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