Six Days in Ohrid

Each spring Peace Corps Macedonia brings together the newest batch of Volunteers (MAC 13’s) for six days of In-Service Training (IST). Also invited this year were our counterparts for technical training for the first three days and MAC 12’s for the last three days for language training.

Training was conducted in Ohrid, a gem of a city and a destination point for thousands of vacationers during the summer months (check it out on the internet). The hotel where we trained, ate and slept was exceptionally nice. Having three meals served daily, and having a variety of food was appreciated by all the Volunteers.

The permanent PC training staff put together a very complete schedule of topics, including a tour of the city one evening, led by a professional tour guide. The Volunteers scheduled a flag football game between the MAC 12’s and Mac 13’s , which, thank goodness, resulted in a 6-6 tie due to the arrival of darkness.

From Monday through Wednesday morning, those Volunteers who work in Community Development (CD’s) and Non-Governmental Agencies and their counterparts had sessions on such relevant topics as Fund Raising, Tourism Development, and Non-Governmental Organization Law.

Those Volunteers who are in the English Language Program, along with their counterparts, sat through sessions such as Team Teaching, An Overview of the American Educational System, Dealing with the Multi-level Classroom, and Teaching with Limited Resources. Everyone had a chance to share ideas and plan for the upcoming months.

On Wednesday afternoon the counterparts left for their communities while the MAC 13’s learned something about grant writing and the NGO’s learned a little about teaching English to adults.

The MAC 12’s began arriving and Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning were devoted to language training. The Peace Corps brought in 12 Language Facilitators who were experts in Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, or Roma. The sessions were for one hour with a six-participant limit. Each volunteer had the opportunity to pick lessons from over 100 topics in the course of the 2 ½ days. For example, I signed up for Possessive Pronominal Adjectives, Perfective and Imperfective Verbs, Useful Phrases, Conditional Sentences 1&2, and Imperatives all in the Macedonian language (not being an English Language Major, I was unaware that when I said “My car” or “Their dog” that I was using a possessive pronominal adjective. But as they say, you’re never too old to learn.) Most of the Volunteers enjoyed the sessions and found them to be quite beneficial. I said “most of the Volunteers” because I did not poll all of them and “most” is a safe word that leaves lots of room for error.

We were also updated on current safety and security issues; learned of initiatives by PCV’s that were open to all; discussed upcoming administrative requirements; and had the opportunity to talk with the medical staff and receive required immunizations.

It was a well-planned and worthwhile week of learning, conducted in a beautiful city on one of the world’s oldest lakes, and surrounded by my fellow PCV’s. But I’m glad to be back home in Probistip.