May 2013
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Dating
I have had the opportunity of going on a few dates with locals throughout my year and a half here. Dating and relationships are so much different here in Macedonia than they are in America. In an attempt to describe the differences I will reflect upon a few of my first dates here in Macedonia, let me assure you, non of them led to a second date. When I first arrived to Macedonia I met a man in my...
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Getting Sick
Macedonians believe that almost anything can get you sick, cross breezes, eating ice or ice cream, wet hair, sweat…really anything pleasant. I however do all of the opposites of everything people advise me not to do because I honestly don’t believe cracking the window in a car to get some fresh air is going to get me sick. Unfortunately this year I have gotten sick quite a few times...
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April 2013
12 posts
bleh
Today I saw two dogs feasting upon two other dogs that were roadkill victims. I almost vomited.
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Wearing White at Weddings
This past week I have had the pleasure of experiencing an Albanian wedding with my bestie Carly. The 3 days long event took place in a village outside of Tetovo, called Kamjan (where Carly lives with her host family). The community is all Muslim Albanian so it is very different than the Macedonian Christian Orthodox community I live in. The first day of the wedding was somewhat of...
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Macedonian National Spelling Bee
The Macedonian National Spelling Bee is by far Peace Corps biggest project in Macedonia. This year over 1,300 students from all over Macedonia qualified to come to the national event in Skopje. I am the lead site facilitator on the coordinating staff which basically means I was responsible for creating the time table for the event and assigning rooms to students. Unfortunately, due to the insanely...
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March 2013
9 posts
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Confusion in the 5th Grade
I have been working at my school for over a year and a half now. It’s a small school with just under 200 students. All of the students in the school (even if I don’t go to their English classes) know everything about me…at least I thought.
The following is a conversation (all in Macedonian) that I had with one of my 5th graders: Student:Are you from Germany? me:…no....
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Politics
Macedonia has two main political parties, VMRO and SDSM. As a Peace Corps volunteer I am supposed to remove myself from anything politically affiliated as to the fact that I may seem as though I am choosing sides. Politics in Macedonia is no joke, it is really intense and people are very passionate about which political party they are in. Every four years each municipality has elections for mayor....
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Peace Corps Technology
It seems as though I am constantly on my computer, writing emails to PC staff, filling out paper work (VRF, Skill Transfer form etc.), filling out grants or sending in reimbursement forms. There is so much paperwork that needs to be done. So much writing. How do Peace Corps volunteers without computers or access to the internet get it all done! I can’t imagine being a PC volunteer in Africa...
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The Little Things
In some classes (especially the upper grades), I work with individual students on basic English skills. In the 4th grade I have been working with one student named Martina. We have been working on colors, parts of the face and basic introduction questions. Last week she threw a small fit and told me to go away and ignored me for the rest of the class. So…I simply got up and walked away...
February 2013
9 posts
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Why are you going to bed so early?
is what my landlord asked me when he knocked on my door at 10pm.
Honestly, I go to bed early and I sleep in late because there is nothing else for me to do. In the winter it’s cold and it gets dark early so I really have no energy or will to do anything; and even if I did there is nothing to do in my village. There are some days where I will stay in my apartment all day and just watch...
Perusing: An Open Letter →
thesharpiemarkerapproach:
Dear Person Contemplating Joining Peace Corps,
I imagine that you’re at a transition point in your life. Perhaps you’ve just graduated, perhaps you’re going through a career change, perhaps you have an itch for something more that can’t be scratched. Whatever the reason, here you are: contemplating joining Peace Corps.
But should you? Is it right for you?
Honestly,...
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A Fun Macedonian Belief:
If you aren’t ticklish, you will end up marrying someone at least 10 years older than you.
January 2013
12 posts
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What Time Is It?
Today I taught a 4th grade english lesson on how to tell time. I knew it was going to be a difficult for the students because the book wanted them to uses terms like “it’s a quarter past three” instead of just 3:15. I began to explain (using my awesome Macedonian skills) that when the minute hand is on the right side of the clock you use the word “past” and when it is...
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Vevcani!
Sometimes the sights and sounds of Macedonia amaze me. Sometimes I am baffled and even a little scared at what kinds of events are legal here. My weekend began by going down to Struga to visit another PCV and partake in a 6 course blindfolded dinner. There were around 40 Peace Corps volunteers shoving different textured foods blindly into our mouths and then guessing its contents. I felt like not...
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