Moldovan hospitality

Ok, so just about every country I’ve ever visited seems to be known for its extremely welcoming and friendly people. But this is out of control. Cristina (my aunt and uncle’s exchange student from five years ago) and her mom have been at my beck and call for the past four days. Not that I’m even beckoning and calling – they just somehow figure out exactly what I need (e.g., help finding an apartment) and then go extraordinarily out of their ways to provide it for me (e.g., Mrs. Andoni leaving work for four hours to join us in an apartment-hunting expedition because she’s a “better negotiator” than Cristina. Also because my own Romanian/Russian-language negotiation skills are unfortunately slightly sub-par.) Cristina’s friend (and ex) Adrian has been amazingly helpful, too. He drove Cristina to pick me up from the airport and a few days later hooked us up with free tickets to the philharmonic’s season finale.

This has been such a warm welcome into the country – it’s been amazingly easy adjusting to life here. However, I’m about ready to move into my own place and stop relying so much on the kindness of others....