Hello there
I made it to Moldova again safe and sound after weeks of spending time in various Florida villas for the summer holidays. It was a bit of a crappy trip. I waited in Ohio for 7 hours, which wasn't too bad, as i got to read. Then on the plane to Frankfurt, I sat next to some 10 year old girl who took over the armrest, and poked me in the ribs with her elbow everytime she moved, which was about once every minute. Her dad was some moron german/american guy who mumbled in both languages and was pretty stupid, and he didn't help any. There was also a baby behind us who didn't cry the entire trip, but didn't help us get long periods of sleep, either. Then the Frankfurt airport was very confusing as always, and then eventually when I found where to check in, the airline had been closed down, and I was sent to another airline which told me to "come back later", and didn't specify when. The plane was supposed to leave in 2 hours!! I went back an hour later, stood in the large line where one lady checked people in - very slowly, and two others stood around. I made it with only 20 minutes to spare. But to there credit, the plane did wait for everyone else who was checking in. The best flight was actually the one to Moldova. Everyone was very friendly, and the food was amazing! Huge amounts of cheese, bread, salad, meats, very cool. The stewardesses on the other flights were all old and grumpy, and the food was crap.Oh well. I'm sure things could have been even worse.

And so I am in Moldova again. It was not very exciting to make the same trip for the 3rd time - traveling becomes a pain instead of exciting. But it is still nice to be here. It's still quite a pleasant place. The economy continues to grow more and more, and there are new buildings from even 4 months ago, and our street now has permanent streetlights on at night! That's quite an achievement. The city had turned all the lights off to save energy, before that, except for the main street downtown. Since I've been here already twice before, now I can relax and not feel the urge to explore so much stuff. So it should be a nice holiday.
Seeyou all later
ME
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Hello everyone
The Moldova trip #3 is in it's last week. The weather warmed up a little bit, and melted all the snow. There was a lot of mud in the market for a bit, but now that's gone again, and now it's gone back to being cold. I think the streets looked better covered with snow, and now there is only torn up concrete and dirt to be seen. I was nervous about going to Dorina's mum's village again, as usual. This trip was better than last winter, but not as good as summer. We were again stuck in the one little dusty room, the only room with heat. Dorina's mum gave me lots of congac, and drank some herself. After a good dinner, there was nothing to do, so I tried to sleep, but she talked for a solid 4 hours with no breaks . Of course, we all slept in the same warm room, although I would have been glad to sleep in a more spacious, less dusty, cold room. I think I managed 2 hours sleep before at 4am her mum started up talking again, non stop. It didn't let up until 8am when we got the hell out of there. Villages, quaint they might be, the way of life for many people of the planet they might be, but if you can avoid them, it might be best to do so. The best part is the natural food and chasing the animals around the yard, but I would be almost as happy at home with my junk food and television, being warm and having an inside toilet.

Yes, on this 3rd trip to Moldova, the new-ness has well worn off. There remain many things I approve of here, but some things I am getting very sick of. I'm getting quite tired of trolley buses, overcrowded shuttles, everyone dressing the same (black jacket, black pants, black boots, black hats - and the people seem to laugh at me for not strictly following this dress code, but I can't be sure what the hell they are laughing at). The TV is boring, most the channels being crap I don't understand (but there remain several Russian shows that are quite funny even if I don't know what they are saying). Winter is indeed quite depressing. I would probably be depressed in winter in the US too if it were not for the abundance of things to do. The things I still like here are reasonably numerous. Girls drinking beer - not small glasses, but big glasses. The people are quite friendly when you get to know them. Wonderful people. The food is still pretty good. The economy continues to improve. The houses are simple but cosy and functional. The public transport, although I grow weary of it, is still easily available and cheap, and appreciated. The markets rule - so many products, so cheap. Excellent!

Overall, if you've never been to Moldova, I do highly recommend it. It's mind - blowing the first time you're here. After a few trips, it's a bit weary. But as a place to live permanently, I still think it's reasonable - under certain conditions. Obviously being poor and stuck in a village might not be to your liking, but if you can secure a reasonable job, or start some type of business, you can live quite nicely and happily. I do think it's better in summer though - people aren't dressed the same, the parks are all alive, the lakes thawed, and the numerous cafes open with outside seating. We had a few drinking sessions with the neighbors, damn fun. The first time the guy from next door came to see what I was doing to the door - insulating it a wee bit better with stuff I got from the market - and the next thing I know we are drinking wine - quite a lot of it, and then there were some photos taken which I don't remember, but I'm glad to see that we all had fun. Then for new years we again celebrated, I had few marmite sandwiches to prepare myself, and again much wine was consumed. The advantage of having a wine cellar on the premises - lots of wine! And no headache from this homemade stuff, unlike the boxed stuff we had the first time. Excellent. I haven't been eating so much, and today I suffered some type of calorie starvation, and didn't know what the hell was wrong with me. We went to town and had some pizza, and amazingly enough I was fine again. I don't think I've had that happen to me before!! There is indeed enough food to be eaten, it's just that with all the drinking, I have been sleeping half the day, and not really eating very much.
I'll try to send some photos later.
Cheerio for now!

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