Meditations on Nation States

One of our Gostivar delegates at the model UN

Last week Kerry took her team to the model UN, and I tagged along to help out where I could.  That, combined with a conversation with a former Macedonian army soldier who had fought in Afghanistan (yes, Macedonia is part of the coalition of the willing), got me meditating on nation states.  After the end of WWII, his family had been forced from their home in what is now the northeastern part of Greece around Thessaloniki and as Slavic Macedonians, and moved into the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  The boundary that exists today, which had been blurry for centuries, was established .  This is the story of the Balkans, with shifting boundaries as a result of many, many wars after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Nations are rather like football teams.  We proudly proclaim our allegiance, identify with our nation, and become 'different' from others not from our country.  Yet it is a fairly recent phenomena.  The United States acquired its boundaries in a number of ways, through wars that we won or reached a compromise about and through outright purchases.  How did the people in those areas feel when suddenly they became a territory of the US instead of France of Spain?  Americans felt we had a right to much of the land through 'Manifest Destiny'.  Our country isn't even contiguous but hop-scotches around.  But now our boundaries aren't contested, and we are Americans.

Other places weren't so lucky.  Nations that didn't exist before were carved out by winners of conflicts from empires that collapsed or were defeated, often for political gain.  People living there had little say.  How did Afghanistan come into being?  Do the Pashtuns and the Waziheris consider themselves Afgans, or is that just a citizenship dreamed up by Western nations.  Have the Western powers forced this concept of nationhood onto a world that doesn't identify that way?  How about Hungary?  The Magyars didn't arrive until the 9th century, long after the Slavs had come through, and they are considered recent arrivals by the Greeks.  Why isn't it called Dacia?  Many problems in this region and in the world are caused by these artificial lines.  But how else can we organize our world?  I don't know.  Anyway, enough meditation for today!

Looking up at the King Mathias Church in Budapest

I have had the great fortune to travel this spring.  I took a river cruise up the Danube from the Black Sea up to Budapest - my friends and I had a great time and we saw some beautiful places.  I'm slowly loading pictures up to Facebook, so if you want more you'll be able to see it there.

Looking down the forest path on Snake Island

Yep, there are snakes on Snake Island

View of Albania and village from the Island

After coming back, Kerry and I along with a couple of other volunteers went down to Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa on the southwestern border of Macedonia to visit the Museum of Water and Snake Island.  The weather was perfect and the lakes were crystalline clear.  We had to get a taxi from the nearest town and drive over a mountain on a dirt road to get to the village closest to the island and then hire a local fisherman to ferry us out to the island, which is part of a national park, and it all added to the adventure of the day.  We tromped all over the island seeing turtles, Roman and byzantine ruins, nesting cormorants, and yes, snakes.  It was a glorious day!

Blessed Springtime

Berat at night

The storks are back!  As I ride the bus north, there they are, fussing in their nests, rebuilding them, making a new home to lay their eggs in.  Although the weather has been 70 degrees some days, we've had a couple of light snows since April began.  But the trend is there, the mountain are greening, and flowers are blooming.
A couple of weekends ago Elona, Kerry and I took a quick weekend trip to Albania.  We had the best time - it was so gorgeous.  Albania is warmer than Macedonia, and the farmers were planting, the valleys were green, and the high mountains still covered in snow.  The first night we were treated to a feast by Elona's mother.  Her family is so very sweet and gracious!  Then early the next morning we climbed on a combi to Tirana and then another to head south to Berat.

The trip itself was exceptional - down steep and narrow mountain roads, through the river valleys, and up again through cracks in high mountain ranges.  Shqiperija, the Albanian name for Albania, means home of the eagle, and you can see why.  And as I've said before, I love taking local transportation.  There's a degree of unpredictability and adventure that appeals to me.  I must admit, however, that I was happy to reach Berat.  We picked up a family outside of Tirana, and 5 of us plus a baby were squished into a seat meant to hold 3.

We stayed in a hostel in Berat that was lovely.  The owner gave us Rakija under the grape arbor in the garden, and at night sang opera and danced with us.  During the day we wandered around a castle, parts of which are still being lived in.  As you can see above, it's a beautiful city.

Kerry taking a picture by Enver Hoxha's old house

Then another early morning, and off to Gjirocaster.  Interestingly, we went through some oil fields.  All through one valley there were derricks upon derricks - some active but most not.  You could smell the oil that was being pumped and processed, a strange counterpoint to the green valley.  We passed by Trebeshina Mountain, massively framing one side of a valley, and finally into Gjirocaster, named for a woman who leapt to her death rather than be captured by the enemy.  It is known both for its castle and the houses.  Rich families lived there long ago and seemed to compete with each other in who could build the most beautiful house.  The castle/fort was also interesting - it was used as late as WWII both by the guerillas and the Nazis.  We again stayed in an amazing guest inn.  When we went up to the castle, we told the owner we would be back in 3.5 hours, and when we returned his mother had fixed a wonderful traditional Albanian meal for us.  We felt completely spoiled.  Both Berat and Gjirocaster are UNESCO heritage sites, and it is hard to describe how beautiful they are. 

Students lined up for their turn to spell

Last weekend was the National English Language Spelling Bee.  I've helped organize it for the past two years, and I must say, it is an amazing event.  It's not like our national bee.  We have qualifying bees all over Macedonia, and this year over 4000 students tried out, and 905 qualified.  Over 92% of those showed up in Skopje for the bee, an incredible percentage considering that they, their school, or their municipality had to find transportation to get them to Skopje.

Aleksandra gets her certificate from Ambassador Wohlers.

Our bee had winners in 6 grade categories, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, first and second year of high school, and third and fourth year.  We started at 10 and ended at about 6, and considering how crazy it was with last minute room changes and adjustments, it went very well!  The kids had a ball, and one of the things I love about our Bee is that it gives some of the kids from villages the chance to see Skopje for the first time ever and compete with kids from all over Macedonia.  This year I'm happy to report that one of our girls from Gostivar was national runner-up for year l/ll high school, and was presented her certificate from our new Ambassador.

And tomorrow I'm off again on another trip, this time a Danube river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest.  There's too much to see, and too little time!

O Happy Day

The end of a long winter is in sight - by the weekend temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-50's and hopefully almost all the piled up snow will melt!  Before then we have one more little snow shower forecast for tomorrow, but the signs of spring are unmistakable.  Next Wednesday is Dites e Veres for the Albanians - the day of summer!  It's a big picnic day, but this year they may have to picnic by left over snow.

Int'l Women's Day flowers!

Late winter also brings International Women's Day!  Working women are generally treated to lunch and families bring them flowers and other gifts.  This year Kerry, Elona and I celebrated by going up to my favorite restaurant in the village of Vrutok.  It is right by the origin of the Vardar river, and they've used the water from the river to make a little trout fish farm and build a restaurant on the banks of the river.  (BTW, the two big kinds of fish eaten here are trout and carp ((called crap in Macedonian)).  They farm both, and carp is surprisingly good.)  It was snowing that day, and as we climbed the hill up to Vrutok the scenery was so beautiful.  We sat by the enormous glass windows in the restaurant, and enjoyed the view of the river and trees covered with freshly fallen snow.  We had an enormous salad, hot pita bread, and fresh cooked trout and potatoes - delicious.  As we left they gave us each a carnation - they are always so friendly and welcoming!  When we returned to Gostivar Luli and the kids, Lule and Linde, were waiting with a rose for each of us.  It was truly a special day.

Yesterday was Gostivar's qualifier for the National Spelling Bee.  The National Bee has become quite an event.  Last year we had over 500 kids there, so we made the qualifiers tougher for this year, but with the growing number of communities participating, we may have as many or more this year.  We had 231 students from 5th to 12th grade turn out in Gostivar.  They had to spell 10 words from their grade's word list to qualify, and 44 kids qualified!  Each student was tested individually, so it was quite a busy day!  When a student did qualify, it was so fun to hear their friends as they walked out of the room waving their invitation to the National Bee.  They whooped and hollered and cheered!  And I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see all these kids working so hard to learn English and have to spell some pretty challenging words.  The other thing that was so cool was that it was truly a multi-ethnic event.  This year we added Turkish translations to the Albanian and Macedonian translations to encourage more Turkish students to turn out and it was successful.  Of our qualifiers, 19 were Albanian, 18 were Macedonian, and 7 were Turkish.  I am so grateful to everyone who helped:  the teenagers from the Young Men's Leadership Project, Verica from Club GLOW, the teacher from the gjimnasija, the husband of another teacher, and Sarita - all of whom helped with translations, tracking, keeping the kids under control as they waited, sometimes for a very long time, and general organization.  And a special thanks to Mustafa Qemali Ataturk School for letting us hold the qualifier there.  Now on to the National Spelling Bee on April 7th!

It keeps a'coming!

What greeted me in Gostivar!

 Saturday I was in Prilep to do a project design and management workshop for some wonderful teens in Phebe's CLIPS program.  Now project management and design is not the most fascinating subject for most people, much less high schoolers, but these kids jumped right in and designed some great projects, and it was truly a delight to get to work with them.  The only worry - it was snowing all day and I had to get back to Gostivar.  After a marvelous lunch at the only Thai restaurant in Macedonia, I hopped on the 4:30 combi that cut across the middle of Macedonia to Kichevo.  Halfway there, we were slipping and sliding all over the road, and the driver shouted out for people to sit in the back.  With the weight distributed over the rear axle, we made it safely to Kichevo, a little late but all in one piece.

The ticket master told me the bus to Gostivar was coming at 6:45, so I sat on the bench outside and waited.  A man asked me where I was going, and I said Gostivar.  He was going to Skopje, so we would be on the same bus.  Thank heavens.  The bus hadn't arrived by 7, but the ticketmaster stuck her head out the window and shouted something, and the man took off running.  Turned out the bus had decided not to come into the station, and we needed to meet it out on the highway.  I was very relieved when it arrived and I climbed on.

But that didn't last long.  About 20 minutes into the trip we came to a dead stop.  Traffic was piled up and not moving.  Of course, having been traveling now for several hours, I really needed to use a bathroom.  We were in the foothills of the mountains, cars, buses and trucks in front and in back, and no place to go.  I was trying to figure out what might be next - sleeping all night on the bus (but with no bathroom in sight), giving up on vanity and relieving myself in front of the world, or waiting for the bus to either turn around or get going.  Fortunately, after a half hour we did start moving again, and about 30 minutes later we reached the crest of the pass where the driver pulled over by the restaurant and gas station there and announced:  "Pauser.  Decet minuta."

The trip over the mountains was magical and felt like a Tim Burton set.  Snow was piled high on both sides, but tree branches covered in snow hung over and alongside the bus, like white fingers extending out from a tunnel trying to grab us.  There was not much we could ever see but white, white and more white.

Note the snow is piled higher than the car

When we reached Gostivar, the driver pulled over to the side of the road and dumped us Gostivarans out.  There was no way he was going to try to navigate the snowy streets of Gostivar.  I walked up the exit into Gostivar, wondering what I would do if a car came - the passage was only just wide enough for a car.  Fortunately none came, and I reached the surreal streets of Gostivar.

Looking down the narrow walkway

Since there were no taxis, I walked from the edge of town to my apartment.  It had snowed enough that the snow covered the ice well and it was not slippery, but the paths were narrow and the snow was piled up was higher than I am tall.  Lights were on, and occasionally I'd pass a cajtorija where men were playing cards.  It was quite beautiful and dramatic, quiet as only a city covered in deep snow can be.

I was very happy to get back to my apartment and snuggle in, but for the most part, I did enjoy the ride.  Each and every day is an adventure!!!

What a world!

Me, Kerry and Marlys jumping for joy!

As I think I mentioned in my last blog, I received an extra 30 days of leave for extending a year in the Peace Corps.  The days are added on to the end of my service, so now my completion date is the end of December instead of the end of November, but it's nice to have those days in the middle of service and Peace Corps gave me a free flight home!  I took 3 weeks of those days for my trip home, and took the rest for my trip to Egypt with 5 friends.  I won't say much here about the trip except it exceeded any and all expectations I had.  It was fabulous.  I've posted my pictures with some commentary on Facebook, so if you want to see more you can see it there.
I do want to comment on Egypt, however.  I feel like we were there at a very privileged time.  Their new parliament met for the first time and elected its president, and they celebrated the first year anniversary of the revolution.  There is much happening, and which way it will go is as yet uncertain.  For the friends and wonderful people I met while I was there, my fingers are crossed for a better life.  Here are some random observations:
1.  You've heard tourism is down - one tour guide said it was down 80%.  To put that in perspective, Kacy told me that when friends of hers went there two years ago, they had to get up at 5 in the morning to get to the pyramids early enough to avoid the crowds and get to climb up to the burial chamber in the great pyramid.  In contrast, we went in the middle of the day during high season, went right in, and had only 3 other people in the chamber when we were there.  While it was wonderful for us and we were treated so well, it has to be so difficult on a country whose GDP relies to a large extent on tourism.
2.  Speaking of that, everywhere we went, we saw huge projects that had been put on hold.  Some were government projects waiting for revenues to improve and the new government to be established, and some were by major corporations holding back on their money until they could see what way the wind was going to blow.  So economically, Egypt is experiencing at least a double whammy.  And given that we saw a number of people living on the edge, it does not auger well for their future.
3.  Despite that, people were cautiously optimistic.  They love their country and are hoping that the new democratically elected government will return Egypt to glory.  They are a bit nervous and impatient and suffer terribly when there is an abuse of power, but they maintain hope for a brighter future.
4.  Alexander the Great became the ruler of Egypt because he respected their religion while the (at that time) ruling Persians did not.  There is a lesson there that we need to learn.  Religion was very important to almost everyone we met and they were all well-educated, liberal Egyptians.
5.  Side note, if you travel, I would encourage you to be adventurous.  While it was cold at night when we slept in the desert, that was an especially magical day, and off the beaten track for most tourists!

Abul Simbel

6.  The people are exceptionally gracious.  It was wonderful to get a chance to talk for hours to our friends who were our guides and drivers, and they will forever be in my heart!

One more picture and comment:  that's me in front of Abul Simbel.  Since I was young and National Geographic magazine featured the danger of Abul Simbel being covered by the rising waters of Lake Nasser and the Aswan Dam, I have dreamed about being there.  I actually got tears in my eyes when I rounded the corner and there it was!  I still can hardly believe I was able to live my childhood dream.

Gostivar buried in snow

Now we're back in Macedonia, and just in time for a record snow and cold spell!  It's a hardship in a country which such a large percentage of people living below poverty.  We had one day where the temperature actually got above freezing for a few hours, and the ceiling in my apartment started to drip.  I called the landlord, who gave a Slavic shrug and said, "oh, well, it's an old building."  We've had a pile of snow, and I'm not looking forward to the thaw.  Besides the reappearance of the leak, it will be icy and there will be water everywhere.  On the bright side, the garbage may once again be picked up!

Downtown Gostivar shivering

Stay warm - I hear Spring is just around the corner!

Home for the Holidays

My beautiful 90 year old mom

As part of extending for a year, Peace Corps gives volunteers 30 days vacation and pays for a trip back to the US.  I did a SW loop, from Phoenix to visit my folks, to Riverside to see BFF Sherry, to San Francisco to see my younger sis and Chris and partners, and finally to Tahoe for the annual Wiggum Ski Fest.

It's hard to be so far from home, and especially so far from my parents during their last years.  My dad is not doing well, and it was difficult to see him so uncomfortable and in pain.  My mom, on the other hand, is now doing terrifically - look at that good looking woman!  We went out a couple of times for lunch, shared a PF Chang dinner in her room, and talked about everything, including current affairs.  I treasured every moment I got to spend with her!

Then on to SoCal for a great time with Sherry.  She owns an antiques and collectibles store that is such a slice of life.  I love going down there just to hang out and laugh, and laugh we always do.  The most precious moment was when one of her customers brought in his daughter and a friend of his.  He'd traded some work with Sherry and arranged to surprise them there with their Christmas presents.  He sat them down on two old rocking chairs and had Sherry bring out their wrapped gifts.  Watching their eyes light up as they unwrapped the treasures he'd picked out was a privilege and a joy - he'd done a wonderful job!  Every moment there was special - Ubaldo and his mom spoiled me, Jed and I had political discussions, and I was included in the movie clubs discussion of the movies and party!

Happy Hanukkah

Sherry and I then flew up to San Fran - her daughter, my son and my sister all live in the Bay area.  I feel like I ate my way through the city - so much delicious food.  I had my first steak in I can't remember how long - I do miss good cuts of beef deliciously prepared - as well as dim sum and the best sushi I've ever had!  People ask me what I miss in Macedonia food-wise.  Interestingly, I miss both ends of the spectrum.  I miss food that I can just instantly prepare when I don't feel like cooking - cheap, processed food (I'm ashamed to admit I had several packages of cheese out of Mac and Cheese boxes in my suitcase when I returned), and also the really expensive but wonderful variety of restaurant food.  San Francisco is foodie heaven.  Ilana's mom had two parties in the few days, a Hanukkah party and a birthday party, and was gracious enough to invite all the gathering Wiggums.  They were both delightful.

Matt, Kacy, Udi and I inspecting the lobsters

Yes, the Wiggums gathered:  On Christmas Day Matt flew down from Everett and Kacy and Udi came out from NYC for the annual Wiggum Ski Fest up in Tahoe.  We did forget to inform Tahoe that it was a ski fest - the weather up there was in the balmy 50's.  But enough resorts had been able to make snow and everyone sans moi had a great time boarding/skiing.  I had a great time walking, cooking, reading and relaxing.  And as a surprise, Santa Claws brought us a Maine Lobster dinner by express mail!  We feasted on lobster, crab cakes, clam chowder, salad and lava cake one night, and Dungeness crab, lobster, and fresh salmon the next.  Life is hard......It was so much fun hanging out with the family (my sis and partner came up one night), and as an added bonus I even came out ahead on poker!!!!!  Thanks, everyone for their contribution!

Now I'm back in Macedonia, and as a bonus, I got to celebrate a second Christmas.  Orthodox Christmas is on Jan. 7th, and Christmas eve here is a major celebration.  I took some American cookies over to my new neighbor across the hall, and received in return 4 pieces of Baklava.  Gordana's mom made the best bean casserole and sarma that I've ever eaten, and if I don't finish Peace Corps weighing 20 pound more than when I started I haven't tried!  I do love Gostivar.  I met my friend Ilmi at Luli's cafe, and sat and talked with him for a good hour or more drinking macchiatos and tea, then stayed after Ilmi left drinking another cup of tea that a friend of Luli's bought me and chatting some more!  Life here is good for me - it's easy-going and social.  I miss the ease of the US - being able to understand what's being said, knowing where to find things, being able to go where I want to go when I want to go there.  But when I leave here, I will miss the love from my local family, the people, and the warmth of every day life.  You never know what you will find when you join the Peace Corps.  I found a treasure trove.

I'm still here!!!!

Welcoming the Mak 16's at the new airport!

Hi, everyone,  After a long and busy absence, I'm back!  I was chosen as a trainer for cross-cultural lessons for the new group of volunteers, affectionately known as the Mak-16's.  That involved a week of training before they came, developing lesson plans, visiting them at their training sites where they lived with homestay families, and going and delivering sessions for them at Hub days, times when they all gathered at one location for general trainings.  It was great fun, but made for a hectic time because at the same time I was planning and executing the second Harvest Festival and, the biggest news (at least for me), traveling around Macedonia and Albania when Chris came for a visit!!!!  The new volunteers were sworn in on Thanksgiving, and now have been at site for a week.  They have 2 years of exciting adventures ahead!

Kerry and a group of Roma boys who ran

As I said, Luli and I planned and sponsored our second Harvest Festival.  Planning here has its challenges.  We work with people appointed by the central government as well as officials from the Municipality, two groups that don't always cooperate.  They were great and so helpful.  We also coordinate the race with the local sports education teachers, and since the race is on the first weekend of October, often they're just getting together for the first time not long before.  This year we ended up changing the date at the last minute and rearranging a few things, but it all came off well.  It's become a popular event and we had over two hundred people sign up.  Despite a slight drizzle, over 150 finished the race.  We moved the festival inside, and after the race went up to a local college and had a ball.  We had two wonderful cultural groups perform, and, even though I lack any sense of rhythm, they pulled me into to leading a round of the oro!  We also celebrated the Peace Corps 50th anniversary with a photo exhibit.

My friend Jamin helped us move things in his farm truck

Chris and Elona at Kruja by Skenderbeg's fortress

Chris came on Oct. 30th after a business trip to Italy, and the first thing he got to do was help me move into a new apartment.  I love my new apartment - I have drawers and a counter in the kitchen - woo woo!  Plus it's much more centrally located so it's easy for me to run over to Luli's new cafe (another big fall event) or to any gathering I need to attend.  After moving, Chris and I went to Albania with Luli's wife, my good friend, Elona.  It was wonderful.  We stayed at my friend Michael's in Tirana, a truly nice city.  We ate the best fish I've ever had which we picked out of a bucket that they passed around.  The next day we went to Skenderbeg's fortress in a town half way up a mountain called Kruja.  The weather was spectacular and the views were stunning.  Typical of Albanians, a taxi driver gave us a ride back to Tirana for the price of a bus fare after we missed the bus.  Albanians love Americans and are so generous.  If any of you get a chance to visit Albania, do it.  Finally, on our last day, we went to Durres, which is on the Adriatic Sea.  Elona has an aunt, uncle and cousins there, and I can't even begin to tell you how hospitable they were.  Needless to say we were stuffed with wonderful food and sampled the local rakija and wine until we could hardly move.  I think we all snoozed on the 5 hour bus ride back to Gostivar.

Chris looking at Sv. Jovan in Ohrid

Finally we took a road trip around Macedonia.  We sampled wine with Peace Corps friends and stayed at a winery, did a quick tour of Ohrid, again were hosted magnificently by my friend Tefik in Mavrovo national park and enjoyed each other's company and the company of friends.  Considering it was the first week of November, the weather was spectacular and warm the entire time, and Chris was amazed by how beautiful Macedonia is. He'd seen my pictures, but pictures never can capture its true magnificence.  I was so glad he could come and share a part of my life here.

Local football fans

I want to show you another picture because I love it!  As part of my job, we took pictures and supported a grant for a road to be paved to a new soccer field that the residents built in a village called Rechan.  Luli, his family and I went to one of the first games - so much fun.  It was a level three game between two local villages, so it was very personal.  Rechan won, and afterward the band, the team, and others danced the oro on the field.  I asked these guys what they used for face paint - lipstick and mascara.  You use what you got.  The flag, btw, is an Albanian flag - Rechani is an ethnic Albanian village in Macedonia.

The stockings were hung on the antlers with care

Now it's the holiday season, and needless to say, I have so much to be grateful for.  I've had such a good time here I've decided to extend for another year.  In a couple of weeks I'm flying home to visit my parents, kids, younger sister, and friend and the kids, their partners, and I, along with Matt, will spend the week between Christmas and New Year's up at Tahoe.  Then later in January, I'm off to Egypt on another dream trip - keep your fingers crossed that things will stay calm.  What a crazy life I'm leading at 65!  I couldn't resist decorating the new apartment for Christmas, so I'll leave you with my Christmas card picture and best wishes for a happy and loving holiday season!