Finally Settled In

Well I finally feel like I am settled in my new place. While I technically moved in a while ago, I haven't had time to put stuff away and make my new place my own with my parents being here and life being busy. But I am now completely unpacked...well I have one box left, but it is stuff I don't really use so I put it in a corner and my thought is if I don't go into that box for at least 2 months, then I don't need anything that is in there and can get rid of it all.

My new host mother commented on how much stuff I have and said she had no idea how I managed to bring it all from America. I pointed out all the stuff I have been given from Peace Corps and what was food and such and she decided I didn't have quite as much, but I still have "too many" books. Ha. My goal when I COS is to have less than what I came with, which will be a challenge since there have already been comments about sending me home with a suitcase of ajvar and rakija.

I really do love my new place. It is so bright and airy and it really does feel like home. I think it will be a great place to live for a year. It is so close to everything. I am not literally 2 minutes from school, the bus stop, the market, and almost everything else in town.

I have one large room that has a mini kitchen in it and a balcony. I share the bathroom that is right outside of my room. There is a storage room and another bedroom on my floor, but they only use the room for guests and laundry, so I have the floor to myself most of the time. They sleep downstairs in the middle floor and we eat down downstairs in the garage/second kitchen that opens out to the gorgeous garden. 

Kitchen

Kitchen

Table/Wardrobe

Living room/Bedroom area

My bed

This door goes into the hall, but is locked, so its the perfect place to put a little bit of home

Balcony

My host parents are AMAZING too! Words can not describe how awesome they are. My host mother is a marvelous cook, so I am paying her to make me lunch each day, something I will really enjoy. When we did our site placement interviews I was against living with a family for a few reasons. First, I did want to live on my own to prove to myself I could do it. I have always had roommates in the past, so this was the first time I really was on my own. I also wanted to be able to cook for myself. But now, a year in, I can say that cooking for one over here isn't a whole lot of fun and is expensive if you want variety in your diet. I chose to live cheaply, so I had little variety and almost no meat. With paying my host mother to cook for me, since she is already cooking for her and my host father, I will get lots of variety and lots of Macedonian food (aka lots of salt, oil, and deliciousness). She weighed me the other day (I don't know what it is with me and host mothers who like to weigh me!) and said when I go back to America, she wants me to be 70 kilos. I told her no. That is not what I want.