Starting week 3!

Pictures:
http://bobbielydick.shutterfly.com/
Here's a site where I'll be posting pictures. I'll try and post the link every time I add new ones. I hope you enjoy them!

Ukraine:
In order to live in Moldova for longer than 3 months, you have to get a residence permit. Which is extremely hard apparently. (I can go into more detail about that later if you would like.) So, we are thinking that I probably will NOT be in Moldova for longer than 3 months. What does that mean? Well, that means I will most likely be in the Ukraine from September to December. Crazy! It'll be weird to get used to Invest Credit in Moldova and then have to leave. At the same time, I'll be working with another MFI (microfinance institution), and it would be a great opportunity to see how other MFIs are run. I would probably learn a lot through this. I'll keep you updated on this situation and let you know where I am :).

Work:
Invest Credit starts a two week internal audit today. This might sound really lame...but I'm kind of excited. I'll get to help a lot with this and review a lot of how Invest Credit is run. I think I'll learn a lot and get to put some accounting to work. The other interns and I are also starting to create a business plan for a few loan clients. IC (invest credit) takes a few clients a year they believe deserve more attention and help them create a business plan for their business in order to encourage growth in the businesses and the community. We get to meet with three of these clients and put together these plans for their businesses. It should be a lot of work, but it should be cool.

Village:
I had my first village experience yesterday. It was a lot of fun. A woman named Natasha had us over to her house and taught us how to make "Placinte". It's a traditional Moldovan dish. Basically deep fried dough with potatoes & onions or brinza (a type of cheese that's not like we think of cheese) and dill in the middle. It was really good. We ate with her three kids while she told us stories about the life during Soviet times. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot. We got half way home when Natasha called one of my friend's cell phones and told us she had found my keys at her house. I returned on the last bus to the village. No taxis would come and get me. They finally called someone from the village who had a car. He took me home, but it was quite an experience. At one time I think we were off-roading it. I thought he was going to drop me off in the middle of this field outside of the city. He didn't though...that's good. I arrived at home after a good 4 hour adventure by myself.