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?

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.

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.