Приатно Куманобо и Здраво Кратово!

I'd like to start this blog off with an awesome mural that I walk past everyday in my current city of Kratovo. These are the two flags of Macedonia, however, the one to the left was forced into retirement due to a dispute with Greece that remains to be resolved due to 'ownership' of the name 'Macedonia.' However, I have noticed the Vergina Sun flag (left) used very frequently to promote nationalistic Macedonian ideology. I am very eager to learn more about this symbol and how people still use it today. It is very very interesting and it makes me want to put together a mural/public art project wherever I am placed to promote unity and tolerance through street art and activism.

After one week in Kumanovo, we are finally assigned to our towns/villages for the remainder of our pre-service training. This is very exciting for two reasons. The first is that it determines with whom we will be spending the next three months with and where. My site, along with eight other PSTs (Pre-Service Trainees), is Kratovo. Kratovo is the epitome of a picturesque Mediterranean town, nestled in the mountains of eastern Macedonia. I was very excited to learn that Kratovo is one of the oldest settlements in Macedonia, and the official founding date (which is plastered on crests all over the ‘Општина’ building) is 1213. Which means that around the time that Vikings landed on the North American continent, as well as about 200 years before the CHINESE discovered America (as some scholars may say); this city was a lively mining community.

So this is the view from our hotel window outside of Kumanovo. Anyone former trainees will recognize Hotel Satelit. Kumanovo is in the distance, about a 15 minute walk to the town center.

The second exciting part of learning our sites is meeting our host families. Part of Peace Corps policy is to put trainees in villages to live with host families for approximately three months (11 weeks) of the pre-service training. This serves two very important purposes. The first is that it allows us to integrate into the community more smoothly; which, so far, has certainly been true. My host family has been absolutely wonderful and gracious enough to introduce me to many people in town and take me to a few places for events and ‘na-gosti’. Now, the concept of ‘na-gosti’ is probably a strange concept to many Americans. It involves showing up at the house of friends or family (sometimes announced, sometimes not) and sitting with them, talking loudly, eating absolutely delicious food, and drinking rakija. It’s a great way to get into the community and to meet people! However, I am also very fortunate to have a host brother and sister whom everyone in town also knows. Usually I just say ‘Јас сум брат Американец на Кише!’ (I am the American brother of Keshey) and instantly everyone knows who I am.

The other reason we are paired with host families is to ensure that we get plenty of language practice outside of the classroom. For some PSTs, this is more of a challenge. For myself, my Мајка и Тетко do not speak any English. At all. Although my father repeats some of the simple words I try to teach, and it is always hilarious to randomly hear ‘THANK YOU!’ in the middle of our otherwise Macedonian conversations. My host sister speaks much more English, and sometimes she is my savior to get some things accomplished as she translates phrases for me. However, I know some volunteers who do not have this luxury. And since most of us just started to learn Macedonian 10 days ago, this can be extremely problematic.

Here is the view from my bedroom window at my homestay in Kratovo. I have an absolutely fantastic family, and a lovely home. However, there is a small café across the street can be kinda noisy when people are out celebrating with too much Пиво и Ракија.

Other problems that I never imagined having in my life is Internet. While I realize how vain it is for me to bitch about Internet while some volunteers live in places where there is НУЛА internet, I should be thankful that I at least have it at the café across from my language classroom. However, being in a home without access to internet is something I have not experienced since probably 1999. Remember those days when people used ‘Netscape’ as a web browser? Yeah? Those were the days. So luckily there is a nice outdoor café (great in the summer and fall!) that plays ‘Gangnam Style’ quite possibly more than the clubs in Korea did. There is good internet access and inexpensive Turkish coffee. I am actually sitting at the cafe drinking a tea as I type this.

Overall, so far this has been a very great first week in Kratovo. Slowly, very slowly, but surely I am learning the language more and more to communicate with my host family. This upcoming weekend, I am going on an all-day trip with my host sister, the women’s handball team (yes handball is a sport, and it is huge in Macedonia) and ‘Татко’ all the way to Кичево. That should be an interesting adventure. Then the following week we have our first hub day back in Kumanovo. 

So I may have mentioned that I live in a picturesque Mediterranean town nestled in the mountains of eastern Macedonia; but also, this town is very old! These towers pictured here are at least 600 years old and date back to when this area was under control of the Ottomans.

 Here is another lovely photo of Kratovo. In the center is one of the main bridges in the center of the city. Today we decided to climb a small hill that provided excellent views and was well worth the trip.