Adventures from Moldova

This is my blog containing all of my adventures as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007



The Easter Bunny Doesn’t Exist in Moldova

It has been quite a ride here in Moldova during this Easter holiday celebration. The traditions are so very different then that of America, but I am definitely not complaining. This time of year is similar to Christmas because it is a time that has always been very important to me and my family. I will say this…I was definitely more sad this holiday than I was at Christmas because at Christmas I really didn’t have a celebration because of the family I lived with. Now, it is the exact opposite. Every chance we get to celebrate something, we celebrate it 100%. I love that because my family is so full of life and so excited to show me the traditions that they have. They may very well be the perfect host family.

On Easter Sunday, I woke up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go to the church at 5. I couldn’t sleep the night before because I was so excited. We walked there because it is so close and as I got closer I saw that all of the people in Edineţ who came out that morning to celebrate had formed two lines along the sides of the street to the church. It was one large path of luminaries when everyone was waiting to be pleased by the priests. In general, the people who come bring an offering of sweet Easter bread (that is delicious with tea), colored eggs, candy, and sometimes other things such as meat or cookies. When the priests come to bless you, they carry around a bucket of scented water which has been blessed and use a broom like object to fling water into the crowd. The tradition says that you can’t wipe the water from your face when it comes or you are not blessed. When the priest came by my side, I took off my glasses and closed my eyes. I was shocked to receive a full blast of water right in my face. I had was dripping wet which I guess means that I was REALLY blessed. My face was still slightly damp when we started walking home a few minutes later. When we came home around 6 o’clock, we all went back to bed and then woke up to eat Easter brunch. The table was filled with amazing things to eat such as salads, different meats (chicken, fish, pork, lamb, etc.) as well as different desserts. There is a tradition with the colored eggs that was great. You take the egg and with the small end you hit another person’s egg that they have in their end. The person’s egg which does not break is the strongest. I ended up being the victor this year! It was great.

This weekend, one week after Easter, was spent in the cemetery to celebrate those who have passed away. It is similar to our Memorial Day where we bring flowers to those who have died in their memory, but VERY different. We bring food, gifts, wine, and candy to the gravesites and place a tablecloth on the ground where the grave is. We then put the things we brought on top of the grave as an offering to them as a sign of remembrance. Each person then drinks a little wine, with the first drink being poured on the ground for that person. The priests come around to each grave and say a blessing and sing. After that, we eat the food that was brought and have a small masa at the graveyard. It was difficult for me to explain to everyone here that in America we don’t really care to spend more than 20 minutes in a graveyard because it is a little scary. But here in Moldova, they celebrate their dead and want to remember their life every year. So for me to spend about 3 hours in a graveyard was a very interesting experience, but one I truly enjoyed. No, the Easter Bunny does not come to Moldova, but that’s just fine with me.

One more thing... My girls are heading to the national basketball tournament this next weekend for the finals! I am very proud of them and can’t wait. Win or lose, I hope they learned a lot with this experience. Oh, and Adam, you may want to check ESPN 2 or one of the ESPN alternate channels for the tournament.

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