Every picture tells a story. Can you guess what this one is telling you?
As you can see, it shows two shops, which are next to the traffic circle in Ialoveni, where Champa and I are serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. The yellow sign with the numbers shows
the latest exchange rates for the Moldovan leu relative to the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Russian ruble and other currencies. The dollar has now slipped well below 17, continuing a slow descent I’ve discussed previously.
But something else is going on here, too. Look more carefully above the open door of the shop on the left. There’s a blue sign saying “Lucru legal în Europa!” In Romanian, that means “Work legally in Europe!”
It’s no coincidence this sign is adjacent to one showing exchange rates. In fact, it’s key to understanding the deeper meaning of the photo. It’s like the MoneyGram sign across the street, which says “transfer de bani,” or money transfer, or the Western Union sign up the block.
Everywhere you look in Moldova, banks and shops offer to transfer and exchange money. They are so ubiquitous, in fact, that you barely notice them after awhile, just like the fast food joints that cover our landscape back home.
In the above photo in Moldova’s capital, Chișinău, there’s not only the shop with the red “Schimb Valutar” and “Exchange” signs but another one further up the block. Look carefully; it’s there. There are even more shops and signs as you get closer to places with lots of travelers, like the central bus station.
Moldova gets few foreign tourists, so the shops aren’t looking primarily to attract them. Nor are there many Moldovan tourists looking to buy Euros or dollars before heading on vacations in the other direction.
No, all of this is a reminder of how many Moldovans have left their homeland to work abroad — especially in Western Europe but also in Russia and other eastern countries, as well as in the United States, Israel and elsewhere. As I’ve described previously, many of them must leave behind spouses and children, a story we hear again and again when we talk with our Moldovan friends.
When these foreign workers come home to visit, they often bring much of their earnings with them, or they may send money home with a trusted friend. Many also rely on banks and money transfer companies, comparing the fees, exchange rates and service to get the best deal.
India and China, with their huge populations, are the world’s top “remittance-receiving” countries in overall dollars, followed by Philippines and Mexico. When calculated on a per capita basis or as a percentage of GDP, however, Moldova’s foreign workers are among the world’s leaders, as illustrated in the graph above, which is based on World Bank data. (I could not find a graphic with more recent data but there’s no doubt Moldova is still high on the list.)
Just like back home, much of this industry has moved online, for paying bills as well as for transferring and exchanging money. In fact, when I glanced last week at this yellow kiosk in the entrance to our local Market Victoria, I was startled to see bitcoin now listed as one of the options.
You can certainly find money-exchange shops in the United States, too, especially in places with lots of foreign-born workers. I must have walked obliviously past the Western Union sign at my Harris-Teeter supermarket in Durham dozens of times until I needed to send money to someone in China. Then I noticed it. Every picture tells a story when you’re finally ready to see it.
My niece, Juliana, will be enrolling this fall at 
There are also excellent 
My favorite writer covering this field is Nancy Collamer (my sister), whose “My Lifestyle Career” site and recent 
For the next five months, Champa and I will remain focused on the rest of our Peace Corps service. Here, too, plentiful online resources exist to motivate us. Not long ago, one RPCV group selected the 
(Thanks, Friends & RPCVs of Guyana!)
On Tuesday afternoon, her words broke hearts again, this time among members of my weekly English conversation class. We read sections of the article aloud, listened to part of the podcast and then listened to another “Modern Love” podcast about how a woman dealt with her husband’s mid-life crisis.
I originally planned the class as a more conventional book club, where we might read Harry Potter novels or other full-length works likely to appeal to Moldovan readers. When I spoke with a Moldovan friend who runs an English-language center, however, he warned me students wouldn’t have enough time to read the books, which would also be expensive for them to buy. 
Our discussion about the Gawande article, for instance, led to a great conversation about how our two cultures handle death, not only in medical settings but more generally.
Students from Ialoveni’s School of Art, upstairs from the library, are painting the room with an original mural featuring characters from national children’s stories.
“We want to offer mothers and families the chance to meet, have fun and learn something new. We also hope they will explore the library while they’re here and borrow some books or sign up for our free programs, from learning English to making simple animated movies.”
Everyone’s name was placed in a hat, with the three married couples each listed together. As people’s names were called, they selected one of the available departure slots on a large calendar.
Ours were among the first names called. We chose an early date because we plan to take a two-week trip with some friends and then head home to reoccupy our house in North Carolina, which will be vacated shortly before then by our tenants. 
Many of our fellow M31 volunteers are also planning COS trips, a tradition among departing volunteers worldwide. Some members of our group need to return home quickly to begin jobs or graduate school. One just accepted a new Peace Corps assignment in Tonga.
The same is true here in Moldova, even though the whole country is only slightly larger than Maryland. This past weekend, Champa and I were reminded of this when we visited Comrat, a small city that is the capital of Moldova’s autonomous region of 
To the contrary, many have unhappy memories of Romanian rule.
It was my latest reminder that even though Dr. King is a hero of mine and many other Americans, our country is not the center of the universe, as much as we might like to think otherwise. To be sure, Dr. King is known and honored in many parts of the world, which is richly deserved, but people everywhere generally care most about their own lives and communities.
A few days ago, a friend back home wrote to ask whether Moldovan newspapers were coming up with their own phrases for “shithole.” I was sorry to disappoint him: Not a single Moldovan friend has mentioned the recent controversy to me. Keep in mind that I work with librarians and other friends who are well-educated. Undoubtedly some Moldovans have been following the controversy, but the ones I know don’t care about American politics unless it affects them personally, which it rarely does. At least they know where America is, which is more than most Americans know about Moldova.
Fair enough, and I certainly understand why so many Americans love visiting London or Paris, since I enjoyed these cities, too. Even these tourists are more adventurous than Americans who won’t venture further than a summer beach house. Moreover, millions of Americans lack the resources to do even that and can only dream of foreign adventures. I know how lucky Champa and I have been to pursue our lifelong passion for travel.
We also had a plate of Romanian cookies and American Oreos, which we found in a store in Bucharest.
Our host family generously invited us to join two Christmas feasts this weekend, together with their niece and the couple you see here. That’s Liviu in the green jacket showing us a pickled tomato and watermelon with our host dad, Mihai. Viorica sang several songs after dinner, with the voice of an angel, as you can hear in the brief video below, with Nina continuing to bring out more food for us.
"Not Exactly Retired" 