Today we had our last museum excursion, although next week is Museum Day, when all the museums have free admission, so we can go explore then if we want.
After the museum, we went to the center, where they were celebrating Europe Day. This was a great festival. There was lots of food from different countries in Europe, expats manning tables, lots of brochures inviting you to study/live in the different countries (which were very popular) and LOTS of English, probably because of the expats. All the English made me a little uncomfortable. But I ate good food and candy from a lot of different places. I also got a Finnish mini cookbook from the Finland table that they were giving away. My mom studied abroad in Finland and we had just talked about recipes, so maybe we can make some of those together. It’s even in English.
Then I realized that the cookbook I bought as a souvenir is Russian, not Moldovan, so I went on a hunt for a Moldovan cookbook so I can make mamaliga when I get home. It turns out that many of the Moldovan cookbooks are in-gasp- Moldovan and not Russian, and the only one I saw in Russian is huge and I’m worried about suitcase weight. So I will pack my suitcase first and then see what I want to do. I bought a minicookbook of Spanish recipes in Russian, because I have no self control and it was like a dollar. So now I can learn how to make churros in Russian.
On the host family front, my host mom and I had a long talk last night, and I think she’s going to miss me. She was going on about how soon I’ll be home, and it was sad. I’m going to miss her. She invited me back (actually, she listed all the people who came back and visited, some of whom did multiple times. Then she invited me.) I want to come back. Maybe over winter break, or something.
Today, we went to the military museum. One of the things that is a striking difference between the museums in America and the museums in Chisinau is that for the most part the museums here don’t have signs explaining anything. They just hang stuff on the walls and expect you to figure it out. However, guided tours here are a lot cheaper, and you can always ask the people who work at the museum your questions. Maybe it’s a make-work thing? I’m not sure. Fortunately, we usually have a tour guide, and even if we don’t, like today, our local coordinator is extremely knowledgeable and can answer any questions we have.
It was interesting because as the museum hit the Soviet period, all the primary source documents and quotes painted for decoration on the walls turned from Romanian to Russian, signifying the big shift that happened here. Because of that, the Soviet period rooms were probably the most interesting to me. I especially liked reading the propaganda posters, which I can do now! It turns out that propaganda language is, you know, for the masses, and thus simpler than articles about GMOs or whatever we’re doing in class, and thus I can actually read it. It’s great.
They also painted on the walls some quotes.
Look at all these statues. The words above are cut off, but they say “to work with joy, from work with pride.” The one on the ceiling behind it, which you can see not at all, says “The victory of Communism is inescapable.” Fun fact: today I learned that the word inescapable literally is “you can’t run from it.” Also other fun fact about Russian root words: the word for tourist attraction is достопримечательность, which comes from the roots of a bunch of different words and literally means “things you dream about 100 times before you see them”. Isn’t that cool?
This one says “work so that Comrade Stalin says thank you”
This is the agreement between Stalin and Hitler before World War II.
This is me!
This is a monument to the victims of Chernobyl.
American in Moldova 