Well, I guess I'll just get started writing crap. For those of you who don't know, I am a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova and I'm working in agricultural development. My situation is pretty open, that is, my partner didn't really work out and I find people to work with. Here, as a newcomer into a small town of 2500 people, the hardest thing is understanding your social position relative to other peoples'. One minute you think you're the big cheese, and the next you realize that everything just thinks they're going to get money out of you or send their kid to work in the US. It's impossible to know what you've done, and what has happened simply as a result of the passing of time and the natural development of the village. Ah well, I suppose that's what life is like too, it's all quite murky.Today I helped build a greenhouse in our garden space in the back yard - it's twice as large as our other greenhouse. My town (called Balauresti, pronounced Balauresht) is quite famous for it's vegetable production - mostly because a large part of the population in town knows how to produce vegetables (for sale and home consumption) - probably half the damn town have greenhouses in their back yards - lots of people start heating them up in January! We will be planting tomatoes, which were very profitable last year, though there are large price variations year to year, and it's a bit of a lottery picking the produse that will make money, though there are some that are better bets than others.I'm working on a variety of projects, god only knows if anything will work out, but I think there's a good chance on a couple if we keep picking away at them. I'm working with another volunteer and the head of the Artizans Union to create a seminar to promote export among small producers through creating a cooperative, an online store (which other countries, like Romania, have), or at the individual producer level. It's the culmination of a lot of work that I did last year which was mostly pretty naive on my part - it's increadible how much time you can waste if you aren't working with the right people.Well, that's about it. Can't complain much about Moldova - I have internet at home, I mean, that's not very third world. But I have to say, as cushy as it feels sometimes (mind you, that's after a year and a half of getting used to it - probably if you came you would think it was pretty... well... underdeveloped), there is a lot of work to be done here. I only hope that the next 15 years sees more positive steps forward (free markets, reduced corruption, simplified beauracracy, opened trade, and the death of all of the old communists and the mindset they forced on the hardworking people of Moldova - I'm not bitter). I am sure it will - the worst part is over.
When you think Moldova, think of women chatting about the importing things in life (funerals and weddings) while stuffing dirt into little plastic tubes. This is our back yard, IN one of three greenhouses, we started early (though others already had their greenhouses heated and planted by late january) and hope to get a high price on the chaotic market for fresh vegetables.
Opportunities to make a living abound - the problem is no one is left to take advantage of them. As hard as life is in Moldova (I read a survey that Moldova's combined ranking of happiness and income is 5th from the bottom in the world), those willing to take risks, be creative, work hard and move forward might one day find that they are the only one's left standing!
