Yesterday I finally gave in and decided to try the ultimate test of my Romanian skills...getting a haircut. To make it a little easier I decided to go with another volunteer from Truseni because two heads are always better than one, especially when it comes to speaking a foreign language. Luckily for us everything went perfectly.
We decided on a hair place near an area we were familiar with and when we went inside I was surprised that it was not in any way different from any run of the mill hair saloon in America. The best part was that when I explained what I wanted the woman looked at me and said "American?" I can converse but I will never be able to hide my accent. Also in case you were wondering even in Moldova you still receive the hairdresser conversation while your hair is getting cut. Of course my conversation was mostly her talking and me answering the most basic questions but it was still a confidence booster. And how much did this conversation and hair cut set me back? About 4 dollars, not including the tip.
Afterward, I went wandering through the capital and ran into 6-7 other volunteers. Its a small world after all...at least in Moldova. The best part of the whole excursion was that I found a vendor selling gelato. GELATO! It was the highlight of my day and cost less than a dollar for one scoop. This discovery was made all the more exciting because I had asked my Romanian teacher that morning if I can buy gelato in Chisinau and she told me no. So when I saw it in Chisinau only mere hours from when I had asked about it I was overjoyed.
Lastly, just when I am starting to feel comfortable in my ability to get along on my own with my limited Romanian and my ability to find things in the capital I realized that I only have about 10 days left before I leave for my permanent site and have to start all over again in a new town. And from what I have been told my partner teacher is one of the only people who speak English in my town...
Ok...I got to get back to work. One more week of practice school and my training will be complete.
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