Things Moldova has taught me....

Moldova has taught me how to drink beer.

Moldova has taught me how to drink beer warm.

Moldova has taught me how to drink cognac and brandy.

Moldova has taught me that it's not necessary to drink whiskey when drinking (almost).

Moldova has taught me that simple is better.

Moldova has taught me that simple food is better.

Moldova has taught me to think of butter and jam on bread as gross. Just jam, or just butter please.

Moldova has taught me that sour cream is an acceptable compromise to both jam and butter on bread.

Moldova has taught me that really? Three ingredients is often two too many.

Moldova has taught me that using basil as a spice in some countries is considered faintly sacrilegious.

Moldova has taught me that jello can be savory instead of sweet. You know, if you wanna roll like that.

Moldova has taught me that fried smoked string cheese is one of the most delicious things ever invented.

Moldova has taught me that there is no such thing as being fashionably early.

Moldova has taught me that being on time is a relative concept.

Moldova has taught me that being fashionably late is more in the 45 min to 1 hour range than 15 minutes.

Moldova has taught me that free-flowing air in houses and cars are critically dangerous to your health (explanation at a later date).

Moldova has taught me that it is possible to sleep on extremely uncomfortable sofa beds. Broken sofa beds.

Moldova has taught me that it's possible to live off of 500 g of food per day.

Moldova has taught me that the hora can be sexy.

Moldova has taught me that Americans have no clue as to what fruits and vegetables are supposed to taste like.

Moldova has taught me that being clean is a relative concept.

Moldova has taught me that being dirty is a relative concept.

Moldova has taught me that shoes can never be too clean. Ever.

Moldova has taught me that it can be colder inside your house than it is outside your house.

Moldova has taught me that sometimes it's necessary to take shots of whatsoever is handy (house wine, vodka, cognac) to combat the cold. Because if you think about it, one shot of Alcohol is much cheaper than having your gas on all night.

Moldova has taught me to get a sick pleasure at seeing the Euro fall and the Dollar rise.

Moldova has taught me to appreciate (oh, do I appreciate) the American work ethic. And our timeliness.

Moldova has taught me that subtlety is overrated.

Moldova has taught me to hate my timeliness, as it does not jive well with the culture of the country I am living in.

Moldova has taught me that much of the rest of the world thinks that American's are freak super-speed demons at their work, and need to slow down (incet, rian, incet!)

Moldova has taught me that people still look to America as the land of opportunity.

Moldova has taught me that an entire country can actually watch and wait months to see who another country will elect. (No, seriously, I was told this by a college student who asked me who I liked - Moldova, she said, was "watching and waiting" because the election was "very important to our country.")

Moldova has taught me that often people who live outside our country care more about who gets elected to our highest office than those who reside in it.

Moldova has taught me that McDonald's is a dish best served in a foreign country.

Moldova has taught me that it is possible to pay more for water than you pay for beer. Much, much more.

Moldova has taught me that I shouldn't drink coffee.

Moldova has taught me that obviously Starbucks frappacinos is not really coffee.

Moldova has taught me to miss the craziness of my old job.

Moldova has taught me to miss the pressure of my old job.

And finally, for now, Moldova has taught me that nobody does drama better than a bunch of Americans forced to live together for two years in a small country. The Real World ain't got nothing on this craziness.