Christmas in Chisinau

Our plans were to fly out very early on Sunday, December 26th, which meant Peggy and I would be spending Christmas together in Chisinau.

Spent the morning packing! And concerned that we were just not going to be able to get everything stuffed into our 4 suitcases. . . .

I had purchased a nifty scale at the Central Market so that I could weigh each of the bags, to make sure that they didn't weigh over the 23 kg allowance. . .

(When packing for the trip, I did not have such a scale. I would get on our bathroom scale, weigh myself. Then pick up the suitcase and weigh myself. Then subtract. To get a rough idea of how much my suitcases weighed. . . . )

We had wanted to go back to Mall-Dova to see Tangled in Russian again before we left Chisinau, but, the timing just did not work out for us on Christmas day as we had hoped.

It was such a beautiful day -- in the 60s! -- so we decided to spend time at Peggy's favorite playground (near the Flower Market). We had the playground to ourselves, and we were able to enjoy the free concert that was taking place on Stefan cel Mare while we played. We decided to have dinner at Andy's Pizza one last time.

We first went to the location on Banelescu Bodoni. Played at the playground there. But then Peggy asked if we could go to the Andy's Pizza that is in the Opera and Ballet Theater - which has an even bigger playground. So we headed another 2 blocks to that location. Again, we had the playground to ourselves.

It was so *muddy.* At one point I thought we were going to get stuck in the mud. I mean actually stuck in the mud. It was the stickiest, gloppiest mud I have ever experienced. When I expressed my disgust with the gloppy mess that was consuming our boots and threatening to keep us from dinner (or getting back to our apartment), Peggy said, "Mommy, don't be mad at the mud. Mud is just a part of life." True. But I am sure this sticky, gloppy, killer mud was the reason why we had the entire playground(s) to ourselves on such a mild and beautiful day in the middle of the winter.

After savouring our potato balls, pepperoni pizza, and caramel sundae, we headed home on Stefan cel Mare.

Much to my surprise, we saw MICKEY MOUSE?! I had to laugh. All of our presentations about "Christmas in Sunny Florida," each of which concluded with our descriptions of our favorite family Christmas tradition: WaltDisneyWorld. And here we were, on Stefan cel Mare in Chisinau, Moldova on Christmas, with Mickey Mouse. (And "Minnie," too)

We stopped in front of the Parliament Building to enjoy several more acts of the free concert before heading home.

It was sad to think that this would be our last concert on Stefan cel Mare, our last walk home, past the McDonalds and the street vendors. Our last time walking up those 4 flights of stairs to our apartment. It was strange feeling. We had been so busy trying to squeeze in as much as possible into our last few weeks in Moldova, that it hadn't really sunk in that we were leaving. It was a surreal ending to our Christmas in Chisinau.

Criminal Court Observation

Judge Orindas put us in touch with a judge on the criminal court: Judge Ecaterina Palanciuc. She was a dynamic young mother of two who impressed us with her knowledge of criminal law and procedure in Moldova.

The caseload for the judges was quite high in this courthouse as well: about 5,000 civil cases and about 1,000 criminal cases per year. As in the Economic Court, there were stacks of case files on every surface, desk, cabinet that we could see.

At this courthouse there are 18 judges, but only 15 are serving right now. (3 judges are on maternity leave; women can take up to 3 years to be home with their child with 20% salary.)

We very much appreciated the judge taking the time to talk to us about the kinds of cases that are heard in this courthouse (located in the Chisinau City Center) and learning more about criminal procedure, the judicial selection process, and continuing legal education/professional development in Moldova.

We were also able to observe a hearing in a case involving a police officer accused of accepting a 50 MDL bribe.

The prosecution presented the evidence and recommended 4 years of prison, 1,000 MDL fine, and suspension from the position for 2 years. (This seemed to us to be an exceptionally harsh penalty for a 50 MDL bribe, which is the equivalent of $4.) The defense attorney then made a presentation (from a prepared statement). The session that we observed was similar to closing arguments in a criminal trial in the U.S.

The next hearing was scheduled for the following Tuesday, at which time the defendant will have the opportunity to speak and the judge will make a final decision in the case.

At some point I would like to include an inquisitorial trial simulation in my Law and Politics class. This would add a comparative perspective to the course, and allow for students to compare the adversarial criminal trials they observe in Florida. (As a part of the Courtroom Observation Research Paper assignment, students observe criminal and civil trial and appellate proceedings in Florida and in federal courts. It would be good for my students to have a better understanding of how courts work, especially criminal procedure, in other parts of the world. I think it allows for a deeper understanding/appreciation of our adversarial system. Yet I had never had the opportunity to observe such proceedings myself. Just read about them. So this was an excellent learning opportunity for me, one that I will share with my students back at USF.

10 Random

This is a tribute to my dear friend John, who used to post "10 Random" observations in a "Note" on facebook every day. Here are 10 Random Observations about our daily life in Chisinau


1) We used fragranced toilet paper. (Sometimes it would smell like roses or green apples or peaches)

2) We did not have fitted sheets on our mattresses. We had a flat sheets on top and on the bottom. I found this to be annoying at first but actually got used to it rather quickly.

3) Orange cell phone stores were as ubiquitous in Chisinau City Center as CVS pharmacies are in Washington, DC. At least one on every block! Or so it seemed.

4) We did not use a dryer for our clothes. We had a new front-loading washing machine in our apartment, and we hung all of our clothes to dry (on a rack in the living room). Given the size of the washer, I did wash every couple of days. As soon as the clothes on the rack were dry, I would do another load. So we grew used to living with our laundry in the living room. (And I felt so "green"! Between not having a car, not using a dryer, washing and re-using our plastic baggies. . . In general we were much less wasteful. I am sure our carbon footprint must have decreased substantially while we were in Chisinau.)

5) It was fashionable for men to wear shoes with long, pointy toes. And for women to wear high heels. (the trend continued, even in snow and ice)

6) "Smoke" was often in the weather forecast, and sometimes when I brought my pantyhose in from the dryer rack on our balcony they would smell as if they were at a campfire.

7) There were huge selections of juice. Long aisles in grocery stores and convenience stores (alimentaras) with all sorts of delicious juices. All kinds of flavors that are just not available back home. All of which were packaged in cartons (not glass or plastic bottles.) There was one brand of strawberry juice that Peggy was crazy about. (Only one brand.) Despite the large selection at the Number One, you couldn't always count on a particular item being in stock every time you shopped. So, when I saw that juice, I would buy several cartons, even though I had to carry it a few blocks home and up 4 flights of stairs. . . .

8)All movies at the movie theaters are shown in Russian, event though Moldovan (Romanian) is the state language.

9) We loved all of the playgrounds in the City Center. I especially liked the "nautilus" playgrounds, with exercise equipment geared towards adults. In the beginning Peggy was frustrated that "no one spoke English," but she quickly adapted and would say "Hello" in Romanian and Russian and invite other kids to play on the see-saw with her. Families/Moms did not seem to interact with one another as they do back home. And I NEVER saw a child, when it was time to leave, resist in any way. (Other than Peggy.) In fact, I don't recall seeing any fussy children anywhere. I don't even remember seeing babies cry, though they must!

10) Speaking of babies, I saw some super-fancy strollers in the parks, but more often saw parents carrying their babies and toddlers down the street. Which is understandable, as there are so many stairs everywhere. (By the time we left, there were lots of parents giving their kids rides through the parks and down the street on sleds, which looked very cool. If we were going to be there longer, I definitely would have picked one up for Peggy at the Central Market.)

International Cooperation, continued

International Cooperation, continued

On Monday, I had gotten together at Roberts with several colleagues from ULIM. When we said Good Bye/La Revedere, we made plans to get together later in the week to have dinner.

We met at ULIM on Thursday after COB and walked to a French cafe on 31 August Str. On the way, we stopped to take photos at the grand Christmas tree in front of the Parliament Building. And, for the first time, Peggy and I took a photo with the mangy tiger who hung out around the Arch of Triumph that we passed so many times when en route to the playground. (Often sitting on a bench, with his tiger head off, smoking a cigarette. That naughty tiger!) In any case, he leapt into our photo, and I was happy to pay the 10 MDL to have him join us.

I had been to this French cafe a few times (they have great quiche!), but had never been upstairs. It turns out they have a playground as well as one of those paint-a-piece-of-pottery places upstairs. So Peggy was happily entertaining herself while I had one last visit with friends from ULIM. I truly feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such wonderful colleagues. I will miss ULIM!

At this point we were to leave Chisinau in 2 days. Which was still very hard to believe.

Final Course Meeting, Matricola!

Final Course Meeting, part 3