rocking the rakija!

Hello dear friends! I need to comment before I start that my blog is in no way, shape or form reflecting official Peace Corps policy..it is just mine! Now with that disclaimer out of the way....let it begin!

Allan and I and eight other volunteers arrived in negotino last Saturday where we were met by our host mom,slavitsa, who had a taxi deliver us and our two hundred plus pounds of stuff to the home she shares with her husband,Gotscha.  They are a lovely couple a few years younger than us and have gone way out of the way to make us comfortable.

Let me tell you what a typical day looks like, four days in.Allan and I wake up about 6:30 and take a shower...Slavitsa turns on the hot water heater for the bathroom before we get up and once were done the water heater goes off, until time for tomorrow's shower. This is the norm, electricity is very very expensive so we don't heat water just to let it sit there.

She serves us breakfast, Turkish coffee and bread, salami and cheese and olives. Allan and I walk about twenty minutes to the school where we have language lessons for four hours. After that we usually head for a quick cold drink in a cafe as there is no internet at home..this way we get our electronic fixes and catch up....

We then head for home and do homework.yes, we look like kids...We sit at the table together, scratch our heads over vocab and tense and Cyrillic alphabet while meanwhile Slavitsa corrects us from the kitchen.....da,da,da, or nay,nay,nay! She gets really excited about our language...and talks to us for long moments and then asks us if we understand! Not yet, but we're getting there!

And what is she doing while we do homework? Making ruchek, which is a heavy lunch served at four o'clock! After we eat and the four of us chat Allan and I either walk or go check out Gotscha.....because we live in the rakija making neighborhood and he is the reigning king of rakija!!! We have probably twenty 55 gallon drums of fermenting grapes in our garage that need attention....and by golly, they are getting it! Stirring, mixing, heating, distilling..our garage is a happening place!

And thank God, the end of the day is now near...the end of our days are about eight...go to bed, read til nine, sleep like babies until 630...repeat..and by golly, we are having a hoot!

So much more to share....but by now you may be as exhausted as we are, so will save! Thanks for all your comments and support..it is so appreciated!

Orientation is done...but which way is up!!??

What a week it's been! We have had orientation this week....so starting at seven Allan and I would make our way down to the cafeteria, greet the other volunteers and prepare for classes from nine to seven! What did we talk about? Why, everything from security (theft, assault, wild dogs) to how to get t mobile dumb phones to setting up bank accounts to cultural diversity to my favorite, language classes! These classes are amazing...the teachers patient, the students earnest, the language pretty difficult but man, does it roll off the tongue when you finally get it! We all 45 of us can tell each other our names, say the different times of day, order in a restaurant, as long as the only choices are pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches or Fanta!

And tomorrow is another day...wait, that one's been used before! Nonetheless it is another day and a big one! We got our training sites today and Allan and I and eight volunteers will be going to Negotino,a small town smack in the middle of...wait for it...wine country! Sheesh, leave one wine country for another! Apparently many families grow their own grapes and make rakija,a strong(like 50% alcohol) brandy type drink. We will meet our host families..I hope they are looking forward to meeting us as much as we are looking forward to meeting them!

Some Macedonian differences....morning coffee is served in hard clear plastic cups, light switches get pushed up to turn off, you have to push a switch down to turn the hot water heater in our bathroom on an hour before you need it to get hot water, toilet paper is not common in bathrooms and so you bring your own...but don't flush it, place it in the special basket!!

We all went into tetovo last night, got tours of the world famous Painted Mosque and also of an Orthodox Christian church..both absolutely beautiful! Also enjoyed another shopska salata, my new favorite food!

I miss you all and so so so look forward to better communication...very little free time and almost non existent WiFi.....And a lot of people using it at the same time.....so remember how much we love you and love to hear from you and stay posted!!

Day One.....Boom, Done!!

When last you heard from our intrepid heroine she was a- trembling in her boots, preparing to go meet the other 45 Peace Corps Macedonia volunteers..and boy, she is so glad she did! I have had the opportunity to meet some of the coolest people ever..a pretty even divide of men and women, ranging from 22 to 68, from all over the United States, and let me tell you, they all have come rarin' to go! Such enthusiasm, such inclusion, so much fun and kindness....these are definitely not middle schoolers!!

And now we have completed day one. The director of Peace Corp Macedonia welcomed us as did the deputy ambassador for the US embassy in Macedonia. We've had Macedonian folk dancers show us some fun dances. We've started language lessons with the Cyrillic alphabet. And tonight we got in vans and drove to Tetova, the town our school is in. Allan and I walked with two experience Peace Corps volunteers and seven other volunteers to a great restaurant.....wine, shopska salata which is a mix of the freshest tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs ever, topped with a most delicious white cheese, fried zucchini, chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cheese, French fries topped with white cheese and some sausage like links...all for about five dollars..and it was delicious!!

Ahhh, Macedonia....the part we are in is very mountainous, with lots of sharp peaks and crags and covered in forests. It is quite rural and there are like a zillion cabbages growing in the fields.  There are small villages tucked way up in the hills; you can see the red roofs of the houses and the white spires of the minarets used to call the Muslim population to prayer. The people of Macedonia are famously friendly...I do look forward to meeting and working with them!

And now, it is time to hit the hay.   One of the volunteers is going to offer a yoga class at 6:00 in the morning and I am going to be there. A few of us did yoga yesterday afternoon and the stretch was wonderful after the plane rides.  Once again,I miss you all, but rest assured that Allan and I are happy as clams!!

Let the wild rumpus begin!

At the end of every school year, the kids and I would say"Let the wild rumpus begin!"from Maurice Sendak's "Where the wild things are" ... And now I find myself saying it to start an adventure. Allan and I are here in Washington,D.C.with about a half hour until we have our first official Peace Corps meeting and meet our fellow volunteers headed to Macedonia!

And oh, what a mess of emotions I am right now! I'm so proud of and excited for Allan and me doing something that honestly took some bravery, so sad to be leaving family and friends and grand babies! We will miss so much....watching these grand babies grow, coffee from my own coffee pot in my own house in my own mug, the ease that being comfortable in your own surroundings brings. We will gain so much....meeting new friends, learning a new language (yup, Macedonian), watching ourselves grow (mentally, not physically, I hope, although the food looks terrific there!).

Time to brush my teeth, put on my brave face and head to our meetings....thanks again for all your kind words of support!!

And we're off!

It's early Saturday morning and I'm enjoying a lovely cup of coffee in Boise, Idaho...and thinking of the roller coaster that has been Allan's and my life this past year! We applied to the Peace Corps, jumped through numerous medical and paperwork hoops, packed up forty years of married life, retired from jobs we loved, welcomed two new grand babies to join the three we've been enjoying for a few years, felt sad to realize that we won't be here to meet our next grandbaby due the end of September...and have just returned from our farewell tour, driving 4,383 miles to say goodbye to family and friends,as well as taking a quick trip(and a total of seven airplane rides) to say goodbye to family on Saint Croix!

And why, you may ask?? Next Thursday Allan and I head out on a most amazing adventure! We've been accepted to be Peace Corps volunteers in Macedonia! What will we be doing? Where will we be living? What is the food like and what language will you speak there? And you're there for two and a quarter years?? These are the most common questions we've been getting and I can assure you I wish I could answer them! So this blog will be my method of processing all the new experiences we'll be having and answering these questions...so I hope you'll follow along and share our adventures with us!

A shout out to all for all the love and support we've been getting...you'll never know how much we've appreciated it!