August 31, 2010

August 31 is also a holiday in Moldova--Language Day. On that day in 1989, the parliament, while the country was still officially a part of the USSR, made Romanian the official language in Moldova. Before then, Russian was dominant and the official language. The language battle apparently has been going on for years. Those who sponsored the change to Romanian are now regarded as national heros--by some--but not all.  Russian still dominates in a breakaway part of Moldova and even here in Chisinau, Russian shop managers tend to ignore you if you don't speak Russian. There are a number of tv channels is Russian that are popular as well as the ones in Romanian and you see both languages written in various parts of the city.
A street near to where I live is August 31 street, so you can see that the date is well known and promoted.

Actually, not much seemed to go on.  There was a performance by musicians and some honoring of people represented by statues in the park. People do seem to purchase flowers on this day--to take home or to put out on monuments.
 I've added a couple of photos--you can see the rainy day.

That's it for now.

I have added a link to the Fulbright information on Moldova

http://www.cies.org/country/moldova.htm

Also, FYI, while I am here in Moldova as a Fulbright scholar, my blog does not represent and is not endorsed by the CIES (Council for International Exchange of Scholars) that administers the Fulbright program for faculty scholars.

Moldova's Independence Day--August 27, 2010

Hello from Chisinau,

I've finally found an apartment that will be my home for the next four months. It is in the Embassy district and located about 5 minutes walk from the university--State University of Moldova, where I will be teaching.
Today is Independence day in Moldova. While the country has been indepedent several times in its history, it was a part of the USSR until the fall of the wall in 1991.  On August 27 of that year, the Parliament declared Moldova to be an indepedent republic and that is the basis of today's celebrations. Not unlike ours, there are political speeches, some bands and dance type performances and a festive fair atmosphere for a day off work for the people.  I'm including several photos for you to view.

The next few weeks are important politically for Moldova. There will be a vote on a referendum to change the constitution. Presently, the constitution requires 61/101 parliamentary votes for the parliament to elect a president.  The communist party and those agreeing to back it got to 60  votes but not 61.  The coalition parties got to about 53, but not 61.  therefore, no president is now in charge--only an interim president.
The referendum amend the Constituion to have the people, not the parliament, select the president.  You probably know that in many European countries, the parliament's majority party does select the President and even in Australia they're trying now to get a president, so this in not an isolated problem.
Anyway, the communist generally do not want direct elections and they hold 35-40 % of the vote, but that is not enough.  We'll see what happens.

Chisinau is a very eco-friendly spot--many, many trees all around the city. Other recycling practice are NOT  here yet.

The photos are a bit random, but I'm only here 4 days as of now and one day in my semi-permanent apartment. Th first 2 show some of the festival atmosphere, I am in # 3 with the stage in the background, 4 shows popcorn costs about $. 25 while 6 shows the little princesses are everywhere.

Hope you have a chance to see a little of my new surroundings.

Buna sera--good night!

Bill

McCarty's Moldova Moments

Welcome to my blog! I'm new at this, so I hope you'll be understanding as I get started on my new adventure--both as a blogger and as a soon to be resident of Moldova.

First, let me answer a few questions.

Q. I thought you were retired--what are you doing now?
A.  About a year ago, I was thinking about how much I enjoyed my stay in Tokyo in 1994 as a Fulbright 
      scholar. Soon after, I applied for a Fulbright in eastern Europe citing a contact I had in Prague at the
      Czech Republic. The Fulbright officer called and said while they could not place me in Prague, pobablby
      many applicants there, they could place me in Moldova's capital city, Chisinau (Key shi now). I talked to
      several people who had been there the year before and agreed to teach Business Ethics and International
      Business at Modlova State University's Economics Department (Business Management Department).


Q.  So, where is Moldova? 
A.  Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova emerged as an independent republic following the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The bulk of it, between the rivers Dniester and Prut, is made up of an area formerly known as Bessarabia. This territory was annexed by the USSR in 1940 following the carve-up of Romania in the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's USSR.

       It is northeast of Romania and south of the Ukraine. Historically, it has been a Republic for several   
       hundred years. More recently, it was a part of the Soviet Union until the "fall of the wall" and became
       independent again in 1991. Most of the people are Romainian, but there are also slavic people from the
       Ukraine and Russia.  The laguages are Romanian--based on Latin and most like Italian--and Russian.

Q.   Do you know those languages?
 A.  No, I do not. I'll try to pick up some parts of Romanian based on my long-ago study of Latin and
       Spanish, but I will teach in English.  Most students will know English, but a translator will be available for
       some students.

  Q.  O.K.--So when do you start sharing your Moldova Moments with us?
  A.  I'll arrive there on August 23rd and start classes a week or two later. I have a tempoary place to live 
        for a few days and will find an apartment during that time.  Once I get settled, I'll share my moments on
        this blog.

That's it for now!

La reverede (good-bye)