MOLDOVA TOP 10
10 Things I learned in Moldova…
1 – Moldovan’s eat cookies for breakfast. Instead of eating them as a snack or a dessert after lunch or dinner, they eat cookies at the start of their day. It took a little while to become accustomed to this, but towards the end I rather liked it. The best part was the selection, each morning we had a different type of cookie… oatmeal, chocolate cream, vanilla wafers, sesame, and the list goes on.
2 – There is no such language as Moldovan. So what do they speak in the Republic of Moldova? Romanian and Russian. It was interesting to see things in both languages. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it, some signs in Russian, some in Romanian, some labels in Russian, some in Romania, but I guess that works just fine when the entire country is bilingual.
3 – It’s planting season in Moldova. Everyday people are outside weeding, plowing, and planting. We joined in and did some gardening work of our own. It was hard work, but rewarding to see the results. Plus, it helped work off all the cookies we consumed for breakfast.
4 – Painting in Moldova is like painting with milk. Powder is mixed with water until it turns into a milky consistency. It’s used for the inside and outside of houses as well as trees. When we first started painting, it looked like we’d smeared water all over the wall, however, by the end, we’d mastered the art of painting with milk and were quite happy with the outcome.
5 – The national snack food of Moldova is the sunflower seed, or so it would seem. They eat them all the time and everywhere. They use the “both seed and shell in the mouth, crunch off the shell, spit out the shell, eat the seed” method. I prefer the “crack shell open, take out the seed, eat the seed” method. Either way, we were won over by the sunflower seeds and enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
6 – Moldovans love to go to the forest. At first I though they meant a park or a field, but no, they really mean forest. Whether they’re gathering to play games, bar-b-que, or picnic, the forest is always their choice location.
7 – Brinza is not just a cheese, it’s a way of life. It’s kind of like feta cheese or goat cheese, but better than both. Brinza was served with every meal and we ate it with everything… soup, crackers, eggs, cookies, sausage, rice, etc. There’s nothing that can’t be enhanced by a little bit of brinza.
8 – Dandelions have taken over the Moldova countryside. When we first arrived the ground was covered in a layer of yellow, but towards the end of our stay the yellow had been replaced with a blanket of white. I made sure to do my part in continuing the dandelion population by blowing the seeds of every dandelion I saw.
9 – Shepherding is alive and well in Moldova. Everywhere we drove I saw herds of sheep spread out across the countryside complete with a shepherd tending the flock.
10 – On each corner is a magazin. The best American equivalent would be a corner store, although the magazins are more extensive. Being that there are no actual stores in the small towns, these magazins have to have a little bit of everything… from cookies to cutlery to fresh fish to wallpaper. The best part is if the cashier doesn’t have the correct change, she’ll just make up for it by giving you cookies 🙂
