Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoying the snow that I hear is around the states. Christmas here in Macedonia was very nice. The one thing that almost all of us agreed on was that, since it does not feel like we have been here as long as we have, that it really did not feel like Christmas. We all agreed that it felt like we were not missing anything at home, which to be honest is a good thing. We all missed our families and friends but we were not fully sad that we were not home celebrating with them. For us new group of volunteers, there were 3 places were groups got together for the holidays: Ohrid, Veles, and Strumica. I was lucky enough that I was able to attend 2 of the celebrations. I attended school Friday morning, even after Irena told me that I did not have to and I should stay home and get ready for my trip....I should have listened to her. Some of the teachers at my school had to attend a meeting about grades in Bitola. The school systems are not as organized as the ones back home and they do not have a substitute system. Normal they just find a free teacher and have them teach them an extra lesson if one of the teachers are out for the day. Well there was a good group of teachers going to the meeting and there was one grade where all of their teachers that day were going to the meeting. The director asked if I could have an English class with them and I said that was fine, since I knew they really need the help. Well the students normally did not have English that day so none of them had their English books. They are also looking at me with a "I don't understand" look on their faces when I was trying to ask them questions and talk to them in English. I was told to review with them materials that they had learned and were going to be tested on on Monday, well I had no idea what they had learned and no one had a book for me to look it up. I finally figured out some of the vocabulary they had learned and had them write a letter to another student introducing themselves, describing their school, their favorite subject, what they liked to do, ect. By the time I explained the activity and got all the students to understand and do something the bell rang. I should have listened to Irena.
The reason why I went to school was because I had planned everything a head of time, so I was not rushing to pack or make anything. I had bought, put together, and made everything through out the week. You can see the results of my first baking adventure with my little oven. Kate, another volunteer has a small oven like me and she calls it her big easy bake oven, cause that is exactly what it looks like.
I made chocolate chip cookies to bring to the celebration in Veles and they ate them all up. Not to mentioned that I baked so many (this was only one batch, but it still made a lot of cookies) that I was nibbing on them for a day or two after I made them. I arrived in Veles around 5pm and went to Karen's apartment. I helped Elena make mash potatoes, which we ended up mashing with our hands cause the hand mixer did not work. Later that evening we met up with the others that had already arrived and had dinner at a popular restaurant in Veles called Snoopy. No, Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts characters where not there. Here in Macedonia there are no copy right laws.
Here is the group at dinner and you can see that Jenny, Debbie, and Jason made signs for the event. After I finished eating, I left the restaurant early because I had planned a Skype date with my family so we could all open presents together. They were all sitting around the dinning room table and they watched as Jenny and I opened our stockings together and I got to watch them open the presents that "I had bought them". Surprisingly, I found a Borders, Coldwater Creek, and a few other department stores here in Macedonia to buy my family presents from. One thing that I did send back for them to open at Christmas was a calendar that the volunteers put together of photos that they have taken all over Macedonia. The rest of the group came back from dinner while I was still talking to the family so they got to see some of the other volunteers also. The rest of the night was spent talking and celebrating the holiday.
The next morning I woke up and got a bus from Veles to Strumica. When the bus arrived in Veles it was already full. Here it does not matter if there are no seats or not, so I stood in the aisle along with many others. I only had to stand for the 1st hour, because after our first stop a gentleman got up and gave me his seat because he was getting off at the following stop. The bus drove through Lozovo, the village where I stayed with the host family, and I tried to look out the window, but with all the people the bus was so hot that the windows were all foggy and I could not see much of it, but I did get to see it on the bus ride back!!
The celebration at Strumica was at Amy's place in Bosilovo, a village outside of the city of Strumica. Amy, who was with me in Lozovo, and a volunteer who has been here for a year, Amanda, are big foodies and had cooked up a feast!!! It was a smaller group at Strumica then there was in Veles. For the Christmas Day dinner in Veles (that I did not stay for) there was a total of about 25 people. In Srumica, there were 10. More my kind of celebration and being a foodie also, I knew I had to be there.
There is the Strumica group, all ready to eat. There were little meat patties, rosemary mash potatoes, green bean casserole (without the French's onions), salad, and dish that Amy's family makes for the holidays (cabbage leaves wrapped around rice and you tie it up like a little package and cook it in a pot with sauerkraut, then you cook each one in butter). Every thing was delicious and then there was dessert..... a spice cake with an caramel apple chutney and a chocolate chili cake. Is your mouth watering yet?! Amy and Amanda even made home-made eggnog. They made a big pot of it and it was gone in about an hour. I do not think I can ever drink the store bought stuff again after I drank that.
Once we were all full, we had a white elephant gift exchange. Everyone was suppose to bring and wrap up something that was lying around the house that you did not want. That being the case we definitely had some interesting presents.
Austin, also with me in Lozovo, got the women rights's scarf that Robert got as a free gift.
Amy's counterpart, who stopped by, got a plastic toy baby that Emily had found in her apartment when she moved in along with some other odds and end kind of treasures.
Kate got the candy that I had brought from home and that I never gave out as gifts. She was very excited!!! But then was sad when the Elle, the girl behind it in red, stole it from her. Those are the rule, you like someone else's gift, you can take it.
I stole the origami from Elle. I was very excited cause it was a calendar and everyday it taught you a new origami figure. Amanda had gotten 2 of these interactive calendars from her mom for the holidays and she wrapped one up. But then........
Emily stole it from me =( A present can only be stolen twice and then it becomes "dead". Emily stealing it from me made it dead so bye-bye origami. Since my present was stolen I then could have stolen from someone else or picked an un-open one. I picked an un-open on and guess what I got.................
A roll of toilet paper and a travel sized thing of toothpaste. What more could a girl ask for?
Amy got a wind chime and a bottle open that Austin found lying around Emily's house.
And Robert got a plastic Santa, that Amy had found in her apartment. This Christmas was all about spending time with others and celebrating. I could not have asked for a better Christmas away from home and I am soo happy that I had wonderful people to share it with. I will write again on Wednesday. Have a Happy Holiday Season!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment