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!! : )

It's that time of year....AGAIN!!

Today, Rob and I got to meet with my Director for some afternoon coffee and chatting time. During the middle of the conversation, my Director offered us some wine. Graciously, we accepted, only to discover the most fantastic looking bottle of wine...

This is called BEAR BLOOD. I mean, look...there's a photo of a growling scary bear on the front. Isn't is fantastic?? Apparently, a close friend of his really likes the wine, so he ordered some from Bulgaria. I just had to share it with ya'll. Oh, and for the record...the wine was FANTASTIC. Seriously delicious. I want to keep the bottles and use them as vases though...seriously.

Oh, and we were able to chat a bit about an idea I have for the Freedom Monument area in Kocani (the place the with graffiti).....kind of like how Nashville does its "movies in the park" during the summers, we were discussing getting the necessary things together to hookup a movie night up there!! It could also be a weekly thing with some vendors. We have access to most of what we'd need, and the advertisement for the event is something that wont be a problem at all!! The idea sounds promising, but right now we really need to concentrate on getting the dance area setup, as well as some of the other after school activities. Point being, I keep getting PUMPED about all the great things I get to do with my school. I love the endless possibilites.

ANYWHO....Tomorrow, Rob and I head out to Lozovo to visit the family for the Macedonia божик (xmas). It's going to be a 3-day celebration; Thursday night beginning with a village-wide bonfire. Friday will probably be an entire day of visiting other families and eating a lot of food. Then Saturday is a "just the family" kind of day with another epic meal. Sunday, we will travel back to Kocani. I'm really excited to see everyone and be back in Lozovo with the family!! I hope my language skills are still solid enough for some catch up convos with the family...otherwise, I'll be getting an ear-full. : )

The following weekend is something to get pumped about as well....today, we just booked a stay down in the beautiful Lake Ohrid area for Thursday and Friday. It's Claire's bday (my best bud from Lozovo), and she lives a stones throw away from Ohrid. So Friday night, a bunch of us will be getting together to celebrate. Then on Saturday, we will travel into Vevcani for the crazy carnival:

Vevcani Carnival info

Just some random photos I found online from the carnival. 

 We were able to book a room at a villa down there too, so we will make a weekend out of it!! Already, I am so excited for the two upcoming weekends. I've been seriously looking forward to the Vevcani bit, and I'm even more pumped that a lot of volunteers will be around to celebrate!! I need to make some masks....

So that's that. I wont have internet again until this Sunday, so if you happen to email me, I wont be able to respond just yet. I'm seriously having a great winter break so far.....having some company surely doesnt hurt!! And I'm looking forward to being able to travel around the country a bit more in the upcoming weeks to help these frigid winter months move a little faster.

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!!

Christmas in Macedonia

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Here's the video from the weekend:

Xmas video

As you all know, I was in Kamenica for the weekend to celebrate Xmas with my fellow volunteers from all over the country. Friday, I rode into town to help Sara set up for the coming days' events. There, we met up with Paul and Julie. That night, we began our celebration by making and hanging the paper snowflakes (shown above). We hung them all over the ceiling so the place could feel a little festive!!

This is Sara's kitchen, and this is Sara building a real fire inside of her wood burning stove. Friday night, we waited for the rest of the first crew to show up: Enid, Kenzie, and Andres. Upon their arrival, I realized just how much I've been missing them. Seeing them again felt like I was having a family reunion!! That night, we headed into town for some kebabs, chicken fingers, salads, and beer. There was some live music, so we stuck around for a bit before heading back to the house. 

The next morning looked like this. We all laid around on Sara's pull-out couches and just caught up on how things were going at each other's sites. We snacked on Anna's famous banana bread, drank coffee and tea, and listened to Xmas music. Later that day, some of the people went up the side of a mountain and cut down a Xmas tree for us. We made homemade decorations out of aluminum foil. Here's our tree:

By the middle of the day, the rest of our crew began to arrive: Faron, Dan, and Dale. We took a walk into town to get some last minute things we figured we'd need to the upcoming meals.

Andres and I in front of one of the two churches in the town. Here, we met one of the priests who gave Sara all the details about people she knew in town. It was pretty entertaining.

That night, we made a lot of Mexican food. We had a taco bar set up, and we made a troth of nachos to go along with it. We played Apples to Apples that night and spent a good chunk of time just dancing and joking around. We also shared a "white elephant gift exchange." The deal was we all had to bring something that was in our home when we first moved in...something weird or funny. Some people got some wildly hilarious gifts, while others got gifts that were oddly perfect for them!! For example, I got these cute little knit slippers that are TINY. I was literally the only person whose tiny feet could fit in them, and I somehow managed to get that bag. It was perfect!!

Sunday morning was kind of a slow one. We woke up, and Julie had made everyone "stockings" out of Sara's socks. In them, she put a bunch of random items, like veggies, candy, mini American flags, and tea bags. She left this message from Santa on the table:

It was really sweet. From there, we decided to finally sit down all together to watch a Xmas movie...so we put on The Grinch. I loved being able to sit around with everyone for that. It was probably the most festive feeling moment of the entire weekend. Some people fell asleep, while others stayed up and laughed along. Regardless, we were all curled up together, and it felt like a family. After we all finally got moving, I began to work on our Xmas day meal. We didnt have much, bc the local bazaars were empty last week. It must have been from the snow we had. We made due though!! We baked 3 small chickens with potatoes, carrots, and onions. We also made some moussaka. Then, we all gathered around the den for one last meal:

Shortly after we ate, I decided to catch a ride back into Kocani. I was feeling extremely homesick and a little sad I wasnt able to see my family yet. As soon as my ride began to pull into Kocani, I began to feel so much better. Even walking up my 6 flights of stairs felt good....it just felt good to be home. I immediately turned on my cheap little Xmas tree and got online to Skype my momma, who was just getting up. She walked me around the house as her and Jessica got ready for the day. I watched Xmas movies on their TV across the internet. I chatted with them as they put on their makeup and did their hair. Later, I was carried around on the computer as my family opened all their presents and stockings. I was able to see and speak to everyone, and it truly felt like I was there! I was SO HAPPY to feel like I was still able to share such an important holiday with my family. Being able to hear them laugh and joke around made me miss them all so much more, but I was smiling from ear to ear when I finally shut my computer. 

Suddenly, Lilika, the student from school I've grown close with, showed up at my house with a jorgan, which is kind of like a super heavy blanket. She sat around and met my mom and sis via Skype with me and helped me admire how wonderful their Xmas tree was. We sat around for a bit, eating popcorn and chatting, before Emilija called me. She was on her way to pick me up!! Emilija and her husband showed up with a piece of cake for me, and then they took me down to the center for some pizza, salad, and coffee. Having them drop what they were doing on a Sunday...the one day Emilija and her family have to themselves..made me feel like part of the family. It became evident how much they cared, and even though I know they care, their simple act of taking me out on Xmas meant so much to me, I simply cannot explain. Emilija and Lilika really own my heart here. I love them so much for being there for me on what we all knew would be a difficult day. By the time I shut my eyes for sleep, I was a happy  and fulfilled girl.

I went into work on Monday, and it felt a little slow. I was just feeling tired, I guess. And then his morning, I woke u with a sore throat. I decided I'd get through work so I could spend the rest of the evening in bed with tea and soup, which is exactly what I've done. I think it's really the extreme drop in temperature that's made me feel like I'm getting a cold. Regardless, Im going to battle through it, b/c tomorrow Rob comes into town!! Hoorah!! His plane gets in late, so I am probably going to be beat by Thursday. Not sure what we are going to do for the New Year yet....we may just stick around here. I dont think either of us would mind that...it will feel good to relax.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Although I survived this year, I must admit I think I'll have to come back next year for sure!! I miss and love you all. Keep the emails coming : )

We are having a white Christmas!!

It's almost Christmas!!!!!!

I just got home from my last day of school for the week, because early tomo morning I'll be hoping on a bus to Kamenica for the holiday!! Right now, we've got around 12 people going this weekend, which should be REALLY interesting figuring out where everyone is going to sleep. Im going to try and not worry about it, because the snow outside may prevent some people from even making it....although, I really hope that isnt the case. Oh, speaking of snow:

This is what I saw on my walk into school this morning!! It is supposed to keep on snowing throughout the weekend. As of right now, getting to and from Kamenica shouldn't be a problem. I only live about 30-45 minutes away, so hopefully the sun will help melt some of the snow by Monday morning. The temperature keeps dropping!! I woke up this morning, and I was SO COLD. It may be about time to get a second blanket. My Director told me today that it can get as cold as -30 here in the winter......WOW!!

On a side note, I went by a new butcher shop on my way home today. The Director had suggested this place to me, as it apparently has the best fresh meat in town. I love discovering places that will become my regular shopping place, so I was eager to go there straight from work. It's my job to pick up all the meat for this weekend, so what better time to do it??

Anywho....so I get to the butcher's shop, which is a tiny little shop right behind my building. I man and his son run the place, and they were both there as I walked in. Upon entering, I realized they had no ground meat readily available. I got a little nervous, because I realized I was going to have to explain myself in Macedonian, and my butcher shop vocabulary isn't the best. That being said, the men were SO HELPFUL and nice!! They told me they could make some, and then they asked how much I needed. The next thing I know, they are literally cutting the meat right off the hanging carcasses. They put it through the grinding machine and mixed it all up until it was the freshest looking ground meat I'd ever seen. They made me a mixture of ground pork and beef. I watched the entire process!! They talked to me about my Macedonian and told me I'd have to come back again (which I will!!) Before I knew it, I was walking out with 4 kilos of meat and the two men were wishing me well. It's experiences like that which make me feel so accomplished. 

On another side note, I have to tell everyone that I got a new water boiler this week. I was super excited the day it got installed, and I decided to allow it to heat for an entire day before testing the waters...pun intended. : ) I woke up the following morning and got ready for what I was hoping to be an epic shower. After shaving HALF of one leg, the water began to get cold.....I couldnt believe it!! I was so disappointed. I told the people at school, and everyone was shocked. I havent had the courage to contact PC or my landlord to tell them the problem is still present....That being said, I AM taking care it up. More on that another day.

Well that's all for now. Tonight, I'll be packing for my weekend getaway. I need everyone to know that I will not have internet again until Monday. So if you happen to email me, dont expect a response until then. Im going to try and find an internet cafe in Kamenica on Xmas, just so I can Skype my family....I feel bad my momma is 1 daughter short this year. We actually spent some time talking about it, but we're both very thankful that we can communicate in general. What would we do without the internet?!?!?! 

I hope you all have a lovely Xmas. Im thinking and missing all of you, but please trust I'll be having a fantastic and unforgettable Xmas with my second family in Macedonia. : )

12/18

New video:

December video

This weekend was a lot of fun...much like every weekend so far. In summary:

-Friday was Mexican night. I made the most amazing and heavenly Mexican food ever and we ate ALL of it. It was the best meal I've had in a long time!!
-Saturday, I went to Stip for the Model UN thing. It was good!! Martin, one of my students, tried out for a chair position and did an awesome job!! We will find out in a week if he got accepted. In the meantime, my Model UN group will continue to work hard so we can kick butt in May.
-Saturday, I also enjoyed a nice afternoon in the city with Paul and Phil before heading back to Kocani to meet up with Sara. God bless the delicious pizzerias here!!
-Saturday night was an epic failure, but in a good/funny way. Paul, Sara, and myself all tried to make homemade hummus, and it was a big fail (see video). Just cooking in the kitchen was a good laugh though....we had a lot of fun and learned some cooking lessons. haha Later, we met up with a teacher friend of mine for a couple drinks in the center. I was so excited to go out with her, because we seem to have a lot in common, and I've been anxious to make more local friends. It was a good rest of the night!! Hopefully, her and I will see more of each other now.
-Sunday morning was a proper breakfast with Paul and Sara. Potatoes and eggs!!
-Sunday day was spent setting up for the big basketball event.
-Sunday evening was the event itself (see video), which was awesome!!

I was really pleased with how the basketball event turned out. The director seemed really happy as well. I'm absolutely exhausted from the weekend, but I seriously had a good time!! I'm always so glad to have fellow volunteers come into share the weekends with me. I love having them, and I love just being able to lounge around in some pajamas and cook food.....it just feels normal, and I love them for that.

This weekend was another example of why I feel so proud to live in Kocani. Even my friends love coming here to visit. It means so much when they care about what I do for work, and then they make time to come and support it in person!! My students, colleagues, and friends all make this city what it is.....even being there tonight with everyone made me feel like such a big part of the community, and that was a very rewarding feeling to have after only being here for a month.

That being said...I'm off to bed. This week is another busy one, and then Christmas begins on Friday for me!! Thanks again to everyone for sending me emails. OH, and a major CONGRATS to my cousin, Chelsea, for graduating from her nursing school this week. I'm still extremely proud the accomplishments going on at home. : )

Proud

I'd like to share a proud moment.

If you've been following up on my blog, you know I've been helping to organize a basketball event at my school. It's the kind of event where the students play against teachers and parents. There will be 4 games with 6 teams total. The school will be having the chorus sing, the orchestra play, and some other entertaining elements to the event. As part of my contribution, I made two videos last week:

Video 1

Video 2

The shorter of the two videos (video 2), began airing on local TV last night. : ) I am extremely proud!! The event is this coming Sunday, and I've extended the invite to many volunteers and some PC people as well. I've had some excellent help from some of the boys at my school. The Director's son and his friends have created fantastic posters and tickets and have seriously been so helpful. The hardest thing about organizing the event has been recruiting cheerleaders. Cheerleaders just arent common here...girls are not interested. It's taken me almost two weeks to get the 4 girls I have, and I'm not even sure if they will all follow through. Today, I'm getting t-shirts made for them. : ) Anywho...the video will continue to air every night until Sunday, but I unfortunately dont have a TV to see my video debut on Macedonian TV. haha

 I stayed up really late last night, and I slept in really late today. I decided I needed to make some potatoes, peppers, and eggs for breakfast. It's the type of thing my mother makes for breakfast, but I can never quite make it as good as her!! Today, I should have my landlord come by to pick up my water boiler, because I still havent had a warm shower that lasts longer than 4 minutes. Later tonight, I think Paul may come into town to kick it. He lives with a host family in his village, and with the stress we've all been going through in adjusting to our sites, it's just nice to get out and be normal from time to time. Sara might also come into town to stay the night. We have to go into Vinica tomorrow for a PC 50th anniversary event, so it's just makes more sense for her to come tonight, rather than at 6am in the morning. I'm excited about tomorrow though!! It will be the first PC event I've really attended outside of all my training and swearing-in stuff. And it'll be nice to spend lunch with the other volunteers after the event.

I'm also getting more and more excited about Xmas here. So far, I've been really homesick when I see and hear about festive things going on in the states. Even watching an Xmas episode of a TV show here is killing me. That being said though, the volunteers I'll be sharing Xmas with are really doing an excellent job of getting everyone excited!! It will be a 3-day event, complete with LOTS of baking, one night of homemade Mexican food, making and watching funny videos, have a proper Xmas feast, complete with mulled wine and eggnog, and simply getting really dressed up, just like we would if we were all home. We'll basically be hibernating in Sara's home in Kamenica. As of now, I think we may have close to 10 or more people!! I already have my Xmas dress picked out, which is a fantastic vintage dress I bought at an estate sale with mom this summer. I hope we will all get a chance to Skype home while we are there too. Id really love to see my family on Xmas.

Ok...I have to go attempt to get t-shirts made now. It's 52 and sunny here. Let's make this a good day.

One week into Kocani

So I havent been home much, so I havent had time to write a proper update. But before I forget, here is a link to some of my photos from the swearing-in ceremony. You will also find a couple photos of my new home at the end of the album!!

Swearing-In Ceremony

Everything is going really well. I started teaching, and I think the kids all really like me, and Im sure they think I'm a little crazy, haha!! I'm still finding it hard to fully adjust to being here....don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it, but Im just trying to adjust still. I had a great day today though....here is a photo one of the students at my school took. Her name is Lilika, and we are going to become photography buddies!!

I like the photo. Anywho, I am making new friends already! I made friends with a French guy. One of the guys who works for Peace Corps put him in touch with me and some of the other volunteers that live around here, so that was fun. I also met CJ this week. He lives super close, and we will be doing the Model UN stuff together. Paul and Elena, two more volunteers, came over the other night. I made RANCH DRESSING (thank you, women and men of Willowbrook), and we ate the living hell out of it!!!!!!! Goodness it was so good. For the record, if you want to send me Ranch dressing and other seasoning packets, please do so. I also made my lemon alfredo pasta I love so much, AND I had to make more sugar cookies, because people are in love with them. My counterpart's son wont stop talking about them, so I made more and gave her some to give to him. Haha, fun fun!! 

Now all I need is to find some Xmas decorations. I hope I get to feeling festive sometime soon. Im feeling really fortunate to have such a great placement. That's all for now!!

Long overdue

I am officially living in Kocani.

Thursday was my swearing-in ceremony. It was super official...had a bunch of fancy people there, like the ambassador. When it came time to eat, it was absolutely hilarious. All of the Macedonian families treated the food tables like they were the best Black Friday sales in the history of ever. I mean these women would literally take the serving spoon right out of your hand during mid-serve. I'm not even kidding. Apparently, someone filmed this part of the evening, so I'll try and find it. Explaining it in words just doesnt do any justice. After the swearing in, we showed our videos, and of course everyone just loved ours!! Even the woman in charge of our PST came up to me and said they were definitely going to have me film something for their PST next year, haha. After the presentations, we danced around a bit, and then we hoped on a bus back to Lozovo with all of our families.

The last night was kind of sad. We went to Julie's house and hung out in the garage we painted the mural on. We drank wine and danced with the families. It was really starting to hit. Finally, I think Kenzie was the first one to start giving good-bye hugs. One by one, we all began to leave. I actually cried at this point. I walked home with my host family, and we basically sat around the kitchen table for the rest of the night. We had some company...had some snacks...and talked about how I was going to be ok in Kocani.

So much has happened since Thursday. Friday morning was an ADVENTURE getting all of my luggage not only to the bus stop, but all the way to Kocani and up all 6 flights of stairs!! It's amazing that is has even been that long already. Friday, I spent unpacking. I was so ready get my new apt set up, so I worked my butt off for a few hours before I realized I probably needed to go buy some things, like groceries. So I took a break and walked around Kocani for a couple hours. I was so NERVOUS buying things!! They speak a totally different dialect here....so when I speak in Macedonian, they sometimes dont understand me, or they think Im speaking incorrectly, even though I'm using literature Macedonian. It is really interesting, because a lot of volunteers are experiencing this problem right now. It's just something I'll adjust to. Anywho, so yea...buying things was difficult. My confidence was pretty low, so I tried to not speak a lot and just find what I needed to get out. I managed to buy the basics for my fridge, as well as a blanket for my bed!! (yes, my landlord gave me a kickass bed) The next feat was getting everything back up those 6 flights of stairs. After two trips, I decided to spent the rest of the night hibernating in my apartment. Saturday was another day of shopping and trying to learn how to cook on the damn hot plates and toaster oven. There are 6 settings, which are all the same and burn the hell out of the food, no matter what you cook it in. My pots and pans are pathetic, and my 3 forks and spoons actually bend when you add too much pressure. So Saturday was all about discovering the joys of cooking.

I must say...I am already experiencing a new culture shock. Sunday was hard for me. I was actually really sad. I woke up feeling funky. I made my Christmas Blend coffee in my French press, and I decided to make hashbrowns, because they are a type of comfort food for me. Well of course, the hashbrowns turned out like shit, because I still have no idea how to properly use anything in my kitchen, but I ate them anyways. Afterwards, I sat out on my little mini balcony and thought about why I was not feeling well. I realized that it was the weekend after Thanksgiving, and that is when my mom always puts the Xmas tree up. All the cities start to decorate for the holidays, I spend a lot of time with my mom and sis watching old home movies, eat Chinese food, and listening to Xmas music in the car....I set up my house for the holidays, and I bust out my winter skirts. There's a lot that happens beginning now, in America...and instead, I was sitting all alone on a balcony in the middle of Macedonia in a city where no one really knows me.

So I made cookies.

That's right....I made the most amazing sugar cookies. I actually found the ingredients here AND I managed to make it work in the toaster oven, no less. My counterpart, Emilija,  also swung by my place with her husband and one of her kids. I shared my American coffee with them and we laughed about how pathetic I was feeling earlier. I am SO LUCKY to have her...you all just have no idea. We hardly know each other, but we just click. Anyway, she agreed to let me settle some more and said she'd come pick me up to have dinner at their place later. So I decided to take that time to just relax. I was able to talk to my mom, Mimi, and Jessica online, and just talking/seeing them made me feel better. Later, I did go over to Emilija's place for dinner, and we sat around just enjoying the food, a glass of wine, and sharing photos and videos online about our lives. I even managed to buy some trout from her family's fish store!!

I got home last night sometime after 10, and walking up those dark stairs at night is CREEPY. Even being alone in my apartment creeped me out last night. I thought about a lot while laying in bed, and I realized this was probably the first time I've actually slept in a place where I literally have no one around me that I know. I mean, even in my travels, I always had people I shared rooms with...in Lozovo, I had my family in the next room and all the other volunteers within 5 minutes of my house. In America, I either had a roommate, my sister across the street, or someone that was always close. But here in Kocani, on the 6th floor in the middle of the city, I dont have that. It was a weird epiphany!! haha

Anywho...I'm sorry for making such a long post. I knew some of you were anxious for an update. I realize some of this stuff sounds a little sad, but I really am OK. I just need about a week or so to adjust...just like in Lozovo. Not to mention, going from living in a village to living in a city is a shock all on its own, so dont worry about me!! This is normal : ) Send me some emails, ya'll!! I'm picking up free internet from the hotel across the street :D