Thread: Moldovan, anyone?

No, really?

Niamh, I have been in a similar situation (applying for volunteer work in another country). I applied the "golden rule" : get contact details (email is easiest) of former volunteers and get a report from them on the experience. If you can't do that, it's simply not safe to go, in my opinion (I don't mean so much that you're in danger, more that the experience might be nothing like what is promised).
If the outfit is legit in every sense, then they will be happy to provide those details.
Удачи!

Originally Posted by Niamh

How did you know? Are they well known? Are they going to steal my money and sell me as a sex slave to a Bottajikwangostanian hermaphrodite?

No, I've never heard about them before. I stumbled across their site while searching for some more info about Hincesti. If what is written there is true, then they are doing a great job. But you better listen to Waxwing's advice and ask someone who has already been there. On the site it is said 600 people have participated in the volunteer program for the past 4 years.
How did you know about them at all?

How'd I know about them? - I didn't till Wednesday night when I was walking into my room and The Ma had left newspapers outside and the "Volunteers Required" sign caught my eye. Then I saw Moldova and I was like Booya! So I went to their meeting yesterday and it all seems rather great- there were lots of those who had previously attended going and other peoples' info will be sent during the next week.
Triton..... they said that Moldova is the second poorest country in the world now and that over a third of your population has left. How really is it all for you? Hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you?

My friend who is studying Romanian and who has spent much time in Romania says that Romanians look down of Moldovans.... maybe how the British look down on the Irish

I saw a documentary on TV about Moldova. The head of the police force didn't even have a computer. It was about how when young Moldovans reach adulthood, they go to Romania or further West. It was mainly about the girls that get taken to ruch Western countries like the UK to work as prositutes.

My friend left from Moldova and she never wants to go back. She said it's not good there. She said that it's not uncommon for the hot water to stop in the whole city.(meaning no more hot water for a while).

But isnt it like that in all of russia? I heard there's no hot water all summer.

No, not all summer! That would really be smelly.
It's a few weeks. And you can be clever and get a gas-fired boiler, of course

Originally Posted by waxwing

No, not all summer! That would really be smelly.
It's a few weeks. And you can be clever and get a gas-fired boiler, of course :)

Depends on town/district, one time in one of our town district there was no hot water for almost a half a year. And you can't just get a gas-fired boiler in a many-storied building. In most cases it's just impossible because of exhaust ventilation. In one-story house you can get it but you need to order a project first. But you can buy an electric heater.

Originally Posted by Niamh

they said that Moldova is the second poorest country in the world now

Hmm, I’m not sure about that. I think Georgia and Armenia are as poor, maybe even poorer. And then there are so many poor countries in Africa. But Moldova is definitely one of the poorest in Europe.

over a third of your population has left

Yeah, lots of people have emigrated. Before independence there were 4,5 million people in Moldova. According to the last census, now there are only 3 million, of which about 1 million work abroad (most of them illegally).

Originally Posted by Евгения Белякова

My friend left from Moldova and she never wants to go back. She said it's not good there. She said that it's not uncommon for the hot water to stop in the whole city.(meaning no more hot water for a while).

You friend was probably from Chisinau, cos that’s the only place were hot water supply system still exists. In the rest of the country there’s simply no hot water at all. In my town it was cut off 6 years ago.

...

...

Originally Posted by waxwing

No, not all summer! That would really be smelly.
It's a few weeks.

In Дзержинск last year hot water was turned off in the end of May and turned on in late October. For some people it is not a problem at all because they get hot water from personal gas boilers, not from central system. For others (including myself) it is a big problem. However there are workarounds, electric water heater for an instance. Or баня . Or both.

Originally Posted by waxwing

And you can be clever and get a gas-fired boiler, of course

Gas boiler cannot be installed at will.
There are two types of buildings. The first one (older houses) has no connection to central hot water system (since central system didn't exist at the time they were built), so gas boilers are installed in each flat from the beginning. The second one (built later) is connected to central system and has no preinstalled gas boilers and no infrastructure to support them.

Well, I didn't know that.
In Stavropol last year it was only a few weeks, I guess they must just be lucky down there or something
But I had a gas boiler, actually it was a multistorey building. And it wasn't exactly luxury either
True enough, there are workarounds. Hey, amazingly, the human race survived without hot showers for thousands of years

I've known about 2-3 weeks without hot water only after I came to Moscow from Ural . In my town, however remote it would be, a majority of new block houses had their separate gas boilers in the flats. There were wooden houses without any water pipes in my town, and very bad brick and block houses, but nevertheless... I thought a moderately new house has the advantage of being supplyed with hot water any time of the year.

The same may be said about "communal appartements". I thought it was a history by the beginning of 80-s, but then I knew I was wrong .

Yep, my friend is from Kishinev. Her whole family. My papa however was from a village near the border of Ukraine I THINK.

Triton, what is your native language? My friend said that if she stayed in Moldova she would be fluent in Romanian and her native Russian(of course). What did you speak in school?

Triton, what is your native language?

Russian.

What did you speak in school?

Russian.

My friend said that if she stayed in Moldova she would be fluent in Romanian and her native Russian(of course).

Well, I don't know... Most Russian-speakers here don't speak Romanian. But maybe it's different with younger generation, especially in Kishinev... But I'm in some doubt about this.

Can you speak Romanian too? In Moldova is it better to know both? Or is it okay with just Russian? Что лучше?

Can you speak Romanian too?

Not really. But I understand it.

In Moldova is it better to know both? Or is it okay with just Russian? Что лучше?

Knowing both languages is a great advantage (especially when applying for a job). In everyday life knowing only Russian is enough in most cases. In fact, you will probably encounter more difficulties if you speak only Romanian, because, as I said, most Russian speakers don't know it. В общем, лучше знать оба языка.

Originally Posted by Triton

Can you speak Romanian too?

Not really. But I understand it.
[quote:2477s31e]In Moldova is it better to know both? Or is it okay with just Russian? Что лучше?

Knowing both languages is a great advantage (especially when applying for a job). In everyday life knowing only Russian is enough in most cases. In fact, you will probably encounter more difficulties if you speak only Romanian, because, as I said, most Russian speakers don't know it. В общем, лучше знать оба языка. [/quote:2477s31e]

It's the same in places like Ukraine and Belarus'.
It's harder to find a native Ukrainian speaker who doesn't speak russian, than it is to find a native Russian speaker who doesn't speak Ukrainian.
Yanukovych only learnt Ukrainian when he became Prime Mininister.