Wow... What can I say? This past week has been an amazing journey. I was able to meet new friends, learn about Moldova's rich and beautiful culture, and make memories that I know I will never forget.
We definitely hit the ground running as soon as we got to Moldova. Dr. JSM, our professor, had an itinerary that would keep us busy from sunrise to sunset everyday. While it was exhausting, it proved to be worth it, because we got to experience so much in such a small amount of time. I have to thank not only Dr. JSM and Professor Patlis for talking me into the trip, but also the many friends and volunteers in Moldova that helped us throughout our week. Well... Where do I even start?
Day 1
Our first day when we got off the plane we were able to go to the Museum of Archaeology. This was a really cool place and I was sure to take a ton of pictures! They had exhibits that ranged in age from paleolithic, to modern day. Here are some of my favorite pictures.
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| The Museum of Archaeology in Chisinau |
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| Me in front of a Soviet propaganda poster |
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| Some old tools and weapons from Moldova's history |
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| Guns from Moldova's past |
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| The Moldovan Declaration of Independence |
Day 2
This was our first day to actually meet our joint course students face-to-face, which was an awesome moment to finally meet them all. We also had a few lectures from some select guests before we went around Chisinau to visit three levels of Court Houses; District, Constitutional, and Supreme Courts. That evening, we had a welcome reception in the hotel bar/dinner area. A great start to our week.
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| First day at ULIM! |
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| Our very first meeting with our Joint Course friends |
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| An example of the lecture format |
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| Our donation to the ULIM library |
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| Learning about Moldova, in Moldova |
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| ULIM sign |
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| District Courthouse |
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| Judge Gross with a District Court Judge |
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| Moldovan Constitutional Court |
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| Sebastian is overjoyed by the justice system |
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| A really cool crest |
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| Dr. JSM's security detail |
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| Our class at the Constitutional Courtroom |
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| The Supreme Court |
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| Supreme Court tour |
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| Welcome reception at our hotel |
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| Yummy food and wine! |
Day 3
Our third day was more of an excursion type of day where we got to take in some of the culture in Moldova. We visited a cave monastery in Orhei Veci, a winery called Chateau Vartely, and spent some time at an orphanage with some Lions Club Members.
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| I am just taking it all in around the Orhei Cave Monastery |
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| Sebastian and I at Orhei |
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A prayer cross overlooking the valley.
You are supposed to close you eyes and pray for your family and friends. |
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| A panoramic of the cliff from Orhei |
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| Bell Tower |
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| Inside the Cave Monastery at Orhei |
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| It is a tight squeeze, but we managed! |
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| Our class at Chateau Vartely Winery |
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| Traditional oak barrels of wine |
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| Our guide was very knowledgeable on the wine making process |
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| On our way down to the tasting room |
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| More wine please! |
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| It is kind of like the Bud Light born on date... But classier. |
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| Beautiful wine tasting room! |
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| We had the chance to try a few different wines. |
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| Cheese and crackers for the tasting |
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| Noroc!! *Cheers in Romanian* |
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The Municipal Orphanage in Chisinau with our friends from
the Lions Club |
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| I could definitely read all of this. |
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| The children doing some arts and crafts with us |
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| Veronica was so sweet! |
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| Our class with the Lions Club members and the children |
Day 4
We started our 4th day in Moldova at ULIM once again to have a few more discussions from guest lecturers. We had lectures about EUBAM (European Union Border Assitance Mission), and a lecturer from ULIM who was a journalist in post-Soviet Moldova. After our time at ULIM we went over to the U.S. Embassy's American Resource Center to have a round table discussion with various NGO's in Moldova. After discussing various issues at the Embassy we left for Casa Mariorei, a domestic violence shelter for women and children, where Lindsey McDaniel gave us a really in-depth presentation about domestic violence in Moldova and the U.S. We got a quick tour of the shelter before we were shuttled off to our next event at Clubul Avocatilor for Judge Gross's presentation to the American Bar Association in Chisinau. Judge Gross is a circuit court judge in Tampa FL and was a distinguished guest of ours. After that we went out for some food at Andy's Pizza with members from the Vernon David Law Firm. Busy Day!!!
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| Rocky is such a good diplomat |
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| Our class at ULIM |
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| Who is that handsome guy in the cardigan?? ;-) |
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| On the "forbidden" starcase in ULIM |
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| A great picture the joint course |
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| The American Resource Center at the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau |
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The Embassy Public Relations Officer spoke with us about
life in the Foreign Service |
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| Casa Mariorei Domestic Violence shelter lecture by Lindsey McDaniel |
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| Lindsey and the Director giving us a background on the shelter |
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The venue for Judge Gross's presentation to the
American Bar Association in Chisinau |
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| Judge Gross is quite the orater |
Day 5
This was another excursion day that was a lot of fun. We started at the Academy of Science in Chisinau where we got to speak with Professor Patlis's dissertation advisor. He gave us a quick and dirty rundown on what the academy is, and how it operates. After that, we went to Capriana Monastery. The monastery was beautiful! It was built to commemorate a military victory by Stefan Cel Mare in Moldovas past. After we toured the monastery we left for Milecti Mici winery. Milectie Mici was really quite impressive. It has the title of the largest wine cellar in the world (Guinness Book of World Records) and has millions of bottles of wine. We got to do a wine tasting and sample some traditional Moldovan food and music. We left the winery to our next destination, which was a reception put on by the Vernon David Law Firm at a local wine and cigar bar. We were able to discuss what the law firm does, and chat with many of the lawyers who practice there.
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| The entrance to Capriana Monastery |
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| Such Beauty |
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| I have never seen anything like it! |
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| Ummm. That is a lot of wine. |
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| There are so many of these! |
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| Over 220km of underground wine cellars |
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| Can I have one?!? |
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| Right before our wine tasting |
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| Blini. I like it. |
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| The best Cabernet I have ever had. Period. |
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| Dr. JSM and Prof. Patlis |
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| I am enjoying the wine tasting. |
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| A beautiful little waterfall underground |
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This is me in the city center of Chisinau
on our way to the Vernon David reception |
Day 6
This was our last day of our joint course at ULIM, so we had a few more lectures and then we were presented our certificates of participation by the Vice Rector (President) of the university. When we finished up at ULIM, we traveled to the village of Teleneste where we met up with a young Peace Corps volunteer at and orphanage for displaced children. This was a lot of fun! We all loved playing with the kids. After our time at the orphanage, we left to go out to dinner at the Legenda restaurant in Teleneste. We sampled some Moldovan food and spoke with Thomas about the Peace Corps and how he got started helping out with the orphanage. This was definitely a great day.
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| This is us at the Legenda Restaurant near Teleneste |
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| Thomas is being presented a certificate on behalf of the class |
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| Orphanage in Teleneste |
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| Enjoying some games with the kids while representing USF |
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| We tried to outrun the children. Tried. |
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| Arts and crafts with the kids |
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| The village of Teleneste |
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Thomas telling the children where we are from and why
we are here. |
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| A bag of goodies for the children |
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| This little guy loved Marissa |
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| The orphanage |
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| Sebastian helping out the children with the art projects |
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| Our last day at ULIM;joint course photo-op |
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| Prof. Patlis being awarded a Mickey Mouse hat |
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| Prof. Patlis presenting my certificate of participation |
Day 7
On our seventh day in Moldova we went to Curchi Monastery and Soroca. Curchi Monastery was a very elegant and beautiful place! I am glad that I had my phone charged up to take all the pictures that I could. Then we left for Soroca, a city right on the Dniester River, and to the Fortress of Soroca. The fortress was amazing. So much history and culture in one place. Our tour guide was hilarious and very knowledgeable about the history of the fortress and future plans for restoration. We then made the long trek back home. When we got back to the hotel, we had a few minutes to drop off some of our things before we were off to Moldova State University. We had a round table discussion about Women's History and Domestic Violence. We were lucky to have Lindsey McDaniel come back and do another presentation for us. It was very interesting and really got us engaged in some great dialogue with the MSU students and faculty. Our final event of the night was our farewell reception at the hotel. A lot of the ULIM joint course students came along with some staff. It was really good to see them all one last time before we left. We spent the night talking about our trip and having great food and wine.
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| Curchi Monastery. WOW. |
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| So beautiful |
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| I liked how the light was coming in through the window |
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| Such amazing architecture and decoration |
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| Me outside the Monastery |
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| Group photo! |
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| Welcome to Soroca |
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| Right behind me is the Ukraine |
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| the Fortress in Soroca |
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| Our tour guide was awesome! So funny and informative |
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| Panoramic shot of Soroca |
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| Our farewell reception at the hotel. I will miss all my new friends! |
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| Dr. JSM and Teo |
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| Going away speeches |
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| I am starving in this picture |
Our Final Day
On the last day we gathered our suitcases, made one final trip into the city for gifts, and left for the airport. It was a sad moment knowing that we were leaving such a beautiful place, but I know that the memories that I made on this trip will last a lifetime. I will be able to tell all of my friends and family about Moldova and how beautiful it is there. I am so grateful that I had the chance to participate on this study abroad class. Thank you Moldova!
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| Moldova from the airport window. |
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| Until next time... Goodbye Moldova!!! |
