Travel to Moldova

The best flight option we found was to fly out of Orlando. That way Peggy and I could fly from Orlando to Frankfurt. Then Frankfurt to Chisinau. And deal with only one layover. (Flights out of Tampa include at least one additional stop at a US "gateway" airport.)

This, of course, meant that one last trip to Magic Kingdom was in order before we left. We stayed at the Port Orleans, which is our favorite WDW resort (great pool, live music, etc.) and enjoyed a visit to the Magic Kingdom on Friday evening and Saturday morning. (Magic Kingdom "magic hours" for resort guests: open till 3 AM on Friday. Sadly, I was so exhausted from working around the clock to finish up a project for work and getting ready for the trip that there was no way I was in a position to take advantage of the extra "magic hours." The hours we did have there were magical, and it was great to get in one last family vacation before the "big adventure."

We hadn't flown out of Orlando since we were looking for a non-stop flight to Albany a few years ago. We enjoyed our last dinner together at the food court by dining on Peggy's favorite: Orange Chicken. I saved my fortune from my cookie, which read: "YOU THRIVE ON ADVENTURE, TRY SOMETHING NEW." When I have my desk set up in Chisinau, this will be on it.

Both flights were on time and quite enjoyable. Peggy loved the Disney movies she could watch on her own monitor. (Apparently a little advance work would have saved me from shlepping the DVD player and DVDs on the plane. . .) And we had dinner as well as breakfast on the flight to Germany, and then dinner on the flight to Chisinau. Peggy loved the little dishes. We both were blown away by the quality of the meals. Our recent US flights have not included even a bag of peanuts, so we felt like we were flying first class!

Mindset List, Class of 2013

Each year, Beloit College comes out with its popular Mindset List. On the list for the Class of 2013, most of whom were born in 1991, #38 is "Belarus, MOLDOVA, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations."

GUSTAR --- ethno music festival

T Minus 9 Days

It's been a whirlwind of activity here as I try to make all final preparations for the trip. I signed our lease. I am working with Peggy's school to pay tuition, arrange for transportation. (I just learned today that there will be a van service to take students from the city center to the new school location. That is a load off my mind!) I have assembled all materials for the courses I will be teaching at ULIM. I've sent boxes of academic materials to my address at the Embassy via diplomatic pouch. Thanks to internet shopping, I have acquired winter boots, hats, mittens, coats for Peggy. (photo attached: Peggy trying on the new winter gear in 90+ humidity in our backyard in Madeira Beach!) And I finally got to our storage area so I could retrieve MY winter coats/hats/gloves. Some of you will remember the "chocolate monster/chocolate eskimo" (the LLBean full-length brown down coat) that was battle tested in the trenches that were the NH presidential primary of 2000 (and has since returned to NH for the 2004 and 2008 primaries). Now, it is heading to Moldova! Friends have let me borrow their large suitcases (thanks Chloe, LeaAnn, Naomi), and our living room is a disaster area, as I try to get things packed and ready to go.

Apartment!

Thanks to the help of Glemus (and Lorraine's referral!) we have found the perfect apartment in Chisinau! It is in the heart of the city center -- and our balcony overlooks a park and ULIM (the university where I will be teaching).

Skype!

I just enhanced my Skype account so that I can make unlimited calls to US landlines and cell phones.

I also created a US telephone number that you can use to reach me when I am logged into Skype. Please message me, and I will send you my new phone number.

And, please add me as a contact if you have a Skype account.

(FYI I will be disconnecting my cell phone while I am overseas.)

Another FYI. I will be 7 hours ahead of Eastern time.

Fulbright Orientation

I recently attended a 3-day Fulbright orientation in Washington, DC.

I booked the first flight to arrive in DC and the last flight out of DC on the conference days (at the time of booking I did not know the meeting schedule). This meant that I arrived with a couple of hours to spare before the Orientation was in full swing. I used the time to stop by the Lucas/Spielberg Rockwell exhibit at the Portrait Gallery and the Albright "Read My Pins" exhibit at the Smithsonian Castle and to enjoy a delicious lunch at the National Gallery of Art.

Lots of great substantive and administrative information at the many briefings.

Fulbright is sending the largest delegation ever to Moldova this year: 10 scholars and ETAs. We had 3 break-out sessions with scholars returning from and leaving for Moldova. These were especially helpful. We could ask all sorts of (idiosyncratic) logistical questions answered in a small-group setting. (e.g., Q: Can I get soy milk for Peggy? A: Yes, likely at the French grocery store, LaFourchette at MallDova -- and American-style mall, complete with foodcourt (with McDonalds, KFC, and Sbarros) and a movie theater)

I also found the Regional Experts Session to be especially informative. I was in the "Eurasia" briefing, for those traveling to Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, and Moldova.

The briefing about our health benefits was sobering, to say the least (e.g., our benefits include $10,000 to cover the costs of shipping our dead body back home). However,this was all very important information that one needs to be aware of and to prepare for before an actual emergency strikes. (Needless to say, I have already purchased Peggy's supplemental travel medical coverage. The presentation definitely put the fear of God in me. I will also buy the supplemental coverage for me, if I leave Moldova during my assignment, and I will buy it for Ramsay when he comes to visit. I have never purchased travel insurance for any of the international (or domestic) trips that I have taken. Apparently I need to thank my lucky stars that nothing ever went horribly wrong.)

Other sessions about grant administration included helpful nuts and bolts information/tips. I also appreciated the session on social networking and State Dept alumni resources. (I will be getting a fulbrightmail email address!) I had already created my blog before the Orientation; fortunately, all my posts have been within the commonsense guidelines.

Before I left DC, I was able to stop by the Moldovan Embassy. It was just north of Dupont Circle. I was greeted by Tudor, who was able to answer all of my questions about the upcoming referendum election and about the various political parties in Moldova. Turns out he is an ULIM alum (the university where I will be teaching) and while a student there he wrote a paper comparing the Moldovan Constitutional Court with the US Supreme Court.