Macedonian Xmas

Video!!
Macedonian Christmas

It's been a hot minute since I last updated, because we've been busy!!This past weekend, we traveled down to my original home of Lozovo to celebrate the Macedonian Christmas with my Macedonian family.

Macedonian Christmas is very similar to our Xmas: you visit with friends and family, you drink, and you eat. That's about it. And that's exactly what we did. Friday, we got in early in the day, so we took our first opportunity to visit some people. My "brother" (the volunteer who had my family the year prior to me) also came in for the holiday, so we spent the rest of the evening catching up with him and the family at home. That night, all of Lozovo throws bonfires. I think there were 5 total around the village, but the largest one just so happened to be right by my house. We spent a few hours there drinking and dancing the Oro around the massive bonfire. I was able to see LOUIE (basset hound), who I swear recognized me. We had a moment too, hahaha. Afterwards, we headed over to the fire on Kenzie's side and stayed there until sometime after midnight. Rob and I went back home only to discover we had to sleep in the coldest rooms EVER. I cannot exaggerate how damn cold these rooms were....

Well for starters, I could see my breath in my room. I had my own room with a pullout couch, and Rob and Chris got my old bedroom. Neither bedrooms have heaters....why we didn't is beyond me. It was below 20F outside. So I'm standing there trying to figure out how exactly this was going to work. Rob and I decided to layer. We each had on 3-4 shirts, long johns,  pants, two paris of socks, and a jacket. I'd brought my sleeping bag, so I crawled into the sleeping bag with all my clothes on and could hardly move. To make matters worse, having my face exposed wasn't fun. My lungs felt cold whenever I woke up trying to roll over. And to be completely honest, every single night was like this, and it was unbearable to sleep like that..

For the next two days, we sat around at home eating and drinking. We were woken up with fish and rakija on Friday. It's a day where they dont eat any meat or milk products. We snacked for hours before heading out to visit some people. The weather was heavy wind and rain, which we got soaked in walking through it. Each house had a warm room to retreat to though, so we took advantage of that!! That night, we gathered with the family for the traditional Xmas meal, where the family bakes a loaf of bread with a coin in it. The person who got the coin last year breaks off pieces of the bread for each member of the family (including pets), as well as a piece for the house itself. Once this part is done, the family members see who got the coin. In our case, we all got the coin, because my host dad tore off too small of pieces, so we had this big chunk of bread leftover. Of course, that piece had the coin in it. : ) So from there, whomever gets the coin is supposed to put it in a glass of wine and drink from the glass. Getting the coin is supposed to bring you good luck and health all year. It was a special night to share this with our family.

The next day was pretty relaxing. We were able to eat meat again, so we had some chicken and pork with more bread and some other foods. Milevka's family came over, and we spent the day playing cards, watching TV, and of course eating some more. That night, I intentionally went to bed early so I could wake up early to make it back to Kocani. All in all the weekend was nice and relaxing...if it hadn't been for those cold bedrooms, I know we would have been much more comfortable...looking forward to going back when it's warm again, that's for sure!!

Since we've gotten back to Kocani, we've spent the majority of our time resting in my warm apartment. Sleeping in the cold made my cold from last week linger a little longer, so I needed to rest. As always, things are breaking left and right in the apt, but we are making the best of it, haha!! I successfully made baked apples for the first time, and we've eaten the hell out of some Ranch dip as well. All in all, the last two days have made me feel a lot better. This week, we set out for Vevcani and Ohrid. We ride out on Thursday down to Ohrid with my friend Anna. There, we will stay for two nights enjoying the city. (google it!!) On Saturday, we will ride into Vevcani for the 2nd day of the carnival. That night, I think we are getting together with the other volunteers to celebrate Claire's bday. Should be a great weekend....Im honestly really looking forward to it.

Well that's all I've got for now!! I'll have a ton of photos and videos coming soon!! : )

Hello, 2012

Well a new year has already begun. It's crazy that I've just survived my first set of holidays over here. Although Xmas was difficult (as expected), New Years was MUCH easier!!

Last Wednesday, I woke up SICK. I was so mad. My throat hurt when I spoke or swallowed, and I had headaches with my congested head. Rob was flying into Macedonia that night, so I spent the rest of the day after school trying to sleep it off. Rob got in safe and sound that night, but I still felt pretty ill. By Friday, we rode into Skopje to see the PC doctors, which is really a pain to go there and back. The trip is like 2.5 hours each way on a bus. Then, once you get to Skopje, you have to get on another bus for another 30 minutes just to get to the PC office. The good news was I was able to get some proper medicine, and the doctor told me I just had an upper respiratory infection. We spent the second half of that day walking around Skopje, enjoying the Xmas lights and eating Arabian food. haha

Saturday, we woke up to snow on the ground!! We decided to make our errands quick so we could literally spend the rest of the day and night inside. And that's exactly what we did!! For our New Years celebration, we made A LOT of Mexican food....I mean, A LOT. We seriously ate the hell out of some tacos and nachos. By midnight, we were able to stand out on my mini balcony and watch the locals shoot off fireworks from house to house. Kids ran in the streets, shooting fireworks at cars passing by. The view was actually spectacular...and not because of the fireworks, but because I was really able to register where I was for the celebration of the New Year. It felt good.

The last couple days were a lazy mess. I've slowly gotten over my illness by resting in bed and watching a lot of movies and TV shows on my computer. Rob has so far gotten to meet Emilija and her family, as well as Paul, which is AWESOME!! I was trying to explain how good it feels to have someone come here and see where I live, meet the people I adore, and even do the basics like running errands with me (he got to see the butcher shop!) It's also nice to have someone from another country to talk about the cultural differences with.....overall, it's just nice to have his company here!!

Starting on Thursday, Macedonians will begin to celebrate their Christmas here. It all begins on the 5th and lasts until the 7th. I'll be going into Lozovo for this occasion, and I was just told by Milevka last night that Rob is welcome to join as well. We are going to have a full house!! Thursday night will be a big village-wide bonfire, complete with food and drinks. Friday is a type of fasting day, where families mainly eat lentils and salads and stuff...nothing with meat in it. We will spend a good chunk of that day visiting the other families and volunteers. Then, Saturday is the actual Christmas day. I'm not sure if we are staying that night too, but we will see. I'm already anticipating how cold that house is going to be!!

Anywho....I'm excited to see my family and the volunteers again. It'll be a nice little break. Once I get back, teachers are supposed to go back into work to plan what they are going to do in the coming year. I have a lot to plan with both my director and Emilija, and I'm excited to start talking about the new little projects we want to implement. There is already talk of a photo club, a school newspaper, a radio station, and (my favorite) converting the basement area into a dance studio. The gym teacher wants me to teach the kids some ballroom dancing for their upcoming prom. HOORAH!! I'm also excited about being able to show Rob some more of Macedonia while he is here. There is a festival down south in a couple of weeks we are already planning on hitting up. It's the one carnival that looks kind of like Halloween....people dress up all crazy in the streets and stuff. Seriously looking forward to that one.

I hope everyone had an excellent New Years celebration. I can honestly say I had a great one. Looking forward to hearing from everyone!!