Yes, learning Romanian is difficult, but it is proving to be really fun. We received roughly 10 hours of instruction before being dropped off with our host families (YIKES!), and now we have about four formal hours of instruction every morning. Not only do we have these three lovely Moldovenca teachers (seen here with America’s finest confections), but almost everyone we meet challenges us to learn something new. A neighbor, bus driver, PCV, etc. Acquiring the language is the most important skill we can acquire at this point!
Particularly fabulous of help is my host niece. This little seven-year-old taught me my numbers, colors, animals, gives me the funniest look whenever I say “nu intleg” (don’t understand), and is currently helping me learn the names of the body parts via my introduction of the Hokey Pokey. Hi-stinkin-larious! All of the neighborhood kids laugh at us. What a sight to see! Especially since my colleagues and I are already the talk of the town. If anyone has anymore suggestions for easy to learn American songs…shoot them my way, please!
So far in class we’ve learned the verb tenses and basic pronouns, dozens of adjectives, numbers (which includes being able to tell ages and time), family titles, greetings, and formal dialogues. Everyday builds on the previous, and it’s hard, but we are thriving and I can already have brief conversations with my host Mother at dinner (far fewer awkward silences!).
Almost all of my class studies Romanian, but a few were selected to learn Russian since much of the northern part of the country is mostly Russian speaking (See Moldovan your favorite Moldovan history book Re: actions of Soviet Union). We see them a couple times a week at our hub site for technical training.
Particularly fabulous of help is my host niece. This little seven-year-old taught me my numbers, colors, animals, gives me the funniest look whenever I say “nu intleg” (don’t understand), and is currently helping me learn the names of the body parts via my introduction of the Hokey Pokey. Hi-stinkin-larious! All of the neighborhood kids laugh at us. What a sight to see! Especially since my colleagues and I are already the talk of the town. If anyone has anymore suggestions for easy to learn American songs…shoot them my way, please!
So far in class we’ve learned the verb tenses and basic pronouns, dozens of adjectives, numbers (which includes being able to tell ages and time), family titles, greetings, and formal dialogues. Everyday builds on the previous, and it’s hard, but we are thriving and I can already have brief conversations with my host Mother at dinner (far fewer awkward silences!).
Almost all of my class studies Romanian, but a few were selected to learn Russian since much of the northern part of the country is mostly Russian speaking (See Moldovan your favorite Moldovan history book Re: actions of Soviet Union). We see them a couple times a week at our hub site for technical training.
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