I have been stuck on the couch for exactly one week. I have to admit, being stuck at home really frustrated me. I hated not being able to go to work, not being able to dance, not being able to see all my kids, not being able to really be out in public at all! I will say, though, that some excellent things have come out of my time on the couch.
1. Travel Plans- As mentioned before, I got most of my travel tickets booked for my trip in June. Im still not over the excitement of booking those tickets. I began looking up things we can do in each place, and I discovered some really fun things! For instance, we fly from Greece into Milan on the 23rd....in searching festivals and celebrations in Italy, I found that on June 24th, there is a huge celebration over the Como Lake. Fancy that, b/c Como is only an 8euro train ticket away from Milan AND it is on our way to Venice. HOT DAMN!! I'd have never discovered this, if it wasnt for the time on the couch. :D
2.Dance Camp- That's right. DANCE CAMP!! I've mentioned this idea in passing to some of my students before, because I wanted to create something more we could do in the summer. Well, all of my "student dance teachers" came to visit me this week, so I talked with each of them again about it. I then began to put the plan into action. I set dates. I made brochures and flyers, which we plan on distributing to local businesses, schools, homes, etc. I made a website. I made an outline for the classes we will provide. I spoke to people who have offered their time for things like registration and food/water donations. I've done A LOT. The website is complete, but I am not posting a link to it until I get the OK on two more details.
So camp will be a Kocani thing, but it is not limited to Kocani kids. Ideally, everyone who lives within a reasonable distance from the city will be able to attend, free of charge. The website is setup so that kids will register online. From there, I plan on grouping the kids, based off their age, dance experience, and the classes they are interested in. We will have one day of registration and orientation, complete with some activities for everyone. Then we will hold 3 days of dance classes, which will be held in rotational blocks. On the last and final day, we will hold a recital, so the kids can show off what all they've learned. This event will be open to the public, and I hope it will generate even more kids to attend dance lessons during the school year. Furthermore, this will be excellent for my student teachers, so they can start fully taking over more classes next year, allowing me less opportunity to re-injure myself!!
Well, that's all I've got. It is a beautiful day here, and I'm actually going to get out of the house. Enjoy your quote for the day:
"What we think, or what we know, or what
we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what
we do."
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
