Adventures in the East and the Coming of Spring

Well, welcome to April in Macedonia everyone. The first day of April in Macedonia is a big occasion. Its a day when all the children and young people dress up in masks, similar to Halloween, and walk around the city. Today has had perfect weather for the event, with lots of sun and temperatures near 18 degrees C. Other than this fun event today, there hasn't been too much going on in this part of the world. March was a long and cold month, but hopefully now that Spring has arrived, the flowers will start to bloom and the sun will shine. However, while this is bad news for my allergies, its good news for the rest of the country.

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to take a trip all across the eastern portion of Macedonia with my counterpart and one of our friends. We stopped in Prilep, Negotino, Valandovo, Strumica, Kolesino, Radovis, Stip, Probistip, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Kratovo (again), and Veles before finally returning back to Bitola. The whole trip took four days, and we were fortunate enough to stay with all kinds of great Peace Corps volunteers while we visited the new places. Here are some of the photos from the trip:

Here is one of the oldest trees in Valandovo, a tiny little town near the Greek border, between Gevgelia and Strumica. I thought the tree would be a good photo opportunity. 

 This is one of the waterfalls near the Greek and Bulgarian border, about 2 kilometers walk from the town of Kolesino. The whole area is remarkably devoid of garbage, and the Opstina (municipality) has taken good care of this region.

 Heading back towards Bitola, the sky was looking like it would rain, fortunately we did not get wet and got a ride from a local friend who coordinates an NGO in Kocani. If you follow this road East, it will eventually lead to Kocani, then Delcevo, and eventually into Bulgaria. Its only 80 km to the border.

This man was a total badass, he hung out with us in Kratovo for an hour or so for coffee so I could visit my host family, and drove us all the way to Stip. This is our group photo, outside of the town.

Our friend Vera! The coolest girl from Germany ever, walking near the hills by Kratovo. One of the few people I've met in Macedonia that speak less Macedonian than me.

My host sister and me in Kratovo! I had to stop in Kratovo twice during this trip, the first to visit my parents, and second to visit my sister because she was working the first day we were there. Hopefully I can make it back soon to spend more time there, although its difficult since I have made zero progress with the Macedonian language.

In other news, not much else has been going on here. I spent Catholic Easter traveling to Prilep to watch a handball match, and eat Thai food by myself. It was a nice time! As far as work has been, its been busy. I have started teaching 2 additional English classes, plus the English Conversation Hour that I host every Tuesday. The radio show on UKLO FM has been going well.

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time  searching for a new apartment, for a variety of reasons that I don't want to explain at this current time. Its possible that there may be a new place, pending approval very soon! The only downside is that it is on the opposite side of the city, which is a shame because I currently live in the neighborhood, Stari Bolnica, which is one of the best and closest to center. The new place would be in Bela Cesma, near the smaller bus station, assuming I get the approval from Peace Corps. The major upside of this new location would mean that I would finally have a television in my apartment! I currently pay for cable tv, and internet in a package deal (its cheaper), but I do not have a television in this place.

On a closing note, I will leave you with this picture of Bitola that I took from our old office.