MOLDOVA
THE OKE DEN PHOTOGRAPHY
The People of Moldova
From June 2016 to July 2018, I lived and worked in Moldova as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I lived in a small community in the Ştefan Vodă Raion (district), which is in the south-east part of the country. During my time there, I was incredibly blessed to meet so many wonderful people who call the country their home. Most of these pictures are from within my community and my workplace at the local school, where I taught English. Read more about my time as a volunteer in Moldova here.
My host mother (right) and her lifelong friend, Natasha, pose in front of the Triumph Arch in Chisinau.
Students from the local dance school perform a traditional dance.
Students compete to collect litter from the school's courtyard as part of a lesson on ecology.
Moldovan students excitedly video-chat with a 5th grade class from the United States
My host niece relaxes on a swing.
Children throw seeds at the front door while wishing for a healthy and joyful year and successful harvest in the year to come
Kids make cotton candy at the village's celebration for Language Day.
8th grade students perform a dance at a concert for Youth Day.
6th grade students visit our home as part of the "steaua" tradition, when boys decorate a star and visit their neighbors. They receive money and bread after they say a chant.
A group of teenagers dance the hora, the traditional dance of Moldova.
8th grade students work on a U.S. state poster project.
Students compete to collect litter from the school's courtyard as part of a lesson on ecology.
The winner of the pole-climbing competition holds his prize, a live rooster, in the air in triumph.
Students work together on an essay after learning how to take notes when researching.
A boy participates in a pole-climbing contest (reaching over 50 feet tall!).
My host dad prepares a wine barrel to use to make house wine.
8th grade students create a poster during a class.
Playing dress-up with my host mom (she dressed up as me).
A 1st grade student rings in the new year with a 9th grade student.
The priest says a pray before blessing the opening of a new monument in our park.
A boy participates in a pole-climbing contest (reaching over 50 feet tall!).
Playing with bubbles.
Our village's priest blesses one of our policemen.
Students perform a traditional dance while wearing traditional clothing on Children's Day.
My host parents pluck the feathers off of two geese.
The school year begins with the First Bell Ceremony. Here, first graders enter the school for their first school day.
A beautiful summer day with my host nieces.
A graduation ninth grade student dances with her diriginte, or homeroom teacher, to celebrate the end of the school year.
A boy participates in a pole-climbing contest (reaching over 50 feet tall!).
A first grade student sits on a graduating ninth grade student's shoulders as they circle around, ringing the bell to signify the end of the school year.
Students perform a traditional dance at a Children's Day celebration.