Good News! My new computer is in transit. So, in a few weeks to a month it will arrive and I will once again be complete. With all the blogging I have been doing here in Moldova, I decided to get an Apple. I admit that a Mac will in no way assist by blogging ability, but all the serious writers seem to have one. And by serious writers I mean Carrie from Sex and the City as well as all the angst-filled hipsters I have seen writing at Coffee Shops in the Mission District of San Francisco.
This week has been pretty uneventful so far. I spent 9 hours in the office both yesterday and today. I have started helping my partners translate a grant, which is the most productive thing that I have done since arriving in Moldova. I worked with my partners for about an hour on Monday translating, then I spent five to seven hours hours reading and/or attempting to chat with my partners while some guy tried to fix our computer. You may ask "Why didn't you just go home?" Well, what was I gonna do at home? Read? Yes! So I hung around the office reading in hopes that the computer would be fixed and we could continue on with the translation process. Unfortunately, no more translating occurred yesterday.
What did occur on Monday was a most hilarious conversation between my partners. I am slightly hesitant to tell this story because I am afraid it just won't be funny when I try to retell it, but I am going to try any way...
I am drawn into my partner's conversation when my partner, Valentina, flips off my other partner, Angela. My initial reaction is to think, "What is going on?!?!" Then I start thinking,"Does this gesture have the same meaning in Moldova as it does in America? Maybe I am completely misinterpreting what is going on? Or are mommy and daddy fighting in Romanian?" So I listen to their conversation very closely and think very hard about every word that is being said. I realize that they are talking about things that their children have learned from American movies and this F*** You gesture is one of the top things.
But things get worse, because it seems that the number #1 thing that their children have learned from American moves is the actual F-word. Then while talking about their kids saying the F-word, they themselves are using some variant of the f-word roughly ever three or four words. To me this sounds like "Gibberish gibberish gibberish F**king gibberish gibberish F**ked gibberish gibberish gibberish F**k." You get the idea. I couldn't help but start laughing out loud. Then they realize how ridiculous this must sound to me and start laughing too. In the end it was awesomely hilarious for everyone involved.
The thing is, I really wanted to know how to say the F-word in Romanian before I got here. Just out of morbid curiosity I guess. Turns out I didn't need to know it at all because thanks to Hollywood, Moldovans all know the F-word in English. I am not sure if this is good or bad, but I am gonna go with bad for the time being.
Unfortunately, today was a similar story to Monday, but in reverse and minus the awesome story about the f-word. At roughly 9:00 a different (and far more attractive) guy showed up to attempt to fix our computer. And succeeded after about 7 hours, but not before erasing every trace of the document we had been translating. So, my partner started rewriting the document and I translated as she went. By the end of the work day today, we had exactly the same amount translated as after an hour on work on Monday morning. Super Efficient!!!
This Thursday is Moldovan Independence Day. This is a holiday and most Moldovans don't have to work. However, my partners will be meeting with their partners from Transnistria in Chisinau that day. I am not sure if I will be going to that meeting, but I really hope not because I would like to witness the Moldovan Independence Day festivities in Hincesti.
Also, next Monday, August 31st, is Ziua Limbii Noastre or Our Language Day. Moldovans say that they are the only country the have a holiday to celebrate their language. I haven't verified this, but I will take them at their word. Several Moldovans have told me this day is important because as part of the USSR they were forced to speak Russian, but they consider their true language to be "Moldovan (which they admit is pretty close to Romanian)."
And just in case you are still wondering...
"a fute" is roughly the verb "to f**k" in Romanian.
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Katie, you won't need to use the F word as much with your new computer. And how could you go wrong, anyway? We all have our own personal ex-4H Mac expert. As far away as you are, JonW can probably still help you if you have a problem.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog, by the way.
Two thoughts... Mac sucks
ReplyDeleteand independence day is on Friday