It must be something in the water (yeah, like giardia)

It's weird, all I do is eat cheese and fried things here, yet I'm getting thinner. I really don't get it. I mean, admittedly I never drive (strictly forbidden, but also unnecessary with everything within walking distance and/or public transport) and I also haven't watched any TV since I've been here (it's in the host sister's bedroom and I don't feel comfortable hanging out on her bed to watch it, plus a lot of it is badly dubbed, plus I've been busy doing more interesting/constructive things) but surely that can't counteract all the cheese/sour cream/mayonnaise/butter/oil liberally used in most dishes?!

Ah well, I say why question a good thing! Such as the fact there's an icecream factory in town, and they make really yummy cones and bars and stuff (including one called "Icecream Send-wish") that mysteriously are very low calorie, like only 75. And they're not diet or anything! I think I'll have two...

Eek, 8 minutes, the timer readout is now red for HURRY. Because I am horrible at pacing myself online I think I'll steal some of what I wrote to a friend and place it here so you can read about some interesting recent events.

~~~~~

My weeks of training are coming to a close. I'm both happy (hooray, no more days of endless meetings, seminars, flip chart paper diagrams and "let's all break into small groups") and scared (I'll be leaving the cosy land of a daily routine, host family I feel comfortable with, daily language classes...).

Yesterday I went along with all the other volunteers on a PC field trip up north to this town called Soroca. I really liked it, and plan to go back solo some other time so I can just walk around and take pictures. The town sits largely on top of a steep hill, something that was very exciting to see and reminded me of home after a month and a half or whatever living in this relatively flat country. Below town is the Nistru river, which I believe constitutes the eastern border of the country. On the other side of the river was Ukraine. I asked one of the teachers if I needed a passport to swim across, and she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Bridgett, you'd be swimming, what kind of passport could you carry?" I guess only I thought that was funny.

In Soroca live a really large Roma (or, as they're commonly called, gypsy - though this term is now considered outdated if not offensive) community, and at lunch we got to meet with the Baron of the Roma living in Moldova and other CIS countries. He was this friendly, charismatic man with a long white beard, and had this fascinating/creepy way of emphasizing things he said with his eyes. He and his advisors sat on a panel answering our questions, such as what the major issues are facing the Roma. He said there are issues about children not going to college or getting as much of an education, but to my surprise he didn't really mention discrimination and things like that, other than in regard to the situation for Roma in France. In regard to the position of women in the Roma community, a mic was passed to one of the wives in attendance, and she said they feel honored to serve their husbands, that they should not work and should take care of the home. Then the baron said that it is shameful for a woman to work, and the two of them began arguing back and forth across the room, with her saying that sometimes it is necessary for survival etc. This was really interesting to me considering that she had been introduced as an international businesswoman.

Following the panel three Roma women in lots of makeup and sparkly outfits performed dances for us, accompanied by a guy wearing a silver sequined poofy pirate-y top who looked exactly like Ron Jeremy. One woman even came out and performed a belly dance, shaking her booty so fast that some of the silver coins on her outfit flew off, and receiving lei tips from the baron and some of the male volunteers. Very interesting how intensely-traditional cultures where female chasitity is so vital make exceptions for dancing half naked for money.

Afterward we walked around the Roma area of town to admire some of the huge, amazing homes there (alternated of course with small ordinary ones) and an old woman with gold teeth offered to read my palm.

That evening, talking with my host mom in the kitchen I told her what we'd seen and done, and she asked me if I'd been in the Baron's home. (No, we only saw the outside). Then she proceeded to tell me that she wouldn't want to go into one of their homes, that the Roma smell bad, are dirty people, that they hate to work, they just beg and read palms and are thieves or criminals, and no one likes them anywhere. She is certainly not the first person I have heard this from in Moldova, and as common as these stereotypes are, I again wondered why the Baron didn't address them. I would have liked to hear about whether there is anti-discrimination legislation in Moldova, etc. I guess talking about how you're shunned throughout Europe really puts a damper on an afternoon of eating and socializing.

Other news to come in my next entry: less fluff, more about the current economic/political situation in Moldova, recent cross-cultural difficulties related to our host families and the Moldovan distaste for confrontation, and my next language/technical assessment.

Bridgett signing off.