Our walk back from our real estate agent (after having signed our lease)

Travel to Moldova, cont

Getting our passports checked and our luggage going through Customs was surprisingly easy and quick. We were expecting to be picked up by a driver from our real estate agent. After about a half an hour, a taxi stand staffer graciously let me use her cell phone to call the agency. They said they were not expecting me until the 28th (?!) and that they would call me right back with a plan. Again, this unknown staffer with a cell phone received the call. The instructions were to get a taxi and meet at the address of the apartment.

We managed to get our luggage out to the curb, and a nice driver with a van took us to our apartment. (And he took USD, so that was good.)

As soon as we were situated in the van, Peggy said: "Mommy, when does our adventure begin?" I said, "It begins NOW!" I reached in my purse to pull our my camera, and then leaned over to her -- to find her zonked out. That is definitely a record.

So, I was alone, taking in the scenery from the airport to the city center. I loved all the campaign billboards, and I soon hope to be familiar with the parties and the prospective presidential candidates. (Do not take the photo included in this blog as an endorsement of any political party or candidate. It's just that was the only one where we slowed down long enough for me to get a photo.)

We arrived at the apartment, and my driver started lugging the suitcases up to the 5th floor apartment. After the 2nd trip, our agent told him not to carry any more bags upstairs. It turns out that the owner of the apartment sold it and changed the locks.

While he was on his cell phone trying to find a solution, Peggy was able to play on the "ice cream cone playground," which she was looking forward to from the pictures. I took this one (blurry) photo - and then a security guard cautioned me not to take any photos of the hotel. I assured him I was only taking a photo of my daughter on the playground, and quickly put the camera away. Perhaps at some point, I will learn more about the purpose of the security guards who sit near the entrance of the (adjascent?) building.

We were shown 2 apartments that could be temporary, while we looked for a new place to stay. Each was "lovely" (Peggy's words), but we chose the one that was near ULIM and the building of the original apartment.

Peggy watched cartoons while I got organized and later got online to skype with Ramsay and let him know we arrived safely (and about the snafu with the original apartment and that we were in a safe place). (We loved it so much, neither Peggy nor I wanted to leave.)

The next morning we awoke to a call from the agent -- with plans to get us our luggage and to show us a new apartment. We looked at one in the building in which we were planning to rent. Everything was newly remodeled - in fact, so much so, that it is not quite ready. We decided to take it and move in right away, just so we could get settled and unpacked. We are waiting on the new oven to be installed, the cable and internet to be turned on, my bed and armoire and computer desk, etc, etc to arrive.

The owner and her son have been terrific. The apartment is perfect. I am especially fond of the gas stove, the dish washer, and the frontloading washing machine. All of Peggy's things are unpacked. And she was having fun with her toys as I was unpacking and putting away as much as I could, including the empty suitcases. The only thing left in suitcases are my clothes (awaiting armoire) and my books (awaiting computer desk/work station). Already it feels like home. I will share more about the apartment, including photos.

Travel to Moldova, cont.

We had a 4-hour layover in Frankfurt. In the interests of time (and getting Peggy to eat lunch), we ordered a Happy Meal at McDonalds. (Don't scold me.) Peggy enjoyed her Capri Sonne and I got a kick out of the Ich Liebe Es on my latte cup. (It was actually a good latte) And we had a nice view of the airplanes taking off. Peggy thought it looked like we were still in Florida. It did, in a way, but if one looked off in the distance, one could see mountains/hills -- which we definitely don't see in Florida. Especially not in MadBch - where we might be one foot above sea level. (Or not)

We did not use a jetway to get to the plane to Chisinau. We boarded a bus, which seemed to drive for miles and miles to get to our plane on the tarmac. This gave us the opporunity to meet a young Moldovan soldier and his wife, who were returning from Ft Bragg. He was stationed there for 7 months, special forces training. I told him I lived there (in utero) when my parents were stationed there, before my Dad was sent to Vietnam. And his wife is an ULIM alum. Small world!

We were so excited when we started to land in Moldova. What beautiful countryside. So full of anticipation!

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.