Our first week in our new home town...new people...new jobs....new experiences.

After dropping by my office on Tuesday morning to ensure that my partner had indeed agreed to “loan me out” for a few days and to introduce him to Marilyn we walked over to the incubator ready to work.  Oh boy, were we in for a surprise!  Many, many things needed to be done but there was no dirt, no plan for the required landscaping, no electricity, no water anywhere but on the third floor, no tenants ready to move in, no ladders to reach the high, filthy windows; not even a mop.  Another whole day of frustration towards the end of which we were informed that the incubator had to be ready to open on Thursday because the prime minister of Moldova, the European Union representative, the Raion Council President and many of the mayors of the surrounding area would be arriving at noon in order to perform a ribbon cutting ceremony and make a few speeches.

We were then informed that the courtyard in the rear would need to be completely finished.  About one third of this derelict building had been nicely refurbished in order to house the incubator and I cannot adequately describe the condition of this rear courtyard without using the term “urban vacant lot”. 

This was approximately a half acre area covered with weeds, some waist high and filled with garbage, rocks, broken roof tiles, broken bottles, plumbing fixtures, syringes, you name it.  We left for the day assuming that first thing in the morning there would be weed-eaters working, enough dirt to cover the area closest to the building and plenty of manpower.

That evening our host family took us to a private session/concert performed by a band from Chișinău.  Apparently this doesn’t occur too often in our small town and the evening was surprisingly fun although we were out a little later than us old folks are used to.  We shared a wonderful bottle of wine with our hosts and posed for pictures enjoying a few shots of vodka chased by orange slices with our newfound friends.  Yes, I realized I was drinking vodka with men who speak Russian and I was careful not to overdo it, and Marilyn skiped the vodka altogether.

Wednesday we arrived to find some dirt, two men, one wheelbarrow, one shovel and one hoe and one rake.  We were informed that the entire courtyard would need to be cut down and covered with a layer of topsoil that day.  I grabbed a hoe, Marilyn grabbed a rake and we started clearing the area.  Have you ever cleared waist high, established weeds and grasses growing from hard, dry ground that has roof tile and broken pieces of concrete and glass embedded in the soil with a hoe?  I hope to never repeat the experience.

After about two hours, Victor brought us some gloves which we pulled on thankfully.  By noon, tired, sweaty, dirty and dehydrated we decided to break for lunch.  We had cleared about a sixth of the area and only because we had the assistance of Victor and another man who cleared some of the major garbage by hand or in some cases with an axe.  Before we left we were assured that a couple of men and a couple of hoes would arrive in the afternoon to help.

Back from a quick lunch of sarmale and french fries (and a liter of juice and a liter of water) we noticed a couple of new men with hoes and a shovel.  By four o’clock we had finished clearing the area and hauling the waste to the street and exhaustedly we returned to Marilyn’s office thinking our day was finished, the only thing left was to spread the new topsoil.  A half hour later I waved at the men who were moving the topsoil as they said good-bye and went to see the finished courtyard amazed that they were already done.

The courtyard was not finished and there were only two men working, one in his dress slacks, collared shirt and polished loafers.  I grabbed my gloves and returned to work outside while Marilyn started tackling windows inside.  This was hard to do since we both had already formed and shredded a couple of blisters on our hands.  Two and a half hard hours later we were nearly finished and one of the vice presidents of the Raion Council who had been working with us brought us placinta and beer.  The rest we were told would have to wait until morning.

We were so exhausted we could barely walk home, take a shower, eat a little soup and fall into bed.  The next morning came quickly as we stiffly dressed and headed to our offices.  My partner was surprised to see me and sent me back to the incubator to assist with the opening. 

After a bit of moving furniture and other last minute preparations, the prime minister and the EU ambassador arrived and the ceremonies commenced, to an audience of about 120 people. 

After the speeches the Prime Minister had an open session with the mayors and other important folks from the raion in the conference room, while the EU representative visited each of the businesses in the incubator.  Each business had a small glass of wine and something for him to taste…..are you getting the idea that food and wine are an important element of any celebration in Moldova?

Everything appeared to go well.  Marilyn and I met several important members of the community both local and national.  The lunch buffet was incredible and we headed home tired and happy.  That evening, as we were strolling down the main street of our little town the raion council president called to us from across the street.  He had a friend and consultant from Romania with him who spoke English and was able to translate and facilitate our conversation in which he expressed his goals for the raion, the projects he had planned and his hopes that we would be able to help him achieve them while thanking us for coming.  All in all, a very interesting first week in our new home.