My Favorite Superstition

Last fall, Misha drove me around our Raion (district,) showing me the Dniester river that runs along our Ukrainian border, and up to Otaci, the other big city in the Raion that is a trade point as it borders a big town in Ukraine. Misha was driving and we were talking and listening to music when abruptly he stopped the car. A man had just filled his bucket at the well on the street. The well is a common water source because many people still live without plumbing; Moldova has wells everywhere. The man and his bucket walked in front of the car from the left side of the road to the right. He waved and said "Thank you!" to Misha, and Misha thanked him back. I asked Misha what that was all about and he explained that if someone is walking with a full bucket of water, it is good luck for them and you if they cross your path. He then asked, "What, you guys don't do that?" I explained that where I come from, it's extremely rare to see people walking around with full buckets of water, no less crossing streets with them.

Fending off my loneliness of the weekend, and procrastinating studying, I decided to go for a walk today. I put on a sweat-suit, grabbed my ipod and keys, and set off into the cool, calm, almost-fall-but-not-quite-yet air. I ventured into unfamiliar residential areas where I encountered many chickens, dogs, and adolescent boys smoking cigarettes. It was nice to just walk, and look around. This week is the one-year anniversary of my being here, and some days I feel I never really even notice what's around me. I saw the animals in people's yards; cows, horses, pigs. A few gardens had pumpkins growing and I wondered to myself what would be the best way to steal a pumpkin without anyone noticing, then recognized how absurd that would be for me to do. As I walked, I reached up to the tree limbs above me, touching the growing pears with the tips of my fingers. I sang along to my music loudly in English, and just smiled at the few people who were out working in their gardens, or passing me in the street.

I turned onto a poorly paved road I've never been on before, and walking towards me was an old women doing the hobble walk one does when they are carrying a full bucket of water. She said something to me so I turned my music down. She repeated, "Let me walk in front of you!" I happily obliged. She thanked me, I thanked her, and we wished each other well. Later, on another street, two men, carrying two full buckets each, practically trotted over to me just so they could pass me. I laughed. After we thanked each other, one man flirted, "Now we can walk the rest of the way together, no?" I said of course, anytime, and then continued on my way, and they on theirs.

Because three people carrying full buckets crossed my path today, I'd like to believe that with autumn's arrival good things could be coming my way, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they do.