Swearing In and Moving Out

November 25th, was a big day for those of us referred to as MAK 15’s.  (Simply the 15^th class of trainees to serve here.)  On that day we all became "official" volunteers in the Peace Corp.  Our days as trainees were over and we would be moving to our sites the next day to begin our service.
It was a different day than any other since I have been here in many respects.  First of all, knowing that it was Thanksgiving back home lent a strange feel to it.  In addition, there was no "class" this day as there had been on every other weekday since my arrival.  
So, dressed in a suit and a tie for the event, along with my host family who were also dressed in their finest, we were ready to go.  A bus arrived as scheduled at 11 AM to take all we Romonovste trainees and families to “The Palace”…a very nice restaurant in Kumonovo.

Surprisingly, at least to anyone who knows me, I found the event more emotional than expected.  We sang the Macedonian and American anthems and were then given the oath as a group by the American Ambassador.  Of course, the obligatory speeches by the several participants followed.  In attendance were mayors from the local communities, the Macedonian Minister of Education, and as mentioned the American Ambassador.  Of course the entire Peace Corp staff was there, from the Country Director to the drivers who brought them.   While most of the speakers used interpreters, the Ambassador impressed all by speaking in both languages.  Two volunteers from our class were selected by the group to speak in the local language.  (One in Macedonian and one in Albanian.)  They each did an amazing job and received a well deserved and enthusiastic round of applause. 

With the ceremony completed and certificates handed out, our group dispersed and joined our host families at community tables.  The food was then brought to several locations by the restaurant staff and the chaos began!

We had been informed (warned) by the Macedonian Peace Corp staffers that the concept of buffet serving was quite foreign and we got to witness it firsthand.  Fortunately, there was plenty of food and in spite of the difficulty getting to it, we all managed to eat plenty.  Mysteriously, most of the desserts quickly disappeared from each table.  I later learned that piling many on a plate and returning them to your table right away is not uncommon.  Next time I will know…dessert first!   Each family was asked to bring a dish to go along with the 20 turkeys provided by the Peace Corp.  As we were told to expect, most brought more than one as well as bags containing homemade “beverages”. After all, what is a celebration without a traditional toast?

A few hours and many pictures later, the goodbyes to our fellow trainees and staff began.   I don’t know how to describe the feeling exactly.  While in one sense I am so happy to be moving on to the beginning of service, the fact that I just spent 11 weeks with six of these folks and our language teachers makes the moment a little sad also.  Oh well, we didn’t sign up for this to hang out with new friends and hopefully we will visit each other occasionally during service.

Back “home” by 6 PM, I finished packing for the following day’s trip.  I was one of the lucky ones.  The municipality where I will be working informed me that they would send someone to my village and drive me to my new apartment. Most of the volunteers were using taxis and buses early the next day. 

That same evening, a young man who is a friend of my host families son Goce, came to the house to give me a bottle of his home made wine.  I had commented that I liked it, just in passing, and sure enough, there it was.  I had shared a couple of meals and many conversations with both Goce and Yugoslav as they both spoke English quite well.  While they are young, 30 and 28, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and I think I can call these young men friends of mine now. 

As expected, the car from the municipality arrived the next morning at just around 10 AM.  The driver called from the city for directions and fortunately, Sveto was right there to provide them.  There are no street names or house numbers in the villages.

I had a lot of help with the two very heavy suitcases and an unbelievably heavier “carry on” type bag.  This was now stuffed with manuals and papers acquired during my first 12 weeks.  Also new on this trip was the bag of laundry, the bag of homemade cookies, and of course, the bottles of wine and Rakia I received as gifts.

I would never have believed how close you can feel to people from an entirely different culture after such a short time.  People who speak a different language and do not understand most of what you say.   Now, I Believe it.  I had been told over and over how they would welcome me into their home and family and they indeed did just that.  Leaving their home was bittersweet.  I was happy to be getting out and on my own, but quite sad to be leaving the three of them behind.  These are truly memorable people, living a simple life.   I will go back, hopefully many times, to visit them during my service here. 

A couple of hours after we left Romanovste, we arrived in Kocani at my new “home”.  My landlord and two other people from the municipality were there to greet me as well as assist me in hauling my possessions up to, and I mean up, to my place.  Eighty six steps I think….but that is a story for another time.