Macedonia is Timeless

Home sweet home. Here you'll see some of my favorite destinations in Macedonia and even a few of the views I admire from my very own balcony. These videos were part of a public-private partnership promoting tourism in Macedonia.

May in Macedonia

Here are beautiful photos from some of my favorite moments of May so far, including a hike into the mountains surrounding my city, where we spent the night at a mystical monastery. Also, you will see some glimpses into 2009's Macedonian International Leadership Development Seminar on Lake Ohrid in Peštani, with my wonderful friends and colleagues in AIESEC.

The breathtaking sceneries and unforgettable celebrations never end.

Dihovo Rural Tourism - Weekend Clean-up

It was a sun-drenched early spring weekend, and many of us Peace Corps volunteers joined in to aid locals from a beautiful nearby village in a river cleanup. In just two days, over 30 tons of waste were removed from the river and surroundings of the village. These pristine photos were taken after the clean-up, in places that once resembled landfills. During the span of the clean-up, we stayed at a beautiful bed-and-breakfast (seen in the first two photos), ate delicious traditional food, and sipped homemade wine.

Voyage to Serbia

In March 2009, I went on an unforgettable journey to Niš, Serbia, for the Balkan Entrepreneurship Initiative Conference. It was eye-opening and inspiring to meet people my age whom are so dedicated to further developing their countries' economies, and doing so in ways that reflect the values of corporate social responsibility. I look forward to returning to Niš one day, and further exploring the city, the beautiful country of Serbia, and throughout the former Yugoslavia!

Here are some photos.

Closing in on Spring

Before I say anything, I want to send kudos to the developers of http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com. The streaming blog posts, videos, and photos are a brilliant idea. The new site layout makes it seem that the world is at our fingertips--I may be hooked!

Life is full of adventure here in Macedonia, and I've got just nine months to go of my 27-month term of service! How did two-thirds go by so quickly? I was shocked today to discover that some deadlines are approaching in terms of securing things for my life post-Peace Corps. I'm thinking I will stay in the region after my Close of Service (before pursuing a Master's in International Affairs in USA in September 2010), ideally in Bosnia and Herzegovina or the Middle East! I probably have a good chance at landing a fulfilling internship with AIESEC or even with one of the US embassies in the Balkans.

For now, I still have big plans in 2009!!!
March: Writing a grant to beautify our office, Attending the Balkans Entrepreneurship Initiative Conference in Niš, Serbia
April: Rural Tourism Project of a breathtaking nearby village, where I will spend a weekend at a bed-and-breakfast and take part in the clean-up, Attending a Peace Corps Language In-Service Training in Ohrid, Macedonia (improving my Macedonian, learning some Albanian and Turkish), AIESEC Career Days Fair and AIESEC Elections
May: Macedonian International Leadership Development Seminar
June: Going to Greece to take the GRE's, taking over the role of AIESEC's National Support Team
July: Two weeks in Mongolia for Ugie's wedding and the Nadaam Festivities, if financially possible.
August: Peace Corps Close of Service Seminar--planning the final months:-O
September: Turning 24!!!
October: AIESEC picks up as classes begin at the Faculty of Economics
November: Macedonian Open Seminar for Education and Motivation
December 2009: Peace Corps Close of Service...taking a round trip flight to New Jersey and New York City for the holidays! Then in early 2010, off I go again, until Grad School Fall '10 semester...

It's going to fly by so fast, but for now I am ecstatic just living in the moment...
Posted above are some photos of my city's center during a carnival for Prochka/Day of Forgiveness on March 1, 2009.

Hike up Markovi Kuli

Here are my own views of Macedonia's most striking landscapes, just minutes away in Prilep. A bunch of us hiked up to the cross atop Marko's Towers on February 8th, 2009. Enjoy the view from atop the peak (photos were taken from my balcony, on the way up, and from the peak)!

Literature

Books I've read in the Peace Corps:
Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War (Deborah Copaken Kogan)
They Would Never Hurt a Fly: War Criminals on Trial in the Hague (Slavenka Drakulić)
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed (Slavenka Drakulić)
Tell Them I Didn't Cry: A Young Journalist's Story of Joy, Loss, and Survival in Iraq (Jackie Spinner)
Night (Elie Wiesel)
The Attack (Yasmina Khadra)
Tales of a Female Nomad (Rita Golden Gelman)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo (Paula Huntley)
The Bookseller of Kabul (Åsne Seierstad)
Silk (Alessandro Baricco)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel García Márquez)
Macedonia: What does it take to stop a war? (Harvey Pekar and Heather Robertson)

Books in my pile to read in the Peace Corps:
Zlata's Diary (Zlata Filipović)
Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History (Robert D. Kaplan)
Everything is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer)
The Prophet (Khalil Gibran)
Walden (Henry David Thoreau)
Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
C'est le soleil qui m'a brûlée (Calixthe Beyala)
Исповед од Харемот (Бранко Миленковиќ)
За Должностите (Марк Тулиј Кикерон)
...