Russian what?

So far I'm still enjoying the Moldovan life. The weather has done a good job of keeping the temperature sub-zero; but I've made my peace with that. There are more important things at hand than how cold it is; is what I tell myself. The kids have been a blast to work with. All of them are smart, but I have been blown away by just how smart a few of them really are. At this point I can almost have a full conversation with a couple of them, which is awesome. Although, a lot of the time it's hard to get anywhere because all the kids want to see and hear about my tattoos. I'll be up at the front, writing something on the board, when all of a sudden I'm swarmed by a bunch of kids ripping back my sleeves, pulling my shirt in all kinds of directions to catch a glimpse of a tattoo. I found out about tattoos here when I first came to Moldova this past summer.  Apparently, the "art form" is seen a little differently in this culture. Everyone assumes you've been to prison. For something really, really bad. So the first time the kids saw mine popping out of my sleeve, I had some explaining to do. When they found out that I hadn't been to prison, and that I was not dangerous, I was mobbed by the whole class; so that they could all come and get a better look. So, I still get mobbed at least once during every period. In the adult class, the students seem to have found a way to restrain themselves from doing the same thing. The adult class is going really well. Those guys really have a desire to learn the language, so they are doing awesome. I'll have them get up and practice with each other in front of everyone, and they are able to have a legitimate conversation in English for probably 5+ minutes; it's amazing.

I started teaching in Chisinau, the capital city, yesterday. There is a large storage room in the NewHope offices, that my buddy Mihai and I have been working on clearing out for the past couple weeks. The place was packed, floor to ceiling, with all kinds of stuff. Mostly different donations from all over the world, that would soon be delivered to different orphanages all over the country. We finally finished that task last Saturday. Since I've been out in Orhei, the guys back at the office cleaned up the room, hung cool posters up everywhere, brought in 30 chairs, put up a whiteboard, and installed new fluorescent lights. The place looks incredible. I hopped on a bus to Chisinau yesterday morning and had my first lesson there in that room yesterday with about twenty local kids. This group is actually made up of teenagers from different public schools in the area, not orphanages. They're not as wild and reckless as the orphans, but they are still a lot of fun to be with. Classes with them will also be a lot different, considering that many of them already have a basic foundation of English. It looks like I'll have to develop some serious lessons too - It's easier when they don't know anything, because you can teach them anything and it's considered progress, you know? Haha. Also, with their basics of English, and my basics of Romanian, we are able to mix the languages and converse back and forth without any problems, which definitely makes a difference. 

So Friday evening, after my lesson with the adults, the class was heading to a local gym to play volleyball and they invited me. I'm glad I said yes, we had a blast. Everybody was terrible. At the end of the game, the guys asked me if I wanted to go with them to a Russian Bath house the following night. Not going to lie, I had my own thoughts about the idea; thoughts strong enough for me to say, "No thanks, see ya Monday!" Haha. After a few minutes of them convincing me it was nothing like the Greek Bath house I had heard about in school, or any bath house I've ever heard about, I said OK.   - Last night I went to a Russian Bath house with a bunch of dudes.  -  Turns out, it was actually really cool; and swimsuits are worn. We went as a group of eight and had the place to ourselves. The "house" consisted of an area for hanging out and eating, a sauna, a deep tub of ice cold water, some showers, and a billiards room upstairs. After that sauna, I don't know if my body will ever be the same. The place was an inferno. The guys said, "Moldavian man no problem sauna. USA afraid of Moldavian sauna." I don't know where they got that statistic, all I know is I had to stay in the sauna haha. You couldn't even open your eyes it was so hot. I don't know what that means. I've never experienced that before. The whole time we were inside, I had the feeling that there was no way that kind of heat could be beneficial for the human body. So, in an effort to counteract the damage, and maybe even to preserve the life of my future children, I was the only one to jump into and stay in the ice water tub. The guys said they were too afraid to get into the cold water - "USA man no problem cold water", I said. Over all, it was a good time! I'd go back for sure. 

Stay posted for what's next!

Love And Be Loved