Written at 11pm on Monday:
Tonight is a special night in Macedonia. It is the night I
have finally have heat! When I came home from school around 2:00, I ran into my
policeman neighbour. We talked for awhile, as much as we can talk with only
slightly speaking the same language. He once again told me if I have any
problems, to go to him. I got his phone number (I figure its
always good to have a policeman on speed dial).
I was sitting here at home freezing cold because all I had
was my Peace Corps issued heater. I was huddled wearing about 10 layers-
including my fleece, my down jacket and my hat inside my down sleeping bag and
I was still freezing. My heater was smelling bad and the smell was giving me a
headache. I pulled out the heater my landlord had left in the house and tried
that, but it smelled like burning. Here I sat, freezing and sad. My landlord’s
friend (on the sheet from Peace Corps it says she is his spouse, but she keeps
saying her friend and doesn’t wear a ring) was supposed to stop by tonight to
check on me, but hadn’t yet. I figured I could ask her then about the radiators
and try to figure out a way to stay warmer. Come 7:30 I was near tears because
I was so cold (for your Minnesotans, picture sitting in a fish house without
any kind of insulation for hours on end). I thought about something the Country
Director had said, the reason people ET is because they don’t ask for help soon
enough. Well, Stephen (if you are reading this), I listened to your advice and
I asked for help. I texted my kind of landlady/kind of not and in horrible
Macedonian said (or tried to say), “I don’t think the heating is working
because the house is cold and so am I”. She immediately called me and said she
would come over shortly.
When she arrived, she brought a posse with her, a friend
(who has come with her almost every time) and my landlord’s nephew. The nephew
graduated from the university in electrical engineering, so he was ripping
apart the heaters like there was no tomorrow trying to fix them. The Peace
Corps one needs a new part and the one the landlord provided works after a lot
of tinkering. I asked about the radiators throughout the house and was told
they are run through the fire. I asked if it would be possible to buy wood so I
could have a fire and they told me Peace Corps said no (previously volunteers
in Macedonian were not allowed to have wood burning stoves as a safety
precaution, however, after several fires caused by the heaters the policy has
changed recently). I tried to explain it was alright for me to have one and
after some convincing, my landlady (I am going to call her that for lack of a
better term) and her friend rushed outside and came back moments later with
their arms full of wood. They had a fire going in no time. They told me that my
landlord supplies all the wood for Kamenica, so if I want wood, I will have
wood (still trying to figure out if I have to pay for it or whatnot). I was
shown how to make it all work and within a matter of an hour or so, my entire
house was heating up, even parts I hadn’t planned on heating because the
radiators are all connected and I figure if I am building a fire to heat one
room, I may as well let it heat the others while it is at it.
While my landlady was tending to the fire (she wouldn’t
allow me to help get wood) and the nephew was ripping apart and putting back
together heaters, I tried to show my domakinka skills. I offered them coffee or
tea, which they declined, but when I pulled out the chocolate chip cookies I
had made on Saturday, they were delighted to try to see if I really knew how to
bake. Much to their surprise, they loved them and I promised my landlady I
would bake them with her sometime so she knows how.
During all of this (they were at my place for 2 ½ hours),
the nephew was attempting to do some translating, as he knows some English.
Sometimes I wish I could play dumb and not understand when I do, but when it is
English being spoken, that isn’t really an option. He asked me how old I was (a
typical question) and I told him- he is also 24. When the ladies heard that,
they started winking and doing the “We are going to set you two up because you
need to marry a good Macedonian man” show and I knew what was coming. He asked
me if I would go to coffee with him sometime and, in the off chance that he was
just being polite, I said sure. However, to safeguard myself against any
unwanted romances, I have decided I suddenly have a boyfriend in the US who I
care deeply about and will marry when I return. Or at least that is the story I
am going to portray. I figure this is a good solution, because it keeps
potential suitors/green card seekers at bay, but if I decide in the next two years
someone here sparks my interest, said boyfriend can magically disappear because
the distance was too much.
Long story short, I am a much happier person now that I have
warmth. I still plan on asking for more long underwear and wool socks to be
sent, but I no longer worry about Peace Corps calling my parents to say they
are sorry but I was frozen alive.
Other: Today was my first day at school. I will write more
about that later because this post is long enough already, but I am super
excited to start Adult English Classes tomorrow night. They are already running
so when I was asked if I would help, I jumped on that offer. Since then, I have
had three people ask me if I will teach them, so depending on how class goes
tomorrow night, maybe I will spend many nights teaching Adult English. Lastly,
I have a lead on how to get internet. Kamenica is trying to provide free
wireless to all residents, however, I kinda live in the boonies of Kamenica, so
the signal doesn’t reach me. Because of this, I have been struggling to find
any information about how much internet will cost/what company to use/etc. But
tonight, I made contact and my goal is to, by the end of the week, at least
have talked to the company and have it figure out when I will get internet.
