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!