Childhood joys of rural life, in a Moldovan village

09 Mar, 2025

My great-aunt passed away this week and I learned about it yesterday. My parents always shielded me from bad news. I still don't know how to feel about that. She was 82 and hadn't seen a doctor in 40 years. She lived in a village called Scoreni in Moldova. I can't picture her. Her name "Nina" evokes fond emotions. It must have been 24 years since the last time I saw her. As I think about Nina, memories of the village and the home she left behind come flooding back.

There were two houses on the property, built at different times by my grandfather and great uncle. They had no electricity. At least I don't remember there being any lights or appliances except for one small old-school fridge. The room with the fridge was nothing but concrete, the fridge, and two giant mounds of potatoes and apples. It was always cold and dark in there. I don't remember where I slept or much of the house at all. I spent most of my waking time outside, out and about.

Between the houses, there was a small courtyard. On one end, there was a towering mulberry tree. The fruit was delicious. It also covered the floor so my feet were always stained. I don't remember if I wore shoes or not. I know not everybody had shoes in the village, and besides, being barefoot is awesome. I remember my dad chasing a chicken around the courtyard with a slipper in his hand, throwing it in one last-ditch effort to try and catch it. We'd always laugh about it. On the other end of the courtyard was a well. Although there was a well on the property, it rarely worked, so we often trekked into town for water. Getting well water from the town was fun. The well is big and has a big bucket tied by a chain to a pulley. You grab the bucket and toss it into the well. As the bucket falls, you hear every chain link. Click, click, click, splash. You've got to play with the chain and bucket to get it to tip, so it starts to fill up. Once it tips and starts taking on water, it fills up quickly. You use the pulley to bring it back up, transfer the water to your bucket. Pouring the cold, crisp water is so satisfying on a hot day. Then you carry it back home, spilling a bunch and taking lots of breaks along the way. The well on the property had mounds of lush mint all around it. It was awesome. We'd always make tea from it.

As you pass this well, you enter the backyard, which was a small farm. Along the house, you had all the tools. One of them being a giant metal tub. We'd always fill it up in the morning, then leave it out in the open so the sun would warm up the water. We'd use that to bathe ourselves later in the day. On the farm, they grew potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, corn, beans, and fava beans. I loved the fava beans, they tasted so sweet. My parents always had to stop me from eating too much of it. I've never been able to find them taste the same in grocery stores in North America. Mom says things taste sweeter in childhood.

On the other side of the house, we had some animals. There'd always be chickens. Some years there would be a pig. Those years were the best because we'd have meat. I always craved meat and it was always in the smallest proportions. I had to fill up on bread and potatoes with a little side of meat. Looking back, I realized I had more than my mom. Meat was always prioritized for men doing physical work and children.

As you get deeper into the farm, you come across a small pond, the size of a small pool. It was dug up by the men in the family and then connected to the river that was on the other side of the property. They cultivated fish in the pond. I was also told there were giant spikes made of wood in the pond to protect it from others stealing the fish. Seems silly now, but the thought petrified me as a boy. Good chance they used that story to keep me away from the water - a good idea. On special occasions, my dad and great uncle would jump in with a giant net to get most of the fish. It was always so exciting to watch how many they would get.

On one occasion, I remember fishing in the pond with my mom. Once we had enough fish, my mom grabbed the bucket with the fish and water then went back to the house to start cooking it. I very much wanted to fish some more so I stayed out a little longer. I remember being afraid of being alone, but also a bit proud that my parents let me. As I continue to fish in this peaceful paradise, suddenly, a small fish thudded beside me. Incredulously, I picked it up and looked to the sky trying to figure out where it came from. Then I heard a rupture of laughter coming from my mom. She told me to throw it back in the water. Later she told me that she was cooking fish and this one was too small. So she started to run to the pond and threw it to save its life. A story we still laugh about to this day. My sister and I fishing the pond.

Outside the property, we'd hang around the center with the other kids in the village. It felt like a giant three-way intersection. The road that went down the hill went towards my Nina's house. On one side was the well that everybody got water from and the other side was a giant concrete building. I don't remember if it was a store or a bus stop. I say bus, but I don't remember there being any buses. In the years we didn't have a car, I remember sitting on a bench at the back of a giant truck. The center of town was paved, but roads were gravel. The center is also where I learned to ride my bike. I always found it weird, the hallmark expectation that the dad must teach their kids how to ride a bike. That's not how I learned. I didn't have a bike, but some of the kids in the village did. So they had me get on it and try. Riding a bike gives me so much joy, to this day. I can't help but grin ear to ear whenever I get on one. There is something about going fast. Faster than you could run. You could cover so much ground and it's all your volition.

All these memories are from one particular summer in 1998. I must have been eight years old when Russia faced a financial crisis and defaulted on its debt. As Moldova's largest export partner, Russia's crises caused the Moldova's leu to depreciated significantly, leading to inflation. Wages were often delayed. As a Russian literacy teacher, my mother worked everyday, only be paid six months later. The country struggled to pay for gas, which was also the source of electricity. That's when my parents decided to take my sister and me to the village. They simply couldn't see how they would raise us on the seventh floor of an apartment building without gas or electricity.

Sometimes I find myself envious of the childhood luxuries others enjoyed, so I'd make it a point to say I grew up poor. Despite the envy, I absolutely loved my childhood and I wouldn't change any of it. Now that I have kids, I want the same thing for them. I love you Nina. Thank you for giving me those memories and so much joy. Rest in peace.