Endings

Stork Nest at the beginning of summer

Endings always fill me with a sense of melancholy - a premature grief for what is passing.  This week marked two.

I mark each summer here by the storks.  I eagerly wait for their return in late spring and watch for them rebuilding their nests.  It is always amazing to me that they can perch their huge nests on top of telephone poles and chimneys, but they do.  There are 6 or 7 nests between Gostivar and Skopje that I have documented, and all summer I have watched their development:  return, eggs, hatching and growth.  As the babies get bigger, they perch on the side of the nest waiting for their parents and food.  Curiosity and bravery doesn't always pay off - if the babies fall from their high perches, they are doomed by their vulnerability and inability to fly.  But most make it and this year several of last year's babies returned to build new nests.

They're gone!

I walked to the edge of town yesterday to take pictures of the babies before they left to winter in North Africa, but I was too late.  Their exit marks the end of summer.  We'll still have some hot weather, and school doesn't start for another week, but change is in the air.  My second summer in Macedonia is drawing to a close.

Last week was also the Close of Service conference for my group, the Mak 14's.  We met for 3 days in Struga to talk about the technical side of ending service, and to select when individuals would actually leave for home.  Since I am extending for another year, it wasn't quite relevant for me yet, but it brought into focus that very soon most of the group I came with - my American family in Macedonia - will be gone.  Peace Corps spaces out times when people go, and the first three, two of whom were in my training group and one of whom is my site mate Jane, will be leaving the end of October.  I have many friends in the next group, and expect to make more in the new group that's arriving in just a few weeks, but there is a special bond with your own group that can't be replicated.  I shall miss them and the easy camaraderie.

The question we are all asking ourselves:  what should I do when I grow up?  I'm still wrestling with that - all suggestions welcomed!

Balkan Hospitality

I can't write enough about how wonderfully hospitable people are here.  Last weekend Lillian and I took a trip to Tirana, Albania, to see our friend Michael who is living there now.  We caught a bus early and arrived in Tirana around 3, much earlier than we thought.  We couldn't get Lillian's phone to work, and weren't sure how to get hold of Michael to tell him we'd arrived.  A family on the bus tried to help us call him, but when they, too, proved unsuccessful they invited us to come to their house so we weren't wandering the streets of Tirana.  When we said we'd be fine, they gave us their phone number just in case.

Michael at the bar at Xheckos.

That's the Adriatic see behind us

We went into a cafe that had wireless, and the waiters there helped us get signed on (have i mentioned i love my i-pad?) Ultimately we were able to contact Michael and find his apartment by the US embassy.  He took us to a spectacular new hotel in Tirana.  Tirana is a happening place - they are constructing all kinds of new factories and hotels and the night life is hopping! I remember thinking of Albania as a dark, mysterious and dangerous place when I was young, and now I love it.  It is a gorgeous country with wonderful people that is growing in leaps and bounds.  It has a long and spectacular coastline, and I hope to see more of it before I come home.
We went out for coffee the first night with one of the factory owners that Michael works with.  When he heard we wanted to go to the beach at Durres, he wouldn't hear of us going by bus.  He had to take us.  And not just any beach.  The Durres beach is too crowded, he said, so he took us instead to a private resort beach, along with his two kids and his wife.  This beach was spectacular, and we lounged on beach chairs and played in the water from about noon until 7 at night.  He and his wife took us to lunch at the beach and got us all kinds of wonderful things.
After our full day at the beach we stopped at an enormous new mall outside of Tirana and had dinner at the food court - we could have been anywhere in the States except for the Albanian Fried Chicken (AFC) and Kolonad, which looked suspiciously like a McDonald's.

The big pool with the restaurant on the hill in the back

The next day Harry and the kids took us to another water park - this one a country club like place.  It had a couple of huge pools, horses, tennis, table tennis, pool, and a great restaurant.  We laid by the pool, swam, read our books, went down the slide, and ate.  It was a luxurious and relaxing weekend - definitely not the weekend I was picturing we were going to have.  I don't know what Harry and his family had planned for the weekend, but they shifted everything at the last minute so they could give us the best time ever.  It was amazing, and I will forever remember their generosity.

Summer in Macedonia

Ahhh, summer in Macedonia.  The weather is hot and steamy, and things move slowly.  Everyone comes alive at night after the sun goes down and it cools off.  The diaspora are home visiting, so the city is alive.  Ramazan starts in two weeks, so now is the time to eat and make merry!

Blake, Linda, Sam me and Happie in front of the State Dept. logo.

And I have been making merry.  I went to two events for the 4th of July, the annual embassy party on July 2nd and then our own private 4th of July outside of Gostivar.   While for the most part we are not supposed to commingle with embassy staff, the 4th of July is the exception.  They do it up for the Americans (along with many Macedonians that they work with), and we enjoyed traditional American burgers and hot dogs along with beer, wine, soft drinks, salads and desserts.  And look at that great group of volunteers! 

White mulberries

For the 4th, Kerry and I went out to our friend Vjosa's family house along with her cousin Marta.  The house is in the village of Belovishte right outside of Gostivar, and it is in such a gorgeous spot in the country.  Her dad has created one of the most beautiful vegetable gardens I have ever seen - I was jealous and missed my own gardening days, though my gardens were sad affairs in comparison.  When we arrived we feasted on white mulberries from a huge mulberry tree - have you ever heard of them?  I hadn't, and they were so sweet and refreshing.  We barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, ate potato and macaroni salad, and had peach pie for dessert - yum.  We celebrated in style with glow sticks and sparklers.

Mickey signing the big red book confirming their marriage

The bride and her mom dancing the oro

A few days later I had the privilege of going to my friend Gordana's wedding.  She had a traditional Macedonian wedding and we were able to see all parts of it.  Macedonians actually have two weddings, one civil ceremony, usually at the municipality, and then a church wedding.  Gordana's civil ceremony was on Thursday.  She arrived at the Municipality with family and they all danced the oro to the steps of the municipality.  The civil ceremony was short, and everyone returned to her house for a big feast.  Her church wedding was on Sunday.  It's interesting to think about how weddings reflect culture.  While we 'give' away the bride and the couple go off to their new life alone, Macedonian weddings reflect their communal culture.  On Sunday the bride was sequestered in her room, and her groom's friends came and kept slipping money under the door to get her to come out.  Everyone, in the meantime, is crowded around waiting for her appearance and, of course, enjoying lots of food and drink.  When the bride is finally 'convinced' to come out, she bows at the door of her parent's house 3 times to demonstrate her respect for her family.  Then everyone dances the oro in front of the house for awhile, before the groom arrives and they head off to the church. 

The church ceremony was beautiful.  The bride and groom don't say anything during the service - it's all chanting by the priest and a cantor.  There are many parts to it - the blessing and exchanging of the rings, switching crowns, communion, and circling the table holding the holy book and bowing to it from all directions.  I'll attach a short clip so you can get an idea of it.  Afterwards we went to a big restaurant, had a wonderful meal, and danced the oro all night! A couple of days later the bride and groom went on their honeymoon to the Albanian 'Riveria', accompanied by a group of their friends.

The spartan shepherd's cottage

Judging cheese

The view from Galichnik

On to Sheep Day up in the high pasture on Mount Bistra!  Luli was in charge this year, so we were much more involved than last year, and I got to know some of the major players.  Ten PCV's came, and it was wonderful to share the fun with them.  Luli put me in charge of monitoring and helping out the cheese-judging, and I was delighted because I had missed that last year and really wanted to see it.  It was held in the shepherd's cottage, and I had always been curious to see how the shepherds lived while they spent their summers in the mountains.  They were as sweet and accommodating as could be.  There were milking and shearing contests, Turkish wrestling, local Macedonian and Albanian entertainment groups and a horse race.  The day was perfect, and it was nice to be up in the cooler mountain air.  At the end we partied in the organizers tent and shared rakija, lamb and other goodies with everyone.  Day of the Raisers of Sheep ad Goats kicks off the the weekend of the Galichnik wedding, a famous festival in Macedonia, and after we were done I went up to Galichnik with some friends and looked around.  The festivities didn't start until that night, but people had started arriving and it was fun to see the village and feel all that energy.  It's high, high up in the mountains.  People no longer live there year round, but many still have summer places there and once a year a huge group of tourists come up to watch the wedding celebration.  I had a great day filled with activities, old friends and new friends.  Who could ask for more?

The beauty of Macedonia

That's my little white head out in the water

The cross on top of Vodno      

A hazy Skopje from the top

The funicular heading back down

Even though I've been here for 21 months, I still haven't begun to experience all the beauty of Macedonia.  Last week I went to Kavadarci to visit some friends and debrief the national spelling bee.  We spent a day by a lake outside the town and it was gorgeous (Thanks for the pictures, Marlys).  It's been hot, and it was good to cool off in the water.  Plus, the wonderful man who owned the house we visited owns a fish farm and couldn't have been more gracious.  He went around the neighborhood and picked us fresh peaches, apricots, and small pears and cooked us up a big plate of fresh carp.  Unlike the states, carp here is considered the national fish and is loved, and it was quite good. 

The weekend before I rode the new funicular (isn't that quite the word!) up to the top of Mt. Vodno and got to enjoy the view.  Lillian and I had a lovely picnic, walked around enjoying the sights, and took the elevator up the cross for an even better view.  When you all come to Macedonia it's a must see!

Friends, part II

I had to leave my last post because a friend had called to ask me out to coffee.  Ilmi works for an international organization in Macedonia and lives in Gostivar.  I met him through another Peace Corps volunteer.  He is delightful, and periodically we meet for coffee to talk about Macedonia and the world.  Today he had his youngest son with him while his wife was at a wedding celebration, and we had ice cream, drank coffee and talked.  He is typical of the people I've met here and cannot do enough to help out a volunteer.  One day this summer he will take me along with his family to a beautiful spot near Kichevo for a picnic, and I am very much looking forward to it.  I so enjoy our conversations, and he has taught me a lot about Macedonia and its sometimes uneven march towards democracy.  He always ends our visits saying if there is anything he can help me with, he will, and I know that is not an empty promise.

Papa with my friend Jane

Spike

Those who know me know it is difficult for me not to have a pet.  I have recently developed two more 'friends' here.  Papagal is the Macedonian and Albanian word for parakeet.  I found a pet store earlier this summer and bought Papa.  He has been a mixed blessing.  He has systematically destroyed some of my plants, and his favorite entertainment is to land on my computer while I am working, jump down on my hands, and bite me.  I need to find him a cuttle bone so he can work his beak on something besides my hands!  But he is entertaining.  My second friend has been Spike.  Gostivar has many dogs, most of which do not have homes but wander the streets keeping the town free from rodents and cleaning up garbage.  Their life spans tend to be short.  Spike showed up starving and mangy outside my apartment building a week or so ago.  I am feeding him and today gave him a bath and mange treatment.  He is pretty ugly but very sweet.  He knows the rules - he is not to come into the apartment building, but comes when I whistle for him and sits at the end of the street whining when I go somewhere.  After I feed and play with him he sits outside the door watching me go upstairs with a forlorn look on his face.  Feeding Spike has had an unintended consequence.  All the neighborhood children come and talk to me when I'm outside with Spike.  One of the boys upstairs named him, and two young girls helped me give him his bath this morning.  It's brought me closer to the kids here and they watch what I do with him.  One young boy today said we needed to call Cesar Milan to help us train him - yes - Dog Whisperer is on TV here!  Spike's future is uncertain, but at least for now he is doing well and getting some attention.

I often think of the first few weeks and months here - not infrequently I felt alone and every new thing I did was a challenge.  That's not totally gone away, but for the most part Gostivar and Macedonia have the familiar feel of home.  My friends have had a lot to do with that.  Luli and his family have made me part of their family, and my friends have sustained my spirit.  I thank them all.

Friends

Arriving at Sv. Jovan Bigorski

One of the wonderful things about the Peace Corps is the new friends you make.  I was used to be the single woman among a lovely group of married folks wherever I was in the US.  In the Peace Corps, most of us are single.  We also have similar likes - most are liberal, adventurous and love to travel.  Living in a country where, at least at the beginning, everything is new and strange forges strong bonds. Besides my Peace Corps friends, I've also have the good fortune to develop a number of friendships with Macedonians and Albanians.  Without this opportunity, I certainly would have maintained a lot of good friendships back home, but I would never have had the chance to develop so many new and good friends.

Last weekend a group of us went to the small mountain village of Jance to stay stay in the hotel owned by my friend Tefik Tefikovski and see some of the marvels of far western Macedonia.  I've written a bit about Jance before, which is located in one of the main national parks, Mavrovo.  The scenery there takes my breathe away every time, but this visit was special.  Tefik had planned to go to Belgrade to the wedding of a cousin, but instead he stayed home in order to make our visit special.  We stopped on the way in to tour the most famous monastery in Macedonia, Sv. Jovan Bigorsky, roughly translated as St. John of the lava rock!  It is gorgeous and contains the most famous woodcarvings in all of Macedonia.  Two brothers and their apprentices carved over 500 figures in a variety of Bible stories that span the front of the church.  They took whole tree trunks and carved the middle out while leaving the figures on the outside.  The Church also has some of the most famous relics in Macedonia, including a piece of the rib of John the Baptist.  It was founded in the 9th century and many people credit it with healing their illnesses.

Toasting with rakija

My friends Linda and Tefik

Some of the wonderful food

Then on to the hotel!  Tefik was waiting for us and we sat on an outside terrace overlooking the Radika valley and mountains.  His staff brought us all rakija, local grape whiskey, and we sat and celebrated out good fortune.   Tefik founded the Slow Food Convivium in Macedonia, and the food his kitchen prepared for us was extraordinary.  Much of the herbs he uses as well as the mushrooms and teas he harvests from the mountains surrounding the hotel.  We enjoyed a feast and no one held back!  After eating the main courses, we walked along a path in the village and harvested some mint, thyme, dill, chamomile, and other goodies.  We returned to the hotel for dessert, nuts, wine, relaxation and good talk.

Ducking through the entrance of the min

Kerry in her hard hat

Meredith talked with Blake in front of a Crystal wall

In the morning Tefik took us to the outskirts of Debar to see the Crystal mountain.  He had arranged for an engineer who works for the German Company Knauf to give us a tour.  Our tour guide was fabulous - even though he spoke Macedonian, he was able to make his talk simple enough to understand.  The mountain was a gypsum mine.  Gypsum is used for all kinds of things, including plaster of paris and sheet rock.  The crystal was one form of the gypsum.  We donned our hard hats and ducked out way through the entrance tunnel.  The sights once we arrived in the main chambers of the mine were amazing.  Beneath our feet everywhere were shards of crystal.  The walls glowed with crystal.  The mine itself wasn't a narrow passage way, but huge chambers with walls of crystal.  It was quite spectacular.  After the tour, the engineer gave us all pieces of crystal set in plaster of paris.  Have I mentioned before that people her are the sweetest and most generous I have ever met? 

The grounds of the monastery

The view

We traveled down the road to one of the female monasteries in Macedonia, Sv. Georgi.  It sat on the side of Lake Debar looking over the lake to the mountains on the other side.  The gardens in the monastery were the prettiest I have seen - roses and other flowers everywhere cascading down from the monastery on top of the hill.  We were again given a tour and invited in for tea.  The nuns pick wild mint, make a mint liquor and sell it in beautify tall triangular bottles.  I just couldn't pass it up.

Finally we went to a natural hot spring spa and we were invited in by some locals who were already enjoying the healing warm waters.  A couple of the group took them up on the invitation while the rest of us had lunch.  After lunch, back to Gostivar so everyone could catch a bus to their particular home.  It was a wonderful weekend with good friends, good food, gorgeous scenery, and interesting times.

The merry, merry month of May continued!

The National Spelling Bee

The Big project for the month was the national spelling bee.  We had over 600 students from 5th to 12th grades qualify for the finals which were held in Skopje.  I was on the planning committee along with 4 other wonderful volunteers.  500+ made the trip to Skopje on a beautiful day to compete, spelling in English!  It was a madhouse, crazy, tense, and wonderful.  I am so impressed with how the kids did.  The US really needs to understand that as nice as it is to have a language that many people the world over understand, we really need to add foreign languages earlier to our curriculum.

Lillian, Claudette and me with the Stone Bridge in the background

Looking out over the Radika Valley at the Sv. Jovan Bigorski Monastery

Lillian had a friend visit from LA and we had a great time hanging out.  We showed her some of Skopje before heading out to the Mavrovo National Park and the most famous monastery in Macedonia, Sv. Jovan Bigorski. It is spectacular.

Finally I subbed for a friend and helped do a 3 day workshop on project design and management.  We worked with host country nationals who had been nominated by Peace Corps volunteers.  We had the group that could speak English fluently, and they were a wonderful group.  Thanks for making it so much fun and easy for me!

This weekend I'm heading down to Gevgelija for a 50th anniversary party for Peace Corps - 50 years altogether and 15 years in Macedonia.  Gevgelija is right over the border from Greece and a big agricultural area.  It should be great fun - wish you could be there!