O imigranta din Moldova

One of the best things about this blog is getting e-mails from Moldovans who read it. Here is a slightly edited combination of two e-mails from a conversation with Victoria, a Moldovan immigrant to America.

Peter,

A friend of mine forwarded me your blog's address and I have enjoyed very much reading about your experiences in Moldova. Thank you for posting your thoughts and your realizations as you live the quotidian Moldovan life. So many people don't even know Moldova is a country, so many people don't even know about its harsh realities.

I was born and raised in Moldova and then moved to the United States about 4 years ago. Reading your blog takes me back there, seeing Moldova not through my Moldovan eyes anymore, but through the eyes of a Moldovan-American.

I was born in Chisinau and lived there for 16 years (in the suburban region Buiucanii Vechi). When I was 12, both my mother left for Greece and my father to Italy in search for jobs. I moved in with my grandmother and my aunt's family. While being abroad, my parents divorced and my mother met her second husband in Greece. It so happened that this man was Greek, but also a naturalized American citizen. He lived in America, but spent summers in Greece, where he met and married my mother. They moved to America and then they brought me here as well. I have lived in South Carolina since then. [I]t is my 4th year that I live in the US, and I haven't been back to MD yet.

I was 16 when I came here, and it was such a culture shock. Coming from a background of raising goats, planting our own food in the garden, not having running water, and having an outhouse instead of a toilet—America seemed to be a wonderland.

The first thing that I said when getting off the plane in America was: "Wow, the roads are so straight and shiny!" :)

There are so many differences [between] MD and USA. People here consume so much, because there are so many products available (any shape, color, smell, composition, etc). Everyone buys. Everyone lists "shopping" as a favorite activity. In Moldova I had 1 pair of shoes that I wore all year round. I have 12 pairs of shoes now.

This makes Americans take many things for granted. People don't enjoy the little things in life anymore, they all seem to want the large-screen TV, and the biggest SUVs.

What I love about America is that it pardons mistakes and [applauds] successes. American children are always encouraged to succeed and to do their best. In Moldova, more energy is geared towards punishing failures than towards rewarding successes.

Another major difference: in an American school, the student is encouraged to think instead of memorize; to think critically, instead of accepting what one is told; to earn the grades through knowledge, and not through a bribe. My academic experiences in Moldova were limited to memorizing, regurgitating, and bringing "cadouri" [presents] for the professors.

Another major difference is the open-mindedness and the lack of it in Moldova. I can talk with my physics professor about menstruation or with my female boss about sex , I can blame the government for everything, and I can ask for fashion advice from the many openly gay classmates that I have. In Moldova, no one in my family/friends circle ever talked about such things. As for the gay community in Moldova, there probably won't be one for a long time, because the society is not ready yet.

I wish I could write a bit more. But I must run.

Numai bine,
Victoria