it went well. Viorica, our language teacher, went with them to translate. Our next assignment is to plan and implement a Community Activity. We’ve decided to partner up with one of the current PCVs in Ialoveni, Hye Mi (pronounced like H’Amy), a Korean-American woman. She is coordinating a seminar-type program for 12-18 year-old girls about self-esteem, violence against women, and self-defense. She’s got a lot going on with the event, and we offered to work up something for the self-esteem part. We’re not really sure how we’ll pull this off, but it will be interesting!