6 Down

I didn't want to do another numeric blog title but the type-A in me loves to count and I'm now have 6 months down in Macedonia, 21 left to go. That second part still sounds like a lifetime yet but really, I feel like having been here half a year is significant. In six months I learned the basics of a new language, visited a half-dozen new cities, made many new friends, and started to get the hang of this whole volunteer thing. There have been a lot of highs but also some lows. Usually I try to focus on the good things about being here but when something frustrating happens, it is easy to think about what I miss about being in America. The best remedy for such nostalgia can be thinking about what I don't miss. Here's a sampling from both lists:

What I Miss:
Indian food, runners, burritos, happy hours, fresh cilantro and basil, going to the movies, my other clothes and shoes, comprehending office chit-chat, Thai tea, my iPhone, microbrews, not overthinking spending more than $15, pizza with tomato sauce, my queen size bed, choir, sidewalks, bagels, showers with automatic hot water, potstickers, recycling.

What I Don't Miss:
8 hour days at a desk, not knowing what ajvar and rakija are, American political bickering on TV, overcast Portland days, vegetables that aren't tasty but are expensive, people walking around with headphones like the rest of the world doesn't exist, shopping at a grocery store that's not playing the "Glee" soundtrack, paying rent.

30 Days

Morgan Spurlock is the guy who made the movie "Supersize Me" about eating McDonalds exclusively for 30 days, which then spun off into a show "30 Days" about people doing unlikely things for 30 days like making New Yorkers live in an organic commune or having a Christian live with a Muslim family. I was thinking that if someone were assigned to be a Peace Corps volunteer for 30 days, it would be a pretty good episode--exotic local, sticky situations, and funny dialogue. It's been about 30 days since my last posting, which there are good reasons for, like traveling 4 weekends in a row, and bad reasons for, namely my addiction to watching "Glee" online. But here's a brief recap of my "30 Days," captured in pictures in the "Gostivar, Demir Kapija, Negotino, Prilep, Sveti Nikole, and Bitola" photo album through the Picasa link.

Scene 1: Gostivar
Okay, so actually this was more than 30 days ago but I spent a weekend in the town of Gostivar where 3 volunteers from my group live, helping to celebrate some volunteer winter birthdays. Gostivar is one of the towns in Macedonia with a significant Albanian population, so these brave volunteers took on not only learning Macedonian but Albanian too. Albanians represent 20-30% of Macedonia's population but unfortunately are not always well received as citizens. There has been controversy here of late about what language Albanian children should learn in. Unlike in Canada where citizens learn both French and English, Albanians are expected to know Macedonian but not vice versa. In some ways I think that makes the Peace Corps volunteers teaching English even more valuable because English is a second language for both groups. At any rate, Gostivar was my first visit to an Albanian community and it was interesting to see many signs in Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish (another minority group in Macedonia). Also, it was lovely to see the snow covered city and drink my first salep, a root drink kind of like white hot chocolate.

Scene 2: Skopje
With a weekend bookended by a committee meeting and doctor appointments, I spent a weekend in Macedonia's capital, Skopje. My stomach enjoyed the McDonalds (twice), gelato (50 cents a cone, also twice), Chinese food, and a valiant but disappointing attempt at Mexican food by an Irish restaurant then redeemed by the Irish breakfast at another Irish establishment. I also got see where some of the Skopje volunteers live, which for two of them are Roma neighborhoods. The Roma, maybe better known in the world as gypsies, are another minority group in Macedonia and struggle to be well received, especially when it comes to education and jobs but despite the hardships, the volunteers that work with the Roma have mentioned their zest for life.

Scene 3: Demir Kapija
Here's where we get into what seemed like a true Peace Corps experience, with fellow volunteer John and I on a crowded, decrepit bus for 3 hours to the town of Demir Kapija. And when I say crowded, I mean people standing up and down the aisle and a woman asking the 5 of us sitting in the back to allow her to squeeze in, so there are 6 of us sitting on 5 seats. There was also a terrible engine sound, leading other people to comment that they thought there would be an explosion. Sometimes there are words I wish I didn't know in Macedonian--explosion might be one of them. The good news is that once we arrived in Demir Kapija, we had a lovely time. We stayed with Zach, one of the volunteers from my training community and it was like a mini Sveti Nikole reunion because Justin, Sarah, and my language instructor Despina were also there. Zach is lucky enough to live in wine country and a friend of his led us on a hike, complete with a wine break in the middle furnished by the Dutch guys staying at the winery who joined us on the hike. The other hike highlights were 1) the church we went into, one of those "you have to know the villager that keeps the key" places with these fantastic murals like a devil standing over a sleeping couple indicating "don't oversleep, go to church" and 2) the elderly couple who invited us in for coffee and rakija and showed us their baby goats. After the hike, we ate our weight in salad and ribs at a Demir Kapija establishment, ordering like locals--sans menus, just asking what they have in the pantry.

Scene 4: Negotino
The same weekend another volunteer, Tracy, had a big birthday blowout complete with a dance party in her apartment. This coincided with a festival in her town, Negotino, for the cutting of the grape vines indicating the start of the growing season. The festival, Sveti Trifon, includes the vineyards dispensing free wine in the city center and if there is anywhere you will find volunteers, it's where there is free stuff. Even the president of Macedonia was there sampling the wares.

Scene 5: Prilep
Still the same weekend--exhausting, isn't it? I stopped in Prilep on my way home, about a 45 minute bus ride from Bitola for one reason--to eat Thai food. Prilep has, I believe, the only Thai restaurant in the entire country and I MISS Thai food. It also happened that there was a festival wrapping up as we arrived, so we got to see some of the folks in costume as snow was coming down. Eventually Thai food was consumed--green curry, spring rolls, and ice cream--and it was delicious. Unfortunately the service was slow and the snow was coming down pretty hard, so I unexpectedly stayed the night with fellow volunteer Kaylee (and her cat, Freckles) and returned to Bitola the next morning.

Scene 6: Sveti Nikole
New weekend, new festival--this time I was in my old training community for their 10th festival of traditional folklore, Todorica. I stayed with my host family and was relieved when they said my Macedonian has improved a little since I'd been there a month ago. The festival included folk dancing and I must say, I've seen folk dancing every month since I arrived here and I think that may hold the whole 27 months. I enjoyed these performances though because it wasn't just Macedonian dance but also Albanian, Turkish, and whatever it is when men jump around wearing humongous cow bells attached to their waists. Tied into the festival is a large marketplace and my favorite item on sale was "Scheherazade" sweaters, named after the main character on the most popular TV program here.

Scene 7: Bitola
Last weekend I was relieved to be home (and I really do think of Bitola that way now) but not one to sit around all weekend, I decided to hike up to a monument on a hill near town. As it turns out, the monument is to the 3,400 German soldiers who died here during World War I. There was actually a lot of warfare in the park where I work, a major hardship on the villages during the war. At the monument, a woman there struck up a conversation with me and invited me to her house for coffee. Since she was with 4 little kids, it seemed safe enough and as depicted in Scene 3, random strangers inviting me in for coffee seems sort of normal now. The youngest kid, one year old, was wearing a hoodie that said "Portland" and I got a kick out of that and told them that's where I lived before coming to Macedonia. As usual, I got wonderful guests treatment with drinks, cookies, and apples. In fact, they insisted I eat a second apple because it was from their yard. They invited me to come back again and I plan to because they are lovely people and I'm so happy when I make friends with the locals.

Scene 8: Katie's Apartment in Bitola
So now you're caught up to me, typing this in my apartment with Serbian MTV on in the background. The next 30 days are my last in my 20s and I can't believe I'll be 30 soon but it helps to know that there are many exciting episodes yet to come so I won't have time to think about being older.

Lean, Mean, Committee Machine

There has not been much from me here thus far about what I do, i.e. as in work, as a Peace Corps volunteer. In part that is because it is complicated--what is work? Technically I'm doing a 24-7 job and work is anything from having coffee with a local to leading English conversation hours to looking for grant money for the national park that is my primary site. Another reason is because frankly things are moving slowly--only this week did I learn what the park's 2010 plans are and I will not be surprised if it is several weeks (or months) more before I know which parts of the plan I can pitch in on. Finally, beyond my assignment with the park, I'm in charge of finding my own work here and in a new community with limited language abilities, it is a daunting task.

Luckily, the workaholic side of me is satiated in part by the Peace Corps committees I've joined. First, I am a member of the Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC), kind of like the student council of Peace Corps. The VAC helps volunteers interact with the staff and resolve an issues that arise. Second, I am on the Small Project Assistance (SPA) committee, which oversees awarding small grants to volunteers for projects in their communities. Finally, I am exploring formation of an environmental committee with the two other environmental volunteers in Macedonia. My plan is to be a lean, mean committee machine and yet find ways to contribute meaningfully to my community, Bitola. Wish me luck.

Oh, Ohrid...

My Macedonian hometown, Bitola, is beautiful but it is one-upped by the city of Ohrid because Ohrid has a lake--a big, deep, lovely, freezing cold lake. It would be reasonable to assume that I wouldn't take a dip in said lake until the summer but instead I swam on Tuesday, part of a holiday (yes, another one!) called Vodici or Epiphany. The holiday commemorates when John the Baptist baptized Jesus and at lakes and rivers across Macedonia, an Orthodox priest blesses the water and then throws in a cross. Men (more on this later) then dive in and swim to grab the cross. Whoever retrieves the cross is said to be blessed for the next year and is celebrated for his swimming prowess. The cross is brought through town and people put money on it. As with other Macedonian holidays, rakija was provided (before and after the ceremony). Good thing too, since the temperature was hovering around freezing.

Following in the footsteps of prior Peace Corps volunteers, I decided to take my first and last polar plunge and swim for the cross. Really I didn't try to get anywhere near the cross, but I did swim out to the boat they tossed it off of and back, farthest of the volunteer swimmers. The wisdom of this is dubious since it took about 15 minutes to feel my toes again afterwards but if I was only going to swim once, I wanted to go all out. Apparently some women volunteers got an earful from a woman in the crowd for swimming with the men but I know I saw at least one other Macedonian woman in the lake. Also, I asked some Macedonian friends afterwards about the comment and they did not see any problem with us swimming.

I arrived in Ohrid two days prior to Vodici to attend a tourism conference. My counterpart and I staffed the National Park Pelister booth together the first day and the second day I flew solo. I think it went well, given my limited Macedonian and the fact that I've still only been to the park itself once. There is a photo of us at our booth under the Picasa link, at the end of the Vodici swim album. I think I'll put off my next swim in Lake Ohrid for a few months, but I would like to do some hiking in National Park Pelister earlier than that.

Frights on Parade

Continuing my new tradition in Macedonia of celebrating holidays twice, this week I repeated New Years or what is known as Old New Years. Although Old New Years is celebrated throughout the country, I traveled to the town of Vevchani (about 2 hours from Bitola, as the bus drives) for its elaborate holiday parade. The townspeople dress in costume--historically things that frighten them but nowadays also simply wild get-ups. Every year the costumes are different--they have to be because the day after the parade, they build a huge bonfire and burn the costumes, symbolically destroying the evil spirits. Some of my favorites from this year were the Ents (like from Lord of the Rings), invisible men, and the seamstresses in drag. There are pictures loaded on Picasa, definitely worth a look.

Christmas: Round 2

Last Tuesday through Thursday, I celebrated Christmas again--the Macedonian version. Tuesday was Kolede, which involves people setting bonfires in the streets and gathering around them with neighbors to chat and snack. I think the fires symbolize a fresh start to the new year and people used to burn old, undesirable items but I didn't see anyone burning anything but wood. Kids also go around singing songs for candy and money, ala Halloween in America but sans costumes. My fellow volunteer neighbor Heather and I joined our landlords Ljube and Dushko for our street's bonfire. It was nice to meet some of the neighbors and listen to the conversation. Luckily it was not a super cold night but we did sip some rakija to help keep warm. Afterwards, Heather and I went to a celebration held by a friend of hers, Denny. His father started the party tradition because Kolede coincided with his birthday and now Denny continues the gathering as a memorial. More rakija and snacks were consumed and I met more of Heather's friends, so my circle of acquaintances is growing.

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I took the bus to visit my host family in Sveti Nikole (about 3 hours from Bitola). It was great to catch up with my family--I swear my host nephew Mario looked bigger after only 6 weeks. I watched my host mom, Viki, prepare some of the traditional dishes. There is an Orthodox Lent here before Christmas, so no foods with dairy, eggs, or meat are eaten on Christmas eve (or by traditional families the 40 days prior to Christmas). As we were sitting down to dinner, I was surprised to learn that it would be just me and my host parents--traditionally everyone stays in their own homes for Christmas Eve dinner so my host sister Kate and her family were at their house. Suffice to say I was also stunned to discover the food covering three-quarters of the table was just for the three of us. I loaded some new photos on Picasa, you'll see what I mean. There is an oak branch on the table, which I've read is supposed to symbolize health and long life. This makes sense because one of the most common holiday greetings here is, "For many years," i.e. may you have a long life.

Christmas itself in Macedonia is pretty low key. I went with Viki to the Orthodox church to see what the services are like. Men stood on one side of the church, women on the other and there are no seats. There are priests conducting a mass but at the same time people are walking around lighting memorial candles and leaving offerings. The offerings are most often money, cooking oil, towels, and food. As the offerings are laid down, people often kiss pictures of saints and other religious icons. The church later resells the offerings, so it's more or less a form of tithing. Viki and I left after about an hour but my understand is that the service goes on most of the day. Later I visited Viki's parents and had a big lunch with my host family, breaking the Lenten fast by eating a meal with meat and cheese.

Many other volunteers were also in Sveti Nikole, so we got to catch up and share stories. Even though we are all serving in the same country, everyone has very different situations for work, home, etc. and thus different challenges and successes. We try to support each other and yet not get jealous when somebody's "farther along," if you will.

It was wonderful to have my host family include me in their holiday celebrations, especially since it was my first time experiencing them. In some ways the trip was also stressful because my family gave me the impression that they thought I would have made more progress with my Macedonian. I guess if there's anything family is for, it's to give you a good kick in the pants when you are slacking off. It is easy to speak a lot more English in Bitola than I did/could in Sveti Nikole, but I am going to make a renewed effort to improve my Macedonian.

Believe it or not, the holiday season rolls on in Macedonia. This week is Old New Year and next week is the Epiphany, then things finally wind down--expect to hear more about unique Macedonian celebrations soon.

Santa successfully evades fireworks

Last year on New Year's Eve, I was riding a camel in the dark, in the rain, through the Sahara in Morocco. I had no idea then that I'd ring in the next year in Bitola, Macedonia where unseasonably warm weather brought lots and lots of people onto the pedestrian mall to rock out and say happy new year--Среќна нова година. I put some photos of the festivities in a new Picasa album. As you'll see, I was with fellow volunteers Heather, Mike, Dave, Mike, and Phil and an Australian for good measure, Ed. We started by toasting the new year at Phil's apartment then caught the fireworks at midnight, followed by strolling the pedestrian mall, listening to bands, and finally eating chicken sandwiches at 2:00 a.m. I'd feel guilty about the late night grub except I took a nice hike earlier in the day, also in the photos, to a church in the hills near Bitola. At the church, I enjoyed the sunshine and chatted with a local who had also made the windy trek. My Macedonian is still quite limited, so I was soon on my way back into town, passing by an abandoned tank and climbing a fence to get back to civilization.

The subject line references the fact that Santa comes on New Years Eve in Macedonia. I have heard that this was a way to continue the tradition under socialist times and its nice now because regardless of religious beliefs, everyone can anticipate Santa's arrival. Plus, it helps explain how Santa can deliver all those packages if he has an extra week to get to the Balkans. Santa brought me tea, hot sauce, and cookies from the States, just like I asked for in my letter, so 2010 is off to a great start already.

Today kicks off three days of Orthodox Christmas celebrations. Tonight I'll be in Bitola for the traditional bonfires in the streets, then I'm off to my host family in Sveti Nikole to celebrate Christmas with them. Details on Christmas, Round 2 later...