This one's for Mike's mom!

Hello America!!!

Mike is well...and sarcastic as ever!

All is well here in Iolovene

That is a picture of my town atop a hospital in Iolovene. The red arrow points to my apt block.

I have been informed that I have been slacking on my blog entries so here it goes. Life here in Moldova has begun to settle in nicely. Lots of language and technical training mixed with a good amount of "thinking time" (but more about that later). A normal day look a lot like this 8:30am-1:00pm language...straight. A lot I know, but well worth it. We actually figured out that we spent more time in Language during PST than we I spent in a classroom my entire college career. (not just me but every university). All in all it is going quite well, and I am anxious to find out where my final site is going to be (tues)

Today we had interviews with out program manager's and Anastasia and I (we are the Russians) will either be going to the south and doing leadership development and skill training with youth (sounds like NSLC Bleh), or heading into the capital and working with an environmental Umbrella organization that works with some 40 NGO's throughout Moldova. Both sound cool, and both have drawbacks (working with youth & not living in a Village). Ether or I am quite excited and ready to find out.

I was very sad to day to realize that I am going to be missing Mike and Nicoles wedding this weekend, so if anyone out there is reading this, and knows them...please tell them that I miss them, love them, and wish them the best of luck. So now a few things running through my head as of late...THE GREAT MRACO (me-ya-sa) (the R is backwards in Russian).

Here in Moldova meat is meat. Whether it is chicken, pork, beef, etc. This is ok for me who eats meat (all kinds) but for others has become a problem. SO we were discussing it the other day trying to figure out why. I decided that it was a throw back to the soviet times when they were just happy to have meat...many other PCV's say that it is because Moldova is a farming culture not an angus beef or purdue chicken raising environment. Either or, it is quite interesting and one of the many little things that are quite different. That's about all the time I have here in See Jays World, thanks for stopping by. And below you can find a few pics of my life here.



Me in a walnut tree in the Communal walnut orchard behind my house.



A picture of my room and my 5 year old host niece, Alina, enthralled with my computer.