My Host Family

Things continue to go well for me and I am very greatful. Friday they announced what community we would be spending our training living with a host family. There are about 5 communities in and around Veles, with one group in Veles. One community is Albanian (and Muslim), some towns are about a half hour drive away. I got a nearby town, it is like a small village very close to Veles, but the citizens don't like to be called a village, they say they are a suburb of Veles. I was disappointed at first because I wanted Veles, I didn't want a small town. After language class our group took a field trip to a nearby acheological site called Stobi. It was cool. That evening was the welcoming ceremony where we met our host families. My fellow trainees joked about it being "Free American Day. Take an American home with you. It even has all it's shots!" (immunizations)

I met my host mom Pala and my host dad Dime (dee-may). They had traditional dancing that we also joined in with. Then we packed up all our stuff and were taken home. I met my host grandma "Baba Booba", she is Dime's mother and is absolutely adorable. After they helped me take my stuff to my room the first thing they wanted to know was how old I am. As I was escorted downstairs I saw a few kids standing outside the gate and they said "What's your name?". They stood around and giggled as I answered. I thought of them as a fan club. As I sat in the kitchen some of the braver boys crept up the driveway and peeked in the doorway and repeated "What's your name?" I giggled and Pala shooed them away. Pala and Dime have two sons, both in their 20's. One of them, Loopche, now lives in Holland. The other one is named Kyrie and he is about 27. I think Pala and Booba really like having a girl around. I am really well taken care of, even babied. Plus with the language barrier I spend a lot of time smiling and shrugging my shoulders, so I really feel like a little kid.

I have my own bedroom. All the bedrooms are upstairs, the kitchen is downstairs and so is the bathroom. My only complaint is that I have to go outside to get to the bathroom. It was also raining all day Saturday, so we spend the day with our host families. It was like a day-long language lesson. My family is very sweet, they don't speak much English, but that's what I prefer anyway. Today (Sunday) we got to get a tour of our little town. The fan club was soon in tow. The kids are sooooooo cute and I learned that it is common in this culture for the kids to be overindulged. My family also owns a store that is downstairs, so the family members are often around during the day.

Tomorrow we'll start formal language lessons in town. I also know that we will have a practicum student teaching assignment that will be in Veles, so at least I know I'll be going into Veles often enough to have some internet access (like today).

Thank you all for your e-mails and keeping me up to date on your neck of the woods. I miss you all very much. I still can't believe I'm in Macedonia in the Peace Corps!!!!

(I'll also try to post some photos very soon!)