Friday, May 13, 2011

Kaleidoscope

The best thing about spring is unplugging my heater but second to that is the explosion of color. It is the perfect time for a project going on at the American Corner, Picturing Macedonia. Those great teens I'm always talking about are at it again, this time using photography, art, and literature to capture images of the country. I was lucky enough to tag along on one of their trips recently. My favorite stop was the Painted Mosque in Tetovo, which inside and out is covered with colorful paintings.



We also stopped at the "World's Smallest Etno Museum" which is literally a closet, spilling out into the curator's yard, and then the modern art museum in Skopje where parts of the collection are hung with duct tape. We ended our tour at a Turkish cafe with tea and a traditional food kind of like pizza, a good end to a good day.


I took this next shot at a rest stop on the way back to Bitola--the beauty here is almost inescapable. More photos from Tetovo and Skopje here.


Before I could blink, I was back in Skopje to run the half marathon. The half was much, MUCH less painful than doing two laps last year. Also, Kerry and I did the whole race together and it was great to have each other's encouragement. Together with Kaylee, running her very first half marathon, we kept each other going with periodic shouts of Beer!, our prize at the finish line. The golden hefeweizen and the dark stout, some of my other favorite colors.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

It's Unofficial--Summer is Here


May 1st is Labor Day in Macedonia (and much of the world outside America) and the unofficial start of summer. Picnicking is the most common way here to spend the holiday and I did just that. A gaggle of volunteers (or is it herd?) gathered in the town of Makedonski Brod and then snagged a fabulous picnic spot along a stream outside the nearby Peshna Cave. The cave has an impressively large entrance, big enough to hold the remains of a fortress rumored to be built by King Marko (1335-1395) for his sister, Peshna.

Never before (and likely never again) could you witness a group so excited to eat asparagus. Tracy and Slave found it growing wild and shared it with everyone--you would have thought is was candy, the way we kept asking for more. Asparagus is not sold here and obviously I wasn't the only American missing it--we even took pictures of ourselves with it. Behold Lauren, Marlys, and Kaylee in one such photo:I swear, I wasn't the only one taking asparagus photos. That was really only the tip of the iceberg though when it came to culinary treats. We brought along an amazing potluck spread and even carried in a grill for Happie's special marinated chicken. 3 types of potato salad, 2 types of pasta salad, 7 different desserts--they all had to sampled (and sampled and sampled again).

After the picnic, I traveled further up the road to Manastirec, a village that when it got a Peace Corps volunteer increased its total population by almost 1%. Impressively, Jen knows not only the name of everyone in the village but their dogs too. Unquestionably she is having the experience here most like what is brought to mind by the name Peace Corps and I greatly admire her for embracing it. I doubt that I would have been as uncomplaining about being so isolated, she's a rock star. It is a lovely place and I'm glad that I got to see the opposite extreme of my Peace Corps assignment.

My M&M bars (a big potluck hit, btw) were the perfect choice for a M&M (Mak Brod and Manastirec) weekend. More photos of it all up on Picasa.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Play Ball!!!



Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical. - Yogi Berra

I think Mr. Berra was right--baseball takes 140% effort, particularly when you are teaching the sport to 25 complete novices ranging in age from 8 to 18. Last Saturday, the American Sports Club put on a 4-hour baseball extravaganza, starting with the basics and working our way up to a full-fledged game and man, it was really, really fun.

Pulling off this event could only be done with the help of many parties that I want to give a shout-out to. First, the American kids who donated equipment and the organization Pitch In For Baseball for collecting it and sending it to us (and my wonderful parents for covering the shipping). Second, the American Corner Bitola staff for finding a playing field, buying snacks and T-shirts, and the Corner's interns for covering everything from translating instructions to playing catcher. Third, to the American Sports Club founders who applied for the equipment and helped teach the younger kids on Saturday. And last but far from least, my fantastic regional sitemates from Peace Corps who got up early on their Saturday, who didn't complain when we ran out of snacks, and who know WAY more about baseball than me so the kids actually learned how to play properly.

All week I had been dreading that the forecasts for rain would be true and cause the game to be canceled but miraculously, we got an ideal sunny spring day. We played on a field outside the soccer stadium and I guess the magnetism of baseball is undeniable--several kids defected from soccer practice and joined us instead. I must say, the youth impressed me with their ability to pick up the game even if it took us awhile to get everyone to understand that if you don't run over the base, it doesn't count. I think when we have real bases instead of egg cartons this will be clearer because, after all, why would you stomp egg cartons? Also memorable was when one kid hit a homer and proceeded to run the bases carrying his batting helmet tucked under his arm.

One of my favorite parts was Kaylee and Lauren's solution for putting the kids in a memorable batting order--they just lined them up in height order, shortest to tallest. I'm sure the major leagues will be switching to this approach soon, it's so logical. And the night before the game, we had a baseball talk at the American Corner where I gave them cracker jacks made by yours truly and we sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," a requirement for earning a taste of said cracker jacks.

There are photos and even some video of all the baseball revelry up on Picasa. Some of the pictures are taken by me, but most are from Helene, my sitemate, and Stefan, an American Sports Club founder who is an amazing photographer. To close, I'd like to use another Yogi-ism:
I just want to thank everyone who made this day necessary.