Mail and the Holidays

I'm still working on sorting out my mailing address for those of you who would like to send me something (It's been about 2 months now that my folks have been patiently waiting to send me a package!)

After the director of my school opened my mail (yes, I'm sure it was an accident, as it has happened to other PCV's too), I decided to have personal mail sent to my apartment. So I gave some folks my address and the next day asked my landlord where the mailboxes were. He pointed to a small metal box with several doors, one of which was opened with a broken door. All the mail to the apartment building goes to the one with the broken door.

So, plan B sent me to the post office to find out about renting a PO Box. The good news is that it's only $13 a year. The bad news is that I have to try to track down the person who will register one to me. I went two days in a row and got the run around, finally they told me to come back after New Years. This may take awhile as almost the entire month of January is a holiday...

So I'll keep you informed about the mailing address...

Also, a reminder that if you are sending me a package, make sure that the contents are not valued above $60 US (or at least that you don't claim that it is worthmore than such). Otherwise customs intervenes and charges ridiculous fines. Besides, the shipping costs to Macedonia alone are crazy. In addition to your shipping costs I have to pay postal fees for every package I get (regardless of it's value). Yes, it's bureacracy and red tape at its worst, I know. Thanks for your cooperation, patience and above all else, your generosity!

And, as a further update, Christmas (Dec 25th) was very low key, but still I had a nice time visiting my host family and friends. (Christmas here is on Jan 7th) This weekend I plan to again visit my host family, and then attend a party by a fellow volunteer in the capital of Skopje, a couple hours away by bus. I'm looking forward to it! (And the 3 weeks of vacation after that!)

Thanks for all your love, support, prayers and best wishes. I'm thinking of you all and hope your holiday season is wonderful and warm!

Why Macedonia?

I've been published! The following is an article that I wrote a few months ago and submitted to the Peace Corps Macedonia magazine, "Pauza". It was published this month...enjoy!

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"Why Macedonia" by Jesse Warner (MAC 10)

“Why did you come to Macedonia?” My host cousin asked me (in English). I hesitated. “That’s a big question.” I said, preparing my standard reply to why I joined the Peace Corps (e.g.; to help people, to teach English and have an adventure abroad). “No, it’s not,” she replied. “Why didn’t you go somewhere like France?” I then explained a bit about the process from applying to getting sent to a PC country.

This question “Why Macedonia?” is one that I believe I’ll be asked many times during my service. In fact, given the time and opportunity, I suspect that many more locals would ask me this question. I feel it burning behind their stares as I walk down the street, as if silently asking me, “Why are you here?”

People are often surprised to learn that I didn’t decide where the Peace Corps would send me. Not only that, I had requested and was nominated for Asia.

Why Asia? I’ve always enjoyed going to new places and it’s a part of the world I haven’t really explored (yet). When given the choice, I’ve always preferred to go to a new place, rather than return to a previous location, despite having friends and fantastic experiences there. I thought I already knew Europe, I’d already “been there”, including Greece. Close enough, I erroneously thought. I’d quickly dismissed the region, as if three days each in Paris, Rome, Athens and Brussels was a sufficient illustration of Europe.

My first impression is that Macedonia is like a weird and wonderful combination of South America and Greece, especially in terms of physical characteristics. The red tile roofs, pockmarked asymmetrical sidewalks, street vendors and ubiquitous taxi cabs zipping around remind me of the place I called home for a year in Ecuador. Some of the food, the village babas, donkey-pulling carts and some traditional dances and music remind me of Greece. But this is not Greece, or Ecuador, or Paris, or some time-warped town in the US either. Three minutes in language class is one potent reminder of this. Or biting into a tasty ajvar sandwich. Or the fact that, at times, I am reminded that this is an “adolescent” nation. I think it’s pretty exciting that this may well be the only time in our lives we’ll be living in a country this young and personally witness its “growing pains” as it matures.

There’s more unique art, music, history, language and culture of Macedonia that I could mention, but much of it I still have yet to discover, having just been here for a month now. I know that during my service I’ll discover even more wonderful, interesting and surprising uniquenesses that Macedonia has to offer. And this will be even more fuel to the fire of how I will answer the inevitable question…

Why Macedonia? Why not?

For Further Reading

If you're interested in reading about another adventure of mine, check out my blog about my adventures teaching English in Ecuador and traveling around South America...(2002-2003)

http://azureus.diaryland.com

Once there, you can click on "Older Entries" and Dive In!

(I must warn you that parts of it are incomplete and unfortunately there are no photos...it's still a work in progress, but then again, many things in life are...)

Moving In

The day after swearing in it was time to leave. Since my bus left in the afternoon I had time to see my fellow trainees off that morning; Todd, Lindsay and Marita. Then I visited my friend Shauna and her family since she was leaving after me. Back at my house many friends and relatives were invited over to see me off. Before you knew it there were about 20 people there and all of us were in tears. It’s really amazing when I think about it; I lived with these people for 3 months and really became a part of their family. You don’t realize how much of an impact you have on others lives most of the time. I didn’t know until the time came to say goodbye not only how much of an impact I had on them, but the impact that they had on me. I was given several last minute gifts including a jar of ajvar, sweets, and homemade baklava. There were many hugs and kisses goodbye before the taxi shuttled me off to the bus station.
When I arrived in Kochani my counterpart and landlord were there to greet me and help me with my stuff. I had 10 items with me including my PC heater, water distiller, and first aid kit. Not bad for 2 years huh? My apartment is on the 4th floor and is very small. It has the basics (fridge, oven, stove, bed, chairs, table, toilet & shower, etc) but there is no washing machine, closets or place to hang my clothes. My landlord says he’ll get me a TV set and kitchen utensils. I didn’t have any eating or cooking utensils or cleaning supplies. (I noticed later that it needs to be cleaned). Fortunately I am only 10 minutes walk to my school and to the center of town.
Peace Corps gives us a settling in allowance, so I will use that to purchase the things I need for my apartment. Yesterday I bought some cleaning supplies, power strips with extension cords, and a jezbah (a small pot for making Turkish coffee). Needless to say, the first thing I made at my new home was coffee!

Swearing In

The Swearing In ceremony is a rites of passage of the Peace Corps experience. It signifies the end of the 3 months of training and the marks the beginning of Peace Corps service as an official volunteer. The ceremony was held at a restaurant next to a lake outside of Veles. Two members of each host family were invited as well as current PC Volunteers, all of PC Staff and some dignitaries, such as the Mayor of Veles, US Ambassador, director of NGO US Aid and the Macedonian president Branko Crvenkovski (he wasn’t able to make it, so a minister came in his place). About 300 people attended and everyone was dressed to the nines. We sang the national anthems of both Macedonia and the US. There were speeches by the Mayor, the PC Country Director, and two of our colleages, Sara and Keith. At one point they asked our host family members to stand. I noticed that more than a couple had tears in their eyes. Then they had the 32 of us stand up one by one as they read our names, home states and Macedonian cities where we are going. Next the US Ambassador gave her address and then had us collectively raise our right hand and give our oath of service, and “swear in” as PC Volunteers. I don’t remember much of what we had to say except to uphold the US constitution. I’m going to try to get my hands on a copy. It was also noted in the speeches about the fact that we are the 10th group of PC Volunteers in Macedonia. That’s pretty cool.
Afterwards there was a little reception of food and music (unfortunately no oro dancing), as well as lots of photo taking. It was then that I discovered that there were more people that I knew who had attended, including the Macedonian grade school teacher that I’d worked with in Veles for my practicum. There were also several Mac 9’s in attendance, including a married couple, Sean and Jennifer, who are in a village about 9 km away from me.
That night my family held a little party for me, since they know how much I enjoy dancing the oro and the traditional Macedonian music. They called up a few of their friends/relatives and soon we were all dancing and singing in my grandma’s living room. One of my host cousins plays the accordion, which is one of the most common musical instruments to play traditional music. One popular song that I like is called “Makadonka Dayvoika”, which means “Young Macedonian Girl”.

Good News

Great News! I passed my language exam! Woo-hoo! And now our training is over. No more language classes. No more practicum student teaching, no more medical or technical sessions...etc. Now I just have to go home and PACK!

Tomorrow's the big day, the Swearing In Ceremony. At 11AM tomorrow (that's 2AM Thurs Seattle time) we have our swearing in ceremony and we'll all become official Peace Corps Volunteers!

Friday is when we all move to sites. We have to put all of our stuff on public buses and go to site. Thank God I don't have to transfer buses! My counterpart will meet me at the bus station and take me to my new home, my own apartment and I will be "settling in" this weekend.

Wish me luck!

Harry Potter, Skopje & the Macedonian Language

This last weekend I got permission from PC to go to the capital city of Skopje to meet up with some other PC Volunteers and to go see the new Harry Potter movie at a real movie theater (the pirated versions are already out). Then I spent the night at an apartment of a married couple that are also PC volunteers living in Skopje. There were about 8 of us PC volunteers that went to the movie (okay, so technically I'm not a volunteer yet, but I will be in 3 days). It was a lot of fun. Oh my gosh, the movie was so good. The special effects are awesome and it was just so cool to see on the big screen. Of course, there were a few things that I didn't like about the movie, being a staunch HP fan, they left out a lot. Well, they had to or else it would've been a 4 hour movie. For someone who hasn't read the books, I don't think they would enjoy it as much cuz it moves so fast...But even so, it's worth seeing. I want to go again and next time invite my fellow trainees who are HP fans as well!

Another reason for going to Skopje was an NGO fair (Non-governmental Organization) that a bunch of us trainees went to, so I met up with the gang on Saturday morning at the event. It was really interesting and I got a lot of information and talked to a lot of different people. For example, Habitat for Humanity has just started here. I also talked to an amatur astronomy group, found the local United Methodist Church as well as numerous organizations that work with youth and education. In addition, there were several groups working with the Roma, one of the poorer disadvantaged ethnic groups in Macedonia (and I'll be working with them in Kochani too). We had the whole day in Skopje so we broke up into groups to different restaurants, stores and a craft fair as well. Other than the rain, it was a good day.

Today I had the dreaded LPI test (Language Proficiency Interview)...yes, we actually are tested on our language skills at the end of training. Fortunately if we don't pass it, we're not kicked out of PC, but we will be required to get a tutor at site and re-take the test in 3 months. Aaack! Everyone says not to worry, but I was nervous anyway. It is required to get an Intermediate Low score. For the practice test I got a Novice Mid. We'll learn our scores in two days. On the third day we have swearing in. (I plan to get a tutor at my site anyway, but it'll still be nice if it's not required).

The end of training is swiftly near and I feel like I've still got so much to learn. At the same time, I am feeling very ready to move into my new apartment and have a little more independence. Yesterday when chatting with my host grandma she got a little teary-eyed talking about my moving to Kochani. She has already offered to move with me and be my personal cook! I have reassured my family many times that I plan to come visit them often. Ending training is bittersweet. I will miss having my fellow trainees/ friends around to hang out with on a regular basis. At the same time, I'm ready to spread my wings and start this new chapter of my service!

December already!

I can't believe that it is already December. Time has flown by so quickly! There are now only two more weeks left before our group finishes training and becomes official Peace Corps volunteers! There is a big celebration, called "Swearing In" and it will be a big ceremony, including the American ambassador and the Macedonian president. There will be speeches and we will sing both the US National Anthem and the Macedonian one (which we are learning in our language classes, I like the song a lot). Our host families and counterparts are invited as well as current volunteers, so it'll be like Thanksgiving, maybe even bigger. The next day, on the 16th we will move to our sites. I just found out that Peace Corps has secured an apartment for me in Kochani. They said that it's "small, but cute". I'm very close to the city center and about a 10 minute walk from my school.

Winter is cold here. It snowed the week of Thanksgiving and it was beautiful to see it covering the mountains. There is no central heating in the houses here, in fact, the buildings are really like big ice boxes, they retain the cold very well. Often times our rooms are colder than the outside temperature. I have a little pocket thermometer which stays at a steady 40 degrees F (or I think 5 degrees C). We got our Peace Corps issued heaters a couple weeks ago, which is nice, but mine doesn't have a blower, so it takes awhile to heat up my bedroom. They are also going to be a pain to lug to our sites because they are heavy and bulky. People here normally keep the main living room warm by keeping a wood burning stove going, which also lends itself to all congregating in the same room for hours on end. It is nice for company and if you want to watch TV, but it is harder sometimes when I just want a little time to myself.

Last night one of the trainee's (Todd) host brother in our village apparently got engaged to a young woman from Veles. This was announced by a spontaneous celebration at 1 in the morning. Apparently the host brother and his buddies went around to their friend’s houses (including mine), rang the doorbell in the middle of the night and invited them over to his house to celebrate. I had heard people at the door, but ignored the noise and fell back asleep. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option for Todd. Suddenly the house was filled with music, dancing and a lot of strange people drinking alcohol and making merry, including shooting a shotgun off the front porch, just next to Todd’s bedroom. The party lasted until 5am! Todd stayed in his bedroom, trying to ignore the knocks on his door and invitations to join in the celebration. He got about an hour of sleep. I found out about it the next day, including that my host dad was present and was one of the individuals who shot the gun from the front porch! Apparently it is tradition at a wedding or at the reception to shoot a gun three times to signify a man marrying a woman. I find it amusing that in this culture and living in a village, that this kind of custom exists, having a spontaneous celebration in the middle of the night. This would never fly in the states. I can just imagine a friend showing up at the door, being gregarious and slightly tipsy, announcing their engagement at 1am. We would probably grumble a congratulations, remind them what time it was and tell them to come back tomorrow!