Hey all

Not much to report.  Lots of snow, as you might have seen in the news.  The buses weren't running on Monday so I've had a pretty relaxing week.  Reading the Hunger Games books and writing lesson plans.  Also found out that my Close of Service (COS) date will be July 18th, meaning that I have 159 days left in Moldova before I head home.

Any who, during my service I haven't done much fundraising/grant writing.  Not the biggest fan of grants in the first place, but the two my partner and I planned on doing the principal of my school got funding for from the mayor's office.  Which is kind of cool in of itself.  It means that the administration and teachers at my school know what they need, are able to advocate for themselves to get the funds, and have the projects completed quickly.  Yay!

However, a fellow health volunteer (and social worker <3 ) needs some help with fundraising for her students.  Here's her statement:


Cristy Hickson
 Hi, noroc, привет!

I hope everyone is doing well! I have some very exciting news to report! My team, The Beetles, took first place at the National Odyssey of the Mind Competition! Woohoo! We are all very excited! My students have spent the last few months staying after school every day writing their script, creating costumes and props, and rehearsing. Many nights staying at the school past 8pm! Since we placed first at the National Competition, we now have the opportunity to go to St.Petersburg, Russia for the international competition, EuroFest!!! As excited as I am to go to Russia with my students, my stomach is full of butterflies! We have to figure out how we are going to pay for the trip. Yesterday I received an email stating that every student must pay $450 to attend EuroFest. Yikes! This would be a lot of money to fundraise and gather in the U.S., but it is especially challenging here in Moldova where most families live below the poverty level and struggle meeting their basic needs. Our goal is to raise $3,600 to pay for transportation costs, food, and lodging for both my students and myself. My students have worked incredibly hard and I want to illustrate to them that hard work really does pay off. They are going to continue working hard during the next few weeks preparing fundraisers throughout our community and searching for sponsors, however I think it will be nearly impossible to raise $3,600 because of the financial situation here in Moldova, so I am asking for your help! Would you be willing to donate a few dollars to help my students go to EuroFest? If yes, please check out this website: http://cristyhickson.chipin.com/odyssey-of-the-mind-eurofest. A few people have been unable to donate using this site, if that is the case you can also donate using PayPal (my account is under my email, hickson.crystal@gmail.com) or you can mail a check to my sister’s address (531 Compass Road, Baltimore, MD 21220) and she will deposit it in my checking account.




For students from Moldova to achieve something so great is wonderful.  And it is unfortunate that the poverty in this nation is keeping these kids from being able to follow through on this all the way to the end.  I encourage anyone with some extra cash to please help out these students.  Maybe skip that morning latte?  Eat at home tonight?  These students worked so hard and it would be sad for them not to be able to represent their country at this international event.

Italy!!!

Canal in Venice

View from the bus station

Rialto Bridge

Jackie and me at the Bridge of Sighs

Wall of masks

Pompeii

Pompeii

Making a wish at the Trevi

Trevie

There was a surprising amount of pagan art at the Vatican

Just looks 3D, artist had skills

Famous philosophers

Double helix staircase in Vatican

St. Peter's sqaure

St. Teresa, patron saint of social workers

Swiss guard

Castel san Angelo

St. Peter's basilica from the Castel

Mine?

Colosseum

Colosseum, with a small bit of restoration at the far side

Roman Forum, ruins of the house of the Vestal Virgins

What's that singing?

On Fridays I teach three lessons at the school.  I have Class 7, then a two hour break, then Class 5, and finally Class 6.  During my break I always hang out in the teacher's lounge and read and eat my lunch.  I'm usually the only person in there as well.

Today I was hanging out, reading my Kindle, when I heard some really pretty singing coming from the corridor.  At first I figured it was probably the music class or maybe the religion class, so I didn't pay any mind.  Then I realized that it couldn't be the classes because 1) there were only two singers and 2) they were both adult voices.

While I'm sitting there trying to imagine what could be going on the door is suddenly pulled open and in walks the village priest (whom I've never be introduced to), a young boy carrying a bucket of holy water, and a nun.  The priest paused to say good morning to me, then continued singing and anointing the room with holy water, using a bundle of twigs to spray it.  Before I could decide if I should move or get up I had been sprayed down and they continued on their way.

I sat there for a minute unsure of what to do.  The vice principal who had come in behind them said "Don't be mad" and walked out.  A few minutes later I just started laughing.  I guess this is just something I can check off my experience list for Moldova.



Blessed by village priest.

Thanksgiving

We had another lovely Thanksgiving in Moldova this year.  Once again the Peer Support Network organized a holiday feast of all of the volunteers and staff at the Peace Corps office in Chisinau.  As the events coordinator for PSN, it was my job to organize the entire event, which ended up serving about 100 people a fantastic meal.  And like any good organizer, I delegated.  Big thank you to Susan and her team for their wonderful decorations.  They were super cute and very creative.

Everyone's cellphones ended up on the table together.  It got a bit confusing over which belonged to who.  And which was ringing.

 Another big thank you to Zach (right in green) who organized the turkey killing adventure and brought us six, count them SIX, turkeys to cook.  They all turned out very tasty.  Especially the Southwestern one, which I plan to do at Thanksgiving in the future.

A vegetarian's nightmare...

Isn't that a lovely sight.  Uck...

Action shot!

When the first turkeys were ready to come out of the oven it turned into a photo op.  We had two turkeys flying around the kitchen and three cameras going, one doing video.

At one point I grabbed someone and made them take a picture of me so my family wouldn't have to see pictures of only other people.

And our fantastic clean-up crew!  Thanks guys!!


Everyone did a great job, Thanksgiving was wonderful, we got a lot of compliments.  Next year I'm planning on asking my grandma to teach me how to make her super tasty stuffing which I've missed a lot over the last two years.

Busy

I know I haven't posted an update in a while.  I got super busy with school and planning Thanksgiving for about 100 Peace Corps people (and you thought you were busy with those 7 cousins) which we had last Saturday.  So I promise I will post about our Thanksgiving Extravaganza this upcoming weekend.  In the meantime, here is a photo of Anita and I having our own little Thanksgiving Thursday evening while we working on planning for the Saturday one.

Poem

My friend/ camping buddy Tamra Prior (nee Dickinson) wrote this poem several years ago and it spoke to something inside of me so I saved it to my computer.  I think it describes the wanderlust that sits inside most Peace Corps volunteers and explains why we go on a bit of a walkabout when we join up.  
Life is calling, how far will you go?

The Traveler's Heir

By: Tamra Dickinson

I remember a time…
Dreaming of a far away land.
Africa, its golden sands,
The mighty temples of Peru.

India’s spices and Kubla Khan,
The great sailing ships of the day.
Columbus, Cortéz, the men of Legends,
Was I born too late for that time?

The plains of Australia,
The mountains of Tibet,
It is still there for all to see,
And still brand new to me.

The polar caps, the coral reefs,
There is still so much unknown.
Can there still be a place
Where “Here Be Dragons” ‘tis marked?

I guess I’ll have to find myself
In the deep jungle forests of Yucatán
Or the uncharted Straits of Canada
Maybe in the dark heart of the Congo

Wherever I go, wherever I am
Whatever I see, the Explorer’s Age
Is never truly dead
As long as it’s inside of me.

 

Sharing Experiences 2011

 The health volunteers in Moldova recently had our annual "Sharing Experiences" retreat.  Every year we go out to Vodul Lui Voda, a resort just outside of Chisinau.  According to one volunteer it looks like "Soviet day camp".  Old wooden structures that remind me a bit of Girl Scout camp buildings from the 70's and murals with local fairy tales.  This time I actually remembered my camera and snapped a bunch of photos.
We started the evening with snack time, then went around the table and each of us spoke about our successes and challenges.  Older volunteers offered advice when it was solicited.  We wound the evening up with drinks and socializing.  It is a great way for the new volunteers and those of us who have been here for a while to get to know each other in a less formal setting.

Lots of talking.

 This dog decided it was our guardian and would chase off the other wild dogs if they got to close.  He got a lot of treats from the table for this.  I named him Lassie.

Don't worry, this photo was staged, they aren't actually mocking her.

I saw this graffiti on the way out and since one of the other volunteers is named Cristy, I snapped a picture of it before jumping on the bus.  It says "Crysty, I love you" in Romanian.