First Spring in Macedonia

There is something magical about spring, the fresh green shoots, the birdsong heard every moment of the day, the farm animals taking care of their newly born and the house cats and dogs basking in the sun. Spring is getting up after the long slumber of winter, often covered with a blanket of snow. The snow has all but melted except from the distant peaks bringing a chill into the air, but not being able to ward off the warmth of the daytime sun.

My worksite has remained in the doldrums, as teaching English has yet to open pathways to something more exciting. There are however, many more moments when I am included in some of their daily activities and I can offer concrete ideas and suggestions. The community appears to be more responsive and my suggestion to the women’s organization LUNA resulted in action – sponsoring an essay writing competition among grades 1 to 4 with prizes. They are interested in continuing this activity and expanding it to the high school next year to research and write about Macedonian women leaders. This empowered me; bringing a lightness to my step, during my daily walk back and forth work. At the same time I was reminded how easy it is to forget that a wider circle of people in the community reveal their empowerment and leadership skills when conducting these types of activity at the grassroots level. These small steps may ultimately be the biggest sustainable change in the community.

With this success in hand I focused on the upcoming Earth Day, April 22 and it has led me to the high school after school clubs and generated interest in vermicompost bins at the school and the possibility of starting a community garden. In a town in which most families have their own vegetable gardens, the latter is more challenging and I have thought of focusing exclusively on a rose garden. Roses, I have learned through my research is featured in ancient Macedon artifacts and may be perfectly suited to this soil!

March 21 turned out to be one of the most exciting day of my life! I was invited to join the high school’s ecology club’s field trip to clear paths to some caves in a nearby Belitsca, a small village in the municipality of Brod. The Speleoloski Drustva “Peoni” organized this event and it took us a couple of hours of fairly steep incline to reach one of the caves, clearing the brush on the way. To my utter delight, when we arrived, our group leader, the president of Peoni was carrying the equipment needed to lower ourselves into the underground cave! It was unbelievable and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity, even if it meant climbing down a narrow, approximately 1 ½” x 8” rungs of a metallic ladder. The nimble young lads made it look easy. I found myself swinging wildly and my shoe (I did have the wrong shoes) could not find the rung, let alone rest on it as it was all but one with the sheer face of the rock! The rope around my waist was what held me in place, and at times was most uncomfortable pulling me in the opposite direction of where I was headed! It is challenging for an inexperienced person like myself, but I loved the sensation of reaching my goal at the end of the struggle. The students teamed up to help me both times – when lowering myself down and when climbing back out. This was not a deep cave and only 7-8 feet was sheer rock without footholds! However, I needed all the help I could get, including one of the student’s hand halfway up.

Macedonia has a lot to offer for the outdoor enthusiast! Boating, hiking, fishing, hunting and spelunking thrown in the mix!