spacae
I once came about an inch from Moldova. Well, it looked even closer than that on the Romanian map. My murals brought me to the city of Iasi (with its very delicious Texas steak house) in the region of Romania called Moldavia. Confused? Well, they were neighbors who had to have once been united some time in history. Iasi, its steakhouse and Moldavia were all painfully close to Moldova. But, I lacked both time and the required visa to cross over the border. I thought I’d missed my opportunity. But, sometimes, opportunity comes knocking more than once. So, if at first you don’t succeed, you know what to do.
My first muraling project with a United States Embassy, was in Liberia. To get that assignment, I contacted ten embassies. Of course, not every embassy replied, but it only took one to get the process started. And, I learned a thing or two along the way. Larger embassies like those in China and India didn’t normally work with individuals like me. There were formal grant procedures as well as a few hoops to jump through. But, smaller embassies, in out of the way corners of the world that I really prefer, were much more likely to communicate.
That’s how the murals in Moldova came about. By this time, I’d contacted forty embassies. Still, most haven’t replied, but that doesn’t mean they have stopped hearing from me. I try, try again every time I have an update to share. And, my next update goes out again to sixty embassies. Hmmm . . . maybe I’ll add another group of ten to my current list?
Sad to say, it’s my observation that most people in the United States have very limited knowledge of world geography. Although they might not be able to locate the countries on the map, it’s my hope that most have at least heard of the majority of the countries in Europe. But, I’m fairly certain that almost nobody knows about Moldova. My brother didn’t think it was a real country. Another friend said it sounded like one of those made-up places in the movies. When I called the bank to tell them my credit card was traveling with me to Moldova, the teller asked which country Moldova was in. Even at the Columbus airport, the person who assisted with my check-in said I was the first person she ever helped fly to Moldova – and she wasn’t sure where it was.
So, together, we’re going to learn some things about Moldova.
I once came about an inch from Moldova. Well, it looked even closer than that on the Romanian map. My murals brought me to the city of Iasi (with its very delicious Texas steak house) in the region of Romania called Moldavia. Confused? Well, they were neighbors who had to have once been united some time in history. Iasi, its steakhouse and Moldavia were all painfully close to Moldova. But, I lacked both time and the required visa to cross over the border. I thought I’d missed my opportunity. But, sometimes, opportunity comes knocking more than once. So, if at first you don’t succeed, you know what to do.
My first muraling project with a United States Embassy, was in Liberia. To get that assignment, I contacted ten embassies. Of course, not every embassy replied, but it only took one to get the process started. And, I learned a thing or two along the way. Larger embassies like those in China and India didn’t normally work with individuals like me. There were formal grant procedures as well as a few hoops to jump through. But, smaller embassies, in out of the way corners of the world that I really prefer, were much more likely to communicate.
That’s how the murals in Moldova came about. By this time, I’d contacted forty embassies. Still, most haven’t replied, but that doesn’t mean they have stopped hearing from me. I try, try again every time I have an update to share. And, my next update goes out again to sixty embassies. Hmmm . . . maybe I’ll add another group of ten to my current list?
Sad to say, it’s my observation that most people in the United States have very limited knowledge of world geography. Although they might not be able to locate the countries on the map, it’s my hope that most have at least heard of the majority of the countries in Europe. But, I’m fairly certain that almost nobody knows about Moldova. My brother didn’t think it was a real country. Another friend said it sounded like one of those made-up places in the movies. When I called the bank to tell them my credit card was traveling with me to Moldova, the teller asked which country Moldova was in. Even at the Columbus airport, the person who assisted with my check-in said I was the first person she ever helped fly to Moldova – and she wasn’t sure where it was.
So, together, we’re going to learn some things about Moldova.