Everyday is big...

 Saturday, March 2

Everyday is such a new experience and that is exciting.  We know soon it will become more routine.  Especially as we get really busy with our language classes, TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and the other training activities on our schedule.  Two hours of language a day feels overwhelming and soon we will have four hours a day.

Many house are heated with wood

Birds on our way to class today

We had two hours of language today, a cultural talk, lunch with the group and a walk around Kamenice.  We had a list of places to find during our walk with our group.  It was kind of a scavenger hunt, but our instructors pointed most of the places out to make sure we knew where we were going.  After the scavenger hunt, our group went shopping at several stores.  Most of our needs have to do with class:  pencils, paper, and notebooks.  Thom and I wanted some coffee, but the choices are instant, Turkish, or packets of Cappuccino.  We opted for instant.  Our teachers plan to bring a water boiler to the classroom site and we will make coffee there.  I wanted a to-go cup to use at the site and found one with a strainer.

A pedestrian walkway with restaurant in the city center

Sign near the walkway

Mosque on our way to school

After, we finished shopping we stopped by a restaurant / bar for a beer or coke before heading home.  We have €3 a day walk around money as Peace Corps staff call it.  We are given it to buy coffee or drinks or incidentals.  This is during training only.  We will get a different amount for living expenses, once we are sworn in.  It is enough as our host families provide food and most things we need.  Coffee is is less than a Euro and a beer is around €2.  Some days, we do not spend money at all.

After finishing with the group, we walked back home.  Amar and Dina were at their uncle's in Gjilan over the weekend in another town, so we had to communicate with the help of Google translate (which does a pretty good job).  We will try not to rely on Amar too much so that we can learn the language better.  

Ganimete making orders of Flia

Ganimete was making flia when we got back and I watched her for a bit.  She was in the process of finishing orders off for the day.  Tomorrow, I will have a chance to learn how to make flia.

Ganimete and Selver went visiting a family member after dinner and we stayed back.  These are photos of the kitchen and the salon (living room) in our host's home.