Mov'in Along

Although we’re astronomically into the winter season, the weather has been pretty mild. While we have had a few frosty nights and the mornings are chilly, the afternoon temps get up into the high 60’s. Snow isn’t expected until late December according to the locals. The trees for the most part have shed their leaves and have been swept up and deposited into the dumpsters that are located throughout the neighborhood.

Speaking of leaves, I recently discovered and purchased two grass rakes at a hardware store in Kumanavo when I was strolling around there last month. I believe they were the only two grass rakes in Macedonia (an unverifiable fact). They are sold without the handles, so that I was able to bring them back to Probistip. Having watched my neighbors and the custodians at school sweep leaves with the short handled brooms and pick up trash that didn’t make it into the dumpsters with their hands, I thought I would introduce the concept of a grass rake into my neighborhood. Most of my friends and neighbors had never seen a grass rake (everyone has a garden rake) and they weren’t sure what it was for. So I obviously drew a crowd the first time I used it outside my apartment and was able to Tom Sawyer the local children, convincing them it was fun to rake leaves with this wonderful tool. The men were very curious and several of them asked where they could purchase one. My answer was the same answer I give to the children when they ask where they can purchase a Frisbee, “Not in Macedonia, yet”. I will try to convince one of the local hardware shops to stock them. I donated one of the rakes to the school where I have noticed that it is being put to good use.

School is in full swing now. On Friday, the students finally received their books for geography, math, Macedonian, biology and informatika. Since this is the first year that the government is providing books to all students, there was a delay in shipping them all out to every school in the country. We are four months into the school year and the students now have their books . Since the students must return the books at the end of the school year, late deliveries won’t be a problem next year. The downside of not owning the book, is that the students must spend a lot of time copying grammar rules and vocabulary during class time which puts a strain on the time we have to actually teach.

The Director has been very supportive of our suggestions and she is a pleasure to work with. After a meeting with her last week, we have now started a Student Council, will display the Macedonian flag at the school , sing the National hymn during Monday morning home room time, involve the school in ThinkQuest ( http://www.thinkquest.org/en/ and in the World Map Project (http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/R0088_worldmapproject.pdf ). We will also establish and implement an emergency evacuation plan for the school.

This school year I am running an after-school sports program entitled “Games From America”. So in addition to the usual basketball, jump roping and Frisbees, we have already played Kickball, Capture the Flag, Knockout, and Ultimate Frisbee. The students who show up seem to really enjoy the exposure to games other than football, volleyball and handball. The first time we played Kickball, I was very lucky to have Amber, Kate and Dan (the three trainees living in Probistip) participating. It dramatically reduced the time it took me to explain in Macedonian, the intricacies of the game, as they were able to demonstrate and model the somewhat complicated rules. The students loved the game so much, that we wound up playing for two hours and it has become the number one game request.

Thanksgiving Day coincided with Swearing-In Day for the MAK14’s. So we all – trainees, host families, and Volunteers – assembled in Kumanavo for a wonderful time. The American Ambassador to Macedonia sworn in the Trainees (this will the last time I have to use the word “trainee”) after which we enjoyed a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal, highlighted by the turkeys flown in from America and prepared by the function hall staff. I actually ate nothing but turkey, consuming at least three pounds of meat, knowing full-well it will be 364 days until my next opportunity to savor my favorite non-flying bird. We all returned home to Probistip around 8PM, time enough for the new Volunteers to spend their last night with their host families and time enough for me to Skype my family in Massachusetts to participate in a family-cyber-Thanksgiving-dinner.

Dave moved in on Friday morning and is currently settling into his apartment. He is looking forward to working in the Municipality, learning how to cook for himself, and utilizing the Macedonian language. Dave is my age, so I now have a playmate and we will have to like one another, otherwise it will be a long 13 months living right next store (no one ever says “nexT (pause) door)” to one another.