Too Good to be True, boo hoo

So, you thought I actually had continuous internet at home - and so did I! Shortly after my blogpost on Friday night, I let my computer rest and when I awoke my computer to chat on skype with Calabasa, the internet had the same problem it had before. Imagine me in a heap of tears on the floor. Total breakdown. I thought I would finally be able to chat with my parents on skype, with my sister, my friends - but no! Internet is my connection to my roots and to think you have something, only for it to be taken away, is worse than not having it at all. So I have given up on my dreams of being able to chat at home, online with friends and family. Instead, I will hunt for a good phone card. If any of you know a good internet phone card site, please let me know. I really need to be able to talk to my Momma, Gramma, you, etc.

My weekend was fairly uneventful, except the jerky cab driver I had in the wee hours of the morning after going to a fabulous outdoor club. I should have just told him "you don't run the meter, I don't pay." Then not understand a word he says. Instead, I paid double what the price should have been. I did not make this poor decision because of drinking - I had 3 over a span of 4 hours. Rather, it was because I was tired and sore. I simply wanted to get to my house and sleep. So let me tell you about the club. This is the first place I have actually had to pay to get in to - a whopping 120 denars ($3). Oh and there are men with fanny packs when you first walk in. The gun theory is beginning to prove itself. So after you get passed the men with fanny packs and potentially guns, there is a huge dance area under a tent - like structure. I don't know if you all are familiar with Denver International Airport (DIA), but if you aren't just google an image of it. The reason is this place loosely reminded me of DIA. There are huge screens showing the same loop from what I gather to be Ibiza, DJ stage, and then the bar/VIP areas. Bea, Kate and I spotted the guys from the Swiss Embassy we met a month ago so we hung out with them most of the time. We never made it out to the dance floor but we did (well, us girls) dance a bit. Europeans dance much differently than Americans and I like it because it is solo, independent and free. I try to not be self conscious, but that usually doesn't work because it isn't just the fact that you don't touch other people when you are dancing, it is also they way they dance that is different. Had I had more energy, I would have insisted we go to the dance floor, but since I went running earlier in the day (I know, what? Me, run?!), I was a bit sore. But I can tell you that I liked being at the outdoor club. It isn't smokey.

Ok, one more thought. Another thing I find interesting about Europe is the fact that on a music countdown, Led Zeppelin was followed by Roxette (the official band of Europe, I am convinced) and then, later in the countdown, Him was followed by Phil Collins. How can you put these bands in the same countdown? Google Him the Band and you will see these goth-like metal love-song Finns. Just imagine Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" followed by Roxette's "Listen to your heart" and you get what I am talking about. I like that there is no strict adherence to genre on the countdowns or radio stations. And Roxette IS the official band of Europe. Men here are not afraid to rock Roxette. My Macedonian instructor's 40 year old husband was listening to them the other day. I love Roxette so this is good news for me.

Un-friggin Believable

OH MY GOSH! I AM ACTUALLY TYPING THIS BLOG POST FROM MY HOME!!! Can you friggin believe it? 8 hours and 10 men later and here I am. Now, I had to take my laptop home from work, but hey, I am still at home. I am almost back to myself. Almost.

Today has been rough. I have a financial matter that I did not realize was a problem until this morning. I know they made the mistake, but it is super stressful for me. I know it will be sorted out, but nothing like trying to deal with money issues from halfway around the world. A few hours after realizing said problem, my fingers got smooshed in a door between two metal parts. The good news? It was a door to a yarn store and let me tell you yarn is cheap here! I am going to make my supervisor a scarf since her last day is July 31st. At first, I did not realize how cheap the yarn was. I saw the price of 600 denars ($15 USD) and I thought that was a skein. I was desperate and thought "well, if I have to, I have to." I did not have to. It is 600 denars a kilo. So, for 4 skeins of yarn, I paid 130 denars ($3.25) and 2 skeins are a nice mohair blend. And, there is a knitting group. Granted, they only speak Macedonian, but the shop lady is going to find out the information and tell me the next time I am in the store. Knitting, my friends, is a universal language. I need to practice my Macedonian anyway.

Fanny Pack Update and My Current Project

Zdravo (hello) from ridiculously hot Skopje. Apparently, the heat intensifies in July. Awesome. So, you remember my post about the man and the fanny pack? Well, I was talking with my co-worker about this fashion blunder and I was informed that, most likely, the fanny pack contains a gun. What?! My fashion victim is, potentially, an undercover cop or the like and, since it is too hot to wear a jacket to conceal a weapon, a fanny pack is used. This brings to mind a couple issues. First, if everyone knows that when you, as a man, wear a fanny pack on the front, are most likely an undercover agent of sorts, does that not blow your cover? Would it not be smarter to figure out a way to actually maintain your undercover identity that does not resort to an obvious fanny pack? There are other possibilities to this situation. He could be a thug carrying a gun in a fanny pack or the fanny pack could contain no weapon whatsoever and he could just be a mere, civilian fashion victim. Regardless, I think I will do what I did on Saturday - just keep walking.

So, you are probably wondering what I am actually doing for UNIFEM at this point. Right now, I am editing a study surrounding current legislation and policy framework with respect to gender equality and women's economic rights in Macedonia. We hired a consultant to put it together prior to my arrival in Skopje. English is her second language so I am making sure the report flows. This is actually quite more labor intensive than I imagined. It is difficult to re-word things in the way the author intended, but in a way that makes sense. Last night, I was so tired at 9, I just went to bed (after reading a chapter in my book). I think editing, coupled with my language lesson wore me out. Doing this project will help me with my next step in my internship - identifying entry points for UNIFEM on the subject of women's economic rights. I have a few thoughts, but I will wait to share them with you. I need to conceptualize them further.

Finally, I know if you are wondering if I am writing this post from my home. No. I still do not have internet at home. I will save my venting for another day. Recent update: they some how think they installed the internet in May. Um, no, the first time they came to my house was June 9. That was the first 3 hours and 4 men. A week and a half later was the next 3 hours and 4 men. Now, they will probably want to charge me for June. I will see if I can get someone who speaks Macedonian to advocate on my behalf that I have not had connectivity for June so, until I can get on the internet, I don't pay. They will charge me for June. I just know it. Welcome to Macedonia. This is me waiting for my internet.

Total Frustration

I am very frustrated. I thought I had internet at my home, after spending 6 hours with 8 different men in my house from the cable company during the installation process. Yes, you read correctly. 8 different employees of the cable company have been to my home to provide yours truly with a cable modem hook up. I tried to use my Mac this weekend to no avail so I think, "I'll just take my work PC laptop home and use that." Ha ha ha ha HA. No dice. Somehow, I STILL don't have internet at home. I just started crying. What else can I do? I am sure have 2-3 more hours of various cable men coming, again, to my flat to figure out the problem. I haven't had a real conversation with my mother since I arrived - they have been 10 minutes in length, max, and I have been at work. I am trying to refrain from obscenities and lashing out about my personal thoughts as to why there could be economic problems here, but for now, I will keep quiet. Calabaza, my friend from Spain, suggested I use Spanish profanities in lieu of English ones. I liked this idea until I remembered that many people here watch Spanish Novellas. What if they understood the words coming from my mouth? Of course, I would not direct my profanities at individuals, rather, the situation in general. But no. If you can't say something nice, do not say anything at all. For the most part, my stay here has been wonderful. This internet situation, however, is just an exercise of pure frustration.

A Shallow Moment

It is strange to write about this after my recent blog posts, but I could not let this pass without comment. I seem to encounter leather pants a lot. I consider it a gift - the fact that I seem to encounter leather pants. The leather pants I encounter are not hanging in a window, rather they are people actually wearing leather pants. To make matters more interesting, my last 2 encounters with leather pants have violated my fashionista sensibilities. Now, I do not claim to be completely qualified to comment on fashion, despite watching a lot of FashionTV in the past few weeks (not voluntarily - it is on at the coffee bars). That being said, I think you will agree with me on this fashion comment. I saw a man wearing leather pants on a day that was over 90 degrees outside. To make matters worse, he was also wearing a fanny pack, on the front. While fanny packs may be convenient, they are seriously not acceptable, under any circumstances, but especially with expensive, leather pants. In addition to the fanny pack, his shirt was sleeveless to show off his muscles. I wanted to tell him that it is really hard to appear tough while wearing a fanny pack. The fanny pack manages to cancel out any ounce of coolness that may have been present with the leather pants, sleeveless black shirt, biker boots, muscles, good hairdo, etc. Clearly, this individual has some issues surrounding appropriate clothing combinations. I can appreciate the fact that he decided fashion over comfort, considering the temperature outside; I cannot abide the fanny pack, on the front, no less. I have noticed many fashion victims during my time here, but this one, so far, takes the cake. Forgive my digression.

An update on the Security Council Resolution 1820

Below is additional information as to what the Security Council Resolution 1820 (recognizing sexual violence as a war tactic) actually implies. This information is courtesy of UNIFEM and a direct quotation from an email I received.

This is a historic resolution [1820] that now stands as an essential support for the full implementation of SCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Among other provisions, the resolution:

• recognizes that efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence as a tactic of war may be linked to the maintenance of international peace and security – ending once and for all debate over whether sexual violence belongs on the Council’s agenda as a security issue;
• affirms the recognition of sexual violence in conflict as a war crime, crime against humanity and constituent act of genocide;
• strengthens the prohibition on amnesty for such crimes;
• calls for stronger and clearer guidelines to UN peacekeepers to prevent sexual violence against civilians;
• calls for more systematic and regular reporting on the issue; and
• asserts the importance of women’s participation in all processes related to stopping sexual violence in conflict, including their participation in peace talks.
  

It is about freaking time

Finally, UN Security Council recognized rape/sexual violence as an instrument of war and a threat to international security. While I am happy to see this issue is being recognized for what it is, why did this take so long? How many centuries has raping women and girls (and sometimes men and boys) been part of showing control and domination of one group over another? Let's look at the past 20 years (and I am not even being complete in this list): the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s, Rwanda, eastern Congo, Darfur, Kosovo...well, let's see if the crisis of implementation is true for this UN Security Council Resolution. Actions speak louder than words.

Domestic Violence in Macedonia

Hello! It has been a while since I gave you a proper update about what I am studying/learning so here it goes. Last week in Stip, the UN Human Rights Gender Theme Group (HRGTG) of Macedonia went to meet with the leaders of the municipality, NGOs and other interested parties to discuss domestic violence in their community. According to the department of Social Work (one of the government institutions), there were 8 cases of domestic violence (DV) reported. Eight. For the whole municipality. An NGO said they had seen something like 157 cases of DV. Over 50 of those were repeats - at least 3 times. Stip has close to 47,000 residents. As you can see, DV is grossly under reported. There was a big discussion as to why there was such a number discrepancy and that highlighted the lack of good data. There were many things discussed and I wanted to give you my reactions to the information provided. I believe the discussion was successful because I don't think all of these people from the Mayor to the Commission on Gender Equality to the other government institutions to the NGOs had ever been in the same room together to discuss issues surrounding domestic violence in their community. The Mayor did an excellent job summing up the discussion and suggested sending a team to Western Countries to learn from their experience. He realizes that they do not have to re-invent the wheel in Stip! So, who knows what will come from our discussion, but if they ask me who to visit, I know who I would suggest - Victim Outreach Information (VOI) in Colorado where I was a volunteer victim advocate. I feel silly even admitting this, but I realized how far we have come in the States in terms of domestic violence. We have shelters, laws specifically categorized as domestic violence, victim advocates (whoop whoop!), restraining orders, etc. Sure, we still have things to work on, but my goodness. The Ministry of the Interior (that's right, the Macedonian FEDERAL Government) determines if the DV case is severe enough to warrant sheltering the victim. Can you imagine how long this takes?! That is because the government provides the shelter. I could go into a whole other post to explain NGO involvement in Macedonia and I will, but not right now. I am sticking to the topic! So, long story short, my eyes were opened in Stip. If you are interested in reading our official minutes (taken by yours truly), let me know. I think I can share them with you. They are just over 2 pages. Brief.

Today, we had a presentation of some research we funded surrounding how much DV costs Macedonia, in economic terms. This presentation was tremendously successful. The panel consisted of Audur (my supervisor), Dominika (my co-worker who specializes in Gender Responsive Budgeting), the researcher and an Official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The audience had over 50 people present (even some men showed up!), one of which was the Ambassador from the Netherlands. Only recently has DV been discussed in Macedonia and I think having some ridiculously high financial costs, which are on the conservative side, shows people, in a logical way, why we need to deal with the issue of DV. There is an arguement that DV is a family matter, a private matter and this study shows that indeed this issue is of public concern. While this study was very preliminary (the researcher did a great job, considering the data issues), it starts a discussion. Afterall, in the end, unfortunately, what people mostly care about is the bottom line and this presentation shows how much DV takes away from the bottom line. Hundreds of thousands of Euros, even at the underreported level present in Macedonia. If the estimated number of victims came forward for services, we are in the hundreds of millions of Euros. Nevermind the human rights side of the argument. That is for a different post :)

Adopted

I returned from Pehcevo (pronounced Peh-che-vo) yesterday and it was quite a wonderful weekend. I have been adopted by Bea's family. I met her brother, George, and her mother, Lenche. On top of that, I met many cousins and friends and it was quite a weekend. It really put a fire under me to learn Macedonian so I can communicate with my new family. I had homemade Macedonian food, which is delicious and I had rabbit for the first time! It was also good :) We are going back to Pehcevo in a few weeks and I am hoping my Macedonian is improved by then! Here are some pictures:



Me and Bea










George and Me








My Macedonian Mom, Lenche








The Gun Show (Pop, Me and Boban)







The 3 Ivanchos






Zazko and George

Real Quick!

I am going out of town with Bea tonight instead of tomorrow. I will try to update my blog over the weekend, but if not, please don't give up! It will be Monday or Tuesday. TTFN!

Sharky Time, revisited

Hello! Sorry for my super long weekend absence! I am back. I must admit that it was hard for me to write Monday or Tuesday because I was a bit down. My weekend was mostly spent watching CNN or FoxLife and knitting. Bea was in Prilep with her roommates and Jessica was busy with Peace Corps stuff so it was just me, mostly. I did meet another Peace Corps Volunteer, Mike, who works in another city call Stip (pronounced shteep). He does local economic development in Stip and, coincidentally, I am going on a field trip to Stip with the office on Thursday. I get to be the minute-taker! Woo-hoo! Field trip, minutes....I will tell you about the field trip in more detail in a bit. So I was down on Monday and Tuesday. It is really hard to not be able to communicate with people. What I mean by that is that while most people here in Skopje do speak English, I feel like a super jerk because I know for many of them, it is difficult. And then there are the people who speak no English and my Macedonian is, um, minimal. So even if I can communicate with people, I worry about some how being misunderstood or offending people. While there are similarities to American culture, there are also differences and I don't want to be insensitive. Here is an example of my total lack of insensitivity (although I think I am a sensitive person overall). I met one of Bea's friend's friend and his name is Dragan. I know what you are probably thinking, which was the same thing I was thinking: what a horrible name - Dragon! Who names their kid Dragon?! Even, potentially worse: what if he just prefers to go by Dragon? Oh dear. So I tell Bea that this is a terrible name. She just kind of looks at me. Then, I find out later that Dragan is not Dragon (even though they sound remarkably similar). Dragan is based on a Serbo-Croatian word meaning dear or sweet. Doh!!! So I apologize to Bea, telling her I thought this guy's name was Fire-Breathing Mythical Flying Lizard. She laughs at me and in retrospect, I feel like a dolt. Of course his name wasn't Dragon! and even if it was, the assumption that it means the same thing in Macedonian...I am just glad my friend understands and gives me some leeway! This is when I decided I must take some Macedonian language lessons. I don't want to feel so helpless or dependent. I want access to the culture, access you can gain by language. Sure, I won't be fluent, but I can be polite and my Macedonian friends are super excited and very helpful. Damjanka (my host mom) taught me how to count to five so now I can say the first five letters of the alphabet and count. I am learning to write Cyrillic too. Watch out!

Some of you may not have read my previous blog so I will explain, briefly, Sharky Time. Sharky Time refers to a silver skirt that I wear when I want to feel empowered. The skirt looks, to me, like shark skin. Hence Sharky Time. One day, I will take a picture of said skirt and post it so you can live Sharky Time.

My next few days are super exciting. As I mention, Audur, Dominika, Boban and I are going on a field trip to Stip. We are going with other UN Agencies to talk to municipality leaders about Women's Human Rights, specifically combating domestic violence (DV). I am excited to see another part of Macedonia. Mike, in theory, will be there so it will have one familiar face, besides my dear office mates. After we get back from Stip, there is an opening of a photo exhibit about the Roma in South East Europe that I am going to with Jessica and maybe some peeps from the office.

Friday is super exciting because I am going home with Bea and her brother! We are going to a place call Pechovo (I think), near the Bulgarian border. Her grandmother knits and Bea is excited to show her the scarf I made her for her birthday. I have a feeling gramma and I knit differently, but it will be fun to bond. I get homemade Macedonian food-hooray!!!

Well, I must do some work now, but I will try to write again soon. Ciao!

The following jobs are considered exceptionally difficult...

I am reading the Macedonian Labor Relations Act of 1993 and in Section 32, it outlines what jobs are considered exceptionally difficult, strenuous and detrimental to human health. I want you to see some examples: exceptionally difficult physical labor, work in water or high humidity, surgical work in operating rooms, psychiatry work, work with harmful chemicals, ballet dancers, wind instrument musicians, folk dancers and opera singers. This section says, if I am understanding things correctly, that these employees can work reduced working hours (but not less than 30 hours a week) and cannot work more than the agreed upon working hours. Hmmmm. Interesting. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 18 working days of vacation per year. Sweet! Oh no, I just found out I was not reading the updated version of the law. It turns out, it was updated in 2005. Here's to hoping the folk dancers are still included in the 2005 version.

In other news, Bea is out of town until Sunday (which also happens to be her birthday). I finished knitting a scarf for her and I really hope she likes it and will actually wear it. I think it is cool, but I am not sure if our fashion sense match :) I hope to go to a yarn store with Damjanka (my host mom) tomorrow. The intern who was here prior to me is in town as well so we may meet up. My, how things change! Just a week ago, I was actually ironing my shirts. Now, I almost have a social life.

One more thing. I had my final training in security today, with the actual security department of the UN. I got to see where the dangerous parts of Macedonia are on a map and I asked the nice man what Kisela means. Kisela Voda is the name of my neighborhood. As it turns out, kisela literally means acid, but what you are really asking for is mineral water - that is how Macedonians say mineral water - kisela voda. Acid water, mineral water, it's all the same. I know we have funny names for things in English too, I just can't think of them right now. So, now I can order a beer (Skopsko, which is a pilsner made here in Skopje and delicious), Nescafe (coffee with milk) and kisela voda. Oh and Schweppes, which is a sour lemon carbonated refreshing deliciousness.

What does UNIFEM do, anyways?

I have often been asked what my internship entails. Now that I have been here almost two weeks, I can explain things better (not perfectly, but better). Here is what I sent to my Alumni person at Penn describing UNIFEM and me:

My MSSP internship is with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in their Skopje, Macedonia office. UNIFEM provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. UNIFEM focuses on reducing feminized poverty, ending violence against women, reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls and achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. Personally, I am working on a project surrounding women's economic rights in Macedonia. I am reviewing Macedonian legislation and policy to see where UNIFEM can support a project to further women's equality in the work place.

As you are aware, I turned in my first paper yesterday and I think Audrey (my supervisor) liked it. Now, I just have to hope Dean Gelles and Ms. Cassie do as well. Today, I am learning about the Human Rights Based Approach to development. It deals with Duty Bearers and Rights Holders...so within this framework and based on the paper I just wrote, I have to figure out an entry point for UNIFEM surrounding women's economic rights. I keep hearkening back to my Poverty, Welfare and Work class (Hi Dr. Iversen!) where we discussed many items, one of which is whether there are actually jobs available to people once they complete their training (this is in America, but applies here as well). As you may know, Macedonia has high unemployment, for both men and women. As you can imagine, there is also lots of underemployment because individuals need a job, period. So the government of Nikolai (that is the first name of the Prime Minister and, as you can see, we are on a first name basis) is trying to make Macedonia a Business Heaven so jobs and industry can grow (from foreign investors), thus helping alleviate some of the unemployment and raising the standards of living for all Macedonians. Which goes back to job training and job availability, oh and women. I want to make sure that women have equal access to the training and hiring processes, especially if the much desired foreign investment comes in. I want women to know that it is illegal for their contract for employment to be based on whether they are going to have children in the near future. Potential employers frequently ask if young women plan on having children and make it a condition of their contract that if they become pregnant, their contract is terminated. I know the same thing goes on behind closed doors in the States - let's hire the young man instead of the young woman because we don't have to worry about maternity leave. How am I going to do this? I am not sure, but this is what is swirling around in my head at the moment.

Sour Water and Women's Economic Rights

You will be happy to know that the name of my neighborhood translates to Sour Water or Acid Water or Mineral Water...I am not sure. Kisela Voda. Here is a picture of the flag with the emblem of my municipality. Despite the questionable meaning of the word before water, it is actually a great area and I am happy with my place. I just wonder why it is called Sour Water. My water is not sour nor acidic.

In other news, I finished my first paper discussing the policy issue I am focusing on - women's economic rights. My supervisor is reviewing the paper and we are about to discuss it. I am so nervous. What if my writing is horrible or disappointing?! I lack confidence in moments like these. This is when I must trust the firm foundation given to me by Penn. I figure my program would not want me to represent them if they thought I was a horrible writer! This fear comes from illogical Ems. No doubt, with positive self-talk and lots of deep breaths, I will get through this initial moment of stress. This happened to me when I turned in my first paper when I started my Masters program. I am so nervous, I can't eat or hardly drink coffee. That is how you know things are serious - lack of ability to consume coffee. Once the meeting is over and the paper "returned" from my supervisor, I can deal with the results. If you want to read my paper (it is only 7 pages), please let me know and I will email it to you.

Last night, I met up with Jessica, another Peace Corps volunteer and some women from the Roma area of Topaana, which is also part of Skopje. Last week, I went to Topaana with Jessica - she lives and volunteers there - and it is like a completely different Skopje. This little girl is Jessica's landlord's niece. I met her last week and although we did not speak the same language, we were able to communicate pretty well! The Southern Baptist Church has two women who work in Topaana with the Roma women surrounding reproductive health and education. I was surprised the Southern Baptist Church talks about sexual health! Any how, once a year the Southern Baptist ladies treat the Roma mothers they work with a trip to a coffee bar on the main square of Skopje. Last year, when they started the trip, some of the women had never been to a coffee shop the main square in Skopje. And to think, I spend most of my evenings there with my friends! It is truly a treat for all the women and children involved - they looked beautiful all dressed up and just seemed so happy. It is yet another reminder of how privileged I am. I talked to Ms. Betty (one of the Southern Baptist Ladies) about my wanting to do a knitting/craft circle. Jessica is going to talk to Fatma, the visionary Roma woman who runs Sumnal, an education center in Topaana. Many Roma children drop out of school, some even during the primary education years. Fatma runs a center, Sumnal, that is similar to an after school program. Sumnal is also doing a project in conjunction with UNIFEM surrounding domestic violence. It is estimated that 70% of Roma women experience domestic violence (I am not sure if this definition includes verbal/psychological abuse or not). I am so grateful for my friendship with Jessica and my time with the Roma. It grounds me and reminds me of what is important.

Pictures of Skopje and some commentary

This is a picture of the Macedonian Orthodox Church right next to the memorial cemetery of British soldiers who died in World War I.



This is a picture of Jesus, painted inside the large dome. I did not want to take more pictures of the interior out of respect for those praying in the space.




These are the graves of the fallen British soldiers. There are grounds keepers, paid by the English Government to maintain the graves, flowers, etc.



This is a part of the Turkish quarter of Skopje. The Turkish quarter, or at least parts of it, survived the massive earthquake that leveled most of Skopje on July 26, 1963. If you read guidebooks about Skopje or talk to people who have visited (um, yeah, me!!!), they will tell you that the city is pretty ugly. Just like the parts outside the old part of Bratislava, Skopje is "blessed" with lovely Communist-era cement architecture. While the buildings often leave something to be desired, the people are friendly and helpful.

I am once again meeting Jessica, the Peace Corps volunteer tonight, assuming my host mom does not come by to help me with internet at home. If I meet Jessica, I will get to meet potentially 3 other Americans. I am so grateful for the friends I have made and am so happy that I have Macedonian friends. I have decided to seriously consider Macedonian language courses. I think the language will give me more access to the culture. That being said, money is an issue so I will have to do a serious cost-benefit analysis. Ok, duty calls but I will update again soon!

Pictures, Part II and the friend update

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend. As some of you may know, we had elections here in Macedonia on Sunday. They were early elections, called by the current conservative PM. Many in Macedonia feel that these elections were called so Nikolai (that is the PM's first name and how I refer to him) could consolidate his power. You can imagine the email I received from the US Embassy: "Do not go to political gatherings or demonstrations. Avoid crowds. Etc." So Friday, after work, my colleagues and I went out for a drink and after the drink, I had to walk home the ONLY way I know how, which happened to be going through one of the Albanian party's gatherings! Oh if my Embassy had seen me...I would have been in trouble. Obviously, I came through totally fine and while there was some violence in Macedonia, Skopje was relatively peaceful, except for the honking and flag waving of the winning conservative party.

I know you are dying to know about how things went on Wednesday. Long story short, Jessica and I got along very well, but have not seen each other again but I have a new Macedonian friend named Bea. That is not her full name, but it is what her friends call her. I met her on Friday night at a coffee bar and she has adopted me. We went shopping for pants on Saturday and last night, she introduced me to some of her other friends. I am so happy. My life is not all Animal Planet All the Time any more! Hooray! Her birthday is this weekend so I am knitting her a skinny scarf. I really hope she likes it - she won't be able to wear it for a few months since it is already in the 90s here.

Ok, I promised more pictures so here they are!


Old part of Bratislava
Emily and Violeta from Kosovo
Zamira, Boban and Milica In the Cuban Restaurant in Bratislava





The Cathedral Slovakian Mexican food
The Castle on the Hill



Audur, Boban, Emily Boban and Milica
Team Macedonia!!! Skopje Belgrade