Promaja Rhaposdy

This is from when I was back in Lozovo.  We were all hanging out one night talking about what we should all be for Halloween when Rickie, the volunteer that lives in Lozovo, came up with the idea that we should be Promaja.  Promaja is a superstition here.  If you have windows and doors open and it creates a cross breeze (the cross breeze is Promaja) then you will get sick.  Also, you will get sick if you walk around bare foot.  We all liked the idea but did not know how to portray a superstitious breeze.  A few bottles of wine later (did I forget to mention that Lozovo had its own winery!!) and the song Bohemian rhapsody by Queen comes on (we were listening to music too, it did not magically come on).  The more we listened too it and the more wine was in our system the more we realized that this was how we were going to portray Promaja.  So we came up with our own version of Bohemian Rhapsody......Promaja Rhaposdy.  For those of you that have not heard this song before here is a link to the Muppets version (very funny) so you can listen to the tune.

The Muppets version of Bohemian Rhapsody

Now that you have listened to that here are our lyrics:


PROMAJA RHAPSODY

Is this the real life
Is this just fantasy?
Cought in Lozovo
No escape from reality.

Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see

I’m just an American, I need some sympathy
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Always confused, never know
Anyway the wind blows
Doesn’t really matter to me, to me

Promaja, just killed a man
A breeze came across the bed
Through the window, now he’s dead.
Promaja, life had just begun (in Macedonia)
But now you’ve gone and blown it all away
Promaja, oooooooh,
Didn’t mean to make you die
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow.
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

Too late, your time has come.
Send shivers down your spine
Body’s aching all the time
Goodbye everybody,
you’ve got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and close the window

Promaja, ooooooh.
Anyway the wind blows
I don’t want to die
Sometimes I wish I’d never been born at all
(Nazdravje)


I feel a little chillhouetto from the wind
Promaja, promaja
Should I do the fast oro??
Thunderbolt and lightning
Very, very frightening me
Where is Goce , I need Goce
Where is Darko, I need Darko
Steven Kutzy! Rakija!

Odlichno!

I’m just an American, nobody loves me
He’s just American, poor host family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity

Easy come, easy go,
Will you let me oro?
Let him go!
Let me go!

Oh, baba mia, baba mia let me go
The Darkos have condom set aside for me,
For me, for me. (Zabava)

So you think you can blow me and spit in my eye
So you think you can blow me and leave me to die
Oh, baby, can’t do this to me baby
I just gotta get out, just gotta get promaja out of here

Promaja really matters
Anyone can see
Promaja really matters X2
To me.

We performed this at one of our Hub days.  The other training communities did not know what was going on, but once the song started and we started singing everyone was on the floor laughing.  They liked our references to the wind, aka Promaja, and especially the part where we were yelling for Goce, our Security officer, Darko, our doctor, and Stephen Kutzy, the Peace Corps director for Macedonia.  All of 3 of them were there along with other Peace Corps staff and they all started to cry cause they were laughing so hard.  This song was Lozovo training communities pride and joy. I hope you liked it too.

Here is a pic of the whole Lozovo group.  On the bottom (left to right) you have Austin, Amy, and Michelle B (they were Promaja and you can see it spelt out in Cyrillic.  Then there is me!!! I was a sick person and was killed by Promaja and at the end of the song they picked me up (literally) and took me to the grave stone (aka Lync).  The top row (from left to right) there is Despina, my language teacher, she and Elena (the lady on the far right) they were the babas, aka grandmothers, that tried to give Rickie and I hair dryers (cause Promaja will get you if you walk around with wet hair) and tried to put socks on our feet.  Next to Despina is Lync, he was the tomb stone.  His sign says "Here lies Sheldon. He left the door open."  Then its Chris, Jori, and Kate, they were all windows and doors that opened and closed through out the song.  Then Rickie, who was also a sick person that was killed by Promaja, and Elena the other baba.

There is nothing new to report.  Yesterday, I conducted an Adult Conversation Hour at the American Corner.  It was my first one and I think it went well, we talked about travel.  There was a new comer to the group, she is a volunteer from Turkey and it was interesting listen to her talk because she only knows a little English and is learning Macedonian. So her sentences are a mixture of Turkish, Macedonian, and English with A LOT of hand gestures.  It was nice to see someone else trying to use what little Macedonian they know.  Friday is New Years Eve and as of right now there is nothing definitely planned by there is something in the works, but I will leave that to talk about for next time.  I will write again on Sunday!!!!