Happy Halloween

This weekend was AWESOME!!

The weekend technically began for me on Thursday night. Claire and I had an impromptu costume making night. As mentioned before, we’d all decided to go as Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. Well we simply didn’t think our costumes were good enough, so we decided to take the extra step and create some fake beards and tools out of paper. Once we finished, we taped on our new beards and showed off our costumes to my host mom and dad, who thought we were totally mental, but they loved it!!

So Friday morning rolled around, and the bus ride into Kumonavo was hilarious. Kenzie and Andres got into their costumes, seeing as how they couldn’t exactly walk down the streets of Lozovo wearing dresses and skirts. After adding some final touches, we made a GRAND entrance!! We spent most of the day entirely in character, and to our surprise a lot of the other volunteers also dressed up!! The day was a lot of fun, really. They had a big map for us with our photos on the places we were each placed. They also made us a fancy Peace Corps cake as part of the celebration. That evening, we all joined at the Irish Pub in the city. I do actually have a video for all of this, but my computer's battery life will not allow me to upload it just yet. Something to look forward to, I suppose : )

The following morning, a handful of us caught the 7am train into Skopje. Some of the volunteers were wanting to shop, seeing as how it is getting colder, esp at night. I ended taking a journey around town with a local. We went up Vodna Mountain (the big cross overlooking the city). We ate traditional Macedonia food, drank local beer, and walked all over the city. I was also introduced to some new people, and it felt fantastic just being able to hang out with people my age who are not American and to not feel like Im standing out at all. It was really nice to make some new friends. The day was just perfect though. I couldn’t have asked for a better guide!! That night, I traveled all the way back to Lozovo by myself. All the volunteers went back home at different times, but my new friends helped me arrange some accommodations so that I could stay longer. The first time traveling alone at night was interesting!! I rode on a train, a bus, and a taxi, and I had not one problem. Here, as long as you know the language, you can figure it all out….and having friends who will personally call a specific cab for you doesn’t hurt. : )

Sunday morning was strange. I woke up at 6:30am, and I could not go back to sleep!! The ONE morning I get to sleep in, and I can’t. I guess I was just all worked up from being in such a fantastic mood, I just don’t know. But I took advantage of the time, and I relaxed in bed, mostly thinking about a lot of things, for two whole hours before actually getting up. The rest was nice to have. The rest of the day was a great way to spend a Sunday. I visited with Andres and Kenzie. We walked down the road and grabbed a beer outside, because the weather was beautiful!! We met up with Shannon for a hot minute, before all retreating back home for our lunches. After lunch, Milevka took me over to a house Ive never been before. There is this really nice woman whom Ive met several times around the village, and she’s asked Milevka on several occasions to bring me over for a visit. So we just kinda showed up unannounced. This family has a lovely home and the most adorable children!! At first, I didn’t say much. They slowly started to ask more questions and got excited that I was able to understand most of what they were saying. The husband also speaks pretty fluent English, and he was a blast to talk to!! He’s worked in the army, and has spent time in the Ukraine and Afghanistan, so we were able to talk about our travels. Then, I’m not sure how it got brought up, but I made mention of the films I’ve made. They had INTERNET, which I was so jealous of, but they were excited to look up the videos!! So for the next 15 minutes, we did nothing but sit around and watch all of my films on youtube. They thought it was fantastic!! I love that I get such positive feedback. Everyone in the village knows me as the girl who makes the videos, and people ask me to film their children or to come over so I can film their families. It’s so funny, and I take it all as one big compliment. J Even on Friday, when we were all in Kumonavo, I had a lot of the Peace Corps staff coming up to me and complimenting the films. They said everyone in the main office has seen them and just think they are great!!

Anywho…this week is going to be busy. I am telling ya’ll right now, I kind of doubt I will have internet. Starting tomorrow, I will not be in Lozovo. Tues-Thursday, I’ll be staying in Kocani, meeting everyone I need to meet and seeing as much of my soon-to-be-home as I can. If you happen to send me an email, please be patient and understanding in that I may not be able to respond to you until the following week. I may also not be able to update the blog, but we shall see. That being said, keep the emails coming, of course!! Loving you all <3