SOME COOL LINKS:    Mostly about Moldova

Moldova.org  good for news and events in and about Moldova.

Clipa.Siderala  works to provide better lives for orphans.

Peter Myers' Blog contains the adventures of a Peace Corps teacher in a nearby village.

Mary Magoulick's Blog a colleague of mine from GC&SU, who is on a Fulbright in Croatia this semester.

The Moldova "Quasi-Blog" IV:

 The Adventure Continues...and continues

I had read a lot about Bucharest (Bucuresti in Romanian) and wanted to see the city that was the scene of the bloodiest struggle to overthrow a Communist dictator of the 1989 revolutions. Romania had allied with the Nazis in the first half of World War II and then switched its allegiance to the allies toward the end.  That last minute switch did not save it from being invaded and occupied by the Soviets who installed a Communist regime in 1946.  Differently than in other eastern bloc countries, the Romanian leader, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was successful in making a break with Moscow in the 1950s but the break only extended to a "re-Romanization" of the country (swapping street names, restoring Christian holidays, etc).  Romania remained a brutal Communist police state under Dej and his successor, Nicolae Ceausescu until 1989.

Ceausescu was among the most brutal dictators the world has seen in recent times.  He was known for poisoning rivals, torturing dissidents, and annihilating villages to suit his particular objectives.  Under his regime, some Romanians were injected with cancerous cells as punishment for misdeeds against the state.  He bulldozed the southern section of Bucharest to make way for a monstrous seat of government that was ironically called "The House of the People."  The process of resettlement of people was done in a manner where individuals had to flee their houses with whatever they could carry, leaving pets behind (and a stray dog problem that continues to today).  He also ordered the confiscation of food from farmers to be sold abroad (good for Romania's balance of trade, bad for starving people).  His wife, Elena, was made head of the university system and was equally ruthless.  All said, few would mourn their eventual demise.

After successful revolutions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and other neighboring countries, revolution came to Romania in December of 1989.  As protestors marched in central Bucharest, barricades were installed to insure that the protestors, mostly students, could not retreat and bullets were fired with over 1,000 protestors being killed.  Ceausescu tried to control the media but ultimately the revolutionaries took control with the aid of military units that had begun to defect.  Ceausescu and his wife fled the city but they were apprehended by revolutionary forces in the north of Romania and were tried, and executed.  Of all the revolutions of 1989, Romania's involved the greatest bloodshed and Ceausescu was the only leader to be executed for his crimes.  Memorials to those that died in the 1989 revolution are all over Bucharest.

The Orthodox Church at Drochia.

Easter eggs are usually dyed red and decorated here.

Easter is a BIG holiday in Moldova, bigger than Christmas, though I am told New Year's is an even bigger holiday than Easter.  We get a whole week off from school and the weather has been fantastic.  I actually rented a car and Irina, Lee, and I visited all the fantastic places there are to see in this fascinating land (more on touring Moldova to come). 

Well over 90% of Moldovans claim Orthodox Christian heritage.  The Orthodox Church celebrates Easter at a  different time than we do in the States (they still use the Julian calendar while we use the Gregorian).  Even throughout the Soviet years, the Orthodox Church continued to operate and many Moldovans were baptized and had icons in their homes.  The Soviets officially embraced atheism and did repress religion in a number of venues and monasteries were closed and some churches were turned in museums or even destroyed in extreme cases.  Since the fall of the USSR, the church has regained prominence and influence in the life of the people and of the nation. 

Easter in the Orthodox tradition is celebrated by spending the night at church waiting to celebrate the moments of the resurrection.  Not everyone stays for the whole night and most people come around 4 am with a basket of food for the priest to bless.  Once the priest has blessed the food, then the family will go out and eat it--usually bread and hard-boiled eggs and then everyone goes home and gets some sleep before the big Easter dinner in the afternoon.

The Communist Party, which holds the presidency and is the current majority in the  parliament, is pro-European Union and pro-free market economics.  Yes, that is right the Communists are in favor of free market economics.  They have been the majority party in government since 2001.  The Communists used to be more pro-Russian and less oriented to free-markets--the name of the party is of great value (especially among older Moldovans).  However, in the reelection campaign of 2005, the Communists made the preparing Moldova to apply for membership in the EU a primary issue.  President Voronin was reelected in the parliament by a coalition of Communists and Christian Democrats.  All of which seems very odd, indeed.

But it makes some sense considering that both the Communists and the Christian Democrats are somewhat conservative on social issues and both supported increasing the salaries of teachers and pensioners.  The opposition is called Moldova Noastra, which means "Our Moldova" and is a collection of smaller parties organized around opposition to the Communist government.  The Moldova Noastra alliance is also firmly in favor of EU integration (though some accuse the Communists of stealing the position from them).  The alliance along with the Democratic Party of Moldova can be more liberal on social issues than the Communists and Christian Democrats.

One fortunate outcome of recent political realignments in Moldova is that political parties are less organized along language lines than they were in the past.  The major divide between the parties and their supporters tends to be generational with older Moldovans supporting the Communists and Christian Democrats and younger people supporting the opposition parties.  The main frustration with the current Communist government is that it is perceived to be corrupt with bribery and nepotism allegations rampant.  Were Moldovans living abroad able to easily participate in elections here, the current government would face greater difficulty holding onto power, since it is estimated that more than one third of Moldovans aged 25-50 are working abroad.

The Moldovan Parliament is unicameral with 101 deputies elected for 4-year terms. Elections are proportional--meaning that a voter votes for a party and not a candidate (the parties offer lists of candidates that will serve of the party gets enough votes).  One of the seats in the parliament is reserved for the leader of the Gauguazian Autonomous region of Moldova.  The parliament chooses the President and the President appoints a Prime Minister (with the consent of the parliament). 

This statue of Lenin used to stand where Stefan cel Mare is today...a similar statue is in the courtyard of the Communist Party Headquarters.

Schematic diagram of the current makeup of the Moldovan Parliament.

Statues commemorating Mihai Eminescu and Aleksandr Pushkin in parcul Stefan cel Mare (in Romanian the word "the" is replaced by the suffix" -ul"--for masculine, singular nouns.

Sergei and Costia are headed to the States!  They speak Romanian, Russian, English, and Sergei speaks French and Costia speaks German.   I wish I were going to be in Atlanta to watch them get off the plane--their eyes will be the size of "farfurie"--plates.  Neither have ever left Moldova before.

Language is, of course, a learning experience and in Moldova you have so many opportunities for experience.  My television--that is used primarily as a clothes dryer--has programming in Romanian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Georgian, English, and French as well as Spanish soap-operas with Romanian subtitles.  I know I have written earlier about language but the longer I stay here, the more I learn.  Not only how to speak but in impacts of culture and politics that language brings--it is as much a powerful a social tool here as race is in my hometown.  I used to be so impressed when I walked in the main park (Stefan cel Mare) that there were all these statues honoring authors--not military heroes but authors.  I thought "how wonderful, that people honor writers and not warriors."  One day it occurred to me that all of the statues, save one, were to Romanian authors and that most had never even set foot in what is now Moldova--then I realized these statues were as much a political statement as any statue honoring a general.  The lone Russian honored in the park is Aleksandr Pushkin (my cat is named for him) who lived in Chisinau for two years in the early 1800s.  Pushkin called this time his exile but he traveled with a diplomatic passport--so it may have been a nice exile (after all the Czars sent many to Siberia).  Pushkin was part African as his great-grandfather was brought to Peter the Great as a slave then was freed, made a noble, married, and had children under his wife's surname--Pushkin.

Even the ubiquitous Stefan cel Mare himself is a symbol of Romania--though he was in this area during his time.  All of these symbols are a part of cultural struggle that has frustrated Moldovans since their independence 16 years ago.  In the Soviet Union, Russian was so strongly forced upon people that once independence came, there was language backlash and Romanian was emphasized at the expense of other languages.

Romanian is also known here as Limba de Stat (the state language) and is the language of all official business; although, the Moldovan constitution establishes a multi-lingual state.  When I first arrived I thought it was charming that Romanian speakers would compliment my language ability by saying "we have had people that have lived here for 50 years that do not speak our language as well as you do."  Now I realize that there is a political statement therein.  The national anthem of Moldova is Limba Noastra--"Our Language" in Romanian.  Only about 60% of people here would see Romanian as their first language--so this is a slightly volatile issue, to say the least.  I agree that Russian-native speakers ought to learn Limba de Stat, I am not sure that the tactics being emplyed encourage that outcome.  Romanian-phobia is a powerful tool that was used in Transnistria to encourage separatism and it is an excuse used by the Russian government to keep their armies in the region.  Now with the Russian refusal to import Moldovan wine, the tensions are rising once again.  Someone said to me this week that the new border of Europe will be the Nister River with NATO/U.S. forces on this side with Russians peering across the river at them...not sure I buy it.  Keep in mind, however, that there was bloodshed 15 years ago and that language and culture were used as the rhetoric to motivate people to fight.

Speaking of the Nister River, my student, Costia has invited me to his village on the Nister (hopefully no Russian soldiers will be staring me down) to celebrate his having gotten a work visa to come to the U.S. this summer.  Costia and his friend, Sergei, will spend four months in Panama City, Florida--working and then have a month to travel.  I have already invited them to Macon and I am hoping my Fall Break from Mercer will allow me to drive them up the Eastern seaboard some.  If anyone would like to host the boys for a few days in late September/early October--let me know--they will be on tight budgets but I am thrilled to know that they are able to come and I know their English will improve greatly--they both speak 4 languages!

First, let me say that when I say American--I don't mean ignorant, I just mean that as an American I sort of assume that the rest of the world has all the conveniences that I have (or close to them).  I often underestimate the difference between the realities of a Mercer student and a student here and nowhere has this been more the case than in my understanding of students uses and access to technology and especially the Internet.  I went to graduate school in 1990 and we had no e-mail, no Instant Messaging, and no Internet Explorer.  We still used the mainframe in my "heavy-duty" stats class and I did not own a computer but used a lab on the second floor of Baldwin Hall.  So I did not start teaching with such conveniences but have I ever grown accustomed to them. 

In the Moldovan universities there is usually a computer lab--but rarely are the computers hooked up to the Internet and they are often in disrepair. So the idea of free Internet is not a reality here for students.  Moreover, only a few students have a computer at home--they are very expensive and are not used in day-to-day working lives like they are in the States.  Most papers in university classes are still handwritten.  Still, I had not clued in because I assumed my students used e-mail but used it at a cafe (or a store that is essentially a computer lab--where it costs about 50 cents an hour to use the Internet--they are all over Chisinau).  But as I have learned, 50 cents is a lot of money for a student here and less than half of my students even have e-mail accounts and for most e-mail is more a "concept than a reality."

One of the most interesting responses to my assignment of a pen-pal was--"I don't want to meet people unless I can see them and look them in the eye--I won't trust them."  In the end, after weeks of begging them to get e-mail accounts set up, I relented and the students were given a choice to do the pen-pal project or to write a long paper in English.  From what I have seen so far about 75% will opt to write the long paper.  Thanks to all my American friends (and others) that volunteered to help with this project--I had high hopes.  This said, having visited the Internet cafes, it appears they are full of 12-15 year old boys (mostly) playing video games.  I hope that eventually they will find some other applications as well.

I have been asked if many Moldovans blog and my answer is other than the American Peace Corps volunteers and a Moldovan studying economics in the States, I am not aware of any.  It is a shame because the media is not well developed here.  Spending this time in Chisinau, I so realize the potential in on-line communications to support the development of democratic institutions. 

Even the universities do not computerize administrative functions and still do scheduling on BIG pieces of paper.  The fact that students take classes in set groups (all 1st year International Relations Romanian-speaking students are one group and all 1st year International Relations Russian-speaking students are another group, etc.) makes scheduling a little easier but seems crazy to me.

One use of technology here is the old hand-held calculator.  Every shopkeeper and market vender has one and they will type in the amount you owe them on it.  I guess this is because there are 5 languages spoken around Moldova (well 6 if you count my April Fools joke).  Everyone here seems to have a cell phone (even me).

Internet cafes or clubs are a recent rapid growth industry in Chisinau.  One advertises for Frizerie and Internet--hair salon and Internet--does it get any better?

The big three...the Chisinau Cathedral, the Bell tower, and the Arc de Triumf

It was a pleasure to get a picture of my sister and her friend Ben by the river.

For one I never new that the city was so large!  When you spend all your time in the center, sometimes you forget that there are people living all about you.  There is a river called the Bull (in Russian) that runs through Chisinau and I understand that it will be lovely in summer.  But the striking resemblances of Chisinau to Paris are worth noting--both cities have an Arc de Triumf (in Romanian), both have a center dominated by a cathedral, and both have a tower that stands tall as a major tourist attraction (though the one here was used to raise water for primitive plumbing conditions--and now houses the Chisinau city museum). 

Now, there is some big news making its way around Chisinau--and that is that the official language here may be switched to English!  After years of wrangling with Russian and Romanian (as well as Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and Gaugauzian--a Turkish dialect) there is a serious effort underway to make English the official language.  The TV and papers are all abuzz because local opinion is that this switch would make tourism easier and increase business investments here.  I was skeptical at first but the sentiment seems to be growing rapidly which led to some very interesting questions from my students.

At least some of my students want Moldova to apply to become a U.S. state!  I have reminded them that becoming a state would make EU entry more difficult to negotiate but they said it is better to become a U.S. state than a member of the EU.  OK says I--but there is also an issue of geography--Moldova is located in Europe while the rest of the U.S. states are in North America.  My students (and they are quite clever) said that when California became a state it was separated by  much of the continent from the rest of the states AND it had been an independent nation before becoming a state (just like Moldova).  Another student pointed to the precedents established by Hawaii and Alaska for non-contiguous states.  All of which are pretty convincing points in my opinion.  Some of my more ambitious students are learning Spanish as well as English to better fit into the American culture as they understand it.  I said that they ought to start celebrating some U.S. holidays as well to get better prepared.  But then I was reminded that...

they have been celebrating April Fools Day here for some time.

P.S. I spent a lovely long weekend in Paris with my sister Kylie and her friend Ben last month...took lots of pictures.