The Road Not Taken

I went to a performance recently of the highschool students, which consisted of music, drama and a poetry reading. One student recited this poem by heart (in English) and it has always struck a chord with me and how I try to live my life...

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wanted wear;
though as for that, the passing there
had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no feet had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference

Congratulations Heidi and Rick Bagnall!

Woo-hoo! My sister Heidi and her boyfriend Rick have just gotten engaged! Yaaaaaaaaaay! Heidi called me the other night to give me the great news, which I’m absolutely thrilled about. They are planning their wedding to be in January 2007 and, of course, I’ll return home (Seattle) for the event and to be her maid of honor! So, Congratulations to them both! I'm pysched to have a brother-in-law!

I announced the news to my fellow teachers at school the next day and we had a little party to celebrate. After giving me their congratulations, of course, the most common response was for them to say to me "You're next!". Ha ha.

If that wasn't enough great news, Heidi and friend Maki are coming to visit me in Macedonia soon. They will first arrive in Greece and next week I'll meet them in Thessaloniki (about 6 hours by train). From there I'll bring them into Macedonia where we will visit my host family, my town of Kochani and perhaps go to a few other placs to sightsee and visit other volunteers.

As of today I've been at site for 3 weeks and the travel ban has been lifted. A PC policy, volunteers are not allowed to travel outside of country for the first 6 months. Reason being, they want you to be committed to your site, to get connected to your community and be focused on work. Peace Corps is definately NOT a two year vacation!

Happy Birthday Peace Corps and other exciting events

Happy Birthday Peace Corps!

March 1st, 1961 was the day of Peace Corps’s inception by John F. Kennedy. Now it is 45 years later, and we are celebrating the anniversary of Peace Corps all year. As the kick off event, volunteers in Macedonia all held “birthday parties” at their sites. I made oatmeal cookies and brought soda to my school, with signs in Macedonian saying “Happy Birthday Peace Corps” and a brief description of what PC is (a lot of Macedonians don’t know, it sounds a little militaristic doesn’t it?). We had a little party in the teachers lounge, and they loved it. All the cookies got eaten up and all the soda was drank. I took some pics too.





Strumica and Women’s Day

March 7th was Carnival, held in the city of Strumica, south of Kochani. A bunch of us PCV’s congregated there and took part in the festivities by being in the parade! Also, as a part of celebrating the 45th anniversary, we had a sign, flags of both Macedonia and the US, had our face painted and/or wore masks. It was a lot of fun, despite the fact that it was snowing, at night and cold. I met some jugglers from Belgrade (Serbia Montenegro) and they let me borrow their clubs, so I also juggled in the parade. During the parade they also had fireworks. Afterwards we all had dinner and then went out dancing at various clubs until 3am. Much merrymaking was to be had.

As if that wasn’t enough, March 8th is Women’s Day. I took a morning bus from Strumica to Kochani so I could get back in time for the celebration of Women’s Day. The teachers at my school went to a celebration at a nearby hotel. There was a nice dinner and lots of oro dancing, which was great. That night I returned home exhausted!

Tonight I went to a concert of “The Greatest Gypsy Singer” named ECMA who came to Kochani on her tour around the country. She was very cool! I loved her outfits, the music was mystical and a little mesmerizing. To my unskilled ears and knowledge, it sounds Turkish or Indian. She also had a band with a trumpet, bongo drums, accordion, bass guitar, and clarinet. The energy in the room was amazing. I am so glad that I went.

My New Roommate

Two weeks ago I was taking the garbage out to the dumpsters next to my apartment. It was after dark and I was on the way to my friend’s for coffee. I was surprised to discover next to the dumpster a dead cat and next to it was a little kitten that was crying. They had similar markings, so I believe the dead cat was the kitty’s mother. I shone my pocket light on the cats and debated what to do. I couldn’t help but pet the kitten, but then turned and walked away. The kitten followed me for about 20 yards before I turned around and she ran away. I went to my friend’s house for coffee. Four hours later, at about 11pm, I stopped by the dumpsters when I got home. Sure enough the kitten was still there. So I brought her home with me and resolved to try to find a home for her. The next day at school I asked the Macedonian teachers if anyone wanted a kitten. Their reply was “Good Luck”, nobody wanted a flea-infested virus-carrying animal in their house. The concept of pets and animal treatment tends to be very different in other countries, including Macedonia (most people don’t have animals in their homes, for example). Needless to say, it soon became apparent that the kitten was here to stay. I gave her a flea bath and took her to the vet, where she got her needed vaccinations. The vet says she’s four months old, but she must be small and undernourished for her age. I decided to call her “Miloyka”, which means ‘cute’.

I know that it is common for PCV’s to have pets and Miloyka has turned out to be a nice companion to have around.