ho ho ho

I've begun taking capoiera, a Brazilian martial art that is like a cross between gymnastics, ballet and breakdancing, three nights a week at a local gym. I can't get over the fact that they have this capoiera group here in Balti and that I'm getting to do this, and for FREE no less! For those of you who haven't heard of it, do a little websearch. It's beautiful to watch - wait, I should clarify, beautiful to watch when people other than Bridgett are doing it, particularly lithe wippersnappers. I spend a lot of time standing off to the side, watching in awe and wondering why my body doesn't do what I tell it to. I've decided I'm not particularly coordinated.

Oh, lookie here: http://beltsy.info/ It's a website with pictures of Balti, where I'm currently living! I think there's even a moving panoramic shot where you can see the building where I work. Oh wait, it's all in Russian, that might make navigation a bit of a challenge. Very well, I'll find some links to paste here. Let's see....ah: http://beltsy.info/modules.php?name=coppermine here are some photos to check out. I can't find where the panoramic film thingies went.

Yesterday was a very frustrating day. I got an email from my dad saying he'd received a notice from my credit card company that my card would be closed for lack of payment. I had forgotten that I'd signed up for e-billing, so even though dad is handling my financial affairs, he never received a bill. I found an international number on the back of my visa and gave them a call this morning, discovering that my balance has grown by $200 entirely in late fees. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I hate paying money for nothing. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Then I couldn't even pay the bill, because they require a check and mine are however many thousands of miles away in Washougal. I decided I'd leave my dad a voicemail, hoping the call wouldn't wake him since it was 1am back home, but he picked up. It was awesome to hear his voice and get to say hi, even if it were for the purpose of asking him to put half of my "super fun travel in Europe" money toward some now-canceled credit card. We talked for scarcely 10 minutes before my cell phone made a shrieking sound and ended the call. I'd had 60 minutes left on my phone before calling him -- it used up 60 minutes for, like, 8 minutes of talking! Gaaaaaaaaaaaah again! (You buy these rechargeable phone cards for cells here, rather than having an account or monthly bill. You get 120 in-country minutes for 300 lei). Okay, some perspective so I don't go insane with frustration: that's only, what, $11.50?

But still! And as I keep reminding myself, doing the "hey, that's only $2 in America" conversion game is actually a bad idea, because we aren't getting paid like we're in the US. My month's living allowance is blown already and I still need to pay for my remaining Russian lessons. Though I bought some much-needed winter boots and a few other essentials, mostly I have no idea what happened to it. Oh well, it's only my first month of somewhat independant living here. Maybe I'm just on the bad part of the learning curve, or whatever that expression is.

All of this craziness aside, don't get the wrong impression that I'm disgruntled or unhappy here. Actually, I've been feeling quite content. It's cold but not that cold, my host family is really growing on me after some initial awkwardness, my Russian (or, rather, my study habits) leaves much to be desired but it's still improving bit by bit, and it makes me happy that most days as I walk through town on my way to lunch or the office I pass at least one person who says hi and asks me how I'm doing. Moldova is a small country as it is and I'm in a very cozy little city, but I like it and I like feeling like I'm becoming part of the community. I have begun teaching English two nights a week to my counterpart and her adult friends and I think I'm really going to enjoy it. I have to admit, in that class I find it kind of refreshing to be the holder of the answers and knowledge, and to have someone else be wearing the expression of confusion and frustration, or not knowing how to make the words come out. I don't have many opportunities to feel competent here. It's hard never feeling like a grownup! I also teach an English class Friday nights with my friend and fellow volunteer Nic, for some local teenagers. They're around 15 or 16 and a lot of fun, and some of them speak English beautifully, but we're still feeling out how to do the class. I keep trying to plan creative, goofy, flexible lessons, but they aren't going over that well. I'm not sure if it's because my lessons suck, or because the educational system here is different than the one I'm used to and the kids are accustomed to memorization and just rote learning. I just want them to relax and have fun with it but I don't know if they know how to do that in an educational setting. One hope is that I can work with some of the less shy and theatrically-inclined students on skits or plays. I think it would be a lot of fun and a great way to learn English, although admittedly I know nothing about theater. Oh, and one last project: at this Friday's lesson I'm going to pitch the idea of starting an Odyssey of the Mind team. I'll need 5 to 7 teenagers and honestly I don't know if these already overbooked kids have room for it in their schedules (they go to school, then come have English for 2 hours, then a French tutor comes by!) but if it's feasible for them and me I think it would be awesome. Again, I like the idea of encouraging them to think differently, more creatively and to expose them to the type of activity they aren't getting in school here.

It's about time for me to go now. Oh, one last thing - the other night after I'd related some story, saying "blah blah blah" at one point, my host mom said "Bridgett, here in Moldova I don't think you should keep saying 'blah blah blah'. We say 'la la la'. What you say sounds really close to the slang word 'blahd', for...uh...a woman of easy virtue." Good to know.