Well I have spent a couple of nights in the village I will be in for two years. Today is my first day of 'work.' I do not know yet exactly what I will be doing, especially since I need to work on thy Romanian speaking skills.
My organization is partnered with one in Sweden, and a few months ago they got a brand new computer lab where people from the community can come and pay very little to use the Internet or play video games. The facility is very nice, and my partner is very nice as well. I feel that the most difficult part to come is actually defining my role within the organization.
Today I walked around my village with my partner and we went into the kindergarten, and primary school. There I saw the renovation projects that they were working on and the projects that they had worked on in the past. This summer my partner and another woman from my organization went to Sweden with a team of Moldovan girls for something similar to a Youth World Cup. I believe the tournament is called Gothia Cup 2009, but I am not sure yet.
I am still trying to figure out things with my host family, I have not exactly settled in yet because both them and I have been pretty busy. I have not unpacked my bags yet, and I am planning on going into town tomorrow to buy sheets and other personal items to settle in. My host mom insists that we do this tomorrow, but I feel weird asking my partner for my second day of work off. I think that it is not a big deal though, I think it is culturally different and not weird like it would be in America - or for now I am going to convince myself of this.
Also in my host family I am getting used to showering from a bucket. It is not as bad as I thought it would be - I mean I feel clean afterwards, but I think that preparing it is a hassle. I want to help out in preparing food, cleaning, and preparing the water for my 'shower,' but my host mom and sisters refuse to let me help out. So basically I get to sit back and relax, but I feel like a jerk. I guess I should just enjoy it for now because after I settle in I know that I will be doing all sorts of things on my own and won't be treated like a hotel guest.
I really need to find out more of my community if I want to succeed. I need to meet more people and make more contacts. I am stressing myself out and I have only been here for two nights and this is my first day of work. As of now things are overwhelming, but in a couple of weeks I think I will have a better - but still vague idea of what is going on in my village.
