понеделник (Monday)

New Photos (including what my house looks like):
FB photo album

We haven’t had internet since last Thursday. It kinda sucks…and not for the reasons you might think. In America, I was totally in love with the internet, especially to pass the time. Here, I rely on it as my main source for communicating with my mom and friends…so when I cant access the internet, I can’t call or write anyone. That aside, not getting on the internet for no reason at all feels great here. There’s always much more to do…even in a tiny village!!

This weekend was BUSY. The weeks are getting some much busier now. On Friday, the volunteers in Lozovo all walked back out to that abandoned train station. It was only a few of us at first. We climbed onto the roof for the sunset. We had snacks, drinks, and music with us, so we camped out until after sunset. It was a simple and relaxing night. I was in bed by 11. Hahaha Saturday, we had to get up early to ride out to Probostip for a day of teaching workshops. All of the TEFL volunteers were there, so it was going to see everyone, but the day was just long. The information was the best I’ve had in the TEFL sessions though, so I def felt like I learned something!! Claire and I booked it down to the “my mart” to buy groceries on our lunch break. It’s funny…every time we are somewhere we can buy groceries, we go crazy!! We were flipping out when we found snickers in this store!! Afterwards, we found a shop that served sandwiches with the fries stuffed in the middle, so we indulged. Saturday night was a whole lot of nothing. We had company for most the night, and then Andres and Claire showed up to watch a movie. 12 Monkeys was coming on…I shit you not…and I thought it was coming on at 9:30, but it was 12:30, so we missed it. I LOVE it when something comes on that is in English, but half the time it is dubbed over in Macedonian.

Sunday, I woke up at 9:30…my usual time. To my surprise, Milevka’s daughter and her grandchildren were all there. I had no idea we were making ajvar!! I’d planned on washing my hair and reading the whole day, but I was instead put to work. I cooked with Milevka in the morning, which was a blast. Then I took the grandkids on a walk around the village. We visited their great grandmother, and then made a stop at Kenzie’s house, since it was right next door. After returning home, I helped them with the TWO batches of ajvar. By the end of the day, I was POOPED!! I admire how productive they always are. Not a day goes by where they aren’t working their butts off.

Also…I had my first heart to heart with my host mother last night. It was just her and I, and she began talking about how hard it was for her to work as she gets older. She also told me she was planning on retiring in 2 years. (I didn’t know the word for this, but I put it together with the other words I knew). She talked about the little money she makes and how little time she has. I also asked her why she wanted to host a volunteer, and she said it was because she loves family and really wanted to have another daughter. Then she told me how happy she was with me and how she brags about me to everyone. The conversation went on for about 30 minutes, and it was by far my proudest moment, communication wise here.