Crossing the bridge in Otaci is a nightmare with the frigid winter weather that has once again descended across Moldova.
One of my dear Moldovan friends is now working for an NGO that is distributing aid and helping organize volunteer efforts to serve Ukrainian refugees in Moldova; she watched, heartbroken, as a mother “weeping, her face destroyed,” traversed the bridge with a young child in her arms.
Continue reading “Moldova Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees”
This is everything you could want to know – and more! – about Comrat’s first Journalism Mentoring Program. Read on for a narrative, project examples, reports on trips to Moldovan media stations and many photographs of the Club’s 7 months of events.
Continue reading “On Air: Students from Comrat’s Journalism Club “Wow””
Of those who live in Moldovan villages, nearly every family keeps a garden. It is also true for homeowners in towns and cities. My host mother’s garden goes beyond sustenance, though: it is a place of gathering and quiet thought for those who pass through.
On Sunday November 5, 2017, the Comrat municipality hosted Gagauzia’s largest Wine Day to date. While last year was a square affair, this year’s festival stretched past the town’s center and onto the newly-paved Pobeda Street just south of the town’s old bazaar.
The festivities included samplings of wine produced in Gagauzia and other regions of Moldova, a craft fair, dancers celebrating outside of stalls constructed to look like traditional Gagauz homes, a concert, a few pig roasts and a “food court.”
Saturday Morning Lunch
I was sitting on concrete with lunch and a black cat when a man sauntered up to our front door. He called my host mother’s name, and I leaned out of the shadow of the summer house to summon his attention: “Anna Nikolaevna’s not home right now.”
The first thing that struck me was his smile, replete with silver grills. The second thing was his warmth.
Sundry Travels 