Probistip got more snow this March (5 cm.) than the entire rest of the winter. It was definitely the mildest of the three winters I have spent here in the northeast part of the country. We still get some cold and very windy days, but spring is slowly making an appearance.
As I predicted in a previous blog, I had some difficulty convincing the School Manager at the Municipality to allow me to conduct a workshop for the English teachers during the school week (not the weekend) and allow them to have a Professional Development Day that started early in the morning and didn’t require them to attend a 4 hour workshop after teaching all day. Initially he agreed to my request, but after speaking with the three school directors, he changed his mind and told me I could conduct the workshop starting at 12:00.
I in turn told him “I wasn’t going to conduct a workshop that violated every principle of conducting a successful workshop and I wasn’t going to do a mediocre job”. The impasse was resolved when Alexandra intervened and we compromised on a starting time of 10:00. I believe this may have been the first time that the decision of a person in power was challenged and only because I initiated the challenge. I had nothing to lose, unlike most citizens in the country who are fearful to challenge the decisions of those in power because of the political ramifications.
Anyway, all 10 of the the primary school English teachers turned out for the workshop. The high school director prohibited his teachers from missing classes to attend the workshop, somehow over-ruling the school manager’s decision (the director must be higher up in the political hierarchy). We had a great workshop and the teachers left with many useful handouts and new ideas. The teachers commented that it was a great experience and wished that they could have more opportunities to learn and share.
I also had the opportunity to conduct a couple of sessions (Teaching in a Multi-level Classroom and Developing Resources) for the MAK 15 TEFL’s who were attending their technical IST (In-Service Training) in Ohrid. This required me to spend 12 hours (round trip) on a bus (plus wait time for connections) and an overnight stay in a very nice hotel in Ohrid. The presentations afforded me the chance to share everything Alexandra and I had accomplished in the past 2 ½ years. I just hope that the PVC’s in attendance got something out of them.
By the way, my beautiful, capable, knowledgeable, talented wife (she reads this blog)) arrived for her fifth visit (and sadly her last since I will return to the USA in June) to Macedonia. And for the third time, her luggage arrived with her, improving the baggage-arrival-with-passenger rating at Sophia International Airport to 60%. I picked her up in the capital city of Bulgaria once again, since it costs $500 less than to fly there than into Skopje. Bobbie (our favorite taxi driver) and I continued our twice a year tradition of stopping at one of the McDonalds in Sophia. He always orders and a Big Mac and I always order three hamburgers, fries and a Skopsko beer. They taste exactly like a McDonalds in America,the hamburgers, not the beer.
March 8th was Woman’s Day in Macedonia (they don’t have a Mother’s Day as we know it - all women are honored). The children bring flowers for their female teachers and many of those teachers bring in sweets for their students. Alexandra got a ton of artificial roses. Traditionally, the women teachers celebrate at a local restaurant in the evening. They seem to really look forward to it.
The town had its annual Cleanup Day combined with the twice a year National Tree Planting Day. This year the high school students in Probistip, along with all the municipal workers, planted the trees while the primary school students cleaned up around the town roads and school grounds. The children came to school this day armed with brooms, garden rakes, hoes, and sticks with nails imbedded in the end for picking up paper. Surprisingly, and despite this plethora of pseudo-armament and the many pointed-stick duels I witnessed, no eyes were lost, no blood was let, no injuries reported, and no lawsuits filed. I also noticed a direct correlation of .97 between grade level and work ethic – the higher the grade level the less the level of enthusiasm and the amount of cleanup actually accomplished. This supports world-wide observations made on this matter of adolescent behavior. Once again my leaf rake was a big hit as few people in Macedonia have ever encountered one and wanted to try it out.
Similar to the Carnival in Strumica on Fat Tuesday, the town sponsored a Masken Ball (Costume Ball) for the young children and students the evening of 31 March. There was a tent erected on the town plaza for dignitaries and judges, a live band and an awesome sound system. The emcee for the evening was exceptionally good. There was also a decent fireworks display. Many residents turned out to watch the children parade around the plaza while the panel of judges, judged. Prizes were awarded in different categories for the best costumes. It was an entertaining family-oriented evening.
At one of our Wednesday evening English conversation group meetings back in the Fall, the topic of recreational activities for children came up, specifically the idea of safe bike-riding areas. The discussion revealed that there were no really safe areas for smaller children. So I half-jokingly suggested to one of our regular attendees, Clavche, that he should initiate a project to resolve this problem. And he accepted the challenge. He worked very hard over the winter months on the project, facing the many obstacles that confront new initiatives in Macedonia. David helped him out occasionally and I printed his posters, but that was it. He was rewarded for all his efforts when on 2 April, 65 bicyclists turned out for the first community ride of the GREEN PATHS Bicycle Club. They traveled to Strumush, a village about 15 kilometers away. There was local TV coverage of the event. Clavche was interviewed on the local TV station. He received the recognition he deserved.
It was rewarding for me to witness the seed of a suggestion turn into Clavche’s completed project.
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