37 & 36: Wells and Icons

The highly unusual and rare plain white well. Brightly colored ones are much more the norm.

A standalone icon. Like the well above it is also quite unusual since it is not located beside a well.

Household icons.

Indoor plumbing is becoming more and more common throughout Moldova as people who have left Moldova to make some money come home and start to make renovations to their houses. One fun consequence of people renovating their houses is that any time someone wants to add a line to the water main they have to cut the water off for everyone else using that pipe. Which usually means that at any given time you might not have water and once it goes out it is usually gone for the whole day.  That might sound like quite a hassle but the water from the tap is really only used for bathing and for the sink. If you plan on cooking any food or want some drinking water you need to head to the closest well. In addition to the water being free it is also always crisp and cold which is a definite plus in the summer time when the weather is scorching hot. 

Wells are everywhere in the village and you are never more than half a block a way from one if not two of them. I've been told that the reason they are so plentiful is that there is a saying that a Moldovan has not lived a good life unless they have built a house, planted a tree, and dug a well. Wells are also usually very unique and colorful (in contrast to the only picture of one I could find on my computer) and they are almost always partnered with an icon. 

Icons are devotional images usually depicting Jesus but other saints are possible and are mostly unique to the Eastern Orthodox church. Every house, classroom, car and motor bus has at least one icon and throughout the village you can find them whether standing on their own or placed next to a well. Tradition calls for anyone passing an icon on the street (whether walking or driving) to make a sign of the cross but this is not heavily followed by most Moldovans, older women being the most ardent observers.