La Multi Ani!

New Year’s is one of the biggest holidays of the year for Moldovans and I am so glad I stayed at site to spend it with my host family. Maria’s sister and 80 year-old mother were also here. I looked out my bedroom window and instantly recognized Maria’s mother opening our gate despite never having met her.
Most of New Year’s Eve Maria and I were in the kitchen preparing the masa (meals tend to be the most important parts of celebrations). As a new year’s gift (though, admittedly slightly selfish on behalf of my pallet) I prepared a fresh fruit salad. Maria’s mom had never tasted kiwi nor pomegranate. I know that the true value of that imported fruit is really in the carbon emissions to get it here, but the look on Doamna Luba’s face as she tasted her first kiwi at the age of 80 was worth almost every single banut.

I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I have the funniest host Mom in Moldova because she dances with kitchen utensils in the kitchen, right? Well, now I know where she gets it. Right as we were finishing our meal, a song came on the radio that must have particularly appealed to Doamna Luba because her hands went up in the air, swaying side to side as she hummed along to the tune and let out one of completely Moldovanca “eeeeeeee ya ya ya!”

One of my most memorable New Year’s ever.

Despite the fact that we were all awake at mid-night (because the phone, my cell phone, and both of Maria’s cell phones were ringing off the hook with New Year’s greetings), we did not open the champagne until the next morning at 10 o’clock, aka, midnight Pacific Coast Time!

I would be cutting the story short if I didn’t relay Doamna Luba’s toast here. She started off sending best wishes to my family, but then the last part became truly Moldovan…

“Many years with good health to Melissa’s family in America. You have o fata frumoasa and this year we are going to marry her off!”

La mulți ani! Sanatate! Bucoroș! Rabdare! Relezare!