Adjustments
There have been quite a few things that we have had to adjust to in the past few months. Some of them have taken longer than others, and some of them we still have to get down. In order to give you an idea of these, I have created a list of a few of them:
-Remembering names. Everyone knows of us since we are new, but it is hard to remember all of their names; over 3,000 new faces, of people who speak another language. But, if you say a lot of “hello’s” and “how are you’s”, in Macedonian of course, they can get you a long way.
-Goodbye Wal-mart, hello продавница. A “prodavnitsa” is Macedonian for grocery store. And in our town, we have quite a few, but they are very, very small. They don’t look like they would have much of a variety of food, but you would be surprised what all they have if you really look around. There are some things that we need to go to larger cities for, like: barbecue and horseradish sauce, fresh meat (we only have frozen here), oats, peanut butter, tuna in water, tortilla chips, salsa, taco shells and seasonings, and some other things. But, I do love that these stores are everywhere in town; there is one that is a two minute walk from our apartment. Now, you can’t beat that, can you?
-Bathrooms. The bathrooms in Macedonia are a business only area of the house. Since they are not heated, you go in, do your business and go out. Simple as that. Also, be sure you don’t flush your toilet paper, either. The sewage system can not handle the paper waste, so it goes in a trash can in bathroom. Strange at first, but you get the hang of it. Our washing machine is located right outside of the bathroom. We are blessed to have one, as volunteers are not required to have one in their apartments. It is an amazing appliance to have, that is, if you remember to put the drainage tube from the washer into the tub. That is one mistake that I will hopefully only forget one time.
-The cold. We are getting used to the chilly weather here. But living in Oregon the three years prior hasn’t helped prepare us for an Ohio-like cold that Aaron and I grew up with. Our heating sources are an electric heater called a термопечка (termopecha), or a дирво шпорет (wood stove). We have used mainly the electric heater for simplicities sake, since we did not have much time to buy and chop wood this year. We currently sleep in the living room on a fold out couch, since it is the only room we have heated. It definitely makes for a cozy living space.
-Patience. We have heard the phrase, “Има време”, quite a bit since we have been here. It means,”there is time”. Now, this is not a bad thing, but something that we have had to get used to. For instance, we have had internet at our apartment for only one week now, after waiting almost sixty days for it. By American standards, it might seem ridiculous, but waiting for things, even beloved internet, is a part of life here.
-Fresh food! Even living here for a short time, we have seen the benefits of a small town and growing locally. There is a farmers’ market in our town every Saturday where vendors mainly sell fruits and vegetables as well as clothes and other merchandise. I am amazed at the people who come out to this event every week, even in the rain and snow, and am really looking forward to the summer months! There is also a bakery in town and it makes “the best bread in Macedonia”. Yes, I know what you are thinking…really, can this be the best bread in the whole country? Well, the people here think so, and we have heard it from others visiting. It is baked in a brick oven daily and you can buy it fresh throughout the morning. It is perfect breakfast with a little butter and honey!
Think of these as bits of cultural advice, especially for those of you considering to take a trip to visit us while we are here.
-Lori
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Posted on February 7, 2012, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Very interesting read. I’ll bet the farmers market will be great during the growing season.
Wait, we can visit you? How much does that cost exactly?
Other than the toilet paper thing, everything else sounds great! I’d love to eat some of that bread! I bet it is just awesome!
Крис,
Of course you can visit…well I mean other people can visit. You on the other hand…From what I’ve heard about the cost from my parents, for a plane ticket you have to give your firstborn. Sorry Sophie.
Wow, well that’s a shame. It would have been nice to introduce my kids to the “old country”. Guess Macedonia will stay on Encylopedia Brittanica.
Interesting about the small groceries. The town we lived in in northern Ontario had much the same sort of system. In fact, people explained where they lived in the town by explaining which of the little family stores served their neighborhood. We lived in the “Tulips” section of town. The “store” was just one room in the Tulips’ home.
That is interesting, Uncle Tom. People don’t associate their living spaces by the stores, I think, because everyone knows where everyone else lives already. People here do not move around a lot like in the states, and most houses stay in the family and become multi-generation houses. They often just add another floor to the top of the house when their children get married so they can still all live together.
Yes, the stores here are usually about the size of a living room, although they are renovating a building now that will house a larger grocery store in the “downtown” area.
Miss you Lori, but it sounds like you are learning and experiencing lots!
When would the deadline be to come visit? I remember you saying the last 3 months(?) people weren’t allowed to visit…
Suzie, yes, we learning something new everyday! We are restricted for travelling (and having guests) our first and last three months at site. So, the last travel time available would be the month of August in 2013.
I am surprised that they don’t grow more animals for meat there. Being more self reliant as they seem to be. Does their diet lean more rewords grains, vegi’s and fruit and less meat?
I think the lack of silage is probably the number one reason that they don’t raise more animals. The climate here is pretty dry. There’s very few places that I have seen where larger livestock (such as cows) could graze. They do raise a large number of goats. However, these are primarily used for milk. What meat we have is usually brought in from other countries (i.e. chicken often comes from Serbia, Slovenia, or Croatia). You are correct, their diet primarily consists of vegetables and fruit. Salads are huge here. One in particular called a шопска салата (showpska salata) is made of cucumbers, tomatoes, oil and сирење (seerenyay) cheese (a salty white cheese similar to feta) grated over the top. It’s a great salad.