I’m at my permanent site now. The city is in north east moldova, and it is beautiful here. My house is on top of the hill, where I can see the nistru river as I walk to work each morning. Last Saturday, we were all sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers! And Friday, the day before, we threw a going away party for our host families and community. We danced, some volunteers sang, and I’m uploading the videos. I’m the short one. We fixed a “traditional” American dish, which was actually really hard to do. We decided to make “beanie weenies” or “little smokies” in bar-b-que sauce. The Moldovans wouldn’t even go near it, but we ate it for them. And since I hate typing, ill let the videos speak for themselves.

two days ago a group of us went to the largest winery in the world.  we toured the underground storage caves.  it was amazing.  there was wine there from 1969.  at the very end of the tour we sampled an all you can drink white, red, and sweet wine.  oh, we ran into some british people at the winery and they were cracking me up.  we told them we were peace corps volunteers and they said, "spreading peace at the local winery, sounds helpful."  it was a great tour overall.  they had secret doors and tunnels and it was nice and cold down in the caves.  which was great because it is hot over here.

today, we had our 2nd language assessment.  it went well and my language is progressing quickly.  in two weeks, our pre service training ends and we leave for our permanent site.  

crap, out of time, i'll finish my post later.  all is well, i hope all is well in back home.

enjoy harry and the hendersons.  phils in every scene, see if you can find him.  

oh, very quickly, i don't know if they have these back home, but here i get these chocolate flavored hazel nut m&ms and they're delicious.

Today, I'm visiting my permanent work site.  My office building is nice, and it has high speed internet.  I promised Phil's haircut video so i'm uploading it with this post.

Today is a good day for a post.  Sorry for not posting sooner.  It has been a quick 4 weeks.  We stay busy with classes and cultural field trips.  It’s great, and I have loved all of my experiences so far.    Currently, I’m living in a town with the largest winery in the world.  I have yet to tour it, but I’m making that a goal before my pre service training is completed in August.  This weekend, I am visiting my permanent site, where I’ll be living for two years after pre-service training.    My host mom is great.  She has a garden where she grows all types of fruits and vegetables.  You all should be jealous, the food here is so good, and my host mom really takes care of me.  Yesterday, I finally got a Moldovan cell phone.  I won’t be calling any of you, but if you want to call me, email me and I’ll give you my number.  Just remember, it will cost you a lot of money.   Let’s see, lets see…  My Romanian is coming along.  In 4 weeks I feel like I know more Romanian than in the years of Spanish I’ve had.    With this post, I’m uploading a “new” video.  Sorry, Matt, Happy belated birthday.  Two versions.  The original and the directors cut.  Sorry for the horrible quality.  I’m still trying to figure out how to use this blog.  I’m also uploading a classic, Phil’s Haircut.  There are more to come, but I haven’t had time to convert all of them.    Oh, my camera got stolen after the 4th of July party I went to.  I was going to upload lots of photos : (  Trust me though, Moldova is beautiful.  Planted all over my village are cherry trees.  Wherever I walk I just reach up and pick a cherry.  It’s awesome, and my host mom made the best syrup from her own cherry tree.    So, a typical day for me:  I wake up at 6:30.  Take a sponge bath (not that you wanted to know), eat a HUGE breakfast, and go to school at 8:30.  Four days a week we have language classes, and two days a week we have technical training/language classes.  And, depending on the day, we will be in school from 4 to 8.    Okay, got to go.  Ask me questions.  I’m not good at blogging.  Oh as a tribute to Phil's Haircut video, I got a haircut today.  It's very european. Sorry, ran out of time.  I'll upload phil's haircut next time.

I don't have access to the internet at my host site. I'm in the capital right now, limited on time. Expect updates periodically. And yes, matt, I will post our movie and videos i take of moldova. miss you all, but all is well!