Alex's Travels

Moldova

It may be the first time this has ever been written, but here goes: I am very happy to have made it to Moldova.

Three days spent in Bucharest are two days more than anyone needs in that city. I didn't so much mind the dirtiness or the stray dogs. The roads were what really got to me. They were long masses of low-quality concrete filled with honking cars emitting more fumes in one hour than is recommended for a lifetime. Unfortunately, we were compelled to stick to the main roads as our only means of successfully getting from A to B. In addition to polluted roads, Bucharest offers other unattractions: begging street orphans, bad food and a sprawling identity that is often compared to Los Angeles.

Our stopover in Bucharest was thanks to the need for a visa to enter Moldova, a requirement that will cease for Americans this January. But, alas, it is not yet January 2007, so we had to obtain the papers. The process went as well as could be expected. We showed up to the Moldovan consulate (of course on the side of a busy, polluted road) around 9:10 and waited around for a few minutes before being told to come back at 10. We wasted some time walking around a bit more and getting a disgusting plastic cup of espresso before returning on time only to be told "No." "What do you mean?" "He's not in. Come back." We decided not to follow the guards' advice this time around and instead waited on the sidewalk. Low and behold, we were invited into the consulate about half an hour later. We filled out the paperwork and were given a form to present to the National Bank, where all filing fees are accepted. We hiked to the other part of town and paid the bank without any problems. We couldn't pick up the visas until 3, so we killed some time getting a bad lunch and reading in a delapitated park outside of Parliament House. We got back to the consulate and received our visas with no additional problems.

After three days in Bucharest, one of which was spent hiking around polluted roads on the way to deal with different bureaucracies, I was glad to get on the train to Moldova. After a 14-hour ride, interrupted by the need to change the train wheels from the European to the Soviet style, we arrived safely in Chisinau.

We met up with Vanja, who runs the NGO where we're volunteering, and she guided us on public transport out to the town of Straseni. Straseni is a poor town about 20 kilometers northwest of the capital. It main road is nothing more than a few stray pieces of concrete strewn among trash and rubble. It lacks running water. It does boast a 24-hour supermarket and a reasonably nice internet cafe. Our housing is luxurious, even by American standards. Its a spacious apartment with a beautiful new kitchen, comfortable bedroom and modern bathroom. And it has a coffeemaker for some real drip coffee! We also get three delicious vegetarian meals a day in prepared by the centre's staff and can use the television (with video and DVD player) in the evening.

After spending Saturday exploring the town, Alyssa and I went into Chisinau for a pleasant Sunday. The city is actually very nice, described by one book as the "coziest of Soviet-style cities." Its main road is a tree-lined boulevard with a number of nice shops and outdoor markets along the way. We ate at a nice restaurant a few blocks off the main drag that served, among other things, soy meat (pretty cosmopolitan for a city that most describe as a relic of the Soviet Union). We did stick to the centre, however, and missed out on the many apartment blocks where Moldovans live in squalor.

Today was our first on the job at the centre. Sunrise Centre is a daycare facility for elderly Straseni residents, a place where they can come to do their laundry, get a meal, take a shower and just hang out playing games, watching television or enjoying conversation. Our role at the centre is less than perfectly defined. Previous volunteers and those who are sharing the apartment with us advised us to stake out a project of our own initiative. Today, we painted the fence and will probably continue to work on this for the timebeing.

posted by The League: Reassembled @ 10:29 AM