Nay Rakija (Rock-Kia)

Zdravo! Kako cte? (Hello! How are you?) My goal for this post is to finish talking about my pre-service week in Kumanovo. My next post will be about my life with my home-stay family in Kratovo.

9/18/12
Today we were trained in health and safety in Macedonia, as well as technical training for what we will be doing once our pre-service training ends (notice how many times the word "training" or "trained" was used in that sentence...this seems to be a favorite phrase in Peace Corps). Health and safety covered a variety of aspects, but I think the most interesting topic was the dangerous "promaja" of Macedonia. For those of you who do not know what promaja is, it is the dangerous condition of when 2 (dva) drafts enter one room and hit a person. If a door AND a window are open, and BOTH drafts are hitting you at the same time, you will get every disease know to man (cold, flu, cancer, STD...just kidding). Here is some more information, if interested: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_promaja.

During our technical training, we were given insight on what our work would entail during our two years in the country. For the record, I will be doing Community Development- NGO Development - Environmental during my time in Macedonia. From what I understand from discussions from other volunteers, I have one of the most specific jobs. Other volunteers were told that they were doing Community Development - Municipality, Community Development - Youth Development, Community Development - Business, etc. The session on technical training also involved a game where we learned what many of the other Community Development volunteers have done in the past. We were given interesting facts about members of the group and then had to find out which person matched them. My interesting "facts" were that I knew about hen-keeping through Permaculture, and that I knew Italian and some Lakota words. My fellow volunteers have done things like run for public office in Atlanta, GA (70+ Volunteer named Joe), start a school for immigrant children where lessons are taught through photography (Lakesh from NYC), and lived in a homeless shelter for 6 weeks as a counselor (Jessica). Other fun facts included that one of the volunteers is a swing dancer (Patrick), one of the volunteers speaks English and Spanish as 2nd and 3rd languages (her first language is an indigenous Mexican language and her name is Lurdes). I'm very thankful for the talented group of people I get to work with.

Later that evening we went to the center of Kumanovo (again). On the way there, I was once again reminded of the mix of rural and urban as cows and a donkey blocked our walking path. It's not often that I have to walk around cattle to go into the city. Check out the photos below:

Me: "Sam! Get a picture of me with the cow!"

Sam: "Jenny, this is how people get killed."

Once we were in the city, we were able to witness a protest going on in the town square. We learned later that the people were protesting the cost of electricity going up, and that the protest occurred every Tuesday. The statue in the photo is referred to as "Drunken Georgey" or "Brother George." The statue is a tribute to Kumanovo biggest drunk/ladies man. This is not a joke. Check out what is written under "Central Square." http://wikitravel.org/en/Kumanovo

Protest

On our return to the hotel, my fellow volunteers and I enjoyed some great Macedonian drinks. When I first arrived in Macedonia, I decided to have some of their famous wine (vino) and let me tell you, IT IS AMAZING! I small bottle is about $2 and tastes delicious. This evening I had what they refer to as "Black Wine" (red wine) as well as "rakija." Ladies and gentleman, I have been remiss in not mentioning the great balkan drink of "rakija." I can't really describe how it tastes, except for the fact that I don't think I will be drinking much of it during my time here. Check out the alcohol content of the drink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakia. Many people make it in their own homes as well. Now, I have had absinthe before while I studied abroad in Europe, but I swear this stuff is much stronger than anything I have ever tasted. Perhaps it was the batch we received. The funniest part of this evening was when one of the 40+ volunteers decided to try some and was not feeling "dobro" (good) the next day. She said it was the first time she had had too much in over 20 years. One of my friends responded "And on a Tuesday! Bold choice....." I guess many of the volunteers are learning how to handle the Rakija here, but for me, I believe I will be saying "Nay Rakija" (No Rakija) in the future.

9/19/12

The majority of today was spent training and filling out paperwork. I have decided to apply for the dual-language program, where I will learn both Albanian and Macedonian. I had my interview today. I worry that I may not get a spot because the Community Development volunteers they are looking for the dual-language program would be focusing on Youth Development. We will see what happens. The classes I have had so far for Macedonian have been going great, and the language is coming slowly (emphasis on SLOWLY), but it is getting easier. 

One of the interesting cultural things that I learned today is that a woman (especially a young, single woman) should NEVER ride in the front of a car with a man because that is a signal that she is "easy" and available. We were warned that "hands will slide across the seat" if we ride in the front seat with a man. After being told this, I have definitely noticed how Macedonian women are always in the back of the car. We also had a panel on home-stay culture, and of course I was the one who asked about hugging. Everyone laughed when I said "Is it okay to hug your home-stay dad....or an older man you know....or a younger boy......or someone my age?" (all in the same breath). Everyone laughed and said "Of course that would be your question." A few other hilarious questions were "How would a Macedonian feel if I was running without a shirt on?" and "What is the beard culture here in Macedonia? I haven't seen a lot...."  

Ciao (bye in Italian AND Macedonian)! I still haven't finished writing about my stay in Kumanovo, but I am SUPER busy. It WILL get completed. As they say in Macedonia, "There is time..." Wish me luck for the dual-language acceptance!