November in Moldova..While Waiting

 

Well it's November 6th here in Moldova and I'm sitting here wondering what people in America are doing today.  Given the time difference, I definitely won't know who we elected President until I wake up tomorrow.  But in the meantime, here's what's been happening here.  Halloween is quite the American holiday.  Not much of mention here.  The local media seems to stress October 31st as Pumpkin Day as a sign of Autumn is upon us.  But no jack-o-lanterns or trick and treating.  No stories of Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler.  So I had to share my American culture with my friends at the Community Center and carve a pumpkin.  I think he turned out great with a real candle inside.  Some people tried to listen to him.  But he did his best as a night guadian against ghosts and gobblins right in my own back yard.  Another November activity has been a mushroom hunt.  I was visiting fellow volunteer Robyn in Floritoia Veche (near Ungheni) and we spent a delightful Saturday morning hunting the silent wild mushroom in the local woods.  Let me tell you, they're not easy to find.  Robyn's host family, Tatiana and Nicolai were a big help.  We cleaned up the mushroom crop and enjoyed them later for a meal with "mamaliga" a cornmeal favorite.  Robyn's host family also makes white lightning, a type of distilled wine product that is as strong as whiskey.  You can see the still has a winter jacket on to help keep the brew hot.  And while in town, I attended my second Moldvan wedding.  You can check previous postings for the details of such an event.  But you can see that once again we were treated to a table of the best Moldovan food and spirits.  There were lot's of toasts "Sanatate" "Mults Ani"  "Noroc".  And of course much dancing and a happy everafter.  I really can't go to another wedding for at least six months.  They're just too exhausting for someone my age.

Wedding Nuntă - Day Two

 

Now when when left off last time you remember, we were just getting home at five in the morning.  Thank goodness it was still dark then.  I don't think we could take any bright lights.  But after a good eight hours of sleep, it was time to party again.  Yes, Moldvan weddings often go on to day two of celebration.  We met mid afternoon in the yard of one of the marriage families and had appetizers and shots of cognac.  Then with our own hired routiera (white vehicle in second picture) we all went back to the restaurant in Orhei.  All the routieras, which are a major part of public transportation, are Mercedes Sprinters.  They are made to hold about 15 people.  Often they take about 20, 25, or 40!  I like to think of it as Moldovan Twister.  As the vehicle stops to pick up extra people, the people in the aisles just smush themselves together.  Anyway we made it back to the Codru Restaurant and all the tables were reset and beuatiful.  The proper drinks were stocked on every table and we would be served many of the foods of the night before.  But the main food attraction was the traditional zeamă (chicken soup).  This menu item is also know as ciorbă or borsc or soupă.  The bride and groom were in more everyday attire today.  But many of their friends returned with gifts for their future life such as dishes, table clothes, ironing board, pillows.  And of course inbetween eating and gift giving, there was more dancing.  But today's celebration was just a few hours and it was time to go home.....and party.  And they lived happily ever after.  Noroc!

A Moldovan Nuntă -- A Wedding Party

 

Last Saturday I attended my first Moldovan Wedding Party or  "Nuntă".  Moldavian marriage is a bouquet of traditions and culture. People sit together and are served with food and wine. Traditional dances also take place. In Moldova, people speak of "wedding parties" instead of just "weddings,” The wedding ceremony itself isn’t the focus of the festivities; it can be a small, understated event leading up to the wedding party proper, usually an all-night celebration. The traditional wedding party is magnificent in its arrangement, and intense. The singing and dancing continues until daybreak.  You can see how splendid the tables are set at the restaurant in Orhei as we arrive from Piatra in a chartered bus.  As each person enters they greet the bride and groom.  Most people are bringing a bouquet of flowers to hand them.  They intern receive an initial glass of wine or cognac.  I was given a chance to even pose for a picture with the honored couple.  Danicng begins early in the evening, even before we sit down for a meal.  There are special folk dancers there to perform and to lead us into the Moldovan hora.  Everyone dances the hora.  Now the young people in the room are asked to form an honor guard of flowers as the bride and groom head for the main table for "masă".  Hear's where I heard a few bars of our traditional "Here Comes the Bride" played.  Of course the fiddle and the cognac were essential elements of our evening that continued into the morning.  Now the bridal party is at the head table and the special dancers perform for them.  The dancers bring special symbols to the couple such as the round braided loaf of bread.  Now its time for everyone to toast the bride and groom, one household at a time and announce their "bani" or money gift.  Everyone throws their "lei"  or Modovan dollars into the basket.  Of course inbetween things a spontaneous chant of "Ama!  ama!"  or love, love can erupt.  Then the bride and groom have to kiss.  Our Moldovan dancers now become Gypsie Dancers or more correctly Roma Dancers.  And a red scarf is added to the bride's head and she joins in the Gypsie Dance.  Next a special dish is brought out to the head table by the lead dancer.   It must be the most delicious roasted chicken in all the world, he says.  Now our married couple are showered with gifts from family, or more correctly speaking they are wrapped in the love of their family in the form of comforters, sheets and blankets, and sweaters.  And now it's time for flaming cake!  And of course the cutting of the cake, and the feeding of cake to the couples' chosen special "sponsors".  And  more dancing until about 5 AM when we all board the bus for a bleary eyed ride home.  No that's not the end.  There's day two of the "Nuntă".  To be continued......

Red Rover, Red Rover

Well we were just sitting around the Community Center this past week and the weather was so nice we decided to take a walk.  We took a walk down to the valley.  Actually this was all a plan to let the children take pictures with a camera.  For many it was their first try at it.  As you can see from several of the wonderful shots, they have an eye for it.  Of course there was a little clowning around and we may have interrupted a perfectly fine afternoon for one cow.  Once we got to the valley our adult leaders had kids split into two groups and they had a blast playing "Red Rover, Red Rover".  I remember playing this game myself back in grammar school days.  Well it was a lot of fun to see their energy.  I broke into a spontaneous rendition of "He's got the whole world in his hands"...in English.  Eventually we made out way back to the cener, leaving the peaceful valley to its regular inhabitants.