some thoughts on a rainy Chisinau afternoon

Hello Hello,

So i've become aware that people actually are reading this, which is surprising and somewhat embarrassing yet a little uplifting all the same... I honest to god thought this would just be my parents following along. So bear with me people if my dyslexia shows through or my grammar is just plain awful (thats my public school education for ya)

So high points for the day:

I wasn't mugged by gypsies. Always a win in my book.

I was mistaken as a Moldovan by another American! YAS. She was shocked when I told her I was also from the states, and said not only did I look like a Moldovan, but had the accent when I spoke. I've been noticing that I definitely have started subconsciously talking different. When all I hear is Russian, Romanian, and English with a Romanian accent, it is hard not to begin sliding over vowels and rolling my "r" 's as they do. I now quite easily respond, and even sometimes just introduce myself as Madelena. 

Other things:

I'm seriously considering taking up smoking (sorry mom) because these people take hella smoke breaks. Only joking, but maybe not, just kidding I don't want lung cancer. Eh but those breaks seem awfully nice. 

Oh and also...

So I'm going to go into some more detail on my host family situation. I had wrote on my application that I would prefer to have a host family with kids of any age (naturally... i'm very used to a busy house with a lot of yelling and noise and yadayada) so when I got my placement, I was told I would be with Francesca (who spoke basic English) and her 19 year old, advanced-English-speaking son, Christian (mom and boyfriend weren't so please with this...). But, upon arriving in Chisinau, I was told that Christian was still in Denmark and would be home "soon" and asked if I was comfortable living with someone who didn't speak English. 

Well, I couldn't really say no at that point because it was 11 o'clock at night and we were already standing on Francesca's doorstep. 

I'd like to think I can usually make the best of any situation. I've been getting by with Francesca for this week, and yes at times it is very difficult because you know things are lost in translation through Google translate (anyone who has ever tried to do the entirety of their high school Spanish homework on the app would know this), but we have made do. Still, I was looking forward to having someone who spoke English at home and to help me better navigate and explain the Moldovan lifestyle.  

So this is where is gets good. Christian probably isn't coming back from Denmark at all because.. ahhh well he hates Moldova.

So here I am, living with Francesca, babbling in English, using my broken Romanian, and of course Google translate. Oh what an adventure this has turned out to be. 

So I think I'll leave off on a light note. Here is some casual Moldovan break dancing we happened to stumble upon in the park.