Up and Running

After five weeks of waiting for T-Home to install my Peace Corps required phone land line and my not required but essential internet connection and my nice to have cable TV, I am waiting no longer. For the 1650 denari installation fee and a one year contract of approximately 2900 denari ($60.00)per month, I have a phone from which I can make unlimited calls to Macedonia Telecom subscribers; 70 cable TV stations; and a fast DSL internet connection (6144/766 kbps)with unlimited downloading capability. The Peace Corps gives me 500 denari/month for the required phone line, but I am responsible for the cable and internet. This takes a little bite out of my subsistence allowance, but a few more meatless meals should cover it.

There are many TV stations that play English language programs with Macedonian subtitles. These could complement my weekly tutoring classes. However, as my family at home can attest to, sitting down to watch a TV show means falling asleep in an armchair (or any chair for that matter). So I’m not anticipating “watching” much TV.

The internet will now allow me to get background information for some of the projects I am planning and to find invaluable references to share with my English-teaching colleagues. It will also save me the $25 Sunday evening calls to my wife as I will be Skyping from now on.

On the 19^th of January, Macedonians (as probably do all Orthodox Christians) celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. It is the last day of celebration before the beginning of the new work year. On this day in each town, the local priest throws a cross into whatever large body of water is available and men from the town will dive into the water, competing to be the one to retrieve it. In Probistip where there is no lake or river, they use a very large swimming pool on the outskirts of town. In Ochrid, they use the lake and in Skopje they use the Vardar River. It’s a very well attended event and is the end of the long holiday season.

I missed the first day of school on the 20^th, because I was able to travel to Skopje to our Peace Corps Director’s home to watch the inauguration ceremonies of our newly elected President. About 35 Volunteers from across the country made the trip. The director and his wife put on a sumptuous spread and made everyone welcome and comfortable. I made it back to Probistip for Thursday morning classes and many of the teachers congratulated me and seemed truly impressed that Americans make such a big deal out of having a new President.

On the 26^th, I again traveled to Skopje, this time to attend Warden training. Wardens are volunteer Volunteers who assist the permanent PC staff in ensuring that volunteers throughout Macedonia are evacuated safely out of the country if the need ever arises. Wardens are briefed on the various contingency plans that have been devised and their role in the execution of those plans. Every measure has been taken to ensure safety of the Volunteers, so parents, spouses, family and friends can rest assured that the Peace Corps in Macedonia is prepared for any emergency that may arise.

The weather in Probistip has been comparatively comfortable with the temperatures in the low 40’s Cloudy and rainy days are the rule over the last few weeks. I kind of miss shoveling and snowblowering (the spell checker won’t approve this word) the snow deposited by the many storms hitting New England this winter. I miss chopping the ice off the sidewalk and raking the snowdrifts off the roof. And I especially miss competing with the ice to stay upright. Truly the joys of winter. (A special special thanks to my next door neighbor, Andy, who has assisted my novice – but now experienced - wife in removing tons of snow from our ice-rutted driveway. Thanks Andy!... and to all of my neighbors who have lent a hand in helping out when needed.

The Macedonian Postal Service

Sending packages from the USA to Macedonia is very expensive. It’s a minimum of $49.95 to send a box about the size of two size 17 shoe boxes. My favorite sister, Luanne, sent me a surprise New Year’s box of goodies that contained a beautiful sweat shirt, a box of gourmet cookies, and a bottle of maple syrup. The maple syrup allowed me to have French toast one morning, served American style. My Macedonian friends do not know what maple syrup is, despite the fact that they have many maple trees. They also are not familiar with the other syrups (Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth) since they don’t use these products on their pancakes. Macedonian pancakes are crepes, filled with chocolate crème.

Anyway, I digress. The postman delivers regular mail to my apartment, leaving it by the door since there are no individual mailboxes at my building. The postman does not deliver packages. He will leave you a yellow card that notifies you that you have a delivery awaiting at the Post Office. I’m not sure about domestic packages, but if the package is from outside of Macedonia, the cost of picking up the package will be indicated on the card. So not only do they not deliver packages, they require you to make the trip to the Post Office and then charge you 186 Denari (About$3.00) to lug it home.

I believe that this procedure has something to do with Customs, since every package that comes into the country is opened up and its contents examined. The package are then resealed, banded and sent on their way to their final destination. Maybe the cost of picking up your package has something to do with covering the cost of the materials to reseal it. I will investigate this matter further, since I am curious as to why things are done the way they are.

On the 16th of January, I received my first Care package from my Number One Supporter – my wife. She had mailed them on the 7th of January, between Massachusetts’ snow storms. In return for the shipping costs for two parcels ( $100) and the 372 Denari (186 x 2) to pick them up, I obtained about $60 worth of things that they don’t have in Macedonia or that I have been unable to find as of yet. I was giddy as I opened the resealed boxes and discovered that I now have a good vegetable peeler (I was using and could continue to use the butter knife, but I was losing a lot of the potato and carrot in the process); Log Cabin Syrup for my pancakes (to go along with two bottles of maple syrup); 7mm lead for my mechanical pencil; horseradish for my meatloaf; Centrum Silver vitamins for my over 50 needs; a good carving knife so I can give my bread knife an occasional rest; black non-wife-beater style undershirts; a meat thermometer so all the pork I have to eat (very little beef in Probistip) won’t give me trichinosis; plastic Ziploc bags so I can store leftovers from the serves-four recipes and there being only one of me; wash cloths and dish rags for cleaning the bachelor pad of the previous Volunteer in which I now live; aromatic candles to assist in the battle to overcome the cabbage-oriented smells of my neighbors’ winter diets; pot holders which will replace the cumbersome dish towels which routinely failed in their efforts to protect my hands from being burned; three bottles of Costco contact lens solution at $3.00 a bottle enabling me to forego the $16 a bottle investment in Probistip; and a two-cup measuring cup with metric volumes so that I don’t have to refer to conversion charts when I am making peanut butter cookies.

I also received a t-shirt (Macedonia – America: The best of both worlds), a History of Russia DVD set, and a beautiful and comfortable L.L.Bean flannel shirt (thank you Mom-Barber).

These simple things will give me much pleasure over the next 24 months. It was a great Care package but the extreme cost of shipping will limit future bundles. If I really need something badly, I can plan on going to Skopje where I’ll probably be able to find it. Right now, I have everything I need (except my internet connection). I’m one happy camper.

Christmas in Negotino

The visit with Kocho, Slavitza, and Violetta for the celebration of the Orthodox Christmas was wonderful . The food was delicious Macedonian fare in unending amounts, made from scratch, with local ingredients. I was unable to be in Negotino on Monday evening when the men in the village make bon fires, sing songs, and drink heated rakija with added water and sugar. But there were also bon fires all over Probistip and the sound of the men singing folk songs could be heard from all directions. The fires remind everyone of the fire set by the shepherds for the birth of Jesus. I’m not sure where or when the custom of drinking alcohol began or its relevance.

On Tuesday morning on my bus ride to Negotino, I noticed many children walking in groups as the bus passed through the villages. I found out later on that this event occurs on January 6th, the morning before Boshik (this is a transliterated way to say the Cyrillic-spelled word for Christmas). It is very similar to our Halloween, in that the children go from door to door as early as 4 AM, singing a song for the residents in return for goodies such as fruits, candies or money. They carry a stick or small pole (reminiscent of the shepherds) and make their way through the neighborhood collecting goodies.

Boshik Eve is spent with immediate family members. Kocho led a ritual with candles that highlighted the birth of Jesus . He invited God into his home and he gave thanks for the previous year’s blessings. He then distributed chunks of a loaf of bread that Slavitza had baked earlier in the day to each of us. One coin was hidden in the loaf of bread and the person who found the coin in their chunk of bread would have good fortune in the next year. Kocho got the coin this year. Relatives and friends called throughout the day to report who got the coin in their family and to find out who got the coin in Kocho’s family.

Boshik is also a day spent with family members. All we did was eat and eat and eat. We all rewarded ourselves with two hour naps which got us ready to eat some more before we retired for the night. It is very similar to our Thanksgiving Day meal when we gourge ourselves, watch football, and take naps before we eat our turkey sandwiches. Later on in the evening, Brittany dropped over for a visit. She was visiting her host family and we had a pleasant time as she updated us on her adventures as a Volunteer.

I left Negotino on Thursday morning at 10:30 and arrived in Probistip at 3:30. The five hour bus trip would be reduced to no more than 90 minutes when driven by car, but taking a bus lets you enjoy what Macedonia is all about. My host family stocked me with a supply of pickled vegetables, jarred plums, and a new supply of rakija which I will enjoy for the next few months.
Since we had a few snowfalls in the days prior to Boshik, the landscape took on a new appearance, so the bus ride afforded me some terrific views through the iced up windows. Generally, snowfalls melt quickly in this part of Macedonia but this winter has been colder than usual (this debunks Rob’s theory of global warming) and so the snow is sticking around. People use spades, pointed shovels, handle-less brooms, and dustpans to clear sidewalks and stairways. I didn’t see a single snow shovel , a lightweight tool which would speed up the snow removal process. I’m going to try to convince one of the local hardware stores to stock a few next winter. Some entrepreneur could do well selling snow shovels throughout the country (although they probably have them in the mountainous west). Then again, maybe not.

Dodging vehicles on unplowed roads is a skill that I have quickly mastered. The snow gets packed down on the side roads and village roads. There is generally one travel lane down the middle with snow piled up along the sides. So the trick is to move as far to the side as possible and tromp through the piled up snow when you hear a rear drive, bald tired, mufferless, first- gear-missing, four cylinder, diesel engined, inspection-expired, four passenger (with six passengers) vehicle sliding through the iced up grooves towards you. Fortunately, most people leave their cars at home when it snows.

I started Macedonian language lessons with my tutor Jasmina. She is an English-speaking lawyer who has lived with her family in Probistip for her entire life and she will help me expand my communication skills. Her family is very charming and friendly and her father and I try to communicate, somewhat successfully , with limited language skills in each other’s native language. The Peace Corps will pay for 24 hours of lessons per quarter so that Volunteers can continuously improve their language skills. There is also a great staff in Skopje ( especially Ivana the language program manager), which will provide us with any resources that we may need to help us master a new language.

My language skills must be getting a little better because I’m getting fewer puzzled looks from the clerks at the shops. If my skills aren’t getting better then the clerks must be getting used to my New York/ Massachusetts accent and I’ve been speaking well enough all along.

The Macedonian Holiday Season

Sometime in November I began to notice the appearance of what we know as Christmas decorations in Negotino. Santa Claus was beginning to appear in various small shops, holiday lights were beginning to glow in the evening, and Coka Cola commercials on TV were beginning to have a holiday theme with Santa Claus as a main character. The town center was outfitted with seasonal lights. I began to wonder how Santa fit into the picture in Macedonia since they have no Saint Nicholas who brings gifts on Christmas. Santa works on New Year’s Eve in Macedonia.

As it was explained to me by my friends here in Probistip, celebrating religious holidays was frowned upon during the days of Communist rule. So rather than outlaw Santa while discouraging the Orthodox celebration of the birth of Jesus, he was permitted and encouraged to visit on the secular holiday of New Year’s Day. So today throughout Macedonia (and I suspect in all the other Orthodox countries in the world), Santa visits on this night. Christmas Eve (January 6) is celebrated with family dinners at home and Christmas Day is celebrated with extended families and friends. (if anyone reading this blog has anything to add or to correct my understanding of this holiday, please do so in the comments section below).

My town of Probistip has its New Year’s lights on the square and on the street poles on the main “thoroughfare” and many families have their New Year’s lights decorating their homes. I can see New Year’s trees shining through the windows of many of the apartments and homes. On Tuesday evening I attended a teacher’s party at the hotel. There were 70-or-so teachers from the schools in Probistip and everyone was dressed in their finest. There was a live band that played for three straight hours before dinner while the teachers danced various versions of what we know as the Hora, during the whole time. They really enjoy dancing here. I promised everyone at my table that by the next New Year I would be dancing with the best of them and playing the accordion. My first lessons are next week providing I can find a used accordion.

I traveled to the capital to celebrate New Years with my Peace Corp buddies Michael and Phil. Michael is assigned to an Non-Governmental Organization dealing with the textile industry, and has his modern apartment in Skopje. It’s a three hour bus ride from Probistip to Skopje (270 denari or @ $6) but it was time well spent. Unlike my apartment which was constructed a half century ago, Michael’s has all the conveniences of a modern apartment. It has up to date electrical wiring, hot water faucets in the kitchen and bathroom, radiators in every room, an elevator, and to top it off, his apartment faces the mountain, affording him a glorious view of the mountain and the large cross that oversees the city. For the first time in three months I was able to shave with hot water and take a shower in a heated bathroom.

Skopje is a cosmopolitan city so different from Negotino and Probistip. 700,000 people live there and it has everything you would expect to find in any major city in the world. So Phil and I hit the jackpot when we went to a large supermarket and found items that aren’t readily available at the smaller markets in our communities. I found some peanut butter, brown sugar, mustard in a jar rather than in a packet, dried spices, black tea, brown shoe polish, and food wrap, all of which I was able to bring back to Probistip. There were hundreds of other items that unfortunately I wanted (needed?) but one can only carry so much on a bus. But Phil and I were very pleased with our New Year’s presents that we purchased at the market and we are looking forward to enjoying them through the cold winter months.

The only problem we faced visiting Michael on this major holiday was that all the restaurants were closed for the two days we were in Skopje (they were all open for private parties only). We had hoped to dine out one night and we walked for quite some time looking for an open restaurant. We found only one – McDonalds. The establishment does a booming business so it was quite crowded with families and teenagers. So on New Year’s Eve for 2009, 5000 miles from the States, in a country somewhat isolated from the rest of the world, we dined at McDonalds - Big Mac, fries, and a Coke, double sized. It was rather good.

On Tuesday I travel to Negotino to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Boshik) with my host family. It will be a nice reunion.