Liz in Macedonia

Chao Struga!

2005-10-26T09:34:00.000+02:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm outta here! In about two hours, I'll be on the road to Skopje for a few days of administrative fun and frolic at the Peace Corps office.

Thanks, Struga! You've been a great place to spend the past year!

I'm Published!

2005-10-23T19:11:00.000+02:00

The following article appears in the latest issue of "Pauza!," the semi-official periodical of Peace Corps Macedonia. "Pauza" means "pause" or "break" in Macedonian, and is usually preceded by the word "kafe" (coffee). So, can I add this to my portfolio?

Larvae in My Legumes, Nits in My Nuts

by Liz Abbett

MAK8

Every few weeks, I have some unwanted visitors. No, not the swarthy guys from the local cafe-bar. Not my host family, not my landlords, not the Peace Corps volunteer who lives in the apartment below mine. These particular visitors eat my food then excrete in it.

I have bugs.

Now that I have ensured that none of you will ever come visit me, let me explain. I have had bugs in the past. I probably will have bugs in the future. If you have been here for a year, you have had bugs. (If you think you haven’t had bugs, you probably just didn’t notice and ate them all. Dude. Gross.) I hope that by exposing my experience with bugs and offering some of the strategies I have found for preventing and treating bug infestations, I’ll be able to save you from some of the stomach-turning experiences that I have had.

Most of the bugs that have found their way into my home entered via packaged nuts and grains. I also have extensive experience with ants, so much so that “mravki” (Macedonian for “ants”) became a staple of my lexicon, both in English and in Macedonian. For example, “Ajde mravki” could originally be translated as “Let’s inspect the floor for ants and then kill them,” but eventually became used as “Let’s go, guys.” The ants followed me from my hometown of Gostivar to our in-service training in the village of Oteshevo, where my roommate and I were dubbed “The Mravki Girls” by a Peace Corps staff member. (For the record, the ants did not actually follow me, nor did I transport them on my person. I was just fortuitously assigned to a hotel room that was already booked for Ant-fest 2004.) Despite my experience with ants, most of this article will be devoted to the first category of critters, including which foods tend to harbor bugs, how to inspect foods prior to purchase, how to store foods to prevent proliferation, and what to do if you find bugs in your kitchen.

1. If it’s healthy, bugs like it.
You’ll inevitably find some bugs in your produce. However, these bugs are less dangerous to your food supply than the kinds that come with dry goods since dry goods will likely be nestled in with lots of other stuff and will sit on your shelf longer, giving the invaders a chance to spread. Here is a list of the foods that I have found to host bugs: rice, cereal, wheat grains, sesame seeds, baked chick peas, pecans, walnuts, almonds, raisins, prunes. I have also found bugs in the corners of tea boxes, which most likely traveled from the neighboring nuts in search of a cozy place to spin a cocoon. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it should give you an idea of which foods are vulnerable.

2. Fish for CHIPS when shopping.
Before purchasing a suspect item, fully inspect it using the CHIPS method, a handy mnemonic device that I made up five seconds ago. You will want to be in bright light, if possible. I inspect these items again before stashing them, as well as before I use them.

Crumbs – As bugs eat their way through your potential foodstuff, they generate a lot of small crumbs that settle at the bottom of the package. Lots of crumbs calls for closer inspection.

Holes – Look for circular holes that are a millimeter or two in diameter. These holes have been on every infested bag that I have seen. Sometimes, there will only be one or two holes, so look closely. You may also find holes of this size in produce.

Insects – I have not yet bothered to identify exactly which bugs I have found, but for explanatory purposes, I will classify them as “larvae” and “weevils.” The larvae are about a centimeter in length, off-white and wormy. The weevils look like tiny black ants on steroids, with scary little projections coming off their bodies. The larvae can be hard to spot in foods such as walnuts and wheat grains, but are my most common offender. As for the weevils, I bought a package of brown rice and I thought they were just the darker grains of rice. Oops.

Packaging – The flimsier the packaging, the more likely you are to find bugs. When I find bugs, they’re usually in items in the “store brand” clear unlabeled baggies. However, I have also found them in factory-packaged goods, such as the above-mentioned brown rice. Also worthy of note is that the rice was purchased at a well-known “American-style” grocery store. Bugs are not a problem limited to convenience stores of questionable repute!

Spiderwebs – Larvae leave a trail of spiderweb-like stuff in their wake. In addition to looking for the web-stuff directly, I suggest you do the “Crazy Crumb Test.” The web-stuff clings to loose material (like crumbs and flakes), causing them to do strange things like levitate, wobble and dangle. If the crumbs do not respond normally to gravity, then you probably have bugs.

3. Fort Knoxify your kitchen.
Even if you thoroughly inspect your purchases, there is still a chance that you will find a bug or two in your cabinets. Your goals should be to contain any bugs in their host food and to keep any freelance bugs out of your bugless food. I highly recommend transferring vulnerable food to sturdier containers, such as jars, Tupperware and Ziploc bags. (Finally, the jars of ajvar from your host family have a purpose!) For you cheapskates out there, look for foods that come in reusable Tupperware-esque containers, such as olives, margarine, peanut butter or that Eurocreme goop. The medical kits also have some great containers. Additionally, if you have any foods that are valuable (i.e. expensive or imported), put them in sturdier containers to protect them. If you do not have such containers readily available, double bag and make sure that the bags are securely closed.

4. Debug your kitchen.
If you follow the above recommendations, then any bugs in kitchen shouldn’t get very far. If you find an infested food product, throw it away (if it was cheap) or sort through it (if you have the patience) and wash the remaining bug-free food. Inspect any neighboring food products for signs of bugs, as well as the walls of the cabinets (much like Peace Corps volunteers, these suckers like to travel). Remove and inspect everything, if you feel so inclined.

5. Antagonize ants.
Ants are more of a springtime problem, so commit the following tips to memory. Some household ant deterrents are cinnamon and cloves. If you can locate the point of entry for the ants, sprinkle whole cloves (one every couple inches) or cinnamon in that area. If you cannot find the point of entry, at least safeguard your kitchen by sprinkling cloves or cinnamon around the food that you want to protect (e.g. around the edges of your cabinet). I had ants of mysterious origin in my kitchen but they never got into my food, thanks to lines of cloves on my shelves and cinnamon in the cracks between my cabinets from where the ants seemed to emerge.

This article probably makes me seem crazy and/or squalid. The jury is still out on the crazy charge, but I keep a pretty clean house. If bugs can get into my kitchen, they can get into yours. Unless, of course, you subsist on a steady diet of canned meat paste and the Turkish answer to Pringles. I don’t know about you, but I’ll keep taking my chances with the bugs.

Bon appetit!

You know you're leaving Peace Corps Macedonia when...

2005-10-13T17:41:00.000+02:00

1. You respond to losing your cell phone with "Eh."
2. You're begging other volunteers to come over and take your forks/ripped jeans/neglected houseplant.
3. You start buying your toilet paper by the roll rather than by the 4-pack.
4. You remind your friends and family to stop sending you snail mail (FedEx still OK, Mom).
5. You have explained air travel baggage limitations to 23 people who want to give you jars of ajvar to take home.
6. You give people "presents" such as a half-empty box of salt or an individual tea bag.
7. Everyday you say, "This is the last time I will ever--" at least once.
8. You no longer know what the date is, only how many days you have left ("What's today?" "Sixteen!").
9. You're plotting how to discreetly dispose of that cubic meter of compost on your balcony.
10. You throw away your underwear rather than wash it.
11. You're desperately trying to get the posters off the walls of your apartment without taking off the paint (solution: hairdryer).
12. You're using a bottle of white-out to cover up the spots where the paint chipped off anyway (stupid hairdryer).
13. You're freaking out. In a good way. I guess.

Li'l Update

2005-10-05T22:20:00.000+02:00

Last weekend, a sizeable group of Peace Corps gals was supposed to hike Mt. Pelister, which is rumored to be the best (marked) hike in the country. Well, first, half of the group backed out. Then the forecast called for rain all weekend. Thus, no hiking for anyone. Since I had cleared that weekend anyway, I decided to go to Bitola (near Pelister) to visit my friend Kristin. We had a lovely little time drinking lots of tea and picking over the past two years. And we found fresh mushrooms. (At a grocery store, not in the wild. And “fresh” is opposed to “packed in a bladder of formaldehyde-esque brine solution.”)

I have spent most of this week complaining about how much work I have to do without actually doing any of it. Well, I have agonized over my Description of Service (DOS) statement, which is supposed to be a detailed résumé for the past two years. For those of you who have been keeping up with my life here, you can imagine that it’s not an easy task. And I have checked a few other things off my list, such as washing my plastic tablecloth, printing a bunch of pictures for my host family (SHH! It’s a surprise!) and creating interesting recipes from my remaining dry goods.

And tomorrow I head to Gostivar to say good-bye to some friends and acquaintances. Friday, I go on to Skopje for my dental cleaning and medical exam, then continue to the other corner of the country to visit my host family one last time. Monday, I’ll probably start heading back to Struga, with an overnight stopover in Veles, which is where the newest group of trainees is currently stationed. Luckily, Monday and Tuesday are holidays, so I don’t have to fill out oodles of paperwork to request vacation time. (Bless you, Macedonia, and your many less-than-successful uprisings!)

Important numbers:
21 – days until I leave Struga for Skopje
25 – days until I leave Macedonia for England
41 – days until I’m home!

If you use these for Lotto, I want a cut of your winnings.

Finding Religion

2005-09-28T10:36:00.000+02:00

Thank you to Declan for bringing this to my attention. Here are two of my favorite FSM-related graphics. First, the paragon of scientific support for FSMism... ...and now an artistic rendering of Him by Niklas Jansson. I now feel complete.

I'm Pathetic

2005-09-27T21:11:00.000+02:00

Tonight, I was watching a Thanksgiving episode of The Simpsons (second season; Bart flings Lisa’s centerpiece into the fireplace) and I started to cry. Especially when they mentioned the sweet potatoes. Don’t get no sweet potatoes ‘round these parts. No yams neither.

Oh, Maklish...

2005-09-27T21:01:00.000+02:00

And just because I feel like it, here’s a picture of one of my favorite signs in Struga. In case you can’t read it, it says “Welcome to the best grill in the town end all kinds lake fish thanks you for your trust welcome again!” When I am deciding which restaurant to patronize, trustworthiness isn’t usually one of my criteria. Perhaps it should be.

Struga Five-O

2005-09-17T23:12:00.000+02:00

It was bound to happen. Spend two years in a foreign country and you’ll inevitably have at least one run-in with the cops. Or, in my case, a swim-in.

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful, so I decided to go for a swim in the lake. Of course, it is now far too late in the year for any right-minded bearer of a Macedonian passport to go swimming, so I was the only person actually in the water. (“You go swimming NOW?! But it’s too cold!” Wimps. Get into an outdoor pool in DC in May, and then we’ll talk.)

I should probably mention that when I go swimming, I GO SWIMMING. None of this standing-around, old-lady-sidestroke, little-mermaid-hair-flipping bullhonky. Racing suit. Cap. Goggles. Stopwatch. Giddy up.

So, in my usual fashion, I headed out past the reeds and weeds toward the middle of the lake, then turned to swim parallel to the shore and around the aforementioned reeds and weeds. I swam past a couple beaches and reed beds, then turned back after about a half an hour. I realized that this might be the last time I’m in the lake, so I took off my goggles and did a little elementary backstroke (AKA tickle-T-touch AKA monkey-airplane-soldier) so I could look at the beautiful mountains that surround the lake.

I was in mid-monkey when I saw a nice speedboat heading straight for me. (Cue “Miami Vice” theme song.) This was particularly unusual because (1) there were no other boats on the lake, and (2) nice boats are few and far between here. Not so unusual that it was heading straight for me, as boaters in these parts like to use me for target practice. As the boat approached me, it slowed down and I saw POLICIJA emblazoned on the side. Was I breaking a law? No swimming after September 15th? Speeding? Illegal breaststroke kick? At least I felt comfortable that they wouldn’t deliberately run over me. They kept pace with me for a few minutes, then they continued on toward my destination, the little beach by my apartment building. I noticed that they were poking around the reeds a lot, but still wasn’t sure what they were doing.

After a few more minutes, the boat turned around and began to return from whence it came. They honked at me and asked if I was going to “that beach.” Yes, I replied. They said something else that I didn’t quite understand and sped off. Then, as my little beach came into view from behind the reed bed, I saw four men standing and looking toward the lake…and I understood.

I had been gone for so long that they called the police to search for me! Apparently, going swimming for an hour is highly unlikely here. The men on the beach greeted me with a heroine’s welcome, thoroughly amazed that I could still walk after such an ordeal. I was touched that these strangers were so concerned about me. I was sorry that I worried them so much. I was disturbed by a mental picture of my body entangled in the reeds. But more than anything, I found it hilarious.

What I find particularly amusing is this: The police were responding to a call about a missing swimmer. They head directly toward the only swimmer in the lake, who happens to be relatively close to the place that the missing swimmer was last seen. They pass the swimmer, spend fifteen minutes poking around the reeds, THEN ask the swimmer if she’s the missing person. Brilliant.

What a way to end the summer. If I manage to get in another swim this year, I’ll be sure to tell the nearest sunbather to call the police only AFTER I’ve been gone for an hour.

PS: In exactly 6 weeks, I will be in London. Holla.

Churches Galore

2005-09-15T19:41:00.000+02:00

Last weekend, Beth came down to Struga for a weekend of local sightseeing. First, we hit up the cave churches in the villages of Radozda and Kalista. The cave church in Radozda is dedicated to Archangel Michael and dates back to the 13th century. The church is usually kept locked, so we had to go into the closest restaurant and ask for the key.

The inside of the cave church in Radozda.

Kalista has two cave churches. The church dedicated to the Holy Mother (Sveti Bogorodica) dates back to the 15th century is attached to a hotel (Comfort Inn and Monastery). It consists of a rickety staircase that joins a few creepy cave-rooms that have frescoes, altars and other orthodox-y things. (Sorry, no pictures yet.)

The other cave church, Sveti Atanas, is much less attached to a hotel. Beth and I had seen enough churches, so we decided not to seek the key to this one, and instead opted to take silly pictures.

The second cave church in Kalista... and me.

Next, we went to Sveti Naum, or as Beth kept calling it, Sweaty Naum. (In case you haven’t figured it out yet, “Sveti” means “Saint.”) Here, there is yet another church/monastery attached to a hotel. Thankfully for these churched-out girls, Sweaty Naum also boasts a peacock colony, freshwater springs, a few beaches and beautiful vistas. And we were boasting wine, chips and salsa in our backpacks.

Apparently they breed the peacocks to match the paint jobs on the nearst car.

Funny story (that you may or may not find funny): We saw a little hut-church called Saint-something-other-than-Naum. Inside there were lots of traditional orthodox offerings, such as money, oil and knitwear (seriously). Outside of the hut-church, there was a little sign with an arrow indicating “Saint Water.” We followed the arrow, and it led to A FAUCET. And the faucet was surrounded by the same kinds of offerings as in the hut-church. At the time, we were in dire need of a bathroom, so we proceeded to look around for an arrow pointing to “Saint Toilet.” (We didn’t find it. A non-holy toilet sufficed, though.)

Krushevo

2005-09-06T12:41:00.000+02:00

Krushevo was not only the site of our COS conference—it is also a hotbed of Macedonian history! Early in the 20th century when Macedonia was still under Ottoman rule, a bunch of Krushevites rose up against their oppressors and founded the first incarnation of an independent Macedonian republic, conveniently called the Krushevo Republic. The Krushevites held down the fort (a figurative fort, I think) for all of 10 days before the Ottomans returned and put their feet up on the nascent republic.

Krushevo is somewhat of a tourist destination these days. In the 70s, a monument in honor of the short-lived Krushevo Republic was built. However, two fatal errors were made with regard to this monument. First, they named it the “Makedonium.” I don’t know about you, but for me, that name evokes images of a crumbling sports complex. Second, they modeled the monument after a retro-futuristic tinker-toy spaceship.

Makedonium aside, Krushevo was a darling little mountain town. And they have a great public transportation system.

COS Conference

2005-09-06T12:14:00.000+02:00

From Tuesday until Friday of last week, I joined my fellow volunteers from the MAK8 group at our Close of Service Conference in Krushevo. Various members of the PC staff in Skopje gave us tons of information about all the things we have to do before they will honorably discharge us—mostly paperwork. We also talked about what it will be like to leave Makdo and return to the United States. At some point, I realized that as much as I am looking forward to coming home, I will probably go through a rough transition period and sink into a mild depression for a month or so. Mom, Dad, this means I will likely spend hours on the phone with my PC friends, almost all of whom live in different time zones. We will probably just cry into our respective receivers, bawling about how no one in the United States gets it (“it” yet to be determined). Please just put up with me and soon I’ll return to normal (“normal” also yet to be determined).

At the COS conference, we did such things as list our accomplishments over the past 2 years. And on a scandalous side note, three of the (male) volunteers in this picture are either already married to or planning to marry women from Macedonia! Thus far, we have a total of 5 lifetime love matches in our group (2 female PCVs and their Makdo men, and 3 male PCVs and their Makdo women). Our Admin Guy, Jim, has playfully dubbed the Peace Corps Macedonia program the "Macedonian-American Dating and Marriage Service" or MADAMS, for short.

Get Out of Town

2005-08-25T00:15:00.000+02:00

Just thought it was about time for an update. Today (Thursday) I am heading back to the village to take advantage of a spanking-new PC Makdo policy: The old policy was that if we wanted to travel during the work week, we had to take vacation days (we are allotted 2 vacation days per month), even if our host organization or school was closed (as most are during July and August). Now, that policy is still basically the same, but with the exception of visiting our host families. If our local supervisor says it’s okay for us to leave, then we can go visit our host families during the week and not have to use vacation days. Hooray! Actually, I think my host parents are more excited than I am—after all, I’M the one who has to sit on a sweltering hot bus for six hours with people of questionable personal hygiene.

Anyway, I’ll be in Zrnovci making hundreds of jars worth of ajvar (Macedonia’s national condiment) until Tuesday, when I will board another bus (this time, only for about 3 hours) to go to a picturesque mountain town called Krushevo for our Close-of-Service (COS) conference. This will be the last official hurrah for my group, MAK8. We will do exciting things such as learn about the kind of post-service healthcare that PC provides, touchy-feely things such as reflect on our personal growth blah blah blah, and intoxicating things such as down many a gin and tonic. I should be back in Struga next Friday sometime, so don’t freak out if I don’t return your e-mails immediately (Mom).

And two months from today, I will be out of Struga and staying in Skopje to go through the official week-long COS probing.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

2005-08-18T20:33:00.000+02:00

Rachel, I was going to send you an e-mail, but planet-save is on the fritz. And this way, everyone gets in on the fun. Happy Birthday! Soon, I'll be saying "Happy Thanksgiving" to you in person!

Picture: Hike 'n' Swim

2005-08-17T17:02:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, a group consisting of 6 PCVs, 2 Serbs, a Macedonian and a Polander went on a long day hike starting in the nearby village of Vevcani and ending at an awesome little lake between two mountain ridges. On the way up, we were moving fast and sweating bullets. Once we got above the timberline, though, it got really cold and all of our sweaty clothes turned into wearable ice packs. That wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t been planning on going swimming in this mountaintop pond. Some people decided to stay on dry land, but the rest of us were stubbornly committed to going for a dip after all that hard work. Alex and Josh got in first, and said that the water was “cold but refreshing”. Ha! “Refreshing” my foot. The water was so cold that it knocked the wind out of me and I struggled to take in a single breath. After about a minute I was okay, and we swam around for a few more minutes before getting out. Getting dressed was a challenge because cold-induced rigor mortis had set in and my fingers stopped working. The sun was starting to go down and I had visions of turning into a human icicle. Luckily, once we got back into the trees and as long as I kept moving, I was fine. Look, ma, no hypothermia!

To get to the swimming hole, we had to climb a really steep ridge (not quite as forbidding as the ones in the background), but it was all worth it. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Matt, Josh, I and Alex br(rrr)ave the snowmelt.

We had a great view of Struga and Lake Ohrid. My apartment building is one of those white blocks on the right.

Picture: Bridge Jumping

2005-08-17T16:48:00.000+02:00

Struga has a (clean) river running through the center of town with about 5 bridges spanning it. A favorite summer pastime among local adolescent boys is to jump off the bridges. Of course, as Peace Corps Volunteers, we are supposed to participate in local customs, so we MUST jump off the bridges as well. On this particular day it was unseasonably cold, so I decided to put off jumping for another time. Here you see Chandra, Kaitlin, Adam, Josh and Alex taking the plunge off the highest bridge.

Couch Surfing

2005-08-09T00:07:00.000+02:00

A few months ago, I discovered a website that has potential to revolutionize travel as I know it. Lots of you probably already know about CouchSurfing.com (or the similar HospitalityClub.org), but for those of you who don’t, here’s a brief synopsis: These two non-profit ventures match up people who have a spare bed/couch/gymnastics mat with people who are looking to for a place to crash. The crash-ers search for crash-ees in destinations of their choice and contact those with whom they want to crash. Or, even if a match for accommodations isn’t made, folks can meet up for a beverage, meal, or other wholesome activity.

Well, the potential for free accommodations is very tempting, so I signed up for CouchSurfing.com. Both of these websites are based on systems of references, trust, and accumulated good experiences, so I figured that I should be open to letting people stay at my place in Struga. That way, when I want to invade peoples’ homes later, they will trust me to not harvest their organs while they sleep.

As a result, I hosted my first couch-surfer a few days ago and had a great experience. Her name’s Anna, and she’s a French medical student who was studying for the past year in Bucharest. Before coming to Struga, she had couch-surfed in Thessaloniki (Greece) and Skopje. She stayed at my place for two nights. I showed her around Struga a little, gave her my Macedonia travel guide, sent her off to Ohrid for a day, and talked with her about the post-communist mentality that is common to Macedonia and Romania. She also met a bunch of PCVs at a party that was going on in Struga. It was fun to meet someone new and introduce her to the area, and even better that she (probably like most couch-surfers) was happy to explore the area independently, leaving me to maintain my normal routine. And I still have both of my kidneys.

Anna, I hope you have a pleasant 30-hour bus trip from Bucharest to Lyon, and good luck with the rest of medical school! (And I promise to write you a nice reference soon!)

Prague and Istanbul

2005-08-03T11:34:00.000+02:00

A few days ago, I returned from a whirlwind trip to Prague and Istanbul. Originally, the idea had been just to go to Istanbul and meet up with my mother, but after realizing that I had extra vacation days to burn and that there were no flights from Makdo to Istanbul on the day that I wanted to go, I decided to tack a 4-day stay in Prague onto my trip.

Prague
Prague was an adventure for me because it was my first trip alone. I went there alone, I did all my sightseeing alone, I ate all my meals alone... and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I stayed in a great hostel, Sir Toby's, which had nice rooms and lots of friendly travelers to chat with over a pilsner. I also found a vegan buffet. Prague is a beautiful city, but completely overrun with tourists. I highly recommend going in the off-season.

Istanbul
My mother and I spent about a week in Istanbul. It was plenty of time to do everything that we wanted to do without having to feel rushed. Also, the ten words of Turkish that I know came in rather handy. Istanbul is also a beautiful city, and was probably not as overwhelming to me (and Mom, for that matter) as it might have been if I hadn't lived in Macedonia. Macedonia and Turkey share a number of cultural traits (the Ottoman empire included Macedonia, after all) that might strike some visitors as disconcerting, annoying, or simply different, but I have come to accept these traits as part of life here and have figured out how to accept or even enjoy them. That freed us up to enjoy Istanbul rather than freak out about the cultural differences.

I'll write more later.... There are some people here at the NGO center who need the computers to do some REAL work!

Picture: Whirling Dervishes

2005-08-03T11:25:00.000+02:00

Probably the most interesting and unexpected thing we saw in Istanbul was the Sufi religious ceremony-show at the Mevlevi Monastery. My mother and I now have a whirling dervish obsession. We have started writing a musical about whirling dervishes using parodies of Beach Boys songs. Sample: "Round round spin around, I spin around!"

Picture: Bone decor

2005-08-03T11:17:00.000+02:00

I took a day trip from Prague to the medieval town of Kutna Hora. One of K-H's big draws is a church that is decorated with the bones of 40,000 people. Here is the crest of some big-shot family, with a skull garland to make it more festive. That's a giant pyramid of bones behind the fence.

Picture: Prague Castle

2005-08-03T11:05:00.000+02:00

Here's the requisite picture of Prague Castle. It's a very pointy city.

Picture: Um.

2005-07-12T18:35:00.000+02:00

I...I don't know what to say. You all will have to fill in for me. Click that comment link. You know you want to. (The first two words say "Music Group" in Albanian, in case you couldn't figure it out.)

Let the Countdown Begin!

2005-07-11T23:03:00.000+02:00

October 29, 2005 is the magic day, my friends! I asked our Country Director (i.e. PC Macedonia head honcho) if I could move up my Close-of-Service (COS) date by a month, and she gave me the thumbs-up. It was surprisingly easy. I was expecting to have to plead my case before a jury of my superiors, but all I had to do was say “I want my mommy.” (Okay, not quite THAT easy, but close.)

If everything goes as planned, in exactly three months and eighteen days, I will be on my way to London for a nice, long, wear-out-my-welcome visit with Dan “Big Shot” Levy, who just received word that he will soon be moving to merry ol’ England and will be responsible for an obscene amount of GE’s money. (Single ladies in the London metropolitan area, call 1-900-DANIMAL for more information. Gentiles need not apply.) Dan and I will relive our dormitory days by fencing with my knitting needles while wearing funny hats and chemistry goggles. (Dang, I wish I had that picture to post.) From London, I’ll hop across the pond and FINALLY get to spend the holidays with my family in my own home. *Happy sigh*

Picture: Stop Looking at Me, Swans!

2005-07-03T22:10:00.000+02:00

I ran into this family of swans at the beach near my apartment building. They kept me entertained for half an hour. I highly recommend that everyone watch a swan preen its feathers while on land (the swan, not you) at least once. They manage to contort their necks into every position imaginable. Neither nook nor cranny is safe from the probing proboscis of the swan!

Henceforth, I shall refer to the swan as “Nature’s Colonoscope.” Especially that one on the left.

Who's been to Prague?

2005-06-30T22:30:00.000+02:00

In an attempt to use all my remaining vacation days, I have tacked a 4-day trip to Prague onto my rendezvous in Istanbul with the Flomster. The Flom is doing a great job planning the Turkey stuff, but I'll be on my own in the former Czechoslovak Republic of Czech.* My travel guides are pithy about Prague, so please pass on any recommendations, warnings, websites, or contact information of distant relatives that might be helpful. I'll be there from July 17 to July 21, then to Istanbul until July 29, then back to Makdo for a short 3 months of fun, frolic, and FINISHING!**

*If you don't get this, Google "FYROM"
**Finishing my service, that is. Not like finishing floors. Cowinkidinkally, another PCV in Struga actually IS finishing a floor in a nascent eco-tourism center.

Picture: A Fruitful Day

2005-06-26T18:27:00.000+02:00

In Macedonia, most people buy their produce at the pazar (think bazaar), the local marketplace which usually has some sort of open-air structure with display booths. Most towns have an everyday small pazar with a few greengrocers. However, once a week is the big pazar. On big-pazar-day, you can find everything. The freshest seasonal fruit? Check. Imported fruit that tastes like cardboard? Check. Livestock? Check. Lacy lingerie? Check. Some-assembly-required moonshine distillery unit? Check. It’s like Wegman’s, but everything has a thin film of dust on it.
Big-pazar-day (Saturday, in Struga) is always chaotic, with all of the villagers coming out of the woodwork to find the perfect sofa slipcovers or the best deal on ten kilos of parsley. Many people who are normally absent during the week will set up shop on the streets around the main pazar structure, selling their garden surplus, home-woven handicrafts, or “medicinal” mountain herbs off of cardboard boxes-cum-tables.

I love going to the pazar. Whenever I need a mood-boost (or, y’know, food), I go chat up my favorite grocers. On Saturdays, though, I go with a specific mission in mind: broccoli. Of the hundreds of produce stands, maybe one, occasionally two will have broccoli. And the good stuff gets snatched up quickly. Well, my friends, this Saturday, I found not only beautiful broccoli, but a host of other treasures…

1. Chick peas – it’s hummus time! Like Hammer time, but with a longer shelf life.
2. I don’t know what these are called. I think they’re related to plums.
3. Tofu – a store near the pazar sometimes has tofu, but often they only have gross flavored kinds (tofu with caraway seeds?!). Fortunately, they had unflavored tofu this weekend, so I stocked up and bought their entire supply…which was only four.
4. Eggplant – finally making its debut.
5. Dill – first time I have EVER seen fresh dill here. I was so excited that I almost shoved it up my nose to confirm that it was in fact dill.
6. Broccoli – to quote Shayne (who was quoting Gilgamesh or whatever his name is in reference to HER broccoli), “my precious…”
7. T-shirt – for the low low price of two dollars, I became the coach of the local sport feeling team. Right now, they’re just a rag tag bunch of kids, but a few show real potential in the 200-meter despair dash and the 400-meter boredom backstroke. We’re still working on curling with contentment.
8. Zucchini – pale, yes. These are small ones, believe it or not. They get up to two-feet long here.
9. Peas – I have no idea how to cook these. I just got caught up in the moment. It was an impulse buy.
10. Bonus banana – below-mentioned man-grocer always gives me a free piece of fruit for my patronage.
11. Cherries – I bought these from my favorite middle-aged Albanian man-grocer (like a man-servant, but more entrepreneurial). He likes me because I’m a non-Albanian who speaks some Albanian.

Picture: Success!

2005-06-23T15:59:00.000+02:00

Picture: Success!
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.

The main part of our "Future Environmental Instructors" project got underway this week. We had a three-day training for seventh and eighth graders, giving them an overview of how to design environmental projects and campaigns that their school environmental clubs can implement come September. We got off to a slightly confused start, but everything quickly fell into place. The kids who are participating are enthusiastic about the subject matter and about teaching others about the environment. Next week, we repeat the training with a group of fourth graders.

This is a picture of my counterpart, Nestor, helping the kids display their campaign outlines and posters. I'm really proud of the work that all the participants have done so far.

I'm Back

2005-06-15T19:25:00.000+02:00

I'm back in Struga after a lovely 3-week vacation in the homeland. Wedding was fantastic, saw my entire family, chatted with a lot of friends, did some hiking, went to a Nationals game, had some job-related meetings, ate 4 pints of non-dairy frozen dessert, and rode the ubiquitous emotional rollercoaster (which I'm still on... PC friends tell me it should take about a week after re-entry for it to come to a full and complete stop). My Macedonian language skills are shot, my internal clock is WAY off, and I'm out of soy sauce, so right now I'm in the painful, head-banging corkscrew part of the rollercoaster. However, tomorrow I will visit Beth and continue on to Skopje where I can buy soy sauce, which might be akin to the soothing effects of riding a carousel.

Thank you to everyone who made my trip home great. I'll see you all in November!

"Idni Ekoloski Instructori" Proekt

2005-05-19T10:47:00.000+02:00

My plan to do nothing of significance before coming home hasn't really panned out. I've been doing some work on a recently-approved (!) project that I wrote so that I can pass the reins to my coworkers with confidence. The title of the project is "Future Environmental Instructors," and the general idea is to teach about 70 elementary and high school students how to design and implement small environmental projects and campaigns. For the project, my coworkers are writing a workbook on project and campaign design, which will also have information about local resources that can be used for environmental projects (e.g. NGOs, municipal government, communal services providers). Then we are having two 3-day training sessions with the students, which will be facilitated by my NGO coworkers and teachers at local schools. During the training sessions, the students and teachers will work in small groups to develop ideas for environmental projects. Then, in September, the participants will select one of the ideas generated during the training sessions to implement throughout the town. The project will be their choice, but it must include teaching students at other schools in town (hence the title of the project) and raising public environmental awareness. The other project ideas that aren't selected for implementation during September will be scheduled for implementation later in the school year. My NGO coworkers will follow up with the schools to ensure that the activities are implemented and to provide any additional support.

So, when I get back from the States, I am going to be VERY busy. As soon as I get back, I have to attend a training session for PCVs involved in the GLOBE program. Then, I will have to start reading and evaluating project proposals as per my SPA committee obligations. Then the heart of this project (the training sessions) will be during the last week of June/first week of July. And I'll have to skip out on one of the training days in order to go to Skopje for the SPA committee meeting. The upside to this three-week period of chaos is that I'll be too busy to be homesick. And, once all of the above things are finished, I can look forward to a trip to Turkey with the Flomster in late July! Woohoo!

See (most of) you soon!

Important Travel Info

2005-05-11T14:46:00.000+02:00

For any of you who would like to meet up with me somewhere outside of Macedonia, please read the following!

According to PC policy, I am not allowed to leave Macedonia for the three months preceeding my close-of-service (COS) date. My current COS date is November 27, which would mean that I must be in and stay in Macedonia as of August 27. BUT (it's a big but) I can COS up to a month early without having to jump through too many hoops, and I think that is something I would like to do. If I move up my COS date by a month (or however much), I have to move my "house arrest" date up as well. So, for all intensive porpoises, I will not be able to leave the country after August 1. That date is a little flexible, but I think I will have to declare my COS intentions soon, so it may not be flexible in a month or so. (Act now! Supplies are limited!)

Of course, you're all welcome to come to visit in Makdo (and, FYI, Makdo gets rave reviews from people who visit and have a translator/PCV to lead them around), but please let me know what your plans are.

I'm already on vacation

2005-05-11T14:25:00.000+02:00

So I leave for the U.S. in about a week and a half. From now until then, I have decided that all my activities will be directly related to either (1) preparing to go home, or (2) relaxing. Ahhh.

Last weekend, I went to visit my host family in Zrnovci, a.k.a. the willage. My host mother, Verche, gave me a lesson in familial relations. I drew a family tree, including the new Ehalt branch, and she told me who will be what to whom. This is much more complicated in Macedonian than in English. For example, Rachel (sister-in-law-to-be) will be my snaa but I will be her zolva. Rebecca (Rachel's sister) will be Scott's shurnajka, and Scott will be her zet. Rachel's mother and father will be Scott's baba and dedo, but my mother and father will be Rachel's svekrva and svekor. And don't get me started on aunts and uncles! (There are three words for aunt and three for uncle, depending on whether the relation is the sibling of your mother, sibling of your father, or a spouse of a sibling.)

What’s Next

2005-05-04T16:18:00.000+02:00

This time last year, Beth and I would spend at least one morning a week sitting outside at our favorite café in Gostivar. Once we sat down as far away from the smokers (i.e. every single other patron) as possible and struggled to give instructions for iced coffee (which is not a normal thing here), we would begin discussing “what’s next.” At the time, I was trying to find a purpose in Gostivar, and Beth was doing her darnedest to convince Peace Corps to move her out of her truck-stop village; talking about jobs and graduate degrees was our escape from daily frustration. Eventually, merely talking about jobs and going back to school wasn’t enough, and thus the rhetorical job search was born. Anytime we had unlimited internet access (and even when we were paying for it), we would peruse job listings in our respective areas of interest, even though by the time we would be available to actually apply for these jobs, they would have long been filled. Beth’s rhetorical job-searching became such a distraction from her more pressing obligations (namely, working on her field paper for her master’s degree, which will be conferred at the end of her service) that we had to call an official moratorium on the practice until we could actually apply for jobs.

Well, that time isn’t quite upon us yet, but I AM in the process of setting up informational interviews for when I go home (in 18 days!). Here’s my plan for the next few years: move back in with the parents, find an environmental job in the DC area, explore my career and graduate degree options while working, apply to law/public policy/public administration/environmental something-or-other school, start going to school in fall 2007. Provided my parents haven’t converted my room into putting green, Step 1 is a sure bet. Next up: finding a job. Part of finding a job includes the aforementioned informational interviews to identify the workplaces that will offer some insight that might be useful before I commit to a graduate course of study.

More to come...

Picture: Ar-dent

2005-04-27T16:19:00.000+02:00

He really, REALLY cares about your oral health.

Still Kicking

2005-04-26T14:52:00.000+02:00

Busy with project proposal. Friday deadline. Working more than past three months combined. Writing in fragments and without articles. Tired.

Holiday last Sunday. Similar to Halloween. Kids at door. Some kind of chanting/babbling. Was scared. Pretended not to be home.

Taught classroom of kids how to recycle paper. Laughed at me for entire period. Unknowingly had toothpaste stain on shirt.

Teaching adult English class. Have earned Corps stripes now. Realized that I know nothing about English grammar. Know even less Macedonian to explain English grammar. Now reading grammar book "for fun."

Found out that we can leave a month early with minimum justification. Woohoo. Will be home for T-giving for sure.

Counting down days. 26. Sweet.

Picture: Good n Evil Party

2005-04-15T14:23:00.000+02:00

A couple weekends ago, Beth and Shayne (volunteer friends) stayed with me and we went to a birthday party hosted by Vanessa, a cool new vol who lives nearby and is conveniently Shaun's girlfriend. The party was mostly attended by vols from the new group, but us MAK8-ers made a small showing. The theme of the party was "Good and Evil," and accordingly we were supposed to dress up as something good or evil. For example, Shaun dressed up as nuclear power (radioactive symbol, neon green accessories and dirty) and Vanessa dressed up as wind power (blue, pinwheels and glittery). Shayne represented as a devil, and Beth and I dressed up things that I will not mention here (you can e-mail me if you really want to know.) A good time was had by all, and my hummus got rave reviews. And really, isn't it all about the hummus?

Picture: Tree Hugging

2005-03-30T19:17:00.000+02:00

A couple weeks ago, we had the second meeting of Struga's latest (and, as far as I know, only) environmental club. As of now, it's a spinoff of the Scout troop, but we're hoping to get more kids involved. One of the activities we did was called "Meet a Tree": the kids paired up, and one
person in each pair was blindfolded. Then the seeing-eye partner took the blindfolded partner to a tree and the blindfolded partner had to "get to know" the tree using senses other than sight. Then the seeing-eye partner took the blindfolded partner (circuitously) back to the starting point and removed the blindfold, and the blindfolded partner had to try to find his or her tree.

PS: "We" consists of Patty (PCV), Kristy (PCV), myself, and Patty's Macedonian coworker, Maja. We have grand plans for the club, but right now we're just trying to get the kids to show up on a regular basis.

Daylight Savings

2005-03-28T17:03:00.000+02:00

Reason number 3,896 why Macedonia is different from the United States: Macedonia starts daylight savings time a week before the United States. That's right, folks--for a limited time only, I am SEVEN hours ahead of the east coast instead of six. And since so many of you call me, it's of the utmost relevance.

Of course, I had no idea that we were supposed to change our clocks until I was an hour late for a 4 o'clock coffee date. Oops.

Anyway, it's kind of cool that it's 5:00 now and the sun is still shining. Or the sun WOULD be shining if it weren't raining.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I bought my plane tickets home! Now I can REALLY count down the days! (55)

Picture: Mazel Tov!

2005-03-21T12:27:00.000+01:00

Would you like some potato pancakes? They're kosher!

Last year sometime, an American vegan living in Skopje invited me to join his monthly vegan dinners. He was working (not volunteering) for an international organization and making bank, so he had lots of tasty treats that he purchased when traveling. Last summer, he was preparing to move to England and let me raid his kitchen for vegan vittles. I made out like a bandit with such delicious delights as coconut milk, curry paste and (of course) sweet potato pancake mix.

Well, a year later, I realize that I still have a lot of these items to use, so this weekend I tried to make the aforementioned sweet potato pancakes. I was a little sad to discover that the mix contained not sweet potatoes but white potatoes with sugar. Beggars can't be choosers. I had
some trouble with the frying (since I don't have much experience with that), but managed mild success. I was a little grossed out by the amount of oil on the pancakes, so I tried to blot off the excess. In the States, I would probably use paper towels, but paper towels aren't terribly commonhere, and--c'mon--I'm an environmentalist, so I didn't have any on hand. I
ended up using cheap-o recycled toilet paper instead. (It was off a new roll that had yet to enter the bathroom, so it was clean... enough.) However, the TP is so weak that it stuck to the potato pancakes and kind of blended in. I grew weary of picking out maybe-TP-maybe-potato spots, so I just gave up. I'm sure I ate some toilet paper. Mmm...toilet paper.

Overall, it was an entertaining and tasty experience, proving that Passover foods can be fun for Gentiles, too! Thank you, Manischewitz, for your delicious potato pancakes!

Side note: the apron was a birthday gift from Ann. Thanks! Love it!

The Answer

2005-03-18T12:56:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank all of you have been playing along at home, but the answer is...

They are all things that I wash in my shower!

That's right folks, I've gone Kramer. When you have a small kitchen sink, no washing machine, REALLY dirty spinach and no hot water in the bathroom sink (and scalding hot water in the kitchen sink), there's only one thing to do: hit the shower.

I was just amused by my own vegetarian ridiculousness the other day when I bought a pound (half kilo, really) of spinach and tried to wash it. I rinsed it, scrubbed it, soaked it in saltwater, soaked it in vinegarwater, and rinsed it again. (Lemme tell ya, appreciate that triple-washed,
pre-bagged spinach!) Then I cooked it, and it shrank to the size of a tennis ball. All in all, it was two days of work for a single-serving side dish. And there was still some grit.

As for the dishrack, my landlords bequeathed me a formerly-white-but-now-kind-of-mottled-brown souvenir of the former Yugoslavia. I'm too cheap to buy a new dishrack, so I assaulted this one with various caustic substances that I am sure have been outlawed in the US for decades.

With regard to the bedsheet (and all my laundry, for that matter) it hangs out in the red tub pictured above.

The Style Invitational goes Makdo

2005-03-15T13:32:00.000+01:00

What do bedsheets, spinach, a dishrack and my face have in common?

Submit your answers via comment or e-mail! Check back later this week for the answer!

My Lucky Birthday

2005-03-11T09:23:00.000+01:00

Before I launch into my rant, I want to let all of you know that the two weeks leading up to my birthday have been great. I look forward to coming home to a card or fat envelope (most of which are from Rachel), and almost every day there is something waiting for me. Yesterday it was my electric bill, but usually it's something more exciting. So oodles of appreciation from me on that front!

However, for the second year in a row, I am going to have a less-than-stellar birthday. Last year, my birthday fell on the last day of an in-service training (IST), which was a designated "travel day" to get from the training venue back to our sites, so I spent the whole day on a bus.

This year, my birthday is also the day of local elections. In Struga, particularly, these are very controversial since the municipality borders have been recently redrawn, and now there is an ethnic Albanian majority. Political parties here are ethnically segregated, with a couple of ethnic Macedonian parties and a couple of ethnic Albanian parties. This means that the current Macedonian administration will likely be replaced by an Albanian administration, and everything related to the government is fair game for an employment overhaul. Tensions here are high, and political activities have been plentiful. (I must avoid political activities like the plague, and twice in one day I was almost tricked into "meeting a nice guy...who wants to make Struga a nice place." Interestingly, the meetings were for the political parties that are on completely opposite ends of the Macedionian nationalist-Albanian nationalist spectrum. If I went to BOTH meetings, maybe they would cancel each other out... Just kidding.)

As a result of the potential for conflict, we have been told that we must stay at our sites this weekend, so no fun birthday travel or birthday visitors for me. Also, after witnessing a handful of fights between rival political factions break out, I am going to be spending the entire weekend in my apartment. Good thing that I have some new DVDs to watch! Birthday phone calls are encouraged, for those of you who want to help me pass the time. FYI: we're six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Picture: In Memory of Berta

2005-03-07T14:38:00.000+01:00

Picture: In Memory of Berta

2005-03-07T14:37:00.000+01:00

I received some sad news a couple weeks ago. Berta, my host family's German Shepherd, has passed away. According to my host mother, Verche, she was hit by a car. She suffered a leg injury and never recovered, despite a number of visits to the vet. She was only a year old.

Work Update

2005-03-07T14:28:00.000+01:00

I haven’t written much about “work” recently. Things are fine, although I'm still in the "planning" stages of just about everything.

GLOBE Program
GLOBE is a US-sponsored worldwide environmental science education program (www.globe.gov). GLOBE started in Makdo a few years ago, but has been on a 2-year-long coffee break. It’s starting up again, and the high school that my host organization is affiliated with is a participant. A couple weeks ago, representatives from the Ministry of Environment delivered the chemicals and tools necessary to take atmospheric and hydrologic measurements. There is a small group of students who are trained in GLOBE protocol, as well as a few teachers who participate. We hope to recruit more students and teachers and train them in the procedures, as well as develop supporting activities and awareness of the GLOBE program in the community.

Eco-Club
As an extension of the GLOBE program (which is a science-based endeavor), we are trying to start a local eco-club with high school students. Patty, the other environmental volunteer in Struga who is from the new group of volunteers, and I are recruiting kids who are enthusiastic about environmental issues and activities. We hope to work with them over the next year to develop their own leadership structure and club activities, as well as reach out to younger students. I hope that this club will simultaneously address multiple needs of Macedonia on a local level, including increasing civic participation and volunteerism, developing youth leadership skills, improving the environment and improving multiethnic relations.

Paper Recycling
My organization is trying to start a non-residential paper recycling program. Right now, I think we are waiting for collection boxes to be delivered from the private paper recycling firm in Skopje. Next steps: making fliers and instructing offices/schools/organizations about the program.

Organizational Development
I have made a brochure for my host organization in English and Macedonian. Next, we want to make a website, which will be an adventure for all parties involved. This month, I would like to meet with the members of the Board of Directors to do an organizational capacity assessment and discuss what their priorities are for the organization and for their activities. Once I have an idea what their vision is for the organization, I can suggest steps to take to inch (or centimeter?) toward that vision, such as writing a mission statement, writing strategic and operational plans, and encouraging member participation through surveys, meetings and newsletters.

English Class
Now that I am armed with lots of suggestions for how to run an adult English class, I am hoping to start one with interested teachers from the high school. I’ll talk with the principal this week.

Elementary School Environmental Activities
I have been visiting the local elementary school and meeting with the biology/ecology teacher. We are going to organize after-school environmental activities with interested students.

Anti-litter Initiative
A USAID-funded organization in Macedonia is sponsoring local anti-litter campaigns as part of their support to the emergent tourism industry. However, this organization doesn’t have enough manpower to implement the campaigns so they have enlisted the help of PCVs (who are universally nauseated by the amount of litter in the streets). The campaigns are set to begin in May or June. Struga is a special target area, so I’m hoping that we’ll receive some extra resources and attention.

SPA Committee
No, I’m not wrapped in seaweed sipping organic carrot-mango juice. SPA stands for Small Project Assistance, and provides grants of up to $3000 for projects facilitated by PCVs. I am on the SPA committee, which means that I help a couple volunteers develop thorough, SPA-eligible project proposals, then I read through all of the submitted proposals and recommend which ones should be approved for funding. There are about 5 other PCVs on the SPA committee, as well as 2 PC staff members and a USAID representative (all Macedonians). The deadline for proposal submission is this Friday. I’ll spend the next two weeks reading and evaluating the submissions, then the committee meets, discusses and decides who gets the moola. The two project proposals that I am “championing” (advising) are the creation of an environmental resource center in one of the national parks and training for farmers interested in organic agriculture.

Mid-Service Conference

2005-03-07T14:22:00.000+01:00

Last week, my group of volunteers (MAK8) had our mid-service conference. Never mind that it’s three months late. For those of you who haven’t been keeping track, my COS (Close of Service) date is November 27. However, that date is a Sunday and Peace Corps will most likely want to have us out by Friday so they don’t have to work on the weekend, so we’ll say I’m COSing on November 25. As of today, I have been in Macedonia for 18 months. I have 8 months and 18 days to go until COS, and roughly two and a half months until I go home for the wedding. Who’s excited?! (Hint: me.)

Back to the mid-service conference. This was a two-day, three-night extravaganza of reflection on the past year (or so) and planning for the next year (or so). It was held in Strumica, which is a city in southeastern Macedonia that is famous for their dialect, “Strumichki,” which is some sort of Macedonian/Bulgarian/Making-it-up-as-I-go-along hybrid. Fortunately, the only things I had to say in Macedonian during the entire time were “one beer,” “I’m a vegetarian” and “one more beer.”

We stayed at Hotel Sirius. Seriously. It greatly exceeded my expectations, considering that Peace Corps is on a tight budget and is doing things like moving volunteers to less expensive apartments. On the downside, to get from Struga to Strumica takes about 6 hours by bus, plus a layover of an hour or two in the middle of the journey. Both to and from Strumica, we encountered delays such as snowstorms, car accidents (not involving us) and shoddy breaks. A redeeming factor: we saw a volcano erupt on the way back! At least, we think it was a volcano. All of a sudden, in the distance, we saw this stream of glowing orange shoot down a hillside. I thought maybe it was the Balkan branch of the Gates of Central Park, but I don’t know how they would have erected it in a matter of seconds.

So the actual conference (that’s how I got started on this babble, right?) was great. A few months ago, some volunteers in our group suggested that we hijack the schedule and make sure that it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Volunteers in my group presented and facilitated discussions about relevant topics such as setting up adult English classes, after-school clubs and summer camps; conducting organizational development trainings for local NGOs; stimulating civic participation; and putting together a resource for us and for future municipal/NGO volunteers that gives ideas and instructions for how to do useful things in one’s community, since our role here is so ambiguous.

Another highlight of the conference was finding out that I do not have tuberculosis. That’s RIGHT! Whose immune system rocks the house?! Holla atcha girl!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2005-02-17T14:19:00.000+01:00

It looks like I am continuing the Abbett tradition of birthday poetry. However, I have learned to keep expectations for birthday poetry low, lest I end up like the Mul-Fa, composing sycophantic sonnets for every person and pet he has ever met in his life. Of course, I expect no less for MY birthday (ahemMarch13ahemsendpresentsnow).

There once was a father named Jon
Whose feet were permanently wan.
He calls me to moan
That I should come home
To pick up poop off of the lawn.

Lots of birthday love from your scooper-wielding daughter!

Picture: Snow where it belongs

2005-02-15T15:11:00.000+01:00

The top of the mountain where we were skiing. It's like being an ant in a
giant sugar bowl! Y'know, without the danger of being dropped into a cup
of coffee.

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

Skiing and Slumber Parties

2005-02-15T15:03:00.000+01:00

After staring longingly at the mountains of snow on the streets, I finally made it to the slopes this past weekend. Angie, the volunteer in Tetovo who hosted the New Year’s party as well, once again let 20 of us crash at her place. We went to the nearby ski resort on Saturday. It was fairly crowded, but seemed even MORE crowded because the concept of a line does not exist here. I shoved many a child and rather enjoyed it. (I only wish I knew how to say “No cuts, no butts, no coconuts” in Albanian.) Also, I witnessed my first biathlon. (That’s the sport with skiing and shooting… so THAT’S what they did with the weapons the government collected after the 2001 conflict! The paramilitary biathlon must consist of skiing and throwing dirty bombs.)

The ski centers here are quite different from those in the States. Most of the “runs” here are above the timberline, so they resemble bowls more than trails. Also, sledding is allowed on the runs, so towards the ends of the runs, there are tons of people walking up the slopes and scooting down on their mini-toboggans, exacerbating the already profligate chaos. And sledding apparel is more akin to runway fashion than puffy jackets and snow pants – pink corduroy suits with matching pointy high-heeled suede boots, for example… and that was just the men. Also interesting was witnessing conservatively-dressed Muslim women having snowball fights. Don’t let the headscarves fool you! These women know how to rock the casbah.

At least it was relatively cheap compared to the States – 8 dollars for the lift ticket, 8 dollars for ski rental, 2 dollars each way from the town center to the slopes, a dollar for a bottle of water – so I can’t complain too much.

Best of all, I was able to catch up with some folks that I hadn’t seen in awhile, as well as spend time with Beth and Shaun. Conversely, worst of all, I had to sleep on a hard floor. I felt like I was in one of those Tempur-pedic mattress commercials where they have the pulsing red lights on the parts of the body that are irritated by a “traditional mattress”. No wonder slumber parties aren’t popular here. Bless American carpets and the pads that lie beneath them.

Srekjen Rodenden!

2005-02-09T15:46:00.000+01:00

There once was a woman named Flom
Whose daughter thought she was the bomb.
Hope you enjoy this birthday verse
Since I have an empty purse
And can’t afford a bottle of Dom.

Happy birthday, Mom! I hope that you have a great time with your friends and that you return safely from your travels. Thank you so much for your encouragement, particularly over the past year. I love you!

Birthday PS

2005-02-09T15:42:00.000+01:00

Send money ASAP. Thanks.

Picture: The Scene of the Fall

2005-02-02T11:50:00.000+01:00

I was navigating around this car, and fell in front of that store across
the street. Photo is taken from entrance of my apartment building.

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

First Fall

2005-02-02T11:30:00.000+01:00

I just had my first fall of the season. Last year, I had a few dramatic spills (although far fewer than Beth), so this year, I have decided to document them.

I was walking out of my apartment building and deftly navigating my way around some snow-covered cars and icy paths. I made it to the street and was heartily congratulating myself on not falling. However, my self-congratulation was promptly interrupted by gravity and its diabolical contract with black ice. I landed on my knees with minimal flailing (which is progress from last year). The nice guy who works at the nearby store ran out to make sure I was okay. I suffered one skinned knee and one pair of dirty corduroys.

Disclaimer

2005-02-02T11:29:00.000+01:00

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. This website is not endorsed by Peace Corps in any way. Don't sue me. Please.

Picture: Sebajete's New Job

2005-02-02T11:28:00.000+01:00

Last week when I was in Skopje, I had a free afternoon so I went to visit
my friend Sebajete at her new job. Sebajete is a member of the
organization that I was working with in Gostivar and, generally speaking,
a rock star. She had been doing some consulting work with a Swedish
agricultural association that has an office here, and they finally offered
her a permanent position (which is a big deal since about half of this
country is unemployed, and I'm not talking about the stay-at-home moms).
Her new office and the people that work there are great. Although everyone
there speaks English, she paraded me around and introduced me as "the
American who speaks perfect Albanian and perfect Macedonian, so don't
speak to her in English." And luckily, the people at her office don't have
very strong dialects, so I could maintain the facade of being trilingual.
Tricked ya!

As far as my mid-service medical exam goes, I'm fine. The dental exam
wasn't too scary, although I was a little put off by the coughing hygenist
and the smoky-smelling dentist. But still no cavities! I'm doing Dr.
Whittington proud, I'm sure. And I must amend my previous post: I get to
have another dental cleaning at close of service. Don't want Peace Corps
on my case for libel. Which reminds me...

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

Picture: I went running in a T-shirt 2 weeks ago

2005-01-25T12:37:00.000+01:00

And now... THIS! The snow has been coming down hard for the past two days
and has yet to let up. We have at least 2.5 feet now. It's not causing me
any problems yet, but I have to take a 3 hour bus ride to Skopje on
Friday, and most of the highway is carved into the sides of the mountains
with lots of steep grades and turns. While not a single street in Struga
is plowed, I think the major roads should be cleared. Maybe.

I'm going to Skopje for my mid-service medical exam. I don't think I can
fully express how EXCITED I am to get my teeth cleaned. Yup, over the span
of 27 months, we get our teeth cleaned ONCE. I think I'm single-handedly
supporting the floss industry.

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

Picture: Beth Visits Struga

2005-01-24T14:19:00.000+01:00

Beth came down to visit me in my new hometown a few weekends ago.

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

Testing, testing...

2005-01-13T17:52:00.000+01:00

So theoretically I should be able to upload photos via e-mail directly to
my blog. Still working out the kinks. In the meantime, here's a picture of
Dad and me at Hadrian's Arch! Modest fellow, that Hadrian.

_______________________________________________________________
Save rainforest for free with a Planet-Save.com e-mail account:
http://www.planet-save.com

Beth's Blog

2005-01-10T11:58:00.000+01:00

Since my friend Beth and I are practically joined at the hip, much of her blog relates to our antics. And it's got lots of pictures!

http://bethscorpsexperience.blogspot.com

Go! Now!

Picture: The Fam in Texas

2005-01-10T11:55:00.000+01:00

Picture: The Fam in Texas
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.

Daggummit, they went to Texas without me! The Smith side of the family met
up in Dallas at Uncle Steve and Aunt Lauren's house. Here's Scott, Rachel,
Mom and Dad. Ain't they cute?

Picture: Christmas dinner

2005-01-10T11:54:00.001+01:00

Christmas dinner
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.

Here's Shaun and me with our Christmas poultry... Rotisserie chicken from
the local equivalent of Boston Market.

Picture: New Year's Ball Drop

2005-01-10T11:54:00.000+01:00

Picture: New Year's Ball Drop
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.

For New Year's, a bunch of us gathered in Tetovo at the house of Angie, a
new volunteer. Without Times Square, we had to fashion our own ball to
drop. Kaitlin, shown here, jerry-rigged a chandelier globe and a
flashlight. Alex (who bears an uncanny resemblence to both Jack Nicholson
and Dan Akroyd), a volunteer from my group who lives outside of Struga,
looks on and imbibes with interest.

Picture: Struga gals

2005-01-10T11:53:00.000+01:00

Picture: Struga gals
Originally uploaded by lizabbett.

Fellow Struga environmental volunteer Patty and myself at the New Year
shin-dig.

Happiness is MINE! Mwah hah hah!

2004-12-29T19:23:00.000+01:00

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!

First Picture!

2004-12-23T14:58:00.000+01:00

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!

2004-12-23T14:48:00.000+01:00

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!

Change of Address!

2004-12-07T19:01:00.000+01:00

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.

Phlegmatic Appreciation

2004-11-30T16:27:00.000+01:00

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.

Cue the Holidays!

2004-11-24T19:05:00.000+01:00

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!

My Uncertain Future in Makdo

2004-11-18T20:06:00.000+01:00

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.

Welcome!

2004-11-15T10:47:00.000+01:00

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.