training week

Four whole days now under my belt here in Macedonia.  The first day we arrived, Sunday, is now a blur.  Bus rides, jet lag, checking in to our tiny shared rooms, a formal welcome, a meal and bed.  The long 5 hour wait in NY is a distant memory.

Formal training began Monday morning and is ongoing to now, 6PM on Wednesday.  We have had panels and presentations on culture, safety, host families, etc. interspersed with daily language lessons.  Speakers have included the country director of the Peace Corp, the number two man at the US Embassy, the head of security, our doctor and nurse and others.  Add in an extremely warm meeting room, the sore throat and cold I seem to have acquired, and the months of anticipation and you find yourself asleep by 10 PM each night.

Adaptation will be easy enough, I think, but the language is going to come slowly.  I am now capable of introducing myself, greeting someone, and saying where I came here from in reasonably understandable Macedonian.

We are a diverse group of volunteers, soon to be known as Mac 15.  there are thirty eight of us...eleven over fifty, a couple in their forties and the balance in their twenties.  The larger, younger group are either just out of college or two or three years removed.  The majority are here to teach English. 

In two days things will change dramatically.  We will all know our post training assignments and divide into smaller groups of eight for continued training.  Each group will be assigned a language and cultural trainer and meet daily for the next three months. Also on Friday, our host families arrive at the hotel and we depart to their homes for the balance of the training period.  We have been continually reassured by current volunteers of all ages that this home stay experience is something to be cherished.  I hope they are right!