Summer is Coming to an End

by Beth Ogden, posted in Life and Such, Peace Corps
Outside the town library one day after English Club

We’re approaching the end of summer here in Moldova.  Next week, along with all of my fellow M31 volunteers, I have my mid-service conference (we’re past the mid-way point of our service!).  Next Friday, my sister is arriving for a week-long visit in Moldova, and the following Friday is our first day of school!

The weather has continued to be sweltering hot, but today is significantly cooler!  It looks like the rest of the week will be close to or below 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which is welcome after several weeks of 95 degree plus weather (including one day that reached 104 degrees!).  Today is a rainy, cool day and it feels a bit like fall.  I even wore a jacket on my way to my school this morning!

Yesterday was a beautiful clear day and I enjoyed a nice breakfast outside.

As school approaches, our grant project at the school is in full swing.  The walls and ceiling are in the process of being refinished and painted (they are plaster) and the floors are getting painted this week as well.  Then the furniture will go in, hopefully this week or next, and we can get our new technology installed and new and old books on the shelves!  I’m very excited to see it all come together!  I was a little worried it wouldn’t be completed before September 1st, but it looks like it might make it!

Behind those piles of dirt are 4-foot deep trenches for piping!

At the same time as the school library renovations are happening, there is also a bunch of other construction going on at my school.  My school was awarded a large grant (I wasn’t involved in this one) to get indoor toilets.  This is quite the project, as huge trenches have to be dug outside to put in pipes for water and waste, and a sewage system has to be installed, plus the actual bathrooms have to be built and outfitted.  Currently, it’s a maze to get into the school building due to all the trenches out front and to the sides.  The school has been working towards this project for a long time though, so I’m excited it’s happening!

I have two more weeks left of summer vacation, but I know they will fly by.  Between grant purchases and installation, summer English clubs, our mid-service conference, and my sister’s visit, I’ll be plenty busy!