People work so hard here. And they make very little money for all the hard work they do. And professionals don't do much better. My Romanian teacher, Oxana, graduated from university and only makes about $50 (not sure if that's per week or month, but either way, it's not a lot!) as a teacher in a public school.
OK - this is the house where i live. :-)
This next one was taken last Saturday when I was out walking. Couldn't resist taking a picture of this guy. He stopped to chat and we had a lovely conversation. He didn't speak romanian, but Russian and so we understood about one word of each other's conversation but we gabbed away for quite a while. I said something about Baptist and he said Pentecostal. I said Canada and he said Moscow circus. I think the horse was in the circus, but who knows. It was just one of those very fun moments. Glad I can share this photo with you!
Well well. 50$ is defenitely a month and not a week salary for a Moldovan teacher. It is incredibly low.During my time living in Moldova I was always wondering how people can survive.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Marianne, working with OM Czech Republic, and formerly in OM Moldova
Hi Barb
ReplyDeleteGood to see that you have sorted out the photos issue!
Ahoj
James
Wow, thank you for you blog! I'm an American living in Ukraine for the past 4 1/2 years as a missionary. The countries are so simmilar in some aspects and yet so different in others! It's fun to re-live some of those first weeks with you :) Praise God for the work you are doing!!!
ReplyDeleteJeanne Peipon.
You can check out my blog at www.jeannepeipon.blogspot.com
Yes, the it's $50/month (esp. if you're talking of rural areas). However, teachers are usually helped (most often voluntarily, but not necessarily) by parents -- both monetary and in-kind contributions. In Chisinau it's an institutionalized practice -- parents create the "class fund", out of which teachers are paid "bonuses" (untaxed income, of course). Books and other study materials are always bought through the teacher, who usually charges a hefty premium.
ReplyDeleteMoldovans are very good at complaining about low salaries, but very quiet when it comes to disclosing additional incomes (most often questionable in nature). This is not to say that Moldova is rich beyond imagination. But don’t take everything at face value.