House of Leaves

I love being back at work. 

I also love that it feels like summer outside.

This weekend was perfect. Two other PCVs from Kumanovo came into town with some of their friends and surprised me on Sunday. I was already preparing a HUGE dinner, complete with pasta, salad, and some tasty drinks, so we had plenty t share for everyone. We ate early, so we had time to sit around and chat about everything under the sun. Sunday felt like a perfect Sunday to me. It felt like Sundays I've had back in America....good company, good food, and having that one person who manages to stay after everyone else has left, just because the conversation is that good. Even better, was I was really able to share my new house with everyone. GOOD GOD, how great it is to have room for people. I mean, I can comfortably fit 8 people in my living room!!

Monday was a national holiday, also known as "May Day." It is like the Macedonian Labor Day. Everyone goes into the mountains. And I mean EVERYONE. It's picnic time, and people load up their cars with food and drinks, and everyone finds a mountain to setup camp on for the entire day. My lovely friends were still in town, and they picked me up first thing in the morning to join them for their picnic. It was really hot outside. I mean....it's like 90F lately, no kidding. They'd already setup blankets, so we sunbathed while the food was prepared. A Roma band found us and decided to play music for us, which was the highlight of the day. By the late afternoon, the heat and exhaustion was getting to me, so we called it a day. All together, it was a great way to spend the holiday. I love getting the opportunity to explore the wilderness here. 

Since I've been back at work, I have been BUSY. 

Today, work began at 9am for me. I had a big long meeting with my Director this morning, and he is totally loving the idea of the dance camp. Furthermore, he is interested in ways to expand on the idea, which is great. Later, I had two dance classes. My dancers have a show this Friday night, and we've not had a lot of time to practice. Fortunately, we have many new girls performing this time, which I am so pleased about. I love meeting and working with new girls. I wish I could work with all of them!! We also had Zumba today, which was great. I still can't do all the moves, nor can I "go all out," when it comes to dancing, but I am taking it slow and being careful. I cannot afford to injure myself again. Being back in the studio made me feel at home.

I cannot find words to describe the utter chaos...seriously, chaos...that happened this afternoon. Emilija and I had a meeting at the Mayor's office, because they are interested in using my dancers for a show on Wednesday. It was a great compliment to have their interest. From there, we began to work on the new construction of the dance studio. We got our grant money this afternoon, so we went into action! Bank #1, Western Union, fast food, appliance store, bank #2, appliance store, post office, home, eat, 30-min break, back to work, hip-hop class till 8:30pm, shower, and done. Thankfully, we got most everything purchased this afternoon, and they will be delivering things such as the air conditioner and the TV tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we should also get the new dance floor installed into the room. From there, I'd like to drill the ballet bars into the ground and maybe even tear the titles off the walls, so we can paint some kind of mural on them. There's a lot we can do, and with people like Emilija and myself running everything, our possibilities are endless!!

I would like to add that Emilija and I are a damn good team. We can bargain and make friends with just about everyone. We spent so long in that appliance store today, waiting for the paperwork to get done, and at one point we were even enjoying a coffee with the shop owners. I could not ask for a better person to rely on when I really need it. I would not have been able to accomplish so much today without her. 

Finally, I'd like to say this coming week is going to be huge for me. Monday, I will have a new dance group beginning choreography. We will also begin a new ballet class! Tuesday, MY MOMMA COMES INTO TOWN!! Wednesday is the Mayor's big EU show, and Thursday is the day where I want to bring my mom to school so she can meet everyone. I cannot wait for her to meet my kids.....I might cry, cant lie about that!

Here's your quote for the day:

"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." - Frank A. Clark