Growing up I never truly believed in imaginary places; Neverland, the North Pole, Narnia, ect. I always wanted to but my mind would just rationalize it all away. It was always too hard to believe and too good to be true.
Well, this month I have been living in one of those imaginary places, well, kind of. We are in a country that only some people recognize a as country. Transnistria is a ‘country’ inside of Moldova (an already tiny eastern European country). It has its own government, currency, police force, you have to cross in and out of the border and fill out paper work to be in the country. It seems like the real deal, but no other countries recognize Transnistria as a country.
Hello Neverland.
Let me tell you a little about my experience in Neverland thus far:
- 21 women are living in a cement room on a rough construction site
- The next room over are men in a “half way house” type program
- We eat dinner food for breakfast
- Hot soup every day for lunch (no matter how hot it is outside)
- Hot tea at every meal
- People do not smile or say hello to strangers (or even friends sometimes)
- You are not supposed to talk when military men walk past
- Pedestrians only have the right of way when the driver decided not to hit you
- The closest WiFi is a 30 min walk
Does not all sound like a fairy tale country on the surface, but dig a little deeper and you can find:
- The 21 women are defying cultural norms and growing together, living in community and building each other up in love
- The men next door work harder than men I have ever seen, are respectful and chivalrous in everyway
- We have a ‘grandma’ who cooks 3 meals a day with a smile, not only for the 21 of us but for all the men and day workers as well
- Hot tea with enough sugar is almost like sweet tea which reminds me of home
- Defying the odds and earning a true Russian smile is better than receiving a polite but meaningless American smile
- The young military men sometimes just want to practice their English
- The cars you have to avoid are at least cute little German boxy cars
- Long walks to WiFi harbor genuine conversation with friends
This is my first and maybe only experience in a fake country but I can honestly say, why rationalize away something you do not know, jump in, dig deep, and see what is below the surface. You may be pleasantly surprised.
I certainly was.
