Friday afternoon and its time for a field trip to Calarasi. Calarasi is about a 45 minute drive NW from Chisinau. It is a city of 16,000 people and is only 580 years old! The symbol of Calarasi is the travelor....specifically a travelor on horseback. The name Calarasi has that meaning in Romanian. There are some major industries here. There is a cognac producer, a large canner of fruits and jellies, a clothing manufacturer, a large dairy processing 5 tons of milk a day, and a manufacturer of PVC pipes. There are some foreign investors here. There is a partnership with an Italian firm to make shoes, and a contract with Syria for the export of walnuts. We arrived at the Primaria or the Mayor's Office and were greeted by the Mayor and Vice Mayor. We had the chance to meet Bob, an M25 volunteer who is extending his stay for 10 more months after two years in Moldova. We spoke about his work supporting his Moldovan work partner,Liliana, who is a funding specialist on the staff of the Mayor. Together they have received grants to make improvements to the community. Then we visited a Magazin Universal...which just translates to a "general store". But weren't just shopping, we were visiting one of PCV Bob's secondary projects, a youth center. It's up on the second level above the store. You can see what a cool mural the youth have made along with the participation of a few PCV's. As we boarded our bus for home, we were all inspired by what can happen when the Peace Corps Volunteer and the community can work together. In the background we could see the Moldovan Codru or Forested Preserve on the hillsides.
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