Update from our shtepia ne Rramanli/Romanovce

Mirembrama (Good Evening)!

It's about 7:45pm in Macedonia right now and about 1:45pm on the east coast of the US.  If you're thinking about jet lag... yes we were lagging, yes we did everything we could to recover as fast as possible (go to bed at 10:00 or 10:30pm here or 4pm in Kentucky :), exercise like normal, lots of water, NO naps, etc.), yes our bodies are on Macedonian time now! We're three weeks into our PC adventure tomorrow and our busy schedule and love for the lifestyle here has really made the time fly. So here are some highlights from the last couple weeks since Shelley last blogged.

In Peace Corps Macedonia, couples (i.e. Shelley and I :)) are guaranteed to share the training experience which makes up the first three months of the Peace Corps service. We were known as Peace Corps Invitees until we arrived in country and now we are known as Peace Corps Trainees. In some countries, married trainees might have training in two different communities that typically train one specific assignment group (i.e. English Teachers, Community Developers, etc.). Not in Macedonia! Shell and I were guaranteed to be together. This also meant at one point in the week that we would not be able to apply and, therefore, be accepted into the dual language program available in PC Macedonia (Mak.) for one reason or another that was never shared directly. We were previously very excited about this possibility which would place us in a small training group that would learn BOTH Macedonian and Albanian. However, the option, as I hinted at, was not available for married couples. We were disappointed but remained optimistic about any placement or training site would be great. Seemingly out of nowhere, and the day before dual language trainees were selected, we were pulled out of a session for an interview for dual language placements. For all our knowing, a perfect storm of events happened that made dual language once again an option.

AND.... the next day we were told we made the cut! Not only was this perfect for our desire to learn about two different cultures and learn two languages, but, unlike trainees not placed in the dual language program, we learned our site placement for the next two years. All other trainees have to wait about four more weeks.  We are fortunate to be spending our next two years in one of the many great cities in Macedonia, Struga (LOOK IT UP!). Shelley will be working with an organization much like Stewart Home School! She will be working to raise funds, advocate for, and strategically plan for an organization that cares for the intellectually disabled and supports the families of students. I will be working for a music high school in Struga with 85 students! I will teach English at all four grades and assist the teachers in the school. Macedonia has a national curriculum for English that begins in 1st grade and culminates with the Matura (a national exam that all students must take to graduate secondary school). I'll be helping these students learn English while also preparing them for the English section of the Matura. Possibly the most interesting part of my job is that it is a public school and it is integrated - Albanian AND Macedonian students. This is rare as most schools are under a "separate but equal" format from my understanding. Very exciting that I get this rare experience! We're very excited about our placement in Struga and you'll see partly why when you google it :). Two other volunteers in our group will be placed in or near Struga.

Enough about site placement for now. We're training in Rramanli (Albanian)/Romanovce (Macedonian and probably the city that will pop up if you google). There are 10 trainees in Rramanli and the other 26 of us are spread across three over small communities for training, Losovo, Kratovo, and Probishtip. In Rramanli, there are six of us (including Shelley and I) living with Albanian host families and 4 living with Macedonian families (most of what I write in another language will be Albanian since Shell and I get 60% of our language lessons in Albanian because Albanians are the majority population in Struga. Plus, we are living with an Albanian family now so we are using their language more and picking it up faster - another good indicator of what language I'm using to show off :) is if it's in Cyrillic, it will be Macedonian). Without a doubt this experience is unlike any other. The genuine hospitality, generosity, and caring of these families are surely unmatched anywhere in the world. This is the two week mark and Shell and I feel like true members of our host family. Our host parents are both 29 years old and they have a 3 year old. Our host father's mother, Nonna, also lives with us. Our host father calls us his "childrens" and the family sleeps on the first floor of our house while we have the second floor (with TWO empty bedrooms) for ourselves. I tell you this just to give you a taste of just how amazing, selfless, and loving this family is. Our host parent's speak English well which is helpful for communicating considering we sound like Albanian/Macedonian cavemen right now... but it also allows us to talk about cultural differences and is helpful when they are teaching us their language. The host family experience is wonderful and we'll share much more in posts to come.

On another note, our daily schedule typically consists of 4 hours of language training in the morning (M, T Macedonian and W, Th, F Albanian). We get a 30 minute kafe break in the middle of class each day. Life is scheduled around coffee breaks in this country! Shell and I have both fallen in love with 30 minutes of relaxation followed by an hour and a half of caffeine fueled language learning :). Later in the day, we occasionally have safety, medical, or technical training sessions. At night, we typically go for a run with fellow volunteers and our language teachers, just hang out with other PC volunteers, get chased by children on our street screaming "hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye" sounding like those seagulls in "Finding Nemo" say "mine, mine, mine," and spending as much time with our host family as possible. We'll live in this great little village of "700 homes" (as it was described to us) until Thanksgiving Day when we will be sworn in a PC Volunteers! That day will be here before we know it, so we'll be living everyday to the fullest.

We love you all and it means so much that you are keeping up with us. Faleminderit (Thank you in Albanian). Below are a couple links to photo albums we've posted on Facebook.

First Week and Kumanovo

Rramanli/Romanovce

Cody

Posts to look forward to:

Food (mainly for Molly :))
Life as a PC Trainee
Learning two languages at once!
More about our site placement
Host family time/funny stories
What are you interested in hearing about!!?? Leave a comment!