Hello, My Faithful
Readers
November 10, 2017 –
Part2
Volume 1, Number 15
130 days of Meditation (Continued)
Blogging twice in one
day; but, wanted to chronicle my adventure before my memories faded. You know,
that does happen…..senior moments J
So let us begin Part 2 with
Gostivar, Macedonia
Gostivar
is a city that is not that far away from Tetovo, my deployment for the 1st
election in Macedonia. Gostivar is where I was deployed for the 2nd
election in Macedonia.
Before
we go to Gostivar; let us talk some about Skopje (which is the capital city in
Macedonia). When the STO’s (Short Term observers) arrive in-country we gather
in the capital city to prepare for deployment.
To
begin, Skopje is often called “The City of Statues”. As you would expect, there
are LOTS of statues in Skopje. Our lead hotel was very close to the main square
of the city (I’ve attached an article about the main square which will give
better information that I can provide).
I
must say though that I really enjoyed spending time in the square. It is close
to the river and there are many, many beautiful bridges that cross over. There
are so many restaurants along the river to choose from and nice places to just
sit and enjoy and do nothing. The square is just filled with people and
tourists. There are chestnut vendors along the square that will sell you a bag
of roasted chestnuts for 50 Denar ($1.00 USD). What a great time I had people
watching and eating chestnuts. (I’ve
posted pictures at the bottom of the blog)
Local
beer is also a favorite. I could not tell you the names of the beer; but,
absolutely great to the taste. There are about ½ million people living in
Skopje and estimated about 2million people living in the entire country. Unemployment
is high, about 25%. I had a little bit of spare time and just loved walking
around the city.
I
didn’t know that there is a geographical region in Greece that is called
Macedonia; so, there is a BIG issue using the same name to identify the country
of Macedonia. So, what is the country of Macedonia called: “The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia” (FYRoM) - this is
pending a resolution of the long-running dispute with Greece about the country’s
name. There is so much history in this part of the world and I have barely
scratched the surface.
Information:
It is a land locked country; they have great wine (I’m told); the media is not
free and due to unemployment many people have left the country – and this point
brings a big question to light as many Macedonian people who live outside the
country come home to vote. The question is – should they be allowed to vote for
representation in an area they don’t live in any longer? This is on-going.
Gostivar
So,
it is time now to move to Gostivar, which is the area of the country I was
deployed to for the second round of elections.
One
of the MOST amazing things in Gostivar was being able to cross the street.
Honestly, this is a BIG deal. I almost felt like I was back in Switzerland as
Pedestrians are treated like VIP’s in both places. There are crosswalks (the
zebra)
And
you must cross at these locations; however, as soon as you place your foot on
the crosswalk the traffic stops. Heavens to Betsy!
At
first when I saw this happening I was afraid for the folks who just walked out
into traffic; but, after a couple of days I realized that this was the LAW
here. People have the right of way and traffic stops when you are on the
crosswalk. Honestly, I could move to Gostivar as a result of this – just kidding.
But, after Tbilisi this is like heaven.
In
Gostivar I was not deployed in the city. My partner and I went out into the
villages as well as going up to the villages in the mountains to observe
polling stations. Along the road I saw so many Muslim Cemeteries which were
identified as the headstone are not very ornate and not much height to them.
Mostly they are a slab of marble or granite; almost looking like a flat, white
sheet of paper.
The
hotel in Gostivar was called “Hilton”….and it was OK. They had an elevator,
thank goodness as my knee was acting up. However, my room was cold. It felt
like there was a window open even though there was not. They did give me a
space heater; but, that really didn’t help. In the room throughout Macedonia
they provide slippers to wear. Not the white slippers that hotels offer; but,
leather slippers that you use in the summer. I’ve posted a picture.
We
went to a local restaurant called “The Source” – because the restaurant is at
the beginning of the river. It is a restaurant that farms its own fish – trout.
As a land locked country the only get to get fish to be provide it; and that is
exactly what they do. The fish was wonderful. It was gutted and grilled. It is a beautiful location and if it had been
warmer we could have sat outside and watched the fish; but, too cold.
The
people of Gostivar were wonderful. They treated us with such kindness and an
overwhelming feeling of “Welcome.” The Election Board in the polling stations
are really happy to see us. They know we can only see 10-13 of the sometimes 50
polling stations in the district; so they feel lucky to have us.
A
couple of times we left Gostivar and went up into the villages in the
mountains. It took us the better part of an hour to climb and get to the
location. What views and what marvelous air. People actually live at these
altitudes; however, many people have shuttered their homes and left to go back
to the city proper or just leave the country. Mostly this is due to employment.
I would love to spend some time up in the mountains; and one of the local
residents (who was a “Somebody” in the community) said to come on up and pick a
house. Well, we know that won’t happen but, wow, that would be an amazing
experience.
Back to Georgia
to catch up on some happenings:
I
have noticed that there are so many new buildings being constructed in Tbilisi.
The building cranes seem to be everywhere…and I wonder who is going to fill up
all these apartment buildings they are building. But one aspect of all this
construction has given me great pause. When I look up at these buildings I
often see items on the terrace and sometimes clothes hanging out to dry.
Seriously, are people living in the building before they are finished?
I
don’t know the answer to that; but, why would people hang clothes out if they
were not living there? I wonder what about water or cooking if the building is
still under construction. I think what a risk management nightmare this is and
how unsafe this situation must be. I am so curious about this that I want to
investigate more and will blog at another time about my findings. I find
Georgia such a disconnect at time..as I feel so safe here and yet shake my head
at how unsafe it is to have buildings occupied before complete. To be continued…….
So
here is good news here in Georgia. Smart Cameras are being installed to operate
in various Georgian cities (Tbilisi being one). It is noted that 3000 cameras
will be installed to detect and catch traffic violations….yipee!!!! The
violations will be communicated via a text message and since everyone has a
cell phone the information will get through. I listed a link below to provide
more information.
Point – It is difficult to buy a box of tissues
(Kleenex) here in Tbilisi. You can buy the individual packets that you keep in
your pocket; however, to buy a box to place on the table or in the bathroom is
a real challenge. I don’t know why this is. I know in the village when I bought
a box for the family they used it as napkins.
Stores are listed as opening (mostly) at 10:00am…and
that is a joke. No matter what time it says on the window/door – mostly it does
not happen. The store opens whenever the sales person gets there. Most of
Georgia really does not start moving until around 10:00am and that is an early
estimate. I usually wait until at least 90 minutes after the time is stated to
go; as so often I end up waiting around until someone shows up.
I have been having a problem with my heater here in
the apartment. This has been going on since early October. My landlord is a
nice guy; but not very response. This is not unusual for Tbilisi (or all of
Georgia for that matter). Often they just wait you out to see how long it will
be before you just handle the problem on your own so they don’t have to get
involved.
My landlord ends up pushing it off on the Real
Estate man who secured the apartment for me. He is a very response man;
however, there is only so much he can do. In any event, I have/had heat but it
is marginal. I want more heat as I have floor to ceiling windows and nothing in
my apartment is insulated. Just like the village the cold just comes through
the walls.
Back and forth to check on the heater and finally
after almost a month they called in a professional. I was lucky as that usually
does not happen. They wanted me to pay for the “Master” visit and then they
would reimburse me; however, I told them “No way” as I am not going to chase
anyone down for reimbursement like I have to chase them down to answer
email/text.
I like both men and I love this apartment and don’t
want to move; but, for me the heat is not enough for me. I have a space heater
and will find other ways to compensate (like I did in the village). The temperature
of the boiler is in the 70’s F; but it is not enough and winter is not even
here yet. So, we shall see……I will figure this out, Dear Reader…..it is just
the way it is here in Georgia.
Recently the US Embassy here in Tbilisi sponsored a
film festival that featured the movie “The Farthest” – which told about the
development, deployment and progress of Voyager. What an evening…the theater
was packed, standing room only. I learned so much; as I really had not been
following the progress of this space journey. So many Georgia students were in
the audience and asked during the Q&A session how they could get involved
with NASA and space exploration.
It was a joy to listen to all the back story of the
mission and see the part that Georgia had with the “Golden Record” – that is,
an accumulation of sounds, music, language, etc., that was sent with Voyager in
the event that it is intercepted by alien life. At the end of the movie they
showed a view of our galaxy from the outer edges back toward earth and we got
to see just how SMALL we are in the scope of the universe. It was a very
sobering moment. Someone aligned it to a “piece of lint”…and yes, that is
exactly what it looked like. If you have some time and are interested it is
something that will impact your thinking.
I continue to work at the University of Georgia, Law
School. The private lessons have been on hold as I’ve been traveling on the
tutoring day for the past month; so need to catch up with my student. Also,
working with the high school students on conversational English is going well.
However, I wrote to the school administrators and said that they should arrange
to have the class at least 90 minutes in the future. At the present we have an
hour (60Minutes) but since many of the students arrive late; we are disrupted
and those late don’t know where we are in the material. Also, it just seems
like we get started and the session ends. These students are working towards
going abroad to college so they are interested and don’t play around (too much)
in class.
The IWA (International Women’s Association) is
planning their annual Christmas Bazaar on December 2nd and I will be
a part of the work force as a volunteer. I am looking forward to that.
Thanksgiving is coming and a group here in Tbilisi
has made reservations to have dinner at a local Boutique Hotel. Last year at
this time I was in the States reconnecting with my family; and planning to go
to Disney World in Florida. It feels like a decade ago and yet it was only a
year ago.
Recently the Swiss Embassy hosted a FREE concert of
classical music at the Tbilisi State Conservatory. It was a wonderful concert
with compositions by Hayden and Mozart. There was also a new composition that I
could not even begin to describe. I thought it was awful, disjointed and sour
(to give you a few adjectives). But, it was overall worth the time! This type
of experience can be added to the list of what is good about living in Georgia…I
know in the States I would never be invited to this type of performance given
by the Swiss Embassy.
I will close for now and check in again at the end
of November. This month is going by very quickly; which is very odd as usually
time goes slowly here in Georgia, for me at least (and that is a good thing).
Please accept my best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving
Day to you, My Faithful Reader. I so appreciate all that has been given to me.
Living here in Georgia as an ex-pat has been extraordinary!
Best, Catherine Lawrence – 11/10/17
Abundance of fruits and vegtables
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