Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Quick update

Hey Everyone!

So I hope to write a quick blog, but I really want to add some pictures so you all can get an idea of what Kumanovo looks like. I have only had one experience in the town, with a very large group of people, on the second day. Others have taken the opportunity to go back, but time has been short over here, and I have used the little extra time to relax.

We have several training sessions throughout the day, as you can see by the schedule posted earlier. We have met many great teachers and staff and I have been very excited to get to know the training group even better.  Adjusting to the time has been tough, but it seems like I am adjusting better than some others. I have been able to get to sleep around 11 and wake up around 7-8, and then begin lessons at 9.

The food here is great!!! Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, with bread accompanying every meal. Today we had beef comparable to my Grammy's beef tips. Delicious!!!!  
Here we are at the airport in DC, getting ready to check all of our luggage. We completely overwhelmed Austrian Airlines but they were able to get through all of us, plus we had about 5 hours to get everything done.


The center of Kumanovo is about a 20-30 minute walk from the hotel (especially uphill). Here is a view of one of the farms on our walk down to the center of Kumanovo
We were presented with a Traditional Macedonian Bread and Salt and then a buffet- style lunch of many traditional Macedonian foods on our first day.  It was a great opportunity to talk to many current volunteers and feel completely welcome in our new community for the upcoming week.



In the left of this picture is the US Ambassador to Macedonia and the Country Director to Macedonia is to the Right. We briefly were able to be introduced to the Ambassador during our training.


Here we are walking to town from the hotel. You can see town in the distance. It was MUCH easier walking to town, downhill of course, than back to the hotel.
Here is an idea of what Kumanovo looks like. We were able to explore, and I was able to buy a toothbrush (I had misplaced mine somewhere) and some shampoo, as well as exchange some money. We had our first several awkward encounters when in town, but it was nice to be in a fairly large group for our first experience.



Sunday, September 16, 2012

Landed in Macedonia!

Zdravo!

We made it safely to Macedonia after hours and hours of travelling, departing the hotel in the morning on Saturday, and arriving in Macedonia in the morning Sunday (with time change and all). We landed in Vienna, made our way to change, and hop on the plane to Macedonia.

Upon arrival, we had a couple of greeting clusters of volunteers and staff to welcome us to our new adventure. Though at this point, we didn't converse much, and scurried in the rain with our luggage to the bus that would be taking us to the hotel. Again, we had another crew of greeters at the hotel, who helped us carry our luggage up two flights of stairs. Me being the tiny person I am, managed to have both suitcases carried for me, which I was not expecting, but it was awesome all the same.

We had a little time to sit and rest, which I used to go through some of the new information and paperwork I found on my bed. I have one roommate, Jenny, who I roomed with when I was in DC.

I know I stated this on FB, but I'll say it for record on here, everyone is so COOL. We are such a great group as a collective and I can't wait to see how we grow. I'm much more confident now that I have met so many great people willing to make me feel comfortable, and I feel the same way about them. I had originally thought I was going to be the youngest person here, but there are three people that are younger than me.

The schedule in the previous post is what we will be following, so today should be fairly easy. Tomorrow begins more of the work. Also, I'll have you know, if you have any questions at all about the application process, I will do my best to assist.
I hope you enjoy my blog!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Schedule of First week

Packing List

The time draws near and I have begun packing, repacking, adding, reducing, and manipulating my suitcases. There is 1 week left before we leave and the schedule for our first training week is posted. So far, the group seems amazing and I cannot wait until I can meet them and develop a real community. I am having a hard time feeling prepared, as many things are up in the air right now. Such things include: what am I actually going to be doing instruction-wise, where I am going to be living, who am I going to be living with (family-size, age, house setup), if I will be able to pick up the language and not curl up into a little ball.
 Oh my oh my am I nervous!! I'm taking a giant leap into an experience that I feel like I would always be too timid to take. I have always been cautious about new experiences and that is how I am feeling now!

Please Follow the link for the Packing list! ( I will go back in here and edit things I didn't need or I would recommend after some time overseas). Also I plan on adding jeans and will be reducing total content after weight testing(50 lbs per bag)

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w6m0rp4AUPRH77dldJlpVtc2LT3fs49hYw9wMSP-bpE/edit