When you first step off the plane in Moldova and take your first steps on Moldovan soil, you immediately get the feeling that things are going to be an adventure. That's how I felt. I landed in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, at the beginning of March, just as the snow was melting and the cold was starting to fade. I met my host family and spent some time getting to know the city.

After a few days relaxing and adapting to the cultural differences, I started work at my placement at "Motivatie". Motivatie is a centre for disabled children and wheelchair users. The staff help the children through physiotherapy and this helps the children develop their physical skills and gain independence of their own which, in Moldova especially, is a very big thing! All the staff at the centre are incredibly friendly and will go out of their way to help you to help them!

For me, a typical day at work involved arriving in the morning and speaking with the director about the plans for the day. Then, I would spend an hour teaching English to the staff at the centre (those that didn't speak it, obviously!). After the lesson, I'd spend the remainder of the day playing games with the children and helping them to practice their English skills. Three days a week, I would have extra lessons in the afternoon with staff from other centres across Chisinau.

After only a few weeks of being at the centre, you begin to notice the change in everyone. The children that you have taught English to begin to use some English with you, whereas when you arrived, they knew no English at all. The children know some very basic English but as you help them practice, they keep trying to improve. The more you can put into helping them speak English, the more they will try and speak it with you. Nothing touches you more than when you walk into work in the morning and they start asking you questions in English. That was one of the single most rewarding parts of my time in Moldova and one of the many reasons I want to return as soon as I can.

On my first walk along the centre street, you realise that your pre-conceptions of the country are some-what misguided. Being part of what was formerly the Soviet Union, you expect to see everything as run-down and worn out. But you see big name shops everywhere: Adidas, Nike, Hugo Boss, (which was a major shock for me but it kind of helped me feel slightly more at home).

You very quickly realise that life is so different compared to what you're used to back home. It takes a while to adapt. However, once you have settled in, you really do start to feel at home in this city. You embrace the culture and see how things are so different. Obviously, being foreign, you are something of a novelty to the people so you're forever being stopped and asked questions merely because you're speaking English! I lost count of how many people introduced themselves after stopping me on the street merely because I was talking to someone in English. But you soon get used to it and just begin to laugh about it.

When you first start to explore the city there are some things that really stand out and take a long time to get used to. For me, the main thing was the prices of everything. Because the economy is so poor and wages are so low, the price of everything is so much lower than what you're used to. Going into a restaurant and paying approximately £10 for a meal for two people in Moldova is considered normal; but back home, for exactly the same meal, you'd pay around £35. Public transport is the same - paying between 4 and 12 pence for a bus ride is the norm for the city, whereas back home you would pay at least 50 times that. It took me over a month to properly adapt to the prices alone. Along with the statue of the national hero (Stefan cel Mare, who defended against the Turkish), there are several cathedrals, wineries and bars, cafes and restaurants to visit, all at incredibly fair and cheap prices.

During your time at the project, you get introduced to the other volunteers there at the same time as you. This is one of the most useful parts of the programme offered. When you arrive (and for the first couple of weeks) you are becoming accustomed to your surroundings, the culture and the differences in the way of life. But after you've adjusted, meeting other volunteers helps you settle into life much more easily. It gives you the opportunity to compare what projects you're doing and gives you some more opportunities for things to do in your free-time. Meeting the other volunteers allowed me to make so many friends it's too difficult to count them all. Meeting the other volunteers also allowed me to meet their host families, the family friends and their relatives. All of which added to a much more fulfilling experience of the overall culture of the country.

Moldova is one of those countries that not many people know much about and most people may not have even heard of it. But all of that just adds to the mystery and appeal of it. Most people will spend their gap year travelling the world and going to places that everyone goes to, such as Thailand, Australia, Russia, etc. but not many people can actually say they've been to Moldova. Personally, I wouldn't have changed my project for anything. It has been the most rewarding and worthwhile thing I have ever done and would recommend it to anyone that asks about it.

Steven Wrench

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Arts and crafts room at placement

Chisinau sign

Me (right) and Tom another volunteer

Phsyio equipment at my placement