The Monastery and The Grill'in

(An earlier e-mail) Any luck in finding out why you couldn’t get through the other day? My five minutes cost me $9.00. I’m trying to find out where there a Skype connection that we can use, but no luck so far.

Anyway besides eating a diet that consists of nothing but healthy foods, I am drinking a lot of rakija and Turkish coffee. No ill effects yet. My host family looks forward to correcting my homework every evening and we have lots of laughs at the mistakes I make. Trying to tell me in Macedonian that the verb is supposed to be third person plural, feminine gender instead of first person singular masculine gender takes a good half hour of hand gestures and constant referral to the dictionary that the Peace Corps mercifully provides. I am making great progress though.
On Sunday, my first real day off, Kocho and Violetta took me on a 10 kilometer hike which wound up an Orthodox Monastery that has been refurbished recently. It was built in the 15th century but with the exception of the foundation, was destroyed in one of the many conflicts. The grounds are beautiful and the whole experience takes one back in time, not unlike the feeling you get in the villages we’ve walked through.

After our hike, Kocho set up his grill and barbequed some chicken steaks, kielbasa, sausages and fresh pork. I hung around and watched, continually turning down offers to refill my rakija glass. As usual the meal was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner. At night I sit in the living room doing my language homework while the family watches TV. Many of the shows are in English with Macedonian subtitles so I find it a great way to learn some new vocabulary. I can’t go to bed until they check my homework and give me a “Dobra”.

Included in today’s photos are a picture of the monastery, Kocho and I at the monastery, Kocho and Slavitsa, cooking on the grill and a landscape shot taken from the hill where the monastery is located.

I am typing this e-mail between the time my practicum at the “skoloto” is over and before my four hours of my language class begins. When I get to send it depends on my opportunity to get to an available computer with internet access.It was great hearing your voice on Tuesday. Tell the boys I appreciate the e-mails and to keep them coming when they have something to report. It was also great to hear from Mark and Luanne and Carmella. I hope everyone understands my inability to respond and acknowledge each e-mail due to my hectic pre-service training schedule. It’s like pre-season football drills for the mind. I’ll have much more free time in December when I get established at my permanent site.

Love to all, especially to you.
Majkal

Ironing Underwear

(This is one of my earlier e-mails to Lee) It’s Saturday and it’s a national holiday (National Uprising Day) so nothing is open, not even the internet cafes (what is the plural of café). I’m spending the day reviewing my language materials. I was sitting in the garage with the Meovski family while they are roasting peppers and tomatoes and making rakija. Slavitsa checks my homework and is constantly giving me new vocabulary words. Kocho has been making rakija for about 18 days and it is his only source of income since he is not employed right now. The family also sells peppers and tomatoes from their garden at the market.
As I’ve mentioned before, they are taking wonderful care of me. They feed me too much, they are always worried that I may be too cold, and if I am delayed at class, they call me to make sure I’m ok and not lost. Slavitsa also does my laundry, and as is the Macedonian custom, insists that she iron my underwear and t-shirts before she returns them to me. Few families have dryers, so laundry is hung outside on the sun side. It’s somewhat comical to see my bright red and other multi-colored boxers fluttering in the wind next to the white other -things of the other family members. On Sunday Kocho is taking the day off from making rakija so that he can show me where the Straso Pindzur School is (that’s where I’ll do my teaching practicum). We’re also going to hike to an old monastery that’s about 4 kilometers from here. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of photo opportunities and will send some pictures.
I really can’t work on my blog until I get my own place and have a reliable access to the internet. We do have it here but I can’t use my own computer and at times the internet is inaccessible. So I’ll count on you to forward my current status to all our family and friends who have an interest. Time will be limited in the next four weeks during our practici (is this the plural of practicum?)to anything but teach, plan lessons, and go to four hours of language classes every day. They’ve even have weekend activities planned for us. The training is outstanding and the Peace Corps does everything in their power to make sure we will be successful. It’s rare to encounter such a group of upbeat and talented training staff. On Friday we had the pot luck dinner at the apartment of a current volunteer. I was the oldest in attendance but never felt out of place. It was entertaining to listen to some of the stories that the current volunteers had to tell. The current volunteers who are ending their two years and will be returning to the states told us that the time flies by.
The pictures include a picture of classmates in language class at the municipal building in Negotino (our instructor Despinja is wearing brown pants), a picture of two Macedonian boys that helped us when we got temporarily got sidetracked; a scene of the Tuesday and Thursday bazaar in the center where you can purchase almost anything including fresh produce; a picture of some of the volunteers at our pot luck dinner; a picture of Kocho my protector; and a picture of MAK13 taken in Philly with the Macedonian ambassador who had come up from Washington DC to thank us for giving assistance to his country.
I am now going outside to the garage to help peel tomatoes despite Kocho’s good natured warning that that it is women’s work. I’ll put this letter on a flash drive and try to get it out tomorrow (cafes closed today). Feel free to correct any grammatical mistakes before you forward it to anyone. I don’t have the time to keep checking for mistakes. Love and lots of kisses - Mikey

First Days in Negotino

(This e-mail was sent during the second week in October.) Everything here is progressing very well. It is strange to be in the position of a student once again. I just finished my language homework and have to now spend some time reviewing the lessons from the last few days. Next week we go into one of the primary schools to observe and meet with our counterparts with whom we will be teaching during our practicums.

Last night Kucho, my host father took me to the police station to register as a non-citizen. Everyone was very friendly and very helpful especially since the instructions for registering were written in Macedonian. Kucho then took me on a 3 kilometer hike up into the hills to show me his vineyard where he grows grapes to brew his rakija and chardonnay. He shares the field with other small time growers but it’s rather large and takes a tremendous amount of work to maintain.

I am sure you are interested in what the food is like, so I’ll give you a brief summary now and elaborate on it at a future time. In the morning, my host mother, Slavitsa, puts out sliced meats, cheeses, bread, Turkish coffee, yogurt which is a beverage here (very delicious) and one main dish which so far has been something fried or baked but always includes eggs and butter in the recipe. Today we had something similar to French toast without the syrup, thick fried slices of battered bread that we ate with our hands.

Lunch, rycheck, is served at 1600 hours. This is the main course of the day. So far, every meal I’ve had has been different and delicious. Fresh tomatoes, with oil and onions, along with bread and wine are at all meals. Home made soup is served , and then the main course which is generally a meat dish (poultry, beef, lamb). So far I’ve had homemade cookies, baklava, and a rich chocolate cake for dessert. A shot glass of rakija completes the meal. At 2100, while I am struggling to stay awake, supper is served. It’s generally on the “lite” side but it includes a variety of sliced meats and cheeses. Bread, avar (look it up online, many people in the village are making it in their garages right now, the air is filled with the aroma of roasting peppers and eggplant) and various meat spreads (unusual for me). Needless to say, most PCV’s put on twenty pounds during their homestay.

Neighbor’s are always dropping by to greet Kocho’s American friend and we have lots of fun while trying to communicate.I’ve been sending pictures without identifying what they are about because I don’t have much time to do so. I’ll make it a project of mine to set up a Picassa site on my website later on down the road. Today’s samples include one of Kocho in his vineyard, a view of a burro cart and a view of downtown taken from one of the building.
Give a hug to the boys from me. Tell them to start saving for a great experience and to meet some wonderful Macedonians.
I love you,
Mikey.

Living With My Host Family

(This e-mail was sent during the second week of October)Lots has happened in the last few days as we continue on our journey to self-sufficient living with a conversational knowledge of Macedonian. The language training is conducted in groups of four or five and the pace is such that everyone feels comfortable before we move on to the next lesson.

I am writing this on Word and transferring it to a flash drive so that I can drop an e-mail at an internet café and quickly send it out. I am unable to add anything to my blog because they keep us busy from early morning until early evening with no access to the internet.

We met our host families on Saturday afternoon. The 35 of us who were training together were broken into 7 groups which were to be sent to 7 different smaller villages outside of Kumanavo and each person was assigned a host family. We still get together in Kumanavo on different occasions for group training.

My host family lives in the village of Negotino, which is a town about one hour from Kumanavo. It is in the wine growing region and is considered to be the best training site. The ambiance of the village takes one back to the old world with the quaint village streets and alleys, the red tiled roofs and the barns of animals and drying peppers. My host family, Kocho, Slavinsa, and their 30’ish something daughter, Violata, who just returned from Croatia to live at home, are salt of the earth people. They raise garden vegetables to sell at the market and make their own agvar(a tomato/pepper spread) and rakia (a homemade alcohol which is very popular in Macedonia). On Sunday morning, Kocho and I spent the morning learning vocabulary words while distilling the rakia. The neighborhood smells of burning wood, roasting tomatoes and peppers, and sometimes of the local animal population.

At 11:30 we met at the Town Hall to see were our classroom would be for the duration and then our instructor took us around to meet each of the host families and to show us where she was staying. At each of the five host families’ home we were offered drinks and homemade foods to include sweetened apricots, a sweetened pumpkin-eggplant concoction (which was very good), baklava, coconut/chocolate bars, and plenty of Turkish coffee. A 10 pound gain in weight is expected from each PCV during their home stay.

Needless to say, by 4:00PM we were not very hungry, but by then it was just the right time to have lunch with my family. Macedonians eat at 9AM, 3:30PM and 9PM. The heavy meal is lunch. Here they drink their yogurt and it tastes pretty good.

Some of the customs that are different from those of us in the U.S. would probably be considered unusual but are the way things are here and are considered to be normal: soiled toilet paper is deposited in a basket next to the toilet, not flushed; taking shoes off when entering someone’s home; filling up your tractor at the local benzene station; no indoor dogs; smoking wherever you want to; and tiny cars that are 40 years old belching fumes.

We start language and cultural training Monday morning. I am trying to find a way to call, but I have not had the time to determine the best way. My cell phone minutes are limited and I haven’t been in a place that will let me purchase more minutes. Someone told me calls from the US are only charged to the caller so I’ll verify that info. My cell phone number is xxxxxxxx. I’m not sure what the exchange is for Macedonia but you could look it up online. I can’t wait to talk to you and continue my blog, but I know that once I get my own place in December, I’ll have easier access and plenty of time to keep up a better dialogue.

I hope you are enjoying your first weeks WOM (Without Mikey) but you know that despite my crazy schedule, I think of you constantly throughout the day. Say Hi to my boys and tell them I miss them and that several of the Peace Corps Volunteers can’t wait to meet them and accept a marriage proposal.

I’ll talk about my training colleagues in one of my next e-mails. I hope I can get this one out real soon.

I love you.

Majkal Erhartic

Great Staging, Uneventful Flight

(This posting was actually written on September 30th) The staging events finished on Saturday evening. We now know a bit more about our assignments, the Peace Corps expectations of us, and a relief of many of the concerns that a new volunteer might have. The Peace Corps staff did a great job in getting us ready to take our first steps – getting on the bus to JFK. Their enthusiasm was contagious.

The Macedonian ambassador to the U.S. dropped in and gave an address that presented us with a first person view of the problems, concerns, and accomplishments of his country. He thanked us for volunteering to come to Macedonia and answered a host of questions presented to him by the volunteers ( I should use the term Trainee, rather than volunteer, because you are not a true Volunteer until after you complete three months of in-country training and are formally sworn in).
The trainees in MAC13 (The 13th group to be sent to Macedonia) are a wonderful collection of wonderful people. We are a very diverse group. We have individuals from New York, Maryland, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Connecticut, and Montana (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out). We have two young married couples, seven of us in the 6% Club, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer going on a second tour, and a diversity of racial backgrounds.

It was a with a great sense of the adventure that lay ahead of us, that we took off with on Sunday morning. It was a little unbelievable that we would be leaving the USA for 27 months and be in a foreign land in 36 hours. The bus ride to JFK was uneventful except when we passed through Manhattan and witnessed for one more time the awesomeness of one of the world’s greatest cities and knowing that we were headed out to a country that has and still is going through some difficult growing pains.

There was lots of waiting around at JFK, lugging around 140 pounds of baggage and exploring the International Terminal, utilizing every electrical outlet to recharge laptops and IPODS. We flew to Vienna on Austrian Airlines with two delicious in-flight meals served by flight attendants attired in bright red uniforms. It’s been a long time since I had a meal on a plane. It does kill some time and gives you something to look forward to on an otherwise totally torturous voyage.
The airport in Vienna was rather large. Thank goodness we didn’t have to lug our baggage around. Lots of police and tight security. The Macedonian Under- 16 National Football Team was traveling back to Skopje on the same flight as us. I approached the coaches who were standing in a group and asked if any of them spoke English and it turned out that one of them did. We talked for a few minutes and upon ending our discussion, they gave us a Macedonian Football Federation patch. The President of the MFF is a teacher in the capital and gave me his card. Maybe someday I will have a chance to drop in on him.

I had a nice conversation on the flight with a gentleman from Tate who spoke a little English. When we arrived at the airport, the first thing we noticed was the contrast between the cities we had passed through in the last 36 hours and the airport in Skopje. Everything was on a smaller scale. We quickly went through customs and collected our baggage and then proceeded out of the building where we were enthusiastically met by the Peace Corps Country Director, his staff and some current PCV’s. We loaded our baggage onto an awaiting truck, got on the bus and preceded to our first week training site in Kumanavo which is about a thirty minute ride. It gave us our first chance to see a country that we had been only reading about for the last three months. The countryside was beautiful ; the highway was somewhat empty; and the vehicles we did see were more compact and for the most part older, then we were used to in the USA.

The Satilite Hotel that was serving as the training center during our first week is about a thirty minute walk or a five minute taxi ride from the city of Kumonavo. It is a very lovely hotel and is enabled me to take my first shower in MAcedonia. When I exited the brand new modern shower stall, there was a large puddle on the tiled floor and water was leaking into a floor drain from the stall. After dressing I notified the desk clerk of the leak, only to be told that that is the way plumbing in Macedonian bathrooms is designed. Shower water is supposed leak into the floor drain, The only problems are that you can’t use a floor mat, the wet tiles are extremely slippery, and trying to avoid having your dry clothes from dipping onto the wet floor is a challenge. I am sure there will be many more cultural shocks in the next two years.

Finally, Access to the Internet

It’s been more than a month since I’ve been able to add to this blog. Our pre-service training is exhaustive but thorough. The Peace Corps wants to insure that we have all the tools we’ll need to be safe and successful in the two years we spend in our assignment. The training is outstanding. By the time we are sent out to be on our own, we will have basic language skills, knowledge of the culture and history of Macedonia, past and current political issues effecting the country, information regarding health and safety issues, familiarity with the transportation system, an understanding of the educational system, and the first hand experience of living in the country for three months with a host family.
The Peace Corps staff is exceptional. They are a cheerful and highly upbeat group. There’s never a problem that doesn’t have a solution or a personal issue that can’t be resolved expeditiously. The language and culture instructors are knowledgeable and vibrant and insure that you are learning at your own pace and they will provide personal tutoring upon request.
Anyway, since I am so far behind (in my own mind) in my postings and rather than leave a gap in the blog, I will post the e-mails, minus the juicy stuff, that I sent to my wife during the last five weeks. They contain many of the first impressions that I have had since I landed in Skopje. You can also check out the Picasa site on which, at which, upon which, or to which I will post photos of interest (POI’s) during the next two years.

Departure Day

Thirty nine years ago, I left my family, friends and neighborhood, with a one week old college diploma, on a bus to Ft. Dix, New Jersey to learn how to become a soldier “Greetings. You are hereby ordered to report for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States…” was the salutation that every draft eligible young man dreaded to receive, and I had received mine several months earlier. I carried no baggage or belongings, as directed, and wondered how much longer troops would be active in Viet Nam.

Today, I again left my family, friends and neighborhood on another adventure, but this time I am fortunately going as a volunteer in a somewhat different capacity with a considerable amount of baggage and belongings. Many of the things I finally squeezed into two fifty pound suitcases didn’t even exist on my first adventure: then: the Internet, Skype, laptop computer, digital camera, LED lights, Gortex, Thinsulate, wrinkle-free pants and shirts, fleece jackets, and multi-blade razors. What a difference almost forty years makes.

We left for the Manchester airport at 5AM so I could catch a 7:15 flight to Philadelphia. My two sons, Christian and Jesse, accompanied Lee and me and were planning to go to their jobs later in the morning. It was nice having them at the airport. They were able to mock my not-the- right –shade-of blue blue jeans, my hiking boots that I had to wear into order to put more stuff in the suitcase and meet the luggage weight restrictions, and my low- maintenance short haircut. My confidence in how I looked was bolstered to an all-time high.

With the exception of minor weather delay, the trip to Philly went smoothly and was uneventful. I am sitting in the lobby of the hotel, writing this log and trying to kill three hours until our first meeting. No rooms are ready for occupancy, so no freshening up until later on this evening.