My first weeks in Chisinau, Daniel Vicario

Well, I finally made it Moldova! When I arrived in Chisinau it was cold and snowy and I was unsurprisingly jetlagged. I think I could have made a better first impression with my host family, since after meeting them and eating dinner I went to bed and slept well into the next day. However, my host family wasted no time in showing me around the city, as well as introducing me to their culture.

With my host brother as my guide, I have been able to see different parts of the city and visit museums and parks, as well as get accustomed to their public transportation system. While at home, my host mom has prepared traditional Moldovan dishes, such as mămăligă (which is from cornmeal) and plăcinte (which are pastries that can be stuffed with virtually anything).

My biggest obstacle, perhaps, since arriving in Moldova has been balancing my Romanian and Russian language studies and using both languages in everyday life. Given that I have only started studying Romanian since arriving in Moldova several weeks ago, I am not able to express myself very well in that language. As a result, I am inclined to use Russian more often. Thankfully, though, plenty of people (including my host family) speak both Romanian and Russian, so I can at least try speaking in Romanian before reverting to Russian. However, I’m still getting used to switching from one language to another. On multiple occasions, I have inadvertently thrown in a Romanian word while speaking Russian and vice-versa.

I am still impressed by Romanian-Russian language dynamics in Chisinau. Two people can have an intelligible conversation while speaking two different languages. Beyond that, Chisinau has surpassed all my expectations, primarily because it was hard to have any expectations, with so little information available about Moldova and Chisinau. There isn’t a guidebook that can be bought to get insights into this country. Chisinau isn’t exactly a renowned international destination and I doubt that most people back home could point it out on a map. As a matter of fact, while researching for information on Moldova, I discovered that it was generally considered one of the poorest countries in Europe. And perhaps statistically, it is considered one of the poorest European countries, but after living here for several weeks I find it hard to think of Moldova as simply poor. I still have a lot to learn, as well as to experience, but from what I have experienced so far I know Moldova and Moldovans have a lot to offer.

As I write this, the sun is shining and all the snow and ice have melted away. Spring is slowly arriving and I am eager to explore more of the city (now unhindered by slippery patches of ice), as well as take some day trips to other parts of the country. Chisinau is considered to have one of the highest proportions of green spaces of any major European city and I’m told that the city is absolutely beautiful when it is green, so I am anxiously waiting for the weather to warm up and the trees to bloom.

Daniel Vicario is studying Romanian in Chisinau, Moldova for the Spring 2010 Semester.