the alphabet and eggs

We had our first Macedonian lesson today! Svetlana, a close friend of the Neal's, is teaching us the basics this week. She is fluent in 5 languages...amazing. I want to be her, but I have a looong way to go! Being here makes me frustrated with the lack of emphasis placed on multilingualism in the States. Oh well, I hope to make the most of it now! Today we worked mostly on reading and writing the Cyrillic alphabet, which I actually find to be quite fun! We all kinda geeked out about learning a new language and conjugating new verbs :) haha Svetlana said we were the most excited group she has had in a while. My notes are pretty messy, but there's a quick look at what I'll be working on this week.

This past weekend was great, and we feel like we are getting more of a handle on getting around the city. On Saturday night Josh took us out to a sit down restaurant, where he ordered us a platter of meat and a ton of bread and cheese. That is pretty much everything we love, so we were happy campers. The food here is amazing. At pretty much every meal out I have ordered "Shopske" salad, which is chopped up tomatoes and cucumbers with shredded feta cheese. It's sooo good. After successfully downing the entire dinner, we went to the midnight Easter service at the Orthodox church near downtown. We bought small candles on our way to the church, and brought some dyed hard-boiled eggs for the traditional "egg fight" that happens at midnight. When Josh first told us there is an egg fight, I felt a little concerned...but then he explained it is merely a game (like rock paper scissors) to crack the eggs and then eat them. If I remember correctly, the burning candles are supposed to symbolize how long your prayers are before God. We were able to push through the crowds to get to the gate surrounding the church courtyard. Hundreds of people surrounded the churchyard, and were inside the courtyard with candles lit. It was a beautiful sight and a cool experience to be a part of.

Eastern Orthodox Church during the day

We made some friends at church on Sunday, and overall have been doing well adjusting to being here. (I think anyway!) On Monday us five girls ventured out on our own to complete a scavenger hunt that Josh and Rachelle gave us in order to help us find our way around. We were supposed to go back to the specific places they had taken us over the weekend and take pictures or get information on the list. We only got a few questions done before it began pouring down rain, and so we found a restaurant to get lunch and hang out for a bit. Here we discovered "Nafura," which is now another favorite snack of mine -- toasted bread with feta cheese shredded and melted overtop. It's amazing, and terribly unhealthy I am sure :) Oh well, it's all part of the experience. I am hoping the extensive walking we do here will assist with balancing out all these carbs! haha.

Tonight we begin observations at the Center for Foreign Language. I am really excited for observations this week. Rachelle has given us a good schedule that sets us up well for teaching. I think after this week I will definitely feel more prepared to begin actually instructing in the classroom and lesson planning. We have been here almost one full week, and even though it feels much longer, everything is going well so far! Would appreciate the prayers as I begin the practicum part of being here and continue to adjust.