It being Christmas and all, today is our first official day of vacation. Not only that but it also marks the 1/4 point of my service. Woot!
Needless to say it's a very happy day. Hope yours is as good as mine.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Communist and the Kid
Here's an interesting article about the mayor of Chisinau. At 30, he's apparently the youngest mayor of a European capital. An in some ways is like Moldova's version of Obama
From the article:
The Communist and the Kid
by Elena Moldoveanu and Alexandru Eftode4 December 2008
A young mayor goes toe-to-toe with an old guard in Chisinau.
CHISINAU The young mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, entered his office early one Monday in mid-November and gazed at a huge pile of folders on his desk. It had been only a few hours since he had left the room Sunday night, after spending all weekend there.
In fact, he had spent many nights there during the last year and a half, surrounded by files, official stamps, and compact discs, sleeping on a couch in a back room.
“I expected it to be difficult at the beginning and it’ll be that way for the next couple of years, but it’s also exciting and I’m not going to give up,” he said.
Chirtoaca meets with schoolchildren in August.At 30, Chirtoaca is the youngest mayor of a European capital. He presides over the Moldovan capital, with a population of some 800,000 and a budget of some 1.6 billion lei (120 million euros).
Chirtoaca won a surprising victory in local elections in June 2007, one of the few by the Moldovan opposition against the Communist Party in six years.
Chirtoaca is the vice president of the country’s Liberal Party. He is also the protagonist of a story heard around the world last December about a purloined Christmas tree that sheds light on his relationship with the country’s ruling party. The mayor had erected a tree in the town’s main square in time for Christmas on 25 December. Police removed the tree, reportedly on orders from Communist President Vladimir Voronin, who insists that the country celebrate Christmas on 7 January, in keeping with Russian Orthodox tradition. Chirtoaca, who has dual Romanian and Moldovan citizenship, wants to develop closer ties with Romania, where the Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday on 25 December. Voronin nurtures close ties with the Kremlin yet has also made integration with the European Union a priority.
Eventually, Chirtoaca erected the tree in front of City Hall, and he continues to defy the Communists.
Read More...
From the article:
The Communist and the Kid
by Elena Moldoveanu and Alexandru Eftode4 December 2008
A young mayor goes toe-to-toe with an old guard in Chisinau.
CHISINAU The young mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, entered his office early one Monday in mid-November and gazed at a huge pile of folders on his desk. It had been only a few hours since he had left the room Sunday night, after spending all weekend there.
In fact, he had spent many nights there during the last year and a half, surrounded by files, official stamps, and compact discs, sleeping on a couch in a back room.
“I expected it to be difficult at the beginning and it’ll be that way for the next couple of years, but it’s also exciting and I’m not going to give up,” he said.
Chirtoaca meets with schoolchildren in August.At 30, Chirtoaca is the youngest mayor of a European capital. He presides over the Moldovan capital, with a population of some 800,000 and a budget of some 1.6 billion lei (120 million euros).
Chirtoaca won a surprising victory in local elections in June 2007, one of the few by the Moldovan opposition against the Communist Party in six years.
Chirtoaca is the vice president of the country’s Liberal Party. He is also the protagonist of a story heard around the world last December about a purloined Christmas tree that sheds light on his relationship with the country’s ruling party. The mayor had erected a tree in the town’s main square in time for Christmas on 25 December. Police removed the tree, reportedly on orders from Communist President Vladimir Voronin, who insists that the country celebrate Christmas on 7 January, in keeping with Russian Orthodox tradition. Chirtoaca, who has dual Romanian and Moldovan citizenship, wants to develop closer ties with Romania, where the Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday on 25 December. Voronin nurtures close ties with the Kremlin yet has also made integration with the European Union a priority.
Eventually, Chirtoaca erected the tree in front of City Hall, and he continues to defy the Communists.
Read More...
Magical Monastery Tour
On Saturday, a few of the other high school teachers rented a bus for the day and invited me 
along with them to make a tour of some of Moldova's many monasteries. We went to three different monasteries in different parts of the country (since Moldova's pretty small crossing it takes maybe a little more than two hours.
along with them to make a tour of some of Moldova's many monasteries. We went to three different monasteries in different parts of the country (since Moldova's pretty small crossing it takes maybe a little more than two hours.First we went to Saharna which is in the east, on the Nistru river. It was really neat, as it was one of the monasteries that were dug into the limestone cliffs during the 1400s. We also went to a place call Capriana in the center of the country. This was by far the most ornate church I've seen next to St. Peter's. My host dad was telling me that All of Moldova got together in 2000 or so 
and everybody donated a little bit (maybe even 5 lei, or 50 cents) and they rebuilt it to erserve it for future generations. I don't know how much it cost, but the entire place is really pretty.
and everybody donated a little bit (maybe even 5 lei, or 50 cents) and they rebuilt it to erserve it for future generations. I don't know how much it cost, but the entire place is really pretty. I can't remember the name of the third place we went, but it was also interesting (although, to be honest, I was kind of monasteried-out by the time we got there and couldn't appreciate it as much as I should have.
It was an interesting time to go too, as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church just died 
this past week. I didn't notice if they were mourning him ina special way, but then again I didn't understand anything of what they were saying in the services.
this past week. I didn't notice if they were mourning him ina special way, but then again I didn't understand anything of what they were saying in the services.(note: I didn't take these picture, these were what I found on the internet. I still haven't found a reliable way to upload photos here.)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
My Moldovan hip hop beef
As of last week, I apparently have a "beef" with two of my 11th grade students.
They kind of see themselves as hip hop gangsters, and they pretty much worship Tupac. Except their idea of hip hop is fairly comical (almost cartoonish) as it all comes from Russian MTV and movies like that one 50 cent made.
I almost admire their youth idealism about being a gangster, but when I try to explain to them that it's not, in fact, a good thing, they shrug it off. and when I try to tell them that tupac wasn't actually that seminal of an artist, they get mad and say that i should go say that in Compton and see what happens. When I ask them what do they know about Compton, they do that thing where they ask me the same question with an influence on the word "you" like: "What do YOU know about compton?".
And when I respond that I've actually been there (well only once breifly I saw it from a moving vehicle) and not just bookmarked the romanian wikipedia entry at the local internet cafe, they pretend to not understand and make a joke about me in Russian I can't understand (which happens a lot.
But despite their naivety, they have been making my life a living hell. They have basically started a "gang" that walks around town reciting heavily accented Eminem lyrics, blasting Tupac out of their cell phones (I guess that can't find a boombox) and tagging "lloyd banks" on concrete structures around town. But when ever they see me they have started yelling things like "Tupac for Life" "WTF" or Westside" as if they were insults. To which, if i'm feeling particularly bored i'll say something like "Tupac's dead, get over it".
It has even got so bad that kids I don't even know, say westside and throw gang signs when they see me in the streets. But the thing is (and is much to my benefit), they don't know much more about gang banging than that. They don't know about the drugs, the violence and the poverty that goes with the life style. They only see the glamor from the TV.
I really wish I could make a documentary out of my situation to show everyone. Some days, I think I must be going insane or in some sort of retributive hell for music elitists. It's really surreal, it's like I'm in some sort of Gangsta Disney Land (TM) where all the rides have animatronics that sort of freak you out, but you know they only have a few programmed motions that they can do (none of which includes getting off of their track to eat you or "bust a cap in your ass."
Despite their frivolity, the whole situation starting to get on my nerves, and it is distracting in class when I always have to try to control these two kids while trying to teach. I only hope my I can end my beef with them before I have to suffer anymore "walk-by haranguings"
They kind of see themselves as hip hop gangsters, and they pretty much worship Tupac. Except their idea of hip hop is fairly comical (almost cartoonish) as it all comes from Russian MTV and movies like that one 50 cent made.
I almost admire their youth idealism about being a gangster, but when I try to explain to them that it's not, in fact, a good thing, they shrug it off. and when I try to tell them that tupac wasn't actually that seminal of an artist, they get mad and say that i should go say that in Compton and see what happens. When I ask them what do they know about Compton, they do that thing where they ask me the same question with an influence on the word "you" like: "What do YOU know about compton?".
And when I respond that I've actually been there (well only once breifly I saw it from a moving vehicle) and not just bookmarked the romanian wikipedia entry at the local internet cafe, they pretend to not understand and make a joke about me in Russian I can't understand (which happens a lot.
But despite their naivety, they have been making my life a living hell. They have basically started a "gang" that walks around town reciting heavily accented Eminem lyrics, blasting Tupac out of their cell phones (I guess that can't find a boombox) and tagging "lloyd banks" on concrete structures around town. But when ever they see me they have started yelling things like "Tupac for Life" "WTF" or Westside" as if they were insults. To which, if i'm feeling particularly bored i'll say something like "Tupac's dead, get over it".
It has even got so bad that kids I don't even know, say westside and throw gang signs when they see me in the streets. But the thing is (and is much to my benefit), they don't know much more about gang banging than that. They don't know about the drugs, the violence and the poverty that goes with the life style. They only see the glamor from the TV.
I really wish I could make a documentary out of my situation to show everyone. Some days, I think I must be going insane or in some sort of retributive hell for music elitists. It's really surreal, it's like I'm in some sort of Gangsta Disney Land (TM) where all the rides have animatronics that sort of freak you out, but you know they only have a few programmed motions that they can do (none of which includes getting off of their track to eat you or "bust a cap in your ass."
Despite their frivolity, the whole situation starting to get on my nerves, and it is distracting in class when I always have to try to control these two kids while trying to teach. I only hope my I can end my beef with them before I have to suffer anymore "walk-by haranguings"
To all the naysayers out there
To everyone out there (Danny and Adam) who has been vocally complaining about the lack of postings in November, I wish to say sorry, but only half-heartedly. Life's been busy, and it's hard to tell that there is anyone out there that even reads this blog. Now that I know some people actually read this, I will continue posting. But please do me a favor and comment, it's how I know who's reading it. Plus it'll give me ideas of stuff to write about. After six whole months here, I have started to lose focus on what would be interesting for everyone back home. For me it is just work and life and the novelty has worn off. So if there's something you're dying to know about, let me know.
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