PST Home Tour

 

During Pre-Service Training, we are living with a Macedonian host family. This is the home we will live in through November. Our house is located along the Vardar River in a neighborhood with a mix of old and new homes.

Our host at the front gate

 

We live in a quiet neighborhood, but just a few minutes walk from the shops, cafes, and restaurants.

 

In Macedonia, it is customary to remove your shoes at the door, and wear slippers in the house. There are large rugs in every room, and rugs line the halls and stairs. These rugs are cleaned by hand. Wearing slippers helps to keep the rugs cleaner for longer. 

 

Our host offering леб и супа

We eat most meals with our family. Lunch, or ручек, is the biggest meal of the day. Our family eats lunch about 2, which is early in Macedonia. Lunch usually includes salad, soup, bread, and an entree. 

Toasting with ракија.

Rakia, or ракија, is a fruit brandy that is usually homemade. Macedonians typically drink rakia at lunch and in small amounts. When toasting, people say "на здравје" (said, na zdravia), which literally means "to health," and make eye contact to show sincerity.

 On the second floor, we have a main living space, where we often do homework, drink coffee, and visit. Macedonian coffee is made Turkish style; meaning, coarse-ground coffee is boiled with water and sugar, if desired, and poured into shallow mugs. The grounds settle to the bottom of the mug as you drink it.

Second floor terrace

Another main living space is the second floor terrace. We often sit here when the sun is out to do homework, drink coffee, and visit. The third floor also has a terrace, where we line-dry our laundry every Sunday.

бања

 The bathroom is similar to any bathroom in the United States. One exception being that water is heated in the electric heater above the shower that is turned on by switch before showers. Also, toilet paper is never flushed in Macedonia. It always goes in the trashcan.

 

 

Our bedroom

 Veles is a modern, European city in a lot of ways. Although, there are times we are reminded that we are living in a developing country. So far, we are enjoying every bit of it.