Getting to know Moldova

·         This past week and half has been spent learning about Moldova and visiting various parts of the country. 



Stefan cel Mare is prepared for Christmas.  One the left you see an average building, parking, and above 4 (one behind the van) making a left at the same time.  A group awaits for the correct, electric bus and hopes for the new type!  Ray and I enjoyed a walk downtown.





 Dr Tripac, our landlord shared his love of his country and the reason German is not one of his languages, as he currently speaks Romanian, Russian, and French.  Most of the people in the Chisinau area speak both Russian and Romanian languages. We have helped teach the advanced English class 3 times now.  The missionaries had 130 people come for the first set of classes!  Last night we had 11 in the advanced class and it was an uplifting class for me. They were asked why they wanted to learn English and many said they wanted to travel and visit the United States.



Bethany Winfrey (Peace Corps), second one on the left,  invited us to visit Scorteni, a village of 2400.  The centeral structure of this Romanian speaking village is the Russian Orthodox Church and Ili Mihail is the priest.  We visited it's school and met Maria Vatmaniuc the director, to the right of Bethany; Angela Ureche, the school librarian, the person on the far right;  and Bethany's friend and sponser Angela Frunze, is on the far left.  The Kitchens were traveling with us and you see them crossing the bridge, with Bethany, as we walked to visit the Church.



 We have visited 4 schools in 3 different locations of the country, two water projects,



Kindergarten director with Lidia and Aurelia are on the stairway and above them are examples of window conditions within the school.  A kindergarten classroom in the middle with the two toliets and beds for all below. You will notice that the children all are wearing heavy sweaters, as most of the building, including the classrooms are heated by water that is pumped through radiators.  It was cold.   Above left is part of a nice playground.  Ray, Lidia and Katea with Ana and a teacher are middle left.  Children spend about 10 hours here, eating all 3 meals at the school.



one institute class in Russian, revisited the Society of the Disabled, got boots made just for Kathy, and met with an American Embassy representative,  a local college teacher whose hobby is farming, in addition to a well educated taxi driver who is assisting us as an interpreter.  We also became aquatinted with a private medical clinic and today we will see what their x-ray technology is like!  Ray is driving as a Moldovian already and we are beginning to know the country and her people a little better.