There's Something about Mary

Close of Service (COS) Conference

Mary O — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:55:27 +0000

During the last week of April, I attended my final conference as a PCV. It was the first time that our group (M26, the 26th group in Moldova) had all been together since February 2012. We all met at the Peace Corps office in Chisinau, and then were bussed to Vada Lui Voda, a resort area along the Dniester River. During the 2-day conference we learned about what was required of us before we leave Moldova and head back home. Some of statistics we learned were 64 people were invited to Moldova, 55 actually came to Moldova in June 2011, 52 officially swore-in as volunteers, 34 were attending the COS conference and 4 will be extending for a third year. In my specific business development group, 12 volunteers swore-in and currently we have 9 volunteers, 6 of us will be COSing in July and 3 will be extending.

It was great to see everyone together, we were blessed with great weather and in two short months we will all be going our separate ways.

O zi buna!

Last Stop-Croatia

Mary O — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:59:52 +0000

The last stop of my trip was Croatia. I started in the capital, Zagreb, and arrived around 9 PM. I then followed the poorly written directions to my hostel. I finally arrived at the hostel around 10:30, tired and frustrated because of the poor directions. All I wanted at this point was to shower and sleep, but that was not in the cards for me. The owner told me that they didn’t have space for me and I should have made my reservation sooner, I made my reservation before I left Slovenia while I was waiting for my train, thinking that I wouldn’t have a problem since they still had space available on hostelworld. Instead the owner told me that there was no space and it was my fault since I didn’t book enough in advance. (Note: Funk House Hostel has awful customer service) Eventually after complaining enough she called another hostel and paid for a taxi for me to get there. The hostel I ended up staying in, wasn’t bad, just pretty far away from the center of Zagreb, I did get a room all to myself though. The next day I spent the day in Zagreb exploring. It wasn’t an amazing city, but parts were really pretty and I would have enjoyed myself more if it hadn’t been raining all day.

I took a night train to Split, and arrived in Split around 6 AM. I wasn’t sure what to do at first, but was so pleased with the beautiful weather. I had some time to kill before I could check into my hostel, so I stored my backpack, grabbed a coffee and started walking. It was so peaceful since almost nothing was open and there was not a lot of people around. I found a bench along the water and read my Kindle for a few hours. Sitting there reading was where my vacation became exactly what I thought it was going to be. Around noon I collected my backpack and checked in to my hostel. The Tchaikovsky Hostel was probably one of my favorite hostels I have ever stayed in. It was really clean, had super comfortable beds and the owner was fantastic. Since I forgot that Easter was the next day a few hours after I checked in I added an extra day to my stay since I heard that nothing was going to be open Sunday. That night I met some interesting people, a couple of Americans, a guy from Britain, one from Mexico and one from France, we all went out and had a few beers. The guy from Britain was my favorite, he was killing time in Croatia before he went down to work in a nudist colony in Montenegro. Easter Sunday was pretty relaxing, in the morning it rained and later in the afternoon I went for a walk around town, met a couple of guys from my hometown who went to WSU and had some homemade wine with the owner of the hostel.

Monday morning I made my way to the bus station to catch the bus to Dubrovnik. I had made reservations at a hostel in the old walled city. They had amazing directions to their place and when I arrived I was welcomed with a shot of homemade alcohol. It was delicious and had a nice nutty flavor. One of the other people on my bus showed up a few minutes later and we decided to go out and find some seafood. We went to a place recommended by our hostel and I got a pan full of little fish, while she had some fresh mussels. The hostel also did a happy-hour at 7 so you could meet some of the other travelers. I ended up going out to a nearby Irish Pub with a few. The next day the weather was awful so I spent most of my time inside, but did get out to have some excellent Bosnian food. I then went back to the hostel to dry off since my shoes were soaked from all the rain and I was cold. From there I learned how to make a balloon dog and watched one of the other travelers make all sorts of flowers and hats with balloons. Later that evening it finally stopped raining so I went out for dinner with 2 people. We got a seafood platter with shrimp, squid, mussels and octopus. The next day I made my way back to Zagreb so that I could catch a flight to Chisinau. I felt blessed to see some amazing places, meet some great people and eat some great food.

To see photos from Croatia, check my Facebook album.

O zi buna!

Slovenia

Mary O — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:55:53 +0000

I left Belgrade at around 9 PM on a bus headed for Ljubljana, Slovenia. Along the way we cut through Croatia and got to stop at 4 different border crossings. Two weren’t so bad, but the other 2 everyone had to get out of the bus, show your passport and open your bags, they wouldn’t have been bad except the bus was so warm, and outside it was not. The first time we had to get out was when we were entering Croatia. As the passengers were inside the border patrol was inspecting the bus and they were doing a thorough job. The assistant to the bus driver got caught trying to bring about 30 cartons of cigarettes (I am not sure the rule for Croatia, butin the European Union you are only allowed 2 unopened cartons per person). He had them hidden under the bus seats in the back row of the bus. The border patrol took his cigarettes and fined him before the bus was allowed to continue on. We also had to exit the bus again at the Slovenian border (which is an EU country) and the 2 ladies behind me did not have proper visas to get in so we drove the bus back into Croatia and left them at a gas station.

The bus arrived in Ljubljana around 7 AM and from there I bought a train ticket out to Bled. While I waited for my train to leave I had a delicious Egg McMuffin from McDonalds (I never ate McDonalds in the US, but something about it here tastes delicious ). When I arrived at my stop I didn’t realize the train didn’t actually to the town of Bled, but a town about 4 KM away, so since I didn’t want to pay for a taxi I started walking to my destination. I made it to Bled, grabbed something quick to eat and then went to find my hostel. The hostel was pretty easy to find and one of the owners checked me in, she was so sweet and friendly and gave me lots of options of things to do and also gave me a cheaper price on my room since it was the off season. After settling into the hostel I went for a walk around the town and then up to the Bled castle. My original plan for the day was to ride one of the bikes free for use at the hostel to a waterfall that the hostel owner had told me about. I ended up changing my plans though when I realized I was not tall enough for the bikes Instead I took a nice walk around the lake and also got really excited when I saw a bar advertising IPA and stout beers. I made my way back to that bar later in the evening and talked to the bartender for a few hours about Slovenia and how it was changed since its independence from Yugoslavia. Bled was an amazing beautiful place, I wish I had more time to explore it, I also want to see it in the summer and really be able to enjoy all the outdoor activities it has to offer.

The next afternoon I took a bus back to Ljubljana. The weather in Ljubljana was beautiful and sunny, which was a change from what I had been seeing. I walked around not having much of plan, stopped for a delicious lunch and then headed up the the castle area. After the castle, I continued to walk around and see what I could before I caught a late train to Zagreb, Croatia.

To see more photos from my trip check out Facebook.

O zi buna!

Adventures in Serbia

Mary O — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:15:51 +0000

When I was planning for my trip, I used some information from 2 other volunteers who had traveled through the Balkans last year. Sadly some of the bus/train information had changed. Instead of a direct train from Bucharest to Belgrade, Serbia, I had to take a train to Timişoara, Romania (a town pretty close to the Romania/Serbia border), then from there I bought a ticket to Vrsac (a town on the Serbian border). Vrsac was very intimidating for me since the lady at the ticket counter spoke no English or Romanian, and didn’t accept any debit/credit cards or Euros. Finally with enough pointing she was able to direct me to the nearest place to exchange money so I could buy my ticket to Belgrade.

When I arrived in Belgrade about 2 hours later I was completely lost, since the train stopped at a station at the edge of town, not the main station. I got on a bus and hoped it was going in the direction I wanted. Since I didn’t know how to pay for the bus, or if I was going the correct way, I got off after a few stops when I saw a map of the city. As I stood and stared at the map trying to figure out my route to the bus station so I could leave my backpack and a go explore, a nice young guy stopped and asked if I needed help. He then walked me to the bus station and told me about some things I should see in Belgrade. He also hold me that I should stay longer than just a day because Belgrade has an excellent nightlife. I promised him I would be back again.

I left my backpack in the luggage room, bought a ticket for the night bus to Ljubljana and then went off to explore. My first stop was Belgrade Fortress. The Fortress was large and looks over the connection of the Danube and the Sava Rivers. After walking around for a bit, I decided to find myself some lunch and also get out of the rain for a bit. After lunch I walked around some more and found a delicious coffee shop. About an hour before my bus was scheduled to leave, I decided to walk back towards the bus station. I got my backpack from the luggage room, made a stop at the bathroom and then went to find the correct platform. As I was making my way through the gate a security guard stopped me, I showed him my ticket and he proceeded to ask me something in Serbian. He could tell I was confused, so he asked his coworker to talk to me and another guard asked me in English about a token I needed to go through the gate, he also told me it was given to me when I bought my ticket. I started searching my pockets and pulling out all the change, and none of the coins were the correct one. He finally let me through, and today while emptying my backpack I found the token that they wanted. I guess now I have a souvenir. :)

O zi buna!

Please Help

Mary O — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:31:23 +0000

This year Peace Corps Moldova is celebrating 20 years of sending volunteers to Moldova. We are planning a tour/walk across Moldova to help promote volunteerism. If any of you have a few extra dollars you could donate it would be a lot of help. Here is the link to the project page https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-261-008

Thanks everyone

Visiting Friends in Romania :)

Mary O — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:24:13 +0000

I got back from my last vacation before COS (Close of Service) about a week ago. My vacation started in Romania where I visited my friends from college, who are serving as PCVs in Romania. They came and saw Moldova and where I live last June, so I figured now it was my turn. I took the night bus from Chisinau to Bucharest and arrived in Bucharest around 6 in the morning, I waited a few hours and then took a train to their site which is about 2 hours away. There town has a population of 8,000, and even though that is half of what Riscani has, it seemed much more developed. My friend told me I would know her town by the large cement factory that I would pass on the train. She was correct. My friends who excellent hosts, we played Settlers of Catan and ate some delicious home-cooked food.

On the Saturday of my arrival we met up with their Italian friend who lived in the next town over and went to visit Sinaia and Peleș Castle about an hour away. Peleș Castle is in the Carpathian Mountains and was built in the late 19th century. We paid for a tour of all 3 levels and I was rather impressed with the interior. The exterior reminded me of the castle in Beauty and the Beast. After our tour we walked around Sinaia before catching the bus back to town. Sunday we had some delicious fajitas and walked around the town. And on Monday afternoon I caught a bus back to Bucharest so I could catch a night train to Serbia. (which I found out doesn’t actually exist anymore, that is another story).

To check out more photos, look on Facebook. O zi buna!

Lately

Mary O — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:14:51 +0000

Lately, my life seems to be going by really quickly. In less than 4 short months I will be an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) and on my way to meet my good friend in SE Asia for a trip before traveling back to the US.

Here is a little bit of what I have been up to lately:

Daylight savings- It happened in the US almost 2 weeks ago, but Europe doesn’t switch it clocks until the 31st of March, and since I like my laptop to be on West coast time, I have been realyl confused for couple weeks. Luckily this confusion will end soon.
Eye problems-Last week my contact was giving my some problems, so I switched to my awesome Happy Potter-ish glasses. I am not entirely sure what the issue is, but I am still wearing the glasses, and today when I talked with the doctor at PC they instructed me to keep wearing them and gave me some eye drops that will hopefully help. Also she said no mascarea.
Consolidation – Tuesday we had a practice consolidation point test. My consolidation point is in Balti, so not far, but also not fun to have to go to after a 6:15 AM wake-up call. The consolidation point is used incase there is some sort of emergency in the country, our safety and security officer will contact the staff, then the staff member contacts a designated volunteer (warden) and then the warden contacts the volunteers on his/her list. Hopefully we won’t ever need a real consolidation!
Work- I am currently closing up my project that I won last year, which pretty much just means a lot of paperwork to fill out. And I am also handing off leadership positions that I held for committees within PC to the M27s to take over for next year.
Vacation – Tonight I leave for vacation. I am starting in Romania to visit 2 PCV friends I have there and then going to Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia for 2 weeks. Also I found out yesterday that the day I get back, my host mom leaves for a 3 week trip to Ukraine, so I won’t get to see her for most all of April. It will be weird not to have her around.

And lastly Go Zags!! Good luck in the NCAA tournament!

Making Sarmale

Mary O — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:30:37 +0000

Back in September before my parents were coming to visit I helped my host mom in Ciorescu prepare sarmale. Sarmale is a tradional Moldovan dish of rice, vegetables and sometimes meat, wrapped in either cabbage or grape leaves. They are very popular throughout central and eastern Europe, and like many other Moldovan dishes, every family has their own recipe. I did find out that they are harder to wrap then they look, and I was much slower at it than my host mom.

Also, here is a link to a recipe for sarmale from one of my favorite food blogs: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/02/alexs-moms-stuffed-cabbage/

O zi buna!

My Best Friend in the Winter

Mary O — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:43:23 +0000

One question that I get asked a lot by people in the US, is how I stay warm in Moldova. To answer the question of how I stay warm I always answer “my soba” and then I get blank stares or silence because not many people know what a soba is. It is a stove that is in almost every Moldovan house. Some use gas, but most are run on wood and/or coal. They are built with bricks and some also use ceramic tile. The heat is radiated from the bricks and it is able to heat the surrounding rooms in a house. My host mom takes care of the soba for me, she starts it around 4 pm and then keeps adding coal throughout the evening so it is nice and warm throughout most of the night. So the soba is my best friend all winter because it keeps me nice and warm on the cold winter nights.

Hopefully the soba won’t need to be used much more as tomorrow is the first day of Spring in Moldova!

O zi buna

Ha

Mary O — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:13:39 +0000

I saw this lovely site on my walk home from work yesterday:

These 2 men were walking their pig, and the pig did not seem super happy about it. It was one of those moments where I thought, “Only in Moldova.”

O zi buna!