Pre-Service Training

From June to August in 2009, I and 12 other Community and Organizational Development volunteers lived and studied in the village of Vasieni. We were assigned host families, attended 4 -5 hours of language class 6 days a week, and generally worked our asses off. Thus began our little adventure known as Pre-Service Training.

Vasieni is a medium sized village by Moldovan standards. It has a listed population of 4,000 (although it is rule of thumb to reduce that number by at least ¼, and up to 1/3, due to emigration and registered residents working overseas), and is stretched out along a single, long paved road. Located in the Raion center of Ialoveni, it was the furthest training village from Chisinau, and probably the most rural.

Vasieni had been host to another training group something like 7 years ahead of us, and we gather that the previous group had not been very well received. We heard stories of discontent, and an unwillingness to accept Moldovan culture. Luckily, however, the evident failure of the previous group didn’t have much of an impact on our reception. While it was immediately evident that the locals had seen very few Americans in their lifetimes, the majority of us were received warmly into incredibly hospitable Moldovan homes. My gratefulness for this shouldn’t be understated; our first few weeks were pretty rough. If my host family hadn’t been so patient, curious and eager to make me feel at home, I am pretty sure I’d have been on a plane back to the U.S. in no time.

Also living in the village, with other host families, were our three wonderful Romanian instructors. Their official title, Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitators, encapsulated very little of what they did for us (everything, for the most part). Fluent in English, they were our window’s into this strange new world. Had to wash our clothes, but forgot the words? Call up Adriana. Had to set up a meeting with the Mayor for a community development project? Ask Diana. Wanted a private routierra to take us into Chisinau? Rodica is there to help. Whatever Peace Corps was paying them, I’m quite sure it wasn’t enough (Disclaimer: This was a joke. I am not criticizing Peace Corps or their salaries. In fact I have no knowledge of them. I am sure they are quite generous. Please don’t kick me out).

Yet, strangely, against all odds, it turned out that our instructors actually liked us. I’m happy to say that after three months of training, they became my first Moldovan friends, and good ones at that. While that doesn’t mean class was made easier (or homework, ahem), the fact that we were able to have candid discussions about language, culture and life not only made my life easier, but brought us all as a group closer together. For this I am thankful.

While this has turned out to be a very “thankful” entry thus far, it bears reason to take a moment to say why. In short, PST was no cakewalk, and we managed to turn it into a pretty good time. It’s an achievement worth noting.