Dihovo Dreams . . .

Back again to bring you a bit more of our own, private, MAK.  We want to show you the little mountain village of Dihovo.   This old stone village is in western MAK, and sits just outside of a national park.  It is home to about 250 friendly souls, and we love to visit to relax, hike in the mountains, wade in the cold, clear creek, talk to anyone that wants to talk - which is everyone - - so here you go for your own visit;

 At first, some are a bit suspicious - -    but then everybody comes running to see you . . .

 . . . everybody!  And some try and eat your gloves.

You get to see the beauty of this old village, and every turn brings the beauty of life here into a different focus.

Table flowers just past the gate

A baba makes a run for spring water

Most of the buildings are stone, this is a barn and shed.  Some buildings still have the original old slate stone roofs as well.  Still a long life ahead for these places - that have already seen much.  

The views are a mix of history and harmony    with nature.  

 One of two churches, the other one is a 40 minute walk up the mountain.  If you don't have it in you, the village also has two small chapels.  The church's "big boss" rings the bell apparently whenever he wants.   If you are lucky, the big boss invites you into the shed for a 10AM rakija break,









Nastravia!

Big Boss

Excellent stonework makes good lines

The small river that runs through town, cools you down plenty on a hot day, or after too much of the big boss' rakia

Back in the Yugoslav days, a swimming pool was built in the nearby woods, fed from the cold, cold, creek.  Abandoned now, due perhaps to strange design, and  the cold, cold water.  Or, you can climb Baba Mountain for a look back down the valley for an uplifting experience, with friends

Peace Corps Volunteers Scott and Robert, and us

Wine season apparently done . . .

Alice at the Inn

So come anytime and ring in the new year or even the old year - all pretty much the same.  If you want to visit, let us know - we know people who will leave the light on for 'ya.   Al

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Kathy and I have been here a year now and we've learned a lot.  In many ways, life here is so different, and many more ways, life here is so much the same!  A few things that we've learned:

Sometimes you need to be FEARLESS (Alice - Split, Croatia)

Sometimes you have to be FOOLISH  (To remain unnamed - Split, Croatia

Sometimes you don't need to care if your hair is MUSSED (Maddie, Jonah - Split)

Or, if your clothes match, or even if you  have all your teeth

Because you are always BEAUTIFUL (Charlotte, Twin Springs, ID)

Sometimes you will have huge OBSTACLES(Kathy, nephew Ken Anctil - Kozuf Mt road)

Sometimes you won't really KNOW the WAY

But always there is  AMAZEMENT (Kotor, Montenegro, Skopje MAK)

And, always you have FRIENDS (Gevgelija, MAK)

And, always, always you have FAMILY (Somewhere near Split)

We've made it this far, and could not have done it without you.  One year down and whittling away at the next.  It has been amazing and we are so happy to share the ride.  Another year of amazement is on the way . . . .   Al

    

Beautiful Balkans

 We made a long journey down a tough, mountain road to discover a part of the world we had not seen and it was quite an adventure.  The odyssey began when Liz and her 3 kids came to Gevgelija in early July.  We all saw a lot of Macedonia, and she got to experience Macedonia on a Peace Corps level.  Her husband Bart joined us at the end of August, Liz rented a giant car and we were off!

We drove through Albania and got to see Donald Trump's America - no job-killing regulations, every family has their own machine gun bunker, people do pretty much whatever they want, however they want to.   The country was beautiful but the travel was crazy, even by our standards.  






We then drove through Montenegro along small winding mountain roads through stone villages, olive groves, and the occasional startling views of the blue, blue ocean.

We stayed in Kotor for a couple days, and enjoyed the amazing setting of this medieval city of churches, hilltop fortress, and narrow streets.  Kotor is set in a narrow fjord-like valley that is spectacular.  It was busy with cruise ships and tourists, but we stayed on the opposite side of the fjord in a quiet neighborhood.  And, I must say, Liz has terrific Air B&B skills.  Our next stop took us to Dubrovnik.  This is also a walled medieval and Renaissance era city of particular beauty built right on the Adriatic Sea.    It was packed with tourists, including us, so we only stayed a short while.

 Our final stop was in Split, Croatia - we'd saved the best for last.  Andrew and Talia, Brian and Sara and their families met us there for a weeks' stay.  Split is packed full of history, semi-packed full of tourists, and was a great visit.  As you can see, we added to the throngs, but quite a handsome group, eh?

We enjoyed seeing the family and meeting one of our grandchildren, Jonah, for the first time!   We also took a short side trip to Krka National Park to swim in the waterfalls.  The Dalmatian Coast was amazing, and it was good to see other parts of the former Yugoslavia.  We also got to use our Macedonian language, which is kind of similar.  I think I only insulted a few people and avoided all fistfights due to my attempts at idle conversation and lawyer jokes.  For those looking for adventure without limits - Albania is your place.  For others more comfortable with predictable beauty packed into remarkable history - the coast is a sure-fire great visit. Postravia - A

YEAR ONE....BOOM, DONE!!

Hello dear friends! I read the first entry in my blog the other day and realized two things..#1.  It has been just a year since we've left United States, and #2. I now have the answers to the questions I posed in that entry! And, as I suspect you've lost sleep wondering what those answers are..I thought I'd fill you in!

It's been quite a year..so much fun, so sad at times, homesick, happy be here in my new home, scared, excited..and all this could occur in the space of a few hours!

Question one though, was what would we be doing?  Allan works for an NGO called Apollonia Foundation. This foundation concentrates on several areas. Allan is involved in the curriculum and activities for an environmental program for children, to learn about the environment and nature. He is also involved in cross cultural activities with other NGOs in Macedonia, and with promoting science education. Apollonia prides itself, and rightfully so, on bringing art, culture, education and awareness to this part of Macedonia, and Allan works hard to promote those activities.

 

I am teaching English in the elementary school here in Gevgelija, working mostly with younger students..I love it! Last year I worked in a nearby village school one day a week, as well, teaching English to the entire school population of eleven students! I also work with special needs students in what is called a sensory room and with special needs adults doing yoga and just plain fun, rock and roll dancing...I call it dancing with MY stars! I'm also involved with GLOW , girls leading our world,a leadership club for teenage girls, and I teach yoga to my teachers.

And what do we eat? Whatever is being harvested at that moment. There really isn't cold storage here for fruits and veggies, so when something is in season, that's what we eat. We had a watermelon torrent this summer that was to die for! Lots of chicken, some pork, but beef here is pricy and not so great...bread is okay, baklava is lovely and so is the coffee!

And the language...Oh, that was a tough one! The Peace Corps places volunteers first in training communities, where you live with non English speaking families and go to language school for about five hours a day,  then you go home and do several hours of homework..Ouch! But we prevailed, and while our Macedonian friends may cringe at our pronunciation when they hear us talking, we can carry on conversations.

 And now we are in Gevgelija in the southeast corner. We will be here for a little over a year more. We have the upstairs of a house, complete with kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, porches and piano! Downstairs we have our lovely family, a couple our age and their ever helpful and upbeat son....Risto is a blessing..if you ever find yourself in a bind in Macedonia, contact Risto....he can help!

This is a beautiful country, filled with mountains, history and wonderful people. It's been a year, it's been only a year, but I feel like we have lived a lifetime here..and been lucky to do so. Come see us...especially during watermelon season!

MOJATA NOVA KOLA

And for those of you who don't know Macedonian..my new car!  And isn't it a beauty...let me introduce you! Part of the Peace Corps policy is that we can't have or drive cars, so our means of getting around is pretty much limited to bus...not a problem when we want to do a bigger trip but to just explore  Gevgelija area? Problem!

So...Allan and I have bought bikes and they have opened up a world of possibilities for us! The first time I hopped on I felt like a five year old, riding for the  first time without training wheels.....I knew I was going really, really fast! Of course, getting left behind in a cloud of Yugo smoke disillusioned me quickly as to my speed, but didn't diminish my fun at all.

I use my new wheels to get back and forth to school, for trips to the store ( note the roomy basket feature), and to just get places faster. Allan and I use our bikes  to explore...there are many small villages around here. Last night we rode to Marzentzi....my favorite celo, or small village. Once again we were detained by a huge herd of sheep and goats walking down the dirt road. No problem, guys..we're in no hurry and you have big horns!

Or we  ride to Hobo Koncko, new horse...where the goats get  to live in old houses and the few people who live there seem excited to meet Americans....

Or Negortzi, where the tiny town has a huge monument  to the courageous warriors of World War II...

Or the fields along the edge of town...

But whatever we go..it's fun..and note the helmets...riding without a helmet is a bad idea in this country, but wearing a helmet makes it especially certain that you WILL be noticed!! So come on over, put on your helmet, and get ready to make new friends!

GOING POSHTA IN MACEDONIA!!

Adding to the List of Things that Macedonia Does Better than the U.S. must include the post office experience.  Gone are the days when the hardest decision was choosing the bird picture stamps or the ones with the tropical frogs.  This is now replaced by time-travel, inscrutable operations and entering a zen state.

First - Time travel.  Here in Gevgelija we have the city center and the main post offices.  The center post office is a small nondescript office between a bank and a T-Mobile store.  So far, so good, right?  This office only helps with letters and anything like a package is shunned like a plague rat.  The only place where a package can be sent or picked up, is - - 1960's Yugoslavia!  The main office is a massive concrete monolith replete with odd concrete projections that look like a spaceship model out of a B-movie set.  It has not been touched since the 1960's and all the efficient systems developed in that time are still in effect.  Upon entry, you are back in time, in a large room with marble slab floors, columns that rise 20 feet to a ceiling adorned with non-working blinking lights, and counters, many, many counters.  Behind the counters are many people, none of whom appear to work at the post office.

Now that you have entered an alternate universe, things get inscrutable.  Getting help takes some creativity.  There are no lines, so people tend to cluster around a counter window that seems to have a person making official movements.  If you show any sign of hesitation toward a window, others move in front of you.  Mailing items is not for the hesitant, the uncertain or the weak.  Once you do get to a window and present a package the reaction is usually one of surprise.  Each time is a surprise, so I believe the post office has like, infinite personnel turnover.  After the shock wears off a bit, the package is usually hefted, carefully observed, then left on the counter for a bit while other business is attended to. This inscrutable behavior seems to be to allow your package time to re-consider its surprise attempt at being mailed.  If the package shows no sign of retreat, then the weighing, re-weighing, stampings, looking up inscrutable information on lists on clip pads, more weighings, initialling, a group discussion and finally the application of labels.  You know that this inscrutable but important event is about to happen when the small paste container comes out.  All the paste containers that you used back in 3rd grade have made it to 1960 Yugoslavia, thank God.  The little brush thingy comes out, and, wait for it . . . . the serious pasting of labels commences.  For this activity alone, I want to work there.  After payment, which is different every time, even if the package is the same size and going to the same place; you exit the building.  I actually enjoy going to the post office and know I will get the hang of this.  Other people seem to be able to mail stuff.  I believe that achieving a level of calm and acceptance for things that are inscrutable is necessary.  Zen may be the answer.  

So - if you receive a package from Macedonia, consider the long process that has occurred inside a building that looks like a bad movie set and ends with the ceremonial gluing of the label.  Our mail process is a team sport that has twice the drama and all of the paste.   All you have are the tropical frogs.  Ciao,  Al

SPRINGTIME IN MACEDONIA

It's springtime in Gevgelija and it's absolutely beautiful. The sun is warmer, the breezes gentle (unless it's a windy day, in which case it'll blow you away!!), and all the traditional signs of spring are evident and I thought I'd share them with you!

First, as you can see, the flowers are beautiful! These flowers bedeck a stone wall on my way to school, and actually hide a yard that contains nothing but tulips and daffodils. The roses are out now; it seems early to me but I'll take it! We saw kiwi flowers today and the figs are starting to get plump on the trees.

And the storks are back!! Gevgelija and the surrounding villages are so proud of their returning guests.We have seven nests that I know of within five minutes walking time. The parents find their nests from previous years, do a little remodeling, place a stick with green leaves attached to serve as a warning that this nest is taken, and then sit and hatch four eggs that will become loud, chattering, indignant babies in about six weeks.We haven't heard them yet but have been told that we will! We also have like a zillion birds of eastern Europe that we haven't seen or heard before...it's wonderful!

And along with baby storks we also have puppies! There are a lot of street dogs here..they pretty much just sleep wherever they want, whenever they want on the streets...and sometime this lack of supervision can result in...pregnancy! This sweet little black lab mix who lives on our street choose to have her NINE babies in our back shed.  They were absolutely adorable but no one in their right mind has nine children at once, and after watching her trying to take care of these babies we know why! Now the babies have a new home and mom has a new yellow tag in her ear that means she's been fixed..and I'm pretty sure from some of the eyeball rolling she did around her pups that she's okay with that!

And last but not least, the fruits and vegetables are beautiful..and inexpensive. This display on our table is from our friend Maria's green grocery. Just about every other corner has at least one green grocery and the produce is lovely. It's a variety of fruits and veggies from Macedonia, Greece and Turkey right now. And like I said..cheap. These cost just under three dollars and are delicious!

Not sure what summer will be like but I can tell you that Allan and I are already looking forward to the next lovely spring we will experience here..come join us!