Living

македонски телевизија

For the last few years, I haven’t watched TV very much. When I was unemployed I binged on Netflix during the day to fill up my overly abundant free time, but we didn’t have cable in our apartment and I only got my Food Network/HGTV fix when we were housesitting. For the most part I didn’t miss it, and enjoyed not having the temptation of zoning out in front of a screen when I could be reading or doing other things.

In Macedonia, I spend A LOT of time watching TV, usually from about 4 until I go into my room for the night. I try to hang out in the living room as much as I can to spend time with our family (and as it gets colder, it’s where the wood stove is and is by far the warmest place in the house) and it also happens to be where the TV is. It’s almost always on. Sometimes it alternates to cartoons for Dime, or we watch Discovery Channel in English for a dose of home, but it’s generally on the same station all day. The run down looks something like this:

Continue reading “македонски телевизија”

Site assignments!
Peace Corps, Working

Site assignments!

We’ve finally gotten the news about where we’ll be living for the next two years! In December, we’ll be moving to Sveti Nikole! It’s a city of about 19,000 people, and according to Baba it’s the cleanest city in Macedonia. I’ll be working with the Organization of Women in Sveti Nikole, which looks like it’s doing a lot of really cool things and I can’t wait to see what I’ll get to do with them. Kyle is going to be working with an organic farmer’s cooperative in Mustafino, about 20 minutes away, doing business development. Our second family is currently hosting a volunteer during training and has had volunteers before, so they know the Peace Corps drill. We’re super excited!! And we’ve already promised Baba that we’ll be back to visit Vatasha. Continue reading “Site assignments!”

Studying, Working

Работи Работи Работи

This week was busy. Like, no down time ever busy. Language in the morning, training sessions after that, and then practicum meetings after that. One full day in Skopje, one full day in Shtip, both crammed full of more trainings. Baba usually looks a little puzzled when I say I’m going to bed at 9, but this week she actually looked at me at 8:30 and said “You look tired. You should go to sleep.” That’s how busy it was.

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Week One
Peace Corps

Week One

9/27/15

We’re in Vatasha! Last Thursday we found out this is where we would be for two months or so for PST – pre-service training. We’re staying with a pretty big family, three generations all under the same roof: our Baba, Velinka, and our Dedo, Dime; their son Anko and his wife Vesna; and their son little Dime, who’s 9 and making fast friends with Kyle. Continue reading “Week One”

Peace Corps

здраво!

My job last night was to sleep. I stayed up till almost ten to avoid the jet lag, and fell asleep almost immediately after going to bed…only to be wide awake at 2:30 am. Stared at the ceiling til almost 4 and drifted off until 7:30, when I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a train. My body was clawing at sleep, and for a minute I was convinced that I was just going to doze through the first day of training and there was nothing to be done about it. Jet lag is the worst. Thankfully, Macedonia is awesome enough to be worth staying awake for!  Continue reading “здраво!”

Peace Corps, Travel

We leave for Peace Corps today!

It’s after midnight, but I’m still wide awake. It’s officially September 19th, 2015 – departure day. Everything is packed. I have my trusty blue suitcase that’s come on every overseas adventure I’ve ever taken, full to its 50 lb limit. My pack frame is stuffed. My sling bag and purse hold all the odds and ends I can survive on in case my luggage falls into the Atlantic on the way. Continue reading “We leave for Peace Corps today!”