Amanda and Allison Visit Macedonia

This past June, we had our first visitors from home. We had a great time catching up with Amanda and Allison and showing them around Macedonia. They both agreed to share a bit about their experience here. Thanks guys, and come back soon!

Also, attention all readers! We officially invite you to come visit us in Macedonia or somewhere else nearby.

 

Allison: There is a saying that says you will make lifetime friends in college. I have been blessed to have the best. We survived college together, graduated, and started careers. Now we are exploring the world together.
  

Amanda: Jarred and I met our first semester at SFA [Stephen F. Austin State University]. I sat next to him in our political science class because I knew he looked familiar from marching band practices. Being music majors, we had similar schedules and became quick friends that year. I'm SO glad we did, because I met two other great friends through him! My sophomore year, I met his girlfriend Andreya and her roommate Allison. To this day, these three are some of my closest friends from college.

 

Allison: When Andreya and Jarred joined the Peace Corps, Amanda and I decided that we would visit them. I was mentally preparing myself for Africa or somewhere in Asia. However, when we heard the news that they were placed in Macedonia, I was excited to explore Balkan area of Europe. The farthest I had been in Eastern Europe was Romania the year before. Macedonia was a new experience that I am so thankful for.

Arriving in Macedonia

Amanda: Our first day in Macedonia, Jarred and Andreya picked us up from the airport and we rode to their home in Delcevo. Upon arriving, Ljubinka had prepared zelnik for us, a pastry dish with spinach in the middle. It was our first meal in Macedonia and it was delicious! It was so nice to have a hot meal waiting, and Jarred and Andreya's host family were so welcoming even though there was a language barrier. Allison and I quickly learned how to say "thank you" in Macedonian because the locals were so generous the whole trip.
 

Allison: It was exciting to actually be where I had seen on Skype. The next day we went and registered with the police. I enjoyed getting to see the relationships that Andreya and Jarred had built during their time there. Many people greeted them by name and waved. The community was welcoming.

Macedonian Food

Allison: I liked most everything I tried in Macedonia. Most dishes included lots of cheese, bread, meat, and more meat. Something I did notice is that almost every restaurant serves nearly the same thing as the others. I really enjoyed the freshness of most of the food, I watched a salad be prepared right out of the garden. My favorite dish was Shopska Salad which had a delicious cheese called sirenje. It was salty and similar to feta cheese. Andreya and Jarred prepared homemade pizza and cheesy bread which is a 1,000 times better than the chain pizza restaurants.

  

 

Amanda: We went to eat breakfast with several of Andreya and Jarred's friends, Darko, Ljupcho and his son. We were going out for chorba, which ended up being a really flavorful chicken noodle soup. There was also a type of salad served alongside. I thought eating soup and salad for breakfast would be strange, but it was so good that it didn't even matter. We ate at a restaurant called Antika for dinner where Andreya and Jarred ordered a variety of traditional Macedonian dishes for us to try. I could go on for several pages about all the food we ate on the trip, but I'll just say that there was a lot of meat, a lot of bread, and it was all DELICIOUS!

 

Amanda: The next day we went to Ljupcho's house to see them make cherry juice. We sat on their patio and they served us all types of Macedonian sweets. He and his family were so generous the whole trip and it was such a neat experience to hang out with locals and experience the culture! Later that afternoon, we hiked to a monastery. It was so secluded from everything else and a beautiful place to relax for a little while. That evening we decided to go out for dessert.

 

Exploring Macedonia

Amanda: Our second day, Andreya had to work, so Jarred showed us around town. We saw a statue of Goce Delcev (the town's namesake), and also went in an unfinished church. It was interesting to see an abandoned project in the middle of town open to whoever wanted to go inside, when something like that in the US would be immediately closed due to safety concerns. We went to lunch at a small cafe where the menu was completely in Macedonian. I've traveled a lot, however everywhere I've been has had English translations! That evening we went to Andreya's English class. Some of the students were very proficient in English and it was really fun to talk with them. Andreya made Ranch dip and chocolate chip cookies to introduce some American culture.

 

 

Allison: We got to know Andreya and Jarred’s host family. They were very sweet and welcoming. We spent time in their site getting to know the people they worked with and visiting restaurants they frequent. Some of the hiking club took us on a hike to the Monastery. They also showed us buildings around the city and where they were born. We took a short trip to Ohrid where we met another volunteer and her American visitors. We hiked around Ohrid and visited a few of the 365 churches there. One of my favorite days was when we rented chairs alongside Lake Ohrid.

 

Amanda: The weather was beautiful so we rented some lounge chairs and laid out by the lake all day swimming and reading. That night we decided to just hang out at the apartment instead of going out. We got a bunch of junk food and sat around watching TV and playing scrabble. Even though we were miles away, it felt just like back when we were in college!

 

Allison: On our way back from Ohrid, we spent a few hours in the capitol Skopje. We had a few hours to explore the city and eat lunch. The city was very interesting. It was a mix of old world and modern influences. Statues were everywhere. Many of them depicting Macedonians ranging from educators to politicians to musicians who impacted the country. 

Amanda: This was a really interesting city to visit due to all of the "upgrades" the government is trying to make. The government has decided to build a new statue or monument on what seems like every corner. Jarred and Andreya told us that many of the locals think it looks tacky and wish the government would spend its money more wisely. When we got back to Delcevo that evening, Andreya helped me write a thank you note in Macedonian to our hosts. When I say "helped me," I mean Andreya wrote it, and I copied it down. Guys. Macedonian characters are HARD. It was so difficult even to copy what she had written! Luckily she checked it before I gave it to our hosts, because I accidentally thanked them for their naked welcome instead of their warm welcome...

 

The next morning we left for the airport, but we made a quick stop at the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. It was nestled up in the mountains and was incredibly beautiful. It was a great way to end our trip!

Cultural Differences in Macedonia

Allison: I had been in Eastern Europe the year before in Romania. So before arriving I had expectations of Macedonia being very similar to Romania. However, while being there I noticed that both countries are similar but are very different at the same time. Macedonia had some Mediterranean influence. I was also surprised by the weather and lushness of grass and vegetation.

  

Amanda: One of the biggest shocks for me the whole trip was how far the American dollar goes there. We took a taxi across town, all ordered dessert, took a taxi back and the whole evening cost FIVE DOLLARS. TOTAL. I couldn't believe how inexpensive things were!

Allison: Many people are very superstitious. One cultural thing that was fascinating was not having a cross breeze anywhere. In a car you only roll one window down, not all of them.

Amanda: There were several times on the trip that everyone would have been more comfortable if we could open a few windows, however they believed that any cross-breeze would cause a host of health issues. One big difference I noticed was that the Macedonian government leaves your general well-being up to you. Instead of making a million laws to protect citizens, they just expect them to make their own decisions. I also noticed a huge difference in how Macedonians view time. From my short time there, it seemed that Macedonians were much more relaxed about schedules, plans, and deadlines. Plans would not be made until a few hours (or minutes) before and it was completely foreign to me!

 

Allison: I noticed very distinct gender roles. Women are mostly homemakers and have their set of chores and men work outside the home and spend time out of the home. I was amazed by the gardens grown by people in their yards. My yard is mostly grass and trees with no defined purpose. But Macedonians use every inch of their yard to not only bring beauty, but to supply food for their families. 

 

Allison: Something that really stood out to me was the community between the volunteers. They had all been through a big change together and had formed strong bonds. I enjoyed getting to meet other volunteers and hear about their experience and their views of Macedonia. 

Leaving Macedonia

Allison: Amanda and I spent a night in Bulgaria where Jarred and Andreya dropped us off. The next morning I flew to Romania where I joined some family friends who work with the orphanages in Romania. I spent a week with them working in the local orphanages and spending time with people in their community. From there I went to Germany where I visited Carla, a German girl who lived with my family as a foreign exchange student. During my time in Germany we took a short trip to Venice, Italy. Then it was back to America.

Amanda: After leaving Macedonia, I spent a week exploring Prague. I went in every old church I could find (which was a lot) and ate a lot of goulash!

-Amanda & Allison

Redefining My Service

We left the United States a little over a year ago. I have been waiting for the right time to post and talk about work, looking for a success story or a little more clarity into why we are here. It has taken this entire year to understand that my Peace Corps service is open ended, undefined, and simply vague for a reason. As volunteers, we are only required to work 20 hours a week at our primary assignment. When becoming volunteers, we were relieved of many burdens that might affect productivity. Medical care is easily accessible and provided, along with a suitable living wage, housing, and support from staff. We are given so much free time and freed of anything that might inhibit us from being professional volunteers. A concept that I did not understand until recently.

Last winter, we finished training, arrived in community, laid low for the winter (as seemed to be the common practice), and then started our work assignments. In my school, I spent the next few months fighting against the established system to implicate practices I thought would make teaching look familiar and, from my opinion, more effective. I was unsuccessful. After a few months, I felt unaccomplished and like a burden to my counterpart. I felt further unfulfilled because 20 hours of obligations a week left me with ample free time compared to the life I had back home where I was trying to balance work, school, friends and family. I used my free time to watch more movies and TV shows then I had ever before, jokingly justifying it by telling myself I was “catching up on pop culture,” the American pop culture my students are so plugged into. I should have been filling that free time with community actions and other means of volunteerism.

Peace Corps equips us with language skills and trains us to learn the needs of our community with the idea that we will work with locals to improve the community in some way. We were greeted in Delcevo with open arms and grand ideas for change.  I simply said “Great! When can I start?” and then waited for some direction. I realize now I am the one to get things started. There are passionate and kind-hearted people here who will help, but they also have jobs, families, and other responsibilities. I, on the other hand, am a professional volunteer. I should be devoting my time. That is why I am here. I am also learning they don’t know where to start either. They are looking for direction just as I have been.

I started a new school year September 1st, and life is looking up. I am trading in the things that are relevant to me culturally, like timeliness and grades, for better relationships with students and teachers. It is paying off. I am less frustrated, and my counterpart and I have a better relationship. We are planning more because I am easier to work with; and therefore, we are trying some new things. One, being an attempt to read Harry Potter with the students. This has been challenging so far. It is hard to get the students interested in anything, and this may be too big of a commitment right now. If I can be a better teacher and get the students to buy into it, I think it will be very rewarding.

In this second year, I am taking responsibility for any lack of work I have, because as a professional volunteer, I need to create work for myself. Not all work has to be grandeur or socially significant. It just needs to be something that wouldn’t have existed without my help, like introducing some people to tacos, or getting a few students interested in hiking or environmental conservation. These are all things I love and are simple, but have the potential to build relationships and leave at least a small impression.

-Jarred

Seasons and Growth

There are 3 apple trees in our yard.

Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don't even recognize that growth is happening. We may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, than we were before. Whenever we grow, we tend to feel it, as a young seed must feel the weight and inertia of the earth as it seeks to break out of its shell on its way to becoming a plant. Often the feeling is anything but pleasant. But what is most unpleasant is the not knowing what is happening. Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed.

 Alice Walker, in Living by the Word

Moving to a new a place in the dead of winter is hard. We moved to Delcevo December 1st. We knew very few people and practically nothing about our new town. It was icy outside, and everyone stayed inside around their warm fires. We did the same. It was fun at first, settling into our new place, enjoying long-awaited alone time, snuggling in to read and watch tv. The fun lasted but a few days, and then we felt restless and isolated. I think it was especially hard on these two Texans, experiencing real seasons for the first time. A consistently frigid winter with ice and snow was new to us. We started to think this is what our lives would be like for the next two years, and began to question why were even here.

The apricot tree in March.

In April

Today

We can literally eat apricots right off the tree.

We stuck it out, and Spring came. Everything changed. Our front garden exploded with flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The people emerged from their homes. Things started looking up.

I'm growing jalapenos, cilantro, and tomatoes on our balcony.
Thanks for the seeds, Dad!

Pepper plants and Teva tan lines indicate
I'm having a good summer.

Cherry tree

Raspberries

Apples

Squash

Now, we sit in the garden for meals, coffee, and chats with our host family. We go on hikes. We've met a lot of new people, We're spending a lot less time inside, and more time with other people outside.

Snowy grape vines

The grape vines now

This experience made us realize how painful growth can be at times, and how tied we are to the seasons. We are enjoying the summer in Macedonia, but we know that winter will be here again soon. This time, we feel much more prepared for it. We have already bought, chopped, and stacked the wood for our stove. We have family coming to visit. And now we know people, and where to go when the winter blues hit.

-Andreya

Two Years

May 25, 2013

Jarred and I said "I do" under a giant oak tree surrounded by friends, family, and nature. It was a warm afternoon. I followed my best friends and two very-soon-to-be brother-in-laws down the aisle, arm-in-arm with my dad, while three good friends played guitars and drums. Jarred cried. Our friend Daniel officiated the ceremony. We kissed, and walked away to Ethan singing the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Hard to Concentrate, which he learned just days before. We took a million photos. Amy and Darren gave touching speeches. We ate cake and danced. Our friends and family, made the cakes, decorated, made our wedding rings, and did everything to make it a beautiful day. We left, and drove straight to Java Jacks for coffee and to use their internet to check in for our honeymoon flight. We ate dinner at Auntie Pastas. The next day, we left for our honeymoon in Boulder, CO. 

May 25, 2014

We drove 8 hours (thanks to terrible traffic) to get to New Orleans. We rented an apartment in a historic neighborhood. We rode our bikes all over town. Walked Rudy by the bayou. Strolled through the sculpture garden. Ate a lot of Cajun food. Drank a lot of coffee. Listened to live jazz in dark clubs on Frenchmen St. and at a sunny brunch restaurant. 

May 25, 2015

We hired a car to drive us 6 hours across two borders to Epanomi, Greece, just outside of Thessaloniki. We walked on the shore. Ate a lot of fresh seafood. Swam in the Aegean Sea. Played Scrabble, and watched classic movies. Read on the beach. Ate breakfast in the garden every day. Drank wine on our balcony, and remembered the last two years.

In the two years we've been married, we've both graduated with master's degrees. We've traveled to 4 new countries and 6 states. We joined the Peace Corps, packed up our apartment in Nacogdoches, said a lot of hard goodbyes, and moved to Macedonia. Now on to the next adventures!

-Andreya