P a g e
2 4
We have a Special Needs Mental Hospital in Demir
Kapija, and we did a performance there as well.
P A U 3 A !
turned me away.
You can always give New Years postcards to the
Prodavnici with everyone’s signature as a Thank
You. 15 MKD for postcards and an afternoon of
work, versus 1500MDK to pay for the snacks outright turned out to be a much better investment.
Oh, and the Opstina made the copies for the letter
for free, since the copy machine at the school was
out of toner.
Since this was all one long day, the students needed
something to eat. You’ll find that your director will
give you his/her blessings on any activity you wish to
do, but they may be reluctant to offer something like an
extra lunch for about 30 choir students. My school is
barely able to pay the electric bill every month, so a way
had to be found to get lunch and/or snacks for the kids.
I think the favorite of the students was learning the
Cotton Eyed Joe, and, in addition to the students
learning this folk dance, I even taught the teachers
this southern oro on the last day before school was
out.
Music is a great way to share cross cultural traditions. I think this was the most fun we had all semester, and certainly my favorite activity in my
favorite time of the year.
So, I drafted a letter and went to about all of the corner
mom and pop stores and ask for a bottle of soda/water,
chips, cookies, fruit, and any other small items they
could sponsor us with. People are not likely to give
money, but they can give what services they offer. And,
after about a dozen prodavnici, I rounded up enough
snacks to feed the choir.
Yes, it’s an afternoon of work, but you’ll find you get to
know your town a little better, you’ve introduced yourself to the store clerk everyone goes to for their food,
and made a great impression about the activity you are
doing for the community and for the kids. A few asked
me to come back the next day, since they needed to
speak with the owner, but that’s fine. Only one flat out