Somebody Told Me

This is Dubrovnik. I selected this picture completely randomly as I could not see the preview :) While Dubrovnik was insane with tourists, I enjoyed my time there. These are the walls of the old city (stari grad) and a small harbor.

I am reading a draft report on social inclusion and what the UN Country Team can do to effect change in this area through the UNDAF process (I honestly have no idea what the UNDAF process is, but I believe it has something to do with the Millennium Development Goals). I had this 'duh' realization. To have high unemployment (try 35%, oh yeah) means more dependency on the State for social services. High unemployment means less tax collection, not just from individuals, but businesses as well, which means less money to provide services, which are in high demand due to the high unemployment rate. You see the cycle? Even if many of these reported unemployed are in the grey economy, these peeps are still registering for the State to provided health insurance, but no taxes are being collected to help pay for said insurance. Unemployed/economically inactive people are at higher risk of being social excluded, which is why it is important to know the demographics of the employed, unemployed and economically inactive. Hmmm, time to get creative to break the cycle...

Now, I'll write something cute. My beautiful Street Dawg continues to greet me and protect me from the evil buses that pass by on the street. Her vicious warning barks at the buses are the only thing protecting me from the bus' predatory ways. I am still trying to figure out if she has an owner because it looks like the hair around her feet was trimmed. I also realized that while Street Dawg speaks Macedonian, she seems to understand my English fairly well. She glows when I thank her for protection and trots next to me almost all the way to my flat. She does not heed my warnings about crossing the street, however. Today, there was a Pekingese in the yard with her. I wonder if the Pekingese is as wonderful as my Dawg. I've decided that if I get a job here in Macedonia after the end of my internship, I'm getting a dog. The program that I wrote about surrounding women's political involvement in the upcoming municipal elections does not have a job for me. At least I know and I tried :)

Oh, in other good news, my sister is engaged! They are getting married on paper this December in Italy so if I end up in Italy for Christmas (which is the plan if I am still here in Macedonia), I can be one of the witnesses! How cool. Their wedding wedding in Colorado will be this summer and I am going to be the Maid of Honor. My friend, Andrea, is getting married in October 2009 and she asked me to be a bridesmaid so you can see that my vacation for 2009 will be spent at various weddings. I could not be happier for my sister and Andrea!

Don't Cry

I just got home from a wonderful dinner with my coworkers, their significant others and my boyfriend to read that the "bailout plan" failed to pass the House. My happy mood is gone. I try not to let things that I have no control over bother me, but I am scared. While I recognize we should hold those responsible for risky investments accountable for their poor choices and it sickens me that we can somehow find $700 billion for this bailout, yet there are uninsured Americans and millions of people in this world starving due to increased food prices, my stomach still dropped over the news of the failed 'bailout'. I have no more words. If Pelosi and Boehner can unite on something, it's worth a second look. I worked with both those characters when I was a Page and I can tell you that this is truly a historical moment - they actually agree on something. I am holding my breath to see what the next few days hold for us as a world, not just a nation. I fear the worst, yet hope for the best. My boyfriend does not understand why I care. He tells me that Macedonians are able to survive on 150 euros or 1000 euros a month - it doesn't matter the income, the lifestyle is adapted to the lower level - and that this crisis won't reach Macedonia...part of me hopes he never understands why I care because that means the hemorrhaging stops and the healing begins. Quickly.

Roads

This is from a couple years ago and it doesn't even look like me! I miss my cowgirl hat. It waits for me in Philly or Denver. Who knows when I will be reunited with this hat.

TGIF! Do you like my new layout? Let me know your thoughts. I needed to spice things up so I thought I would fool around with the template. Additionally, I added links to websites in my post that are relevant to what I blog about so enjoy!

We had quite a week in the office and I have not left before 6:30 for the past couple evenings. Today I start my research on Roma and Albanian women and social exclusion. I am so excited to be researching again :) I like to go from international to national to local in my research and presentation. So first, a quick review of CEDAW Concluding Comments which are available for your review here.* After that, on the the EU/Council of Europe websites on the Roma, the European Roma Rights Center, then to the, you guessed it, National Action Plan on the Decade of the Roma, to a study commissioned by UNDP to figure out what Roma NGOs are working on here in Macedonia (still waiting for the email). There are considerably more documents that I have not listed plus interviews that I need to do and then draft a concept note. After drafting the concept note, I'll meet with some Romany and Albanian women then develop a project proposal. The key here is I am focusing on the most vulnerable women and simply being a woman of a certain ethnic community does not make you automatically vulnerable. We want to find and hold up the most isolated, ignored women regardless of ethnicity, age or municipality. What is exciting about all of this is it is going to be grassroots level. We are going to see if there is a way we can make a difference on the ground, not just in legislation. If things go well here in Macedonia, we might be able to start to bring similar programing to other countries in the region. But let's not put the cart before the horse. First, research.

In addition to my new research project, we are also contemplating holding a series of workshops surrounding parental leave and EU Accession in Macedonia. There is a general framework that all EU countries follow when it comes to parental leave laws, but their parental leave laws/policies are not all the same. Macedonia is going to have to review their parental leave laws. It sounds mundane, but look at how parental leave can positively or negatively impact the balance of work and family life. For example, women in Macedonia are entitled to up to 9 months paid leave surrounding the birth of a child. I am not sure how much time the father is entitled to, but he can transfer his paternal leave to the mother. And does transfer his leave. So, what ends up happening is you have women leaving their job for 9, 10, 11 months while men don't take anytime, thus reinforcing traditional gender roles, making hiring young women a disincentive, etc. One option for Macedonia is to do what the Nordic countries have done and that is give father's 3 months paternal leave (or so) and make that leave non-transferable so they take it or lose it. What this does is allow fathers to develop relationships with their children and balance the effect of women being out of the workforce during the time surrounding childbirth. Firehouses in Sweden now experience what schools have always experienced: staff being out for long periods of time surrounding the birth of a child. What a concept!! There are other practices surrounding this issue throughout EU countries and so what we want to do is start that discussion for Macedonia. What option would work well for Macedonia? This is what we seek to distill, assuming we have our workshops!

I leave you with this thought: Why is it that my brother, in the States, gets 2 weeks paternity leave for the birth of his child and his wife gets 2 months? Is he not equally entitled to spending time with his child? I know my sister-in-law needs to physically recover from giving birth, but are we not just encouraging traditional gender roles and unpaid care-work being the responsibility of the women of our families by having parental leave set up this way? My brother is an excellent father. He wants to spend time with his child. Why is he not entitled to that just because he has a Y-chromosome?

*Do not try to find CEDAW concluding comments on the US because the do not exist. The US has failed to ratify CEDAW. I believe I do not have to comment on this since it speaks for itself: shame.

Wrecking Ball

The sculpture on the left is in one of the fountains in Sofia, Bulgaria. Look at the balance! It was beautiful to look at. I love public art, even if it is just a giant clothespin like the sculpture in Philadelphia, pictured right.

Our meeting yesterday was very interesting and included the Ambassadors from the Netherlands and the Hellenic Republic, and a US organization that trains governments in how democracy works, i.e. holding committee meetings/parliamentary procedure (desperately needed, I might add), developing political parties that can actually compete with each other, etc. As it turns out, there is a women's political participation initiative coming up in time for the municipal elections in 2009 and I think I would do an excellent job helping out on this project. I introduced myself to the Director of the organization and he gave me his card so hopefully he will respond to my email (which I will send later today). Keep your fingers crossed. I imagine I would travel around to the rural parts of Macedonia to meet with community leaders and women as part of the job that I have created in my head. I also think it is important to get the youth involved in politics in order to bring some changes to how the parties work. I can completely understand why people are so disenchanted with politics and political parties here. The parties are perceived as corrupt and only out to serve/protect their own members. I don't know if the parties are ideologically based the way they are in the US. I guess I have some research to do. At least I know the 4 largest parties (2 Macedonian, 2 Albanian) and I understand, on a surface level, the split within the Albanian community. So we'll see what happens.

Today our manager from Bratislava comes, hurrah! Tomorrow is when my office and the regional manager actually discuss my baby, the women's economic rights program. I was walking with my new supervisor, Asya, to the meeting yesterday and we were talking about women's issues (surprise!). I told her about what I want to do, what I believe, etc. and she told me I am in the right place, working for UNIFEM. I know I just wrote about the women's political participation job, but if I could have it my way, I would just be hired by my office to continue to develop and manage our women's economic rights program. I know that is impossible, but I really like it here. I feel like full-fledged member of UNIFEM and our office team, even though I am a temporary intern.

Ok, back to the National Action Plan for Gender Equality. Do you see a theme? National Action Plan on...all these NAPs (National Action Plans) remind me of Stalin's five-year plans a bit, at least in terms of the time period and how there is a NAP for everything...I applaud the efforts to lay out plans, however, I am not sure how helpful the plans are when the indicators are vague. That being said, I have yet to see a NAP on Gender Equality or something similar in the US. We can debate if the NAPs provide some level of accountability or just provide the government with the answer of "we're working on it, we have a NAP" at a later time.

Like a Rolling Stone

These are soldiers outside the royal palace in Sofia. Those are big feathers on their hats. I think the leader has the tallest feather. The Scotsmen had the same thing (albeit different hats). Seems to me that this would make you and excellent target during a battle, but maybe it is reserved for officers or infantry who are not on the front lines.

Today, we are going to a conference on women's political participation. It should be interesting, lots of rhetoric and the usual suspects who show up to all these discussions. I suppose I am now considered a "usual suspect" at these events as well. The main difference is that I tend to not say anything publicly, just to my colleagues sitting next to me. It is truly amazing how some people can stand up and say absolutely nothing for 15 minutes and the chairperson does nothing to stop it, even though it is clearly inappropriate. The other interesting thing is it is always the same people doing this. Regardless, I always learn something about Macedonia, women, etc. and it gives me ideas about how to run a good meeting.

I went running last night and it felt so good. My pace is definitely getting faster. Damjanka came over later to check out my bathtub slowly draining and my mice situation. Yup, I have mice. My friend was teasing me that I wanted a pet and now I have several. I tell you if it is not the internet failing to work or being run off the sidewalk, it is mice in my apartment. I have heard horror stories from Jennie and Ste when they returned from Italy and there was mice poop and destruction everywhere. I heard similar horror stories from my boss at the law firm. Here's how Damjanka dealt with the situation: looks under the sink, sees droppings, goes upstairs to talk to the neighbors about chipping in to deal with said mouse situation because, apparently, this is a building-wide issue, comes back down to my place 45 minutes later, tells me that we will deal with it this week and as far as the tub is concerned to buy drain-o. Sounds simple enough and it is always good to see her. Today, I sent Damjanka an email asking if she knows a good cleaning person. I figure some people do spring cleaning, I'm going to do fall cleaning. Manuel, Maria and my parents are coming in the next month. It's time. And I don't want to clean up mouse droppings.

Back to summarizing the National Action Plan for Employment so we can figure out some entry points. You remember this National Action Plan: women are unemployed so clearly, childcare is not a priority since all the women are unemployed.

Are You Gonna Go My Way

Thai food in Sarajevo! Yum-bo! It was delicious, albeit not so authentic. This dish seemed to resemble tandoori chicken with Thai seasonings. Regardless, you can see how happy I am to have this deliciously ethnic cuisine.

I am sitting in the office this Monday wondering why it went from Summer to Winter in a matter of a day or two. It all started last week and now, it is pretty darn chilly. It is in the 10s here, which is around 45 Fahrenheit. I am sure you don't want to read about the Skopje weather so I will move on.

There was Pivo Land in Skopje this weekend, the first ever beer festival in the City. Pivo Land is not to be confused with Pivo Fest, which is in the city of Prilep. I went on Friday and Saturday evenings and froze. The reason I went both nights is because I went with 2 different groups of friends. Nora was here on Friday and so I went with her Habitat for Humanity group to experience Pivo Land. Saturday night, I went with Dominika and her husband, after we went to the basketball game. Macedonia qualified for the European Championships in basketball on Saturday night and it was a fun game, all and all. Dominika laughed at my cheering for Macedonia and I was, once again, one of the more fervent supporters in our section. It is fun to react to whatever is going on down on the court. I am not particularly into basketball, but I enjoy the entertainment. Both nights, I met up with the guy I am seeing here and my friends seemed to like him so this is good.

In other news, I cooked delicious lentils with sausage so I can finally have my friends over for dinner since I know what to prepare for them. More excitement.

Finally, we finished our brainstorming session on women's economic rights and the next steps we would like to take. My colleagues and I remain despondent about the new government program for stimulating the birthrate but we know if we sponsor research surrounding this issue, in connection with women's economic rights, the chance of the government remaining one of our implementing partners and maintaining a positive relationship with them is slim. Oh the dilemmas...I have more information on the birthrate stimulation program. Basically, as a woman, if you have 4 children, you qualify for a full pension of the average wage from the government at retirement age. You get a certain percentage of pension for 3 kids, 2 kids, etc. It is targeted to municipalities with low birthrates, which also happen to Macedonian ethnicity majority. I am not sure if the woman's marital status or the paternity of the father matters in terms of receiving said pension benefits. Regardless, this seems to fly in the face of gender equality legislation and to be somewhat xenophobic. The only thing that gives me hope is the study in conducted in the US finding that welfare benefits/cash assistance does not influence reproductive decisions. However, there are serious attitude differences between the countries in terms of what the government is expected to provide its citizens. Maybe Big Nikki's birthrate enhancement program will flop. I think my secret crush on Big Nikki is waning. I can tolerate differences in opinion, but there is a limit and a line must be drawn. Maybe I'll move on to Lenny Kravitz for secret crush material. The only problem with that is it is highly unlikely that I will be 6 feet away from Lenny in a cafe.

Add It Up

This is part of the Tito series. This key chain was hanging from the rear view mirror in our tour bus in Sarajevo.

It is Thursday and I am very much looking forward to the weekend. I came to a zen place about my financial and economy worries yesterday. I received a wonderful email from one of my Professors at Penn and realized that just as things have worked out in the past, the future will be the same. I won't have to force anything, but that is not to say I won't have to work hard. I remember when I found out I could apply to my Masters program. I had to put the application together as quickly as possible and while I was a total stress monkey tracking down my professors from undergrad who were all leaving the country for research and various other reasons and writing and re-writing my essays, it worked. I didn't have to force it. The same is true about my internship here in Macedonia. I agonized over the introduction email to the head of the office here, putting my resume together and then practicing for the interview. But in the end, it worked. So here I am, working hard trying to learn about this country, people and customs while trying to put together the best report on the women's economic rights situation that has ever been written. Yeah, I put pressure on myself. I don't want to disappoint UNIFEM because then I will have failed Penn and myself. So far, so good in the avoiding the disappointment department :)

Tonight, I am bent on staying in. Nora is coming over tomorrow so I need to get sheets washed, bathtubs scrubbed and just be quiet. I also seriously need to finish Boban's scarf. I went out again last night with the gentleman from Tuesday and we had fun. He took me to his favorite cafe and I took him to my favorite cafe. It was definitely chilly outside but we enjoyed the walk and he had never been to my cafe. It is always fun to introduce natives to place they have never seen! My cafe is unlike any cafe in Skopje. You sit outside on elevated platforms above a pond. There are 3 ducks who live there and hiss at you if you walk too close to them. We had strawberry vanilla tea (hot) and sat on cushions.

Ok, back to typing up the minutes from our staff meeting.

When You Were Young

This is a picture of me eating a crawfish (I think it is a crawfish) in Hvar, Croatia. Dao and I went to this restaurant (which is behind me) where they sat us in this cute little, non-scary alley. It was in Starigrad (Old City). We split mussels, seafood risotto and white wine. It was one of the best evenings on our trip. Hvar is an island off the coast so we took a ferry from Split. On Hvar, prior to this dinner, was the first time I swam in the Adriatic.

I am so excited. Manuel sent me an email today because he can't figure out the trains between Thessaloniki and Skopje or the bus between Sofia and Skopje. Do you want to know why Manuel is experiencing such problems? Because it is impossible to find the train schedule for the Thessaloniki train station on the internet!!! So, the Skopje train station was happy to oblige. The only catch is Macedonia does not call Thessaloniki Thessaloniki. They call it Solun. How would Manuel ever know that? I didn't know this factoid until yesterday. As far as the buses between Sofia and Skopje, I am an expert on them and could provide all sorts of useful information. I know the Sofia bus station incredibly well due to the fact I was stuck there for 7 hours, no thanks to the so called Information Desk in the bus station. So the total excitement comes from the fact that Manuel is coming in 3-4 weeks!!!!! He'll forward me his itinerary today. Maria is coming too but I think she is flying from Amsterdam to Skopje proper. I'll just have to arrange for a car to pick her up at the airport and bring her to my place. I assume they are coming on the same day...my first visitors of people I actually know well! My best friend on this side of the Atlantic, Manuel, seeing the glorious city that is Skopje!

I had a truly Macedonian evening last night, after my run; I ran for 30 minutes and it was very difficult. Any way, back to my Macedonian evening. I met up with the man who I met while standing in line for the restroom. We met at the Center then went to a cafe and had a beer. After that, we walked around City Park, through the Center and then he had to catch a bus back to his 'hood, which is on the opposite side of town from where I live. In our conversation, he talked about how Macedonians have adjusted their lifestyle to living on 200 Euros a month. What we did is exactly how you go on a date when you have no money; it was pleasant. He is a university student so he really has no money. He told me he would never take me out to dinner because we are young and broke (I think what he meant is he is young - younger than me- but I can agree with we are both strapped for cash). Ok. I can deal with that. We'll see if we go out again. When I told him there was the possibility I would leave as early as mid-November, I saw visible disappointment.

And The Beat Goes On...

This is my friend's husband, Kyle, holding a deodorant with the brand name Str8. I've seen this brand throughout the Balkans (this photo was taken in Sofia). I asked Kyle to look as straight as possible so I could take his picture and who knows, maybe start our own ad campaign. It's a little blurry due to the setting on my camera, but I think you get the picture. I tease my gay friends that if they ever need to pretend to be straight to let me know, I have the product for them. So let me know, I can pick some up for you.

Last night, I ran for 35 minutes, for a total of 8 songs. The cooler weather is ideal for running and I think my pace is getting faster. It also seemed like I was breathing a lot more exhaust and pollution than my prior two times. I would have to say the highlight was getting cut off by a garbage truck. Not only did I have to come to a dead stop, but then I was running behind it for a bit until I could cross the street safely. While it smelled pretty rank, I am grateful that it wasn't mid summer rot.

Having internet on my Mac in my apartment has changed my life. I chatted with my Gramma, my Jones, a Macedonian friend, a college friend and Manuel. Oh my! Oh and Cata and Jennie, last but certainly not least.

Yesterday was fairly stressful, watching the markets throughout Europe drop, then seeing the American stock exchange plummet in the first 10 minutes of opening. I am not going to lie - I am freaked out. I have to find a job that pays well enough to repay my student loans. I haven't heard back from many places I've applied. I am being extorted (well, it feels like that) from my student health insurance. Add to that the dollar is dropping against the Euro and I am feeling a bit nervous about my financial situation. So far, the dollar and the MKD (Macedonian Denar) are exchanging at much better rates than earlier this summer. Here's to hoping. Needless to say, I have not been sleeping well and my nerves are fairly fragile.

Tonight is coffee with one of my new Macedonian friends, assuming I can get everything together. The last thing I want to do is complain about my financial situation to anyone living in this country. I am blessed - I will most likely become employed at a position that reflects my educational and experiential background and I have a family that is financially stable...on a scale of 1 - 100 with 100 being total gender equity, Macedonia scores 55.5 regarding economic activity of men and women. I know women in this region are more likely to remain unemployed after pursuing a degree in higher education than their male counterparts. My friend, Tony, has a friend here who is trained to be an architect, but she is selling cosmetics. She graduated 4 years ago. Many of the servers at the cafes are college graduates. Stumbling markets in Europe, the US and Asia mean that economic situation here is not going to improve anytime soon.

Cynical

This is a picture of the Tarator, the cucumber yogurt salad I made with my landlady a couple months ago. It is deliciously refreshing in the hot summer months

Happy Monday! This is the day that I find out if I still have my health insurance. Boo-yah! If it turns out my health insurance company does not accept my father's power of attorney privileges, please pray that I am not seriously injured while walking down the sidewalks of Skopje. Recently, I have become more annoyed with the fact that cars park on the sidewalk and/or feel that they have the right of way on the sidewalks. It has been raining for 2 days. Why should I risk bodily harm in walking in the street or getting dirty walking in the mud so you can be 5 feet closer to the bodega? It's raining on me too.

But, I digress. I am actually writing to see if you think I am too cynical. Here's what prompted this entry. I had a recent exchange with a young, Macedonian man who said that he thinks women should be equal with men and that, as it stands now, women's position, in society, is lower and needs to be elevated to where men are. This is after I told him what I am doing here in Macedonia (studying women's economic rights). I am in disbelief. I am so used to people giving me a blank stare (men and women alike) when I tell them what I do because there are either much more important problems facing Macedonia or Macedonia has already achieved gender equality. I happen to disagree with both of those premises. So you can imagine my shock when this young man supported what I said by making his statement about gender equality. But then, there is this part in my brain that says, "he is just saying that because he wants you to like him". We did meet in a bar while I was waiting in line for the restroom, after all. So am I too cynical? Is it possible that he was speaking his genuine opinion? I am so used to justifying what I do that this exchange just threw me off. Also, I think I am leery because my last encounter with a man who told me he was a feminist of sorts ended with him propositioning me. I realize this is anecdote. I know we just recently hired a man in our office in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a gender advisor so it is not impossible for men to be on the gender equality wagon. I guess I should do what I always advise my Mother and what my Mother always advises me: listen to your tummy.

Are you sitting down?

I am actually writing this blog post from my home, on my Mac. Can you believe it? I had resolved I would get my internet up and running tomorrow and here it is, Sunday, working perfectly. I simply am relishing this moment. It is the first rainy day here in Skopje since I moved here. It has been overcast, but not rainy like it is right now. I love it that I can lounge around and communicate with the outside world at my home. Tony invited me over for chicken and rice for dinner so I'll be heading over there to his and Dewey's place in a while. I met Tony and Dewey salsa dancing a couple weeks ago. They are contractors working on the new American Embassy.

Yesterday, Dewey and I went to the Green Market. It was my first time there and I wish I had discovered it earlier! There are rows and rows and rows of fresh fruits and veggies. I bought a wooden mortar and pestle to make my homemade Macedonian salads. You can find everything at the Green Market. We were buying veggies to make dinner with Dao last night. I also cut my hair yesterday. I have bangs!!! Again!!! I love them. It just means I have to actually style my hair, which is not something I do right now. My hair was so straight and funky last night, never to be repeated. This is not because I don't want my hair to look this way again. Rather, I don't have a flat iron or patience to flat iron everything. So we went salsa dancing and enjoyed my new 'do. Funny moment from last night. I'm waiting to use the restroom and this cute Macedonian keeps checking me out so he finally walks over. He asks me some question in Macedonian and I apologize for not speaking Macedonian. He then proceeds to ask me where I am from in America, etc. and then he asks me how old I am. I told him that I want him to tell me how old he thinks I am and not to worry, I won't get angry. He guesses 18!!!!! Yeah! I'm 29 and he says, "18". I think he was being safe, but wow, I usually get 24. As it turns out, I think he was hoping I was 18 because he is wee 21. He reassured me I was not old and came and sat with Dao, Dewey and I. I give him mad props because he was struggling with English, but I could tell he was very secure, albeit a bit nervous. He studies pedology and psychology at a University here in Skopje. Maybe I'll run into him another week.

In other news, don't you hate when you think you bought toilet paper, but instead buy too many rolls of paper towels? Never happened to you? Well, this just happened to me. I've figured out how to make great, flushable strips, however, I will splurge and get real TP for my guest this weekend. It's already bad enough that I don't have a proper towel for her - just a beach towel!

Here are some pictures of my new hair cut. Do I seriously look 18?

Surrender to Nothing...A New Day Is Coming and I Am Finally Free

This is a picture of Street Dawg. Isn't she cute!? Now you understand why I want to keep her for my very own. I haven't seen her in a week or so, but last time I saw her, she kept running in front of me and rolling over, forcing me to rub her dirty belly. It seriously breaks my heart.

Nothing motivates me more than listening to 30 Seconds to Mars...why don't I remember this? Anyhow, I went on a run last night, this time for only 25 minutes. I know I know, slacker. What I love about my runs (all two of them) is I get to see more of Kisela Voda. There are a lot of children playing outside, men and women chatting on the street and construction jobs. My iPod died in the middle of my 3rd song - boo - but it is working today so that is all that matters. There is this place that I run by that says Internet in Cyrillic where a lot of local boys gather. The actual place is closed, from what I can tell. The boys are all ages - age about 7 through teenagers. I wonder what they talk about. Besides the fact that I am jogging past with earphones in, I still wouldn't be able to pick up even part of the conversation. There is also this cement apartment building that could possibly be the ugliest building in Skopje, which is quite a feat. It looks run down, but that does not mean anything. When I was looking at apartments, I went into 3 separate places and I know if my Mother saw the entrance way, she would be worried about me. There were naked light bulbs over cement stairways and bare, old linoleum in the main area. I will not even tell you how terrifying Macedonian elevators can be. However, once you were inside the apartment, it was cozy and charming. But I wonder about this building that rises above the others, so cement and dirty on the outside. It isn't very near the Center and I know the average income for a Macedonian is 256 Euros, which is about $361 USD. Are the apartments nice and charming, like the ones I saw or do they match the exterior? I will try to take a picture so you can see exactly what I am talking about.

Remember how I told you about how they changed the liquor sale laws? The motivation behind this is to cut down on youth drinking. I haven't walked through City Park since the law came into effect, but I did walk through earlier this summer. There were loads of teenagers there, drinking Skopsko. The legal drinking age here is 18. But here is what my friends, co-workers and I have discussed: the youth are in the park drinking because there really isn't anything else for them to do. I know of one movie theater in Skopje and it has been playing Indiana Jones all summer. There might be more movie theaters so this is mere anecdote. But still, even my local friends agree there are few club sport leagues, coffee shops that aren't also bars...I'm trying to remember what I did when I was 17...anyhow, couple this issue with high youth unemployment and we have a lot of bored young people. The beer and wine vendors are actively lobbying the appeal of this law and I hope the little bodega next to me can generate enough revenue to stay open. One of the other bodegas on my way to work closed down. They say the law is in line with EU alcohol laws, but one of the arguments I read was that EU laws apply to hard liquor, not beer and wine, which are considered food. Interesting. I guess wine is made from grapes...anyhow, I'll keep you posted if things change or stay the same.

I had an interesting realization last night. I am boring. This is ok, just hard to deal with. I met Jessica (remember my first American friend?) after 2 months. Besides my trip through the Western Balkans, my life is pretty much humdrum. That does not mean I am unhappy. Rather, it is just how it is. I don't want to spend the evening talking about people in the States she's never met, the US Presidential Election (do NOT get me started), etc. We had a great time catching up, despite our fairly quiet lives. We ended up talking about the domestic violence project her Roma organization is undertaking. It was fun to talk about developing a survey, research methods and the overall discussion that Roma women are doubly discriminated against. I am nerdy, but proud to be nerdy. Recently, I even found journal articles that discuss whether personality differences between men and women are cultural or inherent or both.

My weekend plans are the same as always: try to take over the world through knitting and watching Ally McBeal. In all seriousness, I really need to clean my room, put my clothes away, vacuum...jealous yet? I want to go salsa dancing on Saturday evening. I do have to finish Boban's scarf since his birthday is on the 21st. Besides that, I anticipate it will be quiet, although that is what I said the past 2 weekends and they were anything but that...our next football match is against Iceland but I am not sure when the Norse invasion will begin.

Run, Ems, Run!

Last night while walking home from work, I realized that I wanted to run. So, I went home, put my laundry in the machine, changed my clothes and charged my iPod while all this was going on. I decided to listen to my play list, Ladies Rule, on my iPod and off I went. I ran for just over 30 minutes and forced myself to try to keep a pace (although I have no experience in this) and I found that 7 songs is a good amount of time, but listening to music that I can sing along to, if only in my head. It wasn't insanely hot like last time I went running. It is interesting because when I was in grad school and before that, working at the law firm, I never felt like I had time to go running/work out, etc. Now, I think "oh, it's only 30 minutes" and I remember what my friend Elliot told me about running - it is pretty much the most bang for its buck in terms of benefits vs. time. Ok, so I ran one day. Who knows if I'll run again. But it felt good. I wasn't sad any more afterwards.

After my run, I hosed off my porch/terrace. Oh my, there was so much dust. I should have been doing this throughout the summer. I want to hose it off again because I am sure I didn't get all the grime. I also washed my chair pads for the plastic lawn chairs. I know! Look at me go! My laundry, running and cleaning my porch all in one evening! Now, I just need to clean my bathroom, kitchen and vacuum. Tonight is not the night to finish cleaning but I will before Nora comes and stays with me on the 19th. Tonight I am planning Manuel and Maria's visit. I am so stoked they are coming!

Scotland the Brave and Macedonian Independence Day

Skopje was taken over by Scots this past weekend. I noticed the first ones in the middle of last week, walking down the streets in their kilts drinking beer. As it turns out, there was a football (soccer) match between Macedonia and Scotland on Saturday afternoon. I went to meet my friend at the train station on Saturday morning and a Scot was playing his bagpipes at the station cafe. It was surreal to go out on Friday evening and see kilts EVERYWHERE! The Scots love Skopsko beer and were good sports after they lost on Saturday. My landlady thinks Macedonia had an unfair advantage because the Scots are not used to playing in 96 degree weather. Regardless, it was fun hearing and speaking with the 6,000 + Scots. They were also very generous, donating 15,000 Euros or Pounds (not sure which currency) to orphanages here in Macedonia. The fights were minimal after the game as opposed to when England played here, from what I hear.

Saturday evening, I went to see the Macedonian basketball team trounce the Portuguese basketball team. Dewey and I figured that we could get some drinks and food at the game, you know the $5 hot dog, $8 beer. Ha!!! No food, no drink, not even a water fountain! Regardless, the game was entertaining and I got to yell, "Makedonija! Dobro! Super! Bravo!" many many times. I went home after the game to get some rest. My Macedonian friends told me I was the loudest fan for Macedonia in our section. They were proud.

On Sunday, Damjanka and I had a fabulous afternoon making lunch and talking about everything from Macedonian politics, the Name Dispute to our families and cooking traditions from our respective home countries. I learned how to make another Macedonian dish and am hoping I can recreate it on my own. It is eggplant, garlic, walnuts and green peppers all smashed together. It is so delicious. After being with Damjanka, I went and chatted with my Brother and his family. They are so cute, all of them. I got to see my nephew, Will, for the first time. Emma, my niece, and I made faces at each other on the web cam. It was wonderful to see them, talk to my Brother and his wife and just laugh and relax.

Macedonian Independence day was on Monday, the 8th. I am still glowing from sitting 6 feet from the Macedonian PM Gruevski. My friends said I should have gone up to talk to him, but I was scared I'd accidentally call him Big Nikki to his face and besides, what would I tell him? How did you like the Republican Convention, Big Nikki? Next time I see Big Nikki, I will introduce myself. I don't want to have a political discussion with him and I certainly don't agree with a lot of his policies, but I still can't believe he was 6 feet from me. You can see his picture in a previous blog post. My friends were making fun of me for being so excited to be near him and many just didn't understand. I realized last night (again) that I am a political junkie. After my encounter with Big Nikki, we went to the square and watched a band play, then I went home and crashed.

This week, I have to sort out all my student loan stuff, keep applying for jobs and potentially go to the football match between the Netherlands and Macedonia. On top of these items, I have my internship duties and my house desperately needs to be cleaned. Oh, one more thing! Manuel and Maria are coming to visit me for a week at the end of September and I am sooooo excited! Shortly after they leave, my parents arrive...it seems to be coming to a close quickly.

General Update

Today, I am wishing I spoke Macedonian better. Our office is meeting with the leading women NGOs to discuss the DV projects we've been working on all month and I can't participate because I don't understand Macedonian enough to follow the conversation. It's alright I suppose. I am sure I will be fully informed after the meeting is over. Even if I were better at Macedonian, this would be hard to follow because the words used are not every day words, for the most part.

I get a 3 day weekend due to Monday being Macedonian Independence Day! So far, my weekend looks like it will be quiet. Tomorrow, I am showing the American from Colorado around in the morning and Sunday afternoon, I am off to Damjanka's for lunch. She's my landlady and I am hoping she is teaching me how to cook again :)

Speaking of cooking, I managed to make a fairly delicious pasta/sausage dish the other night. The only potential problem is I worry it made me smell like oh onion and garlic. Thank God I did not go out last night. Maybe the smell came from outside, but dear God, if it was from me, oh me oh my oh! So, I ate more for lunch today. We'll see if I smell later tonight. I am not hopeful. Sometimes not having much of a social life is a bonus.

Remember when I told you about the new alcohol law and I was wondering if it would actually be enforced? Well, the bodega near me no longer carries alcohol. Remember how I said this wouldn't effect my lifestyle too much? It won't, really. I liked being able to buy a can of beer on my way home, instead of lugging it a kilometer from near work, but I think I'll be able to manage. So, a law that is actually implemented...if only we could do it with gender equality legislation.

Oh Joy, potentially

Do you remember my saga with the internet? Well, some things never die. Dao has a Mac and Cabletel and she has no problems with her connection. So today, I asked Boban to call and see if they could help me figure out how to get it all to work so I wouldn't have to lug my work laptop home. Guess what! They can! And, they don't even have to come to my house. I just call and they walk me through it. I am trying to not get too excited because of my prior experiences. But here is to hoping. Cross those fingers for me.

Calmed Down; the first guest

I am much less angry than yesterday. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to face this challenge. I know I am not in this alone. Rather, this has invigorated me to produce the best action plan to work on improving women's economic rights here in Macedonia. At times like these, I wish I knew more about sociology. One of the main challenges we, as women's rights activists, face is that the policies are top down policies - there has not been major agitation from below to bring about these changes. I know I have talked about this before. But I wish I knew more about how the collective group works and how groups form their identities. My sister studies psychology, and while she is helpful at the individual level, the group level is where I need to expand my knowledge. One necessary ingredient to group dynamics is an effective leader. Maybe I need to hone my public speaking and management/leadership skills.

In other news, a woman from Colorado is coming to Skopje on Saturday - my first guest! She is friends with one of my friends. I guess there is a Habitat for Humanity conference at Lake Ohrid or something like that. At any rate, she arrives at the train station at 8 AM Saturday (there goes my Friday night) and needs to arrive at the airport by 2 PM. She sent me her tour itinerary and their tour of Skopje seems pretty thorough. I am trying to figure out exactly what we will do at Skopje at 8AM on a Saturday. Not a whole lot of people are awake at that time. I think I will take her to the old Turkish quarter. There are loads of little shops that sell textiles, crafts, etc. Then, we will go get coffee (a Macedonian tradition! Coffee!) then find a place for lunch. I am sure we will have a fabulous time.

Shock and Awe

To the left is a picture of Nikolai Gruevski, the PM of Macedonia. More on him later.

I am reading the Macedonian Government's National Action Plan for Employment 2006-2008 and am absolutely appalled. There is a section called "Promote a lifecycle approach to work" followed by five goals. Here are two of the goals:

1. resolute action to increase female participation and reduce gender gaps in employment, unemployment and pay,
2. better reconciliation of work and private life and the provision of accessible and affordable childcare facilities and care for other dependents.

Sounds promising, right? Ha ha ha ha, how naive I was. My eyes lit up reading this only to be utterly crushed when I read the planned programs and measures. It is estimated that in 2005, the female employment rate was 30.1% (male: 45.5%). Upon stating this information, the paper goes on to recognize that in the Albanian, Roma and Turkish communities, female employment rate is even lower. The remedy: the Roma, Albanians and Turkish communities assumed embracing of the educational system eventually downsizing the problem. Um, what?! This is not a program or action. Let's not even get into how this "solution" is worded. The policy then goes on to categorically deny the existence of a wage gap. "There is no wage difference between men and women for the same jobs." How did Macedonia achieve this feat? What are we in the US and the EU doing wrong? I am reminded of Nixon's declaration of victory in regards to the Vietnam War. Just declare victory and go home! Or maybe it is simply job segmentation: no women mangers, no wage gap. By the way, there is no mention of the the job segmentation in society in the piece of policy. So, now, let's get into the proposed activities to increase women's employment, shall we?

1. Change the law on employment and unemployment insurance to make sure women are included. Focus on women in mediation services provided by the Employment Insurance Agency.
2. Women's employment rate will positively influence child care and single parents' programs.

Am I missing something? What about training programs for women? Encouraging women entrepreneurship? How is #2 an action?

Let's move on to affordable and accessible childcare and dependent care. There is absolutely NO mention of dependent care that is not related to children. The policy goes on to note that there are a low number of children enrolled in kindergartens (childcare for children age 3 and up before they are school aged, not kindergarten the way we think about it in the US). The author(s) then go on to note this low enrollment in kindergartens is directly related to the low rate of women's employment. Brilliant. Unemployed women = no financial means to enroll children in kindergarten and lack of need to enroll the children. The conclusion: "Thus, it could be concluded that access to childcare facilities is not the key factor for better reconciliation between work and private life." The outrage! Who wrote this? I almost cried in despair, suddenly realizing what I am up against to develop the women's economic rights program here at UNIFEM. I knew there were strong gender stereotypes in this country, but until I read this, it seemed more of an idea, not a reality. Here's my slap in the face.

Oh, and one more thing. There is a (proposed?) new government incentive program to get Macedonians to have more than 2 children. Everyone that I know that is of the Macedonian ethnic community has 2 children. No more, no less. So, in all of his wisdom, Big Nikki Gruevski, the PM, has devised an incentive for Macedonians to have 4 children: more money in retirement. Maybe this is also part of a new women's employment program. Have babies, drop out of the work force. Then, we don't have to even count you as unemployed. The thing is, if Macedonia is anything like the US, financial incentives or penalties doled out by the government rarely influence reproductive decisions in a statistically significant way. That being said, I am still angry angry angry.

PS I am not sure if this 4 child policy includes other ethnic communities or simply the ethnic Macedonian community. I am also not sure if the incentive program has passed. Given that PM Gruevski's party has a majority, I would be surprised if it somehow failed in the parliament. If I hear more, I will update.

I miss my Gramma

I think I might be experiencing a bit of homesickness, although I am not sure. Last night, I talked to my Gramma for the first time in months and I miss her. I miss a lot of people in the States, but talking to Gramma made me really want to see her. I think what is hard is I don't know when I'll see her next. I am not sure when my internship ends and my new job begins. If I am in Europe for Christmas, I'll spend Christmas in Italy with my sister and her boyfriend. So when Gramma asks me when she will see me again, I can't answer. She'll be 81 at the end of October. I don't wish I was somewhere else - I know I am in the right place. I just want to know I will get to see my Gramma in the future.

Monday Monday, Can't Trust That Day

Oh my. My weekend was nothing like I expected. Friday evening, I met Bea after work. I have not seen her in almost 2 months. Everything is the same as it was two months ago. This is good news, although I must admit that when Bea asked me if anything was new, it was a bit embarrassing to say that not only is nothing new, I don't exactly do anything when I am not at work. Trust me, no one wants to hear about your recent knitting project unless they knit. They certainly don't need the play by play of the TV shows I watch, while knitting said project. Do you see my dilemma? Small talk is increasingly difficult for me since my life is so quiet. No funny recent stories, no crazy interactions with men wearing fanny packs, nothing like that. Well, for once, I actually have something to report from my weekend. Friday night, after meeting Bea, Dao and I met and decided to go to the Cuban restaurant on the river. We splurged and got not only a mojito (delicious), but split an arugula salad with a warm balsamic vinaigrette and a main course of fillet mignon. Oh my was the steak delicious. I haven't had actual steak since I moved here. They made it medium rare, seasoned it with sea salt...oh my. It was extravagant, yet totally worth it. There were a couple US Marines at the restaurant so they came and sat at our table after a while. This are the first non-Peace Corps related Americans I have met. After awhile, Dao and I went to Shankly's, a proper British Pub owned by a Brit who love Liverpool Football Club (hence the name) and the Marines went home. Dao knows the owner of Shankly's, David, and we met the new manager. As it turns out, David is moving to Belgrade and the new manager has decided that Dao and I are VIPs. We find out that Saturday night is salsa night so at this point, Dao and I decide that we will make dinner, then become salsa dancers the next evening.

Saturday finds me back at Dao's apartment after a lengthy chat with Manuel on skype. I started my new knitting project, Boban's scarf, which is black so you can't see the pattern. I like how it changes up so it doesn't matter that much to me that you cannot see my handiwork. Dao was dog sitting so we took the dog, Brza (speedy or fast in Macedonian) on a nice long walk by the Vardar river. I really want a dog. Brza and I snuggled on the couch, watched TV, read, talked to my parents on skype and then Dao and I made a fabulous dinner. Do you like how it sounds like I am actually the cook?! Ha! Dao is a fabulous cook and I am simply her sous chef. At around 22:00, we went to Shankly's looking beautiful and ready to baila (dance!)! At Shankly's, we were introduced to Americans who frequent the place. As it turns out, they are the contractors building the new Embassy. I met a Macedonian named Christian and he and I had a fun time salsa dancing it up. After Shankly's, it was decided that the contractors, Dao and I would go to the Hard Rock Club. This is the out door club I went to with Bea a couple months ago. You will not even guess who I ended up talking to at this club. Picture this: techno music, open sky, dressed to impress and Macedonian Bikers. Yes, you read correctly. The contractors knew this Macedonian biker and his friends at the club so I ended up chatting with one for a while. Thank God my home town is frequented by bikers. My roots came in handy. But I still cannot get over that we are in a dance club and there are bikers in their leather vests hanging out there. Aren't there rock bars? Dao and I ended up not staying long because we were tired so we went back to her place, walked the dog and went to sleep.

Sunday was a lazy day of dog walking, cooking, knitting, reading and TV. We made a delicious dinner of seafood pasta and eggplant. I ended up staying at Dao's again and this morning, I took a cab to work. En route to work, my cab was pulled over by the police. Awesome! The thing is, I am not sure why. This was one of the better cab drivers I have had. He wasn't accelerating through red lights or driving like a jerk, on the sidewalk, etc. So I am sitting in the cab, wondering how we will negotiate the price of my ride - I don't think I should have to pay for him being pulled over. Eventually, my cab driver re-enters the cab, starts the meter over (whew!) and tells me he has just been fined 300 Euros for being the second car through the intersection. I think I am missing some of the story here. But that is what I understood. Then, to make matters even more strange, we're driving down the street of my work when there is an accident in the dead middle of the intersection between a moped and a car. Thankfully, it did not appear anyone was seriously injured, but now I am wondering what other strange things await me this day. My cab getting pulled over and seeing an accident in a matter of 10 minutes is odd. Let's hope the oddity ends there.

Tonight is talking with my Gramma for the first time since mid-May (I am so excited!) and then home cooked baked fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. Can you believe the extravagance?!