An Update Through Photos

I've survived another busy weekend, but I must say that this one was one of the most fun I've had here!! 

I woke up at 3:00am on Saturday morning and hopped into a car with Lilika, Lilika's uncle, Martin, and Bill. It was dark out, and without any lights guiding us on the streets, I found myself zoning out in the blacked out world around us. About 3 hours later, just as the sun came up, we arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece for the kids' ACT test. Although we were about 15 minutes late for registration, and things got a little intense for a moment, we managed through it. The first stop after the ACT test was STARBUCKS. Observe pure bliss below:

That's a Venti Caramel Macchiato right there. I inhaled that drink in about 10 minutes and debated on buying another, but my nerves were in shock, so I decided against it. Going 8 months without a legit fancy coffee drink sure can do weird things to your body. :D

The above photo is of the square in Thessaloniki. It was a really nice town!! There were a lot of shops and restaurants everywhere. I miss having such variety. Although it rained off and on all day, I'd still say we managed to have a beautiful day for strolling around the city. After the ACT test was done, we decided to shop for the rest of the afternoon. Lilika and I set off on an adventure in various stores, and often got in trouble for having the camera out....

 For lunch, we stopped at a fast food Asian type of place. They offered noodle and rice dishes, but I instantly found sushi available and seized the opportunity. I was in HEAVEN. Again, not having sushi for 8 months is not pretty. :D

Originally, Bill and I were going to stay the night. However, after discovering that everything would be closed on Sunday and realizing we'd gotten all the shopping out of our system, we decided to ride back with the group. It was a BEAUTIFUL ride home. The landscapes were remarkable. Everything was breathtaking, and we found ourselves pulling over quite often for photos.

This is Bill, the other volunteer who lives with me in Kocani. 

Martin and Lilika....taking advantage of the scenery for some good photos!!

Later in the drive, we were all getting pretty quite. I think our exhaustion was really kicking in. Suddenly, I turned to my right and saw an enormous rainbow...TWO, in fact!! I yelled "rainbow," and the next thing you know, we are on the side of the road. 

You see what I mean about wonderful and breathtaking scenery!?!?!?! We got in pretty late, and my body reacted like it had jetlag. I went to bed early, and after sleeping off about 10 hours, I woke up to Easter in Kocani. 

Macedonians celebrate the Orthodox Easter. I found their traditions to be very similar to ours in the US, and I was lucky to have many people to share the holiday with!! I began my morning drinking coffee and Baileys with Bill and CJ at Bill's new apartment. Bill finally found a new home too, and he is now right in the center as well. After enjoying the morning with the boys, I made the 30 minute walk up to Emilija's house. Upon entering, I discovered Emilija was already hard at work preparing a nice lunch, complete with pork, salads, homemade bread, and meats with cheese!! I finally got to have some good sit-down quality time with Emilija, which was much needed!! 

From there, I walked back down into town to Lilika's family's house. They'd jus finished their first lunch, and were about to begin their next. Here, when you "na gosti" (aka visit people), you are expected to eat. Personally, I have no problem with eating, but after having two meals prior to a visit, eating another meal can be painful. That being said, I was offered one of my favorite dishes, Sarma (stuffed grape leaves), along with some whiskey, soup, breads, pork, potatoes, and endless salads. I was glad to finally spend some quality time with Lilika's family. Her uncle was still there (the one who took us to Greece), and her mother and father were there as well. The family was awesome to share some time with!! They were even entertained when I attempted to carry on in Macedonian. I got to take part in a local tradition of "cracking eggs." I had a running record, but alas, it came to an end. You'll see this is my new video!!

After a few hours, I decided to head back home so I could lay FLAT, in order to breath properly. :D

It was a great weekend, and today has been a much needed day of rest for me. I've been trying to pack up my apartment for the big move on Wednesday. I cant wait!! I'm not sure how crazy this week will end up becoming, but I do hope I have another day or so to play catch up on everything. 

Ah...I almost forgot. VIDEOS!!!!

Ok, first off, I've actually got TWO videos, but one of them is taking FOREVER to upload onto YouTube. So to hold you over, here is a short video from the event we had on Thursday with the school. I promise I'll post the new video once it's uploaded fully. : ) 

Easter

It's been almost a week since I've updated!! All I can say is that I've been so busy lately.

First off, my grant got its final approval this week!! I've spent more hours than I can count on that thing, and it feels so good to have it all pay off. With this money, I'll get to install some new proper rubber matting type of flooring for the dance studio. I also get to buy things like an air conditioner, speakers, etc. Yay!!!!

Secondly, I signed my new lease this week. That felt SO GOOD. I even started packing up my apartment already. When I first moved in Laura, the volunteer who was here before me, left me a lot of things, but I havent needed most of the stuff, so going through and getting rid of some things has been helpful. I'll get to move this Wednesday, and I will feel like a new person once I've gotten all moved in!!

My school threw its big Easter celebration on Thursday. Kids from every class set up tents and booths to sell Easter art they made. It was adorable!! Everyone in the city was out on that day, and the weather was perfect. We had 4 dances total in the show. ALL of them did so well!! Here are two links to a couple of the dances:

I also made a video from the Easter event, but my internet cord is pretty damaged, so the internet goes in and out too much, I havent had time to properly get it on YouTube. I will get it up as soon as I get back in town.

Currently, Im waiting for a car to pick me up, b/c this morning I am going to GREECE!! :D Two of my students, Lilika and Martin, will be taking the ACT test today. I think they are going to do an excellent job. Lilika has personally spent hours studying with me. We've gone over everything, and although she is nervous, I feel confident she is going to do well. We will stay the night in Thessaloniki tonight, and then HOPEFULLY head back to Macedonia tomorrow. If buses arent running properly, we might just try to grab a ride over the border and crash with another volunteer. We honestly dont know. It's Easter weekend here, so you can imagine.

That's all I've got, time-wise, for an update. In about 3 weeks, my momma gets here!! Im so excited, you have no idea!! Missing all of you at home still. <3

What do you go home to?

First thing's first...HAPPY EASTER!!

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 miss that 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. : )