Moldova All Ov-ya

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Futbal Mania

It's exciting being in Europe during the Euro Cup qualifiying matches. I was in Chisinau last weekend during a match between Russia and Netherlands. The loud cheers that filled the streets blurred the lines, making me wonder, am I in Russia? When they won 3-1 and people poured into the streets wearing Russian flags as capes, their faces painted, it was hard to tell the difference.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/
sports/soccer/22soccer_russia.html?ref=soccer

Friday, June 13, 2008

Summer in Moldova

"Welcome" in Gagauzian, Romanian, and Russian

A visit to my friends beautiful Bulgarian village in the South of Moldova

Friday, May 16, 2008

Easter in Moldova

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Easter

On the eve of Russian Orthodox Easter, and since I will be attending an Orthodox celebration this weekend, I wanted to share an interesting article from the Times about the Religious climate in Russia. Seems fairly similar to Moldova. Here 'diversity of religion' points to differences between Orthodox, Protestant, and Methodist, with a smattering of Judaism and a dollop of 7th Day Adventist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html?hp

Pictures from Easter coming soon..

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Odessa, Ukraine

I visited Odessa Ukraine for a few days at the beginning of April. It's a lovely port city on the Black Sea, with a salty breeze, colorful graffitti, and Non-Soviet architecture. It felt more like a Western European city with cute outdoor cafes and parks. For April Fools day Odessa hosts a celebration with a parade and comedians telling jokes on stage. I never thought I would attend such a large celebration for April fools, but it really attests to the character of the city! (The first picture is someone dressed as an American Dollar "fighting" the Euro. The Ukrainian Grivna is playing referee.)