PARTY!

I'll post something more substantial later today or this week....


I am going to be returning to the states May 19th, but throwing my coming home/graduation party May 22nd At my parents place. If you are following this then you deserve to come and celebrate. Stop by some time around the afternoon evening and lets make up for some lost time!

Can't wait to see you!


CHAO!

Symmetry. Reflections. Same but different

So I have neglected the blog for far too long. I have been writing it in my head everyday, and some times on paper when I have a free minute away from papers at school. I decided that spring break update will have to wait. I will do that VERY soon. I promise.

Last week I was given the opportunity to teach Math. If you knew me while going to school k-um last year, you would know that math and I just don't get each other. Well that used to be true. Teaching something you don't understand (to people who believe anything you say, and have much less understanding than yourself) is the best way to learn something. Obviously I study the materials to use, research a little online, and think back to what I learned at U of I, but when it comes down to it, I learn most of it while I teach it. I think it's more fun this way. When I see a students "light turn on" I can recognize it more easily mostly because mine turned on two seconds before. The excitement for learning and flipping of the switch becomes contagious and soon, instead of only a few lights turned on, there are just a couple that forgot to turn up the dimmers.

Anyways, where am I going with this? My lessons last week and this week are all about symmetry, and reflections, then moving to positive and negative integers. We are starting with simple images and reflections of images noting that one comes BEFORE the line of symmetry, and the same BUT different comes AFTER the line of symmetry as a reflection. This on paper with pictures translates better into -1, 0, 1. 0 being the line of symmetry. Teacher talk - I could honestly go on and on about this stuff.

While i was on vacation for spring break I knew that I would be observed for my teaching of mathematics and would fall asleep thinking of ways to do the best way I could. The "working interview" as they called it. It was all about symmetry and reflections. Observation went well. They got an authentic look on what my classroom would look like day to day. I was happy with the lesson... Since my observation, I have been doing my own reflections and seeking my own symmetry.

When we label the line of symmetry, there is always a preimage, the line of symmetry, and an image. My light turned on the other day when I realized that this trip is my line of symmetry. I was one person - preimage - I crossed a line of symmetry - flying to the Balkans - and when i return i will be the image - what is on the reflection of the line of symmetry -. This light bulb wasn't exciting. It was scary. ha.

I now have 4 more weeks left here in Skopje, and with all the talk of reflection in math class I can't help but start to reflect on my time spent here thus far. One thing is for sure, it has been an experience. A positive one at that.

On Saturday I was able to host a brunch at a friends house. This idea of brunch is not unheard of by locals but it is not common - dinner is a 4 anyways so why not just wait? Really what it boiled down to is the discovery of Mimosas. I had explained what they are, and when you drink them (other than whenever you want) and at the moment I mentioned this concoction is was decided that we will have brunch.

I must say, having an American meal was excellent. I made French toast, scrambled eggs, and of course, the mimosas. We had fruit salad and yogurt as well as different bread and cheeses just for fun. Another thing that was added, much to my chagrin, Nutella. I have a love hate relationship with Nutella.... I could eat a container in a day I love it so much. Problem is, it hates me so by so generously giving me some extra lbs.

Brunch was a success. We all - a colleague and friend Matthew, our friends Igor, and Tanja, and Igor's friends Nive and Amanda - decided that pancakes were the next menu item, along with bacon and perhaps omelets. Oh to top it all off, we had real North American drip coffee. It was Starbucks so maybe it was from Kenya? I don't know if I trust the packaging. Either way, it wasn't instant, it was Heavenly.

Last week, this weekend, and so far this week, have all been rainy and cold with a bits and sporadic pieces of sunshine. I am ready for a constant stream of sunlight and warmth, but all in good time. I came back to Skopje to enjoy cherry trees blossoming among all the other foliage coming into full bloom. Life is good. : )


Ok. So now you know. I am alive, and still lovin life. I've got a half marathon coming up May 9th - 13 miles - I'm an idiot. Teaching math is rocking my socks, and I have two more informal observations (principal just drops by whenever I am teaching and watches WHENEVER) and one more formal observation (scheduled observation) before I graduate. Which happens May 15th, one day after I complete my internship.

I can't believe it's almost over. Wow.

Ok. off to research then sleep.

Miss ya all, excited to catch up in 6-7 weeks! I'll be updating from break soon this week, and my goal is to update this 4-6 more times before i arrive home. : )

CHAO!

Evan

SPRING BREAK!!!

Today is the first day of spring break. I am catching a train to Thessaloniki in an hour.... better hurry with this. Then I am flying from there to Barcelona. i will be there Saturday - Wednesday, then Rome Wednesday to Saturday, then to Athens fora day then home..... Wish me luck I'll update along the way! : )


CHAO!

Amsterdam and Vienna!

Holy cow.

What a weekend. I want to start by saying thank you to Alisa and Robin for going to Amsterdam during their spring break. I know they didn't do it for me, but the fact that they encouraged me to meet them for their break during this weekend.... what a trip. Alisa and Robin are two friends of mine from Moscow that worked at One World Cafe in Moscow with me. This is how our trip went.

I left Skopje at 4:00 Friday, am arrived in Amsterdam at 12:00. First thing I noticed other than buildings with history were the bikes. There were bikes EVERYWHERE. As I later found out, the same problem I have with crazy divers here in Skopje I would have the same problem with bikers in Amsterdam. Apparently I am a careless pedestrian.

I met up with Alisa and Robin at the stellar apartment they and two other ladies from Moscow were renting. Alisa was awake, while Robin was still sleeping. In the middle of harassing Robin for sleeping she reminded me that she was on Idaho time still; I can't believe I forgot that existed.

Robin at first kept mentioning how strange it was to see me in a far away land. To me, seeing someone from home.... best ever.

Alisa and I walked around while robin went back to sleep. We noticed similar, and different things about Amsterdam. Alisa's perspective picked up on similarities and differences from back home, while mine were more in tune to similarities and differences to Skopje.

Somewhere around 7:00 P.M. our night took off. Robin had made some friends at a bar close to their apartment --- oh yeah the apartment was right off one of the many canals that Amsterdam has in it's city, fantastic --- this bar was really fun, a place where I think anyone from home would enjoy. Seeking a little more excitement and movement, Alisa and I were craving some dancing. We had researched some good places to go, and found them quickly. PARTY central. Amsterdam is like Vegas, just better. (side note: never been to Vegas)

Upon entering the first bar we made friends with people instantly. Drinks and dancing go hand in hand with making friends apparently. We moved on to several other bars and didn't make it home until 7:00 a.m.

Saturday

I slept until 11:00 and while the girls were still sleeping I decided it would be the best possible choice to take my haggard butt on a run. Why do I torture myself. Naturally, with the directional sense of a toddler, I got lost. Thankfully I had one of my longer running playlists on my ipod. In 2 hours I used most of it.
I never felt cold in Amsterdam (that I remember) but I know that I was pretty much always wet. If there wasn't rain there was a mist, if there wasn't mist, it was just humid enough to make you feel the moisture in the air. Only for a about 15 minutes did the rain poor down in a real rain storm. This was just long enough for each of us to cave in and purchase an umbrella from a close by gift shop. with in 10 minutes of the purchase no umbrella necessary. ha.

Knowing that we would not be sleeping at all Saturday night (my flight left at 5:00 a.m. from Amsterdam and theirs at 11:00 a.m.) it became a clear choice to go home and take a quick nap. By 9:00 p.m. we were out the door ready for yet another night out in Amsterdam. Our first stop was the Redlight district. I was expecting far worse, but was still uncomfortable by what there was in parts of this neighborhood. We didn't stay long. This night --- with the understanding that navigating through an airport alone and intoxicated would be as much fun as a plane ride hungover - was not as crazy as the night before but we all had an excellent time as it was. Robin went to her bar while Alisa and I went to our two or three.

SUNDAY

Amsterdam to Vienna - Vienna to Skopje - all supposed to take no more than 6 hours... Fortunately for me however it took almost 22. In Vienna there was a slight overbooking issue. The airline offered any volunteer to switch flights from 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. a voucher for lunch and dinner along with 155 Euro or 255 airline ticket voucher. I practically sprinted to the counter. Guess what, I win. I not only took the free ticket, but switched the airport lunch voucher for a bus ticket and was able to explore Vienna.
This city is breath taking. I wish I was more prepared to have gone and looked around. I didn't (and still don't) know anything about this city, but was able to walk around and see some of the most stunning buildings I've ever witnessed. It seemed that every corner I turned there was another statue, fountain, building you name it.

After a whirl wind weekend I made it back to my flat at 1:30 a.m. Monday. School was a LONG day today. Luckily, Radica - my teacher - was very understanding of my weekend and gave me a break, tomorrow she is expecting much better she told me with a smile. : )

I'll post pictures.

If you have facebook I have been posting many many more pictures on there because it is SOOO easy. I'll post a few here and all of them there. Look me up.

Chao!

Evan


Also please excuse any spelling or grammar errors I'm using lack of sleep as my reason. :P

AMSTERDAM!!!!

Hello!

It has been FOREVER and I miss you all! It is now 3:10 a.m. and I am at the Skopje Airport waiting for my flight to Amsterdam! I have some wonderful friends from the University of Idaho that decided if they could make it from Moscow to Amsterdam, then I would be able to make it from Skopje to Amsterdam. I am so excited I could dance all day long! Lucky for me, my friend Robin told me just this "bring your dancing shoes, you are gonna need 'em" WAHOOOO!!!


Skopje has been going very well lately. Last weekend, as the result of a short bump into a colleague at the grocery store I was able to leave the city and catch a small glimpse of other parts of Macedonia. We travelled the equivalent of Seattle-to-Portland-to-Spokane-to-Seattle. This of course only took us several hours, but allowed me to see three new towns, and two ski mountains.

The first thing I noticed on this trip out of Skopje, is that I don't know Skopje as well as I imagined. It is larger than I had imagined it to be, however I live in a small triangle of locations. My house/NOVA, the gym, and Center. Outside of those three places I haven't seen much. This will be fixed soon. : )

We first went to the city of Tetevo probably 20 - 30 KM to the East of Skopje. Tetovo is different than Skopje in many ways, it is smaller, more quiet and gives of a little more feeling of community (not much though). When you ask a Macedonian what the differences are they will tell you, "Albanians" The conflict between Slavik Macedonians and Albanian Macedonians is tricky and hard to explain because it is laden with bias and racial prejudice. In 1991 during the Balkan civil wars between modern day Kosovo, Albania, and I think Serbia, a large population of Albanians fled to Macedonia to seek asylum which they were granted under the pretense that when the time came they would go back to their home country. As it turns out they decided to stay. the population of Tetovo is 70% Albanians and only 20% Macedonians while Skopje is something around 60% Macedonians and 20ish Albanian. Tetovo is easy to get to on a bus and will likely be going for a day visit sometime soon.

After Tetovo we ascened a high slope to a ski resort Sipkovica. Got out of the car, stretched our legs, kissed the ground. Driving in Macedonia -I've said it before - is a roller coaster. Nic my colleague driving was fine, it was the other drivers I was worried about.

From Sipkovica we went another 40 minutes or so to Mavravo. As we arrived to Mavravo the sun was going down and our view became, unfortunately, diminished. I did get to catch a glimpse of the lake that Mavravo has to offer as well as the ski slopes. Apparently Mavravo is most exciting in the middle of winter for the slopes, the water in the lake does not get warm enough to swim in even in the intense heat of summer.

That was last week in a nut shell.

School is going well. I am still teaching English only, but am daring more and more to make it my own program and use my own methods and practices. Meanwhile, the students seem to be learning and enjoying the lessons.

Spring break is coming up, Barcelona on April 3rd through the 6th, then the small historical village of Sitges (also in Spain) for a day or two, flying to Rome from there for a day or two then to Croatia, Belgrade then home... it's going to be a long week.

Catch up soon, I will try to be better.

Chao!

Evan

Oh yeah, I forgot to share about KALE and the Orthodox Church... I went to the Castle Kale and took some photos with a friend. Me with an American Flag. : ) the same day i snapped some photos of the largest Orthodox Church in Skopje... Enjoy!

time to board!

LATER!

I'm Lovin it.

The title is really more about a story... wait for it.


Things are going well for me here these last couple weeks. Gosh has it been that long since I have sat down and posted?
I am going to Amsterdam to meet some friends from Moscow (IDAHO) in 12 days. Can not wait for that. Until then I am spending plenty of time at school, and hanging with friends here as well.

Part of hanging out with friends involves meeting new friends as well. In my almost 9 weeks here I have learned that meeting people in Macedonia on your own is challenging. In the states you can go to a bar or coffee shop on your own establish your self as a regular within a weeks time and start to make friends based on locations that you frequent. Here that is not the case. However, after meeting one person you are instantly part of a network. If you are friends with one person it is not a problem to now be friend with all of their friends. For instance, Matthew, the new teacher from Canada, has introduced me to a few of his friends here in Skopje, through them I have met a few new people. After meeting any of these people it would not be a problem to call them up and meet for coffee. In this way Macedonians are a very friendly and warm people, you just have to meet them first.

Matthew took me to an British Pub last weekend. I was thrilled! I would be able to drink beer other than Skopsko or Lasko, maybe something more divers than Heinekin. Unfortunately, as the thickly accented owner Josh informed me, British ales are too expensive to import so, "we make do with what we have and we drink it til the last drop." I say Ne zdravje (cheers) to that.

I had my first observation and assessment of my teaching this last Monday. The lesson went well, I certainly didn't think it was that exciting just an everyday lesson, day to day interactions. It was a little different because I was introducing our new Literature Unit of Survival... Can't make too many jokes about the Survival of people especially when one of the selections we will be reading is an excerpt from "The Diary of Anne Frank." Either way in my evaluation the idea of future employment here at NOVA was dropped in a casual informal way. Pretty exciting stuff. Who knows.

I have been doing more and more of my own thing in class. For the last several weeks, I have been following my teachers format of lessons and teaching, methods and strategies. It was seriously leading to a teaching identity crisis. After just a few days of integrating my own ideas class is much more fun.

To the title of the post. Last night Matthew and I met up with our friends Tanya and Nada to watch Shutter Island. Tanya decided she wanted a sweet treat before the movie and we went to the food court for a sunday from McDonalds. While in line Tanya and I were discussing Skopje, Nova, and experiences so far. When she asked how I was feeling towards the experience as a whole I said I was liking it. She quickly corrected me, "No, You are actually Lovin' it at the moment."

--- very corny story but it made me laugh at the time.---

One thing I must say that is indicative of Tanya's correction, Macedonians love their country. They understand and are the first to point out it's short comings, issues and problems. The common trend is this, someone will ask me, "What on earth brought you to Macedona?" I'll explain and then pose this question, "what makes you stay in Macedonia?" The answer is almost alway, "Why would I leave, this is the best place in the world to live." Even with the issues involving the politics of the current administration here people love living here. I have to admit the feeling is contagious.

Political opinion back home, unless you are with friends is a topic that isn't discussed. Fights can break out over it. Here, and it could just be the circle of people I hang with, there seem to be two types of political groups. Activists, the ones that disagree with what the government is doing and so they speak about it, go to speeches/conferences, and try to do something, and share their opinions, then there are those who disagree with what is happening but when asked of their opinion their level of upset is so great that they "would rather not think of such things."

--- Outsiders perspective coming up ---

The current controversy going on right now is that the Macedonian government is funding this project they call Skopje 2014. You can actually search it on Youtube and get virtual video of all the goals the government has for Skopje. Right now mass amounts of funding is being pumped into the construction of a church right in the center square, along with the creation of many more statues throughout the city. Many of the people I have talked with about this controversy are throughly unhappy with the proceedings. I for one am trying not too form to harsh of ideals do to my level of understanding, however it is not hard to see that the funds are being used irresponsibly and should be allocated for various other things; health care, education, creating more jobs in the community...

This is currently a really hot topic here, and always presents the availability of great conversation and discussions. The amount of people that work in the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are large (again could just be the circle I hang out with) and many of the NGO people I know are for various reasons unhappy with what the government is producing. Everyday I feel like I am learning more and more about Macedonia and specifically Skopje.

....

Ok time to hit the gym, maybe clean the house.


Chao!

internet....

my internet is down at my house... I stopped in a nearby cafe on my way to the castle to say hello, make sure you knew i had not died. All is good. I am slowly taking more charge over my classroom (this is what I came here for), meeting more and more people every week, learning more about the culture, and noticing new things every time I take a second glance. Got pretty homesick this week, and in the end I feel more at home here than ever.

I'll post some pictures or maybe a link to pictures as soon as i can figure this internet thing out.

CHAO!

Evan

Pictures.

 

SOO much

Lets just do this. I will try to get to this tomorrow, if not then for sure Wednesday. I have a lot to share. I'm going to look for a fast way to share pictures, the last time took me FAR longer than I think it should have. I miss you all! chao!

Saturday FUN DAY!

Friday, a colleague of mine and I decided that Saturday would be a good day to get together and check out the city. Matthew is from Manitoba and while he has been to Skopje before January, he has just moved here several weeks ago as well. In fact Saturday was his one month Macedoniversarry, and we were determined to celebrate.

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Skopje and I took the opportunity to go run on the banks for River Vardar. Felt good to put the running shoes on and beat up the pavement. I ran from my place to the center and back. Next run I'll go the opposite direction to see something new, or run up Vodno... We'll see.

Around noon Matthew and I met up on the way to the city center with our cameras and decided to go check out the old Albanian side of the city. I am SOOO happy to have my camera. Matthew and I managed to tour around, get coffee, apples, and a pint. All outside!

We met up with some of Matthew's friends in the city park. In typical Macedonian form, now that I have met these people through a mutual friend, we are all now friends. These girls that I met are pretty cool. I learned a lot about the Macedonian government and in just a short visit with them. I'll discuss more of that when I manage to take pictures of more statues. I learned that two of the girls are in a choir that sings every once and a while in the city center. The songs they sing are typically some way relevant to what is going in Macedonia at the time. Their singing is a form of peaceful protest. Tomorrow, (or Thursday) they are going to the center to sing in protest of the Macedonian government's refusal to incorporate sexual orientation into discrimination protection laws. I'm going to try to make it to this recital. Should be a good one.

To celebrate Matthew's Macedonaversarry he wanted to get some real Macedonian food and feast. So that's what we did. We went to a restaurant that one of his student suggested, sat down and ordered a bottle of wine, 6 different spreads/sauces, a bean dish, sarma, and my favorite shopska. Not a single one of these dishes are things that describing on here will do justice (and I don't know what they are made out of) but I'll do my best. One of them was Ayvar, a spread made out of roasted red peppers and eggplants, another one was much like it just spicier, there was some sort of relish dish that was good with a crushed pepper spread, then there was a garlic cream... This might not sound so good but it's delish; the garlic sauce almost looks like mayo, but nope its garlic, and SOOOO good. all these spreads came in small bowls and could be put on small pieces of bread, mix and match as you like. We had to have 3 breaks to stand and walk around outside. Best dinner since I have been here.

We were both meeting with other colleagues from NOVA later that night so we went back to our places napped and met again around 9:30 to hang with on of his friends at a local pub, first and met up with our colleagues at 12:30. I'm still getting used to this entire leave for the bar at midnight and get home at 5 a.m. but I planned on getting my practice. We went to a club called midnight. There was this guy that reminded me of the red head Dr. from Greys Anatomy, expect not with red hair. He didn't sound too bad, and his choice of songs killed me. It seems that the songs you would hear on a cheesey "80s 90s and Today" radio station are the major choices to listen to at the clubs. I get a kick out of this. Jessy's Girl was a favorite for sure. We didn't stay at Midnight for long, it was so crowded that we weren't able to move. Not my style of party.

We decided to go the the HardRock and see what was going on there (no, not the Hard Rock Cafe some bar) on the way from Midnight to the car we were all laughing and joking and talking about Midnight. Since Matthew and I know very little Macedonian we were all speaking in English. The English language instantly identifies us as foreigners, and not only foreigners but "foreigners with money." We had 6 little Roma boys on the 5 of us adults in a matter of a minute. It was probably around 2:30 or 3:00 at this point and these 8-11 year old kids are awake and begging strangers for money. Just like last time they aggressively but not violently begged for money, putting their hands on our coats and pockets trying to figure out where our wallets are and then trying to put their hands in the our pockets. I have never felt so guilty about spending money on beer in my life. After asking them to stop and pushing their hands away I though giving them a firm STOP would work. ha. I'm an idiot. Finally one of our colleagues gave a sharp and loud whistle that scared the crap out of me even. After that the 6 kids scurried away for the next person exiting the bars.

The Hard Rock was pretty dead, but it was 3:00 by the time we got there, bars close at 4:00. We left at closing and well because it was almost breakfast, we needed food. We went to a nearby bakery and each had a slice of Burek. I'm not going to say it is better than Taco Bell at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, but it's pretty damn good.

Sunday was a day of rest and relaxation. made it to the Market, cleaned the house... and studied irregular verbs. Using the previous night as a reference point to irregular verbs I landed on this. Drink Drank Drunk. : )

The Photos below are from the Albanian side of the city which is separated by the stone bridge and a large amount of stereotypes and biases. This is from an outsider looking in perspective.

Turkish Bath house from the window of a building under construction.

Old Time Caffe and Bar. Didn't go there just took the picture maybe next week.

Super cool mosque and tower with a fountain in front.

Tower to another Mosque. This side of Skopje has a large population of Muslims, while the Macedonian population of Skopje is mostly Orthodox Christian.

This is a very large Theater for Plays, Ballets, and Opera


Club Midnight. PACKED

Mosque in the Old Bazarre. ---Albanian side---

GIANT Green market, all organic. and not photo friendly Eggs didn't like his picture take.

Statue right off of the Stone Bridge. No cultural references here, just pop art.

An old Turkish bathhouse practically right on the other side of the bridge. It isn't open or working any more, but it is very old.

GO GO Gadget Week 6!

Last week was week 6. and I'm thinking it was the busiest week yet.

Monday the 15th.

I got home from school just to walk through the front door to see a blue notecard with my name on it, and a bunch of other Cyrillic letters on there. I recognized my address. Thats a start. I knocked on Aleksanar and Marija's door (the landlords that live on the bottom floor) and was greeted by smiling as always Marija. I held up the card and smiled saying, "I've got Mail!" She laughed as Aleksanar sitting at the table for lunch (the dinner here that typically is at 4 p.m.) motioned over to me to sit. English is pretty broken with these two, but we chit chat enough for me to find out that they are both retired. Aleksanar used to work... I couldn't figure out what he did though, something for the state, however, he worked during the socialist period so I think that most jobs were for the state. Either way, he is enjoying the retired life and meets with friends to "enjoy". I think this means drink wine and smoke cigarettes on the patio and talk about politics.

The lunch I sat down to was a feast compared to what I have been cooking myself. Not that I don't eat, I promise you I have been doing that. Marija had prepared a main dish a salad and two sides... I might get two of those on my own. haha. I had some fried trout (way better than I was expecting) that comes from one of the nearby rivers from the mountainside - not River Vardar - with a home made onion sauce to spoon on top of the fish. The onion was very strong but fantastic, kind of the consistency of pesto but onion instead of basil... Then there was this salad, that I am going to try to replicate this week. Shallots, apples, celery lime juice and I think cilantro. Easy peasy, good and good for you. The rest was pretty basic: potatoes, bread, skopsko.

After lunch and small talk Aleksaner told me, "You go get your passport and wallet and when you are ready we go to the Post office. I go outside to wait." Getting to the post office took me further to the east than I have ever gone before. It seemed pretty industrial a little dirtier than where I have been. Not missing much. On the way there Aleksaner was explaining the traffic to me. We were driving into the city, people going home work driving out of... "people are now leaving where they work to go to where they sleep, many cars, we'll take the long way." Pretty broken and basic. Makes talking interesting. I also found out on the way to the post office that they have another son that is in Japan. He also has/had pet fish in his apartment that Aleksaner was assigned the task to feed. It's been two months... I'm thinking that Gus the Guppy is floating upside down.

As we got home from the Post office I felt like it was Christmas all over again. I got a camera, a shirt, and a pair of pants. : ) Wednesday we did the same thing all over again. THANKS MOM!!! Funny thing is the package that arrived first was sent a week after the package that arrived second. Doesn't matter, I now have a camera, sunglasses, and various other things I left in Idaho. YAY.

Tuesday I met with some fellow foreigners and locals alike at a local pub for a Couch Surfer get together. I think I have mentioned couch surfing before; you join an online club type thing where you create a profile and that essentially invites travelers to surf (sleep) on your couch while they are visiting the city you live in. I joined before I got here to meet friends and maybe find a place to live... It was pretty good time, met several people from Skopje, a girl from Belguim (we both long for better beer than skopsko but can survive based on the wine Skopje has to offer) two French guys, some one from Bulgaria, and a girl from Florida. There was an AMERICAN! She is here researching for her masters in Balkan studies. I had no clue that was a degree. At any rate, I had forgotten what mouths we Americans have. We are opinionated and like to swear. She reminded me of that. ha. Conversation was all over the place and I learned a lot about not only Macedonian culture but Belgium and a bit about France as well. See that's the point of couch surfing, to meet people from other cultures learn from them, and share yours. I'm planning a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria this weekend using it. more on that next week.

Wednesday I bailed on Ice skating, even after a beautiful day. For some reason I was wiped. I am really starting to integrate my own methods a little more each day in the classroom. This is a big deal because the vision of education here is very different than it was back home. There are still some things that I don't get to do simply because it doesn't challenge students enough. What I want is to differentiate students materials so that we meet their individual needs and they each able to have expectations in which they are able to not only succeed but be challenged as well. Instead each student is given the same level of challenge, and it really is challenging for 90% of the students. Some can't keep up. The ideaology is that those students that can't keep up at school need to work harder at home. Right. I look at this situation as a learning experience for my future classroom. Differentiation really matters. - cross that interview question off -

Thursday - I made cookies with my friend Dalibor. He studied in Georgia for a year and really missed chocolate chip cookies. I'll take any excuse to make sweets. Added bonus the flat smelled SOOO until saturday when I left all the windows open to soak up the sunshine... Cookies turned out good - duh - a little cakey though... Who can help me with that? what did i do wrong?

Friday I went to the center for dinner, grabbed a small pesto pizza, shopska salad, and vodka. After dinner I hoofed it back home. Luckily it was still early no gypsies to worry about..... More tomorrow. it's bed time.

I have to apologize for putting this off so much. I will really make an effort to keep up on this. there is plenty to share for Saturday, Sunday, and today... Will update that soon.

Chao!

Evan

P.S. I knew I would miss certain events while I was here in Skopje that are going on at home. Happy Birthday Brother Nic! The little guy turned 21 today! YAY! Everyone go have a Vodka Cran for the young one, no cran, just shoot the vodka, if not that boxed wine will work too.

Ne Dravje!!! (Cheers)

Mardi Gras Embassy style... and more

Thursday night that the gym I ran into the business manager of the school, Ivan. He told me that he was going to a Marine party at the U.S. Embassy the following night (Friday) and asked if I would like to join. "It will be a night of Drunk Americans." Truer words may never have been spoken.

We went to the Embassy around 8:00 p.m. Getting in was a HUGE ordeal. They thought that my name was Kevin and not Evan, so the security didn't want to let me in. Then when we got in the security was just like that of an airport, belt, coat, wallet, phone off.... they practically made me take my pants off because of the metal studs on the jeans. These aren't any flashy jeans either. Whatever, we got in. Ivan introduces me to his friend from way back to his undergrad days at Western Washington University, Zacky boy. Zack was a whole different class then what I was expecting. I know Ivan moderately well. He works for a school, takes dancing lessons, dresses sharply, very calm and collected (which it seems most Macedonians are) so naturally I was expecting a friend of his to be the same way. HAHA. Zacky boy, reminded me of Grangeville. It felt like home. He was just a little more tough guy than the crowd I hang out with at home, but harmless to say the least.

The Marine Party had a Mardi Gras theme and the marines were selling Hurricanes as their "token" drink. The party was pretty lame, mostly marines, thier wives, or the Marine groupie crowd, but we stayed until 11:00 just to head to a bar down at the center. Remember bars make last call at midnight, and clubs start getting fun around one a.m. After hanging out at a Cuban bar for a brief albeit crowded 40 minutes we sauntered over to a club by the sultry name of 69... Make the jokes, I think I heard all of them that can be made that night.

I have been told a countless amount of times never to get drunk around you coworkers or your boss. I have typically maintained a level of decency when abiding by this cautionary advice. That being said, have you ever had a Hurricane on a semi empty stomach, let alone 3? Bottom line, We all had a great time. I now know some marines that need a babysitter every once and a while, (I'm still trying to figure out why, their kids live inside the most secure location in all of Skopje) and a couple others who want to go to the bars and be able to speak English with other people.

The club was fun. The music was pretty good, but no one was dancing. I asked Ivan's other friend that he brought along why that was, and he responded that Macedonians don't really dance when they go out. I think I need to find some different Macedonians to go out with. I want to dance. All in all, grand night/almost 10 hours out in the city.

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day. I probably haven't seen a day in Skopje quite like it since I first arrived. I ambitiously walked to the market to do my weekly shopping, which never ceases to entertain me, and had plans to go out and enjoy the weather. Upon getting back home I realized how sunny and bright the apartment was, but that it needed a good cleaning. With the windows open, music pumping I got this place in tip top shape. Then I needed a nap. Finally when I woke up the hurricanes hit. I went back to bed and slept it off. Enjoyable Saturday. I'm thinking that I like my flat too much. I have no problem hanging out at home because it's just too damn cool, I love this place. This will change soon however.

Sunday was a big day of the same Sunday routine. Walk around the city, hit the gym, eat some food get ready for the school week.

Monday. I'm finally getting the hang of the classroom. I am able to not only suggest changes in the classroom, but at this point finally begin to implement them. Things are getting good. Radica and I are always sharing snacks with each other. Her mom loves to cook and we love to eat. I can make cookies and buy crackers and instant coffee, her mom just opens a Macedonian cook book to a random page and cooks. Today we had this sweet desert type of noodle dish. Essentially it was (I say "it was" because it is all gone already) spaghetti noodles, but much thinner, boiled and tossed with a simple syrup type dressing with walnuts thrown in the mix and then baked. Picture it like baklava but instead of pastry it was pasta. Very sweet, extra rich, delicious to the last bite.

I had given up on the Postal Service and with Mom's go ahead decided that this week I would buy a camera not knowing when the heck it would arrive in the mail. TADA!!! Today.
There is a whole other blog dedicated to paying rent to the Landlords, having dinner with them and then making a trip to the post office to get the mail that I will save for tomorrow. :)

Chao.

Evan

Saturday!

I woke up from a night at the club with a colleague from the school, and probably 8 Marines. Beautiful day. Will say more later. Gotta go enjoy the sunshine! : )

Plan Plan Plan

Not only am I talking about lesson plans for teaching --- which I am SOOOO happy to do --- but I am talking about travel plans.

Last week I booked a flight to Amsterdam. I will leave Skopje the 19th of March and return the 21st. Quick trip, but totally worth it. I will be meeting a group of friends from Moscow, one of these friends may have literally twisted my arm to get me to come. Alas it worked, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Yesterday I FINALLY booked my first travel of spring break. One of my friends is studying abroad in San Sebastian Spain. For months now we had talked about making plans to meet somewhere in Europe. On Saturday April 3rd 2010 in Barcelona, Spain: Things. Will. Get. Crazy. This is good. I will be leaving Barcelona probably on the 6th - that is when Melissa and her folks will be leaving. I say probably because I only booked a one way ticket to Barcelona. The idea at this point is to travel from Barcelona to Athens (for a day) then from Athens to Mykonos, or Santorini for two days, back to Athens, then train to Skopje. Prague instead of Greece is another option, but less likely.... If you have suggestions let me hear em. : )


Lately I have been having the strangest cravings. I want a clamdigger like something fierce. I don't know why, I didn't drink them that often when I was home. I also really want Thai food and/or sushi. One or the other would make me VERY happy. Either way, I'll happily settle for the local food and drink, as it is good too. Yesterday I found Curry flavored Top Ramen. The best EVER.

Yesterday a friend of my teacher had a baby boy. When a child is born, rather than cigars and balloons there is bread. This isn't just any bread. Like everything else Radica's mother brings to class, it is delicious. I'll ask what it is called again tomorrow. Either way, it is round and sponge like, soft, and honestly reminds me of a smaller yet thicker and fluffier version of an elephant ear. There is no sugar or cinnamon on it, but of course you could always add that yourself. Apparently baking the bread is to bring the child a soft and happy day on its birthday. The bread is soft, and fluffy. Get it? Bottom line the stuff is good, I got home and put peanut butter on mine. Yum.

Tomorrow is Wednesday! YAY! after a three week break from ice skating, the rink is calling my name. I'm looking forward to it. I've got some games of tag lined up, along with races. I'm going to be true to my name, and roll like a coconut I have a feeling.

Later

Evan

p.s. this is funny. The Super Bowl aired at 12 midnight here in Macedonia. Only three of my students knew what I was talking about when I mentioned it. They were the students from the U.S. Only one of them planned on watching the game. Luke is from New Orleans. He stayed up to watch the entire game. What a stud. I woke up to find that his team had won, and expected high fives all around. When Mrs. Radica recieved a text message in the middle of math class I laughed as I read it's contents: "Luke is not at school today because last night he and his father stayed up to watch the Super Bowl..." I thought it was great, some of the best days of primary school were the days that I got to play hookey and hang with Mom or Dad. To have spent it watching a football game (not something I would have chosen back then) would have been the coolest. Radica did not understand the importance of the Super Bowl. She thought it was silly. Honestly, I couldn't blame her for her obvious annoyance at Luke's absence. I tried to explain that Super Bowl Sunday is practically a National Holiday. I don't think she bought it. In the end, the Saints won, I never checked the score or highlights, but from the sounds of it the game was a real nail biter. I'm guessing that the Saints' QB must be really good at shooting foul shots or something. : )

Coconut With Glasses, Gypsies, Pork Chop Sandwiches.

You might be wondering what my title is referring to. I still am trying to figure it out; the coconut part that is.

On Thursday the class and I decided to retire the football for a day and play on the younger playground. This one has swings and a slide, and apparently a coconut with glasses. Me. I was walking around the playground, that at this point was being shared with the 2nd graders, when James and Filipo came bolting up to me. James and Filipo are 2nd graders. They had no clue who I was and I didn't know who they were. Upon latching on to my legs, they screamed, "HOUSE!!!!" a little girl in pigtails bouncing walked away frowning. I looked down with a smile and replied, "House?!? Are you calling me fat? You two better think of something else to call me real quick." Filipo with a HUGE grin on his face shouted, COCONUT WITH GLASSES!!! Since I was wearing my glasses it was easy to figure out where the glasses came from. The Jury is still out on the coconut part.

James is an American student, I asked him where the Giant Peach was, he told me he ate it. For the record, he also said it was delicious. Filipo is from Italy, "Of course." and in a few short minutes this kid was by far one of my favorite people I have met thus far. He told me that he and his family had recently picked out a puppy. "What is your dog's name?" I asked in an over enthusiastic fashion, like he had just told me he won the lottery and I was asking for how much. Filipo told me in the most matter of fact, "why the heck would you have to ask me that question" type of way, "Sharko, of course." The kid even shrugged his shoulders with his answer. Duh, I guess I should have known. Having fun with Filipo I asked what Sharko meant. I'm really only familiar with what shark means, and maybe the added O changes the meaning... :) His answer cracked me up. "Shark means shark. Of course. The O is because of me. I picked the O. Its just like Filipo. There is an O at the end, of course." I told a friend this story over skype, her reply was changing our names to match Filipo's reasoning. Evano, Robino. Now you try, it will make you smile I promise.

Friday night I met up with my friend Dalibor for a drink before heading out to a club for even more drinks. We met with a friend of his, and the friends that she brought along. We didn't stay long. Just enough time to finish off my vodka on the rocks. This on the rocks thing is something I'm still getting used to. Either way, I was fine with leaving early. For some reason the strobe lights (or maybe the drinks prior to here) were really hard on me.

On our walk across the center we were met by two gypsies. --- I still feel bad about this story --- Gypsies are mostly Roma people that make a living by begging for their money or selling small trinkets from a cart. Essentially they are bums. Every gypsy that I had encountered would say something that I don't understand, and as I would pass by they would ask the person behind me the same thing. They are not violent, and don't harass people by getting in your face. For the most part. The two that Dalibor and I came up against that night were a rarity.

It was a woman somewhere in her 20s maybe 30s, and a boy that looked around 12. I didn't understand what they were saying, but I knew they wanted some money. I heard the word ten. But as Dalibor said, and I had been told by other people, "Just keep walking, don't talk to them, and they will leave you alone." These two were different. As we kept walking across the square the duo pulled on our arms to get our hand out of our pockets, zig zagged back in front of us to make us stop walking, and begged for money. At first I was not so worried but more ashamed I wasn't giving anything. As we kept walking, my guilt was beginning to turn to anxiety, then I was getting a little worried, then it was can we just get the hell out of here. This progression was fast. Twice I had brushed the 12 year olds hands off my jacket, telling him, "no, sorry, no." Meanwhile Dalibor was reasoning with the women, I wasn't sure what they were saying, but I didn't think I would really need to guess. The 10 year old noticed that an outside chest pocket on my jacket was unzipped and he managed to get a couple fingers in the pocket. I brushed his hand out of the pocket and off the jacket and told him to stop. "No. Sorry. I have nothing" were all the things I could say and obviously they weren't working. I remembered one of the administration telling me that one of his friends once acted with more aggression than apology when dealing with gypsies and that is worked out favorably for him. The thought crossed my mind, but really what would I do to a 12 year old or this lady. Finally as we reached the end of the center, in a walk that seemed to take forever, but really was probably no more than 2 minutes the two peeled off and went back into the center. - This is a rare thing to happen, after walking around Skopje almost every saturday and sunday this had never happened to me. Hopefully, and more likely than not, it won't happen again. -

As Dalibor and I grew more and more relieved about them leaving we began to relive last 2 minutes I asked Dalibor what he was saying to the lady. "Well, she wanted to spit on you if we didn't pay her." --Did that stun you? It did me too.-- I think I asked why me, he told me because I am a foreigner. I honestly don't know what I would have done if she would have spit on me. The whole encounter left me a little frazzled, and feeling incredibly guilty. I have been told numerous times to just walk away, don't pay, and even to be loud if I must tell a gypsy to leave me alone. I'm glad I didn't yell. I will carry a small bill or two with me next time I go out.

Saturday morning rolled around, and it was my favorite day of the week. MARKETday! I now go there with a purpose, a list, and a smart amount of money. I know what I want, how much I want of it, and how much it reasonably costs. This is getting to be easy. The guy that laughs at me wasn't at the butcher shop. I still got some tasty meat patties.
I stopped by a dessert shop on my way home, there were all sorts of small candies in the front window so I decided to see what they were and how much they cost. The store worker spoke English, so this encounter was easy. I told him I wanted to try a variety of the deserts. I found out that 8 pieces cost 100 denar or $1.20 USD. I paid less than you pay for a snickers bar for 8 decadent candies. Ok, I don't know if all 8 are good yet, I'm trying to hold off on eating them all at once. I think I have 4 left after a day and a half... Not bad.

I decided on my way home from the gym that I didn't really want to cook so I stopped at the restaurant around the corner from my house. I walked in, the place was empty, but there was a bartender so I knew I would be able to get some sort of nourishment. I quickly asked myself vodka, gin or brandy? The bartender, lets call him Bart, didn't know any English. He, like the guy from the butcher shop, found me to be funny and laughed at my gesturing for a menu. The menu (I don't know why I even looked) was not in English either. Realizing that I might just be ordering a Vodka on the rocks at this fine establishment, Bart opens this sliding wooden window and beckons into the kitchen. Seconds later Master Chef Bobby Flay pokes his head out the window and tells/asks me, "You want to eat?" We take a few minutes to figure out what I want to eat, he/we decided pork on the grill and a shopkso salad -cucumber tomato and white cheese- I order a glass of wine, sit down with a book, and know two things about dinner: I will be eating pork, shopsko salad, and drinking a mini bottle of wine. The wine was good, the salad was basic but tasty, the grill, I'll order different next time. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but really it was a thin pork chop (tasty nonetheless) served with french fries and buns on the side. I ordered a burger yesterday at a burger stand so I knew what the bun and fries, I mean "chips" were meant for. I was (like the burger yesterday) supposed to layer my dinner like so: bottom bun, pork chop, ketchup, fries, more ketchup, top bun. Enjoy. I decided to forgo the bun and the ketchup, and eat it like a pork chop. Like I said, it was good. Next time I'll have something a little more exciting.

Ok, that's it. I need to do some research for school tomorrow. I'm teaching more English this week, things are going good in that department. I have to teach what demonstrative, reflexive and intensive pronouns are tomorrow... that should be interesting.

Oh yeah, I have wanted to post pictures all while I keep talking about places I go, and things I am seeing, but a problem occured.. A mix between me being an idiot and leaving my camera behind, and the USPS being even bigger idiots (no offense to anyone working/or that knows anyone that works for the USPS) my camera is ...lost... I should expect it's delivery tomorrow or 6 months from last week. : ) I am going to ask the photography teacher at the school if I can borrow a camera. We'll see how it goes. Then maybe I will be able to share some of these things with you.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/01/19/travel/20100120-balkans-slideshow_index.html

attached is a link that takes you to a NYT article that features the Balkan Burger. These are much like what I ate the yesterday, except I got mine from a small restaurant on the street, and these you see in this slide show are from nice restaurants in NYC. Oh and mine was stuffed with fries and layers of ketchup. SO good.

Ciao!

Evan

American Meeting in Skopje.

I think we last left off on Sunday, me going out alone to a cafe? Monday was just a Monday... nothing too sweet. Woke up with a sore throat that I still have tonight. No ice skating for me. Might as well start with last night (Tuesday).

I decided to do the same last night. Just a near by spot, it has an indoor arena attached and is also near to one of the college dormitories -campus is clear on the other side of town though - it tends to have a pretty young and full crowd. I took a table near the middle and pulled out a book to look over the next days lessons. That's right I'm teaching now! As I am going over how to introduce pronoun-antecedent agreements in my head I hear someone ask what I am reading. The English was perfect, no accent, no problem with the tense... this was an American. Turns out I was right. This guy, Steve as I later learn, is a businessman from Chicago that was traveling around Europe for work. He went to this Cafe simply because he saw it on the way to his hotel and decided to stop in. Seemed a little random, but I can't judge... I do the same thing. Steve and I started out talking about what brought us both to Macedonia, and how at it is different than what we expected it to be even while knowing it would be different from home. Well as we kept talking, I noticed that Steve was pointing out differences and bashing Skopje for what it was. Little by little I began to defend Macedonia more and more. Finally I got to the point where I was actually annoyed that this American had come to Macedonia and all he could do was bitch about the pollution, the crazy drivers, and the fact that his business associate he met with earlier in the day hogged up much of this time telling him about the history of Skopje and trying to give him various samples of Macedonian cuisine.
We chit chatted for about an hour, after which my machiatto had run empty, and so had the entertainment of Steve. I do have to admit, I was thrilled to be able to have an easy conversation with some one else from the U.S. All the words were exactly what he meant to say, nothing was a more formal version of the word... just normal talking. But as the conversation grew longer, it seemed that everything I had grown accustomed to, or began to see as "home" he was putting his views upon and making the characteristics of Skopje seem wrong.
On my COLD, short walk home I realized that I might have done the exact same thing upon my arrival. I really hope not, but I'm sure that I did. As I walked up my steps to my door I had a good little chuckle. I had just sat down with someone from home, from the states, and defended Skopje against his bias and judgments. I got a kick out of it. Stupid Steve.
Last nights interaction wasn't all that bad though. I got to meet a new person, which is the goal to going out. Added Bonus: I got to see the potential of this trip. Part of a trip like this is to see other parts of the world right? But I think more important than seeing other parts of the world, it is important so that I can be impacted by other parts of the world. Well done Skopje. Well done.


Side note. Teaching finally started, and is going well. It involves many more worksheets than I am used to. A lot more I talk, WE read the directions on the paper, I give an extra example, YOU fill out worksheets. This is not exactly what they encouraged at the good old U of I, and certainly not something that I would have done in Lewiston either. However, I must say it seems to work. I'm obviously going to shake it up a little bit, throw in some Mr. L. ideas here and there where I am able to. For now, I'll stick to Radica's plan.

Here's a good chuckle for you before I sign off...
I am required to write in cursive on a chalk board... It's a grand mess. Print is hard enough for me when I get going. When I teach, I am easily excited. As lights turn on in kids heads I get more and more enthusiastic and animated. By the end of some lessons my writing looks less and less like letters and more like connect the dots. That is with Print on a white board. One of the students encouraged me to practice cursive at home. Isn't that sweet?

25th-31st. Rapid Update

WOW

Ok I knew I had been neglecting this, but until just now I didn't realize how badly so. I have been thinking about what I will say in this post regarding last week - honestly, I'm still working on it. Really, last week was a good week, no major complaints, nothing EXTRA exciting. I caps Extra because one of my favorite things I learned last week is that extra along with super, and bravo, are both words that are used in place of cool. Ha. told you last week was a slow week...

The days are kind of blurring together... So I'll just hit the high points and try to fill in some gaps as we go. Forewarning this might be long winded.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful. I have realized -- and I may have said this once before -- that being in a new country, living by myself, and not having the ability to call Mom to ask what I do next when making microwave popcorn (I'm kidding I'm not that bad) has turned me into a much more adventurous and well rounded cook. My teacher is always giving me simple ideas of foods that she is making for dinner so that helps too. The last thing I made was a pasta with a creamy sauce/soup thing. peas, carrots, potatoes, pasta, curry, and onion. Something I never would have made at home, and fun. Sunday I was hungry and had time to kill, so I started to boil water to make a potato, all the sudden I was peeling carrots, chopping more onion, cooking chicken and getting out pasta... apparently I like to make soups. Add that to the fact that the guys at the butcher shop laugh at me, and I tend to make some fun stuff.
Last week (from last post) when I went to the butcher shop and stammered when I didn't know what I wanted, everyone behind the counter laughed at me. I am not exaggerating. This last weekend (Saturday the 30th) they recognized me and in unison chanted "ummm ummm hmmm..." I'm a celebrity. haha. They were very helpful yet again. I think next time I go in, I'll tell him to pick what I get. I know where the liver is, and I won't let him pick that. Gross! The thing is GIANT!
Wednesday I skipped Ice Skating. I am still wrapping my ankle everyday; while it is improving I regretted not wrapping it today. The kids were bummed Thursday morning, and I was bored Wednesday night. I will be going ice skating tomorrow. YAY! Thursday night I bailed on basketball, partially due to my ankle, and the other part I'm just not that good at basketball. Side note someone who played the week I did cracked his rib while playing in one of our games. That is how competitive they are. Sick.
Thursday night - food again - I decided that I wanted to try out crepes. Actually thursday morning I wanted crepes, but had to wait for dinner. It was the best decision EVER. SO GOOD! and way easy, I thought they would be damn near impossible. Turns out they are easier than pancakes. YAY! After crepes -delish- I went out for a late night machiatto with my friend Dalibor and his friend BB. We went to this cool restaurant Anja (Anya) BB had been in Wisconsin studying abroad a few years back, and traveled the states a little bit while she was there too. We did a compare and contrast of the two cultures... There was a lot of laughing involved. At times it seemed that we were all interviewing each other, "Tell me what your views are on the education system here in Macedonia." "What is/was your favorite thing about your travel?" on and on. I should have written some of this stuff down while we were there. A number of times we would say "That has to go in the blog.." the only thing I can remember is the realization that there are very few drinking fountains here. I don't think the school I teach at has a single drinking fountain. The malls don't have them and there are only a few out door drinking fountains. We discussed tipping, and how it isn't customary here. I was told that my monthly rent is what most servers or bartenders make a month. I now tip. I wish I could think of more things... either way. It was nice to get out of the house for a night. I got home around midnight, which trust me, on a school night is something I NEVER did in Lewiston, it always seemed like a terrible idea. Then again, if I were to stay out til midnight in Lewiston I would probably have been drinking a fine IPA or Stout of some sort and not a coffee. Either way Friday was a long day.

All last week was exam week for the high school students at school so school got out early. Really that just meant that teachers could leave at 2 instead of 4. I think it was Wednesday that I got to have the class to myself while my teacher went to take an exam for her masters. I only had time to review the previous day's test with the class, but it felt good to do some "teacher work" other than grading. It was at this point that I realized - and this might seem like a no brainer, but was a slap of reality to me - I will be adapting my instructional methods a great deal to be able to teach these students. Up until this point I believed that the methods, strategies, and routines that I used in Lewiston (which are still flawless in my mind haha) would work wonders in this classroom. That all I would have to do is snap my fingers three times, and TADA, I would have Room 6 from Webster Elementary back in business... Problem is just like the students I left back in Idaho, I left some American ideal of education behind. Here there is a lot of stress put on teaching and learning the theory behind information, and little emphasis on practical knowledge, inquiry, and exploration. In fact, when I told my friends over drinks on Thursday that I wished there was more inquiry, dialogue, and exploration at school, they both laughed at how "American" I sounded. When I took the class on Friday, I thought my old approach would be seamless. Well I learned better. : )

that was the week. Weekend was grand. lots of home time. I went to the market first thing Saturday morning, tried to monitor my spending and keep track of how much each different item was... This will be something I will have perfected by the time I leave. I gave the apartment a deep clean and took a walk around the neighborhood. Sunday, feeling antsy, and not being happy with the gym around the corner, I decided to walk to the hotel 15 minutes away and get a membership to their gym facility. It's nothing fancy, but it is well lit, clean, and has all the equipment that I would use anyways. It's pricier that what I was looking for, but I can easily cut out my cab rides for a walk to the center instead.

After struggling both Friday and Saturday night with the idea of going to a cafe/bar alone with a book I finally got the nerve to go out on Sunday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and as I venture out further and more often i will surely meet more people because of it.

OK. So I think that catches me up until Monday. It's 11:30 P.M. here and I need to head to bed soon. I am actually teaching English now! the first hour and 1/2 of the day. woot woot. coffee is my friend.

Either way I want to end on this note - I keep saying so far so good about this experience, and really it has been good. I think part of last weeks lack of posting was that I didn't feel like I was doing anything with this experience. I wasn't teaching (which ultimately is what I came here for) I hadn't traveled yet, nor had a booked tickets to do so. (Barcelona April 2nd!!!! YAY) I am still not meeting as many people as I had initially imagined, blah blah. Then during this weekend, I thought about all the things I HAD done, what I HAD seen, and where I HAD traveled already in just one month. Sunday afternoon was a good time for realizations. So, at this point I think it is safe to say, so far so good. I think I'm really getting happier here. --- not happy enough to stay for 3 years, but happy enough for 14 more weeks. : )

Good night! thanks for reading. I'm going to try to post for Monday through tomorrow night after ice skating.

Ciao!!!

Evan

....

Expect a post tomorrow! : )

Love the weekend.

Sprained ankle, Costco of fresh organic produce, stray dog, liquor store, gym, and a new route to walk.

After my first week here my ankle started to really bother me. My Achilles tendon or somewhere around there just felt tight. I would stretch it day and night, but nothing ever helped long term. Finally the P.E. teacher at school, Pance (Pancha), asked me why I was walking funny. I told him my ankle hurt, where and for how long. He told me to get a compression band, ice it, elevate, and not walk more than was necessary. I'm thinking that following 3 out of 4 of those directions isn't too bad. Right?

The kitchen supply had been dwindling over the week, and I was really looking forward to taking on the green market just a block down from my flat. So that is exactly what took up my Saturday morning. I had been in the Market before, I had purchased a few items there as well, like Kilo of potatoes, and an outlet adapter, but never had I decidedly ventured to this market to stock the kitchen. This would be the real deal.

I walked around, looking from one booth/stand to the other, eyes darting from here to there. Do I need apples? How about bananas? Oranges? Onions? Ooh Carrots, yeah I'll take some of those. I decided that with so many vendors, and many of them carrying similar items, that I should only buy a few items from each booth. Apples here, bananas there. There really was not method to my madness, just using it as an opportunity to see more, and interact with different people.

This one guy was a real salesman. I went to his stand/booth thing looking for mushrooms. He asked me (in english) what I was looking for, I told him mushrooms, and he replied regretfully that he had none, but that the stand next to him did. Before I managed to turn to walk away he asked if I had tried any Macedonian peppers. He did some Vanna White(ish) gesture over his display of Bell Peppers. Apparently I'm a sucker for wheel of fortune, I was hooked. 3 green peppers, a red pepper, and something else (?) later and I was off to get mushrooms. I remembered him telling me that two of the green peppers were sweet and one was spicy. Until tonight's dinner I couldn't remember... I found out very quickly. Each of the peppers are the same shade of pale green but different shapes. Now I know the skinny one = HOT.

I meandered around the market, having a good time bouncing around, and gathering fruits and vegetables for home. I stopped by one of the butcher shops to get something for dinner... I looked through the glass cases as one of the butchers was patiently waiting for me to say something. The place was packed, if I were him I would have been very impatient with me. Finally I pointed at two meat patties, I think beef? There looked good and don't resemble liver. He looked up and asked "more?" I was caught off guard, I don't know why, but I was. I stammered a bit, replying a stupid, "uhhhh mmmm, uhhh, no." He gut rolled. I don't know what was so funny, but he was cracking up. Of coarse the other butchers behind the counter joined in and me, feeling like an idiot joined in as well. Really it was funny, maybe you had to be there.
Once I brought my bounty home and stored it all away, I decided it would be a good idea to give the ankle a rest, and then head to a local pharmacy to find an ace bandage compression wrap for my ankle. I remembered seeing a pharmacy on my walk home from the Epiphany on Tuesday, I just forgot how far down it was. I knew it was further than I wanted to go, so I stopped in every pharmacy I saw along the street. After two pharmacies, and a quick stop at a sidewalk bakery, I got what I needed and turned around to go home. My ankle felt fine. The sun was shining. My iPod was playing the best Saturday walking music I could ask for. Then I found it. A liquor store. It's nothing fancy, but now I will be able to maintain my Wednesday tradition of Margaritas. : )

With my tequila and ace bandage wrap in a bag I decided that it might be a good idea to head home. With about 20 minutes of a walk left I decided I'd never walked South of Partisanksa, the main street that leads to the city center. Thinking that if I my ankle began to hurt too bad, I now had Tequila handy to help me if I needed it, and with the weather lingering around 2 degrees celsius (35 ish F) I knew it would be cold enough to handle after a while. -- I joke, the thought of taking a pull off the bottle crossed my mind, but I wasn't really up for it. --

As I walked around, I decidedly looked around at the new buildings, the small shops, and restaurants littering the sides of the streets. I am calling the post office tomorrow to inquire about my camera that Mom sent over two weeks ago, I want to share this stuff with you. As I get to a T in the road I notice an unusual statue; a giraffe from the neck up was looking down the street directly at me. I remembered a student telling me about the zoo, but had simply forgotten. I love the zoo. Now that I have found it, I will be going back. I would have went in right there, but a bag from the liquor store didn't seem an appropriate thing to carry around while making faces at the chimpanzees.

Making a mental note of where the zoo was in relation to home, I resumed my walk, now wishing that it wasn't such a lengthy one. Not paying as much attention to my surroundings now, I didn't even notice that I had a new friend along for the walk. I have mentioned before that there are a ton of strays here, some scare me others don't. Either way, I know better than to engage. This one was a little different. I didn't feed, nor pet dear Fido, I didn't want him to follow me all the way home (not that I had food anyways) and I have an irrational fear of fleas - borderline phobia, I just hate them - but I allowed him to join me on my Saturday stroll in a new neighborhood. The closer I got to home the more nervous I got that Fido would follow my foot steps right to my door. Luckily along the way he found some other strays and left my side without hesitation. Just as soon as my relief subsided, I saw it. No less than 5 minutes from my house, a gym. I walked inside. The lime green equipment might be as old as I am, but its close to home, the price is right, and the lime green cracks me up. The manager of the place wasn't there, but the two kids working out told me to come back on Monday and I would be able to set up a membership. Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally found me a gym. Life Is good.

Other than cooking and cleaning and more walking around Skopje that was pretty much the weekend. Today I decided to seek out my running path and at least walk it. Ankle or not, if the sun is shining, I want to be in it. I decided to look at the gym that my principal suggested to me. it is in the bottom of the nicest hotel in Skopje, the price is not right, and it's 10-15 minutes walk away. I still wanted to check it out. It looks cool enough, well-lit, new equipment, a tanning bed, and staff that is present, but there wasn't anything lime green...
Right next to the hotel the Vardar River, and right next to the river is exactly what I have been looking for. A paved running/biking path that goes along the banks of the river. Luckily there is probably 50 - 60 yards of grass that can be used to run on as well. The path leads directly to the city center and continues further out of town, it also goes for a ways passed my neighborhood as well. Tequila, gym, running path, zoo, and conquering the market. What a good weekend.

I'm finally getting comfortable in this city, going to the super market, the market, and the stores. I'm getting used to flying solo, I'm not kidding you, my walks the last couple of days have cause funny looks from people. I tend to randomly sing along with the ipod (even though no one else can hear), dance a step or two (in mid stride), or burst out in laughter as if someone right beside me just told me the funniest thing I've heard all month. I've decided that I miss a lot of people from home, but it's walks like the ones I had this weekend that I am able to really think about good times from home. : ) With all the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and bread available, or rather due to the unavailability and/or higher price of pre-packaged frozen items I have really had a good time cooking my own meals from scratch. I'm no Chef Boyardee, but then again, I'm trying out my own thing and aside from the spicy vs. sweet pepper debacle tonight, I've been fairly successful at feeding myself.

After two and half weeks here, and only 14 more left. I'm feeling more and more at home, and less of a stranger. Hopefully I will be getting that camera soon and you will be able to see more of what I am talking about. Thanks for your emails and notes on facebook. I get a good kick out of hearing how things are stateside, and what you are up to as well.

Have a Great rest of your Sunday, I know that mine was Fantastic.

Ciao!

Evan

Wednesdays used to be for Margaritas...

One of the things I hugely miss from home - aside from mom's cooking - is an almost bi-weekly event that I came to cherish this last fall semester. 2 for 1 Margarita night at Casa Lopez in Moscow ,Idaho. Not that I'm a sucker for margaritas, but the price is right, atmosphere is fun, and the company, always my favorite.

At my school here in Skopje however, there is a new tradition I will be filling my Wednesdays with. Ice skating. That's right, ice skating. The way I see it every community or neighborhood has their sport, or activity that children grow up doing. Some grow up playing soccer, others baseball, maybe basketball, tennis, golf, etc etc. Only a handful of people I knew growing up were ice skaters. Here in Skopje (I'm sure in other places too) children grow up playing football (soccer), and ice skating.

Before tonight I had only ice skated once before, about 13 years ago, for maybe an hour. I was a big inline skater back in 2nd and 3rd grade; I think that worked out to my advantage. The P.E. teacher for the primary grades Panche tried to wrangle me into chaperoning last week, but alas I had a NYE to celebrate. This week, I had no excuse and a class full of excited 4th graders cheering me on. Have no fear, no one was let down.

I met Panche and his family at NOVA so that I could hitch a ride along with him. I've mentioned Skopje driving, and I was sure that Panche wouldn't dissapoint. Luckily he drives a 1980 Lada, a small, smurf blue, Russian built automobile. Where Ford is built like a rock, Lada (or this one anyway) is built like a tank. I actually felt safe weaving through traffic, this time.

Ice skating as it turns out, is much more fun than I remembered and anticipated it being. I raced several students, one of which shared, "Mr. Evan, you are much slower on ice skates, than when you run. Tag is way more fun now." Thanks Alex. I managed to tag him shortly after. : )

After successfully avoiding too many pride dwindling falls, just barely slipping away with no bruises, I arrived at home craving for my usual Wednesday night. Well since I can't have Casa Lopez, or my fantastic company from home, I figure I'll supply the drinks myself. That's right you guessed it. Ice skating, followed by ice cold Margaritas.

Now I just need to find some salsa in this country. Wish me luck.

Cheers, and Ciao!

Evan