A Good Time Together

The month of October was highlighted by a visit by my honey who describes her visit in the previous Blog. We had a great time just hanging out, visiting PCV’s in Skopje and Bitola, attending “na gosti’s with neighbors, exploring the new supermarket, walking around the neighborhood, and editing English translations for the Municipality.

A new supermarket? Yes! Probistip now has a place where I can shop for many items which the small food shops couldn’t stock because of limited shelf space and a lack of refrigeration. My Market (yes, it’s in English) is a small chain of supermarkets in Eastern Macedonia. Opening day at the new My Market was heralded in with folk dancers, traditional Macedonian music, and free food and beverages (I saw a few of my students enjoying a beer) . I can now find a selection of cheeses and breads, diet sodas, frozen foods, a reliable supply of beef, and alcoholic beverages other than beer and wine. Unfortunately, some of the smaller shops (prodavnitzas) will probably lose out to this new competitor, putting more people out of work. I will continue to shop at the ”prodav” and butcher shops for the items I can get there, but the variety at the supermarket is a tantalizing drawing card.

The six trainees that are here in Probistip (we all hate the word “trainee”) are in their final three weeks of preparation. They are a great group and are having a wonderful time together in “The Probe” – as they like to call it. Two weeks ago they found out where they will be assigned for the next two years and last week they visited their new homes, met their new counterpart, and toured their new community. Amber will be going to the city of Strumica; Kate will be going to a village (Gradsko); Dan will be going to the city of Stip; Jennifer will be going to the town of Makadonski Brod; Keri will be going to the capital city; and Laura will be going to the town of Kocani. I realize these locations are meaningless if you don’t have a map, but for those of you who do – Bon Appetite or whatever. They all will all be TEFL’ing in Eastern Macedonia.

On Halloween, the six of them, plus Maja their language instructor, costumed up for their training day in Kumanevo with all the other trainees in MAK14. Their costumes were hilarious (see photo) and they got more than their normal share of stares when they walked to the school in costumes to be picked up for the ride to Kumanevo. They actually went out Trick-or-Treating to each of the host families homes on Halloween night and were a big hit with everyone they encountered.

On the day after Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving Day also happens to be the day the trainees on this cycle will be sworn in as full-fledged Volunteers and I won’t have to refer to them as Trainees anymore) they will all depart Probistip and for the first time since they’ve been in Macedonia, they will be un-tethered and on their own. It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by since I was wearing their shoes.
Their departure from Probistip is offset by the arrival of a new MAK14 Volunteer who will be living here for the next two years – Dave from Michigan. Dave was assigned here (the first time The Probe has had two PCV’s) to work in the Municipality. I’m not sure what exactly that entails, but I’ll soon find out. Dave will be living in the apartment right next to mine (it’s an unusual arrangement to have two volunteers in the same town living so close to one another) because the Peace Corps staff couldn’t find a suitable place anywhere else. At least I know where to go now to borrow a cup of sugar. With Dave’s arrival I will no longer feel the pressure of representing 300 million Americans. I will now have to represent only 150 million, which is a more tolerable number.

There are lots of new activities happening at school which I will address in my next Blog.