First Day of Work

Hey all... I had my first day "on the job" today - sort-of.  After four days of exploration and adventures, it felt pretty good to put on some business clothes and get on to my research.  I met with Dr. Topor this afternoon at his office in the Anatomy and Surgery division of the Nicolae Testemitsanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy.  After introducing ourselves and conversing for a few moments we got down to business.  He set up a meeting for me with both the current and previous Chair of the university's Tuberculosis Department, as well as a third physician from the department (who speaks English.)  Dr. Topor was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Louisville School of Medicine for the academic year of 2000.  While there, one of his faculty advisors told him that he didn't see why Dr. Topor should not be able to complete one or two publications while in the States... so, Dr. Topor returned the favor and told me that he saw no reason that I should not be able to complete one or two publications while in Moldova.  :^)

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After our meeting, Dr. Topor offered me lunch and we wound up at a cafe that is about three blocks from my apartment.  We met a gentleman by the name of Igor Fonari, who runs "Projects Abroad" in Chisinau.  This is very fortuitous, as I had researched into Projects Abroad last May in case anyone was interested in visiting Moldova and coming away with a more interactive/fulfilling experience.  Projects Abroad specializes in organizing volunteer-tourism in many different countries:  volunteering opportunities in the morning (orphanage, hospital, school, or even journalism/businesses) with housing accomodations and meals with a host family.  Pretty neat company, and the founder of the Moldovan branch is a very nice man; I would definitely recommend looking into it if you are at all interested.

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www.projects-abroad.co.uk/volunteer-destinations/moldova/

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But, back to lunch...

Today I tried a traditional Moldovan soup (sorry, the name escapes me... I'll find out at a later date), salată castravete (a cucumber salad, creamy with dill,) bifstroganov (one of my family's favorites, beef stroganoff,) and mămăligă (semi-firm balls of corn "grits-porridge"... best way I can describe it, served with homemade cheese and sour cream.)  It was all very good!

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Now I am home, and it is time to prep for the week.  Before tomorrow's meeting I need to re-read my materials from the World Health Organization (The Stop TB Strategy, and the briefing of Key Bottlenecks in M/XDR-TB control and patient care.)  I also need to contact Drs. Cebotarenco and Cetulean to set up meetings with them this week.  Then I am going to start working through the Moldovan medical journal (Curierul medical) Dr. Topor gave to me today; this should help both with my professional language development and understanding of the formatting used for its articles.  And finally, I think I will try to get in a bit of general language studies tonight as well... I will only become fluent if I work at it!

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I hope everyone back home has a great start to their day...  La revedere!