All good things...

..come to those who wait, and in this case that wait has delivered Internet.  Yes, I have real, live Internet.  At my home.  Amazing.

Well it's been a little over a month since my last post, and in that amount of time, I've lost track of time.  Lucky for you.  I won't rehash the routine of my last month which, despite being a stranger in a strange land, has been relatively normal - or I've just assimilated.

Some key milestones.  On Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving), my class of Macedonian Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) was sworn-in.  It was quite a nice little ceremony; the U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia actually presided over the swearing-in and the President of Macedonia sent an envoy to give a congratulatory speech.
The next day I loaded up all my worldly belongings in and on top one of the smallest vehicles ever and made the move to Strumica.
The past 3 weeks I have been settling in, getting to know my colleagues, and exploring the villages and mountains that encircle the valley Strumica is located in.
As for what I'll be doing for "work", I am working with the Opstina of Strumica (think: state government) to develop marketing and branding plans, resource and assets analysis, and helping out/volunteering wherever else I can (i.e. teaching English courses, etc.).

As for my situation in general, there are no other PCVs located in Strumica, which is very rare for a town of this size.  The nearest PCV is an older gentleman who is working in a village ~7km outside of town.  Luckily he comes into the "city" quite often and we meet up; he's an interesting renaissance-type man.
Strumica itself is great.  There are ~30K people in the city, so I can find almost anything I need - unfortunately no Starbucks though.  There is a broad open pedestrian square in the center that is surrounded by cafes and shops, and right now there is a very large Christmas tree and ice-skating rink (like I said, all-in-all relatively normal).

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and New Year (Christmas isn't celebrated here until Jan. 7th, like I said, relatively normal)!!


My home in Strumica (the 2nd floor) - and all my possessions on the street as I wait for my landlord...

The view from my back porch (yes, that is a giant cross up on the hill)

The Christmas tree in Strumica Center

And a whole bunch of churches and monasteries...

Still here.. .

Yep, I'm still here, and in ~a month I should have my own Internet access. Soon enough.
A quick update, on 11/25 I move to my permanent site - the town of Strumica in SE Macedonia. It's bigger than the average town in Macedonia and has a lot going on, so I really lucked out (and it's warmer than average. Bonus.)
Until then we are inundated with classes and sessions preparing us for moving, working and living "on our own"; I for one cannot wait.
In the meanwhile, a few random pics...
The Stone Dolls:

Hiking in the hills around Kratovo (you can see it in the valley, if you squint):

and finally, dusk in Kratovo...

Pozdrav,
Faron

Off the Grid...

Apologies again for the few and far-between posts, but I've been without regular Internet access.

Only thing new to report from up here in alpine Kratovo is that it's freezing.  Luckily some hard work has kept me warm...

*I got to help slaughter a hog too, but I'll spare you those pics.

This week I start practicing for my actual role - I'm training all week in Community and Org development.  Then the Friday before Halloween I learn where I'll actually be living and working for the next 2 years.

Stay tuned,
Faron (or 'Fred' - as my host family calls me)

Macedonian days...

OK, a few have asked what a typical day is like here.  Unfortunately I spend the majority of M-F in language and culture class (for the first ~3 months) - so, not too riveting.  But here's a photo recap of (most) of what I did this past weekend.

Friday, after hiking with my 3 PC classmates in the afternoon, my host family kicked off Ajvar weekend. Ajvar is a traditional Balkan pepper sauce that every family makes together.  It begins with roasting a *!&^-load of red bell peppers, then manually peeling, de-stemming and de-seeding them.
Friday night ~11:30...

Saturday morning I woke up still smelling of peppers so I decided to go for a run, otherwise known as my time to speak English with myself.  Unfortunately Kratovo is situated in a mountain valley, thus the only way outta town is UP:

After that beat down, it was back to Ajvar-mania.  The next step was to grind the peppers and soak them in sunflower oil:

Then it was stew time... (check the bad-axe)...

That's my host dad sweating over the HOT stove, this went on for nearly 6 hours.
So while this was going on I moseyed on over to the bazaar...

*just a sweet pic I took of my village on the way to the bazaar.
At the bazaar I scored some sweet Turkish house slippers.

After only a couple more hours of roasting, it was time to jar the Ajvar...(note the sweet slippers)

Saturday night it was time to experience one of the Macedonian passions - Handball.  So, at the local gymnasium:

(we lost)
...Then I went out to the disco with my host sister and friends (sorry, no photos).

Sunday was more hiking - it's the thing to do in Kratovo, Macedonia!

Here's to a more exciting next post.

Distortion of Time

I wonder if it's a good sign or bad sign that the first 2 weeks here have felt like 2 years.  I guess that's just how it goes when you flip your world in every which way.

apologies

sorry, my video failed to upload on my Internet connection here!

better late than never...

Apologies for my weak blogging, but Internet access and time are at a premium here.  I'll do my best to give a recap of the last ~2 weeks.


First off I'd like to thank all my friends from AT&T, Javelin, agencies, etc. who sent awesome emails and send-offs.  THANK YOU all, I wish I had more time to thank you personally.


All my friends, y'all know I love y'all.


Macedonia is so incredible, so different than America.  It's an undiscovered corner of Europe; full of history, culture, and language (not part of the EU, so it's truly unique).


The first week, me and the rest of my class (the 16th class of PC volunteers in Macedonia), went through Orientation week in a hotel outside of Kumanovo.  It was exhausting, taxing, and HOT...but great.  My class is very diverse, many young people, Masters candidates, older/retirees, married couples, etc..  
A highlight was that the American Ambassodor (Ambassador Wohlers) came and addressed us, which was much appreciated considering he arrived in-country the day AFTER we did.
Here is a photo from my Orientation hotel room...(can you say 'wine country'?)

On wednesday of Orientation week the Macedonian National Basketball Team defeated Lithuania...it was a pretty big deal in a country of ~2 million:

I could blah, blah, blah about the orientation week, but I can't even orient myself at the moment to collect my thoughts.

After orientation we met our host families.  My host family lives in an incredible old home on the main street of Kratovo.  I go to Macedonian language classes ~4 hours a day, and then afternoon training classes on other days....my brain is fried.  Of course I still can't converse with my family (and there are so many other cultural differences), but I feel so lucky to be living this life.

OK, I won't ramble on.  I miss everyone in the States!  See y'all in a few years...

Vienna

...landed in Vienna.  Exhausted, and ready for a 2.5 hour layover here...
I need an airport bathroom and 2,981 moist towelettes.

Bon Voyage

I'm in my last few moments of America, and I have to say I've been amazed and impressed by the motivation and courage of the others in my group. I hope I can live up to them. This is a crazy experience thus far, why don't others take advantage??

This blog feels terribly irrelevant & redundant due to Facebook.  Feels retro.

Why's he doing this?

I've been asked that question so many times.

Honestly I don't really know.  Of course I could spout off 101 stock reason, but I think it's just because I can do it and I'm willing to do it, and I don't want to regret not doing it.  Simple as that.
Over the next 2+ years I'm sure I'll learn plenty of new reasons "why".

batting off the tee for my first post...

Since the first question I always get is, "Where in the $%* is Macedonia?", I'll make this my first post...
Located in southeastern Europe, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (i.e. Macedonia) is a completely landlocked country, covering an area of 25,333 square kilometers (9,781 square miles). It is bounded on the north by Serbia and Montenegro, on the east by Bulgaria, on the south by Greece, and on the west by Albania. Comparatively, the country is slightly larger than the state of Vermont (or slightly larger than the combined size of Brewster and Webb counties). 


I guess my second post will have to answer the second question I always get, "Why?"...

Away I Go.. .

Alright - Here it is, my blog.  I'm pretty exhausted from the whole blog set up process, so stay tuned for some irrelevant and un-witty musings later.