Update

I know I didn’t post all summer but it was because I was out having fun. I spent every weekend traveling around Moldova seeing different cool places. Jason was here with me June and July and he really got to experience Moldova. It took us two months but we finally found a place to swim in a small town about an hour north of Balti. It was an actual outdoor swimming pool!!! And it wasn’t too dirty, we could smell some chlorine! It was so awesome. We also went on different hikes around Moldova, most not being real hiking places but us just walking beside a river for 10 miles, the best we could do. I worked some. Most of the kids were on vacation so my English classes were small and I didn’t have much to do. Most of you received the email about my awesome birthday meal and trip, those who didn’t- just email me and I will forward it to you. The weather finally mellowed down near the end of August. We have gotten a lot of rain, though a bit too late. Most of Moldova’s crops did not grow and they are now having to rely on donations from Ukraine and some world food organization. It is interesting that this was the hottest and driest summer in a 100 years and the winter two years was the coldest in 100 years. The group that came the year before us got to experience both of these, bummer. Now we are having really cool mornings and warm afternoons. It is nice to be wearing jeans again but still able to wear sandals. I have only worn tennis shoes once since the beginning of May (except of course when I run). Life is good though. I am currently trying to find some work to do. Now that we have hit the one year mark I am beginning to reflect on the past year and decide what I want to do this next year and how I want to leave my mark here in Moldova. A few of us have begun discussing an anti-littering campaign. That could be a huge project that would be really hard to catch on considering Moldovans freely throw trash everywhere, even on the ground right next to garbage cans. I just recently wrote a grant to do a village clean up and install a few benches and garbage cans and to do some anti littering seminars at the school along with a brochure to pass out throughout the village. I am still waiting the results. Today was my first morning teaching English at a kindergarten in Balti. I will be doing that two mornings a week. I have three groups of young children 3-5 years old. Each group only lasts at most 30 minutes because that’s all their attention span will allow. It was really funny today teaching the youngest group, we did it outside, and they way they would get distracted by an airplane overhead or saying bye-bye to a passing truck. We are also in the process of finishing up the renovations on our fitness center and have started buying the equipment. I hope it will be open in less than a month. Everyone wants to name the center “Jennifer”! I tried to say no but they won’t listen, they want to always remember me. Cute. Now that fall had hit me and my close friends have begun planning our Christmas festivities. We gotta have something to look forward to, right? It’s not that weird is it? (I am sure my mom has already started her shopping.) We picked secret snowflakes (we changed from secret Santa because we have a Jewish friend involved). So if anyone is thinking of sending a package and want to include a can of pumpkin, brown sugar, or some marshmallows- that would be sweet! And maybe some candy canes or other Christmas type candy, like reces (sp) cups! I miss you all a lot! Honestly.