My Language Skills in Moldova

 

My Language Skills in Moldova

Crasnoarmeiscoe, Moldova is the country that I grew up in. It is the poorest country in Europe with a GDP of 1,843.2, which causes concern with many of the countries assets. They face political uncertainty, energy shortages and most importantly many medical obstacles. My parents have always talked about their lives in Moldova and how much they have suffered. Not only have they suffered, they also sacrificed their time and energy to be healthy. The average life expectancy in Moldova is 71 years, but that does not consider the life expectancies in villages outside of the main capital, which usually is around 60. Many people in these villages spend their entire lives working on farms and raising crops to sell and trade for money. The average person in Crasnoarmeiscoe village makes about 70 dollars (700 leu). The concept of having almost no income also causes concern for people who live in these villages because not many things can be bought with 70 dollars. They have to think about what they are going to buy, or what is needed as soon as possible.

Their money goes to savings, buying food, clothing, toys for their children, and so on. They do not spend money on plans such as dental insurance and health insurance. Going to the dentist in Moldova can be around 400 dollars, which does not seem bad at all for us, but in reality, an individual living in Moldova would have to work half a year to have enough money to get a tooth taken out. So, the answer to their problems is to not go to dentists or doctors in the first place. If money was not a good enough reason to not go, the overall condition of these hospitals and offices would do the trick. These places are outdated and not technologically advanced. Many people that I know have told me stories of how they have had surgeries in Moldova without anesthesia, dental work without nitrous oxide, and placebos for people with serious medical conditions.

The hospitals do not have enough staff working which causes many people to wait in long lines, get diagnosed very late, and even pay with every single dime out of their savings to be given placebos. I know for a fact that many people do not go to Moldova as a doctor to help out because it is a place that is not well known. If Moldova had help with increasing their GDP and following the steps into being a great country, many people would have better health care.

My native tongue is Russian, and I was taught Russian ever since I was born. It is an amazing gift that I have by being able to speak Russian to many people I meet. I have not been back to Moldova yet, but have always wanted to go back. This pains me to know that I have grown up in Moldova and have not been able to help my home country. It is one way that I can donate money and send gifts to children in the hospital, and it is another to go to Moldova and help the doctors.

My education at Gustavus Adolphus College is helping me pursue my dream of being a doctor. My major is Biology with a pre-med track and I would love to help people in the future. In order to reach this dream, I have had opportunities to shadow radiologists, cardiologists, pediatricians, and many more. I was offered a scribe opportunity during January and this upcoming summer to help a doctors and physicians with daily tasks. This scribe opportunity is a private practice where all of the staff members speak Russian, and the patients are almost all Russian as well. The environment with people who speak Russian increases my chances of learning medical terminology and keeping my Russian language skills exceptionally high. This will help me experience the diverse jobs that medical fields can have. I am excited to start and learn many concepts that will help me in the future. The classes here at Gustavus also helps my love for the human body and how complex it can be. The classes are very engaging, and there is never a day that I do not learn something. With the medical knowledge that I am currently processing and understanding, my track to being a doctor is not going to be easy but is in sight.

In the future, when I do become a doctor or a physician, I would love to go to Moldova and help out in their hospitals near the villages. I would want to devote my time to helping those in need because I know how many people are trying their hardest to be able to get the right health benefits they need. I would be able to help the doctors with diagnosing patients, prescribing medications for them, and it this concept will help me feel like I have given back to my countries assets that need help. As previously discussed, Moldova is not the best at having modern technology for hospitals and the more staff members there are in those hospitals, the better and faster people can be treated.

With my language skills that I was taught when I was young, and constantly keeping with the traditions at home, Russian can help me in the future when I would like to go back to Moldova and help the hospitals. I know that those hospitals need help in any way that they can, and this would be a sincere devotion to helping those in need. I will keep working as hard as I can to reach this dream, and I will keep speaking Russian because I was blessed to know another language. Moldova is waiting for me to help and I am working to make this dream a reality.