Endless Epic Sax Guy

Endless Epic Sax Guy

A man looks trough the dirty trolleybus window in Chisinau,...

Moldova - “Run Away” - Eurovision Song Contest 2010

#Iasi #Romania #Moldova (Taken with Instagram at Piata Unirii)

I’m too single. I’m lookin’ for a single Romanian/Moldavian girl….

A man looks trough the dirty trolleybus window in Chisinau, Moldova -  Dumitru Doru, 2009

This is the only way I can describe the lovely little holiday I...

I had my picture taken for my new resident card today and I can’t decide if I like it or not. Which, I suppose, is basically like saying that I can’t decide if I like my face or not. 

One of the benign side effects of Moldova’s high rate of emigration and reliance on remittances is the ubiquitousness of stands and shops dedicated to passport and visa photos. I walked 6 minutes from the PC office and paid $2. 

This post seems dramatic. 

sara is one of the best people ever

some of the left moldavian charm by andreea_gerendy on Flickr.

Stefanel Roscovan - Ali Baba [Moldova]

this is still the best song ever.

This is the only way I can describe the lovely little holiday I had last week.

This is the only way I can describe the lovely little holiday I...

This is the only way I can describe the lovely little holiday I had last week.

Stefanel Roscovan - Ali Baba [Moldova]

Stefanel Roscovan - Ali Baba [Moldova]

this is still the best song ever.

this is still the best song ever.

Photo

some of the left moldavian charm by andreea_gerendy on Flickr.

some of the left moldavian charm by andreea_gerendy on Flickr.

Photo

A billboard in Moldova with a Romanian take on a Charles Dickens...

A billboard in Moldova with a Romanian take on a Charles Dickens quote

Translation: Love of country has its source in the love of family.

News Round-Up: 20 June 2011

Hungary’s new constitution ‘puts democracy at risk’ [BBC]

“Experts from the Council of Europe have expressed concerns about the new Hungarian constitution voted in by a single political party in April.”

Armenia PM Tigran Sarkisian ‘ready for Turkish ties’ [BBC]

“Armenia’s prime minister says it is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without any pre-conditions.”

Communist Refuses To Concede Defeat In Chisinau Mayoral Race [RFE/RL]

“The Communist Party contender for the key job of mayor of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, says he will not recognize his defeat to a pro-Western candidate in the June 19 runoff election and will fight against it using “all legal means.”

For Mladic, The Hague Is Better Than Suicide [RFE/RL]

“Bosnian Serb wartime General Ratko Mladic reportedly considered taking his own life rather than surrendering to Serbian authorities, but he is certainly not regretting his decision now. He’s getting the top-notch medical care that he desperately needs at The Hague detention center, and Bosnian Serbs have offered to foot the bill for his defense.”

#Iasi #Romania #Moldova (Taken with Instagram at Piata Unirii)

#Iasi #Romania #Moldova (Taken with Instagram at Piata Unirii)

5.5 out of the 9.5 M22s present for the evening!

Moldova, Eurovsion, Dusseldorf, 13th May 2011

silence in the morning…5:30am… by dia_leo on Flickr.

Originally written after the death of Vanea’s step-brother:

During WWII, when the Soviets re-occupied present day Republic of Moldova, they impressed every able bodied male between the ages of eighteen to forty-five into their army. Amongst the tens of thousands of soldiers conscripted was one Nikita ?ap, a half-Ukrainian, half-Moldovan husband and father of two from the village of Corest?u?i, in the raion of Ocni?a.

Unhappy with the conditions under which he served, Nikita made the oft-foolish decision of deserting his military unit during the tail end of the war. He then surreptitiously returned to his village of Corest?u?i from Western Ukraine, where he had been serving.

Amazingly, he made it home without the knowledge of the Russian authorities, who were soon to reassert their rule over Moldova once the war ended. Unfortunately for Nikita, he arrived home to discover that his wife had assumed he was dead and then took the opportunity to marry another man in his place.

At this juncture, Vanea was a young boy with an even younger sister, named Tanea. His mother decided that she would rather live with her new husband in Marc?u?i, a neighboring village, so she fled with Tanea and left Vanea with Nikita.

Not only did she split their family in two, but she also took everything they owned and blackmailed Nikita with threats of exposing him to the authorities, given his desertion from the Soviet Army during the war. This left Vanea with his father in an empty house with few provisions. The post-war years were incredibly difficult for Moldovans, especially those who were hesitant to ask the authorities for help.

Despite initial difficulties, Nikita later remarried to a woman who lost her husband in the war. She had two boys, who became Vanea’s step-brothers. Their new family slowly cobbled together a decent existence and the three boys got along very well during the entirety of their lives together. With the death of Mitea, only Vanea [remained].

Originally written after a hilarious telephone exchange between Nanuca and Ana:

Yesterday Nanuca instructed Vanea to catch, kill, and dress one of her old hens. She wanted to give the hen to Ala, who doesn’t keep any poultry in her apartment (rightfully so) in Cern?u?i. The chicken would make for a tasty bor?, so said Nanuca.

Vanea is an obedient brother-in-law and dutiful did as asked. He went into the chicken coop with a cloth bag and a short commotion later came out with a hen, or so he believed. With bird in bag he rode home on his bicycle, which prevented Nanuca from checking his work.

Later in the day Ana called to check-in and it was then that Nanuca asked about the hen. “Did you find an egg when you dressed the hen?,” inquired Nanuca.

“An egg?,” responded Ana with surprise. “Roosters don’t have eggs!”

“What! I told Vanea to kill an old hen! Not one of my young roosters!”

“He brought home a rooster!,” laughingly replied Ana.

Increduously Nanuca responded, “Vanea doesn’t know the difference between a rooster and a hen!? At his age?! Stupid Vanea! I may not have any other roosters now!”

Nanuca later told me that she had taken inventory of her chickens earlier in the day. She couldn’t find her young rooster, but decided that he was outside the coop when she was inside counting, and vice versa. A slight suspicion that Vanea had erred remained, which she later verified with Ana.

5.5 out of the 9.5 M22s present for the evening!

Tiraspol Transnistria

Tiraspol  Transnistria

I just picked up this Soviet era propaganda poster on eBay. It...

I just picked up this Soviet era propaganda poster on eBay. It makes a stellar addition to my bedroom decor, despite my feelings about romanticizing the Soviets. This poster was designed in 1946 and printed in 1947, which are the years of the last major famine in the USSR.

It’s wild to imagine this poster being distributed in Chi?in?u, all the while the Soviet authorities were requisitioning grain from the country to be fed to party members in the cities. While not overtly politically motivated like the Holodomor, obviously the ethnic Moldovans, who predominately lived in the country, were sacrificed for the benefit of the city dwellers, who were by-and-large ethnicly Russian.

My host mother Nanuca would have been nineteen years old, while her siblings Ana, Valeriu, and Maria would have been eleven, eight, and four, respectively. Ana and Nanuca both have related to me that Maria, who was too young to understand the gravity of the famine, would incessantly cry for food. To appease her, their grandmother Aculina would often give Maria her portion of food, an act of selflessness surely oft-repeated by mothers and matriarchs the Soviet Union over.

For those who are interested in what the poster says, I’ve typed up the Russian. You’ll need to translate it yourselves, though. My Russian is poor and I’m barely able to sound out the words:

??? ?? ?????? ? ????????? ????? ?????????? ???!

?????????? ???? ????? ????????????!

Interestingly, one of the phrases is actually Romanian, although it’s written in the Cyrillic alphabet, instead of the Latin alphabet:

????????? ??? ????? ??????, ?????-??!

Submit that to Google Translate and confusion will abound! The correct transliteration is:

Proletari din toate ??rile, uni?i-v?!

Although Romanian was originally written in Cyrillic, the Latin alphabet had been officially adopted by 1862. That said, what is currently the Republic of Moldova (known to Romanians as Basarabia) and formerly the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, had been part of the Russian Empire since 1812.

Presumably during that time any Romanian in Moldova was written in Cyrillic, although I very much doubt that many Moldovans were literate. This changed after the first World War, when Romania won big and finally united the disparate majority speaking provinces.

From 1918 until 1940 Moldovans learned to write their native tongue in the Latin alphabet, which is appropriate given that Romanian is a Latin based language. Only after the Russians reinvaded Basarabia did the Cyrillic alphabet again take prominence.

Even though the Soviets instituted an aggressive Russification campaign, I very much doubt that Moldovans in 1947 were able to read the Cyrillic on the poster, regardless of whether it be written in Russian or Romanian.

Nanuca has told me that she found learning Russian to be easy, although she’s half Ukrainian and grew up in a bilingual home. She’s the exception and has related that her classmates found learning Russian to be quite difficult.

If you look into the background of the photo you’ll see the Bruce Springsteen wall.

Sergey Shimansky. Celebration of the last day of threshing...

Sergey Shimansky. Celebration of the last day of threshing season. Moldova, 1939-40.

Days 3, 4 & 5 of Village Evangelism

Romanian FM Says Relations With Moldova Much Improved [RFE/RL]:

Michael Tintiuc

By Stacy Leigh Hutchens

Mmm… pl?cinte.  Having to give these up has been one of the hardest things about going gluten-free in Moldova.  The flaky crust, the warm oozing filling… you just really can’t beat a good pl?cint?.  Today, I’d like to share with you the recipe that Sylvia, our school cook, uses and shared with me.

Continue reading at Stacy Leigh’s Blog.

It was raining and it’s still raining for 2 weeks. Almost every evening, almost at the same time it starts to rain.

June is amazing.

Summer is amazing.

I had to get new pages in my passport. This is a milestone in the life of a professional traveler....

Ieri, la o s?pt?mân? dup? alegerile locale din 5 iunie, în ”inima suburbiilor municipiului Chi?in?u, comuna St?uceni” era timp de ploaie. Asta îns? nu a împiedicat locuitorii comunei, în mare m?sur? func?ionari ai prim?riei locale ?i câ?iva al?i localnici, s? se uneasc? grupului de func?ionari ai prim?riei centrale ?i grupului de jurnali?ti veni?i din Chi?in?u pentru a asculta ce are s? le zic? domnul primar general, candidat la func?ia de primar, Dorin Chirtoac?.

Chiar dac? oamenii se a?teptau s? aud? ce are de gând s? fac? primarul pentru dezvoltarea suburbiei în care locuiesc, domnul primar le-a preg?tit o mic? surpriz?. Dup? ce s-a l?udat cu construc?ia unei gr?dini?e în aceast? localitate, el a tras adânc aer în piept. ”Ast?zi,” a început domnul primar, ”suntem aici în fa?a dumneavoastr?, pentru a v? aduce la cuno?tin?? pozi?ia noastr? […] asupra unor inten?ii murdareîn ceea ce prive?te suburbiile municipiului Chi?in?u”. Interesant început, având în vedere c? oamenii au fost chema?i s? asculte despre Programul PL de dezvoltare a suburbiilor municipiului Chi?in?u. Au urmat o serie de afirma?ii în care au fost neap?rat prezente cuvintele ”condamn?m”, ”comuni?tii”, ”Dodon”; au fost blamate planurile comuni?tilor de a exclude suburbiile din componen?a municipiului Chi?in?u (cu toate c? nu s-a stipulat de ce aceast? perspectiv? este atât de groaznic? pentru locuitorii St?uceniului) ?.a..

Abia într-a doua parte a cuvânt?rii sale domnul primar a atins tema programului s?u de guvernare pentru urm?torii patru ani. Propun s?-i facem o mic? analiz?:

Pentru c? nu locuiesc în St?uceni, ?i pentru c? m? gândesc c? domnul primar ar trebui s?-?i focuseze aten?ia anume asupra St?ucenenilor într-un discurs pre-electoral la St?uceni, mi-am propus s?-mi asum rolul unui St?ucenean. Deci, sunt un simplu gospodar cu re?edin?a la St?uceni de vârst? medie, am nevast?, doi copii, unul la gr?dini?? iar cel?lalt la ?coala primar?, ?i activez în sectorul construc?iilor, sunt lemnar. Am o cas? undeva în marginea St?ucenilor, n-am acces la ap?, nu am canalizare ?i drumul pân? la casa mea este într-o stare nu prea bun?. M? rup pe jum?tate de or? de la strung ?i merg ast?zi s? v?d ce-mi propune domnul primar de Chi?in?u în schimbul petei albastre pe lista cea lung?. Întârzii, observ vre-o dou? babe care m? arat? cu degetul ?i c? lumea se uit? la mine ca la unu care a întârziat la sovetul s?tesc, m? fac c? nu observ ?i m? strecor printre oameni s? aud ?i eu ce se vorbe?te. În acest moment domnul primar î?i continua discursul cu ”În urm?torii patru ani,” punând accent pe fiecare cuvânt ”ne propunem s? continu?m proiectele de modernizare a suburbiilor” dup? care f?cu o pauz? ?tergându-?i bine ochelarii. ”În primul rând, avem la moment cel mai amplu […] program de extindere a apeductelor ?i canaliz?rii.” zise primarul punându-?i ochelarii ?i mai f?când o pauz?. Eu (St?uceneanul) între timp m? gândesc, m?i ce frumos sun? ”cel mai amplu proiect…” pân` acu se vede c? nu era destul de amplu ?i de asta nu am ?i eu ap? ?i canalizare. ”Suntem la opt-zeci ?i cinci la sut? într-aceast? privin??”. Aici mâna mea se ridic? agale din buzunar ?i îmi sc?rpin? u?or ceafa. Optzeci ?i cinci la sut? într-aceast? privin??, repetai neap?rat în minte, nu e glum? la sigur, dar oare ce-o fi avut în vedere primarul cu aceast? privin??? Progresul elabor?rii proiectului sau a implement?rii acestuia? ”În urm?torii patru ani vrem s? cre?tem gradul de conectare a popula?iei la apeducte ?i canalizare pân? la o sut? de procente” continu? primarul de parc? ghicindu-mi întreb?rile. Urm? o mic? pauz? în care domnul primar î?i coborî privirea pentru a se consulta cu noti?ele pe care ?i le preg?tise din timp. ”În prezent avem asemenea proiecte în implementare practic în toate localit??ile din componen?a municipiului”. Interesant, de ce domnul primar folose?te a?a termeni generali ”practic în toate localit??ile” atunci când ?ine un discurs în fa?a St?ucenenilor, m? întrebai. Probabil pentru c? localitatea noastr?, St?uceni nu face parte dintre aceste ”practic toate”, g?sii imediat r?spunsul. ?i ce p?cat, chiar am nevoie de ap? ?i canalizare la cas?. ”În urm?torii patru ani ne propunem s? fie înnoite ambele parcuri de transport public, autobuzele ?i troleibuzele, iar autobuzele vor asigura în continuare leg?tura cu localit??ile din componen?a municipiului.” zise primarul în timp ce eu m? gândeam c? o dat? cu înnoirea acestor troleibuze ?i autobuze ni se va impune ?i o tax? mai ustur?toare. Eu ?i cu troleibuzele vechi parc? pot s? merg ?i nu am mari probleme cu asta. ”În perspectiv?, extinderea liniilor de troleibuz ?i în localit??ile suburbane”. O, iat? asta domnule primar este o idee bun?, gândii. Apoi schi?ai o expresie mai binevoitoare ?i-mi aprinse?i o ?igar?. ”De asemenea iluminatul public,” continu? primarul, ”cre?terea iluminatului public pân? la o sut? de procente, inclusiv în suburbii. ?i ast?zi, tot consumul de curent electric din suburbiile municipiului Chi?in?u pentru iluminatul public este achitat de c?tre prim?ria Chi?in?u.” Asta ne mai lipsea, s? ne impun? plata pentru lumina de pe str?zi, pe care în viitorul apropiat posibil nici s? nu o am în marginea mea de sat, gândii ?i scuipai nervos într-o parte intersectându-mi privirea cu a unui copila?, care scociora cu o crengu?? n?molul dintr-o b?ltoac? de pe marginea drumului. ”Absolut tot iluminatul public este achitat de c?tre prim?ria Chi?in?u” repet? primarul. ”Apoi în ceea ce prive?te infrastructura drumurilor.” continu? domnul primar, ?i sprincenele mi se apropiar? una de alta, semn c? aten?ia îmi era la maxim. Hm, ia s? vedem, c? aici e o bub? care m? doare ?i pe mine, gândii. ”Alocarea anual în cre?tere a resurselor financiare necesare pentru extinderea re?elelor de drum, pentru repara?ia re?elei de drum existente”. Mda, resursele financiare, repetai dubios în gând, sunt importante ?i astea, dar pe mine m? intereseaz? mai mult rezultatul, de ce nu zice primarul concret ”Noi vom face drumul”? nu-i de ajuns s? aloci resursele, tre s? mai ?i urm?re?ti ca aceste resurse s? mearg? acolo unde au fost predestinate. ”a?a cum s-a procedat ?i pe parcursul anilor preceden?i” Ei clar domnule, cum a fost a?a o s? r?mân? ?i în continuare, aruncai chi?tocul sub papuc, ?i m? întoarse-?i acas? s?-mi v?d de treab?. În spatele-mi vocea domnului primar disp?rea treptat în timp ce acesta vorbea despre locurile de joac? pentru copii.

Probabil c? în pielea St?uceneanului imaginar au fost ieri mai mul?i St?uceneni reali. Nu m? îndoiesc c? gândurile acestora poate c? pe alocuri erau mai profunde ?i pe alte locuri mai superficiale. Problema pe care vreau s? o pun în acest text nu ?ine doar de alegerile locale ci ?i de cele na?ionale. ?tim cu to?ii de situa?ia politic? dificil? în care se afl? Moldova, to?i ne punem aceea?i întrebare ?i fiecare venim cu r?spunsuri diferite. Cert este îns? c? nu exist? un r?spuns simplu ?i, cu atât mai mult, unic. Problema politic? nu este o boal? în sine îns??i ci mai degrab? un simptom a bolii, sau mai bine zis a bolilor, de care sufer? întreaga noastr? societate. Dar pentru c? dup? cum zic buneii no?tri în?elep?i – Pe?tele de la cap se stric? – o s? încerc s? clarific ce e în neregul? cu acest cap.

Pe parcursul ultimilor doi ani am avut atâtea alegeri c? le-am pierdut deja ?i num?rul. Rata particip?rii la vot îns? scade cu fiecare tur. La alegerile locale din 5 iunie a participat doar o treime din popula?ia ??rii. De aceea, rata de participare a cet??enilor la vot este un indicator important la care candida?ii în cursele electorale ar trebui s? atrag? o aten?ie deosebit?. La noi îns? o aten?ie deosebit? se atrage la tot ce vrei numai nu la ceea ce trebuie.

Nu în zadar am ales discursul care l-a ?inut domnul primar ieri la St?uceni. În acest discurs se vede foarte bine strategia, sau mai bine zis lipsa unei strategii, de promovare a Partidului Liberal, ?i în general al AIE. Se creeaz? impresia c? principalul instrument de promovare a AIE este ca atare PCRM. Popular vorbind – Vota?i-ne pe noi c? dac? nu ne vota?i pe noi o s?-i voteze al?ii pe ei. Dar de ce ei sunt r?u ?i noi suntem bine începe s? devin? tot mai neclar.

Eu vreau s? fiu în?eles corect, eu sunt pro-democra?ie, pro o Moldov? prosper? ?i contra comunismului în Moldova. La alegerile din 5 iunie am mers de diminea?? la sec?ia de vot, a?a cum obi?nuiesc s? fac de când am împlinit vârsta majoratului, ?i l-am votat pe domnul Dorin Chirtoac? pentru func?ia de primar al capitalei, pentru a doua oar?. Dar la urm?toarele alegeri nu pot promite c? voi face acela?i lucru. Nu mai sunt de acord s?-i dau votul meu unuia care m? amenin?? c? dac? nu-l votez pe el va veni unul mai r?u în locul lui. Eu vreau s? am pentru cine vota. Eu vreau ca acel pe care-l voi vota s?-mi rezolve problemele reale cu care m? confrunt eu în fiecare zi. ?i anume:

Our students singing in chapel. Below are the lyrics in both...

Our students singing in chapel.  Below are the lyrics in both Romanian and our own feeble translation into English.  I think you will recognize the tune, which is the same as “Just Over in the Glory Land.”

Cโnt Lui Dumnezeu Glorie

Cโnt Domnului c?ci mi-a f?cut bine;
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie!
Mi se bucur? inima mine;
Lui Dumnezue, glorie! 

Chorus:
Cโnt Lui Dumnezeu glorie,
?i tot p?mโntul s?-I cโnte!
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie!
El mi-a adus mโntuire,
Deaceia cโnt pe vecie:
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie!

Cu natura ๎ntreag? s?-I cโnt a? vrea
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie!
S?-L sl?veasc? mun?ii ?i apele;
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie! 

Cu cei ce-L iubesc, ๎n veci vom cโnta;
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie!
?i-n nesfโr?it? via?? vom avea;
Lui Dumnezeu, glorie! 

Sing the Glory of God

Sing to the Lord because He made you well;
Glory to God!
My heart is joyful;
Glory to God 

Chorus:
Sing the glory of God,
All the earth sings!
Glory to God!
He gave me salvation,
so sing forever:
Glory to God! 

Together with nature, I want to sing
Glory to God!
The mountains and the waters praise him;
Glory to God! 

With those who love Him, we will sing forever;
Glory to God!
And when we have endless life;
Glory to God!