Tumba Trails

This weekend, I traveled to the other side of the country to a village outside of Strumica where another volunteer lives in Novo Selo.  He had organized a hike first to one of the famous waterfalls, Smolari, and then up the Tumba trail; which when you reach the top, you can see Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.  We started early on Saturday morning, after a big French toast and coffee breakfast. We went by taxi to the waterfall. According to my Macedonian travel book: "In the corner of Macedonia equidistant from the borders of Bulgaria and Greece is the village of Smolari, above which is a 40m drop of the Smolari waterfall. It is a small site set in beautiful surroundings and the half-hour hike to get there is along well-maintained grounds."  It was a perfect day for a hike.

 We started off with a group shot.  You can see that everyone is happy and ready to go.  At that point we were all very optimistic about what the day would bring.

Me with the Smolari waterfall.

They were brave enough to climb down a little rope and stand infront of the waterfall. I was the photographer that stayed on the bridge and just watched.  After everyone got their pictures, it was time to start hiking.  We first took a 30 min detour, aka we got lost, and ended up climbing, with our hands, up what we thought was the trail. As I was climbing up what looked like a wall of nature with my hands, trying not to look down, my first thought was if the whole hike is going to be like this I was not going to make it. But then we realized that we were not going the right way, because we could not find any of the markers on the trees, and then climbed back down the wall of nature.  After my legs stopped shaking, we were off on the correct path which was normal. It was just a dirt path but it went up the mountain at less of an incline.

There was a road that went up the mountain but it was shaped like a snake. In order to make it to the top in time we had to take the paths that went straight up.  The path and the road intersected along the way.  By taking the path we were told that it would take 7 hours to get to the top.  I went as far as I could, 3 hours into it we were standing on the road and I was looking at the next path that we would take and how steep it was.  That was when I called it quits.  I was wearing sneakers, which for this kind of hike will only get you so far, and I know that I am fine going up, but I get scared when I'm coming down.  So myself and 2 others continued up, but on the road.

We wanted to get to the mountain hut, which was around the half way point to the top, but we got lost. At one point the road forked and we started off in one direction, which was the right direction, but when we did not see the road curve up we thought we went the wrong way and back tracked.  When the others got to the mountain hut, 2 others called it quits, the came down on the road and met up with us and the 5 of us worked are way back down the mountain while the remaining 3 kept going towards the top.  Here are some of their pictures from the peak of the mountain:

 The pillar at the top of the mountain.  The beaken that says "You made it!!!"

 The 3 from our group that made it all the way to the top.

This was the other group. They did it the weekend before us.  Robert, the volunteer that lives in Novo Selo, did this hike 2 weekends in a row and went to the top both times.  Unbelievable.

Once the 5 of us got down the mountain, we took a taxi back and tried to figue out who would get the shower first.  We relaxed, started to prepare the fixings for dinner, pizza!!, and waited for the remaining 3 to come back.  They had said that they would get back a little before 7pm.  5:16pm they were walking through the front gate.  They made it the rest of the way with little to no breaks and then on the way down they "ran".  When they came in they said they felt great and none of them had any blisters or were swore.  The rest of the time we all just hung out and relaxed.  I did not concur the moutain, but that is perfectly fine. I like my feet firm on the ground where they belong. I think I am done with excursions for awhile.  The next adventure I will plan to take will be to the lake about 10km from my house.  Thats more my type of excursion.

National Spelling Bee

This past weekend, the Peace Corps hosted the 2nd annual National Spelling Bee in Skopje.  Over 500 students, ranging from 5th grade to senior year of high school came from all over Macedonia to spell.  I was not able to bring any of my students from Resen, because during the time that Spelling Bee qualifiers were happening we had the ministry visiting our school and I thought that it would be too much; but there is always next year. So this year I went to volunteer and scope how the Bee worked and it was a good thing I did; because then next year we will be prepared. It was a long, hot day (80 degrees) and the Bee was at the American College, a very nice place but no AC.  I left Resen at 5am and arrived in Skopje around 9ish. I had some errands to run,  theVero for tortilla chips and Coronas (I made nachos!!!), and then I headed over to the Bee. When I arrived, all the 5th and 6th graders were still getting registered.  There were over 350 students just in the 5th and 6th grade round and as you can see from the picture......

they do not understand the concept of a line.  This plus some parents and teachers made the registration room a bit crowded.  Once everyone was registered and had a number, they were ready to start the Bee, a little behind schedule. The biggest group was up first. The students were divided into 2 rooms, evens and odds.  They brought all the 5th and 6th graders upstairs to the 2 rooms where they would have the Bee. At the beginning they had all the students upstairs in lines in one hallway, but then PCorps volunteers got the idea to have the students serpentine down the stairs to give people more room and oxygen.  

 The even numbered students all in line ready to spell.

And the odd numbered students working their way down 3 flights of steps.  This was where I spent most of my time. The students liked to talk and since they were in a stairwell, their voices carried making it hard for people in the room to hear what was going on and the kids to hear the words they needed to spell.  So who would be better for the job then "teacher Michelle". It was funny since none of the other volunteers have met or seen "teacher Michelle" in action; they were very surprised. "My stairwell", as I referred to it, it was relatively quiet and the kids were very good. I was stern when I needed to be and made sure that the students were staying to one side; but we also had some fun since no one likes to stand in a stairwell for hours and only move up one stair every 5 minutes or so. How the Bee worked was:

When it was their turn, they were given one word to spell (from the list of words that they were given beforehand). They had to write it correctly on the white board. If they got it correct, they went to the end of the line and waited to spell another word, if not.....

then they were given a certificate. Every student got one. After 3 rounds they went to the "Bonus round" where the students were given harder words that were not on their lists.  The students were suppose to be "dropping like flies" during the bonus round, but we had to do a few of them to get the line down to a good number because of the number of students we had.   When the lines dwindled down a bit, they combined the even and odd numbered students in one room and continued to make the words harder to get a winner. Four hours later we had our 5th and 6th grade winner.  Then it was time for the 7th and 8th grade round and then the high school round. I stayed and helped start the 7th and 8th grade round but then had to leave to catch the last bus back to Resen. It was a long but very exciting day. I am very glad that I went because if Irena and I decide to bring students next year I have a plan!!! lol

National Spelling Bee Plan for 2012:

• Travel with our own bus.
• Have all Resen students wear the same colored shirt.
• Have them bring bag lunches, snacks, and drinks. 
• Bring things to play with or do.

Looking at the list, it seems like a no-brainer, things that teachers do all the time for field trips. But these things are not common here; and for some of the teachers and other volunteers, I think it added to their stress level.  Macedonian students do not bring a bag lunch with them every day to school, mostly they just bring money and buy something wherever they are.  There was a cafeteria in the college, but all I saw the students buying were chips and sodas.  Which is not going to keep them full for the day; and I can't imagine trying to find a place to eat with 30 kids, So next year we will be prepared!!!

Домашно Style Baby

When it comes to finding certain things in Macedonia one word is very common "домашно" (domashno) or "home-made."  This word is normally associated with wine "домашно вино" or rakia "домашно ракиа" and even ajvar "домашно ајвар" since these are the items that most Macedonians make.  But Peace Corps volunteers also use this word;  we use it when we can't find something that was very accessible back home.  I have heard of many volunteers making their own tomato sauce or Alfredo sauce from scratch since in some places you can't find it in a jar; and to be honest it does not taste the same.  I have heard of others making pasta from scratch, brewing their own beer, and even one volunteer who made his own peanut butter.  These are the items that volunteers try to recreate so that they taste similar to what they are use to.  There are plenty of foods that we miss and that we can't find here; so instead we have to make it from scratch.  For example, I have recently been craving cottage cheese.  Something so simple that you can find at any grocery store, but not in Macedonia.  I even bought something that from the picture looked like it could  be cottage cheese; and I was sadly disappointed. So when it comes down to that moment where I can't fight the cravings, I do have a recipe for "домашно" cottage cheese.

Items that we would not think twice about running to the store to buy, you can't buy here and you just have to find another way around it.  Another place where the word "домашно" is commonly used by volunteers is when it comes to making things for school.  As you remember from the previous blog with the bottle caps, we use whatever is around to make resources for school.  Well I have just spent this last weekend making another "домашно" product.  Once a month I go into Bitola to do "Game Night" at The American Corner.  They have been advertising each month that we would be playing Scrabble since all 5 of the American Corners throughout Macedonia want to have a Scrabble tournament.  Each Corner has 2 Scrabble games and has a team of high schoolers.  The only problem is that they do not have a separate night for them to come and play Scrabble; they only have one night: Game Night, which is open to everyone.  So on Game Nights I have other kids coming in ready to play Scrabble since that was what was on the calendar.  It started out fine, you have kids playing in pairs and instead of 4 per board you have 8.  So what do you do for the long term?

You do it........................................Домашно style baby!!!!

 My home-made Scrabble board with tiles and tile holders.  Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.

 I tried to make it as authentic as possible, since some of the other kids will be playing on regular Scrabble boards.  It is a standard 15x15 board and it has the same placement of the spaces and the same colors. All it took was a poster board (30 denar), a cardboard box (free), some duck tape (courtesy of Auntie Carol) a ruler, pencil, black marker, and some colored pencils (all items that every teacher normally carries around with them anyway).

The Scrabble tiles on the holder.  I even wrote the point value on each one since it is important to keep score and it does not say it anywhere else. I cut up old food boxes (blueberry muffin mix and mac and cheese; again, thank you Auntie Carol) into 2cm by 2cm squares and then just wrote the letter and point value on each.  The holders are made of leftover poster board (got to use every bit up) and it was just folded to stand up and an extra fold to hold the letters.

This weekend I made 2 sets of Scrabble boards; and on Wednesday I will be taking them to the American Corner for the kids to play with; will post pictures afterwards so you can see the boards in use.  This was my first домашно game project, but there will probably be more to come since at school Irena and I are in the process of writing a grant to start an English Resource Center/Library at our school and games like Scrabble, Uno, and Memory are easy to make and are good for students learning English.

So I will leave you with my new motto:  "Keep it Simple, Keep it Easy, Keep it Домашно".

The 1st of May

For the 1st of May, Macedonians go off and have a picnic and spend time in the outdoors.  So that is just what we Americans did.   But before leaving for my weekend of outdoors events, I had to watch the Royal Wedding!   I recently learned that Macedonia and England are in the same time zone, which worked out perfectly for me.  After school, I came home and turned on my TV, which I normally don't use because I can watch everything online and watched the Royal Wedding.

There's Queenie!!!!  Proof that I actually watched this moment of history while serving in the Peace Corps.

On Saturday, I was in Bitola for a good  ole' American game of baseball. The American Sports Club, which is sponsored by the American Corner, received a donation of baseball equipment thanks to the help of one of the Bitola volunteers and they put together this baseball game. Since baseball is America's favorite pasttimes, it is not known to the Macedonians. So it was a fun yet interesting day teaching the kids how to play a game that they have never seen or heard of and in a language that they are still learning.  Luckily, we did have some Macedonian teenagers to help us out.  First the kids practiced throwing with a bean bag, aka a sock with lentils in it; then they moved on to practice catching with a real ball and glove (doing both regular throws and grounders) and then a hitting practice.  The day ended up with a real game of baseball.  We had setup a miniature version of a baseball field and used egg cartons as the bases; we use what we have.  The kids enjoyed it so much that they asked if we could play next weekend, so baseball in Macedonia (well at least Bitola) was a hit!  (Pardon the pun)

 Explaining what the day will bring and introducing the volunteers and the American Sports Club.

 Throwing practice.  This boy and his partner did really well.   I would have never believed that it was their first time playing baseball.

 Hitting a ball 101.

 Our fierce umpire and catcher.  They definitely played the part.

 Let's play ball!!!!!

At the end of the day.  All the kids in their baseball shirts and holding up the equipment as a thank you to those in the states that donated it.

Throughout the day we had people stopping by to see what we were up to.  There was one moment that was funny. One of the dads tried to stop a ball as it was rolling away by kicking it with his foot; like you would a soccer ball to catch it in his hand.  He realized the hard way that it was not as soft and bouncy as a soccer ball and was surprised when it hurt as it hit his foot and leg.  He then looked at the ball confused and then to us with an expression like "what on earth is this thing?".

On the 1st of May, the day that Macedonians go out for picnics, I made my way to Makedonski Brod.  A fellow volunteer lives there and every year on this day they all go this big cave for a picnic.  I had heard about this event and decided that I wanted to take part.

 Happie (on the right) had organized a combi (a bus) to take us all to the cave.  Each of us brought something for the picnic and Happie's neighbor had a grill that we used.  He made the grill out of an old water boiler and then made a frame for it.  Link was very excited since he has been looking for a grill since he got off the plane and this was the closest thing any of us has seen that looks like a Weber.

 Unpacking all the food and settling in at our perfect picnic.   It was right by the cave and the weather was perfect for picnicking.   (Can you find Michelle???)

 The Pesna Cave!!!

 The chiefs!!! Happie made some amazing Indian chicken that only she could do.  As they cooked,  the rest of us went off to explore the cave.

 For the outside looking in.  As you can see it is a popular place to go on May 1st.

 "Hello!!"

 Looking out at the beautiful mountains and landscape.

 Sitting down to eat after exploring the caves.  We had soo!!! much food and it was soooo delicious that everyone went back for 2nds and 3rds.  We had the typical American picniking foods: potato salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, bread, and lots of deserts: brownies, cookies, and my contribution.......a Carr Classic.......monster cookies!!!

 As you can see by the looks on their faces, monster cookies were a hit!!! lol  There were only about 4 left by the time the chicken was ready and it was time to eat.

The Makedonski Brod May 1st picnickers.  What a great day!!!!!

A Macedonian Easter

Easter is just like Christmas, the holiday is very traditional and religious-based.  There is no Easter bunny, no egg hunts, no jelly beans, just family time and traditions.  The Easter celebration actually started alot earlier than I expected.  The teachers at my school have been making crafts and decorations for weeks, then on Wednesday they started painting eggs.  The students got very creative and painted some beautiful eggs.

 Some of the crafts that the kids at my school made.

 Painting the eggs.  They use regular paint and put designs on them.

 One of the teachers gave Maria, one of the English teachers, some eggs to paint and decorate.  Maria is an amazing artist so she did a great job on the eggs.  When she brought them in, she first told the other teacher that she forgot them and the other teacher almost had a heart attack because they needed them for the next day. Then Maria pulled out her beautifully painted eggs and the other teacher laughed, knowing that she had been fooled.  At my school it is a big competition to see which teacher can come up with the most interesting craft to sell and who has the prettiest table.  The teachers hide everything until the day of the Thursday Bazaar so that none of the other teachers will see.  Its a friendly rivalry.

They tend to celebrate Easter more than they do Christmas.  The teachers and students sell their crafts plus baked goods in the Center of the town the Thursday before Easter.  The money that they get goes to their class, for either supplies, a trip, etc.  Here are some pictures from the center.  Each class gets their own table to sell and children from both primary schools and the high school were there selling things.  It is events like this when everyone is in the Center and all the coffee shops are full that I finally see how many people actually live in Resen.

 2nd grade class- Yes this teacher made aprons with eggs on it for her students to wear.  She is very crafty.

 1st grade class

3rd grade class

On Friday, it was beautiful day so Irena and I went for a walk.  She showed me where the women's monastery of Jankovec is located.  When I first looked up Resen in my Macedonian travel guide the only thing I could find was that there is a women's monastery in the village right outside/more like next to Resen.  "It is the first women's monastery to be brought back to life after several decades of neglect during  communist times.  Sister Kirana, who heads the best group of fresco painters alive today in Macedonia, brought the nuns to the rundown 16th century monastery in 1998.  They have done alot of work to it since then and their skills as fresco artists are in high demand throughout Macedonia."

Irena said that right now there is only one woman who lives there.  The day we went we could not get inside, but now that I know where it is I will go back and try to take more pictures.

On Saturday, I went to the pazar in the morning and there was a lady selling pansies.  I bought 7 pansies plants for 100 denar, a little over $2. She had them in a box;  they were not in little plastic containers like you would normally find at Home Depot or Lowes, they were just sitting there in their own dirt.  She picked out 7 for me and then put them in a plastic bag and that is how I got to carry them home.  I also had to go and buy a hanging flower box to put over my balcony and a bag of dirt because I knew they had to be planted today.

I now have a nice place to sit outside and put my feet up to read a book or just look at the view.

Saturday evening, a little before midnight, everyone goes to church to celebrate the holiday.  I arrived a little after 11pm and everyone was standing outside with lit candles.  It was a pretty sight to see.  Then there was some music and at midnight everyone cracks eggs. Families color eggs red, to represent Christ's blood, and then they crack them tip to tip.  If your egg breaks you have to give it to the other person.  It symbolizes luck and good health for the rest of the year.

I could not get a picture of people cracking their eggs, but this is a poster that someone painted at the municipality for the Easter celebration in the center.

I had a nice and quiet Easter day at home and I got to Skype the family while they were down at the river visiting Nana and Grandaddy.  Now it is back to school tomorrow to start a busy week after a quiet and relaxing 4 day weekend.

The 3 Babas

When I arrived back to school on Monday after the week-long training in Ohird, Irena was ready to go.  She had already placed boxes in some of the classrooms to start collecting bottle caps.  One of the PCVolunteers came up with the idea of using bottle caps as an interactive way to help the students practice their alphabet, their verbs, opposites, etc.  Here are some of the pictures that he took to give you an idea of what I am talking about:

 He used one color for the consonants and another for the vowels.  And he used egg cartons to hold them all and put a cute label on them. After one week, and 4 classes collecting, I have around 200 bottle caps in a box in my kitchen.  The next step is to wash them, in my washing machine , and then Irena and I will start putting together kits based off of what each grade needs.  The kids have been asking us what we will be doing with the bottle caps, but we are leaving it as a surprise.

Another exciting change is that Irena and I have FINALLY gotten the kids to quietly raise their hand, stop yelling out the answer, and stop saying "JAC" every time they want to answer something.  "Jac" literally translated means "I", but when taken non-literally the kids are actually saying "Me! Pick me!"  and that gets very annoying very quickly.  At the beginning of each class, Irena told them, in Macedonian, that this was going to be a new rule and that if anyone yelled out an answer or yelled out "Jac" that they would not be able to talk for the rest of class. I know that might seem a bit extreme right now, since we do want the kids to ask questions and to talk in order to practice their English, but right now its just to get the point across, and so far it is working.  The day we introduced the new rule in one of the 3rd grade classes it was going well, then Irena asked a question and both Martin and Phillip raised their hand and yelled out "Jac".  Right after they had said it they both realized what they did and dropped their hands to their foreheads.  Irena looked at them and smiled and I tisked and waved my finger, in a playful matter, and we just kept on teaching.  The next day, in the same class I was picking students to read a paragraph in their books and I was calling on students with nice quiet hands.  After I had called on a few Martin looked at me and said, in Macedonian, "Teacher, can I please read next?  I did not get to talk last class."  I chuckled and told him to wait and that his turn would come.  There will always be the student that forgets, since they have been doing this since they started school, and English class is the only one where they can't yell out, but some are starting to remember and classes are running alot quieter and smoother.

The other English teacher, Maria, has actually made a pack with her 2nd grade students that there will be no Macedonian during English class.  Those students do understand alot and they liked the idea; but since they don't know everything, Maria does have to explain a few things in Macedonian.  It's a step and for 2nd graders that is a big step.

I was interviewed by the 5th grades as well.  One of their lessons for History/Government was to talk to a international visitor, and who did they think of.....me.  They asked the questions in Macedonian and Irena was my translator.  Some of the questions were ones that they asked when I first arrived "where are you from", "what is in your town", "what do you think of Macedonia", etc.  But there were other questions that were very good:  they asked about what we do for the 4th of July and Halloween (2 holidays that they don't have), and my favorite question "what are some school rules in America?"  I was surprised by this question and so was Irena, but she was interested to hear as well.  I told them that kids in America raise their hand and do not yell out;  they do not talk when the teacher or another student is talking; and when they are in the halls they do not run or yell.  They walk quietly.  I was more or less emphasizing the things that I have seen at the school.  It was fun to be interviewed and the kids came up with good questions.  Afterwards, one of the 5th grade teachers came back in to see if we were finished and she also had a question for me.  It is the typical question that every PCVolunteer is asked..."Are you interested in finding a Macedonian spouse?"  Some volunteers have made up imaginary relationships with people in the states to avoid being set up, but most of the time even that does not work.  When I was in Lozovo, they tried to marry me off 3 times: the dentist who was 40, a nephew who had a girlfriend, and a neighbor who spent all his time at the betting place......no thank you.  Luckily here in Resen I have only been asked a few times if I want to marry a Macedonian, and they normally leave it at that. So as you can see everything on the school front is going well. Soon Irena and I will start writing up a grant for the English Resource Center/Library that she would like in the school.  So after a slow start this winter, Spring has come in and it means business.

Speaking of Spring, now it is time for the story of the 3 Babas.  Irena was reminded of this story last week by some of the other teachers when the weather automatically went from nice back to cold and raw. Supposedly during the first few weeks of Spring, there are 3 days where the weather changes back to cold, and those 3 days are known as the "3 Babas".  This year it was April 12-14th.  On the first day, the weather was good, little windy, but nothing too bad.  This means that Baba #1 could make up her mind, she knew that she wanted Spring to continue.  Day #2, still pretty good, maybe a little colder, but all in all a nice day.  Baba #2 also knew that she wanted Spring to continue.  Day #3, cold and raw.  The type of day where you want to come home and eat soup and curl up in a blanket, not a nice Spring day.  Baba # 3 had no idea what was going on, she did not know that it was Springtime and thought that it was still winter so that was why it was so cold.  Well Baba #3 still has not fully made up her mind because the weather has been cold for a few days now, but it seems that she is starting to get on the same page as the other babas because today it was not as cold has it has been.  Just another interesting folktale, just like Promaja.

This weekend I was in Skopje for Camp GLOW training.  All of the PCVolunteers and the girls that will be counselors and CITs (counselor in training) came to meet each other and start working on their lessons for camp. It went from 11-4 on Saturday and by the end I think that everyone felt good knowing what they will be teaching and having a plan in mind.  The rest of the weekend was spent exploring more of Skopje and eating "American" food.  I definitely needed to go to aerobics yesterday to work all this off.  I ate:  falafel sandwich, Chinese food, had a coffee to go!!! (my favorite), Mexican food and margaritas, and McDonalds.  All the comforts of home in one weekend.  I don't get up to Skopje often and normally when I do its only for a day and I have lots of meetings and things planned.  So it was nice to take my time and not rush to the bus station.  Next time, I plan on taking my time as well and exploring more of the sights, and of course hitting a few of those restaurants again as well.

Spring Time in Macedonia

Life in Macedonia changes in the Spring.  You will now see more people in the center of town talking and drinking coffee.  The kids are playing outside more and ice cream is back!!!  You might think that it's to early in the year to see people walking around eating their ice cream cones......but its never too early for ice cream.

April 1st in Macedonia is known as Април лили, April lili.  It is just like April Fools.  The kids try and trick the teachers and the teachers try to trick the kids.  "Ok, sit down.  Pull out a piece of paper and a pencil;  you are having a pop quiz today."  "WHAT?!"  "April lili"   The only difference is the younger students dress up.  I am not sure what the reasoning is behind it, but as you walk around the center it looks like Halloween; but the kids here do not go around and collect candy.

 Nikola!!!!  He chose the perfect costume, even though he is normally the one to disrupt the peace instead of keep the peace.

 Irena with one of the 1st grade classes.

 Sarah was a bunny and Angela was a clown.  Angela's mom works at the store in town where I bought all my pots and pans and essentials for my apartment.

 My 5th grade boys.  The boys were soccer players and the girls were.......

cheerleaders.  They had a dance routine that they performed in front of the municipality after school.  All of the kids in Resen, including both elementary schools,  gathered there and each class performed something.

The other 5th grade class.  Same idea, boys soccer players and girls were cheerleaders.  

Another indication that Spring is here is that more people go walking.  For a PCorps volunteer's birthday, she organized a hike through Pelister National Park, located outside of Bitola.  The trail we planned on taking would take us to churches and monasteries located in towns around the park.  The only thing was that these "trails" probably had not been used in years; so what was once a path ended up being an overgrown area.  There were times we had to make our own path up the mountains.

Pelister National Park.  It was a perfect day of hiking.  It started out sunny, then there was some rain, then sun, then hail.....yes hail, about the size of rain drops, and then sun again.  Mother Nature could not make up her mind; but we kept on going.  I made granola bars for the hike and during a break they were a big hit.  By the time the bag got back to me there were none left.  Good thing I had saved one back at my apartment, but from the comments and looks on people's faces they turned out very good.

 As we were walking through one of the towns, we saw a man and his sheep.  When we stopped to take a picture of the herd, he started to move out of the way; but then we told the man that we wanted him in the picture too.  As we were walking away we could hear his buddy yelling "Did they take your picture too?"  The man responded with "Yep!" and started to laugh.

 One of the churches on our hike.

Our tour guide!!!  We met up with this dog on the hike and he followed us the whole way.  At the end we had to leave him at one of the villages.  I hope he found his way back home because he went quite a way with us.  

The reason behind the delay in this week's blog was because I was in Ohrid for a technical training session.  It was a conference for us and our counterparts.  We stayed at a very nice hotel called Hotel Belvedere, http://hotelbelvedere.com.mk/Home.html.   Every night after we were finished with the training sessions and dinner you could find me, and others, sitting by the fire with a glass of wine.  It was the perfect place to unwind after a long day. After the conference, many of the volunteers stayed in Ohrid for a mini-vacation.  On Friday, I just walked around and window shopped.  On Saturday, we all went out on a boat to Svet. Naum.  It has a monastery and is a popular attraction.  It was a beautiful day; and we brought snacks (wine, cheese, and crackers) and sunbathed on the front of the boat.  As one of the volunteers said "Life in Macedonia is just rough isn't it?"  (can you hear the sarcasm?)

There were about 15 of us that went on the trip, so we had to take 2 boats. 

 This was the summer house of the President of Yugoslavia.

The monastery, we were able to walk around the property.  There is a restaurant and hotel there too. 

 The church located inside the monastery.

 All over the grounds of the monastery there were peacocks.  I had never seen so many and have never been so close to one.  Also, I found out they can fly.  I learned this as one was flying over my head down to the ground from where it was perch on a branch of a tree.

 There was a smaller and newer church located outside of the monastery grounds and I was able to watch a man paint the fresco.

As you can see, alot has been happening and things are starting to pick up now that Spring is here.  I have a busy weekend coming up with GLOW, so expect the next blog to be on Monday.