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!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Reflections
I found the visit to the states a bit traumatic and was not able to settle down at all when I arrived at my US home. I returned to Macedonia full of misgivings - unable to balance the needs of my family with my personal needs and the needs of my new 'family' in Brod. Though I enjoyed the peace and quiet of my room in Brod the first night, I found it daunting to venture out for my walk in the morning. All I wanted was the safety and comfort of my four walls – did not want to face up to the task of speaking in a language I barely knew. Misunderstandings arise from cultural differences and nuances and I do not want to be judged as uncaring or selfish and that I left my husband before he was fully recovered from his bout of serious, life threatening illness.
So Wednesday morning the honeymoon period was officially over. I dawdled all morning, picking through my clothes before gingerly stepping out in the fresh air. The fog had not completely lifted and formed a soft veil around the mountains, softening the harshness of a clear cloudless cold wintry morning. The gas station digital sign told me was 2 degrees centigrade at 7:03 am. Just stepping out helped clear some of the fog in my mind. After walking just a block, I saw a car drive past by me and in that split second I recognized the Mayor of the town driving by, just as he recognized me. He stopped, rolled down the window and we greeted each other and he moved on. Immediately my pace became brisk and more confident. It was not going to be so hard after all- the people in this community knew me and knew why I had left so abruptly and they were not going to embarrass me with questions! I went on to say hello to the employees outside the municipal services and a few other residents when I met the silly dog, Glupcho! His exuberance and squealing in delight while jumping up and down always embarrassed me in the past, but was such a welcome sound this morning and soon I felt I was back in my ‘normal’ routine. There was a distinct increased lightness in my step and I was reminded that the only way to conquer my latent fears is to look them in the face. I fell into my earlier routine of stopping at the store and one of the many fruit stands to replenish my pantry. It was then I decided to write about the similarities and differences in the two cultures that I was straddling!
The pace of life is slower here for me, as I had left all my obligations behind before I embarked on this journey. Unlike me, my colleagues have obligations that they are trying to juggle between work and home. However, there seems to be more flexibility built into the workday and there is an acceptance that many times familial obligations may have a greater priority.
The work day usually starts over a cup of coffee, often Turkish style. Many of my colleagues call it their breakfast! It is a time for making small talk, before the start of the day. In my case the talk is very simple and to my utter consternation I was having difficulty with many of the simple phrases I had mastered earlier - I recognize the words but not the meaning! However, today I found out a colleague had purchased a car in Germany and was making a 5-day trip to go and fetch it! Another colleague had purchased a new laptop and yet a few others received their official uniforms last week and were still getting used to the bright orange color that made them visible from far away! Talking over coffee is like having an impromptu meeting in which everyone in the office is a part of. Today, I learned that a couple of colleagues were going to an adjacent village to survey and draw up a proposal to remodel the facility! I was not only able to join them, leaving immediately, but I learned about this "new project" at the opstina!
Rent is paid in cash, no saving receipts for tax purposes. I pay for three months at a time and have started using the ATM to withdraw money because the lines at the bank are long and the process slow. ATM’s as we all know, have withdrawal limits, which means I have to make multiple trips. I also miss the ease and convenience with which you can purchase groceries and personal products for daily items. It took me 2 months to find whole-wheat flour in a store in Skopje! During my short stay in the US, I was able to cook both simple and gourmet meals, because the ingredients were readily at my local grocery store. Peanut butter is not a common item in Macedonia – they like their peanuts raw or roasted and not made into a spread, so I brought a couple of jars back with me!
The farm produce here is like having farmer's market all year round. Though bananas come all the way from Ecuador, most vegetables and fruits travel only a few hours to get from the farms to the fruit stand. This morning I purchased tomatoes and cucumbers arriving from south-eastern farms in Strumica,! Walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts are locally grown in backyards and in the late fall and early winter months, hot roasted chestnuts are served as a snack! Walnuts are used extensively in their desserts of which baklava is famous not only in Macedonia but also in Greece and Turkey. It appears as one of the dessert items at every celebratory meal. What I couldn’t find was pine nuts to make a nice caprese salad!
Visiting friends is less formal. Many people turn on the porch lights to signify they are at home and friends feel welcome to walk up and knock at the door. Though tired, my friend called out to me at 9:30 pm when she saw me strolling down the street and I didn't feel uncomfortable walking in to her house. Back home we live scattered from each other and dropping in like this becomes impossible!
So Wednesday morning the honeymoon period was officially over. I dawdled all morning, picking through my clothes before gingerly stepping out in the fresh air. The fog had not completely lifted and formed a soft veil around the mountains, softening the harshness of a clear cloudless cold wintry morning. The gas station digital sign told me was 2 degrees centigrade at 7:03 am. Just stepping out helped clear some of the fog in my mind. After walking just a block, I saw a car drive past by me and in that split second I recognized the Mayor of the town driving by, just as he recognized me. He stopped, rolled down the window and we greeted each other and he moved on. Immediately my pace became brisk and more confident. It was not going to be so hard after all- the people in this community knew me and knew why I had left so abruptly and they were not going to embarrass me with questions! I went on to say hello to the employees outside the municipal services and a few other residents when I met the silly dog, Glupcho! His exuberance and squealing in delight while jumping up and down always embarrassed me in the past, but was such a welcome sound this morning and soon I felt I was back in my ‘normal’ routine. There was a distinct increased lightness in my step and I was reminded that the only way to conquer my latent fears is to look them in the face. I fell into my earlier routine of stopping at the store and one of the many fruit stands to replenish my pantry. It was then I decided to write about the similarities and differences in the two cultures that I was straddling!
The pace of life is slower here for me, as I had left all my obligations behind before I embarked on this journey. Unlike me, my colleagues have obligations that they are trying to juggle between work and home. However, there seems to be more flexibility built into the workday and there is an acceptance that many times familial obligations may have a greater priority.
The work day usually starts over a cup of coffee, often Turkish style. Many of my colleagues call it their breakfast! It is a time for making small talk, before the start of the day. In my case the talk is very simple and to my utter consternation I was having difficulty with many of the simple phrases I had mastered earlier - I recognize the words but not the meaning! However, today I found out a colleague had purchased a car in Germany and was making a 5-day trip to go and fetch it! Another colleague had purchased a new laptop and yet a few others received their official uniforms last week and were still getting used to the bright orange color that made them visible from far away! Talking over coffee is like having an impromptu meeting in which everyone in the office is a part of. Today, I learned that a couple of colleagues were going to an adjacent village to survey and draw up a proposal to remodel the facility! I was not only able to join them, leaving immediately, but I learned about this "new project" at the opstina!
Rent is paid in cash, no saving receipts for tax purposes. I pay for three months at a time and have started using the ATM to withdraw money because the lines at the bank are long and the process slow. ATM’s as we all know, have withdrawal limits, which means I have to make multiple trips. I also miss the ease and convenience with which you can purchase groceries and personal products for daily items. It took me 2 months to find whole-wheat flour in a store in Skopje! During my short stay in the US, I was able to cook both simple and gourmet meals, because the ingredients were readily at my local grocery store. Peanut butter is not a common item in Macedonia – they like their peanuts raw or roasted and not made into a spread, so I brought a couple of jars back with me!
The farm produce here is like having farmer's market all year round. Though bananas come all the way from Ecuador, most vegetables and fruits travel only a few hours to get from the farms to the fruit stand. This morning I purchased tomatoes and cucumbers arriving from south-eastern farms in Strumica,! Walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts are locally grown in backyards and in the late fall and early winter months, hot roasted chestnuts are served as a snack! Walnuts are used extensively in their desserts of which baklava is famous not only in Macedonia but also in Greece and Turkey. It appears as one of the dessert items at every celebratory meal. What I couldn’t find was pine nuts to make a nice caprese salad!
Visiting friends is less formal. Many people turn on the porch lights to signify they are at home and friends feel welcome to walk up and knock at the door. Though tired, my friend called out to me at 9:30 pm when she saw me strolling down the street and I didn't feel uncomfortable walking in to her house. Back home we live scattered from each other and dropping in like this becomes impossible!
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