It's almost June, which means I've been here for 9 months. I can't believe the amount of time that has already passed...it simply amazes me.

In the 9 months that I have been here, I've accomplished a lot. My most proud accomplishment is certainly the construction and execution of the dance studio and classes. It's been so much work....from writing out the grant, to finding the appropriate materials, to installing everything, to introducing classes, and even to training new teachers. Shows, television, the local newspaper.....everyone! The dance classes are a community hit, there's no doubt.

The dance classes offer a lot more than just dance. They provide the most opportunity for the students to speak English in a formal setting...something that I think is more useful than what they can learn in class. I never thought I'd be able to form close relationships with students who dont speak fluent English, but that assumption has proven to be incorrect. I've built so many relationships with my dancers...boys and girls. I have dancers from every grade at the school. Some of them are shy, while some are very outgoing. Some don't like to perform on stage, while others love the attention. One thing is certain: I've built my own little home down there in the dance studio, as well as a mini family with my dancers. Life outside of that is basic and unfulfilling.

Recently, times at work have been difficult. There are differences and obstacles I've been trying to address, but sometimes it seems like you just have to "let things roll off your back," as PC loves to say. No doubt, I have that capacity. I also have the ability to handle stress, adapt to a new culture and country, and initiate sustainable change. Sometimes, however, I don't feel like these virtues go noticed. Sometimes, I feel a total lack of appreciation, respect, and acknowledgement of what I sacrifice every day in order to be here.

Sometimes, being here is like being a celebrity. People watch me. They talk about me. They know where I shop and what I buy when I shop. They know where I live, and they also know every single person I've ever talked to here. This kind of attention can be comical on good days and detrimental on bad days. This kind of attention makes you weary of every action you take. Eventually, people may cross you...because that happens in life. People offend you. They hurt you. They say things behind your back. They say something negative in Macedonian, because they don't think you understand their language. They may even want your attention so much that they may spread lies about you. You may also have people who reassure you that your presence is a positive thing. A smile, a hug, a hello, an invite to coffee, or someone who simply thought about you other than when you're just standing in front of them...these things can save a day or a mood.

At the end of the day, what have you got? Where's the support network? Is it your neighbors, your students, your fellow teachers, or the comfort of your couch?

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” ― G.K. Chesterton

Things have begun to slow down a bit ever since my momma left. The weather has also grown increasingly fickle. It's been raining for days, and the chill is bringing my mood down too. I just want it to stay warm and sunny, that's all. : )

This past week was my school's prom. Since Emilija is a homeroom teacher for a 4th year class, we got to go VIP style to the event!

Emilija and me

Me, Ivan (my dancer), and Beti

The event itself was fantastic. All my boy students stuck by my side the entire night!! Every time I sat down to rest or eat, they'd come grab me again for more dancing. It was a blast.Me and Stefani (my dancer)

Me, Emilija, and our 4th year boys

Other than prom, I had a fellow volunteer, Enid in town this weekend. She came to teach a host ballet class. Even though 15 girls promised to come, we only have 4 show up. At first, I was pretty disappointed, but it actually turned out quite well, b/c she was able to really spend individual time with each girl. The girls did great too!!

Look how great my studio is! High-five to me!!

I also had a fantastic night with Enid and Elena at the pub. I hadnt been out to the pub here in ages!! I ran into a bunch of local friends, and even made some new ones. Enid and I also got to share dinner with Arnaud and his girlfriend. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend for me.

I've completed the dance studio, and now all I have to do is get all the paperwork together. It's stressing me out more than it should, but once it's done, it'll just be done, and I'll feel much better!! I also have to fill out a huge volunteer reporting form for the Peace Corps. I've been trying to do it in small pieces here and there, but it's now almost due, so I need to get on it! I also have been asked to write two new articles for the Peace Corps magazine. I gladly accepted, but this is just another thing I need to get done by Friday. At least Im working!! :D

OH!! And in just 2.5 weeks, Chad will be arriving in Macedonia. I am so damn excited! We'll be in Struga for just short of a week while I complete a language training event. From there, we will be on the road until June 27th! I think this trip is really what I need. Lately, I've just felt really overwhelmed with work. I've also begun feeling isolated and lonely again, which isnt good. Right now, I have more local friends, and I've been spending time with some new people too. At the end of the day though, I still find myself missing home a lot. That being said, I think I just need to break away for a little bit, which is why I think this trip will be perfect for me.

Here's your quote for the day:“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you” Christian Morganstern

It's Wednesday night, and my momma went back to America today. It's been an excellent week...going through and telling you everything that my mother and I did wouldnt even do it justice!! But here a small recap in a few photos:

1. We saw a lot of beautiful sights with my good friend Arnaud.

2. We "na gostied" a lot....ate a lot of great food!!

(that's Emilija!!)

3. Spent a lot of time with my fantastic DANCERS!! I love these kids like they were my own.

(this one looks like Bobi is possessed!!)

(their new dance)

4. Visited Matka lake for Mother's Day!!

I mean...we did A LOT. Mom met nearly everyone that's ever met me in Macedonia. We ate a lot. We traveled a lot. She met Lozovo and my host family. She met the whole PC staff. It was great. It was definitely sad when she left this morning, but she is almost home now, so I feel ok.

I won't get into work or anything, bc it has been stressing me out a lot lately. I really wish some people at my school would appreciate what all I've done...anyways, here's two videos to tie you over!! On of them is kind of old, and mostly involves food. Here it is:

The next video is of one of the recent performances my Zumba girls did. I loved it!! It was for an event my mayor put on. Check it out:

Other than that, here's your quote of the day:

If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't.
Chuck Palahniuk

I love being back at work.

I also love that it feels like summer outside.

This weekend was perfect. Two other PCVs from Kumanovo came into town with some of their friends and surprised me on Sunday. I was already preparing a HUGE dinner, complete with pasta, salad, and some tasty drinks, so we had plenty t share for everyone. We ate early, so we had time to sit around and chat about everything under the sun. Sunday felt like a perfect Sunday to me. It felt like Sundays I've had back in America....good company, good food, and having that one person who manages to stay after everyone else has left, just because the conversation is that good. Even better, was I was really able to share my new house with everyone. GOOD GOD, how great it is to have room for people. I mean, I can comfortably fit 8 people in my living room!!

Monday was a national holiday, also known as "May Day." It is like the Macedonian Labor Day. Everyone goes into the mountains. And I mean EVERYONE. It's picnic time, and people load up their cars with food and drinks, and everyone finds a mountain to setup camp on for the entire day. My lovely friends were still in town, and they picked me up first thing in the morning to join them for their picnic. It was really hot outside. I mean....it's like 90F lately, no kidding. They'd already setup blankets, so we sunbathed while the food was prepared. A Roma band found us and decided to play music for us, which was the highlight of the day. By the late afternoon, the heat and exhaustion was getting to me, so we called it a day. All together, it was a great way to spend the holiday. I love getting the opportunity to explore the wilderness here.

Since I've been back at work, I have been BUSY.

Today, work began at 9am for me. I had a big long meeting with my Director this morning, and he is totally loving the idea of the dance camp. Furthermore, he is interested in ways to expand on the idea, which is great. Later, I had two dance classes. My dancers have a show this Friday night, and we've not had a lot of time to practice. Fortunately, we have many new girls performing this time, which I am so pleased about. I love meeting and working with new girls. I wish I could work with all of them!! We also had Zumba today, which was great. I still can't do all the moves, nor can I "go all out," when it comes to dancing, but I am taking it slow and being careful. I cannot afford to injure myself again. Being back in the studio made me feel at home.

I cannot find words to describe the utter chaos...seriously, chaos...that happened this afternoon. Emilija and I had a meeting at the Mayor's office, because they are interested in using my dancers for a show on Wednesday. It was a great compliment to have their interest. From there, we began to work on the new construction of the dance studio. We got our grant money this afternoon, so we went into action! Bank #1, Western Union, fast food, appliance store, bank #2, appliance store, post office, home, eat, 30-min break, back to work, hip-hop class till 8:30pm, shower, and done. Thankfully, we got most everything purchased this afternoon, and they will be delivering things such as the air conditioner and the TV tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we should also get the new dance floor installed into the room. From there, I'd like to drill the ballet bars into the ground and maybe even tear the titles off the walls, so we can paint some kind of mural on them. There's a lot we can do, and with people like Emilija and myself running everything, our possibilities are endless!!

I would like to add that Emilija and I are a damn good team. We can bargain and make friends with just about everyone. We spent so long in that appliance store today, waiting for the paperwork to get done, and at one point we were even enjoying a coffee with the shop owners. I could not ask for a better person to rely on when I really need it. I would not have been able to accomplish so much today without her.

Finally, I'd like to say this coming week is going to be huge for me. Monday, I will have a new dance group beginning choreography. We will also begin a new ballet class! Tuesday, MY MOMMA COMES INTO TOWN!! Wednesday is the Mayor's big EU show, and Thursday is the day where I want to bring my mom to school so she can meet everyone. I cannot wait for her to meet my kids.....I might cry, cant lie about that!

Here's your quote for the day:

"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." - Frank A. Clark

I'm in a great mood, and I want to share it.

Today was the first day I was able to walk NORMAL again, and it was awesome!! At times, my hip still got stiff and felt a bit of pain, but it didn't stop me from walking. I was SO happy, you have no idea how good it felt to be out again.

I was at school from 3:00-6:15 with my dancers today. Because I've been absent, we havent had any time at all to practice for all of our upcoming events. My crew kids learned more of their new dance, which was difficult to teach it, because I wasn't able to dance yet. Instead, I had to rely on my arms and using the proper words to express the move I needed from them. Surprisingly, it worked great, and the kids did a FANTASTIC job. They have already learned more than half of the dance. Now, all we need is to make it sharp. Later, my Zumba girls joined me for practice, because they have a show this Friday!! They will be performing 3 new Zumba songs at a Kango show in the park. What really made me happy was the amount of NEW girls who will be performing. Some of the girls, I'd never seen in class, and I was like "Who are you?! You're an excellent dancer!" I'm happy that I keep discovering new dancers.

Tonight was also perfect. My crew kids joined me for dinner. I made my favorite dish ever, Lemon Zest Pasta. I also prepared a MASSIVE salad, but no one hardly ate it, haha. The kids ate the hell out of the pasta, and they loved it. We also turned on Step Up 3D (a dancing movie), and we all admired the awesome and fancy dance moves. It was a blast!! It makes me so happy to see them get inspired, and I can see the wheels moving in their heads with ideas of new moves and tricks. I loved spending some time with them outside of the studio. I hope I'll have more of them come spend time with me now!!

This week, I am still supposed to take things slow, but I am totally going to work. I've got a busy day tomorrow, and then later I'll have Elena, CJ, and Bill joining me for food and drinks at my place. My week is packed with rehearsals, interviews, dance classes, and English classes. On Saturday, I'll be in Stip all day for the big Model UN conference, but then I'm only 3 days away from MY MOMMA BEING HERE!! Hot damn!! I cant believe it's so close...I really can't. Anyways, enough ranting from me; here is your quote for the day:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.

—Ambrose Redmoon

I have been stuck on the couch for exactly one week. I have to admit, being stuck at home really frustrated me. I hated not being able to go to work, not being able to dance, not being able to see all my kids, not being able to really be out in public at all! I will say, though, that some excellent things have come out of my time on the couch.

1. Travel Plans- As mentioned before, I got most of my travel tickets booked for my trip in June. Im still not over the excitement of booking those tickets. I began looking up things we can do in each place, and I discovered some really fun things! For instance, we fly from Greece into Milan on the 23rd....in searching festivals and celebrations in Italy, I found that on June 24th, there is a huge celebration over the Como Lake. Fancy that, b/c Como is only an 8euro train ticket away from Milan AND it is on our way to Venice. HOT DAMN!! I'd have never discovered this, if it wasnt for the time on the couch. :D

2.Dance Camp- That's right. DANCE CAMP!! I've mentioned this idea in passing to some of my students before, because I wanted to create something more we could do in the summer. Well, all of my "student dance teachers" came to visit me this week, so I talked with each of them again about it. I then began to put the plan into action. I set dates. I made brochures and flyers, which we plan on distributing to local businesses, schools, homes, etc. I made a website. I made an outline for the classes we will provide. I spoke to people who have offered their time for things like registration and food/water donations. I've done A LOT. The website is complete, but I am not posting a link to it until I get the OK on two more details.

So camp will be a Kocani thing, but it is not limited to Kocani kids. Ideally, everyone who lives within a reasonable distance from the city will be able to attend, free of charge. The website is setup so that kids will register online. From there, I plan on grouping the kids, based off their age, dance experience, and the classes they are interested in. We will have one day of registration and orientation, complete with some activities for everyone. Then we will hold 3 days of dance classes, which will be held in rotational blocks. On the last and final day, we will hold a recital, so the kids can show off what all they've learned. This event will be open to the public, and I hope it will generate even more kids to attend dance lessons during the school year. Furthermore, this will be excellent for my student teachers, so they can start fully taking over more classes next year, allowing me less opportunity to re-injure myself!!

Well, that's all I've got. It is a beautiful day here, and I'm actually going to get out of the house. Enjoy your quote for the day:

"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do."

—John Ruskin

Just got home from round two at the hospital in Skopje. I got to see an orthopedic doctor today, who basically gave the same diagnosis. The root of the problem all stems from the overuse of my body from dancing, so I need to have some physical therapy before I can jump back into things (no pun intended). As frustrating as that is, I know I should listen to my body on this one and just take things easy and slowly.

The good news is, I can walk much better today!! My swelling is going down, and my limp looks less and less like a gangster's walk. :D My pain was also significantly better today. I'm still not going to be able to go to work tomorrow, but I'm confident I'll be much better after the weekend passes, and I've spent a couple more days on the couch.

Yesterday morning, Ivan and Stefani, two of my dancers, dropped by my house for a visit. They brought me cookies, salami, and juice!! I LOVED seeing them!! They stayed for a while, and we worked out ideas for a big event we want to do this summer. They were just as eager as I was, so I have no doubt we can pull it off. I won't get into it too much, b/c it's still too early. Later, Ivan and Lilika helped get the rest of my belongings from my old apartment. Lilika and I had some much needed time to catch up, and she helped me put some final touches on my new apartment. IT LOOKS AWESOME NOW! (pics to come)

Last night was a real treat though. Arnaud and his gf offered to come make dinner at my place. They'd bought things to make homemade lasagna, so we made a feast. They did most of the cooking, b/c I couldn't be up much, but the final result was delicious. Good god, it was so good!! They also brought me my own thing of Sprite, since I couldn't take part in the wine while on my pain medication. It was just really thoughtful of them to put it all together. I feel really fortunate to have so many people care about me in Kocani. I went to bed more than happy.

My mom is less than two weeks away from getting here, and I'm getting more anxious by the day. I don't know how I will contain myself. I just want to introduce her to everyone here! I do wish she were coming for a longer period of time, but I do understand the anxieties of leaving the dogs behind for the first time. Fortunately, we will have a solid week together, and half of that will be in the comfort of my new home (thank goodness!!) Soon after she leaves, I have my EPIC summer vacation, followed by camp. Expect updates.

I've been thinking of good ways to end my blog updates, b/c I feel like they always lack, so I've decided to start ending them in quotes. Here's your quote for the day:

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte

Well, I'll get right to the point.

On Monday, I went into Skopje to see the Peace Corps doctors. The pain in my hip was still really bad, and they wanted to give me a proper evaluation. Well we ended up at the hospital, and they gave me an MRI to rule out any possible spinal problems. Although I have some scoliosis in my lower spine, they couldnt find anything wrong that would be causing my hip pain. I was definitely relieved, but at the same time, we were all a little frustrated with not knowing the root of the problem. They wanted to keep me in Skopje to see another doctor to rule out some other possibilities, but I REALLY wanted to just go home and rest in the comfort of my own home with proper pain medicine. After being given some pain meds and muscle relaxers, I got a ride back to Kocani with a local family I know (and now love).

Seriously, this family is awesome. One of their daughters just got accepted into the YES program, which allows students from here to travel to the US and study in an American high school for one year. Their daughter, Elena, is SO sweet. She is going to do an awesome job while she is there. We talked a lot about her thoughts on leaving, and it's really very interesting, because her and I will be in VERY similar situations. She will be missing her family, friends, and home, much like I do here. I also spoke some with her parents, and I offered for them to meet my mother when she comes (in only a couple weeks!!!!), so that the moms could talk...they, too, will have a lot in common. Anyways, this family took me, free of charge, into Skopje with them. Along the way, they treated me like I was one of the family..bought me food and drinks and insisted I didnt need to pain any money. Most people in Macedonia are hospitable, but some people are exceptional. The care they showed me really made my day and my pain so much better....it may not seem like a lot to any of you, but it meant a lot to me.

So I've been stuck on my couch since Saturday. I've watched a lot of movies and TV shows online. I've managed to make food and drink plenty of coffee and juice. I booked my travel plans for the summer trip I will have with Chad. We booked tickets to go to Corfu, Thessaloniki, Athens, Zakynthos, Milan, and Venice. Along the way, we also want to hit up Rome and maybe Florence or something. All together, our flights cost UNDER $400 total per person, which is remarkable!! Living in Eastern Europe sure does have its perks. :D I'm really very excited about this trip.

In other news, I had a some really great things happen today. This morning, 3 of my dancing ladies came by my house for a visit. I was SOOOOO happy to see them. I missed them!! They brought me bananas and juice. We sat around talking for a while, and it made me so proud to hear that they'd been still holding Zumba classes, even when I wasnt there. Furthermore, they did a great job and had an excellent turnout. I couldnt have been happier.

As the girls were leaving, I was at the door, and my neighbor from across the street waved for me to come over for a coffee. Seeing as how it was a couple of feet away, and my only other option was to go back up to my couch, I decided to seize the moment to get to know my new neighbors better. I'm so glad I did, b/c I had a great time meeting the family. The grandmother and mother dont speak English, but we communicated just fine in Macedonian! The son of the family came home near the end. He is 24, and last summer he worked in Gatlinburg, TN. SMALL WORLD, RIGHT?! He spoke excellent English, and the whole family offered an open invitation for me to visit whenever I want. Oh, and they had a big beautiful white dog, which I got to pet and love on the whole time, which also made me really happy. :D

After resting on the couch for the rest of the day, I took some more medicine so that I could tolerate going to the school's French show. I had helped a group of 4th year girls put together a CanCan dance for the show, and my French friend, Arnaud, and his girlfriend offered to drive me. We had a great time!! Honestly, I was embarrassed by everyone seeing me limp so badly. I felt like I looked ridiculous. And I think a lot of people were just confused as to what was even wrong with me, but it's just hard to explain. It doesnt matter though, b/c the girls did an EXCELLENT job. Check it out:

After the show, I really wanted to just go home and rest my hip, b/c I was in pain, but Aleksandra and Arnaud offered to go eat. I love sharing meals with them, so I agreed. We had a feast of frog legs, fried onion rings, and salads. It was great!! Stefani also found time to swing by, which made me so so so so happy. She gave me her senior photo with the sweetest note written on the back, and IN ENGLISH!! I love that girl, and I'm going to really be sad when she goes off to college this summer.

I wont be back at work tomorrow. Honestly, I want to try to go to school on Thursday, just to observe the Zumba class and see all my ladies and Emilija. This weekend will just be resting, and hopefully I'll be feeling much better. If the pain doesnt get better in a couple of days, Ill need to go back to Skopje to see another doctor, but let's all think positive thoughts. :D

It's always something.

Yesterday morning, I woke up in my new apartment. I sat up in my new bed, threw my housecoat on, and slid my legs off the side of the bed. As I began to stand, I fell back onto my bed, because the weight of my body caused an intense pain shooting from my hip down to my foot. Panicked, I tried again and again to stand, until I finally could.

For the rest of the day, the mysterious pain from my hip kept re-emerging. Often times, it would happen right after I'd been sitting down for a while. Other times, it happened out of nowhere, while standing. I even found myself stranded in the grocery store, unable to walk. Not even a limp was possible, but each time it came, it also found time to pass.

By last night, I'd began taking some medicine for the pain. I had a great night with Elena, Arnaud, and friends, but my hip continued to send me spurts of pain. After getting home, I immediately placed myself in bed, but I found myself so uncomfortable while sleeping, I just knew it would be there again in the morning. Sure enough, I found myself immobile in the morning, and only after some time was I able to walk again. I was beginning to panic a little. I knew it felt like a nerve, but the pain was more consistent, so I wasn't sure if I should contact PC about it.

Well today was a big Model UN workshop in Stip. Thankfully, I now live only 2 minutes from the bus station (as opposed to 15 from my old place), so I had no problem walking to the station. Soon after I got there, I felt the pain beginning in my hip again, and it spread across my side and butt. The pain shot down my leg to my foot, so I forced myself to sit. I suddenly realized I would not be able to attend the workshop in Stip. I didnt think I could walk to the bus, much less be able to walk off the bus. The pain began to spread across my lower region, and the next thing I knew, I was in tears.

To make a long story short, I probably embarrassed the hell out of myself at the station. I cried. A lot. PC told me to get to a pharmacy, so Lilika helped me get a cab, b/c I couldnt walk there. I spent about an hour talking with the doctor and the women, and after getting a lot of pain medicine, I got in another cab and went home. They said I have sciatica, which is just a fancy word for the extreme pain I'm having from a nerve, but we still dont know what is causing it. I've been having lower back pain for sometime now, so it could be something relating to a disc. But for now, I was told to just stay at home...to not do anything...and to just rest. So that's what I am doing.

Really, Im just frustrated with being stuck at home. Im so busy lately, and I like being busy. I hate that I cant go to dance practice tomorrow, or Zumba on Monday, or even begin my new ballet class on Monday night. I simply cant. And I HATE that. Last week, I had so many girls come to class...am I going to lose their interest if I miss a week?? My kids want me there...they want to work and dance..and I hate that Im being told to stay home. : ( I feel like I'm letting everyone down if I stay home, and I dont want to disappoint my kids.

If the pain is still bad by Monday, I'll probably go to Skopje for the doctor. I'm hoping it'll all go away in a couple of days though....I just dont have time for this problem. The one good thing about all of this, is that Im in the comfort of my new apartment, and THANK GOD for that!!

I am officially living in my new apartment, and it is AWESOME!!

I moved in two days ago now, and I still have not hardly had any time to settle in. After getting everything moved in, Arnaud and I walked into the center to get some food. We ended up running into some of his older local friends who INSISTED we join them. Upon sitting down and saying my name was Morgan, one of the men who owns a few businesses in the area said "Morgan Paige?" HAHA I was like "Yea, but how do you know me?!" Turns out the first internet I had (the bad one) was another one of his companies, but there were no hard feelings. :D

It turned into a couple of hours of rakija, salads, pizzas, and some new local friends!! Everyone was so nice. There was a mixture of Macedonian, English, and French being spoken, but we all managed to have a hilarious time. Im looking forward to seeing them all again.

After getting home, I "na gostied" with my landlady. She is so nice!! We talked for almost an hour, and she said I spoke excellent Macedonian, which really made me feel good. Later, I began to finally unpack my belongings, and wait for Rachel (a friend I grew up with from Hendersonville) to arrive. Her bus was supposed to get in around midnight, and her phone has internet, so we figured it would be easy to get her once she was in.....well it wasnt.

I was watching the clock...

midnight passed.....1am passed....1:30 passed.....nothing. I checked my email a million times and tried to call her cell phone A LOT, but it kept going to voicemail. I began to get worried, but tried not to be. 2am passed....2:30 passed....by 3:00 in the morning, I was really worried, and I sent her another email. By 4:00, I decided something had really gone wrong, so I set my alarm to go off every 30 minutes to check my phone. By 7am, I had Lilika start calling the bus station in an attempt to find her. By 10am, I was desperate to find her, and I tried called her phone again, and it FINALLY RANG!! Finally, Rachel had made it, after falling asleep on her first bus to Kocani. She'd gone THROUGH Kocani and made it all the way down to Bitola (near the Greece border), and had to catch a few more buses back!! Poor thing....she was just as stressed and tired. But she was one hell of a trooper, b/c as soon as she got it, we went to work!!

Rachel got to see so many things and meet so many people in the one day she was here. She observed Zumba, went shopping in the bazaar, hung out with Bill, met a new local friend, Kosta, ate fresh fruit an veggies, which we'd bought at the bazaar, met my landlord, Emilija, Lilika, and a lot of my students and teachers....Later, we went to a nice dinner with Arnaud, where both of our exhaustion was kicking in heavily. Sadly, Rachel had to get in a car and ride back to Bulgaria at only 10pm, but I must say her trip here was fantastic!!!!! I LOVED seeing her, and I hope she comes back for a longer trip next time.

As far as work updates go...I've got a lot in motion. We've still got the Zumba classes going, which have had around 30 or more girls in each class. I think the Easter show has made more girls interested again :D The dance crew also began learning their new dance last night. Taking the time to properly choreograph a dance is hard work!! Furthermore, I will begin my new BALLET class next Monday night. I think we will have a huge turn-out. Let's see.....oh, and I'm still doing Model UN with my kids. We are going to another workshop out of town tomorrow, and then they compete next Saturday. I'll be glad to have one more thing done. I think by Tuesday, I'll have a little time to breathe and get settled in my new awesome home. Once Ive got it set up more, Ill post photos.

That's all I've got. I hope all is well at home!! My momma comes in 3 weeks!!!! Cant wait!!

As promised, here is my video from Easter:Easter Video!!

You'll see the egg breaking tradition, a lot of Lilika's family, the double rainbow, and even a short bit of me chatting with my momma!!

Today, I get to open up my bank account for the grant I got. From there, it should only be a couple of weeks before we get our money and begin installing everything. I'M SO PUMPED!!

Right now, I'm waiting on my Can-Can dancers. That's right....there's a French show coming up in a week, and I've got some 4th year girls who will be performing. I also get to begin new dancers with my other dancers this week, which I'm excited about (and so are they!!)

FURTHERMORE, I have a friend from high school coming into town to visit me!! She's traveling around Istanbul and Bulgaria right now, so why not jump next door to visit me!? :D I'm excited for this week. That's all for now. Enjoy the video!!

I've survived another busy weekend, but I must say that this one was one of the most fun I've had here!!

I woke up at 3:00am on Saturday morning and hopped into a car with Lilika, Lilika's uncle, Martin, and Bill. It was dark out, and without any lights guiding us on the streets, I found myself zoning out in the blacked out world around us. About 3 hours later, just as the sun came up, we arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece for the kids' ACT test. Although we were about 15 minutes late for registration, and things got a little intense for a moment, we managed through it. The first stop after the ACT test was STARBUCKS. Observe pure bliss below:That's a Venti Caramel Macchiato right there. I inhaled that drink in about 10 minutes and debated on buying another, but my nerves were in shock, so I decided against it. Going 8 months without a legit fancy coffee drink sure can do weird things to your body. :D

The above photo is of the square in Thessaloniki. It was a really nice town!! There were a lot of shops and restaurants everywhere. I miss having such variety. Although it rained off and on all day, I'd still say we managed to have a beautiful day for strolling around the city. After the ACT test was done, we decided to shop for the rest of the afternoon. Lilika and I set off on an adventure in various stores, and often got in trouble for having the camera out....

For lunch, we stopped at a fast food Asian type of place. They offered noodle and rice dishes, but I instantly found sushi available and seized the opportunity. I was in HEAVEN. Again, not having sushi for 8 months is not pretty. :D

Originally, Bill and I were going to stay the night. However, after discovering that everything would be closed on Sunday and realizing we'd gotten all the shopping out of our system, we decided to ride back with the group. It was a BEAUTIFUL ride home. The landscapes were remarkable. Everything was breathtaking, and we found ourselves pulling over quite often for photos.

This is Bill, the other volunteer who lives with me in Kocani.

Martin and Lilika....taking advantage of the scenery for some good photos!!

Later in the drive, we were all getting pretty quite. I think our exhaustion was really kicking in. Suddenly, I turned to my right and saw an enormous rainbow...TWO, in fact!! I yelled "rainbow," and the next thing you know, we are on the side of the road.

You see what I mean about wonderful and breathtaking scenery!?!?!?! We got in pretty late, and my body reacted like it had jetlag. I went to bed early, and after sleeping off about 10 hours, I woke up to Easter in Kocani.

Macedonians celebrate the Orthodox Easter. I found their traditions to be very similar to ours in the US, and I was lucky to have many people to share the holiday with!! I began my morning drinking coffee and Baileys with Bill and CJ at Bill's new apartment. Bill finally found a new home too, and he is now right in the center as well. After enjoying the morning with the boys, I made the 30 minute walk up to Emilija's house. Upon entering, I discovered Emilija was already hard at work preparing a nice lunch, complete with pork, salads, homemade bread, and meats with cheese!! I finally got to have some good sit-down quality time with Emilija, which was much needed!!

From there, I walked back down into town to Lilika's family's house. They'd jus finished their first lunch, and were about to begin their next. Here, when you "na gosti" (aka visit people), you are expected to eat. Personally, I have no problem with eating, but after having two meals prior to a visit, eating another meal can be painful. That being said, I was offered one of my favorite dishes, Sarma (stuffed grape leaves), along with some whiskey, soup, breads, pork, potatoes, and endless salads. I was glad to finally spend some quality time with Lilika's family. Her uncle was still there (the one who took us to Greece), and her mother and father were there as well. The family was awesome to share some time with!! They were even entertained when I attempted to carry on in Macedonian. I got to take part in a local tradition of "cracking eggs." I had a running record, but alas, it came to an end. You'll see this is my new video!!

After a few hours, I decided to head back home so I could lay FLAT, in order to breath properly. :DIt was a great weekend, and today has been a much needed day of rest for me. I've been trying to pack up my apartment for the big move on Wednesday. I cant wait!! I'm not sure how crazy this week will end up becoming, but I do hope I have another day or so to play catch up on everything.

Ah...I almost forgot. VIDEOS!!!!

Ok, first off, I've actually got TWO videos, but one of them is taking FOREVER to upload onto YouTube. So to hold you over, here is a short video from the event we had on Thursday with the school. I promise I'll post the new video once it's uploaded fully. : )

It's been almost a week since I've updated!! All I can say is that I've been so busy lately.

First off, my grant got its final approval this week!! I've spent more hours than I can count on that thing, and it feels so good to have it all pay off. With this money, I'll get to install some new proper rubber matting type of flooring for the dance studio. I also get to buy things like an air conditioner, speakers, etc. Yay!!!!

Secondly, I signed my new lease this week. That felt SO GOOD. I even started packing up my apartment already. When I first moved in Laura, the volunteer who was here before me, left me a lot of things, but I havent needed most of the stuff, so going through and getting rid of some things has been helpful. I'll get to move this Wednesday, and I will feel like a new person once I've gotten all moved in!!

My school threw its big Easter celebration on Thursday. Kids from every class set up tents and booths to sell Easter art they made. It was adorable!! Everyone in the city was out on that day, and the weather was perfect. We had 4 dances total in the show. ALL of them did so well!! Here are two links to a couple of the dances:

I also made a video from the Easter event, but my internet cord is pretty damaged, so the internet goes in and out too much, I havent had time to properly get it on YouTube. I will get it up as soon as I get back in town.

Currently, Im waiting for a car to pick me up, b/c this morning I am going to GREECE!! :D Two of my students, Lilika and Martin, will be taking the ACT test today. I think they are going to do an excellent job. Lilika has personally spent hours studying with me. We've gone over everything, and although she is nervous, I feel confident she is going to do well. We will stay the night in Thessaloniki tonight, and then HOPEFULLY head back to Macedonia tomorrow. If buses arent running properly, we might just try to grab a ride over the border and crash with another volunteer. We honestly dont know. It's Easter weekend here, so you can imagine.

That's all I've got, time-wise, for an update. In about 3 weeks, my momma gets here!! Im so excited, you have no idea!! Missing all of you at home still. <3

First thing's first...HAPPY EASTER!!

Being here for the holidays is a mixture of feelings. After having such a hectic week and weekend, and after not being home since Tuesday, I am SO HAPPY to be spending Easter in my new home of Kocani. Of course, on every holiday, I tend to miss home a lot, but that cannot be helped. Aside from missing home, I also tend to examine and re-evaluate my life.

I take inventory.

What do I have in my life right now, that I didn't have before? What do I not have in my life anymore? Do I need or miss that thing? Who's in my life? Who's not in my life anymore? Unfortunately, I've had many people I care about leave my life. Some were just friendships that fell apart. Some were much closer people who seemed to have just given up. Two family members have stopped speaking with me in the 26 years I've been alive. It's still beyond me how a family member can just shut you out and not have any desire to reconcile. As a child, I worked very hard on being a positive staple for everyone, but now that I am older, I've discovered it isn't part of my journey to have such negative people share in the great experiences I've been able accomplish. I'll accept the fact that I'm not worth it to them. I simply dont have the capacity to put forth anymore effort on people who do not wish to do the same. And to be completely honest with you...I am at peace with that.

FORTUNATELY for me, I now have so many people in my life...people I really sincerely care about. Having been in Kocani since late November, I've slowly found and built on some new relationships here. Some have proven to not be worth my time (which is ok), while others have become like family to me. My perspective on what truly makes a person important in my life is much different than it was before I came here, and I'm very comfortable in that.

On a different note, I've been over-worked lately, and I can feel it physically. Last week, I was in Ohrid for a week-long IST training session with Peace Corps, all the volunteers, and a lot of the counterparts. Emilija came with me, and we had so much fun together. I was constantly proud to have her by my side. I really love her and her family, and I think our relationship shows when we are together. Sadly, she had to go back to Kocani on Thursday, and I had to finish the training. By Friday, I was already tired and wanting to go home, but I couldnt. Instead, I had to get on a 3-hour bus ride to Skopje, because the National Spelling Bee was the next morning at 8am.

The "Bee" was great!! I was part of the committee, so I was there from 8am-6:30pm doing every job there was. We had over 900 children qualify, so we held a bunch of "mini bees," and then we held the final ones. I had 5 kids from Kocani compete, and all of them did a FANTASTIC job!! Even though they didn't win, I could not have been more proud. : ) After the Bee, I had to get on another 3-hour bus ride back to Kocani. In the 15 minutes I had to walk home with Lilika, I felt the exhaustion kicking in, and I just wanted to shut my eyes for days....but right now, I dont have that luxury, haha!!

This week is going to be packed, again. We've got an Easter show on Thursday, and my dance crew kids, "Local Gods," will be performing their new dance. The dance is seriously amazing...they've all worked so hard on it, and I cant wait to see how the public reacts. On Saturday and Sunday, I'm riding down to Greece with Bill and two students, so they can take the ACT test. We will hopefully enjoy a nice meal Saturday night in celebration of the Macedonian Easter, and then ride back home on Sunday. By the time I get back, I will need to begin packing my things, because on Wednesday I will MOVE INTO MY NEW APARTMENT!!

I'm a "hot mess" right now, but life is still really good..ya know?? I'm really happy....I'm really tired, but life is GOOD. I wish all the best to my family and friends back home on this Easter Sunday, and I'm looking forward to some new emails. : )

I am SO TIRED.

This week has really flown by. I have been sick and busy all at once. I came down with a nasty cold, and I thought I even had strep, but I have become better after eating lots of soup and drinking lots of tea. One thing I have NOT gotten is rest. Lele...

Well, I got SPA grant application got approved (YAY!!!!!), but there were some needed amendments that were suggested in order for the grant to be final. I was given 2 weeks to make these adjustments, re-write the grant, and get some new forms signed. I began working on this immediately, however, after trying to open the files on a computer at school, ALL of my files became CORRUPT. ughhhh, so I spent hours re-writing everything. It was so exhausting. Currently, I'm not officially done with the revision of the grant, but I think I'm close. I hope to have it all final by Monday.

Emilija allowed me to take a break from English classes during the first half of the week, but I still found myself running around and staying busy with the grant. I also opened the dance studio so my dancers could still practice, even though I was not well enough to join them. Yesterday, my Director came to me with some excellent news: He found a new apartment for me.

HELL YEA!! New home?! I was so excited, so we agreed to check the place out together last night. The place is fantastic. It's perfect for me. It is the top floor of a beautiful house. I met the woman who lives downstairs, and she is an adorable little lady. She is the perfect person you would want as a landlord....the kind you can join for dinner or ask to borrow sugar from...we got along great. She showed me the upstairs, and immediately I was in love. THERE WAS ROOM. It has three rooms total, complete with two little balconies. There is wireless internet and TV. The kitchen is about the same as what I have now...still have the toaster over and hot plates. The bathroom, however, is a total upgrade!! It's got nice tiles and a washing machine. : ) The house itself is located the same walking distance away from school. It is located right across from the bus station, which is also right beside the two big grocery stores and a little veggie vendor area. It is a nice and quiet neighborhood. I love it.

I should find out tomorrow if Im officially approved for the apartment. Right now, it seems like it is going to work out. The landlady even said I could move in as early as April 18th!! Oh man.....no more walking up 89 steps every day. No more one room with no closets. No more MEAN landlord who never fixes a damn thing. No more of any of that.....I really want this new place.

In other news, I'm battling insomnia....quite literally. I cannot sleep. I dont know why. Even sleeping pills arent helping me. I hope it goes away, b/c starting this weekend, I will be GONE. I'll be out of town all weekend.....out of town all next week. Out of town for half the weekend....back in town for the following week, but then out of town AGAIN the next weekend (going to Greece!!!!!!), and then by the time I am back, I will have 2 days to pack and move!! Two weeks later, my momma will be coming to visit!! :D I still wish my sister could come...I really miss her, but she simply cant afford it. Ill be really sad when Im showing off my momma, but my sister isnt with me too. I hope she will find the money and time to make it later in the summer.

Ok...that's all for now. Wish me luck on the grant...and on the new apartment...and on all my traveling coming up. I may not update again for a while, but Im still reading all my emails from you all.

xoxo

Things are going great

The Patron's Day show was a huge success!! All of the dancers rehearsed their butts off the two days before the show, and it surely paid off!! I only have two of the dances uploaded online, and you can watch them here. The first video is the dance I was in.....originally, I wasnt supposed to be in the dance, but the other boy dropped out, so I took his place. It turned out just fine : )

and here is my largest group's dance:

The sense of pride I felt for all of my dancers made me feel like a mother....I can't explain the feeling.....just seeing them smile and feel so good about their dances made the last 7 months I've spent here all worth it!! My Director also gave me a big shout-out at the beginning of the show, giving me a lot of praise....it was awesome!! At the end of the show, they announced their thanks to all of the teachers, one by one. I was the last person to get announced, and the round of applause was remarkable. I felt 100% fulfilled, proud, and overall heightened. All of the teachers gave me big hugs and very nice compliments. My Director was just GLOWING over how well it went....it was a perfect evening.

What made it all even better was having 11 PC volunteers come into town to share in the excitement. Even our PC Director, Stephen, made it into town. I was so excited to share such a great night with everyone!! After the show, we went to eat as a group. Later, a few of us decided to hit up the Irish Pub, b/c there is always a live band that plays on Thursday nights there. But really.....having your colleagues come out and show their support is something really special. I'm so thankful for them!!

The rest of my weekend could not have been better. I spent some good time with Anna, just walking around and shopping. My school got together to further celebrate the Patron's event, and they all flooded me with hugs, kisses, food, and very kind words. I really feel appreciated and like I'm actually part of the team now!! HOW GREAT!! Furthermore, the students are now much warmer towards me. I have become very close with some of my students, and I just LOVE them to death. Walking on the street, I now am always having someone say hello to me, and it really makes me smile from ear to ear. I feel like everyone in the city now knows me.....like they finally know what I do here....and I feel really positive about that. I'm still the weird blonde American, but now I'm the weird blonde American who brought something new to the city. : )

I got to see CJ and Elena this weekend too. We went to a grand re-opening of a bar here...it wasnt really our scene, so we left almost immediately. We ran into Bobi and Ivan, my two dancing guys, and convinced them to join us at the pub instead. Normally, the people who go to the pub are older than 18, but my kids fit in perfectly there. Here, it is totally acceptable for the older students to drink in bars. This concept took me forever to understand and accept, and now Im thankful to have them around on a weekend night. They dont abuse liquor like most American teenagers...a lot of them dont even drink in the bars!Anyways!! We danced, sang, and had a great time. The night ended with a hip-hop dance party in my apartment!! We all sat out on my porch, b/c the weather was perfect for it. I showed them photos of my friends and family from back home, and we plotted big plans for the "dance crew" we are forming. I went to bed feeling so lucky to have such great people here.

Today, things seemed to finally slow down a bit. I got my laundry done and the weather has finally allowed me to hang it all up outside : ) I had an AMAZING lunch at Emilija's house with her family, and we were able to watch the entire Patron's Day show, b/c she bought the DVD of it. We were both so happy with how things worked out, so we spent the entire time bragging, haha!!

The only bad news is I think I'm getting sick. My throat started hurting real bad today, and my body feels dead. I made myself some tea and soup, but I know one of the volunteers from this week had strep throat, so I hope I didnt pick it up. I'm going to try and take it easier this week, and hopefully I can shake off whatever illness is brewing inside of me. I have one last thing to leave you all with, and that is a beautiful photo that Lilika shot of me. (yes, I have bangs now) ајде!!!!

One of my dancing guys, Ivan, drew me a picture as a thank-you gift for all the dancing. Check it out:Isnt that FANTASTIC?!?!?!?! I've never received anything like it. The gift simply made my day...I couldn't express how happy and thankful I was....it was just so nice of him.

Dance practice is going really well. I will have 4 dances in the big show, which is in TWO DAYS. Two of the dances are ones we do in Zumba class, and the girls seem to have those down really well. The third dance is a dubstep type of dance, which involved some hip-hop moves and the girls actually change formations a couple of times. The formations have been the most difficult thing to teach them so far, but they are catching on really fast!! The last dance is the big hip-hop dance. This is where I have my two breakdancing guys dancing with Stefani and myself. Originally, I wasnt in this dance, but the other kid who was dancing dropped out, which left me to take his place. It has worked out just fine, because I think the dance looks AWESOME!! I am really excited for all of the dances.

There's already been a lot of talk about what we will do after Patron's Day. Right now, I think we have a "dance crew," which will include the breakdancing guys, and about 4 or 5 girls. I really want to get more guys to dance, but Im having trouble finding ones that are interested. Hopefully, after everyone sees the show on Thursday, a lot more interest will be sparked. Even if we dont find more dancers, I am TOTALLY satisfied with the dancers I have....the possibilities are endless.

In other news, my mom is booking her plane ticket to come see me!! I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!! She should be arriving around May 7th, and she should be staying about one week. I have not seen my mom since the beginning of September....by the time she gets here, it will have been 8 months!! I can't wait to bring her to school to meet Emilija, the Director, my students, and all of my dancers!! She will be like a celebrity, hahaha. I also plan on bringing her to see my host family in Lozovo. It's going to be a great time....just the thought of seeing her makes me happy.

This is about to be an awesome post.....

First and foremost, here is a new video:

This video covers a little bit of everything, really. You'll see my home, covered in snow-meals I eat- packages I open- my dance studio- my photography kids' photos on display- and my dancers performing at Kango's show.

The show on Friday was fantastic!! I could not have been more proud of my dancers....THEY DID EXCELLENT!!!!! The show was a great success, and for the rest of the night, all of the musicians were giving shout-outs to the dancers, and even asking them to come dance some more. My girls took advantage of every opportunity to dance, and they even managed to get some photos with some celebrities. Here are some photos from the night:Here are some of the photography kids' photos. They were paid for by the school, but already people are expressing interest in buying some of the prints!! Hopefully now, the kids can start pricing their photos : )

Left to right: Bobi (dancer), Emilija (counterpart), me, Stefani (dancer), Lilika (you all know Lilika)I love this people. They keep me happy on a daily basis....I dont know what I'd do without them. <3

Emilija and Me : )

Me and some of my dancers!!

Left to right: Kango, Next Time (band) singer, Kango's daughter, Next Time (band) guitarist, Kango's daughter

Me and the guys from the band. They were awesome and sang a song from Nashville, which they dedicated to their "new friend." :D

In other news, Arnaud (French friend, which you'll see in the video) and I have been hanging out a lot more lately. We've been whipping up some killer meals, playing tennis, and sitting on my mini balcony, because the weather is finally hitting 50F!! I've also spent nearly ever single day in the dance studio with the dancers.....we have to get everything together before Thursday's big show!! I'm so excited for it!! I've got 8 volunteers coming into town for the event, and I think it'll just be great.

That's all I've got for now. I've very proud of my recent accomplishments, but even more proud of all my students who have worked so hard. My students are becoming like family to me....I simply adore them!!

Again....another great day.

I dont want to make these posts run together and sound like all Im doing is bragging, but Im seriously having a great ride, as of lately. Today, I started my day working with some of my dancing kids at school. I met up with the Director and his Turkish friend prior to them going to the airport, and to my surprise, I was handed a big bag full of goodies!! The Turkish guy gave me a lot of pistachios and a huge box of pistachio baklava!! IT WAS AWESOME!! I shared my goodies with some of the ladies who were hanging around the office, before going back downstairs to work, but boy was that a nice surprise!!

Later, I worked with my breakdancing boys, and Stefani, the girl who is doing one of my hip-hop dances. The other kid, who is usually her partner, failed to show up to practice again, so Im debating on taking him out of the dance. Right now, the 3 of them look AWESOME. I may or may not decide to stand in for Bojan (the kid that's missing), or I may have one of the other dancers stand in for his parts. Doesnt matter really, because what's important is how good they looked today!! They looked great doing the dance together, and it really made me feel like things were pulling together like they should.

After work, I headed to the post office to pick up two packages. One was from my momma, and it was loaded with goodies!! I Skyped her, so she could watch me open everything, which made me very happy. The second box was from the wonderful men and women of Willowbrook, and again, that box was loaded with goodies!! I am now stocked with cookie mixes, seasonings, soup mixes, new socks, a new hat, fancy marshmallows, and some good 'ol American chocolate. I couldnt be happier. I ended up making some pasta with one of the seasoning packets, and then got comfortable in bed for an afternoon rest.

Suddenly, Arnaud (French friend) rang me and asked if I wanted to meet him in the center for a quick beer. Well, it was still the middle of the day, so I figured why not?! It was nice and sunny out (although still cold), but we managed to sit outside for the fresh air. We ended up running into Bill (the other volunteer in Kocani), and we managed to convince him to join us. What turned into a quick drink, led us to drinking rakija, accompanied with some fresh cucumber/tomato/cheese salads and kebabs. I really love being able to have the luxury of sitting outside with friends in the middle of the day....just because. We had some great conversations, and while walking home I just felt so good about where I was. Im lucky to have people like Arnaud and Bill close to me. Even Elena and CJ have become closer friends, and I find them venturing into my city more often. All together, I no longer feel like I have nothing here.....it's quite the opposite really.

I cant believe tomorrow is already Wednesday!! Ive been running around so busy like, I've found time to be moving much quicker. Patron's Day is now just a week away, and I think things will definitely slow down afterwards, but I'm excited for new horizons and opportunities that will follow....especially work-wise. I suppose the next time you hear from me, I will be telling you how my dancers did at the show on Friday. Till then, keep the emails coming. I love and miss you all : )

You remember those cookies I said I'd made?? Well I only have 4 left!! Haha, I've been enjoying sharing them with everyone...I simply need to make more!!

The past 24 hours have been a blast. Last night, I ate home-made gnocchi and drank sparkling wine with Arnaud, my French friend. We even prepared some fresh tomatoes with mozzarella, which I havent had since America. It's funny too, because in America, I hated tomatoes. The tomatoes here (especially the ones from the warmer weather) taste so much better!! Anyways, we hung out chatting for hours on end, until I finally forced myself to walk home and pass out with a full belly.

This morning, I worked with my breakdancing guys some, and then I later had my Zumba class. A couple of songs into the workout, I had some guy with a huge afro walk in. He approached me and explained how he is the "Jimi Hendrix of Macedonia." Apparently, he's like a Macedonian legend in the music world, and all the girls said he was well-known and popular. Well anyways, he asked if my Zumba girls would be willing to perform at his show on Friday night....I asked the girls to raise their hands if interested, and more than half the class raised their hands. So I guess my ladies will be dancing for the show!! His name is Kango:

Apparently, there are a lot of famous people going to this show, and the thing will last from 8pm-2am. I asked Emilija if she was going to go with me, b/c he handed me a VIP pass, but her son will be in Skopje for bronchitis, so I dont know if she will be around to go with me. Either way, I'm flattered that he asked my girls to dance, and I'm even more proud that they have the confidence to agree to dance!! I can't wait to watch them on stage...I'll be like a proud momma!!

After class, I decided to go upstairs and visit with the Director and his Turkish friend he's had in town. The Turkish guy is a big Salsa dancer and I think a world champion. He runs a dance school in Turkey, and we have been talking about bringing some of his dancers over for workshops and stuff. We've also discussed making a trip to Turkey to visit his school and get some workshops for ourselves, which I'm really excited about!! We ended up Salsa dancing in the office, followed by coffee, and more discussions over future plans for the dance studio. The vice Director even gave me the nicest compliment today. When I apologized for how I was dressed (b/c I'd just gotten done with the dance class), he said not to worry and that I always looked nice, no matter what I was wearing. I laughed and said, "no no you are lying." He said that I always come in with a smile on and I'm always very positive. He then gave me a high-five handshake, and that compliment just made me feel fantastic!!

The last great thing that happened to me today, was I received a letter in the mail from one of my students. The letter was so sweet, it just made me glow. I showed my mom on Skype, when I got home, and she actually got a little teary-eyed over it. It was really sweet, and it is something I'll keep with me. : )

Well, that's all I've got. I'm exhausted, and my ankle is hurting me from jumping around too much. I plan on doing nothing but resting and eating in bed all night. : ) Night!!

First off, I want to let everyone know I just made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. Thanks to my momma sending me some Trader Joe's chocolate chips, I was able to construct some "super chewy" ones, thanks to an online recipe. Hot damn...these cookies are GOOD!!

Friday, I was at school for the majority of the day, working with some of the kids who will be performing in our big event. I made a short video based off their tricks, because I had too much fun watching them!!

I had a really good weekend. Friday was an easy night for me. I stayed in and rested, because I really felt like I needed it. I'd been running around all last week trying to get everything done, and all I wanted was a night alone to celebrate the completion of that damn grant. : ) Saturday was spent at school ALL DAY. I had a lot to do, and thankfully I have a Director who is cool enough to unlock the doors for me over a weekend. :D I taught a group of Zumba girls the opening dance for our Patron's Day event. They did an EXCELLENT job!! I was so proud of them. They learned the entire dance in an hour and a half. That night, I bought some fresh veggies. (FINALLY, veggies are coming back to life here!!) I made quite an epic dinner with some lovely company, watched a movie, and called it a night.

This week is going to be crazy busy, and next week is going to be worse. I need to get the show together....we still don't have enough acts, but that is hardly my responsibility, even though I feel like it is. I also switch back to first shift at school this week, so Ill be waking up at 6am again. : ( Finally, I will be practicing almost every day with all the dancers, AND I'll be beginning the adult night class this week. The constant exercise is doing wonders for my mental health, and spending more time with the girls keeps me happy as well. Again...still very happy right now.

Alright...that's all I've got!! More dinner tonight with more good company. Now if only the weather would get warm and sunny...

Can I just say I'm the happiest I've ever been while living in Macedonia-

Things are going so well. I'm truly SO happy right now with everything I have going on. I'm so busy with work, but it all feels so rewarding. Just this week, I finished writing the grant for the dance studio. Having completed that (and mailing it in tomo) is just such an accomplishment. On the same note, dance classes are still going really well. I have so much fun dancing with my ladies!! All of my girls are doing so well. Some of them have picked up a lot of the basic moves, so when we do new songs, they have no problem!! It's also brining me a lot closer to some of the girls, which is a blessing, because I love them all. To be completely honest, those classes are now my favorite part about every week.

The big Patron's Day event is coming up on March 22nd. Initially, I was in charge of just doing the dancing bits, and then helping Emilija get the English speeches and stage design set up....now, however, none of the other teachers have been doing anything to help. Therefore, Emilija and I are kind of up a creek in that we need to pull up the slack and get more talent in there!! Ive been working with two great kids on making a hip-hop piece, and just today, we had another awesome kid decide to join the dance with his awesome breakdancing skills. I also have a group of girls Im going to work with on Saturday for the Intro dance to the show. It's all based off Zumba moves, and I think the girls would be really good!!

I made a new friend this week!! Actually, I made a couple, but one in particular really stood out, and I think we might become really close. I had the most amazing little day adventure and ended the night with another local friend eating endless amounts of good food, drinking good wine, and just enjoying everyone's company. I love that Im beginning to have local friends. It makes me feel like I really have a home here....ya know?? I'm already beginning to have weekly traditions come about, like new Sunday dinners and weekly tennis matches, once the weather gets warm again!! I'm also spending a lot more time with someone who is becoming like a sister to me, and she knows very well who she is. : D

Lately, every talk with my mother has been about all the good things that are happening and how completely fulfilled I feel right now. At the end of each week, Im thankful to have the time to rest, but Im thrilled about everything new in the upcoming week. I know that things may die down after a month or two (even thought I hope they dont), but it's remembering weeks like these that will inevitably remind me why I'm here. Right now, I feel like my possibilities are endless.

That's right...I now own a pet. I bought a fish on Thursday, and I decided to name him Sunshine. I call everyone I like Sunshine....it's my favorite nickname...so why not name my new goldfish that?! Here he is:

He sleeps beside my bed. : )

I had an awesome weekend. I went out a lot and saw a bunch of people. I can officially say I'm quite happy right now. Tomorrow starts a new week, and I'm already excited for the dance classes, the somewhat warmer weather, and finally finishing my SPA grant application.

On a side note, a friend posted a link to a volunteer's blog from Ethiopia, and after reading it, I thought how I could completely relate to everything this volunteer had to say. Even though this person lives in a world much different than mine, it still seriously hit the nail on the head, and I encourage all of you to take out a hot minute and read it....I couldnt explain PC life better myself:Click to read

Ok...that's all I have. I hope you all are doing well. Send me emails, ya'll!!

Hey everyone, so guess who has water again?! THIS GIRL!! But let me just say....it wasnt easy.

People from the city had to actually come out to my apartment yesterday afternoon to fix the problem. Three men who spoke no English at all stood in my apartment, checking me out, looking at my stuff, and then talking about me in Macedonian, thinking I couldnt understand them. I decided to suck it up, because they were slowly fixing the water issue one step at a time. Sink- FIXED. Shower- FIXED. Washing machine- FIXED. Oh, but the toilet....nope, still not working. It required them to take apart some of the piping in the wall. I had some legit construction going on in there. Finally, they called me into the bathroom to show me part of the pipe they'd cut out. It had a solid chunk of black/brown matter stuck in it. Whatever it was had completely solidified, hence why I was getting no water.

As we are standing there assessing the problem, I realized the pipe sticking out of the wall was completely exposed and open. Suddenly, we were hit with a jet of water, much like what I'd imagine a fire hose would feel like, if struck by one. The force of the water slammed us into the walls and the door of my bathroom. Black and brown water flooded my bathroom and my hallway. The walls, floor, and quite frankly every single surface in the bathroom and the hallway was soaked in this black/brown gunky water. Unbelievable.

Here, you can see some of the aftermath. The photo simply doesnt do it justice. Once they fixed the problem, the maintenance men left. My landlord (who showed up after the flooding) decided the mess was simply not his problem to deal with, so I called Peace Corps. On the phone, my landlord explained to Manuela that the mess really "wasn't that bad." He kept saying it was nothing....really, like it wasnt a big deal at all. I was so livid, I grabbed the phone and demanded help. Manuela agreed to let me take out a small bit of cash out of my upcoming rent to pay for the cleaning supplies (ie. mop, chemicals, etc.) When I told the landlord this, he was pissed. He threw an utter fit and started trying to half-ass clean up the mess. The photo above is after his attempt of cleaning. The photo from above is what he thought was a job well-done. In fact, when I tried to take photos, he would try to stand in front of my camera, while shoveling chucks of black matter UNDER MY WASHING MACHINE, like it was just going to disappear down there. Eventually, he agreed to leave, and I ended up spending 2-3 hours cleaning up my bathroom.

This morning, I woke up feeling really good about how clean my bathroom ended up becoming. I went to work, ready for the kids to participate in the National Spelling Bee qualifiers. Basically, in order for a kid to pass a qualifier, they must spell 10 English words correctly. So in each class, I had kids come up, one at a time, and try it out. The word list for the high school students is actually kind of tough!! I had SEVERAL kids who made it to their 8th or 9th word and then make a very small mistake and lose it all. I felt horrible for the kids who made it so close...I want to take them all with me to the Bee!! By the end of the day, I had two students successfully complete the challenge. I am hoping I will have more kids participate on Friday from different classes, although I'm not sure yet. I'm proud of all my students. I seriously had a lot of fun with all of them today!! Here are a few photos from the day : )

I personally like how it says "toilet business" on the board, even though that was not intentional. I also did not make this discovery until I uploaded the photos, and boy did I have a good giggle!! Anyways, this kid is one of the two who will be going to the National Spelling Bee to compete.

I think this is a great shot. Emilija took all the photos, and we are putting them on the Spelling Bee's site.

I like this one, because clearly something has made me laugh very hard.

Just a shot of one of my classes. This gives you an idea of what my classrooms look like.

One of my favorite classes. I just love them!!

Another class I adore!! The girl sitting beside me is the other student who will be competing.

Anywho, it was a really good day!! I also found time to visit with my Director for a hot minute this morning. I begged him to help me find a new place to live. Seeing as how we dont have the classified ads in papers here, nor do we have CraigsList, the only chance I have of finding a new home is through word of mouth. He's promised to do everything he can to help me, so let's keep our fingers crossed!! There's also been a lot of talk around school about the dance classes. The class from Monday apparently has been quite the topic of conversation, and a lot of girls have already inquired about when the next class will be held. Tomorrow starts the first dance class with the other shift of students, and Im feeling confident this class will be just as great as the first one!! Starting next week, I will also provide a night class for the teachers, as most of them are very interested. : D

Alright...that's all I've got for now. I'm hoping tomorrow will bring warmer temperatures, because today only brought more snow, and I'm really getting tired of the winter. I know all you guys in America are just living it up in your short-sleeve shirts, so you just hush! ; ) Ciao!!

I had my first dance lesson yesterday, and it was AWESOME!!

I was seriously a bit nervous about how the class would turn out, but the second Emilija showed up in her workout clothes, I already felt a lot better!! She was super excited, and a lot of girls began to show up even 20 minutes early. We ended up beginning the class 5 minutes early, because I already had a huge crowd of ladies!! I was so pleased that I had such a good turn out....honestly, I wasnt sure how many would show up, but we had so many people we filled the room to the max!! I'm afraid some girls couldnt even participate, because there wasnt enough room.

I began the class with a simple warm-up. I even used the warm-up song we danced to in America, so I followed the same basic moves to get them stretched and ready to dance. I explained to them that all they had to do was follow me, and if they got confused on a step they just need to improvise. By the end of the first real dance song, I had a round of applause. I felt it was important to encourage the applause after every dance, in order to make everyone feel even better about their workout. The girls seriously kicked ass!! I was SO PROUD of everyone!! They all worked so hard, and they all kept up. After the first few songs, I asked if anyone needed a break, and they all shouted "NO!!" I gave them one after the next two though. :D

By the time we were taking our break, I observed how everyone was feeling. Everyone was talking about how good of a time they were having, and we had even managed to form a crowd of watchers who were simply curious. They'd never seen anything like it!! I even had one of the teachers downstairs with us for a majority of the class. What made me feel even better, was having everyone be so supportive of each other. Some of the girls giggled at some of the moves, but not in a negative way. They were having fun!! And sometimes, I noticed some girls having a hard time picking up a step, but they did what I said, and they improvised. Again, I cant tell you how proud and happy this made me.

By the end of the class, I turned on an Adele song that's really popular here. I cooled it down with some ballet, and then lead the last round of applause before thanking the ladies for joining me and doing so well. Emilija and Lilika came up to me with big smiles on their faces, and Emilija still wanted to dance more, haha. Everyone's faces were so red, we all looked like we had sunburns. I couldnt have been more pleased, and I dont think it could have been more successful. HOT DAMN!! :D

Today, I have a private lesson with some of the seniors for the Patron's Day event. I choreographed an awesome hip-hop piece that I'll begin teaching today. The girl I will be teaching came to class yesterday, so I know she will do a great job. Thursday will be the second day of Zumba classes, and that will be for the other shift of kids...so all new girls. I hope it goes as well as the first class. Then that night, I will be leading yet ANOTHER class, but this one will be for adults. Although having 3 Zumba classes a week, on top of having the 2 private classes a week, on top of teaching with Emilija, on top of running the Model UN, and on top of running the photo club is quite the load to handle, but it's making me feel excellent about my contribution to the school and the community. I already feel like I've achieved so much, and I can't say how proud I am.

Not to end things on a sour note or anything, but I STILL dont have any water at home. I'm getting really fed up with my apartment and my landlord. He acts like I'm stupid, and then he refuses to actually fix a damn thing. I am hoping today will fix everything, because it would be nice to flush my toilet, wash my clothes, or take a shower at home, rather then going to everyone else's house. So please, if you get bored today, take out a hot minute to send some positive thoughts my way, in the form of WATER. :D

Cheers!!

Here's a video including events from the last couple of months....nothing too exciting, but you will see some of the people I am close with in it, as well as the Epiphany ceremony. If the sound doesnt work, I apologize : (

In other news, I had quite the eventful weekend. I feel like I say that in every single post...maybe I do, who knows...but I really did have a packed weekend!! Prior in the week, I was helping with the final touches with the dance studio. I'd been running around like a crazy woman, so I was looking forward to the weekend. I knew, however, that my weekend would not exactly be relaxing.

Friday, Sara rode into Kocani. We both had to catch the 6am bus into Skopje on Saturday, so we decided to go out to eat for a bit, watch a movie at home, and try to go to bed early. Unfortunately for us both, we were COMPLETELY unable to sleep. It was awful!! We both fell asleep sometime after 1am, and then we had to get up at 4:45am to get ready and catch the bus in time. By the time we got into Skopje, I was so tired!! 6 hours of sitting in meetings just about killed me, but I enjoyed working with the other volunteers. We were there to organize stuff for the Spelling Bee, and we ended up getting a lot done!! We got done by 4pm, and I rushed to catch the 4:30 bus back to Kocani. As soon as I got in, I hoped in a car with Emilija and her family. We were hoping to catch the end of the carnival in the city of Strumica.

Every year, this city celebrates this carnival, and it is a mixture of Halloween and Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, we missed the parades, but we were able to walk around the city for a while and observe everyone's costumes. Later, we visited with some of their friends, who were all dressed up like snakes. It was wild!! By midnight, Emilija and I were sleeping in the car as her husband ran around frantically trying to find one of their kids at a disco. By 1am, we were all sleeping in the car during the hour and a half ride home. At one point, I woke up to Emilija's daughter sleeping on me and Emilija sleeping on the other side of the car. We were all SO TIRED. Boy, it felt good when I got home that night!!

Sunday was a good day. I went over to Emilija's first thing in the morning. I havent had any water since Thursday (I know, it SUCKS), so she offered for me to take a shower at her house. Later, we ate some good food, sat around watching TV, talked about upcoming projects, etc. Suddenly, I got a call from my French friend, Arnaud (the one who has a Macedonian gf), and he was inviting me to come make tacos with them!! He's been asking me to make him tacos, since I always have his gf pick me up tortillas from her city, so I gladly accepted.

We ended up having 5 people joining in on the feast!! It was a blast!! We all sampled a couple of different good wines with our dinner, which was such a good way to relax. I showed them how to properly prepare the meat, salsa, and tacos. They LOVED the food!! We all ate so much food, it was just a perfect meal!! It's always wildly entertaining when I get together with him and his friends, because there are always 3 languages being spoken. We have English, Macedonian, and French going on, which I always find to be so funny. We always manage to communicate in some way or another, and I love them for that. Arnaud also has the best friends...I really enjoy the company he brings around. By the end of the night, we were enjoying some type of traditional drink from France made out of prunes and listening to Johnny Cash. Such a cultural experience, haha!!

Tomorrow starts the beginning of yet another busy week. I dont know how I will survive this week, but Im hoping that being busy will keep me sane, in a way. Tomorrow starts the beginning of my dance classes. Im actually really very nervous. Then on Tuesday, I have some private lessons for a hip-hop dance I've choreographed for our Patron's Day even coming up. Tuesday and Wednesday are also all-day classes for me. Thursday is more dance classes, along with more photo club. Then, this weekend, I may be going out of town yet again...we shall see.

Im feeling pretty good about things. Overall, Im always a little stressed, but in general I feel really good. Im hoping these dance classes will open up a door for me here and that the kids will enjoy and appreciate the classes as much as I will. I also plan on hopefully looking into finding a new apartment this week (shh!) : ) Alright....I need sleep. Sleep tight everyone!!

Below, you will find a video that is LONG overdue. I blame the delay on my lack of decent internet, up until today. To preface....Sara and Anna came into town the weekend after my friend at home passed away. Here, we discovered what happens when you want to wash you clothes, as well as an unexpected twist in the end. I hope you'll enjoy. :D

Man....I had an awful day yesterday. It all started with the weather.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE. You might be wondering why that upset me. I guess after living in the coldest winter known to man, waking up to 40 degree weather hit me like a brick. I instantly felt excited about being able to go outside. I thought "What do I want to do with my Sunday?" A list of things I can only do in America came to mind, making me instantly hysterical with homesickness. This is how my list began:

-Go to the dog park with Turtle

-Sit on the porch with my sister and the pups

-Invite friends over for "Sunday dinner" with Lauren

-Go to the farmer's market, and buy fresh veggies

-Get coffee with Aaron at Same and Zoe's

-Drive out and spend the day with my mom

-Play volleyball with Amanda, followed by Mexican food

-Drive somewhere, just to drive somewhere

-Etc, etc, etc...

So I cried. A lot. I havent had internet all week, but my phone occasionally picks up wireless, so I was able to get enough of a connection to call my sister at 6am her time. I told her about my frustrations for about a half an hour. Suddenly, Emilija called. She sounded so happy!! I killed her mood by crying to her as well. Thankfully, her mom instincts kicked in, and she was at my apartment within 10 minutes to rescue me.

It's really difficult for me to put my pride aside and admit when Im having a hard time. I also hesitate on telling people here, because Im afraid people will just think "OH, she's going to go home." The term "ET" here stands for "early termination." It is probably the most talked about subject among Peace Corps volunteers. People make bets on who will be the first or the next to go, and I hate feeling like I'm going to end up on someone's list one day. I don't even know why I care, but it adds to my refusal of wanting to talk to anyone about being homesick.

The thing is, I feel like I'm far more attached to my family back home than some people can understand. Some volunteers here are more independent from their families. Although I view myself as someone who is independent and strong, I have no shame admitting that I am deeply connected to my family and friends in America. Before coming here, I always spoke with my mom AT LEAST once a day. I saw her, my sister, and my grandmother frequently. My aunts and cousins also join in about once or twice a week for family dinners somewhere nice....not to mention, every holiday was another excuse for us to all get together over some good food and wine. I had a solid group of friends whom I saw regularly. My dog is the love of my life, and I planned everything in my life around spending time with her. I can't help but feel like I am missing out on so much by being here....like everything at home is changing drastically, and I'm missing all of it.

The thing is, I know I'm missing out on a lot. I know nothing will be the same when I get back. I also know I'm experiencing a lot by being here. I'm in love with my city, my counterpart, my school, and a select few individuals who have invested time in getting to know and support me. Some days, like yesterday, are far too overwhelming for me though. I often fight the urge to call my family, look at photos, of think about everything I miss. Then, some days, I cave.

When you are going through PC training, the admin people will often ask you how you will deal with being stressed, homesick, or depressed. Naturally, I answered honestly:

-I'll cook.

-I'll paint.

-I'll exercise.

-I'll find a new hobby.

What a volunteer is not aware of is the lack of resources for those activities. For instance, it's taken 5 months for me to find acrylic paint here. I just bought it last week while I was in Skopje. Yesterday, my first thought was to paint, however, I had no surface to paint on. Canvases don't exactly exist here, which leaves me with cardboard boxes or regular paper....not exactly fulfilling. So I decided to cook, which again provides a lack of resources. Although I must give myself credit for finding ways to cook a good meal here, on my bad days, I often want something familiar....like a casserole, yet they do not sell the required ingredients here. I cant even get fresh produce right now, other than apples, because of the winter. Even the cabbage here is turning brown. I then turn to exercising, which by the time I think about it, I cant even motivate myself. In America, I made myself go to the gym, but I dont have that option here. So instead, I find myself turning on a movie, which is exactly what PC told us not to do.

I know that the warmer days will be good for me. I know being outside is what I need. The dance studio should be final this week, which will provide the exercise I need. I also need to really get back into my other projects, like the animal facility. I know I'll have my bad days, and I know I'll have my good days. The purpose of this post is to vent without worrying what people will say, even if I end up on someone's ET list. I think it's important to be honest with yourself, especially through writing. Already, I feel MUCH better today.

Hi everyone!! Ok, so this week was EVENTFUL. As some of you have seen, I've been dealing with a medical problem lately:

Basically, what you see above was happening to my feet ALL THE TIME. My feet would change, and they would get extremely painful. This transformation was beginning to last longer each time as well, sometimes up to 4 hours. So I finally contacted the PC medical office. They decided to set me up to see a specialist, so on Tuesday, I caught a ride into Skopje.

Well my appointment wasn't until 4, so I spent the first part of my day mingling in the office. I was able to catch up with the PC Director, Stephen, as well as my program manager, the IT guy, and a few others around the office. By 3:30, we were on our way. I was actually excited to meet this specialist. Especially because I just wanted to know what I was dealing with!! Unfortunately for me, they decided further testing needed to be done, which was going to require me to stay in Skopje UNTIL THURSDAY. Goodness, I wasn't planned for that!! From there, I got dropped off the in the center and had to spend the rest of the evening finding things like a toothbrush, toothpaste, new socks, new undies, and a little bit of makeup. I was completely unprepared to stay in Skopje for three days....hell, I didn't bring anything with me!!

That night, I indulged on eating McDonalds in the mall. It's the only opportunity I have to eat it, and even though I never ate fast food in America, the thought of eating a double cheeseburger was just what I needed to end my day. Peace Corps did set me up in a hotel that was quite a ways out, so I hoped in a cab and went to bed early. Tuesday, I immediately went into the PC office for my blood work. They diagnosed me with having Raynauds, but they werent sure if it was connected to some underlying condition, hence the blood work. I spent the rest of the day shopping way too much in the center. I even ran into my neighbors from Kocani while shopping!! So funny!!

A couple of great things did come out of my trip in Skopje. After shopping, I met up with a volunteer who recently ended her 2-years here, but has decided to stay in Macedonia. Her name is Tracy, she's an artist, and she's awesome. She was going to a spa, so I figured why the hell not?! I got a massage, and boy it was the best thing ever. Later, I met up with my old Macedonian language teacher for some rakija and beer. We caught up for a couple of hours in this awesome little Macedonian restaurant. I really missed him!! In Lozovo, he acted like my big brother, especially on my bad days where I needed to vent away from the other volunteers. We've definitely kept in touch since I moved to Kocani, but getting to spend time with him one on one was priceless. We had a blast!! That night, I met up with Milevka's (host mom) niece for pizza. Her and her family were so excited I was in town, and they welcomed me into their home like I was part of the family. Suddenly, we all realized it was 11pm, and there was absolutely no way for me to make it back to my hotel without paying A LOT of money. So they offered up a spare bed for me....oh, and their cat slept with me, which seriously made me SOOOOOOO happy to have a pet snuggled up against me. God, I miss Turtle so much at night. Having that cat with me made me feel like I was close to home.

The next day, I had to sit on a bus for over a half an hour in order to make it back to the hotel. It was so damn cold, and we were still getting snow. I decided to rest for a couple of hours before meeting back up with Tracy at her new apartment in Skopje. Tracy seriously knows some kick-ass places in Skopje. For instance, she took me to a place where I could buy PAINT!! Real acrylic paint!!!! Although it was extremely expensive, I indulged yet again and bought 7 tubes. Next door, she took me to this cute little tea place, where I bought some homemade tea with vanilla and strawberries in it. Spending time with Tracy was a real treat. We talked a lot about art and what to do with the limited resources in Macedonia. We also talked a lot about projects she'd done, which really help get my wheels moving for future community projects of my own. Hopefully, I'll be able to collaborate with her more on a creative level when we both get more time and the weather gets better!!

That afternoon, I went back to the specialist for my final tests. Thankfully, my blood work all came back looking good. They did some tests to observe the tiny veins in my fingers under a microscope and some other things. They said they were quite sure it was only Raynauds, and nothing more. I was told I'd need to be on medicine, three times a day to help relax and expand my blood vessels and also to help get more oxygen into them. In the meantime, I was going to have to do everything in my power to stay as warm as possible. They simple dont want my bones and organs getting affected by the Raynauds. So from there, PC had to send off all the results to the office in DC, where they will most likely just agree with the prognosis, and I'll just have to take the medicine until around summertime. It sucks, because I dont take any medication on a regular basis, and now I will have to....however, if it means my condition will lessen in its severity and I wont have to worry about my skin dying, them I guess I'm ok with that.

I got home sometime around 9pm last night. I was absolutely dead. I felt tired, cold, hungry, and just emotionless. To my surprise, my lovely little Lilika was waiting for me at the bus stop. She had come to help me walk home. It's things like this that make me just love my life in Kocani. Not only do I ALWAYS feel good when I finally make it home, but I just cant express my gratitude to the people. Everyone at school today was so excited to see me back, which made me again feel as though I truly am becoming part of the community. It was a great way to end such stressful week.

Well...that's that!! I'll be ok, as long as I can stick out this winter for a few more weeks. I can't wait till we get warmer days again. I'll never forget this winter, that's for sure!!

I'm so glad it's Friday...I am looking forward to hibernating and staying warm in my apartment!!

It's snowing...again. It's currently 21F, which isn't that bad. The weather has made me come down with yet another cold. Runny nose, sore throat, cough, and exhaustion is how I'm ending my week. Thankfully, I've got the weekend to rest and catch up on my health. Already this week, I've made A LOT of smoothies, so I plan on continuing that healthy habit. My mom actually sent me a lot of Emergen-C packets, so tossing one into a smoothie is helping me too.

So I thought my exciting week was over, but I was wrong!! I've had quite the busy week. Last night, I had Lilika over. We spent the evening getting her registered to take the ACT test in April. Her and another student, Martin, will be taking the test together there. CJ and I will be accompanying them. Unfortunately for us, the closest center for testing is in Bulgaria....and not only that....it's on the coast of the Black Sea, which is about 11 hours driving distance from us!! леле....That being said, we will look into travel arrangements soon. For now, Im trying to concentrate on helping them both study. I am more than confident for both of them. I have no doubt they can and will both get into a good college in America. Im so excited to help them in this exciting step...I feel like a proud momma!!

Now onto today's news!! Today, I went to classes with another teacher, Lidija. I'm quite fond of her, because we seem very similar. She's my age, and her teaching style is similar to mine too!! Her classes were a kick. I loved them!! The kids asked me lots of fun questions, and we are now setting up a pen-pal system, so the can write back and forth with students at my old school. By the end of the day, I was ready to go home and eat, when suddenly I was summoned to the Vice Principal's office. I thought, maybe it had something to do with the dance studio (which should be done by Tuesday!!)

WELL....I get in there, and to my surprise the news crew was there. The woman standing there explained they wanted to interview me. They wanted to ask about the projects I was involved in and how I was liking the school and city. Delightfully surprised, I agreed to do an interview. Suddenly, I realized I was going to have to do it in Macedonian.

во македонски? (In Macedonian?)

да... (Yes..)

еее....јас зборувам лош македонски. (Umm...I speak bad Macedonian)

но ти разбираш многу. нема проблем!! (But you understand a lot. No problem!!)

I just sighed....got really nervous...starting pacing. The Vice Principal kept telling me I spoke fine and that I'd do well. Suddenly, Emilija opened the office door. WHAT A RELIEF!! Seriously, thank goodness for her showing up. From there, I attempted to do the interview in my poor Macedonian, but it was too bad. Instead, the woman interviewing me had Emilija sit to the side and translate, which allowed me to answer her questions in English. They asked about the projects I was involved in, how I liked my students, what I wanted to accomplish in my two years here, and then they told me it was impressive that I used to dance ballet. I don't know what I would have done without my lovely counterpart, because she definitely translated my responses so well.

Unfortunately, I don't have a television. I told the reporter that, and she was shocked!! Hahaha They agreed to put the segment on a CD and bring it to the school for me. I told them "мајка ми ќе сака да гледа." (My mother will want to see!) They laughed. Later, I went and chatted with some of the admin staff. The secretary brought up AGAIN how interesting it was for me to have a conversation with the Minister of Education. hahahaha, he kept wanting to know what on earth we'd said to each other. It was a great note to end my week on.

Next week should be BUSY. I'm hoping it wont be busier....I've got to be in Skopje on for the first of the week. Then, the school will be getting evaluated. Beginning Thursday, the dance classes are supposed to begin. Im honestly very nervous about beginning classes. What if no one shows up?? What if they show up once, but not again?? What if they dont like the classes?? What if I get a mental block during class?? And most of all, how on earth am I going to choreograph and teach a dance by March 22nd?? It's quite the task to take one, especially with all the other projects at hand, but I am SO excited to have such a unique opportunity. I am constantly thankful for the PC placing me in what is clearly the perfect city for me.

The low today is 5 F. IT'S COLD!!

I have been seriously busy this week. It feels good to be so busy, but I can feel the physical exhaustion kicking in already...Yesterday, I went to my first 4 classes with Emilija. For the rest of my day, I joined Vesna, another English teacher at the school, for her classes. It was interesting to see the different teaching styles, and it was good to meet even more of the students at my school. By the time classes were done, I was really tired...I hadnt had a break or anything to eat, but before running home I figured I'd stop by the Director's office to check on the dance studio stuff.

Before I knew it, I was downstairs with the men who will be installing the mirrors and the ballet bars. It was around 3 or so before I was able to make it home. From there, I was so excited about the progression of the dance space, I ended up going through all my iTunes music for good dance songs. My kids are interested in ballet, Zumba, and hiphop. So excited!!

Last night was a Name Day celebration at Emilija's house. I showed up sometime before 8pm, because I really wanted to help her set up. People didn't start to show up until sometime after 9pm, and only two of them spoke English. There was such a nice couple!! Not many people spoke to me, and I tried my hardest to follow along with them as they all spoke with each other, but it's just overwhelming at times. I dont expect for most people to know how it feels, but it's difficult when you're in a room of people you can't understand. Personally, I'm a VERY outgoing person....if you put me in a room with people, I want to talk to all of them. This personal trait makes things even more frustrating for me, because I WANT to have the luxury of being able to talk to everyone about everything, but I simply cant. It can make a person feel lonely and isolated at times. That being said, can I just say the food I had was simply amazing. The table fit around 15 or so people. We had a variety of meats, salads, cheeses, sweets, fish, and even fried frog legs. The frog legs were by far my favorite!! I went home well fed and sleepy. : )

Today was another early morning for me. Waking up at 6am when your room is cold is quite a task, but I managed just fine with some warm tea. At school, Emilija and I had another long day of 6 classes with no break. I had some fun teaching the classes today, but by the last class I was asked to join the Director in his office, because the Minister of Education was coming. I thought "Isn't this a big deal?" Well it most certainly is.

Macedonia has a newly elected Minister of Education. I guess he is just making his way to some schools across the country, but I felt extremely privileged to have the opportunity to meet him. His entrance was impressive...he showed up with a posse of people. I was asked to sit in on their fancy meeting, where I proceeded to not understand the majority of what was said. Instead, I spent the first half of the meeting trying to find a sophisticated position to sit in. I kept readjusting, knowing how silly each position made me look. Eventually, I gave up and just crossed my legs. Suddenly, I was able to tell they were discussing me and my position at the school. They said they loved having me, and they said I was ambitious with a lot of excellent ideas. The Minister turned around to look at me, and I exchanged a smile showing all of my teeth and a simple wave of a hello. They amused me by laughing and then carried on with business.

At one point, one of the people in the posse had to leave. I noticed everyone getting up, so I thought we were all leaving. I gathered my bag and got ready to go. All of a sudden, everyone sat back down, and I instantly realized how silly I'd made myself just look. HAHAHAHA I'd thought we were leaving, so I packed up to leave....in reality, we were standing as a sign of respect when someone else was leaving the room. So I instantly sat back down and put my bag beside me. I turned to the guy next to me and chuckled "I thought we were leaving!" He didnt understand a word of English, which made it more hilarious.

The rest of the Minister's visit was spent showing him around the school. He went into a classroom, and he managed to chat with teacher in the teachers' lounge for a bit. Later, I followed them back down into the Director's office, where I noticed everyone grabbing their coats. I didnt know what was going on, so I waiting in the entryway. All of a sudden, the Minister appeared before me, and the next thing I know we were chatting up a storm, just the two of us!! He was such a nice man, really....he asked how I liked Kocani, how I liked the school, if I enjoyed the faculty, if I was helping in the classroom, and what other activities/clubs/projects I was involved in. I felt proud talking about my work, and then he said "You know, they love you here. They had excellent things to say about you." I said, "I know...I dont understand much Macedonian, but I can tell when someone is talking about me." He laughed.

The last thing the Minister asked me was how long I was going to be living in Kocani. Suddenly, I felt my inner southern side come out of me, and I busted out with "Well I'll be here for two years, so you just let me know if you happen to make it back for a visit!" (all said in a southern twang) After laughing, he said he'd be back. Upon him exiting the school, I noticed the amount of people looking at me. The secretary gave me a whole "what was that about?!" exchange. People seemed pleased/impressed I was able to have just a one-on-one chat with the Minister...and in English!! I realized I hadn't quite processed what a privilege it all was....I mean, I got to chat with the Minister of Education today. : )

So yea....another accomplishment I can check off my list of things I did that were SUPER AWESOME while living in Macedonia. Not sure how many people can call bragging rights on talking to the Minister in a southern twang, but I sure as hell can.

This winter is SO LONG. I can't stand the single digit temperatures anymore. I must admit, if it wasn't for my wool socks, some warm meals, my working boiler, and my expensive monthly electric bills from running my heater only at night....well I dont know how I'd survive. : )

Last week was really good and productive. Things are picking up slowly with my photography club. I dont have that many kids coming, although I have a lot that are interested. The kids that do want to participate seem committed and excited!! They told me things they want to learn, and I assigned their first theme last week. The dance space should be finished this week, which means I get to start using the space the following week. I am SO EXCITED for this!! I hope I can manage to get kids to actually come take classes. Fingers crossed!! Emilija also wants to kick-start a radio station for the school. Right now, I cant even begin to think or work on that idea, because it just seems like too much to take on, but I figure it's something I can do when the weather gets better.

We also have a few other projects in the works....for instance, we are in the midst of planning our epic Patron's Day event. We got A LOT to do for that. We also have a big project going on with the Freedom Monument space in our city. We are planning a clean-up project in conjunction with the Municipality. That will begin in the Spring. Finally, we may or may not have a qualifying event for the National Spelling Bee. I was elected on the National Spelling Bee Committee for this year, so I'll be doing the tech stuff, but I'd also like to see some of my kids up there competing!! I'm also working with two other teachers this week, which will make me busier than ever, but Im looking forward to staying busy. Being busy when the weather is so miserable makes the days go much quicker, and who can complain with that?!

This summer, I found out I'll be working as the videographer for the all girls camp, Camp GLOW. I'm hoping they will let me teach a photography workshop, or maybe some kind of volleyball class. All I know is I'm in charge of videoing, photographing, and blogging the entire week...I feel privileged that they asked me!! I'm also participating in the PC Magazine, Pauza. I wrote an article about my shitty toaster oven/hot plate combo, complete with recipes. Not sure when the next issue comes out, but I'll link you all the PDF version of it. : )

On a side note, I had an AWESOME day today. I started the day off with school stuff. My Model UN kids got together, and I spoke with two of my kids about getting them into college in America. I am going to assist them in applying, and it looks like I might even be going to Bulgaria with one of them, just so they can take the ACT test. Not one place in Macedonia offers that test, so our next option is Bulgaria. Anywho, after being at school for a while, I set out with Sara (who's in town for our meeting tonight) for a short shopping spree. I've been aching to buy some hair accessories, so I went and found a place that sells fun bobby pins and hair clips. I ended up with a few fun things, and only spent the equivalent of $4. Later we went to my favorite store to buy kitchen things. I LOVE this place...and not just because I've gotten all my best kitchenware there, but because the man and woman who run the place are awesome. For instance, when Sara and I got in, and I immediately went to look at the blenders, toasters, and coffee machines. The man pulled out a bottle of homemade cherry rakija and offered us all a glass. We enjoyed an afternoon rakija in order to "cure the cold" going on outside. (It's been 18F and snowing all day) From there, he helped me test the blenders.....see, I'd decided I was going to buy one nice thing for my kitchen, and I narrowed my best option down to buying a blender, solely for the fact I can make smoothies.

What I ended up with is the BEST PURCHASE EVER in this country:

I MEAN, HOT DAMN!! How awesome is that?! It comes with PARTY MUGS!! I was so elated, you just have no idea. I can do so much with it. That being said, after looking at the recipe book it comes with, we discovered it might be a knockoff version....the writing in the book is not exactly written in English....or maybe it was translated poorly. Who cares though...I have a blender!! So Sara and I bought kiwis and oranges, the only fruit you can get right now, and we poured in some juice as well. Voila!! We had some fantastic little smoothies, and I could not have been more pleased. This day was a major success!! Maybe next month I'll see if I can buy a grill or a coffee maker, but I dont want to get too ahead of myself :D

Ok, this blog post has been long and random, I apologize....no real organization going on in my mind right now. Let's hope this snow/cold spell, which by the way is on NATIONAL NEWS in America, goes away soon. Till next time...miss and love ya'll.

Things are really shaping up at school!! I so excited about all the little projects I've got going on already.

The entire space in the basement of the school is all cleared out now. It already looks so different!! I have a big room all for dancing. This week and next, they are installing full-length mirrors and ballet bars. We are also putting a rug in one corner, along with some tables and chairs. I'll hook my computer up to some speakers, and off we go!! I'll be teaching beginners ballet at first. Later, I will begin teaching waltz for a dance we have near the end of the year. I'm also trying to figure out if I can do some kind of "zumba" class down there....I figure, worst case scenario is I'll be down there zumba-ing it up, and if kids feel inclined to learn and join, then the more the merrier!! I'll convince Lilika and Emilija to at least join me : )

I also had my first photography club meeting this week!! Only a few kids showed up, but I blame that on the fact the posters didn't get up until Friday, so a lot of kids weren't even aware of it. I have another meeting this Thursday....I have to have everything twice a week, because the school has two shifts....it's difficult having an activity that all kids can attend, so my only bet it to hold each activity twice. The shifts overlap, so I really have no other option, but that's fine. I've already had a few of my kids approach me today about the club, and I even have some kids coming from another school to join us. I'm so excited!! We will be having themes each week. Kids will have to shoot according to the theme, and then the following week we will observe and critique the work. I'll also give some techniques lessons, and I'm trying to plan monthly excursions for photo opportunities.

We also have this huge event coming up on March 22nd. It will by our school's Patron's Day, and it is being held in Kocani's Cultural Center. I designed and printed some invites this week to be sent out to the US Embassy. We are expecting an elaborate turnout!! I need to choreograph at least once dance for the event, as well as prepare the other acts that will be shown on stage. I also plan on exhibiting a lot of the kids' work from the photo club at the event. Actually, I plan on exhibiting their work all over town!! Anywho...point is, I've got a lot on my plate and a lot to look forward to. I simply prefer being busy...who doesnt?? And I NEED this right now....the winter here is just killing me, mentally.

Off topic, my friend Mary came in town last weekend for a night. We had a blast!! For lunch, we went out to the nice restaurant that overlooks the dam, just outside of Kocani. Afterwards, I was able to have some one-on-one time with Mary over some mulled wine in the center. LAter that evening, a group of us went to the Irish pub. I have to admit, the first and only other time I've been there made me unimpressed. HOWEVER, this time I simply fell in love with the place. It felt like a typically nice bar we have in the states. Mary and I got cocktails (which I NEVER get to do), and we sang along with Blink182 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was 2am by the time we made our way home, and I could not have been more satisfied. I have missed her more than I realized. I'm glad to have a piece of home here with me.

I've been talking to my mom and sister about their inevitable visit over here!! Looks like they will be coming sometime in May, which works out really well for me. The weather will be SO MUCH better, and school will be winding down a bit. They should be coming in for a week or so, which won't give us a whole lot of time, but it's something I cannot look forward to enough!! Not seeing my family for so long is harder than I'd imagined it would be...thank goodness for Skype. On the same topic of travel, I've got my old roomie from New Orleans, Chad, coming into town in June. We will be island hoping in the Greek Isles for about a week or so, and then hopefully hitting up Italy for a hot minute as well. I'm excited to finally use my location to its advantage.

That's all I've got....I'm not getting as many emails from everyone though...gotta say, I little disappointed and missing my family. Send me an email just saying hello...nothing fancy. : ) Miss ya'll

Things are really shaping up at school!! I so excited about all the little projects I've got going on already.

The entire space in the basement of the school is all cleared out now. It already looks so different!! I have a big room all for dancing. This week and next, they are installing full-length mirrors and ballet bars. We are also putting a rug in one corner, along with some tables and chairs. I'll hook my computer up to some speakers, and off we go!! I'll be teaching beginners ballet at first. Later, I will begin teaching waltz for a dance we have near the end of the year. I'm also trying to figure out if I can do some kind of "zumba" class down there....I figure, worst case scenario is I'll be down there zumba-ing it up, and if kids feel inclined to learn and join, then the more the merrier!! I'll convince Lilika and Emilija to at least join me : )

I also had my first photography club meeting this week!! Only a few kids showed up, but I blame that on the fact the posters didn't get up until Friday, so a lot of kids weren't even aware of it. I have another meeting this Thursday....I have to have everything twice a week, because the school has two shifts....it's difficult having an activity that all kids can attend, so my only bet it to hold each activity twice. The shifts overlap, so I really have no other option, but that's fine. I've already had a few of my kids approach me today about the club, and I even have some kids coming from another school to join us. I'm so excited!! We will be having themes each week. Kids will have to shoot according to the theme, and then the following week we will observe and critique the work. I'll also give some techniques lessons, and I'm trying to plan monthly excursions for photo opportunities.

We also have this huge event coming up on March 22nd. It will by our school's Patron's Day, and it is being held in Kocani's Cultural Center. I designed and printed some invites this week to be sent out to the US Embassy. We are expecting an elaborate turnout!! I need to choreograph at least once dance for the event, as well as prepare the other acts that will be shown on stage. I also plan on exhibiting a lot of the kids' work from the photo club at the event. Actually, I plan on exhibiting their work all over town!! Anywho...point is, I've got a lot on my plate and a lot to look forward to. I simply prefer being busy...who doesnt?? And I NEED this right now....the winter here is just killing me, mentally.

Off topic, my friend Mary came in town last weekend for a night. We had a blast!! For lunch, we went out to the nice restaurant that overlooks the dam, just outside of Kocani. Afterwards, I was able to have some one-on-one time with Mary over some mulled wine in the center. LAter that evening, a group of us went to the Irish pub. I have to admit, the first and only other time I've been there made me unimpressed. HOWEVER, this time I simply fell in love with the place. It felt like a typically nice bar we have in the states. Mary and I got cocktails (which I NEVER get to do), and we sang along with Blink182 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was 2am by the time we made our way home, and I could not have been more satisfied. I have missed her more than I realized. I'm glad to have a piece of home here with me.

I've been talking to my mom and sister about their inevitable visit over here!! Looks like they will be coming sometime in May, which works out really well for me. The weather will be SO MUCH better, and school will be winding down a bit. They should be coming in for a week or so, which won't give us a whole lot of time, but it's something I cannot look forward to enough!! Not seeing my family for so long is harder than I'd imagined it would be...thank goodness for Skype. On the same topic of travel, I've got my old roomie from New Orleans, Chad, coming into town in June. We will be island hoping in the Greek Isles for about a week or so, and then hopefully hitting up Italy for a hot minute as well. I'm excited to finally use my location to its advantage.

That's all I've got....I'm not getting as many emails from everyone though...gotta say, I little disappointed and missing my family. Send me an email just saying hello...nothing fancy. : ) Miss ya'll

It's been about a week since I last updated. Things were getting to be so busy there at the end of my winter break!! Alas, it was time to go back into work this week.

My first week back at work was a good one. Monday, I went and worked with people at the school about the dance studio space. They have been working hard to get it all cleaned out since then. Hopefully, this coming week will finalize what needs to be done: install mirrors, bars, and a new floor. If the pace continues, we'll be starting dance classes the following week!! I was also able to meet up with CJ and Bill (new volunteer who just moved back to Kocani...long story) to discuss the animal facility. I think we covered a lot in regards to what we could successfully accomplish. We have a basic structure to follow, so we will be taking baby steps with this project. With the help from CJ and Bill, Im feeling optimistic.

Tuesday and Wednesday I spent teaching with Emilija. Those are her longest days where we have all first year students. Although those days are really long, I really enjoy myself in the classroom with Emilija. Her and I simply have way too much fun together. All in all, the weekend was a great way to break back into the swing of things. Hopefully, once we get the dance space rolling, I'll spend more time back in the classroom. I'll also have my photo club on Mondays and Thursdays, which Im really excited to meet the kids who want to join.

Wednesday night was a big handball match (google it) between Macedonia and Serbia. Rob and I met up with my French friend, Arnaud, one of his friends, and a new Macedonian friend of ours who is actually from Kocani, but lives in Skopje. We all went out to this nice little restaurant I hadn't been to before to watch the match. I had a lot of fun that night!! We snacked on kebabs and shopska salads while drinking some good 'ol Macedonian beer. It felt normal, which made me feel really good....often times, it's still hard to feel normal here. Afterwards, I went home and Rob stayed out to watch some soccer with the guys. I'd felt guilty with him being cooped up all week, so Im glad he was able to get out that night too!!

Let's see....other things that happened this week.....

OH, I finally got my light fixture in the kitchen fixed. We havent had light in their for a couple of weeks now, and I was able to finally get the landlord to send someone over. Lilika was over for an afternoon visit, and then she got suckered into running errands for the man. I felt so bad for her!! We also installed a hanging orange lantern. I bought it in orange, b/c the carpets are all orange, but now the lantern makes the whole room shine with an orange light, it's so funny!!

I also learned how to make the most amazing pizzas EVER. I found some pre-made pizza crust, that looked iffy, but I decided to give them a try. I put on some tomato sauce, sliced up some salami and peppers, shredded some cheese, and sprinkled some oregano on top. The toaster oven did a surprisingly good job of cooking it perfectly. We loved the pizzas so much, we made them twice more by the end of the week. NEW COMFORT FOOD FOR ME!!

All in all, the week was a good one. We've had snow non-stop for a couple days....I've never lived with so much snow and ice. We've also just hibernated with watching movies on my computer, b/c there's really nothing else to do when it's so cold outside. Highs are in the 20s, and lows are around 10. This weekend, I've got my Mary coming in town to visit from Kumanavo!! Im so excited to see her!! We havent really since each other since our swearing in ceremony in November. It should be a great weekend.

Till next time!!

Today was an epic day!!

Today was one of the big national holidays in Macedonia. It's called the Epiphany celebration, which is in memory of the day Jesus was baptized......on this day, every city sets up shop on its body of water that flows through the town. Priests come and bless the waters. People from all over show up. The priests then bless a small cross before throwing it into the icy waters below. Following the throw, people jump into the waters in hopes of retrieving the cross. The person who catches or finds the cross is said to receive good health and fortune for the entire year. The person who catches the cross then has a few weeks to visit every catholic home. At each home, families are expected to pay at minimum 10 denar to the person. Some families end up paying much more, and some even offer some big bucks in hopes that the person will actually stay the night in their home that night with the cross. All in all, I find the tradition to be extremely interesting!!

So Rob and I set out early this morning in order to get a good spot for the event. We got out there around 9:40 in the morning, and by 10, people were already lined up and down the water. By the time the actual event began, my toes were frozen solid, and people were pressed so hard up against me in order to find a good view of the jump that was to come. We listened to the priest bless the town, the people, and the water. Suddenly, he threw the cross, and about 60 young men jumped into the water below!! I dont know for certain the actual temperature of the water, but I can tell you that there was about an inch of ice over the top of the water....if that says anything about how cold it was!! I was able to capture the entire event on camera, while Rob videoed. Here is the online album from the event:

Cross Throwing Photos

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick cup of tea in the center before heading home for an afternoon nap. Later in the day, we were invited over to my Director's house for an evening of snacking and drinking. We were once again welcomed with the FANTASTIC Bulgarian wine, Bear's Blood. He also ordered some pastrmajlija (google it!!) and presented us with some spicy peppers, homemade sausages, and pickled veggies. We ate and drank for 6.5 hours, and it was a perfect evening!! 3 bottles of wine later, we found ourselves full and satisfied. We slowly made our way home before recounting the amazing events of the day.

Day by day, I find myself amazed at the events I've already witnessed and been a part of in this wonderful country. So many of the experiences are unique in their own ways, and I find myself blessed to be surrounded with people who are so willing to share their hospitality. As most volunteers here may say, I think my placement in Kocani has by far proved to be the perfect place for me. It feels like a home to me, and days like today make me even more excited for the months that will follow.

Next week sparks the beginning of a new semester at school. Our winter break will be over, and my new schedule with the school will begin. On Mondays and Thursdays, I'll be setting up a new dance studio in the basement of the school, running a photo club, leading the Model UN, and meeting with the mayor (fingers crossed) about starting a local animal rescue. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I'll be spending my hours in the classroom, helping my fantastic counterpart. Fridays, I hope will be my flexible day, where I'll simply be where ever I am needed. I'm overly optimistic about the prospects I have in my immediate future....now it's all about putting them into action!!

I simply had to share my good mood with all of you. Hope you all are well. SEND ME EMAILS : )

Well, I've successfully survived Vevcani's carnival, and it was a blast!! Here's the video, although I suggest you watch it AFTER you read this.

Vevcani video

VEVCANI CARNIVAL 2012!!Ok, so this is just a preview : )

So our trip began with a 6hour bus ride down to the beautiful town of Ohrid:

We stayed in an AMAZING place, called Villa Boban. The entire first day there, we basically just enjoyed our accommodations. We walked around the waterfront and ate at a fancy place, where I totally ordered a steak. We ate so much food and drank so much wine, we ended up in bed by 11.

The next morning, we decided to take ourselves on a walking tour through the old part of town. In Ohrid, there are 365 churches, one for every day of the year. While walking through the old part of town, you find churches on every corner!! Some are extremely old and tiny, while others are old and big. They are all elaborate and unique. Our personal favorite is this one:

Check out that view!!

Our walk took almost all day, and a lot of it was uphill, which made for quite a hike. Thankfully the weather was nice, and we had some excellent suggestions from the people who ran our Villa. We were able to find little hidden walkways and bridges that took us along the water. We ate, relaxed, took photos, and drank lots of coffee. By midday, we were pooped!! That night, we went out for another nice dinner in the old part of town, only to hit the hay early again. The next morning, we woke up to a snow storm.This is the view from our villa. We were honestly shocked when we woke up, because we were supposed to head out to Vevcani that day!! We had at least a couple feet of snow, and the roads were COVERED in ice!! We went and spoke with the people running our villa, and we learned we were really going to have to be creative in getting to Vevcani. To make matters worse, Rob did NOT have appropriate shoes, so our host handed him some of his own Italian leather boots to borrow!! Sometimes, I'm just shocked by the hospitable people here!!

Before you knew it, we were in an illegal taxi, hoping a ride into Struga. From there, we stood in the snow for about an hour, before a combi came and swooped us up!! We made it into Vevcani, but the bus was unable to properly take us up the hills leading into the village, because the ice was just too bad. At one point, the bus was spinning slightly on the ice, so the driver decided to back up and try and run it up the hill. Yea...it didnt work. Regardless...we managed to walk the rest of the way.

Vevcani is built on the side of a mountain. For this reason, it provided some of the most breathtaking landscapes, but so of the most snow and ice I've ever encountered in my life. The temperature that day got down to -6 Fahrenheit. SO COLD!!!!

Anywho!! Once we got there, we had to find the other volunteers. I called Sara, and she said "We are drinking rakija with some trees." Intrigued, we decided to wander the village until we found them. The hills in the village were like veins in a body. They connected every inch of the community, but often times would lead us in complicated twists and turns that eventually lead us back to the same places we were before. We'd pass people in costumes, who were always in character, and we'd pass people going about their daily lives, just trying to shovel the snow from their doorsteps. We decided to wait on a corner, because we hear music approaching us. Eventually, we were hit with quite the crowd!!

The costumes follow a type of Pagan tradition. It's almost all men who participate. There are themes that follow the costumes...some of them being demons, some of the them extremely crude, and some of the mocking some present issue. Regardless of the costume, everyone was in character at all times. The monsters would come up and growl in your face, and even kids were involved!!

After a while of watching, we finally managed to find "the trees!!"

We continued the rest of the day, hanging out with the trees. We were also joined by walruses, Nazis, Osama, various devils/monsters, and the Taliban. We went around and visited numerous houses with these people. At each house, wine, rakija, beer, and brandy were served. Fresh cuts of meat and cheese were provided, along with some bread and fruit. Our visit to each house only lasted about 10 minutes at a time, if that.

Quite frankly, our entire experience was really quite remarkable!! I believe the only reason we were invited to become part of these peoples' lives on this day was because we spoke some Macedonian. Most of them knew who the Peace Corps was, and they loved the fact that we made it to their village for the event!! Throughout the day, I kept thinking "wow....this kind of stuff just dont happen."

By midday, most of the characters throughout the village gathered in the center, where they did a type of parade, where everyone pretty much danced around the center. This part last for hours, and the view of it all was amazing. In the very center, people were burning their masks and/or other parts of their costumes, which is part of the tradition.

By the time the sun was going down, we were all feeling extremely tired, a little intoxicated, and very hungry. A few of us were invited to join one of the trees back to his house with some of the other characters from the day. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with more food and drinks. We spent hours at this house, and I once again found myself amazed at the hospitality. Where on earth can you find yourself in a village on the side of a mountain, eating homemade chicken with a local family and their friends?? They love sharing their lives and their culture, and sometimes you just have to soak it all in.

My experience in Vevcani was one of the most unique I've ever had in my life. Even in writing this particular update, I find that words just cant do it justice.

It's been a hot minute since I last updated, because we've been busy!!This past weekend, we traveled down to my original home of Lozovo to celebrate the Macedonian Christmas with my Macedonian family.

Macedonian Christmas is very similar to our Xmas: you visit with friends and family, you drink, and you eat. That's about it. And that's exactly what we did. Friday, we got in early in the day, so we took our first opportunity to visit some people. My "brother" (the volunteer who had my family the year prior to me) also came in for the holiday, so we spent the rest of the evening catching up with him and the family at home. That night, all of Lozovo throws bonfires. I think there were 5 total around the village, but the largest one just so happened to be right by my house. We spent a few hours there drinking and dancing the Oro around the massive bonfire. I was able to see LOUIE (basset hound), who I swear recognized me. We had a moment too, hahaha. Afterwards, we headed over to the fire on Kenzie's side and stayed there until sometime after midnight. Rob and I went back home only to discover we had to sleep in the coldest rooms EVER. I cannot exaggerate how damn cold these rooms were....

Well for starters, I could see my breath in my room. I had my own room with a pullout couch, and Rob and Chris got my old bedroom. Neither bedrooms have heaters....why we didn't is beyond me. It was below 20F outside. So I'm standing there trying to figure out how exactly this was going to work. Rob and I decided to layer. We each had on 3-4 shirts, long johns, pants, two paris of socks, and a jacket. I'd brought my sleeping bag, so I crawled into the sleeping bag with all my clothes on and could hardly move. To make matters worse, having my face exposed wasn't fun. My lungs felt cold whenever I woke up trying to roll over. And to be completely honest, every single night was like this, and it was unbearable to sleep like that..

For the next two days, we sat around at home eating and drinking. We were woken up with fish and rakija on Friday. It's a day where they dont eat any meat or milk products. We snacked for hours before heading out to visit some people. The weather was heavy wind and rain, which we got soaked in walking through it. Each house had a warm room to retreat to though, so we took advantage of that!! That night, we gathered with the family for the traditional Xmas meal, where the family bakes a loaf of bread with a coin in it. The person who got the coin last year breaks off pieces of the bread for each member of the family (including pets), as well as a piece for the house itself. Once this part is done, the family members see who got the coin. In our case, we all got the coin, because my host dad tore off too small of pieces, so we had this big chunk of bread leftover. Of course, that piece had the coin in it. : ) So from there, whomever gets the coin is supposed to put it in a glass of wine and drink from the glass. Getting the coin is supposed to bring you good luck and health all year. It was a special night to share this with our family.

The next day was pretty relaxing. We were able to eat meat again, so we had some chicken and pork with more bread and some other foods. Milevka's family came over, and we spent the day playing cards, watching TV, and of course eating some more. That night, I intentionally went to bed early so I could wake up early to make it back to Kocani. All in all the weekend was nice and relaxing...if it hadn't been for those cold bedrooms, I know we would have been much more comfortable...looking forward to going back when it's warm again, that's for sure!!

Since we've gotten back to Kocani, we've spent the majority of our time resting in my warm apartment. Sleeping in the cold made my cold from last week linger a little longer, so I needed to rest. As always, things are breaking left and right in the apt, but we are making the best of it, haha!! I successfully made baked apples for the first time, and we've eaten the hell out of some Ranch dip as well. All in all, the last two days have made me feel a lot better. This week, we set out for Vevcani and Ohrid. We ride out on Thursday down to Ohrid with my friend Anna. There, we will stay for two nights enjoying the city. (google it!!) On Saturday, we will ride into Vevcani for the 2nd day of the carnival. That night, I think we are getting together with the other volunteers to celebrate Claire's bday. Should be a great weekend....Im honestly really looking forward to it.

Well that's all I've got for now!! I'll have a ton of photos and videos coming soon!! : )

Today, Rob and I got to meet with my Director for some afternoon coffee and chatting time. During the middle of the conversation, my Director offered us some wine. Graciously, we accepted, only to discover the most fantastic looking bottle of wine...

This is called BEAR BLOOD. I mean, look...there's a photo of a growling scary bear on the front. Isn't is fantastic?? Apparently, a close friend of his really likes the wine, so he ordered some from Bulgaria. I just had to share it with ya'll. Oh, and for the record...the wine was FANTASTIC. Seriously delicious. I want to keep the bottles and use them as vases though...seriously.

Oh, and we were able to chat a bit about an idea I have for the Freedom Monument area in Kocani (the place the with graffiti).....kind of like how Nashville does its "movies in the park" during the summers, we were discussing getting the necessary things together to hookup a movie night up there!! It could also be a weekly thing with some vendors. We have access to most of what we'd need, and the advertisement for the event is something that wont be a problem at all!! The idea sounds promising, but right now we really need to concentrate on getting the dance area setup, as well as some of the other after school activities. Point being, I keep getting PUMPED about all the great things I get to do with my school. I love the endless possibilites.

ANYWHO....Tomorrow, Rob and I head out to Lozovo to visit the family for the Macedonia божик (xmas). It's going to be a 3-day celebration; Thursday night beginning with a village-wide bonfire. Friday will probably be an entire day of visiting other families and eating a lot of food. Then Saturday is a "just the family" kind of day with another epic meal. Sunday, we will travel back to Kocani. I'm really excited to see everyone and be back in Lozovo with the family!! I hope my language skills are still solid enough for some catch up convos with the family...otherwise, I'll be getting an ear-full. : )

The following weekend is something to get pumped about as well....today, we just booked a stay down in the beautiful Lake Ohrid area for Thursday and Friday. It's Claire's bday (my best bud from Lozovo), and she lives a stones throw away from Ohrid. So Friday night, a bunch of us will be getting together to celebrate. Then on Saturday, we will travel into Vevcani for the crazy carnival:

Vevcani Carnival info

Just some random photos I found online from the carnival.

We were able to book a room at a villa down there too, so we will make a weekend out of it!! Already, I am so excited for the two upcoming weekends. I've been seriously looking forward to the Vevcani bit, and I'm even more pumped that a lot of volunteers will be around to celebrate!! I need to make some masks....

So that's that. I wont have internet again until this Sunday, so if you happen to email me, I wont be able to respond just yet. I'm seriously having a great winter break so far.....having some company surely doesnt hurt!! And I'm looking forward to being able to travel around the country a bit more in the upcoming weeks to help these frigid winter months move a little faster.

Well a new year has already begun. It's crazy that I've just survived my first set of holidays over here. Although Xmas was difficult (as expected), New Years was MUCH easier!!

Last Wednesday, I woke up SICK. I was so mad. My throat hurt when I spoke or swallowed, and I had headaches with my congested head. Rob was flying into Macedonia that night, so I spent the rest of the day after school trying to sleep it off. Rob got in safe and sound that night, but I still felt pretty ill. By Friday, we rode into Skopje to see the PC doctors, which is really a pain to go there and back. The trip is like 2.5 hours each way on a bus. Then, once you get to Skopje, you have to get on another bus for another 30 minutes just to get to the PC office. The good news was I was able to get some proper medicine, and the doctor told me I just had an upper respiratory infection. We spent the second half of that day walking around Skopje, enjoying the Xmas lights and eating Arabian food. haha

Saturday, we woke up to snow on the ground!! We decided to make our errands quick so we could literally spend the rest of the day and night inside. And that's exactly what we did!! For our New Years celebration, we made A LOT of Mexican food....I mean, A LOT. We seriously ate the hell out of some tacos and nachos. By midnight, we were able to stand out on my mini balcony and watch the locals shoot off fireworks from house to house. Kids ran in the streets, shooting fireworks at cars passing by. The view was actually spectacular...and not because of the fireworks, but because I was really able to register where I was for the celebration of the New Year. It felt good.

The last couple days were a lazy mess. I've slowly gotten over my illness by resting in bed and watching a lot of movies and TV shows on my computer. Rob has so far gotten to meet Emilija and her family, as well as Paul, which is AWESOME!! I was trying to explain how good it feels to have someone come here and see where I live, meet the people I adore, and even do the basics like running errands with me (he got to see the butcher shop!) It's also nice to have someone from another country to talk about the cultural differences with.....overall, it's just nice to have his company here!!

Starting on Thursday, Macedonians will begin to celebrate their Christmas here. It all begins on the 5th and lasts until the 7th. I'll be going into Lozovo for this occasion, and I was just told by Milevka last night that Rob is welcome to join as well. We are going to have a full house!! Thursday night will be a big village-wide bonfire, complete with food and drinks. Friday is a type of fasting day, where families mainly eat lentils and salads and stuff...nothing with meat in it. We will spend a good chunk of that day visiting the other families and volunteers. Then, Saturday is the actual Christmas day. I'm not sure if we are staying that night too, but we will see. I'm already anticipating how cold that house is going to be!!

Anywho....I'm excited to see my family and the volunteers again. It'll be a nice little break. Once I get back, teachers are supposed to go back into work to plan what they are going to do in the coming year. I have a lot to plan with both my director and Emilija, and I'm excited to start talking about the new little projects we want to implement. There is already talk of a photo club, a school newspaper, a radio station, and (my favorite) converting the basement area into a dance studio. The gym teacher wants me to teach the kids some ballroom dancing for their upcoming prom. HOORAH!! I'm also excited about being able to show Rob some more of Macedonia while he is here. There is a festival down south in a couple of weeks we are already planning on hitting up. It's the one carnival that looks kind of like Halloween....people dress up all crazy in the streets and stuff. Seriously looking forward to that one.

I hope everyone had an excellent New Years celebration. I can honestly say I had a great one. Looking forward to hearing from everyone!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Here's the video from the weekend:Xmas video

As you all know, I was in Kamenica for the weekend to celebrate Xmas with my fellow volunteers from all over the country. Friday, I rode into town to help Sara set up for the coming days' events. There, we met up with Paul and Julie. That night, we began our celebration by making and hanging the paper snowflakes (shown above). We hung them all over the ceiling so the place could feel a little festive!!

This is Sara's kitchen, and this is Sara building a real fire inside of her wood burning stove. Friday night, we waited for the rest of the first crew to show up: Enid, Kenzie, and Andres. Upon their arrival, I realized just how much I've been missing them. Seeing them again felt like I was having a family reunion!! That night, we headed into town for some kebabs, chicken fingers, salads, and beer. There was some live music, so we stuck around for a bit before heading back to the house.

The next morning looked like this. We all laid around on Sara's pull-out couches and just caught up on how things were going at each other's sites. We snacked on Anna's famous banana bread, drank coffee and tea, and listened to Xmas music. Later that day, some of the people went up the side of a mountain and cut down a Xmas tree for us. We made homemade decorations out of aluminum foil. Here's our tree:

By the middle of the day, the rest of our crew began to arrive: Faron, Dan, and Dale. We took a walk into town to get some last minute things we figured we'd need to the upcoming meals.

Andres and I in front of one of the two churches in the town. Here, we met one of the priests who gave Sara all the details about people she knew in town. It was pretty entertaining.

That night, we made a lot of Mexican food. We had a taco bar set up, and we made a troth of nachos to go along with it. We played Apples to Apples that night and spent a good chunk of time just dancing and joking around. We also shared a "white elephant gift exchange." The deal was we all had to bring something that was in our home when we first moved in...something weird or funny. Some people got some wildly hilarious gifts, while others got gifts that were oddly perfect for them!! For example, I got these cute little knit slippers that are TINY. I was literally the only person whose tiny feet could fit in them, and I somehow managed to get that bag. It was perfect!!

Sunday morning was kind of a slow one. We woke up, and Julie had made everyone "stockings" out of Sara's socks. In them, she put a bunch of random items, like veggies, candy, mini American flags, and tea bags. She left this message from Santa on the table:

It was really sweet. From there, we decided to finally sit down all together to watch a Xmas movie...so we put on The Grinch. I loved being able to sit around with everyone for that. It was probably the most festive feeling moment of the entire weekend. Some people fell asleep, while others stayed up and laughed along. Regardless, we were all curled up together, and it felt like a family. After we all finally got moving, I began to work on our Xmas day meal. We didnt have much, bc the local bazaars were empty last week. It must have been from the snow we had. We made due though!! We baked 3 small chickens with potatoes, carrots, and onions. We also made some moussaka. Then, we all gathered around the den for one last meal:

Shortly after we ate, I decided to catch a ride back into Kocani. I was feeling extremely homesick and a little sad I wasnt able to see my family yet. As soon as my ride began to pull into Kocani, I began to feel so much better. Even walking up my 6 flights of stairs felt good....it just felt good to be home. I immediately turned on my cheap little Xmas tree and got online to Skype my momma, who was just getting up. She walked me around the house as her and Jessica got ready for the day. I watched Xmas movies on their TV across the internet. I chatted with them as they put on their makeup and did their hair. Later, I was carried around on the computer as my family opened all their presents and stockings. I was able to see and speak to everyone, and it truly felt like I was there! I was SO HAPPY to feel like I was still able to share such an important holiday with my family. Being able to hear them laugh and joke around made me miss them all so much more, but I was smiling from ear to ear when I finally shut my computer.

Suddenly, Lilika, the student from school I've grown close with, showed up at my house with a jorgan, which is kind of like a super heavy blanket. She sat around and met my mom and sis via Skype with me and helped me admire how wonderful their Xmas tree was. We sat around for a bit, eating popcorn and chatting, before Emilija called me. She was on her way to pick me up!! Emilija and her husband showed up with a piece of cake for me, and then they took me down to the center for some pizza, salad, and coffee. Having them drop what they were doing on a Sunday...the one day Emilija and her family have to themselves..made me feel like part of the family. It became evident how much they cared, and even though I know they care, their simple act of taking me out on Xmas meant so much to me, I simply cannot explain. Emilija and Lilika really own my heart here. I love them so much for being there for me on what we all knew would be a difficult day. By the time I shut my eyes for sleep, I was a happy and fulfilled girl.

I went into work on Monday, and it felt a little slow. I was just feeling tired, I guess. And then his morning, I woke u with a sore throat. I decided I'd get through work so I could spend the rest of the evening in bed with tea and soup, which is exactly what I've done. I think it's really the extreme drop in temperature that's made me feel like I'm getting a cold. Regardless, Im going to battle through it, b/c tomorrow Rob comes into town!! Hoorah!! His plane gets in late, so I am probably going to be beat by Thursday. Not sure what we are going to do for the New Year yet....we may just stick around here. I dont think either of us would mind that...it will feel good to relax.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Although I survived this year, I must admit I think I'll have to come back next year for sure!! I miss and love you all. Keep the emails coming : )

It's almost Christmas!!!!!!

I just got home from my last day of school for the week, because early tomo morning I'll be hoping on a bus to Kamenica for the holiday!! Right now, we've got around 12 people going this weekend, which should be REALLY interesting figuring out where everyone is going to sleep. Im going to try and not worry about it, because the snow outside may prevent some people from even making it....although, I really hope that isnt the case. Oh, speaking of snow:

This is what I saw on my walk into school this morning!! It is supposed to keep on snowing throughout the weekend. As of right now, getting to and from Kamenica shouldn't be a problem. I only live about 30-45 minutes away, so hopefully the sun will help melt some of the snow by Monday morning. The temperature keeps dropping!! I woke up this morning, and I was SO COLD. It may be about time to get a second blanket. My Director told me today that it can get as cold as -30 here in the winter......WOW!!

On a side note, I went by a new butcher shop on my way home today. The Director had suggested this place to me, as it apparently has the best fresh meat in town. I love discovering places that will become my regular shopping place, so I was eager to go there straight from work. It's my job to pick up all the meat for this weekend, so what better time to do it??Anywho....so I get to the butcher's shop, which is a tiny little shop right behind my building. I man and his son run the place, and they were both there as I walked in. Upon entering, I realized they had no ground meat readily available. I got a little nervous, because I realized I was going to have to explain myself in Macedonian, and my butcher shop vocabulary isn't the best. That being said, the men were SO HELPFUL and nice!! They told me they could make some, and then they asked how much I needed. The next thing I know, they are literally cutting the meat right off the hanging carcasses. They put it through the grinding machine and mixed it all up until it was the freshest looking ground meat I'd ever seen. They made me a mixture of ground pork and beef. I watched the entire process!! They talked to me about my Macedonian and told me I'd have to come back again (which I will!!) Before I knew it, I was walking out with 4 kilos of meat and the two men were wishing me well. It's experiences like that which make me feel so accomplished.

On another side note, I have to tell everyone that I got a new water boiler this week. I was super excited the day it got installed, and I decided to allow it to heat for an entire day before testing the waters...pun intended. : ) I woke up the following morning and got ready for what I was hoping to be an epic shower. After shaving HALF of one leg, the water began to get cold.....I couldnt believe it!! I was so disappointed. I told the people at school, and everyone was shocked. I havent had the courage to contact PC or my landlord to tell them the problem is still present....That being said, I AM taking care it up. More on that another day.

Well that's all for now. Tonight, I'll be packing for my weekend getaway. I need everyone to know that I will not have internet again until Monday. So if you happen to email me, dont expect a response until then. Im going to try and find an internet cafe in Kamenica on Xmas, just so I can Skype my family....I feel bad my momma is 1 daughter short this year. We actually spent some time talking about it, but we're both very thankful that we can communicate in general. What would we do without the internet?!?!?!

I hope you all have a lovely Xmas. Im thinking and missing all of you, but please trust I'll be having a fantastic and unforgettable Xmas with my second family in Macedonia. : )

New video:

December video

This weekend was a lot of fun...much like every weekend so far. In summary:

-Friday was Mexican night. I made the most amazing and heavenly Mexican food ever and we ate ALL of it. It was the best meal I've had in a long time!!

-Saturday, I went to Stip for the Model UN thing. It was good!! Martin, one of my students, tried out for a chair position and did an awesome job!! We will find out in a week if he got accepted. In the meantime, my Model UN group will continue to work hard so we can kick butt in May.

-Saturday, I also enjoyed a nice afternoon in the city with Paul and Phil before heading back to Kocani to meet up with Sara. God bless the delicious pizzerias here!!

-Saturday night was an epic failure, but in a good/funny way. Paul, Sara, and myself all tried to make homemade hummus, and it was a big fail (see video). Just cooking in the kitchen was a good laugh though....we had a lot of fun and learned some cooking lessons. haha Later, we met up with a teacher friend of mine for a couple drinks in the center. I was so excited to go out with her, because we seem to have a lot in common, and I've been anxious to make more local friends. It was a good rest of the night!! Hopefully, her and I will see more of each other now.

-Sunday morning was a proper breakfast with Paul and Sara. Potatoes and eggs!!

-Sunday day was spent setting up for the big basketball event.

-Sunday evening was the event itself (see video), which was awesome!!

I was really pleased with how the basketball event turned out. The director seemed really happy as well. I'm absolutely exhausted from the weekend, but I seriously had a good time!! I'm always so glad to have fellow volunteers come into share the weekends with me. I love having them, and I love just being able to lounge around in some pajamas and cook food.....it just feels normal, and I love them for that.

This weekend was another example of why I feel so proud to live in Kocani. Even my friends love coming here to visit. It means so much when they care about what I do for work, and then they make time to come and support it in person!! My students, colleagues, and friends all make this city what it is.....even being there tonight with everyone made me feel like such a big part of the community, and that was a very rewarding feeling to have after only being here for a month.

That being said...I'm off to bed. This week is another busy one, and then Christmas begins on Friday for me!! Thanks again to everyone for sending me emails. OH, and a major CONGRATS to my cousin, Chelsea, for graduating from her nursing school this week. I'm still extremely proud the accomplishments going on at home. : )

I'd like to share a proud moment.

If you've been following up on my blog, you know I've been helping to organize a basketball event at my school. It's the kind of event where the students play against teachers and parents. There will be 4 games with 6 teams total. The school will be having the chorus sing, the orchestra play, and some other entertaining elements to the event. As part of my contribution, I made two videos last week:

Video 1

Video 2

The shorter of the two videos (video 2), began airing on local TV last night. : ) I am extremely proud!! The event is this coming Sunday, and I've extended the invite to many volunteers and some PC people as well. I've had some excellent help from some of the boys at my school. The Director's son and his friends have created fantastic posters and tickets and have seriously been so helpful. The hardest thing about organizing the event has been recruiting cheerleaders. Cheerleaders just arent common here...girls are not interested. It's taken me almost two weeks to get the 4 girls I have, and I'm not even sure if they will all follow through. Today, I'm getting t-shirts made for them. : ) Anywho...the video will continue to air every night until Sunday, but I unfortunately dont have a TV to see my video debut on Macedonian TV. haha

I stayed up really late last night, and I slept in really late today. I decided I needed to make some potatoes, peppers, and eggs for breakfast. It's the type of thing my mother makes for breakfast, but I can never quite make it as good as her!! Today, I should have my landlord come by to pick up my water boiler, because I still havent had a warm shower that lasts longer than 4 minutes. Later tonight, I think Paul may come into town to kick it. He lives with a host family in his village, and with the stress we've all been going through in adjusting to our sites, it's just nice to get out and be normal from time to time. Sara might also come into town to stay the night. We have to go into Vinica tomorrow for a PC 50th anniversary event, so it's just makes more sense for her to come tonight, rather than at 6am in the morning. I'm excited about tomorrow though!! It will be the first PC event I've really attended outside of all my training and swearing-in stuff. And it'll be nice to spend lunch with the other volunteers after the event.

I'm also getting more and more excited about Xmas here. So far, I've been really homesick when I see and hear about festive things going on in the states. Even watching an Xmas episode of a TV show here is killing me. That being said though, the volunteers I'll be sharing Xmas with are really doing an excellent job of getting everyone excited!! It will be a 3-day event, complete with LOTS of baking, one night of homemade Mexican food, making and watching funny videos, have a proper Xmas feast, complete with mulled wine and eggnog, and simply getting really dressed up, just like we would if we were all home. We'll basically be hibernating in Sara's home in Kamenica. As of now, I think we may have close to 10 or more people!! I already have my Xmas dress picked out, which is a fantastic vintage dress I bought at an estate sale with mom this summer. I hope we will all get a chance to Skype home while we are there too. Id really love to see my family on Xmas.

Ok...I have to go attempt to get t-shirts made now. It's 52 and sunny here. Let's make this a good day.

Yay for the weekend!!!!! My weekend was a fantastic one!! So far, I haven't had a bad weekend, and I love that.

The weekend was different than anything I've experienced in Macedonia so far. Friday evening started with an American friend of mine, Francesco, coming into town. He's been traveling for over a year, and he decided to stop through for a visit on his way to Greece. A new local friend of mine suggested a bar to Paul (volunteer that lives nearby) and I the night before, so we decided we were going to try it out. The three of us headed over to what is called either "the house" or "the fig." It is basically just a house bar. You walk into an entryway that is lit by a red bulb and has paper clippings taped all over the walls. There are three doors, all leading to three separate rooms. We decided to go with the door on the far left, only to discover one of the teachers that works at my school to be sitting there!! He apparently is a co-owner of the bar, and he was just as equally surprised and happy to see me. So we ended up having a couple of beers there, before we decided to head over to another bar for a change of scenery.

The rest of the night was pretty basic. We went to two other bars, but one of them was full of youngsters, and by the time we made it to the other one we were pretty tired. We ended the night at my place, surrounded by my last batch of Ranch dip. We literally pigged out for like a good hour and a half, before my mom and sister Skyped us. It was fun!!

The following day, I took Francesco around Kochani. We went up to Freedom Monument and did a bit of exploring around the city. We also made an epic feast of baked chicken and potatoes!! Later that night, the Director picked us both up for dinner. We went to this fantastic fish restaurant up in the mountains. The place was located on the dam, and even at night, you could just see how fantastic the view was!! It was so peaceful up there. We were there to celebrate a group of the teachers earning their permanent jobs, which was nice to be a part of...although Francesco and I really only spoke with the Director the entire night. It is still difficult for me to follow along with some of the Macedonian, and when you get 13 people speaking Macedonian really fast it is nearly impossible to keep up!! For that reason, I was even more thankful to have Francesco by my side!! We had some excellent conversations with the Director and ended up being there until midnight!! After 5 hours of indulging in fish, potatoes, appetizers, and wine, we all headed back into the city. Needless to say, nothing else exciting happened that night, because we were in a food coma!!

Sunday morning was perfect. We got up and had some coffee and breakfast and just sat around talking about everything under the sun. Suddenly, my counterpart, Emilija, called me and offered to take us out for coffee. Excited, we both hurried to get ready before running out to meet her and her husband. They ended up taking us back into the mountains to this other restaurant that was very close to the one from the night before. It was SO BEAUTIFUL up there!! Seeing the view in the daytime was fantastic. Seeing all the mountains made me so excited for warmer weather, when I can begin hiking!! It also made me want to purchase a bike at some point, because I could totally take a bike ride up there!! Anyways, we had some nice coffee and conversation before heading back into the city.

The rest of the day was a trip!! We had a FANTASTIC lunch at Emilija's house as we all frantically tried to figure out which bus/train/cab/etc Francesco would take to get into Greece. We had several plans we were tossing around, and the confusion of it all was just funny in itself. Unfortunately, we had to eat and leave really fast, which I still feel bad about, but it all made for such a good day. I really enjoy getting to spend time with that family.

Francesco is now gone, but his short trip here was fun!! Spending time with him and Paul on Friday made me miss all the guy friends I have back home. That being said, meeting a lot of the locals really makes me excited and proud of the city I'm living in!! I felt so proud while showing off my city all weekend, and I just love being shown all these new places by everyone. It was definitely a well-spent weekend.

These coming two weeks are going to be AWESOME..have I told you?! Ok, well:

-Tomorrow I have three meetings at school

-Wednesday I'm going to Vinica for a 50th anniversary Peace Corps event

-Saturday, I'll be in Veles with my Model UN group for their tryout to be an advanced group

-Sunday is the BIG EVENT--the basketball events I've been organizing

The next weeks:

-20th, someone from Peace Corps is coming to see me

-23-26, I'll be in Kamenica for Xmas with several of the volunteers (so excited!!)

-28th, Rob is coming to visit from London!!!!

Then, there is obviously New Years, which I don't know what we'll be doing for that, but then I have the first three weeks of January off for winter break. WOOHOO!! I plan on using the time off to spend time with people, start organizing the clubs/events for the school, and maybe travel a bit around Macedonia. I am just so excited for these next few weeks!!

That's all for now. Things are good. It's still taking some adjusting to not being home for the holidays, but I am finally beginning to feel like I have a home here. : )

It's hard to believe tomorrow is already Wednesday.

This week has already been an eventful one!! Monday morning, I was surprised with some house warming gifts from my Director. He'd heard about my lack of decent kitchenware and decided to bring me some!! I ended up with some stainless steal silverware, some nice drinking glasses, and some cooking utensils!! I was totally blown away by how nice the gesture was...it was a fantastic way to begin the day!!

Later that day, I began filming something for an event the school is throwing on December 18th. I met with a group of boys who will be playing in the game, and we filmed for a bit. Later, I spent some time with Emilija at her house. She truly has such a sweet family, and I always feel like I'm at home when I'm at her house!! That night, I was able to do some much needed online chatting with friends and family back home. Thank goodness for having internet.

I'm actually having some problems with my apartment right now. For instance, my hot water boiler for my shower only provides hot water for about 2 minutes, if that. You can imagine how impossible it is for me to have a decent shower. I'm also experiencing problems with my bathroom actually flooding, because the pipes all seem to be messed up. I haven't wanted to complain too much to anyone about it, because I dont like to feel like Im burdening anyone. Not to mention, I like to see if I can fix things on my own first. Well, my Director ended up contacting Peace Corps about it, who ended up calling me last night to discuss what needed to be done. I had Emilija get my landlord over last night, and he honestly did not believe there was any problem at all. Basically, Peace Corps requires him to replace that boiler, if needed, so if he doesnt....well, I may be looking into a new home. Let's hope it doesnt come to that!!

This morning, I woke up and took my time getting ready. I attempted to make the lemon zest pasta I love so much, but not having the right red pepper flakes really dulled the flavor, but it was good non the less!! I filmed the guys for a second day, and they looked super in their uniforms!! Afterwards, I spent the entire afternoon editing the two videos. It was exhausting, so I ended up snacking on all the food I had in the house and turning on some good music. : ) Currently, both videos are done, so I'm feeling accomplished!!

Tomorrow will be a long day. I have a meeting at 12:30 for anyone who is interested in being a cheerleader for the event. I really hope girls show up!!!!! Afterwards, Emilija and I have our longest day where we have classes from 1:30-6:40pm, with no real break. I will be sleeping like a baby tomorrow night. Thursday and Friday shouldn't be too busy though, so I'll have some time to put into finalizing things for the basketball event.

All in all, everything is going really well for me. I am beginning to settle into living here, which is a great feeling. The difference in dialect is still a lot for me to take in, but I am slowly getting used to that as well. The hardest thing about being here so far is having to explain yourself to people so that they understand you. A lot of people here can't understand why I like to spend so much time alone or why I'm sometimes being so quiet. How can I actually explain what it feels like to be in a country so different from my own with no family and friends nearby? It's a difficult concept to grasp, because most people have never had to make such a transition in their life....so they can't understand why it takes me a little while to come around fully. You know?

What I really need now to is find some friends here....and non-American ones. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE my volunteers buddies, but I really need someone who actually lives in the city and will come over and cook some dinner with me. I need someone I can relate to, someone to shop with, someone to drink a glass of wine with on my balcony, someone to travel with....I was just telling Lilika today, that in America, I'd play volleyball every Monday and Wednesday with my friends in the park. Afterwards, Amanda and I would always go eat Mexican food. Just the routine was something I looked forward to every week, and I miss having a girlfriend I can share all my time with...I'm really looking forward to making some friends, I simply don't know where to find them. : )

Enough for now!! I've recently discovered that I can actually rent movies on Itunes for about $3.99 per rental, and I am loving it!! So tonight, I plan on hibernating in bed with a movie and some popcorn. Sweet dreams everyone!!

This weekend was by far entertaining.

Friday, I decided I absolutely had to get out of the apartment. I was still feeling really down over Thursday's bad news. I decided to invite a couple of the closer volunteers into the city for dinner and drinks. CJ and Elena made their way into town, where we ended up indulging in chicken fingers, salads, pizza, and some beers. The night was just what I needed to start feeling better. I began to feel normal....it simply felt nice to be out having a drink with some friends on a Friday....and I needed that. In the meantime, I was texting Sara and Anna, two of the volunteers I lived in Lozovo with. I told them about my loss back home, and they agreed to come to my rescue first thing in the morning!!

Saturday morning was kind of slow...I got up SUPER early and ended up cleaning up a bit before the girls got into town. Saturday turned out to be just perfect. I showed them around Kochani for a bit. We went into a lot of the little stores I pass by so often, and now I know where to go buy clothes and accessories!! We grabbed lunch in the center, and then we decided we were going to have an epic slumber party. Naturally, we needed some essentials, like snacks and drinks, so after a mini shopping spree in the grocery store, we headed back to the apartment. We seriously went all out. We lounged around in our comfy clothes eating endless amounts of food and playing the most ridiculous games, all while catching up on how our first weeks were. I absolutely LOVED Saturday!! By the end of the night, we were all laying on my bed with my mini Xmas tree flashing its lights in the background and it felt like I had a home.

Sunday morning was a long one. We decided to finally try and figure out my washing machine. To our surprise, my entire bathroom got flooded. It's a long story.....so anyways, here we are, literally scooping buckets of water in the sinks, when I decide I want to make more coffee. Suddenly, my french press slips on some water on the table and slams onto the floor busting into pieces and scattering all the coffee and grinds all over the carpet!! And we have ALL of this on camera!! In the meantime, I had to figure out where and how to hang my laundry, on top of a few other mishaps around the apartment. It was honestly one of those days where EVERYTHING either breaks, goes missing, or simply goes wrong. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to my ladies as it got later. I was so sad to have them leave, but I cannot express how thankful I was to have such good friends who were ready to come see me at the drop of a hat. I suddenly felt like I had a real home....I guess I just needed help breaking it in. : )

This week should be fun!! Im running a big basketball event with my school where the students, teachers, and parents all play against each other. The event isnt until Dec 18th, but we are getting together all the media for the event, starting tomorrow. I've also still got the Model UN stuff I am working on, and we have a holiday on Thursday, which means no school. I plan on settling in a bit more this week...just taking my time with things and spending more time trying to make some local friends. And perhaps I'll try to find a new french press in the meantime.

Oh, and guess who has a friend coming into town for New Years?! THIS GIRL!! : )

Oh, and here's a photo of me and the ambassador

Today has been such a mixture for me. I worked first shift this morning, which meant school began at 7:15 for me. The day was fun!! I got to speak with the director of the school for a couple hours over coffee, and we had some excellent conversation!! It's really interesting hearing about the education system here and how it compares to what we have in America...it's also incredible to hear about all the change that has happened here over such a short period of time. Im lucky to have a Director who is interested in forming a relationship with me, as I know some volunteers arent as lucky.Classes were fine. There was one class today that was mostly girls, and they were so fun!! It must have been from all the coffee I drank, but I was just SO HYPER by the end of the day. After school, Emilija took me to go buy a lamp, and I ended up finding the coolest lamp ever. It looks like it is straight out of IKEA or something...like, I like it so much, I wouldnt be surprised if I tried to bring it home with me. Following the lamp shop, I decided to venture out on my own down to the bazaar that comes through every Thursday. There, I bought my own lettuce, cabbage, mandarines, and lemons...all in Macedonian!!

A couple hours later, I met up with Lilika, the student whose photo I posted in my last entry. She wanted to take me up to what is called Freedom Monument (I think) for some sunset photos. It was INCREDIBLE!!Here is a view of Kocani from the top!!

This is the monument. I believe it was built in the 1980s...maybe 1981.

Another view

The monument from the other side

This is Lilika. dont you love her hood?! I told her I want one : )

Afterwards, we walked back into the center, where I discovered all sorts of shops putting out Xmas decorations. GOODNESS, this made my day!!!!! So I splurged, and I bought a small Xmas tree!! I even managed to buy some super cheap lights from one of the little Asian shops. This turned out to be an AWFUL idea, because one of the literally blew-up in my hands....seriously, it blew-up. It scared the daylights out of me, not to mention, I couldnt see clearly for about 2 minutes following the explosion. No worries though, I still had one strand. See:

Anyways....the second half of my day was not as good as the first part, unfortunately. I was talking with my mother online, and she informed me of an awful 45 car wreck in Nashville. 45 CARS!! I was so surprised to hear this, and then she told me one person did die in the wreck. About 45 minutes later, I get on Facebook, and I instantly read the newsfeed.....one of my friends, Paul Warren, was the person that died.

I was shocked. I cant quite describe it. Death is something Ive always had a really hard time managing. Paul was such a good guy, and he always loved to hear about my new adventures in life. I actually saw Paul the last day I was in Nashville....he works at my bank. In fact, Paul was the one who help me set up my photography business account, back in the day!! My family has always liked Paul, and from what I've heard, he actually just got married only a couple of months ago. It's just so sad.

I immediately called my sister with the news. She was also in shock. It's strange that I found out before her, and I'm on the other side of the world, but Im just glad I was able to call her. I think I may need to just hibernate tonight. It's one of those unfortunate events where you look at everything going on in life, and you take inventory. I feel sad that I cant be home right now for the news, but this will just be another growing experience for me here.

Till tomorrow...tell everyone you love them : )

So I havent been home much, so I havent had time to write a proper update. But before I forget, here is a link to some of my photos from the swearing-in ceremony. You will also find a couple photos of my new home at the end of the album!!Swearing-In CeremonyEverything is going really well. I started teaching, and I think the kids all really like me, and Im sure they think I'm a little crazy, haha!! I'm still finding it hard to fully adjust to being here....don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it, but Im just trying to adjust still. I had a great day today though....here is a photo one of the students at my school took. Her name is Lilika, and we are going to become photography buddies!!I like the photo. Anywho, I am making new friends already! I made friends with a French guy. One of the guys who works for Peace Corps put him in touch with me and some of the other volunteers that live around here, so that was fun. I also met CJ this week. He lives super close, and we will be doing the Model UN stuff together. Paul and Elena, two more volunteers, came over the other night. I made RANCH DRESSING (thank you, women and men of Willowbrook), and we ate the living hell out of it!!!!!!! Goodness it was so good. For the record, if you want to send me Ranch dressing and other seasoning packets, please do so. I also made my lemon alfredo pasta I love so much, AND I had to make more sugar cookies, because people are in love with them. My counterpart's son wont stop talking about them, so I made more and gave her some to give to him. Haha, fun fun!!

Now all I need is to find some Xmas decorations. I hope I get to feeling festive sometime soon. Im feeling really fortunate to have such a great placement. That's all for now!!