I took pictures this month while doing an important regular task: Paying our bills. I've been doing this monthly for over a year now, so the process has developed a semblance of normalcy. Paying bills is an oft complained about part of adulting. It's not fun, but it was not something that previously took up much of my time. Chris and I set up automatic bill pay on everything - our phones, internet, energy/gas, etc. The only reason we didn't automate paying our rent was that we lived downstairs from our landlord and taking a check up to her was a lovely excuse to visit. Here, we had to learn how to pay bills all over again. We moved into our apartment in October 2015. I would love to say we roll through the process smoothly, but we often don't. What bills do we pay? We receive and pay the following bills:
We also pay rent to our host family/landlord. The apartment we live in is owned by their daughter who, like a quarter of adults in Moldova, lives and works abroad. Who really pays the bills? Not us. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we receive a stipend to cover the cost of living. We are expected to use this stipend in our community while here, living on par with our colleagues. We don't get a salary, we get money to house, feed, and generally care for us that should be completely spent here. Thus, Peace Corps pays our rent and utilities (along with everything for our general, simple living). How do we get the bills? This is where it starts to get tricky. The meters for two of our utilities are inside our apartment. We must read them ourselves and leave the numbers written on a post-it note on our door around the end of the month. Initially, we were told to do this on the 29th of the month. But, then our host mother called us several times on the 28th or 29th of the month, irritated that she got a call from the utilities company asking for the numbers. So, now we post this on the 26th of the month. The person who comes around to read the notes sometimes marks a check on the paper to let us know they've read it. Sometimes, they don't. Sometimes they come around on the 27th, sometimes later in the month; usually we have no idea. Last month, a person called out to me on the street and explained that she is who comes to get our water readings. She gave me her phone number so that I can call her with the number instead of posting it. I've done both last and this month. Throughout the second and third week of the month, bills arrive in our mailbox. To our knowledge, workers from each utility company come in person to put them there. I wait for all the bills to come in before the next step. How do pay them? I get cash from the bank then pay them in person! Some months, this only takes about half an hour to complete. Other months, it takes up much of my afternoon. Below, the process in pictures!
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Rebecca LehmanHealth Education volunteer serving at Boris Dînga Middle & High School in Criuleni, Moldova. Archives
May 2017
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