Shalom!

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in a country where the Jewish population is close to non-existent, I was both surprised and honored to be invited down to Ceadir-Lunga in the semi-autonomous region of Gagauzia in the Republic of Moldova to help out a group of young students presenting information on Judaism and Jewish culture (as part of a larger cultural diversity celebration).

I was again surprised to find a group of students and teachers celebrating Moldova's diversity, history and culture. After presentations on traditional customs, dance, song and food one of the professors stood up and said "We all live in one shared house... Moldova!"

As a practicing Jew whose family left this region (My family is from Bucharest, Romania and Odessa, Ukraine) over 100 years ago, it was an honor and a pleasure to be a witness to this celebration of culture and diversity and I'm looking forward to making the journey to the south of Moldova again soon.

Paka Paka ~ Rachael Goeler