Took a trip to Skopje, the largest city and capital of Macedonia and residence to a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.  There are over 660,000 inhabitants . The contrast between this city and the village we live in is more than dramatic. 

Took the bus in and proceeded to walk... and walk... and walk... and walk for quite a while.  We finally found the center of the city and decided to eat.  What did we choose?  Of all things, an Irish Pub.

Spent the entire day touring in and around the center of town and that evening, after eating again, we attended the annual wine festival.  There were maybe 12 Americans and we managed to sample many of the local offerings.

We caught (barely) the 11PM train back to our village.  This train was classic.  It reminded me of the trains you see in foreign films with the long narrow aisle on one side and individual compartments along the other, some sleepers some not.

Below, a small taste of the city! 

An earthquake destroyed 80% of the city in 1963

The center is formed of two entirely separate sections. The older parts on the north bank of the Vardar, which were mostly untouched by the disaster, contrast with the neighborhoods to the south which were mostly fully rebuilt. They are characterized by wide boulevards and include most administrative buildings. The nerve center of the city was the Macedonia Square and the reconstruction was made on the south bank of Vardar, which is connected with the north by a bridge.

Skopje made the transition easily from the capital of the Socialist Federal Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the capital of today's Republic of Macedonia.

Today, Skopje is seeing a makeover in buildings, streets and shops.Other projects under construction are the "Macedonian Struggle" Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia, National Archive of Macedonia, Constitutional Court, and a new Philharmonic Theater. The city's national stadium Philip II Arena and the city's Alexander the Great Airport are also being reconstructed and expanded.

                                                         

The city is also the birthplace of  Mother Theresa...

The new government has pledged to restore the Kale fortress and to rebuild the beautiful 19th century Army House, the Old National Theatre, and the Old National Bank of Macedonia – all destroyed in the 1963 earthquake. 

Next post will be about my site and job for the next two years!!!

Saturday at the "Animal Market" and other things...

Even though it is Saturday, today I was up and ready to go at 6:30.  We were off to Kumonovo so I could witness the "Животински пазар" first hand.  Each Saturday villagers from around the city gather to buy and sell assorted farm animals. 


A combi to the city, a short walk, and then a taxi and we are at the market.  This is an amazing place.  Men arrive in trucks, vans, tractors, and cars hauling the goods to be sold.  Cows, calves, goats, pigs, and sheep comprise the bulk of the days fare but there are also vendors selling goods ranging from electrical supplies to old Yugoslavian army uniforms.  Of course there are also the food vendors as well as a few folks selling fresh produce.

Just watching these men unload their animals makes the trip worthwhile.  Some coax, some lead, others push, some drag, while a few even kick, but one by one, these animals are offloaded. They are then either led to a pen or tied to a rail , ready now for inspection by perspective buyers. One man passes with a lamb whose feet are bound, hanging from his forearm.  I pass another tractor whose small trailer is crammed with 10 or so small pigs.  Goce has accompanied me on the trip while Sveto arrives later in his tractor along with the calf he will sell.  I did get to watch a few deals being made and the traditional exaggerated handshakes that mark the conclusion.  Some men are here to buy, others to sell, and some to buy and then re-sell.  The financially stronger men flock to potential sellers that they know may need the money and will sell at a better price than others. We observe one such transaction where a man sells all four of his cows as soon as he unloads his truck. Goce recognizes this man as a poor villager and the man making the deal with him appears by his attire to be of more substantial means.  I also see a few deals fall apart and men walk away shaking their heads.

We are there for over an hour before we spot Sveto amid many men and the small cows.  By the time we reach him, he has already sold his calf and we are looking for a taxi back to the center of the city.

On the return trip,  Sveto and Goce stop to buy new shoes in the center of town. Goce and I stop again, where he buys a new toaster for his mother.  One final stop at the food market and we are headed to the combi . 

There we catch up to Sveto and we are all back home by 10:30 AM.  Just in time for lunch!!!

• In Romanovce everyone apparently knows everyone else!  While it may seem that everyone pays a visit to everyone else, I am sure we have not had anywhere near the current population of over 2400 visitors during my three weeks here.  People here are extremely social.  They visit each other often and without reservation as  "stopping by" is welcomed by all.  Those who do visit are offered always food and beverage.

• The cooking stove at my home is kept outside in the summer and brought in for the colder months.
• There is no heating system in village homes and a wood stove will provide the warmth for the downstairs when it is connected.
• It can be mighty cool here in early October!
• It is surprisingly easy to live without American television.
• By the time I leave this village and this home, I could and probably will weigh a lot more than when I arrived.  They are always offering food ..."jadi, Bill jadi"...and I am always eating what is offered.
• Mac n cheese is pretty good for breakfast as is soup, tomatoes, and many other tasty dishes that I cannot name.
• "Main Street" (below) doesn't have a name, nor is there a village center!
• ATMs here offer a choice of English or Macedonian

Picking corn and other things...

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!!!

Making Ivar



Washing and Sun drying



Svetco... step 2

Two weeks in country and one week under my belt living with my host family.   Living in someone’s home was one of my few concerns and it has turned out better than expected.   This is a family of genuinely good, kind people and they have treated me extremely well.   When I am in my room, finishing up the days language work or writing this, they are still busy doing their daily work.  It could be with the animals, preparing food, etc. but it is surely work of some sort. 

We are still doing most of our communicating with gestures and poor attempts at each other’s language, but we are getting by and getting better every day.  Language classes are something to look forward to each morning as it is a chance to speak English with my fellow trainees and have a laugh or two about our experiences living this very different lifestyle.  We do however work hard for those four hours each day and at noon we are usually spent.  Three of the five afternoons this week were busy with training and /or informational sessions.  Add in the “homework” and I can use a day off!   On Saturday I hope to make the trip into Kumanovo to buy a memory card for my camera.  There were some great photo opportunities this week and I do need a few other things I have been adding to a list. 

Nadica (red hair) peeling with sister

This past Tuesday I got to participate in a traditional food preparation event…making Ivar.  The making of Ivar, referred to jokingly by my language instructor as Macedonian Caviar, is a daylong work process and somewhat of a social event involving friends and family.  It begins after the peppers and eggplants are harvested and involves several steps.  Our group consisted of Svetco and Nadica, Nadica’s two sisters, one neighbor and me.  The women go about the tasks effortlessly and the small talk is constant.  One will be washing the large sacks of red peppers and one placing them on the surface of the low round stove. there they remain until the skin begins to blacken on all sides.  From here they are put into big plastic buckets and then the hard part begins.  Each pepper is peeled of the blackened parts of skin and then split by hand to remove all seeds, and there are plenty of them and the stems. These peeled, flat red peppers are now tossed into another container.  The buckets of water used for rinsing the seeds and skins are periodically replenished by one of the women and another breaks small branches to feed the fire in the stove.  During this process they seem to sense when it is time to change tasks. Without a word apparently knowing through experience when it is time for a rest or change by one or the other.  My first experience was peeling and removing seeds for an hour or so and I then moved to a job which allowed for sitting at a much more comfortable height than the small stool I had been using.  The new task was to run this very large pan of peppers through the hand grinder to be ground to a consistency resembling relish.  After an hour and a half or so working on the continually replenished supply of peppers, and the smaller amount of eggplant, I was told  “pauso”…take a break!  From then on, maybe with the group sensing the change in the pace of the grinder arm turning, I then only occasionally relieved Svetco at his job, stirring the large pan as the ivar cooked down.  With five hours behind me, I did go into the house at 6 PM or so , but they continued the process until well after 8PM.  Two large pans like the one in the photo were then put up in jars..I don’t know how many... but I think we will have plenty of ivar while I am a guest for the next nine weeks.

Host Family Day

Yesterday, I left behind the hotel and the rest of the group to move to the home of my host family. A small ceremony was held at the hotel which included traditional music and dancing as we were introduced to our hosts.  Goce, the son of Nadica and Sveto was there to greet me and together we took a cab to his home in the village of Romanovste. 

No one in the family has a car but the taxi took us on the half hour drive and brought us up the small path right into the yard where Svetco and Nadica greeted my arrival.  They are quite nice and I hope my Macedonian improves so I can get to know them.

After a short time for unpacking in my new room, I joined the family for our first meal together.  Peppers, tomatoes, a traditional bean dish and some fish, all quite good.  Of course we began with a toast with the drink of the country, Rakija (rakia).  It is a very strong ouzo type drink and best taken in small amounts.

This is truly a village.  My family is nearly entirely self-sufficient and rarely need to go to the store.  One goat, three cows. one enormous pig with 11 new piglets, and a flock of chickens provide  a lot of the food.  Add an enormous garden, fruit and nut trees, a milling machine that grinds the flour for baking and there is the food I will be having while here.

Goce, his cousin Nicola and I took a walk around the village after eating last night. Goce speaks English quite well and provided a brief history of the area. It was like going back in time….except for the occasional Audi and VW  that passed by.  Three small convenience type stores, a post office, and some boys playing soccer were the highlights of our trip along with a couple of cemeteries...one for the Macedonians and one for the Albanians as this is a mixed village.

I now know that there is a dog or maybe two nearby that continues to bark the entire night and that the village roosters do their job in the early morning.  My breakfast included some very strong coffee, warm milk and noodle soup.

This is going to be quite an interesting few months...all that I expected.   There are 7 others somewhere here in this village with me and we will meet today to find out where each other is located.

No wireless internet like at the hotel but there is a café (using the term loosely) in town, and my host family's house has a wired internet connection as Goce is into facebook etc., just like young men in the USA.

I am due at our village classroom at 11AM this morning as it is Saturday and we are not having a "real" class until Monday at 9 AM. 

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!

Last USA post!

Today , crunch time has arrived!  I actually think I am far enough along in my preparation to get through these last minute jitters. 
Started the morning with a mad search for papers needed at staging, only to finally discover them in a folder on my coffee table which is right in front of me!  I had put them there to be completed as a final task.

A family wedding Saturday was a good chance to say my good byes to my siblings.  I will miss two Christmas gatherings, two family picnics, and two of my brother Don's annual birthday celebrations.  Just need everyone to stay healthy while I am away.  None of us are getting any younger!  Can't believe I will be 65 when I return.  Jeez, where did all them years come from...and where did they go?

My next post will be from Macedonia and hopefully will have a few photos too!