When packing for my two year stint in Macedonia, I wondered how the people dressed and where they purchased their attire. I packed for the cold weather because I was arriving in late September and was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get what I needed in Macedonia.
I discovered that I didn’t need to be concerned. While you can find the basic necessities (underwear, winter accessories, jeans, shoes etc.) in every town that I’ve visited, you may have a little trouble in the small towns finding the newer more fashionable items (suits, coats, blouses, shirts) in your size or preferred color. Many shop owners will try to order what you want if they don’t have it in stock. However, you can always travel to a larger town and most of the time, find what you want. Skopje has everything, so spending a Saturday in the capital, shopping at the city malls and drinking coffee at the cafes is an avocation (private joke: Hey Jess, this is the second time I’ve used this word) for many Macedonians.
The following comments are based on my daily observations while residing in Negotino. They may not be applicable to all small towns and villages. The children in the schools I’ve been in dress like children in America. Same goes with the teenagers. The girls prefer the low waist cut tight jeans while the teenage boys prefer the washed out baggier styles. Things change quite a bit for the girls in the evening hours when many of them head down to the plaza or the cafes and discos. Then they are dressed as though they were modeling clothes for a fashion magazine. High-heeled, knee-high boots are very popular. I am amazed every evening when I return to Kocho’s home, at the agility and balance of the females as they descend the steep, cobblestoned, pockmarked streets to the center in spiked heels.
During their leisure time, young men prefer track suits. They are everywhere this time of the year. Matching tops and bottoms are in fashion right now. The retired men seem to wear suit jackets and comfortable slacks as they stroll around the plaza or sit on the benches discussing whatever they discuss. Mothers and middle-aged women seem to prefer the outfits that you would see in suburban America. The older women, for the most part, dress in black (I believe this has a cultural meaning that I have to learn about in greater detail).
I have yet to see a department store during my wanderings. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t any. Most of the shops I’ve seen are specialty shops. If you want shoes, you go to a shoe store; if you want a shirt, you go to a shirt store; if you want a toy, you go to a toy store. Quite often the stock is limited in the smaller shops, so you must settle for what you can get and not what you may want. This is ideal for all real men (defined as men who hate to shop) who can walk into a shop and tell the clerk, “I’ll take whatever shirt you have in the size closest to mine and in any color closest to black). No stressful decisions to make regarding material (cotton or a cotton-blend), color (fushia or raspberry); designer (Ralph Laure or store brand) or neck size/sleeve length. You take they have and get out of there as soon as possible. After all, you went there to get a shirt and nothing else and you got one. What a system!
This was a short fashion report but as I travel around the country, I will gather more material for Fashion Report II. Just remember, that if you can’t find it somewhere in Macedonia, then you probably don’t need it.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
My First Teaching Experience
In addition to language training, those of us who will be teaching English as a second language (or more appropriately, those of us who will be resource persons for Macedonian teachers of English) we were also given the opportunity to practice our teaching skills in a Macedonian school. We worked with a Macedonian counterpart who currently teaches English in the school to which were are assigned. My counterpart was Petar Lasov who has been teaching at the Straso Pindzur Primary School for the last fourteen years. Under Petar’s guidance, I assisted, team taught, and taught fifth and eighth grade English classes.
Schools throughout Macedonia vary from town to town, city to city, and village to village. Recently, the Ministry of Education decentralized the operation of the country’s schools, giving more responsibilities to the Municipalities and the Country is in the beginning stages of implementing new educational strategies . The Straso Pindzur Primary School has undergone some recent renovations funded by USAID and the infrastructure is in good condition. The rooms are large and the ceilings are high. The rooms are heated by radiators under the windows. The hot water for the radiators is generated in a central boiler fueled by wood. I watched one day as the school custodian stacked an enormous quantity of recently delivered logs and wondered how long it wood take (get it?) to cut and stack it all.
The school is wired for the internet and has a computer lab for student classes and a computer room that is used by the faculty. There is no wireless router, so my laptop couldn’t connect. Petar said that there is a national project underway whose intent is to have a computer on every student’s desk within the next few years.
In Negotino primary school classes are conducted in double sessions. The fifth through eighth grades are scheduled from 7:30 to 12:30 and the first through fourth grades go from 12:30 to 5:30. There are two different teaching staffs that conduct classes of 20-25 students. The students remain in the same classroom throughout the day, with the exception of science and physical education. The students, as I understand it, take classes in math, geography, art, Macedonian and English, science, computer literacy, and religion (Orthodox and comparative).
Following are some observations that I have made in my very brief exposure to one Macedonian Primary School.
The teaching staff that I met was dedicated to their profession. They were friendly and experienced and all trained at the university. At Straso Pindzur, the teachers lacked most of the materials that teachers in my community in the USA use on a daily basis. Since Petar had to move from class to class, he had no place to keep any materials that he could use to supplement the lessons. He did have access to one of several cassette players, but otherwise his only other resource was a piece of chalk and a worn out blackboard. On the days I was with him, because he changed classes every period, he had to write the same 15 vocabulary words on the board in each 8th grade classroom. There was a new donated copy machine in the computer room and a donated printer connected to a computer. However there was no toner or ink and the equipment sat idle. Copy paper was not available. Funding for such items is not currently budgeted at the school but the teachers are hopeful that this issue will be addressed in the future.
Most of the students had English Language workbooks that they purchased from the school. However there were students whose families could not afford these books and they were forced to sit in class unable to follow along and participate. Many of the students had pre-owned workbooks with the answers previously filled in so that, as most students anywhere would do, they didn’t really need to read the passages to complete the exercise.
The biggest cultural shock I had, as did my other Peace Corps colleagues, was what happened during the 15 minute and 5 minute breaks between classes. Once the bell rang at the end of a class, utter chaos (from the perspective of teacher from Massachusetts) breaks out ( students chase each other through the halls; they wrestle; they yell to their friends; they hustle to visit friends in other parts of the school building; and they leave the school grounds to get something to eat)). However, at the end of the break they were all back in their seats, waiting for the teacher to begin the lesson.
At the end of each class, a student was assigned to erase the blackboard. They use wet sponges to remove the chalk. The next teacher would have to write on a wet blackboard. Did you ever try writing with chalk on a wet board? The chalk doesn’t work. The Macedonian teachers had a difficult time trying to understand why we use dry erasers and would just wait until the board dried. No problem.
There was only one electric outlet in each room in which I taught but plans are underway to rewire all the classrooms. There are no practice fire drills but that’s probably because everything is constructed out of concrete and stucco which lessons the fire hazard.
There is a Teacher’s Union, but I didn’t get into any details about how they function in comparison to the Teacher’s Unions in the USA. I'll find out mmore about it at a later time.
My first exposure to a Macedonian school was very positive. I am lookinfg forward to being in my next school full time. Most of the students were eager to learn and practice their English and were very interested in learning about America. It's definitly a two way street, as I am very eager to learn and practice Macedonian and to learn about Macedonia.
Schools throughout Macedonia vary from town to town, city to city, and village to village. Recently, the Ministry of Education decentralized the operation of the country’s schools, giving more responsibilities to the Municipalities and the Country is in the beginning stages of implementing new educational strategies . The Straso Pindzur Primary School has undergone some recent renovations funded by USAID and the infrastructure is in good condition. The rooms are large and the ceilings are high. The rooms are heated by radiators under the windows. The hot water for the radiators is generated in a central boiler fueled by wood. I watched one day as the school custodian stacked an enormous quantity of recently delivered logs and wondered how long it wood take (get it?) to cut and stack it all.
The school is wired for the internet and has a computer lab for student classes and a computer room that is used by the faculty. There is no wireless router, so my laptop couldn’t connect. Petar said that there is a national project underway whose intent is to have a computer on every student’s desk within the next few years.
In Negotino primary school classes are conducted in double sessions. The fifth through eighth grades are scheduled from 7:30 to 12:30 and the first through fourth grades go from 12:30 to 5:30. There are two different teaching staffs that conduct classes of 20-25 students. The students remain in the same classroom throughout the day, with the exception of science and physical education. The students, as I understand it, take classes in math, geography, art, Macedonian and English, science, computer literacy, and religion (Orthodox and comparative).
Following are some observations that I have made in my very brief exposure to one Macedonian Primary School.
The teaching staff that I met was dedicated to their profession. They were friendly and experienced and all trained at the university. At Straso Pindzur, the teachers lacked most of the materials that teachers in my community in the USA use on a daily basis. Since Petar had to move from class to class, he had no place to keep any materials that he could use to supplement the lessons. He did have access to one of several cassette players, but otherwise his only other resource was a piece of chalk and a worn out blackboard. On the days I was with him, because he changed classes every period, he had to write the same 15 vocabulary words on the board in each 8th grade classroom. There was a new donated copy machine in the computer room and a donated printer connected to a computer. However there was no toner or ink and the equipment sat idle. Copy paper was not available. Funding for such items is not currently budgeted at the school but the teachers are hopeful that this issue will be addressed in the future.
Most of the students had English Language workbooks that they purchased from the school. However there were students whose families could not afford these books and they were forced to sit in class unable to follow along and participate. Many of the students had pre-owned workbooks with the answers previously filled in so that, as most students anywhere would do, they didn’t really need to read the passages to complete the exercise.
The biggest cultural shock I had, as did my other Peace Corps colleagues, was what happened during the 15 minute and 5 minute breaks between classes. Once the bell rang at the end of a class, utter chaos (from the perspective of teacher from Massachusetts) breaks out ( students chase each other through the halls; they wrestle; they yell to their friends; they hustle to visit friends in other parts of the school building; and they leave the school grounds to get something to eat)). However, at the end of the break they were all back in their seats, waiting for the teacher to begin the lesson.
At the end of each class, a student was assigned to erase the blackboard. They use wet sponges to remove the chalk. The next teacher would have to write on a wet blackboard. Did you ever try writing with chalk on a wet board? The chalk doesn’t work. The Macedonian teachers had a difficult time trying to understand why we use dry erasers and would just wait until the board dried. No problem.
There was only one electric outlet in each room in which I taught but plans are underway to rewire all the classrooms. There are no practice fire drills but that’s probably because everything is constructed out of concrete and stucco which lessons the fire hazard.
There is a Teacher’s Union, but I didn’t get into any details about how they function in comparison to the Teacher’s Unions in the USA. I'll find out mmore about it at a later time.
My first exposure to a Macedonian school was very positive. I am lookinfg forward to being in my next school full time. Most of the students were eager to learn and practice their English and were very interested in learning about America. It's definitly a two way street, as I am very eager to learn and practice Macedonian and to learn about Macedonia.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Food Experiences in Negotino
In Negotino, where I am staying with my host family, I am enjoying on a daily basis the abundance of fresh (and I mean just picked from the garden fresh) fruits and vegetables. The tomatoes, which I have never eaten raw in my life, are tender and juicy. The apples, grapes, kiwi, pomegranates, leeks, cabbages, peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers can be purchased daily from any of the many produce stands in the town and village. The open market on Tuesdays and Thursdays brings in purveyors from the surrounding villages as well as the backyard growers of vegetables and fruits.
My host family serves me traditional Macedonian meals three times a day. Breakfast, poyadok, could consist of Turkish coffee, white cheese that is flakey similar to feta, sometimes eggs, hardboiled or fried, bread, 3.2% milk (into which Macedonians add sugar), drinkable yogurt, marmalade, chocolate spread similar to peanut butter, thick bread soaked in eggs (French Toast without syrup)) and fried in oil, byrek (flakey pastry filled with cheese), tea, sliced meats and meat spreads similar to liverwurst. Although available, cold cereals are not eaten by my host family. There is no Macedonian word for cereal. They use the word “corn flakes” to describe any corn, wheat or rice breakfast product. They have never had oatmeal, pancake syrup, or peanut butter. It’s not available.
Lunch (rycheck) which is served at three o’clock in the afternoon and is the main meal of the day, consists of soup, bread, a meat dish of either chicken, pork or beef, a vegetable dish of peppers or tomatoes, mashed potatoes or rice, wine or rakija and sometimes a sweet for dessert. My family is not big on sweets. They always have fresh fruits available.
Supper (vechera) is served at 8PM as we sit in the living room watching the news or some other show (Serbian Survivor for example). It is a light meal, usually consisting of food leftover from lunch. You might have cheese, always have bread, milk or wine, fresh tomatoes or cucumber, sliced meats and sometimes a sweet purchase at the store.
Those who aren’t having their meals prepared for them can find most of the ingredients for preparing their meals in Negotino. Butcher shops, fruit and vegetable stands, pastry shops and small convience stores are in the downtown area. There is one supermarket that has a decent inventory of instant soups, pastas, snacks and wines. Maybe it’s because we are in the wine growing area of the country, but you can purchase a very good bottle of locally produced wine for 150 denari ($3.00). Milk is sold in one liter sealed boxes and is sold off the shelf. It must be refrigerated after opening and tastes fine.
I have not dined out yet, but I understand from listening to current Volunteers that every town has a restaurant or two that offers a good dining experience. In Negotino, there are many food stands where you can purchase a “hamburger”, byrek, or sandwich (tost).
All said and done, you cannot go hungry in Macedonia. On December 13th, when we head out to be on our own, our cooking skills will truly be tested. The Peace Corps staff said that many trainees put on 20 pounds during their stay with their host family but they lose it all and more living on their own and having to cook their own meals. They do provide us with a Macedonian cookbook to help get us started. thank goodness for that.
My host family serves me traditional Macedonian meals three times a day. Breakfast, poyadok, could consist of Turkish coffee, white cheese that is flakey similar to feta, sometimes eggs, hardboiled or fried, bread, 3.2% milk (into which Macedonians add sugar), drinkable yogurt, marmalade, chocolate spread similar to peanut butter, thick bread soaked in eggs (French Toast without syrup)) and fried in oil, byrek (flakey pastry filled with cheese), tea, sliced meats and meat spreads similar to liverwurst. Although available, cold cereals are not eaten by my host family. There is no Macedonian word for cereal. They use the word “corn flakes” to describe any corn, wheat or rice breakfast product. They have never had oatmeal, pancake syrup, or peanut butter. It’s not available.
Lunch (rycheck) which is served at three o’clock in the afternoon and is the main meal of the day, consists of soup, bread, a meat dish of either chicken, pork or beef, a vegetable dish of peppers or tomatoes, mashed potatoes or rice, wine or rakija and sometimes a sweet for dessert. My family is not big on sweets. They always have fresh fruits available.
Supper (vechera) is served at 8PM as we sit in the living room watching the news or some other show (Serbian Survivor for example). It is a light meal, usually consisting of food leftover from lunch. You might have cheese, always have bread, milk or wine, fresh tomatoes or cucumber, sliced meats and sometimes a sweet purchase at the store.
Those who aren’t having their meals prepared for them can find most of the ingredients for preparing their meals in Negotino. Butcher shops, fruit and vegetable stands, pastry shops and small convience stores are in the downtown area. There is one supermarket that has a decent inventory of instant soups, pastas, snacks and wines. Maybe it’s because we are in the wine growing area of the country, but you can purchase a very good bottle of locally produced wine for 150 denari ($3.00). Milk is sold in one liter sealed boxes and is sold off the shelf. It must be refrigerated after opening and tastes fine.
I have not dined out yet, but I understand from listening to current Volunteers that every town has a restaurant or two that offers a good dining experience. In Negotino, there are many food stands where you can purchase a “hamburger”, byrek, or sandwich (tost).
All said and done, you cannot go hungry in Macedonia. On December 13th, when we head out to be on our own, our cooking skills will truly be tested. The Peace Corps staff said that many trainees put on 20 pounds during their stay with their host family but they lose it all and more living on their own and having to cook their own meals. They do provide us with a Macedonian cookbook to help get us started. thank goodness for that.
A Wonderful Week
Hey Sweetie,
Now that you’ve raked all the leaves, what will you be doing this weekend? Have you called my mother to see how she is doing and explain how communication will improve once I get to my permanent site? Wednesday was the first time since I’ve been here I wished I was in the USA. It would have been great to take part in the celebrating our new president. I had to rely on getting to the internet to see what the reactions around the world were. It wasn’t the same.
I have my blog up and running so I won’t have to go into much detail in our personal e-mails since I’ll be able to into detail on the blog. Anyone that’s interested can follow my wanderings by connecting to my blog. You won’t have to forward my e-mails anymore. I also installed Picasa and began installing a library of photos to the site. It takes a long time uploading pictures at the internet place. The URL for my site is merharticpcv.blogspot.com. From there everyone can get to my pictures and can make comments or ask questions. What a wonderful world this is.
You asked about the Macedonian reaction to the election of Obama. Most Macedonians favored John Mc Cain (?) because they believed that Obama was favoring Greece in the name dispute. However once he was elected, they seemed happy that he was elected. Most Macedonians were very interested in the election and those with whom I came in contact with, congratulated me and shook my hand because they knew I was voting for Obama. I reassured them that Obama would not turn his back on an ally and they seemed satisfied.
As I wrote before, we are all waiting anxiously to find out our permanent site. So keep your fingers crossed that I am sent somewhere where there is convenient transportation. When was the last time you traveled on a bicycle with a suitcase over dirt roads and hilly terrain?
I had a practice language proficiency test on Thursday and I did pretty well. I was told that I am at the level that would be expected of me at the end of the training, so I think I’ll do well on the real test in December. I can get around pretty well with what they have taught us so far and can actually make full sentences in the past and future tenses. I’m still working on building up my vocabulary and trying to figure out indefinite and definite pronouns. My younger colleagues are learning a little faster than I am but are very supportive when I am not comprehending a concept.
I finished my English teaching practicum on Wednesday. My counterpart at the school uses the required student manual and I was scheduled to teach the Wednesday lesson. It was a lesson on reading out of order paragraphs and putting them in the correct order and the subject matter was entitled Reading Across Cultures – Heroes. On the day that my country elected an African American to be our President and on a day when I was in a country so far from home, the American hero that was the subject of my English lesson was Dr. Martin Luther King. It was emotional for me at times during the lesson to explain how in my lifetime I witnessed the “climbing of the mountain”. The five of us celebrated after class at one of the local cafes and had a drink toasting our new President.
You should forward this e-mail so that you won’t have to send everyone my blog site. Let me know ASAP if you have trouble getting to my blog site so I can figure out the problem. Tell the boys that if they need any help with a computer issue to drop me a line so I can instruct them as to how to fix it, install it, or use it. I just wish they would become more computer literate so I wouldn’t have to help them ALL the time. Give everyone a hug from me. You get two.
Majkl
Now that you’ve raked all the leaves, what will you be doing this weekend? Have you called my mother to see how she is doing and explain how communication will improve once I get to my permanent site? Wednesday was the first time since I’ve been here I wished I was in the USA. It would have been great to take part in the celebrating our new president. I had to rely on getting to the internet to see what the reactions around the world were. It wasn’t the same.
I have my blog up and running so I won’t have to go into much detail in our personal e-mails since I’ll be able to into detail on the blog. Anyone that’s interested can follow my wanderings by connecting to my blog. You won’t have to forward my e-mails anymore. I also installed Picasa and began installing a library of photos to the site. It takes a long time uploading pictures at the internet place. The URL for my site is merharticpcv.blogspot.com. From there everyone can get to my pictures and can make comments or ask questions. What a wonderful world this is.
You asked about the Macedonian reaction to the election of Obama. Most Macedonians favored John Mc Cain (?) because they believed that Obama was favoring Greece in the name dispute. However once he was elected, they seemed happy that he was elected. Most Macedonians were very interested in the election and those with whom I came in contact with, congratulated me and shook my hand because they knew I was voting for Obama. I reassured them that Obama would not turn his back on an ally and they seemed satisfied.
As I wrote before, we are all waiting anxiously to find out our permanent site. So keep your fingers crossed that I am sent somewhere where there is convenient transportation. When was the last time you traveled on a bicycle with a suitcase over dirt roads and hilly terrain?
I had a practice language proficiency test on Thursday and I did pretty well. I was told that I am at the level that would be expected of me at the end of the training, so I think I’ll do well on the real test in December. I can get around pretty well with what they have taught us so far and can actually make full sentences in the past and future tenses. I’m still working on building up my vocabulary and trying to figure out indefinite and definite pronouns. My younger colleagues are learning a little faster than I am but are very supportive when I am not comprehending a concept.
I finished my English teaching practicum on Wednesday. My counterpart at the school uses the required student manual and I was scheduled to teach the Wednesday lesson. It was a lesson on reading out of order paragraphs and putting them in the correct order and the subject matter was entitled Reading Across Cultures – Heroes. On the day that my country elected an African American to be our President and on a day when I was in a country so far from home, the American hero that was the subject of my English lesson was Dr. Martin Luther King. It was emotional for me at times during the lesson to explain how in my lifetime I witnessed the “climbing of the mountain”. The five of us celebrated after class at one of the local cafes and had a drink toasting our new President.
You should forward this e-mail so that you won’t have to send everyone my blog site. Let me know ASAP if you have trouble getting to my blog site so I can figure out the problem. Tell the boys that if they need any help with a computer issue to drop me a line so I can instruct them as to how to fix it, install it, or use it. I just wish they would become more computer literate so I wouldn’t have to help them ALL the time. Give everyone a hug from me. You get two.
Majkl
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Halfway Point In Training
We’re halfway through our Pre-Service Training (PST) and we’re inundated with a gazillion new vocabulary words. The good part is that I,easily comprehend the grammar and syntax rules, so that it’s just a question of picking the correct noun, verb, and object which you can find in the dictionary. The problem is that the words don’t come out sounding like they should. Some trainees are taking Albanian and Macedonian – God bless them.
We had our site placement interviews with the Peace Corps staff. They were interested in finding out our preferences as to where we would like to be placed – a city, a town, or a village. They asked about our experiences, although they already had that info, and gave us some insight as to just how the placement process works. I told them I’m open to any placement except a city. Since I’m a TEFL volunteer, I will probably be placed in a village but nothings predictable, as current volunteers have informed us. The much anticipated site placement announcements will be made the week of November 10th. Everyone is excited about finding out where they will be spending their next two years.
Anyway, everyone here in Negotino is getting ready for the upcoming cold weather. Most residents have sawed, split, and stored their winter wood supply – the main fuel for heating. I am anticipating a pervasive smell of burning wood once the heating season begins. Many of the residents are slaughtering pigs, sheep, and cows for their winter protein supply. The Tuesday/Thursday market is crowded with sellers and buyers of the last crops of the fall – cabbages, carrots, green tomatoes, nuts, apples, leeks, etc. The center plaza is crowded with residents taking advantage of the final days of fall weather. The rabbit hunting season is in full swing, so it’s not unusual to see a hunter with his dog heading out to the fields. Kocho laughed when he saw one of the hunters go buy. He said we’ll probably see him again in the butcher shop buying a rabbit or two so he can save face amongst his buddies and family when he returns.
Every morning as I head out, I see the residents sweeping up the past day’s leaf drop. What’s culturally shocking is that everyone sweeps with short handled brooms. Many use dried branches tied into a bunch- but everyone stoops over when their sweeping. I haven’t seen a long handled broom yet. One of these days I’ll find out why short brooms are preferred.
On our hike last Sunday, we came upon a real shepherd. I have never met a real shepherd. His name is Brizzo and he knows Kocho, so we “talked” for a few minutes. He was so pleased to meet an American. He doesn’t own the sheep but he is hired to take care of them. It seems like a great lifestyle. I plan on looking into job opportunities in that field when I return to the States. Would you check to see if there are any courses at one of the local universities that would assist me in opening doors to a career in the field of sheep herding?
I have the letter for Delta Dental. I will mail it to you at my first opportunity. Did you get the postcard I mailed? I’m trying to find out how well the postal system works. Also did you have the opportunity to change my PIN number for my ATM card? If you aren’t already doing so, would you forward my e-mails to my mom through Merzie and give her a call to let her know I’m doing fine and that I love her.
I really miss raking leaves. I actually went out to the street yesterday and pretended to rake. I made three small piles, using my feet as a makeshift rake. It was fun. You are so lucky to have real leaves and lots of them, to rake.
Included in today’s photos (slikas) are: a pic of a retuning rabbit hunter; a pic of a gentleman sweeping leaves with a longer than average broom; a pic of Brizzo the shepherd; a pic of the neighbor’s sons cutting wood into splitable pieces with a type of saw used by many families (most residents still cut wood with a handsaw); and a pic of the local bazaar.
The week ahead is crazy with language classes; four English classes to teach at my practicum school; a class to teach my fellow trainees about the Past Progressive Tense (I in turn will learn about the Past Simple, Comparative, Present Perfect and Future Progressive Tenses). What a deal! I never knew these things existed. I am somewhat surprised that I can speak English so well.
I hope your plans to visit are coming along. There is so much I want you to see and share with you. It will help our planning when I find out what my new abode consists of and how far it is from civilization. I love you and think of you all the time.
Mikey
We had our site placement interviews with the Peace Corps staff. They were interested in finding out our preferences as to where we would like to be placed – a city, a town, or a village. They asked about our experiences, although they already had that info, and gave us some insight as to just how the placement process works. I told them I’m open to any placement except a city. Since I’m a TEFL volunteer, I will probably be placed in a village but nothings predictable, as current volunteers have informed us. The much anticipated site placement announcements will be made the week of November 10th. Everyone is excited about finding out where they will be spending their next two years.
Anyway, everyone here in Negotino is getting ready for the upcoming cold weather. Most residents have sawed, split, and stored their winter wood supply – the main fuel for heating. I am anticipating a pervasive smell of burning wood once the heating season begins. Many of the residents are slaughtering pigs, sheep, and cows for their winter protein supply. The Tuesday/Thursday market is crowded with sellers and buyers of the last crops of the fall – cabbages, carrots, green tomatoes, nuts, apples, leeks, etc. The center plaza is crowded with residents taking advantage of the final days of fall weather. The rabbit hunting season is in full swing, so it’s not unusual to see a hunter with his dog heading out to the fields. Kocho laughed when he saw one of the hunters go buy. He said we’ll probably see him again in the butcher shop buying a rabbit or two so he can save face amongst his buddies and family when he returns.
Every morning as I head out, I see the residents sweeping up the past day’s leaf drop. What’s culturally shocking is that everyone sweeps with short handled brooms. Many use dried branches tied into a bunch- but everyone stoops over when their sweeping. I haven’t seen a long handled broom yet. One of these days I’ll find out why short brooms are preferred.
On our hike last Sunday, we came upon a real shepherd. I have never met a real shepherd. His name is Brizzo and he knows Kocho, so we “talked” for a few minutes. He was so pleased to meet an American. He doesn’t own the sheep but he is hired to take care of them. It seems like a great lifestyle. I plan on looking into job opportunities in that field when I return to the States. Would you check to see if there are any courses at one of the local universities that would assist me in opening doors to a career in the field of sheep herding?
I have the letter for Delta Dental. I will mail it to you at my first opportunity. Did you get the postcard I mailed? I’m trying to find out how well the postal system works. Also did you have the opportunity to change my PIN number for my ATM card? If you aren’t already doing so, would you forward my e-mails to my mom through Merzie and give her a call to let her know I’m doing fine and that I love her.
I really miss raking leaves. I actually went out to the street yesterday and pretended to rake. I made three small piles, using my feet as a makeshift rake. It was fun. You are so lucky to have real leaves and lots of them, to rake.
Included in today’s photos (slikas) are: a pic of a retuning rabbit hunter; a pic of a gentleman sweeping leaves with a longer than average broom; a pic of Brizzo the shepherd; a pic of the neighbor’s sons cutting wood into splitable pieces with a type of saw used by many families (most residents still cut wood with a handsaw); and a pic of the local bazaar.
The week ahead is crazy with language classes; four English classes to teach at my practicum school; a class to teach my fellow trainees about the Past Progressive Tense (I in turn will learn about the Past Simple, Comparative, Present Perfect and Future Progressive Tenses). What a deal! I never knew these things existed. I am somewhat surprised that I can speak English so well.
I hope your plans to visit are coming along. There is so much I want you to see and share with you. It will help our planning when I find out what my new abode consists of and how far it is from civilization. I love you and think of you all the time.
Mikey
Automobiles
I find myself slipping into Macedonian every now and then, so you will have to excuse me. I actually fall asleep at night practicing the lessons of the day and wake up in the morning conjugating verbs. It’s only been three weeks of language classes but we’ve learned enough to be able to survive in the town.
It’s Friday night and I don’t have to do any homework so I will try to get this e-mail together and try to post it tomorrow. One of our biggest challenges here in the town is trying to stay out of harm’s way. Here in a developing country where resources are in short supply, there are safety violations that would send a safety engineer into an epileptic fit.
Many of the cars being driven are from the time of the former Yugoslav Republic. They include many vehicles that we are unfamiliar with in the States. Fiats, Opels, Yugos, Zastavas, Peugeots, Citreons, Lavas, VWs, and a few BMW’s, Mercedes, small Fords, and Chevy’s rule the road. And I mean rule the roads. Every trip to the center consists of dodging speeding, smokey, and transmission challenged vehicles that barely fit on the back roads and barely make it up the hilly roads. Many of the vehicles are 20 to 30 years old and have been repeatedly patched up. They are forced to share the road with innumerable scooters, donkey carts, tractors, and fume belching trucks.
But this is the best part. The Macedonian people don’t care that they don’t have the newest, fastest shiniest auto. In their outlook on life, they are content with a car that gets them from point A to point B, enabling them to save a little time to accomplish other tasks. It’s a tool and nothing else. The last two mornings I noticed a neighbor start his car in this manner: as most persons do, he lives on a hill. He pushes his car out of the garage and UP the driveway (I mean literally UP since the garage is below street level) to the level of the road. I’m amazed he can push it, albeit it’s a small vehicle, by himself up the incline. When he gets to road level, he aligns the car with the road, hops in as it begins its downhill trek, pops the clutch and goes off to work. He must park on a hill at work so he can start it for its homeward trip. No big deal.
There seem to be no traffic rules for the drivers. They park on the sidewalks, as do the tractor drivers, so that pedestrians must walk in the road. They don’t slow down when passing pedestrians walking along the narrow roads. Autos inspections aren’t required, so they can leak fluids, pollute the air, be driven without functioning lights or brakes, and ride on treadless tires. And yet I’ve never seen an accident or heard a siren from an ambulance or police car. Go figure.
The weather here has been pretty mild, with somewhat cool mornings and relatively warm afternoons, much like the weather in New England. Today I found out why Macedonians iron their underwear. The reason, I was told by a native Macedonian, is that ironing kills the bacteria that may be on the T-shirts or briefs as a result of everything being washed in cold water. Whether this is folklore or scientifically accurate is not an issue with me. I kinda like ironed undergarments. Don’t you agree, Sweetie? Can I count on you to iron my underwear when I get home?
Speaking of clothing. it’s amazing how many days I can get out of a pair of jeans, a shirt, socks and other articles of clothing. There is minimum three day turnaround time for laundry. Most Macedonians have washing machines buy few have dryers. Being of the male gender, I am not allowed to do laundry. So if I need to have blue jeans washed, I put them in a laundry basket with my other dirty laundry. The water pressure drops considerably between 12PM and 4 PM and there is no water from 11PM to 6AM, so the opportunities to do laundry are somewhat limited. This is compounded by the small capacity of the washing machine and Slavitsa’s work schedule. When finally making it through the washing stage, they must be hung out to dry. When dry, they must be ironed. The process takes days, so I must ration my favorite clothing. The upside is that when you put on a pair of jeans that you’ve worn for eight consecutive days, you convince yourself, that because the jeans are so baggy and loose fitting, you’ve lost a considerable amount of weight.
I am attaching a short video of some Macedonian folk dancers that welcomed us on our first morning in the country four weeks ago. I hope I can upload it without any problems and that you can view it. Please be mindful that these are traditional costumes and that I have yet to see any modern Macedonians walking around dressed as such, although I think it would be kind of neat.
I hope the leaves are falling in neat piles as I directed them to do and that you are slowing down from all the partying that the boys have told me about. The snow blower may need a pep talk to get psyched up for the upcoming snowfalls, so share a glass of wine with her and talk about what a great job she’s done in the past. She likes to be reminded of the blizzard of ’78. And oh, she prefers a dry Merlot.
Anyway, writing this e-mail was the easy part. Sending it will be another issue. I love you.
Majkal
P.S. I’m not sure that the Macedonian font will be readable on your computer so I want to make sure you know this letter is from Michael, your husband.
It’s Friday night and I don’t have to do any homework so I will try to get this e-mail together and try to post it tomorrow. One of our biggest challenges here in the town is trying to stay out of harm’s way. Here in a developing country where resources are in short supply, there are safety violations that would send a safety engineer into an epileptic fit.
Many of the cars being driven are from the time of the former Yugoslav Republic. They include many vehicles that we are unfamiliar with in the States. Fiats, Opels, Yugos, Zastavas, Peugeots, Citreons, Lavas, VWs, and a few BMW’s, Mercedes, small Fords, and Chevy’s rule the road. And I mean rule the roads. Every trip to the center consists of dodging speeding, smokey, and transmission challenged vehicles that barely fit on the back roads and barely make it up the hilly roads. Many of the vehicles are 20 to 30 years old and have been repeatedly patched up. They are forced to share the road with innumerable scooters, donkey carts, tractors, and fume belching trucks.
But this is the best part. The Macedonian people don’t care that they don’t have the newest, fastest shiniest auto. In their outlook on life, they are content with a car that gets them from point A to point B, enabling them to save a little time to accomplish other tasks. It’s a tool and nothing else. The last two mornings I noticed a neighbor start his car in this manner: as most persons do, he lives on a hill. He pushes his car out of the garage and UP the driveway (I mean literally UP since the garage is below street level) to the level of the road. I’m amazed he can push it, albeit it’s a small vehicle, by himself up the incline. When he gets to road level, he aligns the car with the road, hops in as it begins its downhill trek, pops the clutch and goes off to work. He must park on a hill at work so he can start it for its homeward trip. No big deal.
There seem to be no traffic rules for the drivers. They park on the sidewalks, as do the tractor drivers, so that pedestrians must walk in the road. They don’t slow down when passing pedestrians walking along the narrow roads. Autos inspections aren’t required, so they can leak fluids, pollute the air, be driven without functioning lights or brakes, and ride on treadless tires. And yet I’ve never seen an accident or heard a siren from an ambulance or police car. Go figure.
The weather here has been pretty mild, with somewhat cool mornings and relatively warm afternoons, much like the weather in New England. Today I found out why Macedonians iron their underwear. The reason, I was told by a native Macedonian, is that ironing kills the bacteria that may be on the T-shirts or briefs as a result of everything being washed in cold water. Whether this is folklore or scientifically accurate is not an issue with me. I kinda like ironed undergarments. Don’t you agree, Sweetie? Can I count on you to iron my underwear when I get home?
Speaking of clothing. it’s amazing how many days I can get out of a pair of jeans, a shirt, socks and other articles of clothing. There is minimum three day turnaround time for laundry. Most Macedonians have washing machines buy few have dryers. Being of the male gender, I am not allowed to do laundry. So if I need to have blue jeans washed, I put them in a laundry basket with my other dirty laundry. The water pressure drops considerably between 12PM and 4 PM and there is no water from 11PM to 6AM, so the opportunities to do laundry are somewhat limited. This is compounded by the small capacity of the washing machine and Slavitsa’s work schedule. When finally making it through the washing stage, they must be hung out to dry. When dry, they must be ironed. The process takes days, so I must ration my favorite clothing. The upside is that when you put on a pair of jeans that you’ve worn for eight consecutive days, you convince yourself, that because the jeans are so baggy and loose fitting, you’ve lost a considerable amount of weight.
I am attaching a short video of some Macedonian folk dancers that welcomed us on our first morning in the country four weeks ago. I hope I can upload it without any problems and that you can view it. Please be mindful that these are traditional costumes and that I have yet to see any modern Macedonians walking around dressed as such, although I think it would be kind of neat.
I hope the leaves are falling in neat piles as I directed them to do and that you are slowing down from all the partying that the boys have told me about. The snow blower may need a pep talk to get psyched up for the upcoming snowfalls, so share a glass of wine with her and talk about what a great job she’s done in the past. She likes to be reminded of the blizzard of ’78. And oh, she prefers a dry Merlot.
Anyway, writing this e-mail was the easy part. Sending it will be another issue. I love you.
Majkal
P.S. I’m not sure that the Macedonian font will be readable on your computer so I want to make sure you know this letter is from Michael, your husband.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Negotino, Macedonia
Found an hour to compose this e-mail which I am typing at “home”, putting on a flash drive, and then eventually going into the town to put it out over the internet. This is the way I have to do it until December. Not as convenient as at home.
Let everyone at home know I really appreciate the e-mails and to keep them coming. I appreciate the humour and keeping informed about what’s going on in each family. I have lots of pictures and will post them on Picasa when I have some time. The only problem is that you won’t necessarily know what a picture is all about.
Negotino is a town composed of several villages and colonies. The grocery market, pharmacies, bakeries, meat markets, cafes, etc. are all at the bottom of the “valley” with the homes of the villagers up in the hills. So everyone walks downhill to the center and uphill fully loaded with goods. It’s amazing to see the babas and dados (grandmothers and grandfathers) manage the uphill trek. I would suspect that a lifetime of this climbing these hills results in a low risk of heart disease in this country. The lung cancer rate must be pretty high though, since many Macedonians smoke, including some of the 12 year olds that I’ve met.
Last Sunday Kocho took me on a 12 kilometer hike through the vineyards and up a local “mountain”. I walked with my Macedonian dictionary with me and we were able to communicate pretty well. The view from the top was awesome as you could see distant villages, the Town of Negotino, and the distant real mountain ranges. I spent the rest of the day upon my return studying my Macedonian, which is coming along rather well.
This is the time of the year when everyone is getting ready for the winter months. Wine making equipment is being stored, garden plots are being furrowed, and it seems almost the entire neighborhood is splitting and stacking wood. Kocho’s neighbor was butchering three pigs on Sunday. It was somewhat of a cultural shock to see two boys of about five years with knives gutting the slain animals as their father supervised the process.
Until you’ve visited the country in person, you cannot appreciate how friendly the Macedonians are. When they meet you, they want to take you to their home to meet the rest of the family and to have a drink or two of chai or homemade wine or rakija. Last night I got a call at 8:30 inviting me over to the birthday party of the host father of one of the other Peace Corps trainees. I was getting ready to study but I accepted the invitation and wound up staying for 1 ½ hours communicating with the other family members in attendance in broken English and broken Macedonian. I’ve learned that I can usually get around the language barrier now but look forward to the time when I can converse more fluently in this nation’s language. On Thursday night I am attending an internet class with four of the men who attended the birthday party. They asked their instructor if “Michael from America “ could come with them one night to class and I was heartily invited . I just hope we don’t stop for a few on the way home. At least we’ll be walking, so there is no chance of getting a DUI citation. I wonder if they give WUI (walking under the influence) citations?
Included in the pictures are Kocho and me at the top of the hillock (is this really a word?) where the panorama is awesome; a view of one of the villages as seen from the top; a picture of a tractor and a farmer with his horse drawn cart that we passed in the vineyard; a picture of drying peppers that almost every family seems to grow (they dry in those bags and are pulverized into paprika). These pictures are the last of the batch I took with the highest resolution on my camera. This resulted in enormous upload times when I was sending them to you. Hopefully, until I can set up a Picasa site, these will be easier for everyone to download.
Love, Love, Love, Majkal ApXaptik (aka Mikey)
Let everyone at home know I really appreciate the e-mails and to keep them coming. I appreciate the humour and keeping informed about what’s going on in each family. I have lots of pictures and will post them on Picasa when I have some time. The only problem is that you won’t necessarily know what a picture is all about.
Negotino is a town composed of several villages and colonies. The grocery market, pharmacies, bakeries, meat markets, cafes, etc. are all at the bottom of the “valley” with the homes of the villagers up in the hills. So everyone walks downhill to the center and uphill fully loaded with goods. It’s amazing to see the babas and dados (grandmothers and grandfathers) manage the uphill trek. I would suspect that a lifetime of this climbing these hills results in a low risk of heart disease in this country. The lung cancer rate must be pretty high though, since many Macedonians smoke, including some of the 12 year olds that I’ve met.
Last Sunday Kocho took me on a 12 kilometer hike through the vineyards and up a local “mountain”. I walked with my Macedonian dictionary with me and we were able to communicate pretty well. The view from the top was awesome as you could see distant villages, the Town of Negotino, and the distant real mountain ranges. I spent the rest of the day upon my return studying my Macedonian, which is coming along rather well.
This is the time of the year when everyone is getting ready for the winter months. Wine making equipment is being stored, garden plots are being furrowed, and it seems almost the entire neighborhood is splitting and stacking wood. Kocho’s neighbor was butchering three pigs on Sunday. It was somewhat of a cultural shock to see two boys of about five years with knives gutting the slain animals as their father supervised the process.
Until you’ve visited the country in person, you cannot appreciate how friendly the Macedonians are. When they meet you, they want to take you to their home to meet the rest of the family and to have a drink or two of chai or homemade wine or rakija. Last night I got a call at 8:30 inviting me over to the birthday party of the host father of one of the other Peace Corps trainees. I was getting ready to study but I accepted the invitation and wound up staying for 1 ½ hours communicating with the other family members in attendance in broken English and broken Macedonian. I’ve learned that I can usually get around the language barrier now but look forward to the time when I can converse more fluently in this nation’s language. On Thursday night I am attending an internet class with four of the men who attended the birthday party. They asked their instructor if “Michael from America “ could come with them one night to class and I was heartily invited . I just hope we don’t stop for a few on the way home. At least we’ll be walking, so there is no chance of getting a DUI citation. I wonder if they give WUI (walking under the influence) citations?
Included in the pictures are Kocho and me at the top of the hillock (is this really a word?) where the panorama is awesome; a view of one of the villages as seen from the top; a picture of a tractor and a farmer with his horse drawn cart that we passed in the vineyard; a picture of drying peppers that almost every family seems to grow (they dry in those bags and are pulverized into paprika). These pictures are the last of the batch I took with the highest resolution on my camera. This resulted in enormous upload times when I was sending them to you. Hopefully, until I can set up a Picasa site, these will be easier for everyone to download.
Love, Love, Love, Majkal ApXaptik (aka Mikey)
Wedding Bands and Pets
(Earlier e-mail) I was wondering why so many Macedonian women were hitting on me so I asked my Macedonian friends if this was a custom that we were not informed about. They told me that married Macedonians wear their wedding bands on their right hand and not their left hand. So I struggled to get my wedding band off and after having it on for more than 35 years it took me three days. I had to suffer through the experience of having beautiful Macedonian women buy me drinks at the local café and try to convince them that I was already married. It has been a truly trying time but I now wear my wedding band on my right hand and no longer am I subjected to the onslaught of these beautiful Macedonians.
After class today I sat in the plaza and was munching some popcorn from a street vendor (10 denari which is about $.40) when all of a sudden I hear my name yelled out, “Michael!”. It was Toni (short for some long Macedonian name) whom I had met briefly on the second day during our marathon visits to our host families. Toni came over and sat beside me and proceeded to talk to me in very understandable broken English and Macedonian. Toni was born in Negotino and he seemed to know everyone that passed by. He would wave people over to meet me and he would tell them that I was in the Peace Corps and I would shake hands, giving the formal greeting and then listen to Toni tell me the life story of each person I met. Everyone was pleasant and I felt at home, sitting in a plaza with many of the older men in the community, chitchatting with nary a women in sight as the women were home preparing the evening meal , ironing underwear, making ajvar, and sweeping up the fallen leaves. I am somewhat convinced that Macedonians are on the right track when it comes to gender roles. Jesse would love it here.
Macedonia would not rank high in the eyes of animal rights activists. People do not let pet dogs into the house. As a result, and without any lease laws, dogs roam freely throughout the village and in the center. Sadly, many dogs are abandoned and wander aimlessly searching for food and waiting to die from disease or starvation. Few animals, if any, are neutered resulting in a new generation of unwanted animals on a regular basis. Homeless cats are everywhere.
At times these dogs can be somewhat threatening. On my second day of my practicum as I was walking to the school to which I was assigned, I noticed this little ratty dog sitting in the middle of the path upon which I was walking. As I approached, he started barking and began running toward me, but I figured he had a Napoleon Complex and that his bark would be worse than his bite. So I continued walking toward him and he kept charging, growling and barking and attempting to nip at my heels. I was able to keep him from getting to close by occasionally stopping and staring at him. I continued walking toward the school with this runt of dog barking at me from behind. I wasn’t too concerned until I got to the next intersection and looking to my right, noticed a battalion of charging and barking canines rapidly bearing down on me, alerted I presume, by “little rut” who in reality I will now call Scout Dog. Thankfully, a baba (grandmother) who heard the commotion, yelled something at the dogs and they reluctantly halted. As they slowly retreated, I could swear that one of the last dogs in the pack, looked over his shoulder, grinned, and mouthed the words, “there will always be a next time”. I now watch for Scout Dog wherever I go.
I am typing this on Thursday evening because I have no language class tomorrow and because the instructor took our language workbooks so she could see how we were progressing. There is no language class tomorrow because we have a Hub Day in Komanavo. This is a day when the trainees from each of the seven host family villages, all 35 of the MAC 13 group, travel to the Hub City for a day of training relevant to all of us. I am in the Municipality of Negotino and we have the furthest ride (90 minutes) to Kumanavo. The Peace Corps provides the ride to and fro.
On Saturday (no language classes) we have a Field Day in the capital city Skopje, sponsored by the PCV’s from MAC 11 and 12. This a day planned solely by PVC’s and provides us with the opportunity to meet all the other volunteers in Macedonia. It’s a social event at which we can informally talk to others who have the experiences associated with having been in the country for a year or two. We will travel using public transportation (a bus) for the first time so it will also serve as a training event for us rookies. I understand it’s about an hour ride to Skopje.
I’ll let you know how everything worked out in a future e-mail. The pictures today include a picture of the walkway along the “river” that I take on my way to the internet café to send these e-mails; a picture of the location where I encountered Scout Dog; a picture of the café alley where we sit drinking espresso or macolattoes (?) during our 30 minute break from class; and a picture of our five person training group (Brittany is taking the picture). The two individuals on the right are the Peace Corps Macedonia Safety and Security Team that had come to our site to conduct a class.
I am saving this e-mail on a flash drive and will try to get it out as soon as possible, but as I’ve mentioned before, there’s no telling when I will get to a place that has a computer available. As usual, all my love.
Mikey
After class today I sat in the plaza and was munching some popcorn from a street vendor (10 denari which is about $.40) when all of a sudden I hear my name yelled out, “Michael!”. It was Toni (short for some long Macedonian name) whom I had met briefly on the second day during our marathon visits to our host families. Toni came over and sat beside me and proceeded to talk to me in very understandable broken English and Macedonian. Toni was born in Negotino and he seemed to know everyone that passed by. He would wave people over to meet me and he would tell them that I was in the Peace Corps and I would shake hands, giving the formal greeting and then listen to Toni tell me the life story of each person I met. Everyone was pleasant and I felt at home, sitting in a plaza with many of the older men in the community, chitchatting with nary a women in sight as the women were home preparing the evening meal , ironing underwear, making ajvar, and sweeping up the fallen leaves. I am somewhat convinced that Macedonians are on the right track when it comes to gender roles. Jesse would love it here.
Macedonia would not rank high in the eyes of animal rights activists. People do not let pet dogs into the house. As a result, and without any lease laws, dogs roam freely throughout the village and in the center. Sadly, many dogs are abandoned and wander aimlessly searching for food and waiting to die from disease or starvation. Few animals, if any, are neutered resulting in a new generation of unwanted animals on a regular basis. Homeless cats are everywhere.
At times these dogs can be somewhat threatening. On my second day of my practicum as I was walking to the school to which I was assigned, I noticed this little ratty dog sitting in the middle of the path upon which I was walking. As I approached, he started barking and began running toward me, but I figured he had a Napoleon Complex and that his bark would be worse than his bite. So I continued walking toward him and he kept charging, growling and barking and attempting to nip at my heels. I was able to keep him from getting to close by occasionally stopping and staring at him. I continued walking toward the school with this runt of dog barking at me from behind. I wasn’t too concerned until I got to the next intersection and looking to my right, noticed a battalion of charging and barking canines rapidly bearing down on me, alerted I presume, by “little rut” who in reality I will now call Scout Dog. Thankfully, a baba (grandmother) who heard the commotion, yelled something at the dogs and they reluctantly halted. As they slowly retreated, I could swear that one of the last dogs in the pack, looked over his shoulder, grinned, and mouthed the words, “there will always be a next time”. I now watch for Scout Dog wherever I go.
I am typing this on Thursday evening because I have no language class tomorrow and because the instructor took our language workbooks so she could see how we were progressing. There is no language class tomorrow because we have a Hub Day in Komanavo. This is a day when the trainees from each of the seven host family villages, all 35 of the MAC 13 group, travel to the Hub City for a day of training relevant to all of us. I am in the Municipality of Negotino and we have the furthest ride (90 minutes) to Kumanavo. The Peace Corps provides the ride to and fro.
On Saturday (no language classes) we have a Field Day in the capital city Skopje, sponsored by the PCV’s from MAC 11 and 12. This a day planned solely by PVC’s and provides us with the opportunity to meet all the other volunteers in Macedonia. It’s a social event at which we can informally talk to others who have the experiences associated with having been in the country for a year or two. We will travel using public transportation (a bus) for the first time so it will also serve as a training event for us rookies. I understand it’s about an hour ride to Skopje.
I’ll let you know how everything worked out in a future e-mail. The pictures today include a picture of the walkway along the “river” that I take on my way to the internet café to send these e-mails; a picture of the location where I encountered Scout Dog; a picture of the café alley where we sit drinking espresso or macolattoes (?) during our 30 minute break from class; and a picture of our five person training group (Brittany is taking the picture). The two individuals on the right are the Peace Corps Macedonia Safety and Security Team that had come to our site to conduct a class.
I am saving this e-mail on a flash drive and will try to get it out as soon as possible, but as I’ve mentioned before, there’s no telling when I will get to a place that has a computer available. As usual, all my love.
Mikey
The Monastery and The Grill'in
(An earlier e-mail) Any luck in finding out why you couldn’t get through the other day? My five minutes cost me $9.00. I’m trying to find out where there a Skype connection that we can use, but no luck so far.
Anyway besides eating a diet that consists of nothing but healthy foods, I am drinking a lot of rakija and Turkish coffee. No ill effects yet. My host family looks forward to correcting my homework every evening and we have lots of laughs at the mistakes I make. Trying to tell me in Macedonian that the verb is supposed to be third person plural, feminine gender instead of first person singular masculine gender takes a good half hour of hand gestures and constant referral to the dictionary that the Peace Corps mercifully provides. I am making great progress though.
On Sunday, my first real day off, Kocho and Violetta took me on a 10 kilometer hike which wound up an Orthodox Monastery that has been refurbished recently. It was built in the 15th century but with the exception of the foundation, was destroyed in one of the many conflicts. The grounds are beautiful and the whole experience takes one back in time, not unlike the feeling you get in the villages we’ve walked through.
After our hike, Kocho set up his grill and barbequed some chicken steaks, kielbasa, sausages and fresh pork. I hung around and watched, continually turning down offers to refill my rakija glass. As usual the meal was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner. At night I sit in the living room doing my language homework while the family watches TV. Many of the shows are in English with Macedonian subtitles so I find it a great way to learn some new vocabulary. I can’t go to bed until they check my homework and give me a “Dobra”.
Included in today’s photos are a picture of the monastery, Kocho and I at the monastery, Kocho and Slavitsa, cooking on the grill and a landscape shot taken from the hill where the monastery is located.
I am typing this e-mail between the time my practicum at the “skoloto” is over and before my four hours of my language class begins. When I get to send it depends on my opportunity to get to an available computer with internet access.It was great hearing your voice on Tuesday. Tell the boys I appreciate the e-mails and to keep them coming when they have something to report. It was also great to hear from Mark and Luanne and Carmella. I hope everyone understands my inability to respond and acknowledge each e-mail due to my hectic pre-service training schedule. It’s like pre-season football drills for the mind. I’ll have much more free time in December when I get established at my permanent site.
Love to all, especially to you.
Majkal
Anyway besides eating a diet that consists of nothing but healthy foods, I am drinking a lot of rakija and Turkish coffee. No ill effects yet. My host family looks forward to correcting my homework every evening and we have lots of laughs at the mistakes I make. Trying to tell me in Macedonian that the verb is supposed to be third person plural, feminine gender instead of first person singular masculine gender takes a good half hour of hand gestures and constant referral to the dictionary that the Peace Corps mercifully provides. I am making great progress though.
On Sunday, my first real day off, Kocho and Violetta took me on a 10 kilometer hike which wound up an Orthodox Monastery that has been refurbished recently. It was built in the 15th century but with the exception of the foundation, was destroyed in one of the many conflicts. The grounds are beautiful and the whole experience takes one back in time, not unlike the feeling you get in the villages we’ve walked through.
After our hike, Kocho set up his grill and barbequed some chicken steaks, kielbasa, sausages and fresh pork. I hung around and watched, continually turning down offers to refill my rakija glass. As usual the meal was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner. At night I sit in the living room doing my language homework while the family watches TV. Many of the shows are in English with Macedonian subtitles so I find it a great way to learn some new vocabulary. I can’t go to bed until they check my homework and give me a “Dobra”.
Included in today’s photos are a picture of the monastery, Kocho and I at the monastery, Kocho and Slavitsa, cooking on the grill and a landscape shot taken from the hill where the monastery is located.
I am typing this e-mail between the time my practicum at the “skoloto” is over and before my four hours of my language class begins. When I get to send it depends on my opportunity to get to an available computer with internet access.It was great hearing your voice on Tuesday. Tell the boys I appreciate the e-mails and to keep them coming when they have something to report. It was also great to hear from Mark and Luanne and Carmella. I hope everyone understands my inability to respond and acknowledge each e-mail due to my hectic pre-service training schedule. It’s like pre-season football drills for the mind. I’ll have much more free time in December when I get established at my permanent site.
Love to all, especially to you.
Majkal
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Ironing Underwear
(This is one of my earlier e-mails to Lee) It’s Saturday and it’s a national holiday (National Uprising Day) so nothing is open, not even the internet cafes (what is the plural of café). I’m spending the day reviewing my language materials. I was sitting in the garage with the Meovski family while they are roasting peppers and tomatoes and making rakija. Slavitsa checks my homework and is constantly giving me new vocabulary words. Kocho has been making rakija for about 18 days and it is his only source of income since he is not employed right now. The family also sells peppers and tomatoes from their garden at the market.
As I’ve mentioned before, they are taking wonderful care of me. They feed me too much, they are always worried that I may be too cold, and if I am delayed at class, they call me to make sure I’m ok and not lost. Slavitsa also does my laundry, and as is the Macedonian custom, insists that she iron my underwear and t-shirts before she returns them to me. Few families have dryers, so laundry is hung outside on the sun side. It’s somewhat comical to see my bright red and other multi-colored boxers fluttering in the wind next to the white other -things of the other family members. On Sunday Kocho is taking the day off from making rakija so that he can show me where the Straso Pindzur School is (that’s where I’ll do my teaching practicum). We’re also going to hike to an old monastery that’s about 4 kilometers from here. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of photo opportunities and will send some pictures.
I really can’t work on my blog until I get my own place and have a reliable access to the internet. We do have it here but I can’t use my own computer and at times the internet is inaccessible. So I’ll count on you to forward my current status to all our family and friends who have an interest. Time will be limited in the next four weeks during our practici (is this the plural of practicum?)to anything but teach, plan lessons, and go to four hours of language classes every day. They’ve even have weekend activities planned for us. The training is outstanding and the Peace Corps does everything in their power to make sure we will be successful. It’s rare to encounter such a group of upbeat and talented training staff. On Friday we had the pot luck dinner at the apartment of a current volunteer. I was the oldest in attendance but never felt out of place. It was entertaining to listen to some of the stories that the current volunteers had to tell. The current volunteers who are ending their two years and will be returning to the states told us that the time flies by.
The pictures include a picture of classmates in language class at the municipal building in Negotino (our instructor Despinja is wearing brown pants), a picture of two Macedonian boys that helped us when we got temporarily got sidetracked; a scene of the Tuesday and Thursday bazaar in the center where you can purchase almost anything including fresh produce; a picture of some of the volunteers at our pot luck dinner; a picture of Kocho my protector; and a picture of MAK13 taken in Philly with the Macedonian ambassador who had come up from Washington DC to thank us for giving assistance to his country.
I am now going outside to the garage to help peel tomatoes despite Kocho’s good natured warning that that it is women’s work. I’ll put this letter on a flash drive and try to get it out tomorrow (cafes closed today). Feel free to correct any grammatical mistakes before you forward it to anyone. I don’t have the time to keep checking for mistakes. Love and lots of kisses - Mikey
As I’ve mentioned before, they are taking wonderful care of me. They feed me too much, they are always worried that I may be too cold, and if I am delayed at class, they call me to make sure I’m ok and not lost. Slavitsa also does my laundry, and as is the Macedonian custom, insists that she iron my underwear and t-shirts before she returns them to me. Few families have dryers, so laundry is hung outside on the sun side. It’s somewhat comical to see my bright red and other multi-colored boxers fluttering in the wind next to the white other -things of the other family members. On Sunday Kocho is taking the day off from making rakija so that he can show me where the Straso Pindzur School is (that’s where I’ll do my teaching practicum). We’re also going to hike to an old monastery that’s about 4 kilometers from here. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of photo opportunities and will send some pictures.
I really can’t work on my blog until I get my own place and have a reliable access to the internet. We do have it here but I can’t use my own computer and at times the internet is inaccessible. So I’ll count on you to forward my current status to all our family and friends who have an interest. Time will be limited in the next four weeks during our practici (is this the plural of practicum?)to anything but teach, plan lessons, and go to four hours of language classes every day. They’ve even have weekend activities planned for us. The training is outstanding and the Peace Corps does everything in their power to make sure we will be successful. It’s rare to encounter such a group of upbeat and talented training staff. On Friday we had the pot luck dinner at the apartment of a current volunteer. I was the oldest in attendance but never felt out of place. It was entertaining to listen to some of the stories that the current volunteers had to tell. The current volunteers who are ending their two years and will be returning to the states told us that the time flies by.
The pictures include a picture of classmates in language class at the municipal building in Negotino (our instructor Despinja is wearing brown pants), a picture of two Macedonian boys that helped us when we got temporarily got sidetracked; a scene of the Tuesday and Thursday bazaar in the center where you can purchase almost anything including fresh produce; a picture of some of the volunteers at our pot luck dinner; a picture of Kocho my protector; and a picture of MAK13 taken in Philly with the Macedonian ambassador who had come up from Washington DC to thank us for giving assistance to his country.
I am now going outside to the garage to help peel tomatoes despite Kocho’s good natured warning that that it is women’s work. I’ll put this letter on a flash drive and try to get it out tomorrow (cafes closed today). Feel free to correct any grammatical mistakes before you forward it to anyone. I don’t have the time to keep checking for mistakes. Love and lots of kisses - Mikey
First Days in Negotino
(This e-mail was sent during the second week in October.) Everything here is progressing very well. It is strange to be in the position of a student once again. I just finished my language homework and have to now spend some time reviewing the lessons from the last few days. Next week we go into one of the primary schools to observe and meet with our counterparts with whom we will be teaching during our practicums.
Last night Kucho, my host father took me to the police station to register as a non-citizen. Everyone was very friendly and very helpful especially since the instructions for registering were written in Macedonian. Kucho then took me on a 3 kilometer hike up into the hills to show me his vineyard where he grows grapes to brew his rakija and chardonnay. He shares the field with other small time growers but it’s rather large and takes a tremendous amount of work to maintain.
I am sure you are interested in what the food is like, so I’ll give you a brief summary now and elaborate on it at a future time. In the morning, my host mother, Slavitsa, puts out sliced meats, cheeses, bread, Turkish coffee, yogurt which is a beverage here (very delicious) and one main dish which so far has been something fried or baked but always includes eggs and butter in the recipe. Today we had something similar to French toast without the syrup, thick fried slices of battered bread that we ate with our hands.
Lunch, rycheck, is served at 1600 hours. This is the main course of the day. So far, every meal I’ve had has been different and delicious. Fresh tomatoes, with oil and onions, along with bread and wine are at all meals. Home made soup is served , and then the main course which is generally a meat dish (poultry, beef, lamb). So far I’ve had homemade cookies, baklava, and a rich chocolate cake for dessert. A shot glass of rakija completes the meal. At 2100, while I am struggling to stay awake, supper is served. It’s generally on the “lite” side but it includes a variety of sliced meats and cheeses. Bread, avar (look it up online, many people in the village are making it in their garages right now, the air is filled with the aroma of roasting peppers and eggplant) and various meat spreads (unusual for me). Needless to say, most PCV’s put on twenty pounds during their homestay.
Neighbor’s are always dropping by to greet Kocho’s American friend and we have lots of fun while trying to communicate.I’ve been sending pictures without identifying what they are about because I don’t have much time to do so. I’ll make it a project of mine to set up a Picassa site on my website later on down the road. Today’s samples include one of Kocho in his vineyard, a view of a burro cart and a view of downtown taken from one of the building.
Give a hug to the boys from me. Tell them to start saving for a great experience and to meet some wonderful Macedonians.
I love you,
Mikey.
Last night Kucho, my host father took me to the police station to register as a non-citizen. Everyone was very friendly and very helpful especially since the instructions for registering were written in Macedonian. Kucho then took me on a 3 kilometer hike up into the hills to show me his vineyard where he grows grapes to brew his rakija and chardonnay. He shares the field with other small time growers but it’s rather large and takes a tremendous amount of work to maintain.
I am sure you are interested in what the food is like, so I’ll give you a brief summary now and elaborate on it at a future time. In the morning, my host mother, Slavitsa, puts out sliced meats, cheeses, bread, Turkish coffee, yogurt which is a beverage here (very delicious) and one main dish which so far has been something fried or baked but always includes eggs and butter in the recipe. Today we had something similar to French toast without the syrup, thick fried slices of battered bread that we ate with our hands.
Lunch, rycheck, is served at 1600 hours. This is the main course of the day. So far, every meal I’ve had has been different and delicious. Fresh tomatoes, with oil and onions, along with bread and wine are at all meals. Home made soup is served , and then the main course which is generally a meat dish (poultry, beef, lamb). So far I’ve had homemade cookies, baklava, and a rich chocolate cake for dessert. A shot glass of rakija completes the meal. At 2100, while I am struggling to stay awake, supper is served. It’s generally on the “lite” side but it includes a variety of sliced meats and cheeses. Bread, avar (look it up online, many people in the village are making it in their garages right now, the air is filled with the aroma of roasting peppers and eggplant) and various meat spreads (unusual for me). Needless to say, most PCV’s put on twenty pounds during their homestay.
Neighbor’s are always dropping by to greet Kocho’s American friend and we have lots of fun while trying to communicate.I’ve been sending pictures without identifying what they are about because I don’t have much time to do so. I’ll make it a project of mine to set up a Picassa site on my website later on down the road. Today’s samples include one of Kocho in his vineyard, a view of a burro cart and a view of downtown taken from one of the building.
Give a hug to the boys from me. Tell them to start saving for a great experience and to meet some wonderful Macedonians.
I love you,
Mikey.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Living With My Host Family
(This e-mail was sent during the second week of October)Lots has happened in the last few days as we continue on our journey to self-sufficient living with a conversational knowledge of Macedonian. The language training is conducted in groups of four or five and the pace is such that everyone feels comfortable before we move on to the next lesson.
I am writing this on Word and transferring it to a flash drive so that I can drop an e-mail at an internet café and quickly send it out. I am unable to add anything to my blog because they keep us busy from early morning until early evening with no access to the internet.
We met our host families on Saturday afternoon. The 35 of us who were training together were broken into 7 groups which were to be sent to 7 different smaller villages outside of Kumanavo and each person was assigned a host family. We still get together in Kumanavo on different occasions for group training.
My host family lives in the village of Negotino, which is a town about one hour from Kumanavo. It is in the wine growing region and is considered to be the best training site. The ambiance of the village takes one back to the old world with the quaint village streets and alleys, the red tiled roofs and the barns of animals and drying peppers. My host family, Kocho, Slavinsa, and their 30’ish something daughter, Violata, who just returned from Croatia to live at home, are salt of the earth people. They raise garden vegetables to sell at the market and make their own agvar(a tomato/pepper spread) and rakia (a homemade alcohol which is very popular in Macedonia). On Sunday morning, Kocho and I spent the morning learning vocabulary words while distilling the rakia. The neighborhood smells of burning wood, roasting tomatoes and peppers, and sometimes of the local animal population.
At 11:30 we met at the Town Hall to see were our classroom would be for the duration and then our instructor took us around to meet each of the host families and to show us where she was staying. At each of the five host families’ home we were offered drinks and homemade foods to include sweetened apricots, a sweetened pumpkin-eggplant concoction (which was very good), baklava, coconut/chocolate bars, and plenty of Turkish coffee. A 10 pound gain in weight is expected from each PCV during their home stay.
Needless to say, by 4:00PM we were not very hungry, but by then it was just the right time to have lunch with my family. Macedonians eat at 9AM, 3:30PM and 9PM. The heavy meal is lunch. Here they drink their yogurt and it tastes pretty good.
Some of the customs that are different from those of us in the U.S. would probably be considered unusual but are the way things are here and are considered to be normal: soiled toilet paper is deposited in a basket next to the toilet, not flushed; taking shoes off when entering someone’s home; filling up your tractor at the local benzene station; no indoor dogs; smoking wherever you want to; and tiny cars that are 40 years old belching fumes.
We start language and cultural training Monday morning. I am trying to find a way to call, but I have not had the time to determine the best way. My cell phone minutes are limited and I haven’t been in a place that will let me purchase more minutes. Someone told me calls from the US are only charged to the caller so I’ll verify that info. My cell phone number is xxxxxxxx. I’m not sure what the exchange is for Macedonia but you could look it up online. I can’t wait to talk to you and continue my blog, but I know that once I get my own place in December, I’ll have easier access and plenty of time to keep up a better dialogue.
I hope you are enjoying your first weeks WOM (Without Mikey) but you know that despite my crazy schedule, I think of you constantly throughout the day. Say Hi to my boys and tell them I miss them and that several of the Peace Corps Volunteers can’t wait to meet them and accept a marriage proposal.
I’ll talk about my training colleagues in one of my next e-mails. I hope I can get this one out real soon.
I love you.
Majkal Erhartic
Great Staging, Uneventful Flight
(This posting was actually written on September 30th) The staging events finished on Saturday evening. We now know a bit more about our assignments, the Peace Corps expectations of us, and a relief of many of the concerns that a new volunteer might have. The Peace Corps staff did a great job in getting us ready to take our first steps – getting on the bus to JFK. Their enthusiasm was contagious.
The Macedonian ambassador to the U.S. dropped in and gave an address that presented us with a first person view of the problems, concerns, and accomplishments of his country. He thanked us for volunteering to come to Macedonia and answered a host of questions presented to him by the volunteers ( I should use the term Trainee, rather than volunteer, because you are not a true Volunteer until after you complete three months of in-country training and are formally sworn in).
The trainees in MAC13 (The 13th group to be sent to Macedonia) are a wonderful collection of wonderful people. We are a very diverse group. We have individuals from New York, Maryland, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Connecticut, and Montana (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out). We have two young married couples, seven of us in the 6% Club, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer going on a second tour, and a diversity of racial backgrounds.
It was a with a great sense of the adventure that lay ahead of us, that we took off with on Sunday morning. It was a little unbelievable that we would be leaving the USA for 27 months and be in a foreign land in 36 hours. The bus ride to JFK was uneventful except when we passed through Manhattan and witnessed for one more time the awesomeness of one of the world’s greatest cities and knowing that we were headed out to a country that has and still is going through some difficult growing pains.
There was lots of waiting around at JFK, lugging around 140 pounds of baggage and exploring the International Terminal, utilizing every electrical outlet to recharge laptops and IPODS. We flew to Vienna on Austrian Airlines with two delicious in-flight meals served by flight attendants attired in bright red uniforms. It’s been a long time since I had a meal on a plane. It does kill some time and gives you something to look forward to on an otherwise totally torturous voyage.
The airport in Vienna was rather large. Thank goodness we didn’t have to lug our baggage around. Lots of police and tight security. The Macedonian Under- 16 National Football Team was traveling back to Skopje on the same flight as us. I approached the coaches who were standing in a group and asked if any of them spoke English and it turned out that one of them did. We talked for a few minutes and upon ending our discussion, they gave us a Macedonian Football Federation patch. The President of the MFF is a teacher in the capital and gave me his card. Maybe someday I will have a chance to drop in on him.
I had a nice conversation on the flight with a gentleman from Tate who spoke a little English. When we arrived at the airport, the first thing we noticed was the contrast between the cities we had passed through in the last 36 hours and the airport in Skopje. Everything was on a smaller scale. We quickly went through customs and collected our baggage and then proceeded out of the building where we were enthusiastically met by the Peace Corps Country Director, his staff and some current PCV’s. We loaded our baggage onto an awaiting truck, got on the bus and preceded to our first week training site in Kumanavo which is about a thirty minute ride. It gave us our first chance to see a country that we had been only reading about for the last three months. The countryside was beautiful ; the highway was somewhat empty; and the vehicles we did see were more compact and for the most part older, then we were used to in the USA.
The Satilite Hotel that was serving as the training center during our first week is about a thirty minute walk or a five minute taxi ride from the city of Kumonavo. It is a very lovely hotel and is enabled me to take my first shower in MAcedonia. When I exited the brand new modern shower stall, there was a large puddle on the tiled floor and water was leaking into a floor drain from the stall. After dressing I notified the desk clerk of the leak, only to be told that that is the way plumbing in Macedonian bathrooms is designed. Shower water is supposed leak into the floor drain, The only problems are that you can’t use a floor mat, the wet tiles are extremely slippery, and trying to avoid having your dry clothes from dipping onto the wet floor is a challenge. I am sure there will be many more cultural shocks in the next two years.
Finally, Access to the Internet
It’s been more than a month since I’ve been able to add to this blog. Our pre-service training is exhaustive but thorough. The Peace Corps wants to insure that we have all the tools we’ll need to be safe and successful in the two years we spend in our assignment. The training is outstanding. By the time we are sent out to be on our own, we will have basic language skills, knowledge of the culture and history of Macedonia, past and current political issues effecting the country, information regarding health and safety issues, familiarity with the transportation system, an understanding of the educational system, and the first hand experience of living in the country for three months with a host family.
The Peace Corps staff is exceptional. They are a cheerful and highly upbeat group. There’s never a problem that doesn’t have a solution or a personal issue that can’t be resolved expeditiously. The language and culture instructors are knowledgeable and vibrant and insure that you are learning at your own pace and they will provide personal tutoring upon request.
Anyway, since I am so far behind (in my own mind) in my postings and rather than leave a gap in the blog, I will post the e-mails, minus the juicy stuff, that I sent to my wife during the last five weeks. They contain many of the first impressions that I have had since I landed in Skopje. You can also check out the Picasa site on which, at which, upon which, or to which I will post photos of interest (POI’s) during the next two years.
The Peace Corps staff is exceptional. They are a cheerful and highly upbeat group. There’s never a problem that doesn’t have a solution or a personal issue that can’t be resolved expeditiously. The language and culture instructors are knowledgeable and vibrant and insure that you are learning at your own pace and they will provide personal tutoring upon request.
Anyway, since I am so far behind (in my own mind) in my postings and rather than leave a gap in the blog, I will post the e-mails, minus the juicy stuff, that I sent to my wife during the last five weeks. They contain many of the first impressions that I have had since I landed in Skopje. You can also check out the Picasa site on which, at which, upon which, or to which I will post photos of interest (POI’s) during the next two years.
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