Cetățeanul David

Marking a personal milestone

Yesterday, August 22nd, President Maia Sandu signed a decree granting Moldovan citizenship to a number of individuals - I was one of them. Early next week I will swear the oath and officially become a citizen on this country that I have called home for the last 13 years.

This news became… well, news. Once I found out I thought I’d have to share the good news with friends but that largely I’d celebrate with my family and mark this personal milestone relatively privately.

Things turned out somewhat differently. On the same decree there were 5 other individuals, and one of them, Russian film critic and designated "foreign agent" Anton Dolin, is rather famous¹. As people pored over the list I started getting messages that started like “congratulations?” Quickly this turned into lots of messages, some really kind (and public) posts of congratulations and even a profile on ZdG.

So having found myself in the odd position of being in the news… as I write about the news, I thought I’d share a few thoughts here. Firstly - to everyone who reached out with congratulations, thank you! The response I got was overwhelming and frankly very heartwarming. It has meant a lot.

I came to Moldova back in June 2012 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, never expecting to stay beyond my 27 months of service. That was the start of an amazing journey and series of adventures in what has become my adopted home. For those who are interested and don’t know the story, I’ve written a bit about that journey here in the past. Suffice to say that after starting companies, making friends, getting married and building family - Moldova has become my home. For many years now I’ve been rejecting the “expat” label and calling myself an immigrant². Now that’s becoming a reality and I’ll truly be able to call this country my home.

So in conclusion, while I don’t think it’s necessarily “news” that someone immigrates to Moldova, I’ve been really touched by the congratulations and public interest. It’s truly an honor to soon be able to call myself a Moldovan citizen.

When I first heard about Moldova from a member of the diaspora, I remember them describing the country like this - “a green country, filled with kind people and good wine.” I thought, “what’s not to like?!” and around 9 months later I was here. That was 13 years ago and I’ve come to appreciate this beautiful, small, complicated country more and more ever since.

Mulțumesc foarte mult pentru toate mesajele! Sunt onorat să devin cetățean al unei țări atât de minunate!

- David Smith

Checking out Castel Mimi the day before the EPC Summit in Spring 2023 - a very cool experience on my Moldovan journey

1. The day before there was a decree on the citizenship of 23 other people that barely made the news. I’m pretty sure Anton Dolin is why so many people saw my name there as well :)

2. That’s what someone who did the reverse trip to the US would be called so it sounded right to me.