Annual Christmas letter to family and friends

I am absolutely amazed at how full my calendar has been during my first month at site and how quickly the people of Brod have made me a part of their community.

I have attended two performances given by school children. The primary school was in the second week of December and a showcase of prose and music, while the preschool and kinder garden children had a holiday performance complete with jingle bells and presents under the tree on December 30. Santa Claus and lighting of the tree here is associated with New Years and not Christmas. Working as a community development volunteer my presence at the schools is limited. I took the initiative to attend the performance of the primary school alone without invitation, because I felt I am bound to meet parents and teachers from the community.

When I attended the annual dinner with the women’s organization “Luna” I was pleasantly surprised to recognize four ladies from previous encounters. My friend, who had invited me, was unfortunately delayed and couldn't come at all and I went alone to the restaurant. Now my circle of acquaintances’ has grown exponentially. That is how I received the invitation to the performance of the preschoolers.

Earlier in the month, I met with members of the environmental club “Treska” and was invited to a caving expedition, which was canceled due to an unexpected heavy snowfall accompanied by below zero temperatures on the scheduled date. I do have a rain check for the next trip, though.

I was invited to accompany the municipality employees to (1) attend a community forum of needs assessment sponsored by an ngo and (2) a presentation of the Slatinsky Izvor caves in the municipality for which an application for UNESCO World Heritage site was filed in 2004. I look forward to seeing those caves in the next two years.

At the municipality, I started conversational English lessons in order to get to know the employees, which has helped in making for a congenial relationship with everyone. Even though I speak Macedonian haltingly, I am making headway in increasing the content of the conversation and they are starting to share their work projects with me,along with helping me with my language skills, just as I help them with theirs! I have a class daily and sometimes, due to their work schedule repeat the content with the ones who miss the 'class'. When we wee struggling with pronunciation earlier this week, it was real pleasant to hear a peer say, we have two years, ima vreme! Even though I hadn't planned to teach English when I signed up as a volunteer, these classes offer an opportunity for conversation, which will lead to collaborative projects!

To further communication and cultural exchange opportunities, I invited all my coworkers to a Christmas party at my home – sharing our way of a celebration with theirs and with the help of two of my Macedonian friends baked cookies and American style pasta and tomato sauce. It was well received with close to 20 people. My friends and I wrapped the evening in a sing-a-long with my friend’s son playing the guitar and singing both Macedonian and English songs!

Meanwhile, not to ignore my volunteer colleagues, I thoroughly enjoyed Hanukkah in Skopje and loved the girls night out for Boxing Day in Gostivar. I still keep up with my language tutoring and daily walks with my tutor, not to mention the long hikes during the weekends, alone or with friends.

It has been quite a roller coaster life emotionally and there are times I really miss being back home with family, but this choice to work as a volunteer has allowed me to experience and grow in ways that staying in my comfortable cozy environment at home would not have done. So to my nuclear and extended family, a big thank you for your support and encouragement. May the New Year bring you good health and uplifting experiences.