Wine at 11am and Russian lessons

Vachyslav Gregorovich and his son Serge brought us to the large old cemetary where Vachyslav's parents are buried (Serge's babushka y deodushka) and a few other friends. It was gorgeous, and we helped clean off the graves and put new flowers there. It was really a beautiful moment with the family.

Then, they took us into town and on our way to the National History Museum, they saw a local wine-tasting bar and said, come let's go and have a little wine (chut, chut - just a little). So, I got a wee bit drunk on delicious Moldavian wine at 11 o'clock in the morning! Hilarious! It was really very delicious.

Last night, quite late, once it finally cooled down, Vachyslav Gregorovich wanted to go for a walk and he wanted me to come with him. So, I went. He wants me to carry two watermelons home from the bazaar, so, I carry them. It reminds me completely of living with Aamaa in Nepal - I become who they want me to be.....and it's a blast.

Anyhoo, he and I went for a long, long walk late at night in the cool air and he taught me Russian. From a week ago when I knew maybe two words of Russian (niet, da - no, yes), I know many, many more now. Can't have much of a conversation, but can at least follow along fairly well while listening (hand gestures and facial expressions make this easier by a long shot), and I can say a bunch of stuff too now. It's delightful learning a new language. The ONLY way to do this, of course, is by immersion, and that's what Carolinka and I have been experiencing these last few (two? a year?) days in Kishinev, Moldova - true immersion.

What can I say? Connections with people happen all over the world, sometimes over the simplest things, and it is quite possibly the most delicious thing ever.

Seeing Vachyslav Gregorovich and his son pray and thank their ancestors this morning felt like we had come full circle with this trip of ancestral pilgrimmage. I cried quietly while they prayed. It was perfect.

Carolinka and I are flying to Bucharest tonight where we have a room at a hostel and she will be meeting up with her friend who she's traveling with for the next week and a half, and then really early tomorrow morning I turn around and fly to Athens and then make my way to the port of Pireaus to catch the ferry to the island of Aigina where I'll be picked up and taken to the retreat I'll be attending for the last week of this years-long trip.

Not sure if I'll have internet again. Definitely more to share, so I may just catch up on blogging when I get back home and write up excerpts from my over-half full new journal from the trip.

Till next time, go with wellness!