2/26/12

Here's a video including events from the last couple of months....nothing too exciting, but you will see some of the people I am close with in it, as well as the Epiphany ceremony. If the sound doesnt work, I apologize : (

In other news, I had quite the eventful weekend. I feel like I say that in every single post...maybe I do, who knows...but I really did have a packed weekend!! Prior in the week, I was helping with the final touches with the dance studio. I'd been running around like a crazy woman, so I was looking forward to the weekend. I knew, however, that my weekend would not exactly be relaxing.

Saturday, I had to wake up at 4:45am to catch the bus into Skopje. By the time I got into Skopje, I was so tired!! 6 hours of sitting in meetings just about killed me, but I enjoyed working with the other volunteers. We were there to organize stuff for the Spelling Bee, and we ended up getting a lot done!! We got done by 4pm, and I rushed to catch the 4:30 bus back to Kocani. As soon as I got in, I hoped in a car with Emilija and her family. We were hoping to catch the end of the carnival in the city of Strumica.

Every year, this city celebrates this carnival, and it is a mixture of Halloween and Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, we missed the parades, but we were able to walk around the city for a while and observe everyone's costumes. Later, we visited with some of their friends, who were all dressed up like snakes. It was wild!! By midnight, Emilija and I were sleeping in the car as her husband ran around frantically trying to find one of their kids at a disco. By 1am, we were all sleeping in the car during the hour and a half ride home. At one point, I woke up to Emilija's daughter sleeping on me and Emilija sleeping on the other side of the car. We were all SO TIRED. Boy, it felt good when I got home that night!!

Sunday was a good day. I went over to Emilija's first thing in the morning. I havent had any water since Thursday (I know, it SUCKS), so she offered for me to take a shower at her house. Later, we ate some good food, sat around watching TV, talked about upcoming projects, etc. Suddenly, I got a call from my French friend, Arnaud (the one who has a Macedonian gf), and he was inviting me to come make tacos with them!! He's been asking me to make him tacos, since I always have his gf pick me up tortillas from her city, so I gladly accepted.

We ended up having 5 people joining in on the feast!! It was a blast!! We all sampled a couple of different good wines with our dinner, which was such a good way to relax. I showed them how to properly prepare the meat, salsa, and tacos. They LOVED the food!! We all ate so much food, it was just a perfect meal!! It's always wildly entertaining when I get together with him and his friends, because there are always 3 languages being spoken. We have English, Macedonian, and French going on, which I always find to be so funny. We always manage to communicate in some way or another, and I love them for that. Arnaud also has the best friends...I really enjoy the company he brings around. By the end of the night, we were enjoying some type of traditional drink from France made out of prunes and listening to Johnny Cash. Such a cultural experience, haha!!

Tomorrow starts the beginning of yet another busy week. I dont know how I will survive this week, but Im hoping that being busy will keep me sane, in a way. Tomorrow starts the beginning of my dance classes. Im actually really very nervous. Then on Tuesday, I have some private lessons for a hip-hop dance I've choreographed for our Patron's Day even coming up. Tuesday and Wednesday are also all-day classes for me. Thursday is more dance classes, along with more photo club. Then, this weekend, I may be going out of town yet again...we shall see.

Im feeling pretty good about things. Overall, Im always a little stressed, but in general I feel really good. Im hoping these dance classes will open up a door for me here and that the kids will enjoy and appreciate the classes as much as I will. I also plan on hopefully looking into finding a new apartment this week (shh!) : ) Alright....I need sleep. Sleep tight everyone!!