Moldova without the Child

Steven was asked to provide training to Moldovan government staff on procurement. So we went to the capital city, Chisinau, and had a lovely time. I cannot quantify the amount of pork fat that I ate over the six days...it was a lot! The food was really good. I ate a lot of pork and a little beef (tongue and steak) and lamb. I had fatback, headcheese, and bacon (mostly fat) every day for multiple meals; oh my, it was so yummy. And Steven--the wonderful and sharing husband that he is--gave me a lot of his fat since he is more of a lean-meats kind of guy. Heaven!

The country is the poorest European country outside of the EU. They are working on getting into the EU, but it is a process--a long process, which they may not complete depending on the upcoming elections next year. Regardless, we spent time with the director of procurement and his wife, an official from Czechoslovakia, other experts, and staff from the CDLP program of the US department of commerce. It was more of an education than a vacation. There is corruption, 106 people exit the country every day, and the future is unclear. However, it was evident that they appreciated Steven's expertise and commitment to this project...they were already talking about another workshop before we had even left. We saw some beautiful monasteries, world's largest underground wine cellar, and a bit of the countryside. Moldova is known for their wine, cognac, walnuts, prunes, and apricots.