Greetings from exchange student

My name is Brian Fenoglio. As you may or may not know, I left in June of this year for Moldova to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. It's now five-and-a-half months later and I thought it about time for an update for you all.

I arrived here in Moldova on June 6 and my training began immediately afterward. I spent 10 weeks living and training in the village north of Chisinau, the capitol city. I moved in with a lovely family in my village that I quickly came to love as much as my own family. Training started with learning about the Moldovan educational system and learning Romanian. Training was long and intense-six days a week, but paid off immensely, as after 10 weeks, I passed my language assessment with an intermediate-mid rank.

After training, I was placed in a city about an hour north of the capitol, Orhei. I currently live in a soviet-style apartment building with a host mother and sister who routinely make me smile, laugh and uplift my life in general. I teach English in one of the best high schools in the country for 18 hours a week; I have five classes of 10th grade and one of 11th. Most days, I enjoy my job and my kids frequently surprise me with their intelligence, passion and compassion. I am most proud of one of my 10th graders, Sergiu. He is applying to be a foreign exchange student in America and has passed the first and second rounds. He gave me great honor by asking me to write a reference for him (the third round).

Beyond my job, my life generally consists of playing volleyball with Moldovans, visiting with friends (both Moldovan and American), and continuing my studies in Romanian. By next year, I'm hoping my Romanian is good enough that I can achieve advanced-mid and start learning Russian. I'm also contemplating sitting in on a German class (our school offers five foreign languages).

In short, my five-and-a-half months here have only reaffirmed my faith in humanity. Most people here (as I believe is true in most of the world) have wonderful hearts. It is so beautiful to find such compassion and sincerity in the poorest nation in Europe.

Now, I feel compelled to challenge each and every one of you who read this. I have chosen to donate two years of my life to try to make this world a kinder and more humane place. I challenge you to do the same. Not to donate two years, but to think the next time you reach into your pocket to purchase some unnecessary luxury about a better way that you can serve your fellow human. To think the next time you see some act motivated by hate or greed, "How can I make this better?" To try to understand your brothers and sisters, instead of dismissing them when you disagree. To remove the negative from your hearts and minds and replace them with the compassion that will inevitably lead us to a better, more loving world. I desperately want to change the world for the better, but we are in this together and I simply cannot do it without you.

Pace, Iubire, si Fericire (Peace, Love and Happiness)

E-mail this Article

View Article Source

Make a Comment