Over the weekend I visited my former host family in Cricova, Moldova. I spent the summer of 2012 studying Romanian and receiving plenty of business and organizational trainings on behalf of the Peace Corps while living there. In that time I became very close to my host parents Slavic and Svetlana and especially their two boys Igor and Maxim. Both boys were very helpful in assimilating me to Moldovan culture and Romanian language. We worked in their garden, practiced English, and ate many meals together during my stay. Having not seen them in six months it was refreshing and surprising to see how much they had grown over the past year. The weekend, however, was no ordinary one. Two months ago, Igor was accepted to the work and travel program in the United States which is a very big deal. On Saturday night he packed his bags and we all escorted him to the airport as he was leaving Moldova by plane for the first time in his life.

While studying abroad is very common to Americans and westerners not all Moldovans can experience this opportunity, as it is very expensive and highly competitive. For those who do, they are exposed to a new world of discoveries (positive and negative) and practical learning.

In the following video, I recount the weekend that was in Cricova while expressing some unfortunate realizations after approximately one year’s time in the Republic of Moldova: