The Barbecue That Almost Wasn't

Last weekend, I went to a friend's village about an hour north of my town. It ended up being me, Liezel, Amanda, Sinh, and Greg. We decided to have a super awesome relaxing weekend. We got there on Friday afternoon, watched Grey's Anatomy season finale (there was lots of yelling at the computer) and drank wine. 

Saturday morning, we woke up with plans to walk to a nearby lake and have a picnic/barbecue. Well, the day started with rain. Not good, so we decided to wait a little to see if the rain would subside. It eventually did, and then started to rain again. However, we didn't let this stop our fun. The rain stopped, so we packed up a blanket, beer, food, and wood and set out.

We walked for about a half hour and ended up next to a beautiful lake.

Sinh and Liezel set up the blanket, I peeled vegetables, and Amanda and Greg attempted to start the fire. Yes, they attempted. It took a while and a lot of wood.

Before we set out on our adventure, Greg made meatballs. They were raw of course, with the plan of cooking them over the fire. One flaw in the plan... there was no grill or anything to cook the meatballs on. However, we did have skewers so we stuck the meatballs on them. 

 

It seemed to be working, when the meatballs started falling off. So, new plan...

Let's make hamburger patties and cook them on the skewers!

Nope. Didn't work again. We were feeling quite frustrated at this point. We didn't want to eat just salad. Lame. 

I continued to cook my vegetables.

But the vegetables didn't work either. Lame again. 

All of a sudden, Boy Scout Greg finds a rusty old can!!

What can you do with a rusty old can, you ask?

Well....

Wash it in the lake and stick the meatballs in it of course! 

It's a mini-oven!
Brilliant Greg!

Mmm look at those meatballs cookin'!

Finished product?

Nice!

We sat down to enjoy our meatballs, salad, grilled cheese sandwiches (good idea Sinh!) s'mores, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It was a successful barbecue, and none of us got sick.

I know what you're thinking! 

"Eww, that's really disgusting cooking meatballs in a rusty old can that's been who knows where!"

But,

We're Peace Corps Volunteers!

It's how we do Baby!

Killer Snails From Moldova

These snails are EVERYWHERE. 

And they are HUGE.

It has been raining a lot lately, so these snails and huge earthworms are coming out more frequently then ever. You have to watch where ever you walk, because you most likely will step on one. I've seen many a cracked gooey shell the past few weeks. 

I was at school the other day when I passed by some of my 2nd grade girls playing with a snail. They would poke one of its antennae things, and it would shoot into its head. Slowly it would come back out, and the girls would poke it again. 

Although I am 23, I had fun poking the antennae as well.

English Club

Today was one of the nicest days so far this spring, and it was a perfect day to take English Club outside. Although not much English was actually spoken, the kids had a great time. We played Uno as usual, then also went down to the park. The park next to the school has several lakes, so we walked around those. We also played on the jungle gyms next to my school. 

*Only 2 1/2 weeks of school left!

When I Grow Up...

This is my neighbor, Boba Lida, taking her cow to the field this morning.

Boba Lida is 74 years old.

She is amazing, and I hope I can be as awesome as her when I'm 74.

Spring is in the Air

Tulips are, so far, my favorite thing about spring in Moldova.

They are EVERYWHERE, and they're beautiful. 

Yay for spring!

A Week of Easter

I woke up on Easter morning (not at 4 am like the rest of my family as they went to church; I slept in until 10...) and was told to wash myself with the red water next to the sink. A red dyed egg was placed in the water and is supposed to represent Christ. By washing your face and hands with this water, you are purifying yourself.

Knocking eggs is a tradition here in Moldova. One person hits their egg on someone else's egg, and whoever's egg doesn't break goes on to hit their egg on the next egg and so on. The last person to have their egg not broken is said to have luck for the rest of the year. 

"Easter of the Dead" was celebrated the Sunday after the first Easter. The Saturday before, my host family and I went up north to a small village in Ukraine where my host dad's family is from. We met up with his sister and her husband, then went to the cemetery. First the priest and some men carrying flags and crosses walked the outer part of the cemetery singing. People threw small hand towels on the crosses and they would be blessed. 

Next we went to my host dad's parents' and grandmother's grave. Host mama and the sister began placing snacks, towels, and Easter cakes (as well as t-shirts, slippers, and candles) in front of the graves. I asked my host mama why they were doing this, and she said it was all for the people who are in the after life in case they don't have this stuff there with them.

We waited for a couple hours at our little spot, while eating placenta and drinking house wine. Eventually the priest came by with the cross-holding guys and they all started singing. The priest said names people had written on slips of paper, then threw Holy Water all over. While he was doing this, we were all down on the ground raising the baked goods and t-shirts up and down. 

As soon as the priest was done, we were free to go. We gave out our little place mat things to other friends and family who were around us, and they gave us some in return. I ended up with a small basket filled with candy. 

The next day we went to Badragii Vechi, the village where the host grandparents live. We went to the cemetery there where the host grandpa's mother is. The same thing happened again as in the first cemetery. The priest went around with the cross holding men singing, then started at one end of the cemetery and went to the next blessing people with Holy Water. 

I knew more people who were gathered at this cemetery, so I went around and talked to a bunch of people. As I talked, everyone was eager to have me sample their house wine. And sample I did! They also gave me their memorial place mat things, and I ended up with about 15 washcloths, 3 coffee cups, and countless amounts of candy and biscuits. 

After the cemetery, we went to the grandpa's house and had a big meal with a bunch of family members I'd never met before. We ended up getting home at around 5:30, at which time I went to bed and didn't wake up until 7:30 the next morning.

Gettin' Ready for Easter