Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Happiness is MINE! Mwah hah hah!

You’re reading the words of a new person. Yesterday, during a run along a lakeside path in my new hometown of Struga, I was overcome by elation. Runner’s high, you ask? Maybe, but I think it’s something else.

For the past year, I have been battling with my time here. Overall, life has been fine. Gostivar was an interesting (albeit conservative) town, my apartment was fantastic, and I had the good fortune of being site-mates with two awesome PCVs, Beth and Shaun. However, my major motivation for coming here—to do something environmental—went unfulfilled, for reasons that I won’t delve into here. Also, when I arrived in Gostivar, I was rather timid; most of the people I encountered weren’t speaking Macedonian, and I feared offending people by speaking the “wrong” language. Even as my language skills improved, I held onto my taciturn ways. Regarding language in general, my coworkers in Gostivar all spoke English fluently, so I didn’t get much practice with Macedonian and Albanian. I felt as though my language acquisition was stagnating, thus frustrating my inner student and my desire for competence. I came to accept my life in Gostivar and thought that my Peace Corps service would just be an elaborate waiting game.

Then a couple months ago, in response to an update from me, my parents knocked some sense into me. They said in plain terms that I need to change my situation. I had briefly considered “a change” in the past, but PC administration in Macedonia seemed determined to keep volunteers at their assigned sites (unless there were safety and security concerns, of course). Anytime I expressed frustration with my work assignment, I was told to pursue “side projects.” However, in September, the administration in Macedonia changed and was amenable to site changes. Suddenly, all the people who had been lobbying for site changes were granted them (provided they had legitimate reasons). I had another option. But I also had a huge fear: was my dissatisfaction with my Peace Corps experience MY fault? Will I move somewhere new and have the same problems? Am I sabotaging my own efforts?

After three days in Struga, my new site, I can answer those questions in one word: NO. And I can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

My coworkers are fantastic. They speak to me in clear Macedonian, but know enough English to translate a few words if I need it. They have lots of ideas for projects and activities and are eager to hear my ideas. One of my coworkers is a retired teacher, and we have a lot in common, considering our superficial differences: veganism (she’s "fasting" for Advent), knitting and composting, to name a few.

My apartment, although not as modern, clean, large, and well-stocked as my first, is growing on me. It's on the seventh floor, which offers a great view of the snow-capped mountains in addition to a makeshift Stairmaster (y'know, real stairs, like in the olden days). I don't have a television, which is forcing me to do things that won't make my brain rot, such as cleaning, cooking, reading, exercising, and orienting myself with the town.

Struga is a great town. It has a cute pedestrian center, a huge produce market every day, gorgeous views, two beaches (with pebbles, not sand), a clean river, a jogging trail, lots of young people, and about a 50-50 split between Albanians and Macedonians so I have ample opportunities to practice. I've seen posters for a yoga club, which I will investigate further.

There are also two great volunteers in Struga: Ian, a member of my group who works at the municipality, and Patty, a member of the new group who works with the scout troup. Ian is the seasoned Struga veteran and lives in my apartment building, whereas Patty is still fairly new and a good wandering-around buddy.

Perhaps more important than any of these things is my attitude; I'm making a concerted effort to do things "right" this time. I'm chatting up store owners, making it somewhat obvious that I'm not from around here so we have something to talk about. (I've gotten really good at my introductory spiel, so usually compliments about my language skills follow, which encourages me to speak more. It's a great cycle.)

So, in short, I'm doing great. Thank you to everyone who supported me through my tough first year. Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 23, 2004

First Picture!


First Picture!
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.
I just figured out how to post pictures on my blog! I hope this works...

This is a picture from our Peace Corps Thanksgiving shin-dig. L to R: Me,
Sarah, Alison, Kristin, Leanne, Shayne. Beth's in the front.

Thanksgiving was great. Lots of the vegan delights, so I didn't go hungry.

Last Days in Gostivar!

It’s final: I’m moving to Struga! On the day after Christmas, no less. What a present.

For those of you who don’t know what “the deal” is, here’s a brief overview of what generally happens and what happened with me:

1. Organizations (NGOs, local governments, schools) apply to the Peace Corps office in Skopje expressing interest in receiving a volunteer.
2. The PC staff in Skopje researches these applicants and develops potential sites for volunteers.
3. The volunteers (i.e. me) arrive in Macedonia for 3 months of training.
Sometime during that 3 months, the PC staff decides which volunteers should work with which organizations.
4. At the end of training, the volunteers move to their new communities in Macedonia and begin work with their host organizations (for me, I moved to Gostivar to work with an “environmental” organization.
5. In most cases, the volunteer stays with the same organization in the same community for two years. However, in some cases such as mine, the volunteer and the organization are not a good match. In my case, I’m an environmental volunteer and must be working with an environmental organization on environmental activities. However, my host organization in Gostivar isn’t doing any environmental activities anymore, so I need something else to do.
6. First, we (me and my supervisor at the PC office) looked at potential new host organizations in Gostivar. None.
7. Then, we looked at potential host organizations in other parts of Macedonia. The best match for my interests and skills is in Struga, a tourist town about 2 hours south of Gostivar.

Throughout this whole process, there’s a ton of bureaucracy, including many documents that serve to legitimize my presence here. I can’t just float around the country doing whatever I want: I need memoranda of cooperation, registration documents, country agreements, housing leases, visas, etc., all necessitating many long conversations between the Peace Corps, my host organization(s), landlords, the police, the phone company, the Macedonian government... you get the picture.

So, in short, I’m happy about moving to Struga and working with an organization that shares some of my environmental ideals, but I’m dreading all the hoops I’m going to have to jump through to get settled in. I’ll miss my friends in Gostivar, particularly Beth and Shaun (the other PCVs here), but there are two other PCVs in Struga, Ian and Patty, and many other PCVs around Struga. Also, Peace Corps found me an apartment in Struga which I’m sure won’t be as nice as my apartment in Gostivar, but as long as I have a suitable bed, working refrigerator, and room to do Tae Bo, I’ll be happy.

I’m not going to post my home address here, but if want it, e-mail me and I’ll send it to you.
Happy holidays to all! I’m trying to figure out how to post pictures on here, so stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Change of Address!

With the holidays just a few weeks away, some of you might be thinking about sending me something. Well, there is a very good chance that I am going to be moving from Gostivar to the lovely lakeside town of Struga within the next month or so. Since the postal system here is—ahem—less than reliable, I strongly recommend that you send anything and everything to the Peace Corps office in Skopje. It will take a little longer for me to receive things, but at least I will eventually get them.

Liz Abbett
Peace Corps
Oslo 6
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
Europe

If you have already sent something, don’t fret. I’ll probably be living in Gostivar for the next couple weeks, and possibly longer. And I’ll try to be ultra-prompt in sending thank-you e-mails for items received, so we can track down any missing items if need be.