A taste of my life

Several of you have asked questions about the minutia of my everyday life in Moldova – which I like, because it gives me an excuse to ramble about the details of my current existence. :) I’ll answer with a few lists. I love making lists.

My fave Moldovan foods - yum!

• Mamaliga with brinza (Moldovan grits and cheese)
• Skewers of all varieties (Chicken and veggies, lavash stuffed with cheese, etc.)
• Fresh Moldovan produce (Amazing)
• Various broth-based soups
• “Pancakes” (Crepes stuffed with cheese, fruit, etc.)
• Brinzici (A candy-bar-ish thing made of a cream-cheese-like sheep cheese coated in chocolate and sometimes filled with jam or other fillings. See pic.)

My hobbies – fun times

• Self-studying Russian (using a language textbook I created with internet printouts…resourceful, right? Although I did have my first real Russian lesson today, which proved to be somewhat helpful in combating my atrocious pronunciation….)
• Blogging (Obviously.)
• Reading (See my reading list, below.)
• Jogging (With two beautiful parks right by my house, I have no excuse not to.)
• Exploring Chisinau (I love walking around new cities. And being shown around by new friends.)

My reading list – I came prepared

• Underworld, Don DeLillo (Halfway done so far. DeLillo’s great.)
• Lost Province: Adventures in a Moldovan Family, Stephen Henighan (Was not as interesting as it sounds. And a Moldovan friend seemed to find it sort of insulting/unrepresentative of Moldovan life.)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling (Great plane reading and an important refresher – must prep for the EXCITEMENT that is the final installment debuting in July!)
• American Pastoral, Philip Roth
• Beloved, Toni Morrison (If you’re sensing a theme, it’s because several of these are from the NY Times’ “Best American Novels of the Past 25 Years” list. I love modern American fiction.)
• Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami (One of my fave authors.)
• Seeing, Jose Saramago (A spontaneous Borders “3 for 2” find. Looks good though.)

Current jogging soundtrack

• Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani
• When You were Young – Killers
• Fly Away – Tim McGraw
• Wonderful Day – O.A.R.
• Irreplaceable – Beyonce
  
• Rehab – Amy Winehouse
• Umbrella – Rihanna, ft. Jay-Z
• Banditos – Refreshments
• 19-2000 – Gorillaz
• Seven – Prince
• Girlfriend (Spanish) – Avril Lavigne
• The Chronicles of Life and Death – Good Charlotte
• La Vie Boheme – Rent Soundtrack
• My Town – Buck-O-Nine

And that’s my life. Tell me about yours.