Screen shot from 2/5/13
Yo Moldova!
I had a post all ready for today, and then things took a turn… toward Moldova. And the Republic of Korea. As I’ve mentioned before, at Word Press, we get to obsess check out daily stats for each of our blog posts, and our blog overall. We can see how many visitors versus views we get each day (frankly, I preferred thinking that they were all visits, instead of knowing that there were fewer visitors, who looked at more). We can see which posts were read, and how many hits they got, and we can see where the visits are from. In fact, we get a super cool map of the world, with the names of the countries where visitors came from, and how many hits came from which country.
So I look at the stats, and I get a kick out of seeing new countries. Last week Moldova showed up. It wasn’t a one hit visit, but two… each day for several days now. It got me wondering about Moldova. If I’ve got a reader, or two, from Moldova, I want to know more. I’d want to know that “Salutare,” is how I might say hello to Moldavan readers. While Moldovan is the official language, it is essentially Romanian. It would help to know that if there are 3.6 million people in Moldova, 1/1,000,000 choose to check out my blog. (That may be off, as stats are not my thing). That makes it that much more interesting that I have consistently had 2-4 hits from Moldova, for nearly 6 days straight now. I’m intrigued.
But what do the stats really mean? Has one person in Moldova chosen to read 1-4 of my posts, each day, for 6 days? Or, has more than one Moldovan been reading just one post a day? Regardless, Moldova is now in the 5th spot for countries reading my blog this week! Yo Moldova! Welcome to the Motherland!
So where is Moldova, and what’s it all about Ruby, you are asking? Or, I suppose it would be what’s it all about Iona (listed as a popular name in Moldova in 2010)? Moldova is sandwiched right between Romania and the Ukraine, which is all very close to Russia. On Moldova.org, there’s a lot of news that involves Putin and Russian news. The capital of Moldova is Chișinău, with a population between 668,000-794,800 (depending on what area you count). That makes Chișinău somewhere around the size of Memphis,TN-Charlotte, NC.
It is a country rich in culture and tourist potential. There are more than 142 wineries in Moldova, so once might think of it as the Napa/Sonomo of Eastern Europe. Who doesn’t like wine? The relatively mild climate probably contributes to the winery opportunities. Summer temperatures average in the low 70s, while winter runs in the mid to low 30s. That surprised me. I guess when I saw the proximity to Russia, I envisioned killer winters. I’m sure Moldovan readers believe I own a gun, as an American. I don’t own a gun, and Moldova is not Siberia. See, we are all learning something here.
Last week, the song of the day in Moldova was Cristina Croitoru and Karizma’s Never Fall Again. Ok Moldovan readers, I want to welcome you into my blog life, but that is not my kind of music. I can see the appeal: to lovers of the club scene, who want to stare into someone’s eyes, all moony and stuff. Otherwise, not really my music Moldova. If you’ve been reading back posts, you now that I love music, but I’m not a big pop or club music person. (Moldovans and other readers, check out this post: Me In the Chord Of… for my music favorites).
Photo: from the internet, featuring classic Moldovan meal
As a huge “foodie,” I was naturally very interested in the food in Moldova. Searching the web, I found a lot of foods that reminded me of Russian food. Lots of root vegetables, meats and grains, served in stews, pickles, and marinades. The national dish is an old Romanian dish called mămăligă . It’s a porridge or mush that is served, like bread, with most meals. Sounds like grits to me! I’m not a big grits, fan, but I’m always willing to try new foods… barring the hot spicy ones. I’m a total weeny when it comes to that. I don’t see a lot of fresh veggies on the list. Stuffed cabbage is a local favorite however, and I love stuffed cabbage! My mom learned to make stuffed grape leaves and cabbage from my great grandmother, and it was always one of my very favorite meals growing up. I really wish I’d gotten her recipe, before she forgot how to do those things.
Moldova, Welcome to Tales From the Motherland! It’s been fun seeing you in my stats, and lots of fun checking out your country. Stick around and see where things go! The rest of you, my wonderful readers from all over, hit Like and welcome Moldova to the fold. Moldova, Leave a comment and tell us a little about yourself. I’m dying of curiosity! Please tell me you didn’t just come here to read about my affair with Barack Obama, because that’s been getting a lot of hits lately. Y’all, the rest of you, leave your thoughts too. Show Moldova some love.
Check out Tales From the Motherland on Facebook, and hit like.
TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND 
It’s fun to see which countries find their way to our blogs. I imagine some land on mine via image searches, but hey, I’ll take it. And now thanks to you, I know a little about Moldova, something I did not know as of five minutes ago. Thanks!
LikeLike
I get a real kick out of some of them. A few weeks back, someone (or likely 2) from the Phillipines started reading my blog, start to finish. There were 2 hits a day on each post from the first moving on… they stuck with it for about 2 weeks. I was sooo curious about who they were and what they found, that kept them coming back. Moldova, is a very cool place to find on your list of of countries. The other country that was here a lot last week was the Republic of Korea. Coolio!
LikeLike
How does one know someone has read a post from start to finish? Am I missing something? That wouldn’t surprise me…
LikeLike
There is no way to know… I am going with the positive assumption. The fact that Moldova returned, daily for a week (though not so far today), is interesting enough. It’s bad enough that the new set up on Word Press makes it harder to view things, and that we now see how many visitors vs views (depressing, if you ask me!), but I do NOT want to know who just skims, or doesn’t read from start to finish… that might be the end of TFTM!
LikeLike
Shot out to Alaska…it is good to know that I am not the only one that aprreciates your thoughts and musings.
LikeLike
Shout out to Alaska indeed! Wish I could see who’s reading, by state! That would be very cool. Thanks for the support Patty; MUCH appreciated. And thanks for sharing a thought here. 🙂
LikeLike
Great idea for a post– might have to steal it next time a faraway place checks out my blog. It is fun (and frustrating) to follow the stats. I try not to obsess too much.
LikeLike
I have been thinking about featuring a different country, on a regular basis… I love seeing which countries are in the house! 😉
LikeLike
All I can say is the people, or, your peeps, from Moldova, have exceptional taste in blogs. 🙂
My ancestors, some of them, came from Odesa, Ukraine, which is very close to Moldova. That’s my only connection.. I was going to stretch that into something, but I really can’t. haha!
LikeLike
Dang! If I had known that Lisa, I could have added “famous blogger Lisa from a Gripping Life is from the Moldova area.” One more thing to like about Moldova and much better than sauerkraut! Thanks for the compliment too. 🙂
LikeLike
You’re right! It is fun to see from where readers are coming and to wonder who they are. I get a couple hits a day from Mauritius, and just today I got 12 views from Cyprus. (I’m guessing one person read everything I posted in the past 6 weeks.) I have no idea who these people are, but it does feel good to know we reach farther than we ever imagined! Great post!
LikeLike
Oh yes! Curiosity will kill this cat for sure. I love seeing those other countries… and I wish I knew more about who the person is, what they are reading, and why. Thanks for representing Mexico Mike! 🙂
LikeLike
While Moldova isn’t known as a tourist destination, there are some interesting things to see here – ancient monasteries and some of the best wineries in Eastern Europe. I look forward to exploring the country.
LikeLike
Wow! Do you live in Moldova or are you visiting? I’d love to hear more. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and sorry for the delay in responding!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND and commented:
Currently I’m in Israel, visiting my daughter, and getting any writing done has been nearly impossible! I had this idea that I would write and write… and write some more, but not the case. Then, today I saw a huge spike in my stats. Hmm? My post, When You Die, (right before those one) was featured in HuffPo last week… but why the spike now? Who knows. But when I looked at my stats (for the first time in weeks), there was Moldova! I wrote about Moldova two years ago, when they started appearing in my stats on a regular basis. It’s been a good long while since I’ve seen them here, but I figured it was as good a time as any to bring this post back. Moldova, reveal yourself! Introduce yourself in my comments; I’d love to know who my reader from/in Moldova is. Wherever the rest of you are from, I’m grateful you stopped by; thank you!
LikeLike
You reminded me of the line ” The world is like a big wheel, we’re all connected”. Honestly, I didn’t know about Moldova. Thanks for your blog, at least I got a little idea about this country.
LikeLike
I had never heard of it either, Mark. Two years ago, I noticed several hits a day from there… and got curious. Now, it feels like a wonderful mystery: who in Moldova is reading Tales From the Motherland? Thank YOU for stopping by TFTM! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, welcome Moldova! We are practically neighbors. 😀
LikeLike
Right! But who is reading in Moldova?? Dying to know. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good post as usual, Dawn, and welcome to Moldova! Interesting. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLike
Yes, very interesting, Suzanne! Wish I knew who it was. 😉
LikeLike
It’s not me. I’m a reader from Ireland 🙂
LikeLike
Well, welcome Ireland! My grandfather came over from Ireland, and I loved visiting a few years ago. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment; it’s much appreciated!
LikeLike
What a joy, to spend time with your daughter. I enjoy your happy photos on Facebook. – Mike
LikeLike
Thanks Mike! It’s gone by in a blur!!
LikeLike