WORK- IT'S WHAT WE DO....BUT NOW, FROM KATHY'S PERSPECTIVE!

Hello dear friends and family!  You recently received a blog posting from Allan, explaining what his work here in Gevgelijia with the Peace Corps looks like.  He has big projects, doing exciting things and making a big difference.  But when you join the Peace Corps they tell you that yours is a single story, that everyone's story will be different.  And they are so right!  Allan and I may live in the same town in the same house at the same time...but what we do for work is so  different!

First...what could turn a perfectly nice, Badger Mountain  climbing woman.......








Into a woman that looks like this......

       Peace Corps Macedonia!!

So my official title as a Peace Corps volunteer is Primary Level Teacher Trainer.  What that means is that I get to work with some great Macedonian teachers who teach English at the elementary level, introducing new ideas in curriculum, classroom management, and best practices.  But really, what that means, is that we get to learn how to have fun and learn English all at the same time.  I mostly work with first and second graders, so for many of them, this is their first experience with English.  We do all we can to make this experience fun...we sing, we dance, we make fruits and vegetables, pretend we are animals, we play games and we do lots of talking!

My regular school is a big one.  I have about 25 kids per class, so we are jumping around like crazy to reach all these guys.  My village schools that I work at are much smaller.... I am including a picture of the entire second grade class in the entire school! This is little Mrzentzi, a village about three miles from my other school, smack dab in the  middle of leek fields.  I love it there!

As a Peace Corps volunteer we also have what are called secondary projects.  These are projects that you take on in addition to your regular work, and for many volunteers these are the fun ones. I am busy.....I work with special needs students...

I work with Glow Girls, which is an international Peace Corps initiative promoting leadership skills in high school age girls......

I teach yoga to adult women and to teenage girls...this is one of my favourite activities because exercise, physical fitness, and health are not areas that women have much time to spend thinking about.  For all of my students this was their first foray in to yoga and I will say they are my JOGA BOJHITZI....translated means yoga goddesses!  

There is so much to do here!  I also have had conference for young women addressing positive self image and worked on the traveling camps that go around Macedonia in the summer times, bringing camp like activities and English language to youngsters.

But maybe the thing that is best are all the personal connections I have every day....I must say hello in English a hundred times a day, to students, to their families, to shopkeepers, to neighbours.  

I have 

been lucky here to work with  these amazing women,

to have an amazing Macedonian family,

                                   

                                 
                                 and to have Allan, my number one fan and supporter!  Zhivot e dobro!