Since coming to Moldova almost 6 months ago, i continue to be amazed by my wonderful, durable, super strong rucsac (backpack)!! It makes me so happy! There's no way an ordinary, everyday, meant-for-school backpack was made to withstand all of the abuse this one receives almost on a daily basis here in Moldova! Other PCVs have also been amazed at how much stuff it can hold and how much weight in has endured! Sometimes it's so heavy i can hardly lift it to get it on my back! I've said this before (verbally) and i'll say it again in type, if this backpack endures my whole 2 years with me in Moldova, Jansport is gonna receive a frumoasă scrisoare (beautiful letter) from me when i return home about what a wonderful product this backpack has been!
Another thing i love about it are all the ribbons, yarn, string, etc. i started adding to it's handle at the top since Staging in Philadelphia. They all have a different meaning, specific to this PC journey.
The 1st one i received is one of an identical pair of pink & black friendship bracelets that DeeAnn gave to both Stesi and me reminding us of our journey TOGETHER.
The 2nd i received at Staging. It's an orange piece of yarn that all PC trainees received so that at the various airports and other travel destinations, we would all recognize a PC bag that may have been left behind.
The 3rd one is a red ribbon i got when i landed in Chișinău, which represents the training village i'd be living in, Băcioi, during our 10 weeks of training.
The 4th is a red and black friendship-type bracelet i found on the playground at our training school in Băcioi.
The 5th is a blue ribbon i got during Site Announcement Day (when we learned where our permanent sites would be), which represents the nord (north).
The 6th is from "1st Bell" - the 1st day of school, which is quite the production here in Moldova. All the elevii (students) gave all the teachers red, yellow, & blue striped ribbons (representing the Moldovan flag) to pin on our shirts that day.
And finally the 7th is a bracelet from my friend SaraH who lives near me in Soroca who i visit a lot and stay over at her apt (she gave me my own room :o]), as a token of friendship [o:
...hopefully more to come...
I love the ribbon explanation. What is the little hand?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure...i think it's one of those hindu thingys...? the eye in the hand...i've seen it before, but have never investigated its meaning.
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