Donβt you agree that the first few months of your life as an expat in a new country can be frustrating fascinating? There are so many entertaining things to do when you are new in a foreign country.Β That is to say, after youβve done the more important ones such as finding a nest to bed down, sourcing good cheese and wine, and figuring out if you can walk around at night without getting mugged.Β Hereβs a list of five things I enjoy doing in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, my new habitat. (Clearly, I have no children to feed and herd.)
1. Walk and Snap
A good way to familiarize yourself with a new town is to go exploring, carrying a map, a camera, a gun, and a piece of paper with your address on it.Β Okay, Iβm joking about the gun.Β Chisinau is a very safe place Iβve been told, and so far so good.Β Nobody even stares at me. I’m kinda disappoined, since I love to feel special. Not.
Still carless, I do my shopping on foot, taking a taxi home when I have too much to carry.Β To get to the center of town from my house is a mere 25 minute stroll through tree-lined streets and parks.Β I love the parks!Β Lots of benches to sit on.Β Lots of people:Β Breastfeeding moms, necking/snogging couples, texting teens, school kids doing their homework, snoozing grandpas and even the occasional saxophone player.Β Itβs a joy to observe humanity here.
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While I was taking this photo, my man and I were being observed by two young men who were handing out election pamphlets. They approached us and made a friendly comment about my taking the picture and asked where we were from, what we were doing in Moldova and so forth. In very precise school English. So we chatted with them briefly to give them a chance to practice their English and of course because it was fun and they were so excruciatingly polite.
βIt is not every day that a tourist comes to our small country,β one of the two said when we were ready to move on. It sounded like he was reading it straight from a text book, and it reminded me how tricky it is to learn a new language. You can say a sentence grammatically correctly and yet itβs not how a native speaker would express that same thought. I know Iβll be lucky if I get this far in learning to speak Romanian.
Not all is green and beautiful.Β The city claims a mix of modern apartment buildings, interesting old buildings, junky houses, and even shacks.Β Here a few random shots and then we’ll go on to the second fun thing to do as a new expat in Moldova.
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2. Find the GirlsΒ (if youβre one, or even if youβre not.)
As a female trailing spouse, you will find it is of the essence to carve out for yourself a meaningful existence to maintain your mental acuity and general sanity while the husband is toiling away earning the bucks. A good thing to do is to do lunch with the girls, or have a drink with the girls, and discuss the latest discoveries in neuroscience, the effects of global warming, and where to find a good cleaning lady.Β I have girls now since I joined the International Womenβs Club.Β Connecting with the sisters is important because otherwise youβll just sit home aloneΒ in a house with three bidets and feel sorry for yourself and start obsessing about not having any utensil drawers in your tiny kitchen, and your laptop no longer recognizes your big screen monitor, and the views from your urban windows are walls and buildings.
3. Eat Some Placinta
You were waiting for this one, werenβt you?Β And no, I did not misspell it.Β Try some placinta, yes.Β Or some other local delicacy.Β Placinta (pronounced placheentah) is a Moldovan lunch and snack food (Romanian too, IΒ believe), a thin dough filled with any number of stuffings (cheese, meat, apple), then baked, or fried.Β There are many varieties but what I’ve had so far wasn’t very taste-bud titillating.Β Iβve also eaten mamaliga, the local version of polenta, often served with sour cream on top, which I rather like.Β And to continue on the culinary path:
4. Go Restaurant Cruising
Mais, naturellement!Β My prince and I have eaten out in quite a few restaurants now.Β I want to know about what is available gastronomically speaking.Β I know there are many cheap and simple places in town where you can indulge in placinta, but I must confess to being somewhat of a foodie and to enjoy eating extravagantly well, if not copiously so, on occasion.Β So I like to hunt out the more upscale places at times.Β And Iβm happy to report that Chisinau has quite a few to explore.
On top of this building is an outdoor restaurant.Β Breezy place, great views.Β I love eating outside and fortunately Chisinau features a number of outdoor restaurants, along with a joyous number of sidewalk cafΓ©s.Β I am fond ofΒ hanging out on sidewalk cafΓ©s, like any normal Dutch person.
I was quite taken with this super modern building and the reflection of the old building in the windows. So I took a picture.Β Wouldnβt you?Β The young guards outside at the gates didnβt like me photographing the building and started waving at me with grim faces.Β I pointed at the reflection and smiled innocently. βItβs interesting, isnβt it?β I said charmingly.Β They werenβt charmed.Β So one shot is all I got.
5. Plant Some Herbs
Why not. Planting flowers and herbs is a way to bond with your new surroundings. I like my basil and love making pesto.Β The seeds of these I planted while still in our temporary apartment.
And this, dear reader, is it for this week.
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I crave succulent comments, so tell me some fun or interesting things youβve done in a new (foreign) environment.Β Iβm sure you can outdo my list here, so donβt be shy.
Fascinating shots – it looks lovely in the summer, but I can imagine it might be a bit dull in winter? Hope you’re connecting with others – that is the key to enjoying yourself, isn’t it? That – and learning some language so you can understand the culture better.
I agree, the first months in a new country as an expat can be frustr… ehm.. fascinating π
My first months in Shanghai were just beyond frustrating, due to the absolute language shock, but I managed to get over it and the following moments were truly fascinating, soaking up in this beautiful culture and its quirky people π
Hi dear I’ve got something for you to pick up at my blog
I go for walks in strange places. Very long walks!
Anywhere with a park and leafy street like this would win me over. I can only dream that one day, here…
loved this one!! the camera … getting lost … and just walking … love those suggestions!
I’ve been reading this bit by bit, enjoying, that’s why I haven’t said anything as yet…have to go again…
I’d add a few: 6. Get yourself lost. It forces you to learn the language and you meet incredibly interesting people. It builds your mental acuity by forcing you to be resourceful (especially if you, like me, have no sense of direction). 7. Sit in a cafe, drink in both coffee and the surroundings. Smell, listen, feel. Cry if you have to (just hide your face behind a book). 8. Find some local music or dance. 9. Write (but you already do that!). 10. Invite people over for lunch. All the better if you play cards and can learn the… Read more »
All good tips. People always approach me when I’m out snapping and it’s become a good way to make contacts!
You make a good point about the camera. Having been told so much by Venezuelans how unsafe it is and anything valuable should be hidden, I rarely ventured out with my camera. It took a daring friend visiting who doesn’t go many places without her camera to realize how many great shots I’ve missed out on since being here. Well, no more of that!
I learned a few things here as we think about the expat lifestyle after retirement – the most important was hooking up with other women. Thanks!
What an interesting area. I can’t help but compare it to other places you’ve lived and written about. Every one of them is unique and you always find the beauty. Enjoying your latest adventures.
Doris, The Boomer Traveler
oh how exciting I love exploring new cities. I don’t know much about Moldova but I have a strong attraction to eastern Europe and would love to travel around that part of Europe.
The photo with the reflexion is great. What a petty they are a bit afraid of photographs there. Enjoy your time
Hi Miss Footloose I enjoy doing numbers 1 (though it is true that there are some places where people are less happy than most/you might expect about having themselves and/or their spaces being photographed — I think of Tanzanians, who equate being photographed to strangers to being thought of as like wild animals one sees and shoots photos of on safari, and many temples in Hong Kong barring photography on their premises) and 4 on your list too. And definitely agree re the importance of number 2 (and have to say that I love Hong Kong for its preponderance of… Read more »
I’m finding your Moldova posts really interesting. Like the local guys said to you, not many tourists go there so there’s not loads of information around.
As for settling into a new place, getting around on foot is great for getting your bearings and we’re like you; we love to sample all the local foods. When we first moved to Fethiye, we also did a lot of travelling around different places in Turkey. We still like to do that – when funds allow. π
Julia
ps: we have an impressive culinary culture so feel free to try not just the placinta π
I’m very surprised to find out that you like so much Moldavia and find all the time things to do. Being a Romanian I always find this country to be so sad. It is a poor country although and most Moldavian people are eager to obtain a passport and visa to reach in Romania because in Romania they have more chances to obtain a good job. I don’t know how many gypsies are there? In Romania there are so many and that was a good motive for me to leave my natal country and establish in Netherlands. Unfortunately to many… Read more »
It’s nice to see how you and your new girlfriend Chisinau are becoming such good friends! Luckily, there are so many good things there: the parks, the leafy streets (somehow reminds me of a typical neighbourhood of Buenos Aires), the good food (placinta aside hehe), the friendly people, even the not so friendly ones! π
Walking in the sunshine… high on my priority list… difficult to do (at times) in wet, windy and cool Ireland… π