features : spring 2013
Tran
Before applying to Peace ment meetings . As the ences of serving in the wanted to do more than preparations to apply w meant to be : application , interview , m was a long process and at each and eve finally received my long-awaited acce For the first time in a very long while s
Other than several trips to Mexico I h had never even seen the east coast . Th was its connection to Alexander the G subjects which I know little about . Disc donia was perfect for me . I knew I wo I laid eyes on it . I felt like I ’ d pulled ou ture , and the Balkan faces looked like also felt like a stranger in a new land w and signs that I couldn ’ t make sense of me , Macedonian music that I had n meals , to name a few . But non fact , I wanted to know mo merging me in the langua with workshops to intro settled into my permanen
Life ’ s Only Constant :
Chan
Living through 27 months of service in Peace Corps Macedonia is like one endless stream of transformation that inevitably affects each volunteer in surprising ways . Who knew at the outset that we ’ d become completely comfortable with ( or at least not completely disgusted by ) gutting a pig , sampling delicacies such as the holiday pork Jell-o known as piftija or pacha , or sharing a taxi with some rakija-laden dedovci for a carefree afternoon jaunt down treacherous mountain roads ?
The never-ending stocks of sunflower oil and white bread flowing freely from host family dinner tables during Pre-Service Training transformed our bodies in ways unexpected , but it takes more time to notice the mental evolution we undergo from the start of service . Peace Corps Training Manager Evelina Alibegovska has seen hundreds of eager Peace Corps Trainees transform from dewy-eyed idealists into successful volunteers during her 12 years working with Peace Corps Macedonia .
Evelina says no PCV can claim they haven ’ t changed during their time
in Macedonia . Eventually all volunte through the same “ roller coaster ” p our own individual ways and on our not realize the progress we are ma phase near the end of PST , the cha they see us at trainings after an in service conference , Evelina says sh
“ Many of them have regained their stories ,” Evelina says . “ With others a bright spot . I call it their mid-serv individuals going through tough tim
At the Close of Service conferenc have grown up from being “ babies ” crowd .
“ They ’ ve all become more mature changing experience ,” Evelina says
40 – Pauza Magazine