Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Phlegmatic Appreciation

One of the things that Peace Corps (as an organization and as an overall experience) has instilled in us is taking an appreciative approach to things that might normally be perceived as problems. My friend and fellow Gostivar PCV Shaun recently applied the appreciative approach to a common problem that we encounter, and I thought it illustrated our collective experience rather well.

Everyday when Shaun, Beth and I leave our respective apartments, we face challenges on the streets of Gostivar. It could be a car jumping onto the sidewalk, a cohort of mischievous adolescent boys plotting to attack us, or a pile of rotting cabbage on the corner. But by far, the most stomach-churning, gag-inducing behavior that we witness multiple times a day is the phenomenon of hawking loogies. “Hawking a loogie” is not merely spitting, but a loud, reverberating loosening of throat and sinus mucus followed by airborne projection of said mucus. (Ask Scott for a demonstration if you need a real-life example.) Such hawking is common here and seems to be a social event shared by men and women, boys and girls, Orthodox Christians and Muslims, dogs and cats. It’s the one thing everyone can agree on.

Usually the only assault that we have to endure as a result of such hawking is auditory, but on occasion, the loogies make contact. Last winter, I had the pleasure of receiving a loogie on the arm of my jacket. The perpetrator did not hawk on me on purpose; rather, he was hawking as he was turning and was in mid-expulsion when he saw me in the path of the loogie. His apology: “Uhh” (which, FYI, does NOT translate as “sorry” in any of the languages spoken here).

Anyway, Shaun devised a strategy for dealing with the revulsion that accompanies being a witness to loogie-hawking. After a few days of observation, Shaun realized that on his daily trek from his apartment to his office, he usually hears from two to five loogie-hawkings. Based on that figure, he decided that he would begin counting all the loogie-hawkings that he hears every day, and if the daily total meets or exceeds seven loogie-hawkings, he buys himself a prize, a reward for enduring such disgusting behavior.

Beth and I have been thinking about taking such an approach as well. We thought that we could have competitions to see who could witness the most loogie-hawkings in a day. Or we could get one of those fundraising thermometers and keep a running total of all the loogie-hawkings, and when we “reach our goal,” we get some BIG prize, like going skiing together or something.

The Moral of the Story: It’s easy to drive yourself completely insane by focusing on things that are gross/smelly/ugly/uncomfortable/different and how much those things irritate you. When the thing that is making you crazy is not something you can realistically change, you need to change how you deal with it. How can you make a situation that makes you want to hit someone make you laugh instead? Another coping strategy for this particular irritant is joining in. Beth and I have been known to echo hawking noises. We also take particular pleasure in spitting when we go running. (I’m more of demure spitter, whereas Beth sounds like she’s trying to expel her lungs out of her mouth.)

Nitpicking Question: Is it “hawking”? Or “hocking”? And did I spell “loogie” correctly? Is it “Lougie” or something instead? (Like the namesake is guy named Lou?) Anyone with further information, please post a comment.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Cue the Holidays!

Yesterday, I went to South-Eastern Europe University (SEE) in Tetovo to give a presentation about American holidays. One of my friends here, Aide, teaches a class there about American culture and she asked me to help out. Although it took all Monday to prepare the PowerPoint presentation, everything went well and I think the students enjoyed it. Even better, there were a couple students in the class who live in Gostivar and want to get together for coffee sometime! Yay new friends!

The presentation itself was pretty funny to me, primarily because I was describing things that every American knows. Sample: “Santa Claus is a fat jolly guy with a white beard in a red suit. He lives at the North Pole with Mrs. Claus. He supervises a team of elves at his toy workshop. His primary mode of transportation is a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer.” Also, when describing Thanksgiving, I put a picture of Scott and Rachel’s work friend, Justin, doing the dishes. “In America, MEN know how to WASH DISHES. And they actually DO it. Revolutionary, I know.”

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Don’t cry for me, Argentina, because I’ll be going to a big PC-sponsored feast in Veles, the city where the trainees (soon-to-be-volunteers!) are training. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Go easy on the turkey, says the vegan. I am so thankful for all my friends and family. I love you!

Thursday, November 18, 2004

My Uncertain Future in Makdo

The past two days have dramatically altered the course of my Peace Corps service. On Wednesday, I met with my Peace Corps Environmental Education and Management Program Manager and my PC-assigned coworker at my host organization in Gostivar. In short, we officially terminated my relationship with my host organization. I have been feeling rather dissatisfied with my work here, primarily because my host organization is pursuing non-environmental activities, and because of other issues. After consulting with my parents and PCV (volunteer) friends who know the whole saga, I decided that I need to start with a new organization.

So now I have two general options: Stay in Gostivar and find another organization, most likely a school, to work with on environmental education, or move to another community to an organization that has already formally applied for a PCV. I don’t really want to move, but if I can find a person/organization that is committed to the environment and that I have some chemistry with, I will consider moving. So far, the front-runner is a self-proclaimed environmental activist that is on the faculty of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) University, which is located in Tetovo, a city about a 20 minutes north of Gostivar.

Next moves: Meet with biology teachers in Gostivar to find a few that want to improve the environmental education curriculum, and meet with above-mentioned environmentalist.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Welcome!

So, friends and family, I have decided to abandon the high-maintenance webpage for this simpler mode of communication. I'll try to put up something new once a week, or whenever inspiration strikes.

For those of you just tuning in, here's a summary of the past year:

  • Arrived in Macedonia September 2003.
  • Lived in Kochani (in eastern Macedonia) with great host parents for three months while going through language/cultural/environmental training.
  • Moved to Gostivar (in western Macedonia) in late November 2003 to work at a local environmental NGO that applied to receive a volunteer and Peace Corps deemed would be a good match for me.
  • Spent 8 months doing nothing, but always with the promise that "something" would happen "as soon as we get the money."
  • Went to Budapest for a week with my PCV friend, Beth, to visit her brother and eat Mexican food.
  • Spent a couple months preparing for and implementing a week-long environmental summer camp for kids as a joint effort between the handful of environmental PCVs in Macedonia.
  • Went on vacation to Greece with the real parents, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law.
  • Resumed doing nothing for 3 months.
  • Decided that if I'm going to be here for another year, I would like to do something in addition to nothing, although I've gotten very good at occupying myself with various hobbies and housekeeping. In order to do something, I need to find a new group of people that also want to do something, preferably something that appeals to my interests, skills, and Peace-Corps mandate of environmental activities, as per my job description.

So now I'm trying to find another organization, such as a school, in Gostivar that is interested in doing some sort of environmental education activity, such as beefing up their current curriculum or starting an environmental club. However, Peace Corps won't let me flounder around without an official tie to an organization, so if I don't find something in Gostivar, there's the potential for me to be moved to another town in Macedonia. Which I don't really want to happen. I think you're all up to speed now.