Wedding Day/Night/Early morning!

My partner, Nina, picked me up in her boyfriend's car and we headed to a village I've only been to once, to a home I've never seen, full of people I'd never met. Yet, despite Nina being the only mutual connection to any of this, the bride welcomed me to not only her wedding, but her wedding party. Nina served as Cristina's "vornicica de onare," a role similar to a maid of honor. Months ago, Nina asked Cristina if I could tag along and see a Moldovan wedding from the inside out. 

And so it was set, I helped the rest of the girls dress the bride, decorate cars for the motorcade, destroy beautiful roses to create bags of petals we needed for tossing over the love-birds at various points in the night, create the arch of flowers (with the ones that survived) for the couple to walk through, and welcome the guests with a voice-snatching screech that accompanied our hora dancing.

Oh, and I also was given a special corsage to wear. If you knew what you were looking for, it literally proclaimed, "Hello, I'm Melissa, a very unmarried, eligible, single young-lady." Opa!

It also turned out that my camera was the only one present for most of this 18-hour experience, so I really didn't see it all night. One of the groom's friends just kind of took it over until the battery gave out sometime between the "first meal" and the "undressing of the bride." This slideshow then, is mostly of his creation, but is unfortunately incomplete.

      

As things wrapped up around 4 am this morning, we could barely walk to the car. All night long we danced, and we danced, and we danced. Unlike many American weddings, it would have been a huge taboo to shake the shoes off under the table. 

Overall, I must say the experience was incredibly memorable, a perfect example of everything I love and still quite don't understand about Moldova all at once. I wish Cristina and Viorel all the best. 

For scoop on the religious part of most Moldovan wedding's, see my previous post Sergiu's Church Wedding

Election Day!

I'm so proud of the youth council, and my partner in particular. Though it was hard, took three hours, and involved more than one re-vote, we elected a brand new leadership team. And of course, all of that came AFTER our discussion about roles and responsibilities for the president, vice-president, and treasurer. Only after the roles were defined did my partner ask for nominations for each position, and candidates evaluated their own ability to succeed based on the list of responsibilities. They are the best! Furthermore, this year's election was well attended, recognized the development of a few select volunteers over the past year, and re-newed the sense of ownership the youth have over their own representation. Congratulations CLT!

Successful Snippets

Wooohooo! What a fantastic week, and it's only Tuesday! Okay, so remember the post about my first REAL Peace Corps Project? Or maybe the one about finding a good rhythm despite winter challenges? Or when I gushed about how much I LOVE EASTER in Moldova? Well...I lied, or I exaggerated, because what I meant to say is that this is the part of my service really love. Like really.

Yesterday, amongst the girl talk, vain attempts to extend summer vacation just a little longer, and catch up with work, my partner (right) surprised me--big time. She said to me, "Melissa, I want to have a discussion with the youth council about roles and responsibilities of the president and vice-president before we hold the next council election." Woohooo, again! Granted, it may not seem like much to the average reader, but it took unseen amounts of self-restraint not to bust out a touchdown dance (or did I?). It's small changes like this that I have been encouraging for a year, and now they are being recognized. We are hoping that by defining the roles and responsibilities before people are elected into them, we can have more teeth with which to hold people accountable. After all, you wouldn't apply for a job without knowing what the job was would you?

Yesterday evening was equally enjoyable. As it was my neighbor's birthday we headed over with the rest of the gang to celebrate. "Love thy neighbor" is not something I have to work at here in Moldova, it just comes naturally with this bunch. Since it was also my Granny's birthday back home, several toasts were said for her too. Granny, they wished you good health, many years, many grandchildren, and thanked you for sending me along to Moldova (haha...yea...I know).

Following that fantastic 24 hours was today, and the official closing of our summer leadership course. Here is a photo of the whole group in front of the district council.

Again, this is the incredible program that used the graduates of last year's course as this year's trainers. Very sustainable. Always memorable. This is the first year that the founders of the program were not involved in the planning and facilitation of the events, and as I spoke to the youth today they radiated a certain amount of pride for carrying on the proverbial torch successfully. Irena, a good friend, even commented that this year's group of participants and trainers were much more united as a group than before, being that everyone was learning together. That could be why at about 11:00 a.m. people on the street below probably heard this chant billowing out the third story windows of the district council:

A: "What are we?!"

B: "FRIENDS!"

A: "And what does that mean we are?!"

B "A TEAM!"

But what do you do, Melissa?

My program exists to build and sustain individual and organizational capacity. My day planner currently tracks the following projects my various partners and I are working on. I hope soon there will be some posts on the progress of these activities!

[+] Drafting formal job descriptions for public employees that work with youth.
[+] Redefining the roles of the youth council's leadership team (i.e. president, vice-president)
[+] Holding an organizational development day for the whole council where we will distinguish between who we are and who we want to be--then come up with a plan to get there.
[+] Teaching adult English classes for three individuals who already spend time in the United States, or are applying to.
[+] Revamping the recruitment strategy for youth volunteers in my community.
[+] Helping organize an awareness event with an NGO in northern Moldova that aims to prevent instances of human-trafficking...we're talking two-hour gig. Live music. Poetry slams. Guest speakers. THE WORKS!
[+] Recruiting other PCVs in northern Moldova to work with this anti-trafficking NGO in their communities.
[+] Working with other PCVs to reboot the Gender Workgroup Peace Corps Moldova.

Vino progres!

The year to come

Today is the official, one-year mark of my service. I have now been in country fourteen months, twelve of which I've spent here in my site.

In the next year of my service, there are many things I will attempt, and a select few that I pledge to accomplish. The latter list is much shorter, so here's a peek:


[+] I pledge to help the youth council improve the way it recruits and maintains volunteers. They need it, and will continue to need it after I leave.
[+] I pledge to make a (possibly, in vain) attempt at learning how to make Maria's placinta (pies/pastries), and also convince her that corn bread can be part of a meal, not just dessert.
[+] I pledge to reach my goal in my Romanian language competency.
[+] I pledge to exhaust my wardrobe! No buying new jeans on vacation this year. I don't want to like anything so much that it will be difficult to part with come close-of-service (material comfort jokes need not apply).
[+] I pledge to find an answer to our Country Director's most famous question: "What about your Peace Corps Service makes you most proud?"