2012, soon to be in the rearview
The year is almost over and I guess here I will list some of the highlights of the year. Or something like that. This year was very important to me, and I hope to have many more like it.
I’ve started my career. Kind of weird to think that it starts with a volunteer experience, but it is true that the Peace Corps is the start of my career. I want to work in international development or some related field, and this experience will (hopefully) spur me forward down this track. It makes me nervous a bit, because I have such high aspirations. I am more nervous about not reaching my aspirations than I am of doing a poor job. It will take time. I know. “Moscow wasn’t built in a day” as they say.
Getting my Peace Corps invitation in the mail, and having it say Moldova was probably one of the happiest moments of my life. I was probably one of the only volunteers here who actually knew where Moldova was without having to look it up, solely for the fact that I had been to Romania 2 years before. I was pretty excited to learn I would most likely be learning Romanian and going to a part of the world where I am very passionate about. It’s a great feeling when things come together how you wanted. I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer. How cool is that?!
This year I’ve been to Barcelona, Istanbul (not Constantinople), and Moldova. I visited Washington DC for the first time. I’m a terrible American. I had been to Budapest and London before my own capital. And I only lived 4 hours away nearly my entire life, save for when I lived in Florida as a child. Well, to be fair, 4 hours away is definitely a weekend trip and not a daytrip. And I would rarely have 2 days off in a row over the past 6 years to actually go on such a trip. At least not spontaneously.
Which brings me to my next event. I finally quit Target. Only took 6 years too long. I should not have been working there after having a masters degree. It was unspeakable. I should have been running the place. No joke. My direct supervisor wanted to promote me actually. He wanted to see me ascend to his position. Our store didn’t work like that though. We almost always preferred to hire people for mid- and upper management from outside. I don’t agree with that policy. Not from a personal or academic standpoint, but hey, what do I know? I truly did not want to be promoted there anyway. The only way I would work for a corporation would be in their corporate giving department.
The last 6 months, almost 7 now, in Moldova have been nothing but fantastic for me. I mean, there are lots of days (most days actually) where I wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, eat dinner, and then relax at my computer until I go to bed. Which isn’t much different from many days in the US. Now that the days are so short, this has increasingly been coming the norm. Not that there is much to do in Hincesti even if there was sunlight. Hopefully I can be a part of changing this and adding activities to do here. I find myself sometimes jealous of the people who live in Chisinau who have lots of things to do all around them, or of the volunteers who live in families who have masas (parties) all the time, but I know that having these thoughts is never positive as it is not good to compare yourselves to others. Regardless, my experience has been great and will only continue to be great. I’m sure I’ll get often get sick along the way or find myself in unpleasant situations, but I’ll get through it all with a smile.
Viața Mea: Cu Capul în Nori 