Before I headed back to Chisinau on Sunday Morning, I went to the Piata Centrala to do some shopping. I bought some bed sheets, sunglasses and (drum roll please)...
my first pair of Moldovan shoes (pictured below).
Shoe shopping in Moldova proved to be slightly more difficult than I had anticipated. The are so many women here who walk around in the most awesome heels. I thought finding a cute pair would be a cinch. Apparently, I am more picky when it comes to buying shoes for myself than when judging those shoes worn by others (this is even more surprising when you consider that “judging” is pretty much my favorite past time).
The piata is set up similar to a flea market. Every vendor has their own space and they sell every thing from basketballs to live chickens. There is a decent selection of vendors who sell shoes. As I walked from vendor to vendor inspecting to shoes, a pattern emerged: Rhinestones. Literally every pair of heels had some type of rhinestone embellishment. It was like all the shoes were from a misdirected shipment that had originally been destined for a show in Vegas. I love sparkles, but when it comes to them I take an all or nothing approach. I either want the shoes to be completely cover in, oh say, pink glitter or completely without sparkles. Nether of these seemed to be a viable option.
When I finally found a cute pair without sparkles, they did not come in a size large enough to fit my fat American feet. I wear an 8.5 (which is a 39 or 40 here), not exactly huge. So I went back to find a pair that I had seen earlier, which had only minimal sparkles and came in “Size Sasquatch” (the shoes pictured above).
People mainly speak Russian in Chisinau. I am not entirely sure why this is. I asked my sisters and one said that it is a political statement and the other said it was because they think it is cool. This Russian speaking is not a problem for Moldovans because most of them speak both Russian and Romanian; however for some one who barely speaks Romanian, this is not convenient in the least. In the past, I have tried to ask questions in stores in Chisinau, only to be responded to multiple times in Russian (yes, even after saying than I don't speak Russian). In spite of all of this, the communication through the shoe trying on process went pretty smoothly. The man who helped me try on the shoes talked with me a little in Romanian. His counterpart came and started talking to me in Russian, but when he realized that I didn't understand he immediately started speaking Romanian with me. Both of them thought that I was British, and I just let them think that. It must have been the Red hair.
To complete the whole shoe buying experience, I wore my new shoes the next day. My host mom complemented me on them and then immediately asked how much they cost. I am still always taken aback when someone asks me how much something costs, even though this is a completely acceptable and common practice here. The cost of my shoes was 300 lei. When I told my host mom, I was afraid she would think that I paid too much. Not the case, she simply said “Nu e scump (that's not expensive)” and we continued to work.
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