Party in the Forest-A bonding moment with my fellow teachers

During the school year teachers have a hectic schedule. Some teachers have so many classes and other duties that they do not have time to do much socializing, while others have more than one job and often have to leave right after their classes to get to that job. In addition the cold of the school and lack of a lunch break are not great incentives to sit around after classes are over and chat. Those who do stay are involved in projects or the school administration, which makes them, again, very busy. However after the last bell and the last homeroom meeting most of the teachers of my school and I celebrated the end of the school year in a picnic in the forest. We had all been told to wear nice clothes for the last day but to bring a change of clothes for the forest. After all the students were gone we gathered up huge quantities of food (chicken for grilling, cucumbers, tomatoes, brinza, bread, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, potatoes with dill) and got into a rented mini-bus to go to the forest. I admit I thought that we would be fairly close to the school but would need the transport for all of our food. We actually went a fair distance to a nice wooded area that had been set up for cook-outs past the village of Sadic.

We carried our bounty to a likely looking place covered in wild strawberry plants and set down a large piece of plastic and several blankets. The plastic for the food and the blankets for us. Right away some of the teachers got set to putting out plates and forks, others started cutting the veggies, and the rest of us gathered fire wood and get the fire pit ready for the buckets of chicken to be grilled.

Soon we were toasting to the end of the year and the beginning of summer and eating all the goodies we had brought. The chicken wasn't ready but in between we played all sorts of games and volleyball and sat and talked and just plain enjoyed ourselves.

For me it was one of the first times that I had a chance to really talk with some of the various teachers and really see a different side of them. The relaxed atmosphere, the good food, and the lifting of the weight of the school year made it easy to connect. I especially loved seeing how competitive we all got over silly little things.

It was a beautiful day that started with our last bell ceremony and ended with a bonding experience and a chance to really get to know my fellow teachers. Some days it is hard not to absolutely love being a volunteer in Moldova.