Dance camp was a complete success. The entire week may have been the best week of my entire service. With the 3 PC volunteers helping me, my 4 Macedonian "helpers," and of my my favorite local people by my side, it could not have been better. The girls learned 8 choreographed dances and 13 Zumba. I am proud to say that every single dancer performed on stage, and the majority of the girls performed every dance! Most of the dances have been uploaded online, so I'm attaching them. I have to warn you, there are a lot of videos in this post!! Without saying much more, here are some of the dances:
This is the hip-hop dance I taught. You can see me front and center : )
This is the "pop" dance I taught.
My dance crew kids did this for me....I had no idea!!!!!
This is the ballet piece that Enid did....she's front and center.
The Charleston dance I did. I'm in the front again, but the quality of the video is pretty crappy.
The modern piece that Enid did.
There were also some amazing photos taken by Lilika from the show. They are only available on FB, so if you are friends with me on there, you can see them! If not, let me know, and I can email you some of them. They are really fantastic!
My kids planned a lot of surprises for me. One of them was the "Bounce" dance. I'd been begging them to do it, but they surprised me instead! I also got more roses than I've ever received in my life, complete with a sheet banner that the kids made saying "We love you Morgan." There was a lot of crying and hugging and photo taking. The entire city was at the show to show their support, and there was an epic news segment too. The night ended with a really nice dinner at a place in the park..all my favorite people were there.
Overall, is was a perfect week. The next few days were complete....I was so happy. And now...well, now it's on to the next adventure. :D
Today is a national holiday in Macedonia. Most people are either out of town, picnicking, or spending the day eating and celebrating with families. Personally, I have a lot of work to finish, as my dance camp begins this Saturday, and everyone will be coming into town tomorrow.
I have to admit, I have felt extremely stressed lately. Ive had a lot of work pile up in the past week or two, and it all makes me feel unorganized. I have everything done for camp, but Im still nervous it wont turn out as good as Im hoping. I know its unfair to think that way, and I know its kind of normal to be stressed over big events. Thankfully, I've got a lot of people coming into town to help me with the camp. I'll have 3 volunteers staying with me for the week, and two of them will be teaching their own dance classes. Right now, we will be teaching Zumba, hip-hop, ballet, modern, jazz, swing (Charleston), and a "Dancing the Classics" class, where the kids will learn stuff like the thriller dance. Originally, I had the boys teaching a breakdancing class as well, but they've dropped out. Instead, I want to offer an advanced choreo class, but Im still in the air about that one. I've also got some younger Macedonian ladies, who I worked at GLOW with, coming in to help me with whatever little daily things need to be done. They will be lifesavers, I just know it!
Right now, we've got the Mayor's office donating us bottled water for every day. We will be providing fruit every day, and we even have camp t-shirts made! On Wednesday, we will have our dance recital, where we will have about 13 or 14 dances total. I know it isn't that much, and the show won't be that long, but it isn't really the point. Honestly, I sincerely hope the dancers will all be willing to perform, as I know the concept is intimidating for those who've never been on stage before. There's no point in worrying, and I know this, but it still makes me anxious. : )
On a total side note- I've had a creature living in my kitchen walls for almost a month. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a rat. My walls are wooden, and most are slanted, so I can always hear where IT is. Well last night, a SECOND creature appeared and battled the other one! There was squealing and claws scratching, and the entire thing lasted for quite a while. They sounded like two mini-pigs, with all the squealing. I heard what I think was one death, possibly of the smaller creature. Then, for the rest of the night, I heard the winner slowly clawing its way around my walls, looking for a new opponent. The entire time, I laid on my couch just staring at the walls with my mouth open and my computer on mute. I kept thinking, What if they fall out of the wall? Always an adventure!
Since my last post, I've been busy trying to RELAX. : ) I spent a lot of time with local friends last week, which was great and much needed. Unfortunately for me, my ability to sleep is still absent, so I was still finding myself extremely tired. That being said, I managed to prep the house for Chad, and on Saturday morning he arrived.
I was SO EXCITED to see Chad!! We haven't seen each other in almost 1 year. For those of you who may not know Chad, he is one of my best friends! We went to Loyola University together, and we were roommates in two houses while living in New Orleans. Chad also lived with my mom and me for a short time after Hurricane Katrina, so Chad is more like family to us. Anyways....Chad has never traveled outside of America!! This being his first trip is already wildly entertaining.
Since Chad's been here, it has been non-stop seeing people! We've done coffee with just about everyone, and he's even come and sat in on one of my dance classes. Check out some of the photos he took:
They practiced HARD for this trick!!
I love this : )
Petar can fly!!
Ivan is so proud of his head slide!
Also, if you want to see the dance they have been working on, you can view it below. The video was shot after the kids danced for over an hour, so some of it is not "full out" dancing, but I still think they did an EXCELLENT job!!!!
This Wednesday is the grand opening of the dance studio. Im PUMPED!! The crew kids will perform their dance, and then I think we will have 3 or so Zumba songs as well. We are inviting the media and some local people. A couple of PC people might be coming as well, so that makes me happy. It should be great to get the community into the school to actually see the studio!!
Finally, this week I will leave to go on my vacation. Good god...I am so ready for a vacation. Life hasn't been easy lately, and this time away will be a great break. Chad and I leave Thursday, and will be traveling until the 27th!! Our first week is all Greek Island hoping, which is the part I am most excited about. I seriously cannot wait to spend an entire day in my swimsuit, eating seafood and drinking a frozen cocktail. Italy will be great too. We will be seeing 3 cities in total there, and will be seeing a big festival on a lake. Ending our trip with Venice will be heaven....I'm not going to want to come home. HAHA!!
Ok, that's all I've got. Enjoy the video : )
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Things have begun to slow down a bit ever since my momma left. The weather has also grown increasingly fickle. It's been raining for days, and the chill is bringing my mood down too. I just want it to stay warm and sunny, that's all. : )
This past week was my school's prom. Since Emilija is a homeroom teacher for a 4th year class, we got to go VIP style to the event!
Emilija and me
Me, Ivan (my dancer), and Beti
The event itself was fantastic. All my boy students stuck by my side the entire night!! Every time I sat down to rest or eat, they'd come grab me again for more dancing. It was a blast.
Me and Stefani (my dancer)
Me, Emilija, and our 4th year boys
Other than prom, I had a fellow volunteer, Enid in town this weekend. She came to teach a host ballet class. Even though 15 girls promised to come, we only have 4 show up. At first, I was pretty disappointed, but it actually turned out quite well, b/c she was able to really spend individual time with each girl. The girls did great too!!
Look how great my studio is! High-five to me!!
I also had a fantastic night with Enid and Elena at the pub. I hadnt been out to the pub here in ages!! I ran into a bunch of local friends, and even made some new ones. Enid and I also got to share dinner with Arnaud and his girlfriend. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend for me.
I've completed the dance studio, and now all I have to do is get all the paperwork together. It's stressing me out more than it should, but once it's done, it'll just be done, and I'll feel much better!! I also have to fill out a huge volunteer reporting form for the Peace Corps. I've been trying to do it in small pieces here and there, but it's now almost due, so I need to get on it! I also have been asked to write two new articles for the Peace Corps magazine. I gladly accepted, but this is just another thing I need to get done by Friday. At least Im working!! :D
OH!! And in just 2.5 weeks, Chad will be arriving in Macedonia. I am so damn excited! We'll be in Struga for just short of a week while I complete a language training event. From there, we will be on the road until June 27th! I think this trip is really what I need. Lately, I've just felt really overwhelmed with work. I've also begun feeling isolated and lonely again, which isnt good. Right now, I have more local friends, and I've been spending time with some new people too. At the end of the day though, I still find myself missing home a lot. That being said, I think I just need to break away for a little bit, which is why I think this trip will be perfect for me.
Here's your quote for the day:
“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you”
It's Wednesday night, and my momma went back to America today. It's been an excellent week...going through and telling you everything that my mother and I did wouldnt even do it justice!! But here a small recap in a few photos:
1. We saw a lot of beautiful sights with my good friend Arnaud.
2. We "na gostied" a lot....ate a lot of great food!!
(that's Emilija!!)
3. Spent a lot of time with my fantastic DANCERS!! I love these kids like they were my own.
(this one looks like Bobi is possessed!!)
(their new dance)
4. Visited Matka lake for Mother's Day!!
I mean...we did A LOT. Mom met nearly everyone that's ever met me in Macedonia. We ate a lot. We traveled a lot. She met Lozovo and my host family. She met the whole PC staff. It was great. It was definitely sad when she left this morning, but she is almost home now, so I feel ok.
I won't get into work or anything, bc it has been stressing me out a lot lately. I really wish some people at my school would appreciate what all I've done...anyways, here's two videos to tie you over!! On of them is kind of old, and mostly involves food. Here it is:
The next video is of one of the recent performances my Zumba girls did. I loved it!! It was for an event my mayor put on. Check it out:
Other than that, here's your quote of the day:
If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't. Chuck Palahniuk
On Monday, I went into Skopje to see the Peace Corps doctors. The pain in my hip was still really bad, and they wanted to give me a proper evaluation. Well we ended up at the hospital, and they gave me an MRI to rule out any possible spinal problems. Although I have some scoliosis in my lower spine, they couldnt find anything wrong that would be causing my hip pain. I was definitely relieved, but at the same time, we were all a little frustrated with not knowing the root of the problem. They wanted to keep me in Skopje to see another doctor to rule out some other possibilities, but I REALLY wanted to just go home and rest in the comfort of my own home with proper pain medicine. After being given some pain meds and muscle relaxers, I got a ride back to Kocani with a local family I know (and now love).
Seriously, this family is awesome. One of their daughters just got accepted into the YES program, which allows students from here to travel to the US and study in an American high school for one year. Their daughter, Elena, is SO sweet. She is going to do an awesome job while she is there. We talked a lot about her thoughts on leaving, and it's really very interesting, because her and I will be in VERY similar situations. She will be missing her family, friends, and home, much like I do here. I also spoke some with her parents, and I offered for them to meet my mother when she comes (in only a couple weeks!!!!), so that the moms could talk...they, too, will have a lot in common. Anyways, this family took me, free of charge, into Skopje with them. Along the way, they treated me like I was one of the family..bought me food and drinks and insisted I didnt need to pain any money. Most people in Macedonia are hospitable, but some people are exceptional. The care they showed me really made my day and my pain so much better....it may not seem like a lot to any of you, but it meant a lot to me.
So I've been stuck on my couch since Saturday. I've watched a lot of movies and TV shows online. I've managed to make food and drink plenty of coffee and juice. I booked my travel plans for the summer trip I will have with Chad. We booked tickets to go to Corfu, Thessaloniki, Athens, Zakynthos, Milan, and Venice. Along the way, we also want to hit up Rome and maybe Florence or something. All together, our flights cost UNDER $400 total per person, which is remarkable!! Living in Eastern Europe sure does have its perks. :D I'm really very excited about this trip.
In other news, I had a some really great things happen today. This morning, 3 of my dancing ladies came by my house for a visit. I was SOOOOO happy to see them. I missed them!! They brought me bananas and juice. We sat around talking for a while, and it made me so proud to hear that they'd been still holding Zumba classes, even when I wasnt there. Furthermore, they did a great job and had an excellent turnout. I couldnt have been happier.
As the girls were leaving, I was at the door, and my neighbor from across the street waved for me to come over for a coffee. Seeing as how it was a couple of feet away, and my only other option was to go back up to my couch, I decided to seize the moment to get to know my new neighbors better. I'm so glad I did, b/c I had a great time meeting the family. The grandmother and mother dont speak English, but we communicated just fine in Macedonian! The son of the family came home near the end. He is 24, and last summer he worked in Gatlinburg, TN. SMALL WORLD, RIGHT?! He spoke excellent English, and the whole family offered an open invitation for me to visit whenever I want. Oh, and they had a big beautiful white dog, which I got to pet and love on the whole time, which also made me really happy. :D
After resting on the couch for the rest of the day, I took some more medicine so that I could tolerate going to the school's French show. I had helped a group of 4th year girls put together a CanCan dance for the show, and my French friend, Arnaud, and his girlfriend offered to drive me. We had a great time!! Honestly, I was embarrassed by everyone seeing me limp so badly. I felt like I looked ridiculous. And I think a lot of people were just confused as to what was even wrong with me, but it's just hard to explain. It doesnt matter though, b/c the girls did an EXCELLENT job. Check it out:
After the show, I really wanted to just go home and rest my hip, b/c I was in pain, but Aleksandra and Arnaud offered to go eat. I love sharing meals with them, so I agreed. We had a feast of frog legs, fried onion rings, and salads. It was great!! Stefani also found time to swing by, which made me so so so so happy. She gave me her senior photo with the sweetest note written on the back, and IN ENGLISH!! I love that girl, and I'm going to really be sad when she goes off to college this summer.
I wont be back at work tomorrow. Honestly, I want to try to go to school on Thursday, just to observe the Zumba class and see all my ladies and Emilija. This weekend will just be resting, and hopefully I'll be feeling much better. If the pain doesnt get better in a couple of days, Ill need to go back to Skopje to see another doctor, but let's all think positive thoughts. :D
You'll see the egg breaking tradition, a lot of Lilika's family, the double rainbow, and even a short bit of me chatting with my momma!!
Today, I get to open up my bank account for the grant I got. From there, it should only be a couple of weeks before we get our money and begin installing everything. I'M SO PUMPED!!
Right now, I'm waiting on my Can-Can dancers. That's right....there's a French show coming up in a week, and I've got some 4th year girls who will be performing. I also get to begin new dancers with my other dancers this week, which I'm excited about (and so are they!!)
FURTHERMORE, I have a friend from high school coming into town to visit me!! She's traveling around Istanbul and Bulgaria right now, so why not jump next door to visit me!? :D I'm excited for this week. That's all for now. Enjoy the video!!
Being here for the holidays is a mixture of feelings. After having such a hectic week and weekend, and after not being home since Tuesday, I am SO HAPPY to be spending Easter in my new home of Kocani. Of course, on every holiday, I tend to miss home a lot, but that cannot be helped. Aside from missing home, I also tend to examine and re-evaluate my life.
I take inventory.
What do I have in my life right now, that I didn't have before? What do I not have in my life anymore? Do I need or missthat thing? Who's in my life? Who's not in my life anymore? Unfortunately, I've had many people I care about leave my life. Some were just friendships that fell apart. Some were much closer people who seemed to have just given up. Two family members have stopped speaking with me in the 26 years I've been alive. It's still beyond me how a family member can just shut you out and not have any desire to reconcile. As a child, I worked very hard on being a positive staple for everyone, but now that I am older, I've discovered it isn't part of my journey to have such negative people share in the great experiences I've been able accomplish. I'll accept the fact that I'm not worth it to them. I simply dont have the capacity to put forth anymore effort on people who do not wish to do the same. And to be completely honest with you...I am at peace with that.
FORTUNATELY for me, I now have so many people in my life...people I really sincerely care about. Having been in Kocani since late November, I've slowly found and built on some new relationships here. Some have proven to not be worth my time (which is ok), while others have become like family to me. My perspective on what truly makes a person important in my life is much different than it was before I came here, and I'm very comfortable in that.
On a different note, I've been over-worked lately, and I can feel it physically. Last week, I was in Ohrid for a week-long IST training session with Peace Corps, all the volunteers, and a lot of the counterparts. Emilija came with me, and we had so much fun together. I was constantly proud to have her by my side. I really love her and her family, and I think our relationship shows when we are together. Sadly, she had to go back to Kocani on Thursday, and I had to finish the training. By Friday, I was already tired and wanting to go home, but I couldnt. Instead, I had to get on a 3-hour bus ride to Skopje, because the National Spelling Bee was the next morning at 8am.
The "Bee" was great!! I was part of the committee, so I was there from 8am-6:30pm doing every job there was. We had over 900 children qualify, so we held a bunch of "mini bees," and then we held the final ones. I had 5 kids from Kocani compete, and all of them did a FANTASTIC job!! Even though they didn't win, I could not have been more proud. : ) After the Bee, I had to get on another 3-hour bus ride back to Kocani. In the 15 minutes I had to walk home with Lilika, I felt the exhaustion kicking in, and I just wanted to shut my eyes for days....but right now, I dont have that luxury, haha!!
This week is going to be packed, again. We've got an Easter show on Thursday, and my dance crew kids, "Local Gods," will be performing their new dance. The dance is seriously amazing...they've all worked so hard on it, and I cant wait to see how the public reacts. On Saturday and Sunday, I'm riding down to Greece with Bill and two students, so they can take the ACT test. We will hopefully enjoy a nice meal Saturday night in celebration of the Macedonian Easter, and then ride back home on Sunday. By the time I get back, I will need to begin packing my things, because on Wednesday I will MOVE INTO MY NEW APARTMENT!!
I'm a "hot mess" right now, but life is still really good..ya know?? I'm really happy....I'm really tired, but life is GOOD. I wish all the best to my family and friends back home on this Easter Sunday, and I'm looking forward to some new emails. : )
The Patron's Day show was a huge success!! All of the dancers rehearsed their butts off the two days before the show, and it surely paid off!! I only have two of the dances uploaded online, and you can watch them here. The first video is the dance I was in.....originally, I wasnt supposed to be in the dance, but the other boy dropped out, so I took his place. It turned out just fine : )
and here is my largest group's dance:
The sense of pride I felt for all of my dancers made me feel like a mother....I can't explain the feeling.....just seeing them smile and feel so good about their dances made the last 7 months I've spent here all worth it!! My Director also gave me a big shout-out at the beginning of the show, giving me a lot of praise....it was awesome!! At the end of the show, they announced their thanks to all of the teachers, one by one. I was the last person to get announced, and the round of applause was remarkable. I felt 100% fulfilled, proud, and overall heightened. All of the teachers gave me big hugs and very nice compliments. My Director was just GLOWING over how well it went....it was a perfect evening.
What made it all even better was having 11 PC volunteers come into town to share in the excitement. Even our PC Director, Stephen, made it into town. I was so excited to share such a great night with everyone!! After the show, we went to eat as a group. Later, a few of us decided to hit up the Irish Pub, b/c there is always a live band that plays on Thursday nights there. But really.....having your colleagues come out and show their support is something really special. I'm so thankful for them!!
The rest of my weekend could not have been better. I spent some good time with Anna, just walking around and shopping. My school got together to further celebrate the Patron's event, and they all flooded me with hugs, kisses, food, and very kind words. I really feel appreciated and like I'm actually part of the team now!! HOW GREAT!! Furthermore, the students are now much warmer towards me. I have become very close with some of my students, and I just LOVE them to death. Walking on the street, I now am always having someone say hello to me, and it really makes me smile from ear to ear. I feel like everyone in the city now knows me.....like they finally know what I do here....and I feel really positive about that. I'm still the weird blonde American, but now I'm the weird blonde American who brought something new to the city. : )
I got to see CJ and Elena this weekend too. We went to a grand re-opening of a bar here...it wasnt really our scene, so we left almost immediately. We ran into Bobi and Ivan, my two dancing guys, and convinced them to join us at the pub instead. Normally, the people who go to the pub are older than 18, but my kids fit in perfectly there. Here, it is totally acceptable for the older students to drink in bars. This concept took me forever to understand and accept, and now Im thankful to have them around on a weekend night. They dont abuse liquor like most American teenagers...a lot of them dont even drink in the bars!
Anyways!! We danced, sang, and had a great time. The night ended with a hip-hop dance party in my apartment!! We all sat out on my porch, b/c the weather was perfect for it. I showed them photos of my friends and family from back home, and we plotted big plans for the "dance crew" we are forming. I went to bed feeling so lucky to have such great people here.
Today, things seemed to finally slow down a bit. I got my laundry done and the weather has finally allowed me to hang it all up outside : ) I had an AMAZING lunch at Emilija's house with her family, and we were able to watch the entire Patron's Day show, b/c she bought the DVD of it. We were both so happy with how things worked out, so we spent the entire time bragging, haha!!
The only bad news is I think I'm getting sick. My throat started hurting real bad today, and my body feels dead. I made myself some tea and soup, but I know one of the volunteers from this week had strep throat, so I hope I didnt pick it up. I'm going to try and take it easier this week, and hopefully I can shake off whatever illness is brewing inside of me. I have one last thing to leave you all with, and that is a beautiful photo that Lilika shot of me. (yes, I have bangs now) ајде!!!!
Christian Morganstern
