Trip #3 Story
Hello there
I made it to Moldova again safe and sound. It was a bit of a crappy trip.
I waited in Ohio for 7 hours, which wasn't too bad, as i got to read. Then
on the plane to Frankfurt, I sat next to some 10 year old girl who took
over the armrest, and poked me in the ribs with her elbow every time she
moved, which was about once every minute. Her dad was some moron
german/american guy who mumbled in both languages and was pretty stupid,
and he didn't help any. There was also a baby behind us who didn't cry the
entire trip, but didn't help us get long periods of sleep, either. Then
the Frankfurt airport was very confusing as always, and then eventually
when I found where to check in, the airline had been closed down, and I
was sent to another airline which told me to "come back later", and didn't
specify when. The plane was supposed to leave in 2 hours!! I went back an
hour later, stood in the large line where one lady checked people in -
very slowly, and two others stood around. I made it with only 20 minutes
to spare. But to there credit, the plane did wait for everyone else who
was checking in.
The best flight was actually the one to Moldova. Everyone was very
friendly, and the food was amazing! Huge amounts of cheese, bread, salad,
meats, very cool. The stewardesses on the other flights were all old and
grumpy, and the food was crap.
Oh well. I'm sure things could have been even worse.
And so I am in Moldova again. It was not very exciting to make the same
trip for the 3rd time - traveling becomes a pain instead of exciting. But
it is still nice to be here. It's still quite a pleasant place. The
economy continues to grow more and more, and there are new buildings from
even 4 months ago, and our street now has permanent streetlights on at
night! That's quite an achievement. The city had turned all the lights off
to save energy, before that, except for the main street downtown.
Since I've been here already twice before, now I can relax and not feel
the urge to explore so much stuff. So it should be a nice holiday.
See you all later
ME
Hello everyone
The Moldova trip #3 is in it's last week. The weather warmed up a little
bit, and melted all the snow. There was a lot of mud in the market for a
bit, but now that's gone again, and now it's gone back to being cold. I
think the streets looked better covered with snow, and now there is only
torn up concrete and dirt to be seen.
I was nervous about going to Dorina's mum's village again, as usual. This
trip was better than last winter, but not as good as summer. We were again
stuck in the one little dusty room, the only room with heat. Dorina's mum
gave me lots of cognac, and drank some herself. After a good dinner, there was nothing to
do, so I tried to sleep, but she talked for a solid 4 hours with no
breaks . Of course, we all slept in the same warm room,
although I would have been glad to sleep in a more spacious, less dusty,
cold room. I think I managed 2 hours sleep before at 4am her mum started up talking
again, non stop. It didn't let up until 8am when we got the hell out of
there. Villages, quaint they might be, the way of life for many people of
the planet they might be, but if you can avoid them, it might be best to
do so. The best part is the natural food and
chasing the animals around the yard, but I would be almost as happy at
home with my junk food and television, being warm and having an inside
toilet.
Yes, on this 3rd trip to Moldova, the new-ness has well worn off. There
remain many things I approve of here, but some things I am getting very
sick of. I'm getting quite tired of trolley buses, overcrowded shuttles,
everyone dressing the same (black jacket, black pants, black boots, black
hats - and the people seem to laugh at me for not strictly following this
dress code, but I can't be sure what the hell they are laughing at). The
TV is boring, most the channels being crap I don't understand (but there
remain several Russian shows that are quite funny even if I don't know
what they are saying). Winter is indeed quite depressing. I would probably
be depressed in winter in the US too if it were not for the abundance of
things to do.
The things I still like here are reasonably numerous. Girls drinking beer
- not small glasses, but big glasses. The people are quite friendly when
you get to know them. Wonderful people. The food is still pretty good. The
economy continues to improve. The houses are simple but cozy and
functional. The public transport, although I grow weary of it, is still
easily available and cheap, and appreciated. The markets rule - so many
products, so cheap. Excellent!
Overall, if you've never been to Moldova, I do highly recommend it. It's
mind- blowing the first time you're here. After a few trips, it's a bit
weary. But as a place to live permanently, I still think it's reasonable -
under certain conditions. Obviously being poor and stuck in a village
might not be to your liking, but if you can secure a reasonable job, or
start some type of business, you can live quite nicely and happily. I do
think it's better in summer though - people aren't dressed the same, the
parks are all alive, the lakes thawed, and the numerous cafes open with
outside seating.
We had a few drinking sessions with the neighbors, damn fun. The first
time the guy from next door came to see what I was doing to the door -
insulating it a wee bit better with stuff I got from the market - and the
next thing I know we are drinking wine - quite a lot of it, and then there
were some photos taken which I don't remember, but I'm glad to see that we
all had fun. Then for new years we again celebrated, I had few marmite
sandwiches to prepare myself, and again much wine was consumed. The
advantage of having a wine cellar on the premises - lots of wine! And no
headache from this homemade stuff, unlike the boxed stuff we had the first
time. Excellent.
I haven't been eating so much, and today I suffered some type of calorie
starvation, and didn't know what the hell was wrong with me. We went to
town and had some pizza, and amazingly enough I was fine again. I don't
think I've had that happen to me before!! There is indeed enough food to
be eaten, it's just that with all the drinking, I have been sleeping half
the day, and not really eating very much.
I'll try to send some photos later.
Cheerio for now!
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