Another Moldovan First

There are certain Moldovan cultural events that every PCV hopes to witness during their 2 years here. One of them is a cumatria (baptism). In the Moldovan Orthodox Church, people are baptized as infants. This is a HUGE deal for Moldovans, exceeded perhaps only by getting married. In a culture that values family so much, it makes sense that these two events are highly revered.

This past weekend, I not only got to go to a cumatria for the first time, I also got to be a part of the ceremony. A child who is getting baptized has several godparents. There are the nanas and nanasa (the main godparents) and also several "lesser" godparents--cumatra. The cumatrii are kind of like sponsors. They are present at the baptism and give gifts and money. They also are expected to continue to have a relationship with the child as s/he grows up. My host brother and his wife decided to ask me to be one of the cumatra for their son. Talk about an honor!

So on Saturday I witnessed my host nehpew being baptised (full immersion--the poor thing was screaming his head off after getting dunked). It was a beautiful ceremony. Then after the baptism we had a party at our house to celebrate. And, boy, do Moldovans know how to party! From 8 pm until 4 in the morning we were eating, talking, and dancing.

Speaking of dancing, those of you who know me (and my lack of rhythm) will be surprised to know that I was out their boogying along with the best of them. Granted, most of my fellow dancers weren't young or hip, but I think this is what motivated me to go for it. I figured if a 70-year-old man could do it, so could I. Most of the dancing was Moldovan folk-dancing (picture people holding hands, going around in the circle and doing variations of the grapevine). At first it was a little difficult to catch on, but by the end I was a pro.

At the end of the night, I was presented with my thank-you gifts: 2 loaves of bread (Moldovan tradition) and a food processor. Not really sure what to do with the latter (or how I'm supposed to lug the thing back to America), but I appreciated the thought. Hopefully one day I'll actually learn how to use it. Or be married to someone who does.