Hi-Tech? No! No-Tech Today

We were finally rocking with our computers in the classroom. Alexandra could use them to demonstrate an English language rule (of which there are thousands that I was, until recently, unaware of)) for all the students to watch simultaneously; she could monitor each student’s computer to insure each student was working on the assignment and not FaceBooking or gathering sports betting information ; she could lock the computers of those who chose to violate the usage rules; she could demonstrate an example of a rule to some students, while those who understood the concept could work on a more challenging exercise; and she was able to play lesson-oriented music through the computer to an external speaker system.

All this ended three weeks ago when her computer encountered a Linux OS problem and became unusable. The regional IT guy who is supposed to keep the computers working, lives in another town and won’t come to repair it until he gets the bus fare/taxi fare from the principal to make the trip across the mountain. One can’t blame him because his salary of 200 Euro/month does not enable him to pay out of his own pocket for the trip and he could never be assured of getting reimbursed anyway. Expense accounts are virtually non-existent because of past corruption practices. So we will wait until one the day when the stars are aligned for him to show up. Prayerfully, we won’t need to order a part.

Now that the some teachers are trying to incorporate computer usage into their teaching strategy, they are finding out about the unreliability issues confronting computer usage (hardware problems, internet connection problems, software problems, compatibility problems) which require technical support staff that can be responsive to one’s problem. I can understand their reluctance to use computers and stick with the textbook.

Currently we are back to mostly using the text and the workbook for the time being and are once again limited to teaching without an asset that teases us on a daily basis. (“Will I work today? Or not? Hit the ON button and find out.””Maybe I will work for the first class, but only halfway through the third class. I’ll surprise you with my unpredictable and of course, unreliable behavior!”). (N.B. The italicized text is the computer talking.)

We have had a few days of winter weather but it’s still remarkably warm. The shorter daylight days seem strange when the temperature outside is in the 50’s and low 60’s. On my morning walk to school, the light of the rising sun gives a different and interesting color to the surroundings then it does on the mornings when the sun is higher in the sky.

The people of Probistip are getting ready for tMacedonia’s most-celebrated holiday – New Years Day. The town has added even more colorful lighting to the community and “downtown” is very lovely. Fireworks (illegal) are heard everywhere. The decorated shops are offering a variety of holiday articles. New Year’s cards are being exchanged and a tinge of Western Christmas is sneaking into the community as Santa Claus and gift exchanging are not so unusual anymore. The students love to sing “Jingle Bells”.

I spent December 25th (the randomly selected date that was assigned to be the birth date of Jesus) over in Zletevo where I took some photos of some beautiful winter scenery. I was able to make small talk with some of the residents (it such a pleasure to watch the positive reactions of people when I, an American, try to talk with them in Macedonian. I say try, because I am not that good and it is sometimes a struggle. But they really appreciate the fact that I am trying and it brings smiles to their faces).

I also did some water measuring of the Zletevo River for an environmental project that was supposed to be done by the students of one of the special subject teachers in conjunction with a world-wide effort (www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.). The deadline of December 31st for submitting data was fast approaching and I wanted to provide the data for the site that we registered. And I knew it wasn’t going to be done soon with the students, if ever. So having conducted the tests by myself, I am now familiar with testing water turbidity, dissolved oxygen, ph level, water temperature and I have learned the importance of how these variables interact. Unfortunately, the students aren’t and haven’t.

Upon my return from Zletevo, I Skyped my family back home at the pre-arranged time of 9:30 EST and I was able to cyberly partake in our traditional Christmas morning breakfast and the traditional opening of gifts.

By the way, Phil and, I quote, “his Best Friend” came to Probistip and conducted a very informative workshop to any Probistipian that was interested in learning some basics of photography. There was a decent turnout and Phil and his “Best Friend” were invited back in the spring by the Mayor’s office to conduct a four-day workshop in Lesnevo. Phil has done a very nice job starting photo clubs in quite a few Macedonian cities. He and his “Best Friend” complement each other’s skills exceptionally well. I just hope they can continue to put up with each other and not drift apart. (FYI : During an interview with a Macedonian magazine last year, Phil was somehow misquoted or perhaps misunderstood by the translator because it was reported in a widely disseminated national newspaper, that Phil’s CAMERA was his Best Friend. Of course we never let him forget and bring it up innumerable times when we’re together.)

P.S. The stars ARE aligned. The IT guy was here today (27 December) and got our computer working. And we didn’t need any parts. He told me he had to pay the fare to get to Probistip out of his own pocket (200 denari) and will not be reimbursed. He must manage all the computers in three large towns/cities by himself. He told me it takes months for him to receive his pay and that makes it very difficult for him and his family to get by. Sadly, he is only one of the thousands here in Macedonia who can never be sure if or when they will receive their salary from the government.

Schools out on Friday the 31st and the students will report back around the 24th of January. Michael F., David, and I will be heading to Phil’s in Bitola to celebrate the New Year’s arrival. I can’t believe this will be my third New Year’s Eve in Macedonia. But believe, I must. (don't forget to checkout the photos)

Just So You Know

Today was the first hint that winter will indeed show up this season. We’ve gotten in about three extra weeks of Sunday afternoon horseshoes because is been so spring-like. But a wicked front came through last night and with it, the 20 degree weather. My neighbors have been stoking their fires all day and I probably won’t see many of them until they come out of winter hibernation. It’s nice that the Peace Corps won’t allow us to have wood burning stoves and requires our landlords to provide electrical heating. The expense of electricity forces most of my neighbors to heat and cook with wood which is much less expensive. My electric bill in the winter is about $80 a month. A teacher and a miner earn less than $500 a month. A pensioner, about $200. So it’s wood for most. The Peace Corps picks up my electric bill which would be a big chunk of my $280 monthly subsistence allowance.

Just so you know:

No such thing as a dozen eggs here. They only come in a 10-egg carton, if you buy the by them the carton…Most people buy 30 or more eggs at a time. There are actually two stores in town that sell only eggs even though you can purchase eggs at any small prodav. Plus most of the villagers raise their own chickens… For the last few weeks I’ve seen quite a few people heading out to the surrounding mountains to pick mushrooms… I’ve also seen a lot of hunters out with their shotguns now during the rabbit hunting season. A home grown rabbit will cost you about 500 denari. A wild rabbit about at least three times that amount. Domestic rabbit meat is white while wild rabbit meat is dark…My fantasy football team sucks…There are few (I am unaware of any) peanut allergies here in Probistip. What’s with the situation in the USA where there is a serious problem with nut allergies, so much so that peanut butter is banned from some schools in North America ( in a place below Canada and above Mexico)…There’s been only one new student in our classes in the two years I’ve been here. Not a good sign…New Year’s lighting is going up today. The Town did a nice job last year in decorating and making the town very festive …I haven’t seen one advertisement for anything to do with Christmas. It’s great. I don’t owe anyone a gift… When you pitch horseshoes, you drink a lot of beer…Aspirin here is expensive ($1.70 for twenty 500 gram tablets). So is one bottle of contact lens solution ($16)… There are no fire hydrants in town. Good thing everything made out of concrete and stone…Got up at 4AM last Tuesday and watched on ESPN America, the Patriots demolish the Jets. It’s the first time in weeks that I turned the TV on…The frame on one pair of my glasses broke. The Peace Corps will replace broken glasses so I went to Skopje to the optometrist, optician, ophthalmologist, optimist or whatever to have them replaced. The Peace Corps allotment of 3000 denari ($60) wouldn’t come close to providing me with a pair of glasses with progressive lenses that I would want to be seen wearing, so I threw in another 3000 denari and purchased a pair of “Police” brand titanium frames that could use my current lenses. You can get anything in Skopje…The Wednesday pazar has recently had broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower, items which are only available in the Probe this time of the year. I‘ve eaten a variety of broccoli based dishes during this time period. Unfortunately the cauliflowers are as big as a basketballs and I haven’t had the strength to bring one home. There would be a considerable amount of waste if I purchased one, since I don’t preserve them like a true Macedonian…Still only one place in town that sells ½ liter bottles of diet soda for the times when I crave a soda. There are probably over 25 prodavs (small convenience stores) in the Probe, and none of them sell lite beverages. So everyone drinks sugared drinks. Anything sold here with sugar is advertised as providing the drinker with energy…The “No Indoor Smoking” in restaurants law is well observed here so I somewhat marveled at the individuals sitting outside at the cafes today in 20 degree weather enjoying a coffee and a smoke, while their bodies, hunched over, slowly stiffened... You can now drink red wine (the new wine is ready) and eat pastamajka (pizza dough topped with cubed pork bits and egg concoction – extremely delicious) but you shouldn’t drink white wine and you can’t eat ice cream. Why? Because it’s winter and that’s THE WAY we do it here.

We’re Ready

The cupboards are now filled with a bounty of preserved autumn vegetables and fruits; the ajvar and pinjur jarred; the nuts dried and shelled; the hogs butchered, smoked or frozen; the wine and rakija barreled, the fallen leaves swept up and carted away; the leeks replanted; the firewood split and stacked; the bee colonies put to bed; and the winter wheat sewn. So come on winter! Macedonia is ready.

While the Trainees were in Probistip preparing for their assignments throughout the country, there were 10 Americans in this small town. The seven “youngsters” plus one senior could be seen hanging together at the cafes and sometimes at the disco, heading to and from their classrooms at Nikola Karev Primary School, bonding with members of their host family and attending na gostes (visits)with their host family’s relatives and friends. But they were sworn in as Volunteers on Thanksgiving Day and have been sent out to their new towns and villages, the same routine that every Peace Corps Volunteer anticipates since they submitted their application to join. So as I write this Blog, the MAK15’s are on their own for their very first weekend, armed with a new language, and trying to find food, not getting lost in their new community and assessing where they can obtain what they need in order to be comfortable for the next two years. We’re back to two PCV’s in the “Probe”.

As has been the custom for the last several years, the Trainees were sworn-in on Thanksgiving Day at the Palace Hotel in Kumanevo. The American Ambassador to Macedonia, Philip Reeker, made some brief comments before swearing-in the MAK15’s. The Trainees’ host families, the Peace Corps Staff and current PCV’s attended the event which was followed by a “traditional” Thanksgiving meal that was highlighted by the invitation to feast on 20 well-prepared turkeys (sans stuffing, cranberry sauce, and apple cider) flown-in from the States and prepared by the function hall staff. It was a nice event for everyone in attendance.

I recently attended a meeting in Skopje with the CEO of the Macedonian Olympic Committee. Phil asked me to be in attendance as he made his pitch to introduce golf in Macedonia and more importantly, to discuss a plan to introduce track events throughout the country so as to identify potential future Olympic contenders (a very long term project). Quite frankly, the feeder system is in such disarray (42 different independent sports federations) that it will take some time to get everyone to work together toward this commendable goal. As is the case in many instances in this nation that is having a difficult time getting away from old habits, there is little positive interaction between different sports federations. The other problem is financial. There are 205 countries that are members of the Olympic movement. Only one country is not financially supported by their national government – Macedonia. Needless to say, little is currently happening in this area.

After our meeting at the Olympic Headquarters, we were drinking coffee in a very open, well-lit, quiet and uncrowded café, when a thief stole the pocketbook of Phil’s colleague who had momentarily set it on a chair while she made a phone call. The thief was quick and professional. The police officers, who took two hours to respond, said that a common problem in the city.

Friday the 19th of November was National Tree Planting Day and students and municipal workers throughout the country spent a part of the day planting trees. The students and teachers from Nikola Karev went up into the hills near the new church and planted trees and shrubs, supervised by adult town employees. For the very first time, the school day doesn’t have to be made up on a Saturday , probably because a limited number of students attended in past years.

The weather has been mild for this time of the year, enabling us to continue our recreational Sunday afternoon horse shoe pitching get-togethers. The game is popular with a core group of players but there is still a contingent of my neighbors who think they’re too old play. We’re working on them and the time will be here soon when we’ll need more sets of horseshoes to accommodate all the players. On one hand it will be great to need more sets and then on the other hand, I’m not sure how we will be able to fund the cost of purchasing and shipping them from the USA.

The classroom computers continue to provide resources for the students to practice their English skills, albeit they still don’t speak enough. We’re somewhat fortunate to have ours up and running. Several other classrooms have to wait three months for the person responsible for finalizing the installation of the computers to recover from eye-surgery. I am told he is the only one that knows how to complete the set-up.

My bottle-cap project is also going very well. I’m having select students (those who are so far behind that they are just lost, have given up and are warehoused until they graduate) construct sets of caps that will reinforce and enable students to practice such concepts as adjective opposites, past simple and past continuous, possessive and personal pronouns, and irregular verbs. These students love to work with their hands and enjoy the opportunity to be useful during class. And they unknowingly are learning a little English in the process.

Commitment Accomplished

The Peace Corps commitment is for 27 months. My group, the MAK 13’s have now been here for 26 months and individuals have started to return to their home towns in the USA . The out-processing procedures limit the number of Volunteers who can depart to 4 or 5 a week, so the whole process of getting everyone out of Macedonia takes about six to seven weeks. Some Volunteers (I being one of them) choose to extend their time so they can complete projects that they are working on. At least eight Mak13’s have extended for various lengths of time (6 months to a year) which is an unusually high number of extendees. I chose to extend six months so I could complete several in-the work-projects and so that I could finish the school year with the students whom I have grown so fond of.

Meanwhile, the MAK14’s have almost completed their first year on site (plus three months training) and the MAK 15 Trainees will complete their training and be sworn in as Volunteers on Thanksgiving Day, the day after which they will head out to their new assignments in villages, towns and cities throughout the country.
The eight Trainees here in Probistip found out last week where they will call home for the next two years. They had a chance to visit and spend a day there, meeting their counterpart, getting a feel for their new village, town or city, and seeing their new digs. They all seemed very pleased.

Here at Nikola Karev, the computers that were installed 10 months ago in the our English classroom are now fully functional. We have the internet and the teacher can control and monitor each student’s computer, so that FaceBook and sports betting sites can be locked out. Alexandra has found various TEFL sites that enable her to work with different levels of students simultaneously and it throws a little variety into the usually mundane teaching strategies that teachers are forced to employ because of their limited resources. Alexandra has embraced this new technology but I am not sure if many of the other staff members who have this technology, have. Time will tell.

Alexandra conducted a brief workshop for the Trainees on using the computer network and monitoring the students’ work and I gave a presentation on a Model Classroom and on my lessons learned as a TEFL. Hopefully they gained a few insights into teaching in Macedonia but there was no test, so I don’t know how much of it they absorbed or found useful.

Speaking of useful, I finally found a use for all of the plastic bottle caps that I have been throwing into a kitchen drawer, caps I figured I would someday come in handy. I took 26 of them and wrote one letter of the alphabet on each cap so that I had the complete alphabet. I employed them as a manipulative at school when I worked with some of the students who were having a difficult time. It was so successful that we needed more sets so we had a contest to see which class could bring in the most plastic caps, with the winning class getting Michael’s (me) homemade cookies. The winning class brought in 1173 caps and we collected more than 2500 in one week ¬(Only the 5th and 6th Grades participated). We can now make all sorts of manipulatives to reinforce tenses, parts of speech, sentence structure, colors, sounds, etc. All for free!

Despite all of the good things happening in the classroom, there is still room for improvement. Time could be used more efficiently during the 40 minute class. Students’ study skills could be improved. Advanced students could be challenged more. Slower students could be more involved. Class discussions could be better managed. Parents could be more involved. Student accomplishments could be better recognized.

So each day we strive to sell the concept that I have written on a sheet of paper taped to the classroom wall – “Better is the Enemy of Good Enough”.

A Family Visits

The highlight of the month of October was the fourth visit of my wife, Lee, and the first visit of my younger son and my “idna snaa”(translated “maybe my future daughter-in-law), Jesse and Nicole. My wife stayed for a month but Jess and Nicole could only stay for five days due to their limited accrued vacation time.

It rained everyday they were here but really didn’t prevent the four of us from having a wonderful time. They stayed in a huge elaborate hotel room in Probistip at the Hotel Cresovo Topce which had the most fascinating shower stall. The shower had a radio, blue lights, and nozzles that shot water from every direction (a truly unexpected perk). The hotel staff went out of their way to make sure they enjoyed their stay (45 dollars a night which included a large breakfast).

During their stay we all visited my host family (the family I lived with during my 10 weeks of training) in Negotino where they were treated with the celebrity status that was afforded to me during my stay. We hung around watching and learning how to make rakija, ate a traditional breakfast and lunch, and toured downtown Negotino. We also visited, via a three hour bus ride, the cosmopolitan city of Skopje and the old Turkish bazaar with my Peace Corps buddy Michael F. We had innumerable “na gostes” with all my Macedonian friends and hung out at the cafe’s meeting and talking with the locals. We visited Alexandra in her home in Zletevo. Jesse and Nicole spent a day at school meeting the students, participating in some language games, and answering all sorts of questions from the students. They said they had a great time, wished they could have stayed longer, and couldn’t wait to tell their friends about the hospitality and friendliness of the Macedonian people. If there is a next time, perhaps there will be some sun so they will be able to see that there really are beautiful mountains in Macedonia.

Meanwhile Lee B. was here for her fourth visit. It meant that for four weeks I was no longer a bachelor and had to share computer time and bathroom usage, eat vegetables, and endure her chronic habit of misplacing her things. I calculated that I spent at least 37 hours waiting for her to “be ready in a minute” or find something that was lost in her purse. As a “bachelor”, I drink out of the carton, eat out of the pot, use the same fork and spoon for days, change the sheets semi-annually, wash dishes weekly and have twice, in two years, cleaned the bathroom. My way of life dramatically changes during her visits. I have to readjust to talking when I have no interest in the topic, to taking walks for the sake of walking, to express my feelings, to eating when I’m not hungry, to listening to cat stories, and to purchasing stuff that I don’t need.

But when it’s all said and done, I find it’s all worth enduring. It’s the price I have to pay to be with my honey and best friend of 38 years (and counting).

Harvest Time

In most of the villages and towns and even in some of the larger cities in Macedonia, the people are preparing their winter stock of food, just as they have done for centuries. It’s a social time when neighbors get together and roast their peppers, salt/vinegar their cabbages, cauliflowers, peppers and green tomatoes, make wine and rakija, and split and stack wood. It’s a busy time but everyone seems to enjoy the season.

The market on Wednesdays is now stocked with canning jars and equipment, giant heads of cauliflower, peppers of every shade of red, yellow, orange and green, pickling cucumbers and cabbages that require a forklift to move.

Various varieties of apples, plums, blackberries, apricots, figs, quince, pears and earlier in the summer peaches, melons, cherries, and strawberries are being made into slatko (fruit in a thick syrup) and compote (fruit in juice) for something sweet to eat and drink during the winter months. Chestnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts are being shelled. Red peppers and eggplants are being made into into ajvar while tomatoes and peppers are being made into pinjur (a paste if thick or a soup if thinned) or are being preserved in oil and spices. Cabbages, cauliflower, green tomatoes and garlics are being preserved in a salt and vinegar solution in large barrels or large plastic containers. Strings of drying red peppers, to be crushed into paprika, are visible on almost every yard and balcony. The root vegetables –potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and garlic are available all winter at the local produce market, so that they are being somewhat ignored at the moment.

Hunters, with their hunting dogs, are industriously procuring their winter rabbit meat. Most of the winter supply of pork, goat, mutton and chicken is still wandering around the barnyards and fields, blissfully unaware of their date with the dinner table, not as a guest but as the main course. They will soon be butchered and the meat salted, smoked or packaged for the freezer.

So temporarily, during this harvest season, the outside air is filled with the aroma of roasting peppers and eggplants and the smoke and smell of burning wood from the outdoor grills and the sound of logs being cut and split. It’s an ambiance that I will miss upon my return to Massachusetts where open fires are prohibited between May and December ( and only between 10AM and 4PM with a permit between January and April on days when it is safe to burn) and where cutting firewood at 7AM or after 5PM would be inconsiderate to my neighbors.

Some Other Doings

Peace Corps Volunteers are encouraged to engage in projects other than their primary activitiy (TEFL in my case) known as secondary projects. Excluding anything that has to do with English teaching, I have quite a few of them that are in the works that enable me to interact with Probistipians outside of the school. I’ll mention several short-term activities to give you an idea of some of the things one can be involved with when not pursuing their primary activity.

I have observed the dearth of recreational activities(why do people use this word “dearth” unless they’re trying to impress someone), for the men in town. Granted, they have sedentary activities such as cards, chess, conversing and watching sports, but there are no golf, bowling or recreational activities that promote some sort of exercise. So as I mentioned in another Blog more than a year ago, I am going to experiment with the idea of introducing Probistipians to horse shoe pitching which is a very popular activity with many people in America. The biggest problem was manufacturing steel pitching shoes which are much larger than a genuine horse shoe. So in early September with the fabrication of our fourth pitching shoe having been accomplished by the local blacksmith (refer to the pictures in My Albums), we held our first afternoon of horse pitching in the town park. Those that tried it, really liked the game. With the frozen ground and colder weather arriving soon, we will probably have only a few more matches left until spring. Little steps.

David’s idea of a town-wide photo contest was a success, with 23 citizens submitting 50 photos to be evaluated.Three photos were selected as the ‘winners”. I mention this event even though I had minimal input, because I contributed the “internationally known photographer from America (PCV Phil) to be one of the judges. Since we arrived in Macedonia I have provided Phil with morale, financial and technical support and so I called in some of the cards and had Phil lend his reputation to the promotional material for the contest and participate as a judge. I will reluctantly agree that he did a fine job, just don’t let him know I said so. I am sure that this event will continue to grow over the years as word gets out and owning a digital camera becomes more commonplace in Probistip.

Back in April or sometime thereabouts, three girls from a pool of 27 applicants from Probistip were selected by a lottery to attend the Peace Corps sponsored GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Camp held in July. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps/sets/72157624542888873/ and www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hzQCvIAis .They successfully attended the camp with my expectation that we start a GLOW Club at the high school when they returned to school in the Fall. With minimal input from me, they organized, using FaceBook, the first meeting of their new GLOW Club. I was invited to attend and was totally impressed by their enthusiasm and organizational skills. They are planning a host of events over the course of the school year. I don’t think they’ll need me anymore but will check in from time to time and will be available if needed.

Perhaps my most important secondary project, if you want to call it that, is socializing with my Macedonian friends and neighbors and meeting new Macedonians. There is always an invitation awaiting me to have a “na goste”, have a coffee at the cafe, visit a village, meet a relative, or imbibe a rakija. There is no better way to share the spirit of America and to learn about the real people of Macedonia than lots of laughs and a good conversation. Luckily I can do it everyday. There is no dearth of opportunity or dearths(?)of opportunities.