The Reality of What Is

Today is June 16, 2010. It is approximately 5:45 pm. I have just finished my third day of technical training. I am stationed in a small town south of the Moldovan capitol of Chisinau, pronounced and incorrectly transcribed as “keesh-now.” I have a small room with a traditionally aged bed with as much genuine character as can possibly be had. My window overlooks the next door neighbor’s personal garden with dimensions of about 60ft. X 20ft. In these gardens are carefully grown necessities such as corn, cucumbers, dill, onions, potatoes, green onions, garlic, chamomile, mint, Melissa (herb for tea), and various other necessary plants. The one crop that I never get bored of seeing or taking of the bountiful plenty that it offers is the cherry tree. The cherry trees in Moldova and other parts of Eastern Europe have a classification of cherry trees that splits them into two basic categories based on skin color, meat color, and tart. When I get better at this classification, I will definitely share it with you. Other than the cherry, the grape is used in multiple ways for juice, jelly, and no doubt for wine.
The family that I am living with has put up with so much of my American interests. I am not so sure how they keep their head on straight. I have a lot of questions and many more comparison-contrast constructs than I know how to do with.
Returning to my bedroom, my family has been kind enough to set me up with a television, a personal refrigerator, a desk at which I am typing this post, and three cabinets of which I am trying not to scratch. The emphasis that my family puts on cleanliness, orders and rules is immense and I am very grateful for their adherence to cultural tradition in the face of the foreign diversity that I bring. They are the most tolerant, warm and interesting people that I have met in a very long time. I have amenities here in Moldova that I am not sure I would have had in the states. I am really falling in love with this Moldovan town.