Putting Moldova on the Map : Under the weather & Under three weeks to go

Time flies when you're eating Placinte.

I think the crazy weekend all caught up to me this Monday because I woke up feeling pretty awful.

It was like the worst combination between a bad cold and worse spring allergies. Good think mama Wescott made me bring allllll the drugs to Moldova (thanks meggles, killing the game even when you're over seas). Inga though maybe because I had been wearing flip flops and had cold hair that I might have caught something, but it has been really warm here lately. Tomorrow it is actually suppose to get up close to 37 degrees Celsius! (they don't do Fahrenheit here, but that translates to close to 100 degrees)

So Monday was a little rough because my head really was pounding and I felt very out of it, but I tried to make the most of the workday editing slides for our upcoming Trivia night!

After work Mikayla and I didn't go on any fun adventures, but instead went home to chill and eat all the borș. It wasn't really a very interesting day, I honestly wish I had more news to relay to you all. It was nice though just to hang out and do nothing for the first time in months. I think I needed a day of calm to feel a little better.

Because I have almost nothing to share about my Monday, I will go through random notes I've been jotting down on my phone of things I've been meaning to share about Moldova.

Here we go...

1.The trampolines. They're everywhere.. parks, fairs, the festival. I used to beg my dad for a trampoline when I was a freshman in high school, I'm pretty sure I tried to go behind his back and buy one (sorry Bert, but I was desperate to bounce.) All along, I should have just been saving up for a plane ticket to Moldova because there are so many trampolines here! But on a serious note, I'm confused because that has to be a safety hazard. I think we all know at least one person who has been injured while trampolining.

Moving on...

2. Pantry. Mikayla and I have notices Moldovans aren't big into snacking and that they don't really have pantries. We have had a homemade dinner every night with all fresh foods which has been really awesome, but sometimes Mikayla and I crave snacks. Typical Americans right? Mikayla is big into chips and I'm a sweet tooth, so the lack of pantry usually has us making trip to get pretzels and other snacks on our way home from work.

Also...

3. It doesn't feel like Europe here. I'll have to take more pictures of the buildings, especially in the countryside. But when you picture Europe, Moldova does not fit that image in your head. Karina (who is Mexican and has visited her family in Mexico) agreed with me that Moldova has more of a Latin American kind of vibe. This is not what a expected at all, and it took me a little while to figure out while Moldova seemed so not European. It also still feels as though I am at least thirty years behind, even when I'm actually just seven hours.

Speaking of time...

4. Did I mention they run on military time here? Is that an all of Europe thing? Maybe I'm just not worldly enough, but that took a little adjusting. I prefer the morning hours, because then I don't have to subtract 12 in my head. Hopefully by the end of the trip, the times will become more automatic to recognize.. then again at the rate i'm picking up Romanian here, probably not.

One more thing...

5. Hot water! In Moldova it is common for buildings to shut off their hot water entirely in the summer. I had heard my coworkers talking about this a few weeks ago, but it really hit home when the freezing water hit me last night. Inga, when she returned home told me that they have their own small boiler in the apartment, so we wouldn't have to take cold showers the whole summer. That's a win.

I honestly cannot believe I have less than three weeks left here and Moldova. Here, I've made a conscious effort to be really and wholly present, which is something I want to carry with me even when I'm not acting as World Traveler Wescott. I really like the statement of "Be where you're feet are", especially because most of the time, I'm really not.

And because in my slightly sick state, I did not take any pictures yesterday, I have decided to compile some of my favorite Moldova scenes.