It is HOT!!!

I recall that we had a few hot days when I arrived in early September, but by returning home last April I missed the summer season here.  Lucky me!

For the last two weeks we have had bright, sunny, HOT days.  The temperature has pretty consistently reached the mid 90’s and there has been very little rain.  And it is only June!  I am told the real hot weather is coming in July and August.  My kingdom for an air conditioner!

We did get quite a storm Sunday evening but instead of instant relief, we got instant humidity…and it knocked out my home internet.  It was just one of those days yesterday when I returned home and the internet (which the company said was fixed when I called) was still out and I also didn’t have any water.  Luckily by 11PM the water was back on and this morning it was actually in the low 70’s.  The internet?  Well, it is a little better and stays connected for one or two page changes now before dropping the connection.  It is getting there.

Other than the heat, water and internet, things have been pretty good here in Macedonia.  I have recently been approached to do several different, hopefully productive things.  I also finally received approval on the grant for the playground and we should be starting work on that project in a few weeks.

The first opportunity came when one of the members of my English language conversation group asked me if I knew anyone who would be interested in helping out at the kindergarten level in any or all of the four local kindergartens.  She was asking if anyone would be willing to teach English to these youngsters but further discussion revealed that she had a different objective, one far more worthy.  It seems that the kindergartens do not function very well here in this city and she has two youngsters in one of them.  There is a lack of activity, less than nutritious snacks, and apparently a less than enthusiastic staff.  She would like to see a list of recommendations that could be presented to the director of these schools as well as the mayor.  These locations are funded by the municipality as well as by the fee each parent pays.  They are more in line with what we would call simple day care centers.  The children range 2 to 5 years old.

What I am hoping to do is enlist two other volunteers in the fall and we will spend a few weeks observing the different locations and then draw up a list of recommended changes to be presented to the mayor.  One of the priorities will be changing the operating hours to accommodate the working mothers.  They currently function from 7AM until 3 PM when the work day here is usually 8:30 until 4:30.  This should be an easily obtainable goal and according to the information provided, the director is very amenable to change.

Next, I met with the president of a local NGO (non-profit) by the name of Pavel Satev.  This organization works with the young people here in the eastern part of the country.  He explained that he currently has two projects underway.  One is an internet radio station with which he hopes to engage the younger people by offering them the opportunity to host their own shows.  The second is free instruction in web design, again targeting the teenagers.  I think I may be able to help out here also. 

Lastly, I was invited and attended a meeting of the directors of Kocani’s football club.  One of their board members works with me at the municipality and asked me to attend.  They are looking for fund raising ideas and while I am not sure what I can offer here, we are going to meet again and see what develops.  All in all, it is a lot better being busy that having only adult English classes to keep me occupied. 

In other news…I broke my Kindle.  I think I leaned on the screen when feeling around for it from in bed.  I knew it was on the floor as I always read in bed at night.  I think (I was half asleep and didn’t notice it broken until the next day) I lost my balance and put my hand out to keep from falling out of bed and put all my weight on the screen.  Any way the screen was a scrambled mess the next day.  I tried rebooting, downloading an upgrade and recharging…all for naught.  Can’t live without one here so I ordered a new one from Amazon UK,   one of the few companies that will even ship here.  It cost 40 dollars more than the US model but that was not the worst part.  It shipped right away but was held up in customs.  When notified by the carrier, a UPS partner here, that they would represent my interest and get it for me I had little choice.   So, 70 Euros and a few days later, I paid the driver the balance and had my Kindle.  I now own the most expensive Kindle made.  Just about double the $150 it would have cost to replace it back home.

Needing some clothes and shoes to wear in this hot weather, (I didn’t pack any…well, not enough anyway),  another order to Amazon was in placed but this time I shipped them to my son’s house.  He will un-package and re-ship them and hopefully they will make it through as used clothing.

To escape the heat, in three weeks it will be the Emerald Isle.  Booked ten days in Ireland this week where it will be cool weather and cold Guinness.  
Planning to eat as much “American” like food as possible too.  I managed to find a couple of short flights on bargain airlines and I have the leave days earned.  One flight is to London and then London to Dublin the next morning.  I also found a real cheap flight to Venice so I may go there in August and am hoping to get to Turkey in September. 

So, the balance of the summer is looking up!!!