Life as a Trainee

My first week of classes is over, so at least now I can say "I like [fill in the blank with limited vocabulary words], I don't like [X], I have [X], and I don't have [X]" in addition to introductions and greetings. We meet for 4 hours in the mornings for language school, then we have other trainings like medical and vocational sessions most afternoons. Homework has a whole new meaning when your life depends on it--I think I've never been so diligent about my homework and that says something coming from studious me. This week we'll also start spending time visiting local nonprofits and municipalities to see how these types of Macedonian institutions approach their work.

Part of my training, besides being a good classroom student, is to take in as much as possible in the community. One way I did so this week was to assist in making a Macedonian specialty, Ajvar. Ajvar is a delicious red pepper spread that many households make themselves. For my host family, this started with me, my host sister Katerina, her son Mario, and Katerina's grandparents going to the open-air market for red peppers and other ingredients. The number of peppers is AMAZING. I think we bought about 20 pounds worth. Then we took the peppers and other ingredients home and began removing the stems and seeds. Next Baba (grandma) blackened the peppers on a wood fired stove on the patio. Then we worked on removing the skins before they were chopped up. If this sounds easy, it's not. I think this part of the cooking process took about 5 hours. The next day, they mixed up all the ingredients (I missed this part, which I think was part of keeping the secret recipe in Macedonia) and started cooking on the wood stove again. The ajvar is continously stirred with a big wooden paddle for probably about 3 hours. Apparently my stirring techinique needs some work. Then the finished product is put into jars and presto, 8 hours later you have ajvar. Certainly you can see that when it comes to food, Macedonians do not cut corners. I took copious pictures of the shopping and cooking that I hope to get up next week.