I woke up bright and early on Saturday, simultaneously
hating and loving myself for getting up early but also going for a jog in the
crisp morning air! As usual I ran to the lake and it was gorgeous as always!
I’m going to miss Valea Morilor…
After showering (by the by, Vera’s apartment complex
doesn’t have actual standing showers installed. They instead have huge
Jacuzzi-size tubs with shower nozzles attached to the side which can be held to
wash one’s hair and body. I have yet to take a bath in it but I intend to, it’s
going to be so nice and relaxing! Anyway back on topic, after showering, I went
out to meet Maggie and her husband Don. I had met Maggie on Wednesday in
Tucano’s. She is here for a few months with her husband while he completes a
construction project for the US Embassy. Because she doesn’t know Romanian or
Russian, it is difficult for her to meet people so we were both glad to get
together and get to know one another.
We went to the central market, which is near Bulgara and
Columna. It is a gigantic outdoor vending congregation of countless farmers and
shopowners selling fruits, vegetables, clothing, electronics, screws, lights,
tools, books, shoes, bolts, anything. You name it, they have it somewhere. You
just have to find the store that is selling it. 
I ended up buying a sundress and cookies. However with the
cookies, I screwed up the conversion in my head, thinking that 1lb =2.2 kg,
when in fact it is the other way around. I asked for 1kg of cookies, and left
with 2.2 lbs worth, about forty Fionas, which was what they were called. Don’t
get me wrong, they are delicious! But that’s a lot of cookies right there! 
On Sunday we (Angee and her host family and Amelia and I)
were planning to go to Vadu lui Voda again. We woke up and it the sky was
overcast, making us doubt our plans. We called off the trip, only to discover
that the sky stayed clear the entire day. Everything is backwards here; if it
is cloudy when I wake up, it will be beautiful for the rest of the day. But if
there is not a cloud in the sky when I leave the house in the morning, it will
downpour without warning in the afternoon, despite the sunny forecast. 
So instead of the beach, I went to the FLEX program’s
picnic. They were having an American picnic with hot dogs and chips. I arrived
at the end so I went to the staff office to chat with Marina, Vlad, Rodica, and
Dragalina and also Vladian. I had a relaxing time there learning more about
FLEX and watching the kids’ team bonding exercise. When it came time to leave I
walked with Vlad, Rodica, and Dragalina to the supermarket to get chips and
popcorn for the movie night later. They watched either Frozen or How To Train
Your Dragon, both my suggestions!! How can you go to America without seeing
those movies!? I hope they liked it!
Afterward I met Angee for dinner at Andy’s Pizza, which is
THE fast food chain in Moldova. But the word fast food doesn’t exactly describe
Andy’s; it has a much more asthetic appearance and the food is better quality
than what we would define as fast food in America. We had a pizza (no way!) and
French fries (classic) and lounged around. Beforehand we did a bit of shopping
at a place called Terra Nova down the street on Stefan cel Mare where I bought
shorts and a skirt. It’s getting hotter and hotter here!
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