The 2nd Annual Field Day Extravaganza!

October 21st was the 2nd annual Field Day of all PC volunteers in Macedonia. This tradition began last year by the Mac 9’s and now it was Mac 10’s turn to try to do as good a job, if not better than the previous group. This is a project that I headed up with an organizing committee of about 10 other PCVs. However, because I was the closest to the location (Prevalec) and because I was the head of the committee, yours truly ended up doing a lot of the work! There were games to organize, budgeting to sort out, awards, lunch items to decide on, T-shirts to design, supplies to collect and purchase and lots of logistics! We had the fortune to use last years’ event to base our plans off of and improving on. So this year was quite a success and a lot of fun for everyone. At the time we had almost 100 PCVs in country (Mac 9’s are in the process of finishing their service and returning to the US and the new group, Mac 11, is an unusually large 49 trainees!) We had about 80 people in attendance and 60 of them were participating with about 10 people running the games. There was a potato sack race, tug of war, egg-toss, steal the bottle, 3-legged race, shoe kick, egg-spoon relay, limbo and a potato chip eating contest. I hope this tradition continues as long as Peace Corps exists in Macedonia. It is the only official volunteer event that is purely for fun and socializing amongst the volunteers and it is a chance for the current volunteers to meet the new group of trainees and often the last time that the “old group” get to hang out before the end of their service. We were also fortunate to have good weather and lots of helping hands to make the day a lot of fun and well worth the hard work!

A Great Line Up 


Tug-of-War 


Potato Sack Race 


Lunch Time 


3-legged race 


Eating Contest 


My PC Training Put to Good Use 

Work? What work?

I realized that I never mention my work on this blog, just about my travels, discoveries inside fruit and special events like holidays.

Well, I actually do work. I go to school 5 days a week and work with the local Macedonian teachers teaching English. This year I loathe my schedule because classes start at 7:30am everyday (except Mondays, which are at 9am). Ugh. There are three English teachers that I work with, following around and going to class with them. All the teachers in Macedonia use the same book, "Dream Team" and all the kids here learn British English (also, all the teachers have British accents, which was weird for me to get used to at first). During the lesson, from time to time I am able to teach part of the lesson, or add to it if I have personal experience. For example, yesterday the lesson was about London, so I shared a little bit about my being a tourist there in the past. One time last year there was a lesson about Australia and I brought in some Aboriginal music for the kids to listen to, which they loved. Sometimes I do the reading so kids can hear a native speaker. Sometimes the teachers are absent so I teach alone, which is, at times, nice because then I get to do my own stuff and make the lesson a bit more interesting. "Dream Team" is a fine book except the kids need more practice speaking English and learning grammar.

So I am at school about 25 hours a week in the classroom (which is a full teaching load in Macedonia) and then I have my afterschool English club. All the kids are welcome, but there are often just a small core group of about 8 girls who attend. We meet twice a week for an hour at a time and we play games, read books and sometimes listen to music, which gives them a chance to practice their English. I also have some crossword puzzles that the kids can also color, which are a real hit.

In addition, I just started up a Club GLOW at the local highschool. This is a club that is based directly from the girl's summer camp I worked at this summer. We just had our first meeting and we will meet once a week for an hour and learn about topics similar to camp like leadership, health, environmental issues, self esteem, etc. Think of it sort of like Girl Scouts. I never thought that I would enjoy working with highschool students, but I really love these girls, they are so much fun to work with.

Now if that wasn't enough, I also have lots of projects that I work on. I'm very involved with Peace Corps activities and I attend meetings often, and go to the PC office in Skopje about twice a month. The following are projects that I have worked on in the past or ones I'm working on now:

Member of VAC (Volunteer Action Committee), think Student Council
Head of the planning commitee for Field Day (last weekend, more on that later)
Coordinator for the National Essay Contest in English, including holding essay writing workshops at my school and the nearby highschool.
Member of TIP commitee (Human Trafficking, a big problem in Macedonia)
Working on getting the PC traveling photo exhibit to come to Kochani (next month)
Moderator of English Teaching Listserv for PCV's and Macedonian Teachers
Co-editor of "Pauza" the Macedonian PCV magazine
Writing supplemental curriculum (grammar focused) for "Dream Team" and having it available on the listserv (in the future will add it to the Resource room at the PC office)
Working on getting English books donated to my school.

In addition, I started attending the local Methodist church in town. It is very small, many people are surprised to learn that one exits here. The other interesting thing is that all of the members are Roma, there are no Macedonians that go. But just like Macedonians they are very friendly and welcoming. The second time I attended the minister asked me if I would teach the congregation English after the service. I was hestitant to agree (everyone heard the conversation), but I'll give it a try and see how it goes.

Lastly, I also hope to start a class to teach the teachers at my school English, as many have expressed a real desire to learn. So, if I can sort it out in my busy schedule that is also another secondary project I hope to start up this fall.

So, I guess I had more to say about work than I had thought!

Stay tuned for pics and info about the 2nd annual Field Day event that was last weekend.

Baths & Buildings in Budapest

“I’m on vacation” became the theme of our trip, whenever my PCV friend Stuart and I would question whether or not to splurge for desert, sleep in or have to exchange money with a lousy rate. (It also became humorous trying to convert in four different currencies; Euros, Hungarian forint, Bulgarian lev and Macedonian denars)

Budapest is an incredible city and for some reason I didn’t expect it to be crawling with tourists, although I can understand why. This beautiful and ancient city was once actually three cities divided by the picturesque river of Danube; Buda, on the west, O’buda in the north and Pest on the eastern side of the river. There are still Roman ruins nearby, although I didn’t have time to check them out myself. I did however enjoy seeing the very old buildings from the earl 1900’s on the Buda side of the river, including the medieval castle and Independence monument, with amazing views of the city, the Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church and of course, relaxing in the fantastic Turkish Baths which are a true highlight of this wonderful city.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Budapest is such a great place (some say it’s better than Prague, although I haven’t been there myself yet to say if I agree or not). However, with a mix of old and new, fantastic views and really cool architecture and beautiful buildings, there’s a lot to see and do. It’s also a huge city that Stuart and I ended up spending much time just walking around, especially up and down the river and across several of its picturesque bridges.

The original purpose of the trip was because my friend and fellow PCV Sara is running in the Annual Budapest Marathon and we were going to be her personal cheering squad. But unfortunately, due to an outbreak of violent protests two weeks prior, the Marathon was postponed until later. The protests were a reaction of Hungary's prime minister admitting he and other officials had lied about the economy. It was a tough decision, but I decided to stick with our original plan of going last weekend, especially due to the fact that I’d already booked my flights out of Sofia, Bulgaria and hostel reservation (Sara will go to Budapest with her visiting family two weeks later). I was concerned that the protests might flare up again and make it difficult to get around the city; however we swung by the mammoth parliament building on the last day and found it to be very mellow and peaceful.

Three days ended up not being enough time to see and do all that I’d wanted, but I enjoyed visiting the city and seeing all that I did. And who knows? Perhaps I’ll be fortunate enough to return for another visit after I finish my Peace Corps service next year. I wish I could have had more time there; a longer vacation. But isn’t that often the case when it comes to vacations?

Budapest Photos

Parliament building 


Hungarian Dolls 


Matthias Church 


View of Budapest from Castle Hill 


Gate at Castle Hill 


Church and Park 


Chain Bridge 


Basilica St. Stephen 


Inside St. Stephen Church 


Fishermans Bastion with Matthias Church  


Colorful Buildings 


Szechenyi Bath (by belgianchocolate at www.virtualtourist.com) 

Happy Anniversary!

It was a year ago and a day that I arrived in Macedonia for the first time to begin my Peace Corps adventure. Hard to believe it's been a year now that I've been here! (And subsequently, a new group of Mac 11's just arrived on Monday, they're a big group, 49 of them! They are now starting their 3 months of training in Veles, just like my group did last year).

Now, before you think that this means that I will be back in Seattle 12 months from now, I must remind you that PC service is a total of 27 months (2 years and 3 months of training). So, technically my COS (Close of Service) date is Dec 15th, 2007. However, since I plan to start graduate school (I'm deferring my acceptance to the University of Washington Master in Teaching program) in January 2008, I hope to leave a little earlier, so it will be sometime in the fall of next year that I'm thinking of finishing my PC service. Ke vidame! (We'll see).

"Happy One Year Anniversary to MAC 10!"

A Turn of Events

I can't believe this happened today...I had just stepped outside on my way to school, wasn't looking where I was walking and managed to stumble over the curb and turn my ankle! Arrrgh!

Not only did I sprain my ankle (same one as last February) but I ripped my last pair of jeans in the knees.

Up til now, school has been going OK, but I really want to start my other projects, English club, Drama club and teaching the teachers English. I was planning to start my English club this week, but now I'll have to wait since I must stay home for a few days. Don't worry, I'm using the RICE method religiously (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

At least I've got some good movies to watch and books to read!

Are you Hungary?

I’m excited about my upcoming travel plans for a much-needed vacation outside of Macedonia.

October 1st is the 21st annual Marathon in Budapest, Hungary and my friend and fellow PCV Sara is going to be running in the 42 km event. Stuart, another PCV and I are going along to be her personal cheering squad (as well as be tourists).

We will depart from Skopje on Sept 29th, fly to Budapest, have a day of sightseeing and then it’ll be the day of the race. The next day, Oct 2nd, Sara and I will fly back to Macedonia. Stuart is going to continue traveling for a little bit before his return. (I wanted to spend another day sightseeing, as I've heard lots of good things about Budapest from those who have been there, but it didn't work out this time. Ce la vie!)

I can’t wait! Here is what they say at the official Budapest Marathon website:



Budapest, the 'daughter of the Danube' makes you think of the quays of Paris, of Prague's old cobble stone streets, and multi-coloured houses, of Vienna's imperial and art nouveau architecture, of Barcelone's alleys, of London's Parliament and of Lissabon's hills, small winding roads and yellow tramways.
Budapest, the seven bridges and three hills have already won the hearts of the foreign runners. In 2002 more than 2000 foreigners of 41 countries came to discover this charming and mysterious capital.
The contest starts at the imposing Hõsök tere (Heros' Square), which is usually the main meeting-place for skaters and skateboarders, but for a few days in the end of summer thousands of two-legged reconquer the square and admire the 24 sculptures representing important actors of Hungarian history. It's not a coincidence that also Fred Lebow - a Hungarian by origin - wanted the Budapest-Marathon to start here.
The competition is specially attractive because of the city's fascinating beauty - e.g. the Andrássy avenue (part of the Unesco World Heritage), the art-nouveau-style Gresham Hotel, the good old Chainbridge, the Buda Castle (also part of the Unesco World Heritage), the idyllic Margareth Island, the monumental Parlament - all these can be admired by the runners, which really eases the pain on this long distance.
After the contest, the competing can relax their numbed feet in one of the 22 pools of the Széchenyi thermal bath, the most famous spa in Budapest.
The companions can visit the whirling fair next to the start, where they will find a 'sports- and lifestyle' information, showmen, concerts and other various programs. In the evening, a fascinating firework closes the running-festival.



http://www.budapestmarathon.com/eng/marathon/info

Look Ma! No Pesticides!

Earwig in my peach 


It's great to eat fresh fruits and veggies that are organic and don't need a lot of chemicals and stuff to grow. However, there are drawbacks. One time this summer I bought peaches at the market. Upon cutting one open I discovered this earwig inside *alive*. Yuck!

Holidays and Medival Fortresses

This summer I’ve had the opportunity visit a few sites around the country. It’s funny that I’ve been here for almost a year, yet I hadn’t visited some of these really interesting places before! This country may be small (about the size of Vermont), but there doesn’t seem a lack of places to go and things to see!

Bashino Selo: August 2nd is called Ilinden and is an important holiday here. There was a big battle in Kruchevo, back in 1903 against the ruling Ottoman (Turkish) empire, where the Macedonians won and created their own Republic, which held for 10 days before Turkish reinforcements came in and destroyed the republic. The revolutionaries (Nikola Karev, Goce Delchev, Pitu Guli) are memorialized all over the country. For the holiday, I went to visit my host family in Bashino Selo. The village people go up to a nearby hill where there is a cross, a priest comes and leads a short service, food and clothing and people are blessed and then everyone eats lots of yummy homemade food.

Priest blessing 


My extended host family in Bashino Selo 


Tetovo: I went to Tetovo (west of Skopje) to visit my friends Keith and Megan who took care of my kitten Miloyka while I was gone. During that time they fell in love with her and asked if I might consider letting them keep her. It was a hard decision, but in the end I decided they could adopt her. Miloyka was alone for long periods of time and plus I already have a cat back in Seattle. Tetovo is a big city with a sizable population of Albanians. Unfortunately there is still some tension between Macedonians and Albanians as there was a war between them in 2001. Walking around town in some ways felt like being in a different country, there is so much more diversity in the western part of the country. Turks and Albanians (and Muslim) men wear caps on their heads, Muslim women cover their heads with scarves and sometimes wear dresses that look like cloaks, that go all the way to the ground. There are also a number of Mosques there. I visited one that is famous called “The Painted Mosque”, built in the 16th century. Up close the exterior looks like large, brightly colored playing cards! It also has a nice garden

The Painted Mosque 


The Albanian Flag, Wedding Procession 


Skopje: I did some sightseeing in the capital city, which I hadn’t done before, even though I’ve been to Skopje many times. Usually I’m there for Peace Corps business, so I haven’t done much else. This time I visited “Kale” (pronounced “Kah-lay”), which is a fortress up on the hill above the city. My guidebook says that this Ottoman fortress and the River Vardar Valley may have had human settlements from as early on as Neolithic times (3500BC)! A Byzantine town was believed to have been built on this location between 700-500BC. The fortress that is seen today was constructed probably during the Medieval period, between 9th-14th century. There is very little information at the site, but interesting to walk around, and has great views of the city below. I also saw evidence of some damage, which I suspect was from the devastating earthquake in 1963. I also visited the site of the house where Mother Teresa was born, which is now just a plaque next to a busy shopping center in downtown Skopje. Mother Teresa was Albanian, although born in Macedonia (1910).

Ancient and Modern Skopje 


Downtown Skopje 


Mother Teresa 


Mother Teresa's House Was Here 


Prelip: a large city south of Veles, in the south-central part of the country also has a lot of history, as it is just next to the Towers of Marko, which is another medieval fortress built on the top of a very large hill overlooking the city. Archeological evidence has been found here that date back to the 3rd & 4th centuries BC. The fortress was built about the same time as Kale in Skopje, with the purpose of keeping out the Turks (which wasn’t successful given that the Turks ruled Macedonia for 500 years--until early 1900’s). But there were a lot of battles fought in this region, and even though the fortress is in ruins, it is still interesting and gives a great view of the large city below. In the center of town is the old Turkish center, with a large pedestrian area and the wall of an old Turkish bath still remains. There are also the ruins of a Muslim mosque destroyed in 2001 during the conflict with the Albanians.

Downtown Prelip, Statue of Alexander III with Towers in the Background 


Marko's Fortress 


View of Prelip from the Towers 


Soon it’s back to work for me, first day of school is Sept 1st!