Feeling like a kid again....playing in the dirt.

This past week I headed up to the small town of Sveti Nikole, located very close to Lozovo where my host family lives. I went to help out at the excavation of the ancient Paionian site of Bylazora. The dig was organized by the Texas Foundation of Archaeological and Historical Research (http://www.tfahr.org/BylazoraProject.html).  There were participants from all over the world and of all ages. For the three days I was there I met two girls from Australia, a couple from England, two guys from Poland, a lady from Serbia, a man from France, and the ages ranged from the1st year of college to a lady that was 70!!  This dig was a wonderful experience for them.  You did not have to have studied or be studying archaeology in order to participate; you just have want to learn and be a treasure hunter at heart.  The participants of the dig come over and stay in Sveti Nikole from 2-4 weeks.  Their accommodations, meals, and transportation to and from the dig site are covered.  All they had to pay for was their plane ticket to Macedonia and transportation to Sveti Nikole.  Peace Corps volunteers were able to come in and help out and experience what it would be like working at a dig site.  I stayed with the volunteer that lives in Sveti Nikole along with another volunteer and everyday we went and worked from 5am until noon and then came home showered (after being in the dig all day that was #1) and then recovered from the day's work with a cold beer.

The van came to pick us up around 4:45 am and then it was a 10 minute drive to the site. It dropped us off at the bottom of the hill; so if we were not awake already, the hike up the hill definitely woke us up. After collecting wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets. etc everyone went to their spots.  The participants had been put into teams and given an area to work on.  The PCVs went wherever we were needed. 

 The site.  You can see the walls that they have uncovered.

 This is Bill. He and his wife started the organization and come over every year, depending on funding, to lead this dig.

 Ana, the lady from Serbia, found piece of a pot; and she actually thought she found all of the pieces so that they will be able to put the pot back together.

 In one of the trenches they found a burnt piece of wood in the ground. You can see it by the grey shoes.

 What I thought was an exciting find was a bowl that was found in the area where some of the Macedonian men were digging.  They were digging a trench and when they were expanding it wider they hit something and saw that they got a piece of marble.  When they slowly started to dig away,  they found this bowl.  It is thought to possibly be used for water or maybe oil.

 Once they got it out of the ground, we could see that one of the sides (the one on the right) had a grove so that liquid could be poured out.

 They also found some animal bones.  There were many bones all around, but this was the only place that had a lot of them in one area.  The girls working on it said that they could see three jaws.

 Big pots they uncovered that were probably used to hold grain.  They did not have tops because over the years trackers probably took them.

 This group found a terra cotta hearth used for sacrifices.  They were hoping that the road, located on the left, would continue but instead they found this below.  They think that they built the hearth to make offerings when they built the building/fort and then built the road on top of it.  They know it was for offerings because they found bone pieces still on it.  This trench uncovered a lot of things and I got to work with them on the last day.

Right as we were about to end and clean up the trench on the last day, Hugh, the English man, found this area of charcoal.  When we looked closer he could see seeds, probably wheat or barley, still there. It was interesting because this spot was located about 2 ft below the road.  After three days of digging, and hauling heavy buckets and wheelbarrows of dirt I was exhausted; but I enjoyed it and if they have it again, I will probably do it next year too.

After Sveti Nikole I traveled to Negotino and then to Demir Kapija for my birthday weekend. There is a winery in Demir Kapija and it is very famous here.  Its called Popova Kula (http://www.popovakula.com.mk/) and I thought wine tasting and good food with some special people would be the perfect way to celebrate turning 24.

 Popova Kula Winery, it is a restaurant and a hotel.

 The inside of the restaurant.

 The view from the balcony.  We sat outside and ate because it was a beautiful night and you could see the vineyards and the mountains.

 Group shot!!!  They all made my birthday very special.

 My mom and Aunt Carol both sent me boxes of Funfetti cake mix, icing, and candles so that I would have a cake for my birthday.  I made one of them at Austin's house after the visit to the winery.  Claire, Geraldine, and Dina put the candles on in the shape of an "M" and of course they used all 24 candles.

Time to blow out the candles!!!  It was a wonderful birthday that I will never forget.  I had a great time with great people, great food and of course great wine!!!  What more can a girl ask for in the Peace Corps, I mean "Posh" Corps haha.  

Lake Ohrid

This past weekend and week I spent my time around Lake Ohrid. It is a very popular tourist destination and perfect place to get away for some R&R. I left on Saturday and headed over the mountain to Ohrid.  I stayed with a volunteer that lives there.  When I arrived ,she had some work to do so I went off exploring.  I had been to Ohrid a few times before, but when I had it was normally just for the day.  I also wanted to take pictures of all the historical and touristy places that I had already seen, but never took pictures of, because I always said I would come back. (Note: all of the historical information is from my "Macedonia" guide book.  There is no way that I could remember all this.)

 This was the view when I walked out of the volunteer's house and up some stairs.  She lives all the way at the top of the only hill in Ohrid. So you can see everything from there.

 My first stop was the Roman Amphitheater.  It is just over 2,000 years old, but had been buried for centuries until in the early 20th century trial excavations confirmed its location.  By the 1990s it was fully uncovered and is now being used in the summer, as in the old days,  for outdoor concerts and performances. If I go to a concert there this summer I have been told to look closely at my seat to see if I can decipher the name of the season ticket holder who owned that seat 2,000 years ago.

 A typical Ohrid house.  They are tall, because families build another floor for the next generation, and are white with dark wood finishing.

 A little church hidden away on one of the side streets next to someone's house.  Ohrid use to have 365 churches.  One for every day of the year and dedicated to a different saint. This explains the Macedonian holiday called "Name Day".  For some, they name their child based on the name of the saint who's day it is when they are born.  But others just pick a name and when the saints day comes that is the person's  "Name Day."

Then I went up to the very top of the hill where the church of Sveti Kliment at Plaosnik is located.  There is an archeological site around the renovated church.  It use to be the monastery school of Kliment started in AD 893.  Kliment had built the original church on the ruins of the early 5th century basilica at Plaosnik and had even built his own tomb into the church, in which he was buried upon is death in AD 916.  The church was renovated and enlarged 3 times in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries; but during the time of the Ottoman rule, the church was transformed into a mosque.  The mosque did not survive the end of the Ottoman Empire; and after its destruction only the legend remained.

 There are still some mosaics around the church.

 The Tsar Samoil's Fortress.  Up until the Ottomans arrived in Ohrid the town was completely enclosed within these city walls.  Once taken over, the town expanded beyond the walls as the Turks and Ottomans moved into Ohrid area.  Like other towns in Macedonia with fortress, Skopje, Shtip, etc, the Ottomans kept the Christian population within the town walls. The town walls must have felt more like a prison barrier than a defensive structure.

 Poppies are all over Macedonia.  I saw these on my walk down from Sveti Klimet to Sveti Jovan.

 Sveti Jovan, the most frequently visited church in Ohrid because of its beautiful location on the cliffs directly above the lake.  The church was featured in the movie "Before the Rain".

 Boats on the lake.

 A shop that sells traditional Macedonian clothes. The lady was very nice.  She let me look around and take pictures and told me some of the history behind some of the clothes, at least that was what I thought she was saying.

 Sveti Sofia, the biggest and oldest church in Ohrid.  I paid the domestic price, 50 den, and walked around inside. I had never been inside before and the walls were all covered with beautiful frescoes 

 The paper shop. I visited this shop when I was in Ohrid for our training and I bought a print of the traditional Ohrid houses. The gentleman makes his own paper and uses an old printing press to print pictures of Ohrid that he carved by hand.

 Pretty Ohrid street with the old houses.

 And yes. Can you believe what I found?!  It is located in the center, there is only one in Ohrid, and it is only open in the summer.  It does not have a deep fryer so you can only get burgers, but still I had to stop by and get a taste.  Does not matter where you go McDonald's is always the same.

I then went and walked around the pazar. Thought it would be easier to get pazar pictures outside of my town and in a touristy town than everyone in Resen looking at me wondering what I am doing.

 Summer fruit!!! Strawberries, cherries, apricots, and now peaches are out.

 Traditional Macedonian cookware. I have a small one that I bought to make the bean dish, tafche grafche, but I ended up using it to make spinach artichoke dip instead.

I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Dina, watching movies, walking along the lake, drinking coffee, and people watching.  A perfect relaxing weekend before we had our language training in Struga.

We had our Language Training in Struga at a big hotel on the water. The big thing was that the hotel had elevators and a bowling alley. It's sad when you get excited to ride an elevator. This is the view out the back of the hotel. We all would have our coffee break outside enjoying the nice weather.

For this training we had different sessions all based around Macedonian or Albanian language. I took some grammar classes, but the most interesting classes were the vocabulary classes because they were all based around certain topics.  For example: women's talk  --we learned vocab that you would need to get your nails done and to go to a salon, very popular conversation topics with the ladies here. I also took a slang class and learned that the word for "airplane" in Macedonian can also be used to describe a hot chick.  I also took 2 classes in Albanian so I would know how to say hello, my name is, and understand the alphabet.

BUT the BIG highlight of the trip was that myself and a few friends found bumper cars!!!!

This was the closest I am getting to driving!!!!  It was myself, 4 girls, and a bunch of Macedonian guys. We, the Americans, were driving like you would in bumper cars, but the Macedonian guys were just driving around like it was a regular car. They did not understand the point to bumper cars, so we had to teach them!!!

Tomorrow I am off to a town called Sveti Nikoli for an archeological dig and then heading to the famous Popula Kula Winery to celebrate my birthday.  It's summertime!!!!

Off to the Lake

School is over and summer has officially begun.  Wednesday was the last day of school and there was no teaching.  All the kids and teachers were outside.  All the classes had their pictures taken; and the 8th graders had music playing and they were dancing. They were celebrating that they were finished with primary school and off to high school. That evening the 8th graders had their "matura" or graduation. It was in Stenje, a village by Prespa Lake.  Myself and some of the teachers went. We left Resen around 7:30 pm and did not get back until 2:30am.  It was a loooong night.  When we arrived, the 8th graders were already there; and the girls looked like they were dressed for prom.  They all had fancy dresses on, and heels so high that I would not even have been able to walk in them; their hair was done and made-up to the nines.  The boys on the other hand were wearing either dress shirts or t-shirts and jeans. There was a band and they played Macedonian music and everyone danced until the next morning. We also had dinner, typical meal.  First a salad and then, at the teacher's table, they brought out fish.  Snesha tried to show me how to eat it because they cook fish whole. They take the fish, flour them, and then fry them, head and all.  I have never liked fish; and I especially do not like eating meat on or with bones.  So I tried it, but I did not eat very much of my little fish. They later brought out the main meal that consisted of  two types of "steak," which is what they call it, but its a chicken breast and then what looks like a big hamburger patty.  And you can't forget the drinks!!!  Even though this was a school party/graduation, they still brought out the ouzo, cognac, and wine for the teachers along with soda and water. By the end of the night, the kids still had energy and the teachers were all exhausted.

I will not be able to post this weekend  because I will be gone. I am going to Ohrid for some R and R.  Next week we have our Language training in Struga, also located by the lake, so I will have alot to write about when I get back.  But for now here is a picture of me that was taken by another volunteer. Its by the Ohrid lake.

Macedonian Folkdancing

Last night, Irena and I went to the sports center here in Resen to watch some of our students perform.  It was interesting for me, being an Irish Dancer, seeing traditional Macedonian dances; and Irena was excited to go because she use to dance with this company when she was younger.  The most common and popular dance is the "Oro," which as a volunteer we learned during our first week here.  It is danced at times of celebration, i.e., weddings, birthdays, name days; and we have even danced it at school events. But there are many more Macedonian dances and each one has a different story and comes from a different place.  Some of the dances are from a region, i.e., Ohrid Region, and others are from villages or cities.  For me, the outsider, all of the music sounds the same, but for the Macedonians they know each and everyone and can sing or dance along to it.  Its just like me and Irish music, to someone else it all sounds the same; but I can tell whether its a reel, jig, hornpipe, etc.  Each dance also has a different costume that goes along with it, but the dancers do knot own their own costume.  The  dance company owns them; and they are passed down from generation to generation. They are very detailed and according to Irena are very heavy.  Some costumes have 3-5 layers and can weigh around 15 kilos or 33 lbs.  There was also a dance group from Bulgaria that was performing.  It is common for other dance companies to travel to other shows.  The Resen company, this summer, will be performing in Croatia and Portugal.

 The company/school in Resen is called Таше Милошевски, Tashe Miloshevski, who is an important figure in Macedonian history.

The first group was very good and they danced as one.  You can see how detailed the costumes are. During the show I took some videos with my camera because I wanted people to be able to see what Macedonian dancing looked like; but because of internet problems and restrictions, I can not upload them.  So I will just have to add more pictures.

These pictures are from the Bulgarian group's performance.  The costumes are different and they "bounce" more when they dance.  Their knees come up and they bang the ground with their feet and all of their motions and dance moves are faster. 

 The items in their hands resemble loaves of bread.

The demon of the show. There were 3 of them and then one girl came out holding a religious icon and all the demons left.

Another Macedonian dance, that is from the Ohrid region.  In the picture above are some of my students.

The little ones!!!!  They did 2 or 3 dances and all of theirs was in a circle form.

Some of my 8th grade girls and their costumes were more traditional.

The last dance of the evening was a new one that they all had just learned. It was performed by the older students and is a dance from Prilep.

 The boy on the left, use to be Irena's dance partner. Both of them were very good.

 You can see how detailed the costumes are.

And, of course, you cannot end a Macedonian event without dancing the "Oro."  All of the dancers, old ones and current, plus some parents all celebrated the end of a great show with a traditional Macedonian dance.