Staging in Philadelphia went pretty well. Found out there are 44 other Peace Corps volunteers of all backgrounds. There are a surprising number of volunteers who were cancelled from their original locations for various reasons. Quite a few were gonna go to Azerbaijan, but the DAY before they were supposed to leave, they got a call saying that it was no longer happening. This happened to them in April. A few others were already serving or supposed to go to Ukraine. I’m just grateful that I didn’t have to wait months and months, and it sucks because many of those individuals already sold their belongings, living spaces, and quit their jobs.
MAK19 group at Staging in Philadelphia. 12 Sept. 2014
I do enjoy the new PCVs, as we really are a unique group with a passion to help others and so many backgrounds to bring to the table. It’s fun to be able to share our stories with one another and hear of all the incredible things that these people did, and what they want to continue to do and accomplish here in Macedonia.
We’ve heard nothing but great things about this country, and all the volunteers have said that it’s like we won the Peace Corps lottery. Some PCVs here have referenced to it as the “Posh Corps” which the country director and others were quick to put down that term, as it is still a developing country that can use our help (otherwise we wouldn’t be here). One of the reasons it’s such a nice place to be is that health-wise there isn’t much to battle with. As opposed to other countries like Asian or African ones, there aren’t many illnesses that we’ll be facing that are much unlike our own common colds and the flu. Plus our support PC staff here is apparently phenomenal and they really take care of the PCVs here. In fact, there is an extremely low rate of early departure from service, and I spoke with the Country Director who has been here just under a year, and the only people that have left within that past year had to do so under specific circumstances with family or jobs back in the States, and not due to actually wanting to leave. In fact, a lot of people extend for at least a few months in order to finish out their school year, as the normal departure dates take place mid-year. We’ll see how I feel in two years and if I’ll want to do that.
The school dorm we’re staying in this first week for orientation is extremely nice and we’ve been told multiple times to NOT expect this kind of niceness when we get our placements in our villages; it’s a private, all-English speaking school right outside of Tetovo. The food here is cafeteria style and seems to follow local cuisine of lots of bread, oil, and salt. Apparently this is the “land of fruits and vegetables” and we passed a lot of agricultural fields of melons and veggies, yet we were told that a lot of locals don’t really eat them. If they are eaten, it’s usually after being slathered in olive oil and salt. It will depend on who I’m living with and the amounts of meat and food that they eat. However, it would appear that the contract that the families have to sign in order to host a PCV includes that we must have access to their kitchen and so there should be a possibility of cooking my own food, if need be. I’m going to try and enjoy local cuisine, of course, but I like the option of preparing my own food. PLUS I’ll hopefully be invited to cook them the American food I brought--Kraft mac ‘n cheese, taco seasonings (Mexican food is apparently non-existent here), and Ranch Dressing seasonings (with which I’ll probably make Ranch chicken).
We are 8 hours ahead of CO time, and so I think a good night sleep will do us all well. We’ve got a jam-packed week of language learning and general information to absorb...I can’t wait!
Arriving in Skopje (Ckopje) Airport 14 Sept. 2014
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