Sveti Nikola

            One of the best things that the Peace Corps does is have a three month training period of language classes and a practicum in your speciality.  That's it.  This allows you to slowly learn the language, work on your skill and live with a host family.  It's a great way for you to integrate into the community very quickly instead of taking months and months to just learn enough about a local and then, maybe, have coffee together. 

            Now the Peace Corps doesn't assign you a family without a proper questionnaire for them to complete and an interview in their home.  Next, they go over our aspiration statements, resumes and interviews both in the US and during Pre-Service Training to find the right match.  My family isn't the right match for me they're perfect.  They're very relaxed but open and genuine.  They've traveled around Eastern Europe and they went to Russia for their honeymoon.  I figure they're in their mid-40's, their son is 23 and all of them speak a little English.  Most importantly they enjoy people, conversations and learning new things.  Sound familiar?!

When my host father Blage, pronounced Vlage, pulled out the grill and sausages I knew things were gonna be just fine. 

We chatted over Kafe, coffee, watched some EPL and I wrote down all the new words I heard. 

This is Vlage's man cave/picnic spot. He's always out here chatting with his neighbors and watching TV.

We had fresh tomatoes and potatoes from their garden, again sound familiar, and sausages.

            We hung out the rest of the day together and then I got situated in my room and passed out.  I woke up late this morning and came out to the "man cave" to find one of my co-volunteers lived with a family that was best friends with mine.  Plus, they live down the street so it'll be easy to meet up.  After breakfast it was decided to visit the local monastery up in the mountains in honor of Mary Magdalene's birthday. 

Most of the town came out over the day to get together.  It was more of a festival than a service. 

The monastery is the building directly ahead. Bekah is my close neighbor and those are her new sisters. You can check out her blog here.

We lit a candle for each person we prayed for. I was only given one so I prayed for my little bro who's just getting settled into his job in Beijing right now. 

Then we danced. It was circular line dancing so I hopped right in.

            After we danced for a bit we headed back home to get dinner.  The view coming out of the mountain overlooking the valley was just picturesque so, of course, I took some pictures for you. 

Sveti Nikola Valley. Four monastery's were founded by a monk in the 10th Century so the town was named after him. 

The produce that's grown here is corn, tobacco, grapes and pears.  There's plenty of tomatoes, figs, chestnuts, apples etc also.

You can see that there's almost no pollution.

This is my host mother. Her name translates to Snow White in English.

We had to wait on the sheep train.

            The easiest way to describe how I feel going around right now is that:

           

                                                               It looks like Europe

                                                               It feels like home

                                                               If both were combined 

                                                              50 years ago.

            Tomorrow we start our language classes at 8am sharp.  I'm really excited to get going on it all but I think the best part is that my host family is walking me to school.  It's a requirement by the Peace Corps and I'm sure Snow White will make me take a packed lunch but it still makes me smile.

Tetovo

            It's been a busy week training, having our Macedonian language lessons and getting to know one another but we were able to get out of our school and head into town.  We're near the town of Tesovo which is primarily Albanian.  However, there are plenty of Macedonians so we visited both a Mosque and an Orthodox Church.

This mosque is famous for it's age, it was founded in 1495, and that it's painted. 

It's rude to carry dirt into the mosque from your feet so you wash them first. 

It's original paint and clearly is very detailed.

Peace Corps peeps.

I have no idea what this says.

The interior was beautiful.

This part of the wall is facing towards Mecca and is where you would pray.

Max busted me on the group selfie!

            We left the mosque and went around town to the Orthodox Church.  It wasn't as old as the mosque but was very important to the people in the community.

The moment we pulled up we were swarmed by these guys.

The church was right above town and next to a natural spring. It looked and smelled fantastic.

I didn't want to get busted again so I had a real pic taken.

I couldn't get a pic without the light ruining the shot so that's why my hand is there. 

This is the altar where people pray. Like the mosque no one sat in rows or chairs. 

            I really enjoyed seeing two different places of worship right after each other.  It helped me to understand that here in Macedonia both Islam and Christianity are very, very important but do not intersect with one another.  Afterwards we were starving so we met up with a volunteer who's been here for a year and had some dinner. My wifi wasn't letting me load a picture of my "doner", basically a falafel, so I'll try to later. 

            Tomorrow we head to our training villages and meet our host families that we'll stay with for the next three months. I'll post that over the weekend but in the meantime enjoy yours!

Pre Service Training Week

            Alright it’s been a couple of days and I’m starting to settle in here in Macedonia.  All week we’ve been at the Woodrow Wilson school on the outskirts of Tetovo which is an hour West from the capital Skopje.  It’s a really nice American private school that is used by Macedonian parents for their children and the US government for the Peace Corps. We’ll be here for the week as we transition into our training period.  Each day we’ve been taking language and cultural classes plus the necessary bureaucratic classes about our medical staff, living safely in-country, cultural norms for Macedonians and Albanians etc.   On Friday we'll find out where we'll be going to being our official training and who the family is that we'll be living with while we train for the next three months. 

This is my window view.

This has been my view every morning when I go for a run.

Here are a couple of our morning coffee buddies.

No words. 

I don't know why there's a Disney mural on a building but there is.

Our schedule for the week.

Here are our grammar books to help us learn Macedonian.

I've really been focusing on learning the alphabet. It's taking my head a bit to start listening for Macedonian instead of  Spanish.

Macedonian snacks. Mmmm.

My Macedonian ID. 

            Last night we traveled into Tetovo and went to both a mosque and an Orthodox church.  I'll post those pictures next and show you what the town looks like.  

Flying to Macedonia

            Well after almost a year and a half from when I applied the came has come for me to head off to begin the Peace Corps.  It's been a long waiting period and the word that comes to mind for me is: Relief.  After the Azerbaijan debacle I'm relieved that it's actually happening. So let's get started on the journey to Macedonia.

             I flew out of Knoxville direct to our staging location in Philadelphia. (I almost missed my flight out because I left a swiss army knife in my bag. I tried to put it back in my checked luggage but it was too late so I left it and went through security, sprinting to the gate and just made it before they closed the doors!) I met up with a couple other volunteers and we Ubered it to our hotel. We had our orientation sessions for the day, going over security, passports, etc. 

             The next day, Saturday, we went to JFK and flew out on Austrian airlines. Here's a word of advice, if you can ever fly Austrian Air do it, they were great. We landed in Vienna then connected to Skopje and finally bussed it to our hotel/school that we're at now. The jet lag was tough by the time we landed but after a couple meals and an early night I'm feeling much better. We start our language classes today and I'm excited to begin that. 

Bags are packed and ready to go. I forget the pillow too.

One last Mom selfie.

Heading in to Philly.

Our orientation/staging was long but productive.

Hahaha.

The NYC skyline was looking spectacular despite the clouds.

With over 40 of us flying together we dominated any and all lines.

Yeah I've got two passports now.

Austrian Air was simply fantastic. 

Pre flight pic. 

Part of the reason Austrian Air was great was their efficiency. They opened doors to the front of the plane and the back.

The Vienna airport also had couches and great wifi to use. 

Land ho!!

This is the Skopje airport. The sign says, "Alexander the Great Airpot".

Macedonia has some beautiful scenery. 

            Alright, that's where I'm at so far here in Macedonia and I'll update you after we get settled in following a couple training days.  Hope you enjoyed your weekend. 

Serving: Where Yes Means No

"I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver.  Then they'd really be educated." Al McGuire

            Serving isn't a glamorous profession nor one that saves lives.  However, waiting tables is something most people have experienced for themselves and everyone has eaten out at a restaurant. So I'm going to share five lessons I've gained from working in the hospitality business.

1. How to Listen.

             When people sit down at your bar or table you greet them with your smile and then you listen to them.  You listen to hear if they're stressed or trying to relax. It's your job to understand the guests needs and provide an experience that lifts their mood.  After working for a bit I realized that most people want to be entertained or to feel special.  Very few people are there for the food it's the way you make them feel that makes them happy.  That all starts from listening.

2. Teamwork

            Without a doubt you will work with some of the most interesting, unique, strange and diverse group of people put together under one roof in a restaurant.  You all go in the trenches together, while trying to smile, with 15 different orders/things in your head. I was never bored going to work and I'm convinced that after working in a restaurant anyone can work together.  I met people that were aspiring singers, actors, former professionals who were burnt out, students, single moms and, yes, just plain losers. 

             However, I was constantly surprised by how the work magnified the character of a person.  Someone who looked like they were going to be a great employee cracked almost immediately on a Friday night.  Meanwhile that loser I mentioned was handling the rush without breaking a sweat and always had a smile on their face.  They just couldn't apply that outside of work. 

            Because of the nature of the work you form a tight bond with your coworkers, you learn the value of honest communication, how to consolidate your steps and the importance of what problems a smile can solve.  I also experienced some of the most genuine help from people covering each other's shifts when family was sick, a gig came up or they needed a break.  You might only be making $2.13 an hour but they'll have your back.  Oh, just don't try and date a coworker it rarely works out. 

3. Class is unequal to money

            Ahhhh, this is where the server horror stories spring from.  The $30,000 millionaire, the snobby old lady, the bitchy housewife, the "walk in five minutes before close and order the most difficult thing to cook guest".  The celebrity who wants a "special" table.  The regular who thinks they're a celebrity.  The annoying bar guy who talks to everyone.  The awkward couple that never speaks during their meal. The "I just want to take out one ingredient and I'm going to make so many requests so it's like my own dinner". (I really didn't like those guests).  

            You'll see all kinds and eventually you learn that education, money nor status doesn't equal class. It's a person's character that defines their class.  Yes, I've served some very high profile people but it was the regular people who viewed themselves as "special" that required the most patience.  I will say that Robin Williams, Jon Meacham, Bernard Pollack, Ted Danson, Reba McEntire and Patrick Monahan were the biggest "celebrities" I saw/served and all were extremely classy.  Reba was just hilarious and a lot of fun. 

4. Out of Rhythm

            I feel that the hardest thing about serving isn't the guests it's the hours. You're completely out of rhythm with normal society.  You can't hang out with your 9-5 friends because you're working when they're not and vice versa.  Good luck dating a 9-5'er. You'll be sleeping when they go to work and they're sleeping when you get off work.  You want to enjoy a holiday better get that shift covered by the new person weeks in advance.  You're on your feet for hours and hours.  (One weekend I worked a Friday double, Saturday night and a double on Sunday and I walked 26 miles.  I made $1,000 but that's a marathon.  Yes, a freaking marathon. I stopped using my pedometer after that.)
            You most likely will make good money, unless it's dead and that's the worst, but you're not investing in yourself or your career.  It's also emotionally draining. You're constantly handling the needs of other people, other employees and then when you leave work the needs or expectations of friends and family.  If you don't love working in the hospitality business then it's draining and difficult to stay disciplined on your goals both daily and professionally.  With that being said it's also semi-automous and allows you to hustle after what you really want in your free time.  That's why so many actors and musicians work as servers or bartenders. 

5. Yes Means No

            Lastly, working in the hospitality business teaches you how to answer any question or remark from a guest or coworker by learning how to say No by saying Yes.  For example, "Yes sir, I can bring you a delicious steak.  Unfortunately, our ribeye is sold out but I highly recommend our NY strip."  is much better than saying, "Well sir since you came in five minutes before close I can't give you a ribeye steak.  Yes the cooks would love for you to wait 15 minutes before ordering so why don't you just get the NY Strip."  The former is the proper way to answer the latter is how you get fired.  It's like that with almost every question to a guest. 

            This wording of an answer is what anthropologists call High-Context communication.  The answer isn't directly implied, if it was you'd be fired, so it's implied indirectly.  We American's are Low-Context communicators, which means we're very specific with our questions, our answers and we expect a clear response.  That isn't possible in hospitality.  

           Since I enjoy writing, I clearly view the world as a narrative. So I applied that to each and every table that I served.  I applied that to the way I worded things, less is more btw, to consolidate my steps, to smile and to just say "I'm sorry" if everything else failed. Follow the Yes means No rule and everyone's happy.  

Final Thoughts

            I won't miss the work but I will miss the people. I learned some very important lessons from serving and I'm a better person for it.  I've learned a little humility, to carefully listen to someone before assuming you know what they want.  I've learned that anyone can work together if you have a common goal. I've also learned to be flexible and adjust on the fly.  I've also become extremely focused on my professional goals in life. I can always go back but I never want to.  I know that I'll use those lessons and many more in the Peace Corps and beyond.  Lastly, if you've got a great server story or want to share another lesson let me know!