I'm Back!!!!!

        Thursday was full of celebration.  It was not only Thanksgiving but the day when the 37 Macedonian trainees became volunteers.  I woke up early Thursday morning and started making deviled eggs, my contribution to the Thanksgiving pot luck meal.  Afterwards, Lydia, my host mom, and I got on a bus with the other 7 trainees in Lozovo and members of their host family and we were all off to Kumanovo for the celebration.  When we arrived we met the other trainees and their host families at a restaurant located outside of Kumanovo.  All of the host families sat with the other families in their towns and the trainees were all sent upstairs to take our “official” Peace Corps MAK 15 photo.  After the photo shot we all lined up, in alphabetical order waiting for our grand entrance. Once the American Ambassador for Macedonia arrived the ceremony started.  It was full of speeches, from the Peace Corps Country Director, the Minister of Education and Science, and the American Ambassador.  The American Ambassador was the one who swore us in as Peace Corps volunteers. Each new volunteer was called up and we were handed a certificate, by the Ambassador, saying that we had completed our training.  The most memorial part of the whole ceremony was when we all sang the American national anthem and then sang the Macedonian national anthem, which all of the host families joined in and sang with us.  After the wonderful ceremony, it was food time.   We were warned before to eat a big breakfast!! Macedonians do not know what a buffet line is so you have to try and push your way to the table.  People were filling up their plates, and by the time those on the outside of the mob got to the table there was only a little bit left, but there was plenty of turkey!!! Peace Corps had order the turkeys in August from the states so there was plenty to go around.  After everyone had their food and were eating they were still bring out turkeys.  There were many families that went and got plate full of turkey and put them in plastic baggies for other members of the family or grabbed the bones for the dog.  The true meaning of the word “doggie bag”.  The Lozovo training community celebrated our first night as volunteers and our last night in Lozovo by having some drinks at Café Bar Trend and then going home to finish up our packing.

     Friday was not spent at the malls of stores, like many people were doing in the states, but instead full of suitcases and boxes because that was moving day to out new sites.  The Peace Corps car came to Lozovo at 7am to help us take all our things to the Veles bus station instead of us moving our things from bus to bus.  As many of you know I am not the one for knowing how to pack light, so I had 3 suitcases, an electric heater, 3 boxes, a backpack, and a purse.  Thank goodness there was only 2 of us scheduled to leave Lozovo at 7am, because there would not have been room in the van for anyone else’s things, I packed enough for 2 haha.  After a 3 hour bus ride I arrived in Resen in the pouring rain.  Irena and her father were waiting for me and they helped me get my bags and boxes off the bus.  I had warned Irena before hand of all the “stuff” I would be bring, so my landlord also showed up to help and had his car with him so we did not have to carry all my stuff in the rain to my apartment.  My apartment is not far from the bus stop, 5 minute walk, but with all that stuff and in the rain we would have never made it.  My landlord is very nice, he and his wife, they used to live in this apartment and raised their children here so there and many memories here as well.

      Now I know you all want to SEE the apartment, BUT I am still unpacking and I do not want to post pictures with boxes and clothes everywhere, since last time when I posted pictures of Lydia’s house I was “scolded” by my nana that I did not make my bed.  And I do not want to show you all a messy apartment, so pictures will come later.  For now you can just image what it looks like.  I would let you to close your eyes so you can image it, but then you would not be able to read the description….  My apartment is on the 4^th floor, the top floor (definitely a way for me to get my exercise).  Through the front door you enter a hallway.  On the wall there are floor to ceiling wardrobes where I will put all my clothes (challenge: getting used to going in the hall each morning to get my clothes, definitely not used to that).  At the end of the hall is the bathroom, it has the standard, toilet, sink, and a tub with a shower spout and a HOT WATER BOILER!!!! I have to let the hot water heat up before using it, but still its HOT WATER!!!!  Next to the bathroom is the door that goes to the living room.  There is a couch, a coffee table, and an shelving unit that has some tea cups and tea pot inside for decoration and a TV.  There are pictures on the walls and curtins on the windows and a rug under the coffee table.  There is also a heater to keep the room warm in the winter.  It a minimalist style, but it is very nice and cozy.  To the right of the living room is my bed room, which has a bed, a couch, and a table.  There is also a door in the bedroom that goes out to a balcony.  You can see the snow topped mountains off in the distance. To the left of the living room is the kitchen, it has a convection oven looking thing with 2 burns.  I am going to have to figure out how to cook with it and there is also a stove, where the oven does not work and that has 4 burners that do work.  So I can do a lot of stove top cooking, but will have to figure out how to use the small oven.  There are two sinks, I use one and have a dish drying rack in the other.  There are two cabinets above the sinks which have some plates, utensils, and cups that my landlords brought me.  There was no other kitchen supplies (pots, pans, etc) so I will buy what I need as I need it.  There is a kitchen table with 4 chairs and I am looking for or might try to build a bookcase so I will have a place to store food. 

      Each day I try to do something different.  Saturday my project was getting the bathroom organized.  I bought a nice plastic drawer set so I have a place to put my things and have a place to store extra things and I felt better going in there today now that everything has a place.  As time goes on I will get to each room and it will start to feel more like home.  Also on Saturday my internet was installed.  I pay for a certain number of giga bites per month so I have to make sure that I use my internet time wisely and do not watch youtube videos or download music cause that takes up a lot of giga bite.  In time I will figure it out, but according to Irena the amount of giga bite that I have per month is plenty, you just have to watch what you are doing on the internet.

     Today’s project was unpacking my clothes and putting them in the wardrobes. They are nice and big, but do not have any drawers to put socks and things like that.  So today, after coffee in the center with Irena I bought a set of hanging shelves so I can put socks and other things away.  One small project a day and it will start to feel more like home.

    Tomorrow is my first day at school!! I am excited to meet all the teachers and the students and supposedly the students are very excited to meet me.  We passed one 8^th grade boy on the street on Friday night and the next day I saw that he asked to be my friend on facebook.  Irena said that he will be bragging that he got to see me first.

That’s all I have for now, I will let you all know how school goes tomorrow!!! Wish me luck!!!!