Thursday, May 27, 2010

Advanced Placement

Volunteers in Macedonia do some amazing stuff and perhaps nowhere more so than in the kitchen. Peace Corps Macedonia has earned the moniker "Advanced Placement Home Ec" because of the lengths we will go to in order to recreate our favorite dishes from home. In the last month, I've made apple pie from scratch (including peeling the apples and making the crust), made Tom Kah Gai Thai chicken curry soup after hauling canned coconut milk from the capital city because we were out in Bitola (I know, I know, I'm really roughing it here), and prepared a pesto pizza with homemade crust and non-pre-shredded cheese (pre-shredded cheese being my go-to back home). Usually people want to know what I'm doing here and honestly cooking is often the answer, especially if you factor in shopping time at the market for ingredients.

Is cooking volunteer work? Tonight it was because Sam, our soon-departing Fulbrighter, gave a presentation on American Food and Drink. It's really something to be in a room with people who don't recognize a picture of a burrito, don't know guacamole or what it is used for, and have never seen a tater tot, let alone in a Midwestern casserole. To complement the presentation, we made a sampling of American dishes. My contributions were oatmeal M&M cookies and PB&J sandwiches. The cookies were a big hit, the sandwiches less so. Ranch dip may have been the most popular contribution--people were loving it on potato chips. What I scarfed down as much of as possible was sushi made by one of the American Corner members of Macedonian-Polish heritage who learned sushi-making from his aunt. Sushi hadn't crossed my lips at all in the last 9 months and I had to make up for lost time.

Ingredient substitutions build character, or at least creativity, this much I know is true. Below you'll find some photos of my recent creations.






Tuesday, May 18, 2010

In Other News

You have read a lot about what I'm up to, my impressions of Macedonia, yadda yadda yadda and since I don't have anything particularly new and thrilling to share, I thought I'd point you towards some other takes on Macedonia. First up is Pauza, Peace Corps Macedonia's quarterly newsletter written by volunteers: http://macedonia.peacecorps.gov/resources/pauza/Pauza_Winter2010.pdf. I particularly recommend "Momentous Occasions" on page 5, Macedonia hotspots on pages 8-9, and the article by yours truly on page 11.

Also, CNN recently did a series on Macedonia that can be found at: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/ilist/. My recommended top features are "Name Squabble," "Future of Education," and "A New Napa Valley."

Finally, if you aren't getting enough of volunteers blogging about Macedonia then you can find my comrades' blogs at http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/?showcountryinfo,mk. As much as I'd like to think that I've got the market cornered on funny stories and cultural insights, I must admit there's other great stuff out there in the blogosphere to check out--but come back!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Whose stupid idea was that? Oh yeah, mine.

Sunday was the Skopje Marathon and I ran it in 3 hours, 52 minutes, 37 seconds. If you asked me at 3 hours, 53 minutes, I'd say choosing to run the Skopje Marathon was one of the stupidest things I'd ever done. I went out too fast, I started walking in the second half, and the heat was a lot more noticable as I went a second time around the exact same course. However, I can say that I finished in the Top 10--okay, it's true there were only 8 women in the marathon and I came in 6th. And to add insult to injury, if I'd come in 5th place then I would have won 150 Euros. But still, I was the top--well, only--women's marathoner from the U.S. and I had a fantastic group cheering me on. There were about 10 Peace Corps volunteers (most of whom did the half marathon or 5K) cheering me on and another 5 or so language instructors from our training who were rooting for me. I've never had so many people on a race course shouting my name, it was really awesome. I posted some photos from the official photos and from fellow volunteer Kerry on Picasa. Will I do the marathon again next year? No. The half marathon? Maybe.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

We interrupt our usual programming...

for this short commercial announcement. As you surely sensed from my last entry, I think the youth in Macedonia are terrific. Further, I believe they are the key to improving their society and the world at large. That's why I want to shamelessly plug an opportunity for you (yes, YOU!) to donate to Macedonia's Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).

[I admit I took much of the following from the camp organizers, great girls that they are].

Camp GLOW is an 8 day multi-ethnic leadership summer camp that brings together 80 high school-aged girls from all over Macedonia, including Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Serbian and Vlach young women. The goal of the camp is to empower young women from Macedonia to become active leaders in their communities by providing them with leadership opportunities, and information and training not found in traditional educational environments. The camp curriculum focuses on 8 different thematic components: CIVIL SOCIETY, WOMEN'S STUDIES, LIFE CHOICES, THE WORLD AROUND ME, LEADERSHIP, ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, RECREATION and TEAM BUILDING.

In Macedonia, as in many other parts of the world, there are significant challenges facing women including discrimination, under representation of women in government, unequal opportunities for women in education and employment, women’s rights struggles, domestic abuse and violence, human trafficking, and inadequate women’s health education. Camp GLOW addresses these challenges by educating and empowering young women in a safe and productive learning environment. The Camp GLOW curriculum and activities are taught by young women from Macedonia with assistance from Peace Corps volunteers. The staff from Macedonia is comprised of exceptional young women-leaders who have previously attended the camp as participants and are now in leadership positions such as Instructors, Junior Counselors, Senior Counselors and Administrative and Program Leaders.

Since 2004, Camp GLOW has directly educated over 380 young women and indirectly impacted the lives of many more women through peer to peer education and dissemination of knowledge. Camp GLOW has a very reputable name and is growing in demand and need every year. Girls return to their communities from camp and not only educate their friends about what they have learned but energize new girls to consider applying the next year. Currently they have established 5 GLOW clubs where they interact with others in their communities. Many girls leave the camp feeling a sense of power and new self-worth. Providing young women with this opportunity positively impacts the quality of life and the future of Macedonia.

If you would like to see a video of last year's camp check this out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hzQCvIAis

Every year it is a struggle to finance the camp. However, each year, with much perseverance, creativity, and new individual sponsors and funders dedicated to the mission, the camp has continued. The majority of the cost for the camp is food and lodging for 7 nights for 80 girls. The camp is held in the mountains at a camp site far away from the distractions of everyday life. This environment really enables the girls to focus on the sessions and immerse themselves. Because we do not want the socio-economic status of any of the campers to prevent them from attending, we only ask girls to contribute by paying a participation fee of about $10 and providing for their own bus transportation to and from the large city closest to the camp site. This enables a wider audience of girls to partake in the program.

Please consider sponsoring a camper for the entire camp for only $100.00. In doing so you will be providing a young woman with an opportunity that may change her future. If you cannot help at that level, any financial support would be greatly appreciated! Please make your donation by June 30, 2010. We have only 2 months to raise $4050! And remember, your contribution is tax deductible.

It is very simple and fast to make a donation! Here is how:

1. Visit the Peace Corps web site at (just copy and paste the link): https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors
2. Search for Camp GLOW Macedonia by entering the project number: 249-035 and clicking "Search"
3. On the page it directs you to, scroll down and click on the project name Camp GLOW to direct you to our fundraising page
4. Make a secure online donation by entering an amount and click “DONATE”
5. Accept our heartfelt thanks for supporting Camp GLOW 2010!

Although I was not selected to be a counselor or instructor for Camp GLOW (because Peace Corps Macedonia has a lot of stellar women who outshine even yours truly), empowering girls is a matter near and dear to my heart and if you are able to offer support to this great cause, I would really appreciate it. I helped Ashley interview girls from Bitola for camp and I'm happy to say that we are sending three phenomenal girls. One girl professed her love for math, another for science. One young lady is doing HIV/AIDS education in the schools. And all of them expressed excitement at getting to know girls from across Macedonia and from different backgrounds from their own. What more can I say--bust our your credits and please make a donation on the Peace Corps website!