I have now served two years in Moldova as a small enterprise development volunteer with the Peace Corps. Social media has been the key instrument for marketing and advertisement of any of the institutions, programs, or projects I have worked on, but particularly Facebook. I utilize it to create pages and events; post videos, pictures,…
Two months of service now remain. I reflect on a day of hosting international guests at the Business Incubator of Leova and detail what life is like in our town.
Thank you to an incredible network of donors from the U.S. and an active local community, the city of Leova was able to raise enough funds to refurbish the local basketball court behind the Russian school. The project took six months to complete and was accomplished primarily through crowdfunding donations on Indiegogo from personal contacts. An amazing…
Playing basketball with the guys one day after work, I was approached by Alex. He and I were acquaintances through a family I spent quite a bit of time with in town. He waltzed over to me on the court and asked if I could help him to improve his English. Based on trial and error, I…
This past fall and winter the community of Leova, Moldova and I built a basketball court for the kids in our city. Due to the lack of extracurricular activities, problems with drugs and alcohol, countless hours spent online, and apathy amongst children we decided it was time for a change. We did not have sufficient…
On November 13, 2013 my business partner and I held a 1.5 hour training for 25 local high school students on communication and negotiation skills. The first segment detailed proper communication skills when interviewing with an employer, greeting someone in business, and negotiating terms of a business deal. From the start I felt these topics…
I had been struggling through college and thereafter to limit the distractions in my life and find true direction. It was not that I was an epic failure by the least. I managed to earn high marks in college, dedicate myself to all responsibilities, and make financial ends meet. The one thing I did not…
Over the past three months, I have been working with a local entrepreneur who is growing a quail egg and meat production business in a poor village in the southern region of Moldova. He came to us at Incubatorul de Afaceri Leova in order to receive financial assistance through a small financial grant program managed by…
Peace Corps The first motivating factor of my decision to look into graduate school programs was directly linked to our organization, the Peace Corps. In June 2010 after graduating from DePaul University in 2009 and accepting my first job with Vibes Media in Chicago, I realized that I wanted to serve others, learn a new…
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…
25 years old, thank you. An incredible year that started in the Chi, took me to Istanbul & Paris, and allowed me to set up shop with the Peace Corps in Moldova. Thank you for teaching me how to feel like a minority, to experience incredible lows get crushed by incredible highs, to develop a…
I have a very strong need to communicate with others, more than most. I enjoy hearing people’s voices, seeing faces, learning from others, and getting my point across. Admittedly I can be a pest, though I have acknowledged that many of my colleagues and friends are alike. Over time I have realized that many people…
– Rise in chicken feed prices will lead to 60% of the Moldovan poultry industry to go bankrupt in 2013. An estimated 15,000 jobs will be lost and $20 million dollar monthly losses will hit the agricultural industry. Reports say that the existing 40% of producers will dominate the domestic market along with increased poultry…
“The difference between the individuals that leave a footprint on this world and those who simply walk in those steps is that there is no unattainable goal. There are simply adverse avenues to greatness and smooth roads to mediocrity.” – A pack of cigarettes costs 6.5 lei (approximately $.50). – I spoke with the grandfather…
One thing that has really tested my patience here in Moldova is the differing norms on privacy and relationship building. At home and in Mexico locked doors are not uncommon. You would not offend someone if you did lock yourself in somewhere. It is simply a sign that you want to be left alone, are…
– Translated a 7 page business document into the best Romanian I could muster. It was extremely dry to begin with so going through it in another language made me feel like a zombie upon completion. The funniest part is that I am not finished yet. I now have to find a native proofreader to…
– Welcome to the first day of Spring and Mărțișor (pronounced Mart-see-shore)! I walked into my business partner’s office only to be greeted with a gift. I was handed a pin-charm with two threaded snowflakes, one white, one red, and a woven leaf dangling from a metal pin. It is believed that the red string…
– Just 11 more days until I will not feel guilty about missing another day. As you can see I am really motivated with sticking to my word here. I think by missing a post on three occasions I further prove to myself and peers that motivation and content are two things I desperately need.…
I finally had the highly anticipated glass of soy milk made by the aforementioned hair stylist. It was a cold wet evening and I came inside the nearby salon to give it a try. She took my jacket and told me to have a seat at the table in the back room. I asked her…
– Yet again, I could not stick to writing a post daily but for good reason. – Last night was my friend Slon’s birthday. We began the night by going over to the office building behind our friend Alex’s hardware store. There we had a giant feast with pork chops, sausages, homemade pizza, egg casserole, three…
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