A five kilometer walk behind us, Goce and I arrived at the place where Nadica and Sveto were waiting. They had driven the tractor to this site of their corn field while I and their son walked. Today I discovered that the plots that they own and work are spread throughout the area. It was not for lack of space on the tractor or large flat bed trailer that necessitated the trek, but the fact that the Peace Corp does not allow volunteers to ride on any equipment, so walk we did. The task at hand was stripping the ears of corn (пченка) from four rows on either side of the tractor as it drove along with us to provide a place to toss the ears of corn. They don’t pull the ears off and then strip them here; instead they are stripped while on the stalk. Later, the stalks are harvested and also put to use. Using what I would call a hand cycle, both Goce and Sveto can quickly bring down a pile of stripped stalks. All this corn is then taken back to the home and spread on tarps for drying. It will later go through an automated process to remove the kernels and grind them into feed for the many animals. While we left here at just after 8 AM and returned before noon, I feel like a full day’s work is behind me.
A shower and a change of clothes and I am ready for an afternoon visit to a current volunteer living here in the village. She invited us eight here for training for coffee and to meet an Albanian friend. As we have yet to meet anyone of Albanian heritage, it should be interesting. Culture here is very important and Macedonians and Albanians have not only their distinct languages, but also other cultural differences.
All of the Mak 15s, as we are called, gathered Friday for what was termed our first “Hub Day”. Presentations, panels, training etc and a great lunch filled the day and we all headed to Kumanovo for beers after the session. We were out “late”, not returning to the village until nearly nine PM! We will have these days every two weeks…a nice break with the plus of no language class!!!
Another phase of training also got started this week as we visited two nonprofit organizations located in the city. An adventure it was, as a partner and I attempted to find these locations on our own with what I would call awful directions. We think it may be a little hazing but who knows. On day one we were rescued by a current volunteer who was riding by on a bus and noticed us on the sidewalk, phone to our ear, looking just what we were…lost. Thankfully she got off, and along with her Macedonian knew exactly where we needed to go. This would have been a missed appointment for sure as we were not even close. When finally locating our destination each day, we were greeted warmly at both places. The first is an agency that’s primary objective is Roma rights but will assist anyone needing help with any alleged police brutality issues and subsequent court appearances. They also have an ongoing project providing ID cards and birth certificates for people in the Roma community. ID cards are a must for all citizens and the Roma community has not been known to have them. The two gentlemen who met with us were more than gracious and gave us all the information about their mission and goals that we were seeking.
On day two we visited an organization whose focus is the youth of the city. This was formed amazingly by a few Macedonians in their early twenties and has had some real successes in their first few years. I don’t think anyone in the tiny office was more than 24 years old. Their goal is organizing events for the young people that involve mixing ethnic backgrounds. They have organized concerts, dances, other cultural activities with the focus being getting along and working with everyone, regardless of ethnicity. They have recruited and organized bands using both Macedonian and Albanian kids and had them play at public events to draw both ethnic groups. Their enthusiasm was amazing. Tomorrow I visit my first municipality and hopefully the experience will be the same. The visits are part of our preparation for work assignments after training. Many, if not most of the volunteers in my group will be working with what is referred to as an NGO (non- governmental organization) upon completion of training. I could be also but more than likely will be with a for profit group. These meetings are as much a tool for teaching us the differences in American and Macedonian culture as they are fact finding trips.
I am ready to crash and it is only a little after 7PM. I guess I am not quite in “farm worker” condition just yet. Next week may be wine making along with a daylong tour of Kumonovo. Both have to be easier than today!!!
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