Chişinâu
My house after a fresh snow fall
February 8, 2004
I’m in Chisinau, Moldova and I think I like it. I had troubles getting there, but
a day late I arrived.
From the first time I first saw my house at 37 Frumoasa Street (meaning beautiful
street) I was impressed with the limestone and red wavy roof tiles behind the black
ornate fencing over every window and balconies. You must lift a swinging gate to
ascend stairs into the house, which is entered through our double doors, about 8
feet tall and rounded on top. Our foyer is ridiculously spacious and rises about
40 feet to the ceiling. Wrapped around the corner is a sitting room and on the right
wall a dining room with a mahogany table to seat 12, a "refrigerator room,"
and the kitchen. We also have a small laundry room and a small storage basement.
After entering, the stairs directly in front of you rise to the mezzanine level,
which houses my room, bathroom and a study in addition to a back door. As you open
a small white gate to your right, stairs lead to the next floor, essentially situated
in the front of the house. There is a master bedroom, bath and a very large living
room.
All the ceilings are about ten feet tall and the decks are incredible. The walls
and ceilings are white and the floors hard wood. As you open the back gate you see
a yard, a rose garden on the left, a few trees and a pond/fountain on the right.
The house next door is unfinished because houses aren’t taxed until they are complete
so people often finish the insides and leave the outsides unfinished with garbage
all over their yards to avoid taxes. A few houses in my neighborhood, like mine,
seem to have a very Mediterranean influence and grape vines are common along with
the red roofs.
Many people house goats and chickens in their urban houses during the summer and
it is not uncommon to see goats being herded on the streets. The people behind us
have a rooster who crows every morning and a few houses have chicken coups in their
front yards. There are also a good number of stray dogs, but many people are very
cruel to them and they fear people more than people fear them.
The embassy is great. The people are fun and easy to work with. I can go in and
out of the office at will and have already written a letter to a Moldovan minister,
written a cable and met the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The city is great, but very odd. It’s a strange mix of Westerners and locals, but
it’s odd because none of the westerners are tourists. All westerners live here and
being the capital there are a number of people from many different countries, but
all different countries, giving the city an international feel, with a number of
different influences. Everything caters to locals even if that means a lot of locals
are foreigners, there are no tourist traps, or even tourist sights in any true sense
of the word, except maybe the nearby vineyards and wineries.
There are Mexican, American, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Georgian, and Moldovan
restaurants among others. Supermarkets have western food and there are three McDonalds
here, but again these are really only visited by locals. There is a great night
life with bars, clubs, cafes, etc. The city is a very strange combo of a number
of cultures. There are churches, but only some in Russian orthodox style, another
in Armenian, and still a synagogue, Catholic Church and Mormon temple.
Many of the houses are made of stone, but the government buildings are very modern
and sporadically scattered throughout the city as are Soviet block apartment buildings.
Everywhere there are trees and flowers, along with parks and outdoor markets, and
exhibits. It has a small town feel, with big city excitement and history dating
back to the 1500’s. It feels like a rural village turned city.
There are a few small lakes surrounding the city and the city seems tied to its
Romanian and earlier, Roman roots with a statue of a she-wolf along with Romulus
and Remus. Also when one notices the city is on a series of hills giving spectacular
views from select spots, locals claim the city stands on seven hills, much like
Rome. Chisinau follows in the tradition of its former inhabitant, Pushkin and is
the center of all national education, government, and any other activity.
The people here seem friendly and although they say there’s a lot of ethnic tension
I have yet to see it. Everyone speaks Russian, many people speak Moldovan and a
very small number of people speak English. The power and tension lie in government
and the mafia, the two most powerful and dominating influences in the city.
Ghetto monument
Eternal Flame
March 21, 2004
Moldovan dance clubs... I’ve heard the rumors, but I've never heard the details.
We went to “The City” after dinner at LaTaifas yesterday and it was a cultural experience.
The restaurant had a great atmosphere and everyone was served homemade wine. A band
present was playing live music the whole time as they walked up and down the aisles.
The one player is supposed to be one of the world’s greatest, but since people can’t
afford to go to concerts he plays on Saturday nights in this local restaurant.
At first, the club seemed normal, 50 lei cover and as we entered we walked through
a metal detector, which is standard in this part of the world. We entered into the
center of the club, with the dance floor immediately in front of us, a stage and
tables around the outside semi-circle. Our table was upstairs, which was also a
semi-circle, but open so as to look down to the dance floor.
Soon after sitting down, I noticed the dance floor had four or five poles and that
the second floor had four cages, two on each side. By midnight (we got there at
about 11:00pm, which was when most people were arriving) the dance floor was packed
and the cages had girls in sparkly bikinis dancing. I think this was for our entertainment
because the cages were lit up and the dancers were obviously employed by the club.
After some time all dancing stopped, the floor was cleared by security and a dancer
came out to do a little dance. This was odd... then the dancing continued as security
let everyone back on the floor. The next act was just disturbing: two guys, one
in a blow-up woman’s body outfit went on to do a “comedy” act to music. Soon the
“woman’s” clothes were off and the act continued for way too long. Afterwards, the
music started up again and the dancing continued. Not too long later the music again
stopped and another girl came out, so I was expecting a show like the first couple.
But soon she turned around and took her shirt off, bare on top. Next thing I know
she’s playing with her breasts and humping one of the poles; the crowd liked her,
but also treated it like it was commonplace (which I later learned it was). The
next show was a guy in loose pants and a leather top. I quickly realized he couldn’t
dance that well so was a little confused. After about one minute he took his shirt
off to reveal four leather straps from his pants in the back. Then a minute later,
with his back towards the crowd he ripped off his pants revealing his white behind
in a leather thong. As if this weren’t bad enough he continued his dance as a woman
came out and put him on a leash as he crawled around on all fours. Then she pulled
the leash, pointed to her crotch and he turned around on hands and knees to make
the night all the more awkward. This only lasted a few seconds and the rest of the
show just became a blur of confusion in my head. I don’t think anyone will believe
this... but I do have witnesses.
Monument
April 20, 2004
I had a couple receptions that were slightly awkward, the first was on February
17. Its one of those things where we’re supposed to walk around and talk politics
with every Moldovan Parliamentarian about our bilateral situation. On the plus side
I got to meet just about everyone in Parliament and got some great food.
On March 1st I had a meeting with the SEE Stability Pact which was kind of fun,
especially since the group was extremely small and consisted of President Vladimir
Voronin, the chairs of the Stability Pact, the Ambassadors... and myself. It was
odd being in that position, especially since I had a microphone and could ask the
president or the Foreign Minister any question I may have had. There were only about
20 people in the room and I actually got to meet the president himself.
We have a bowling league, which is quite something. One night I had the best bowling
series of my life, got recruited to be a professional, considered it, and in fact
am still considering it, but turned down the opportunity.
My life consists mostly of watching X-Files re-runs, since we have a TV and X-Files
videos, but no TV reception.
We also had a pub quiz night and I became friends with Joseph, but unfortunately
my team took second. The good news was that another American team took first so
we beat the Brits pretty badly and that’s what's important.
House