Saying goodbye when you go into the Peace Corps is kind of like attending
your own funeral. It's a little awkward. People cry, talk about how different
everything will be without you, and reminisce about good times gone by.
Meanwhile, you just sort of stand there, a little excited for what's to come,
and a little nervous, and not quite sure how to confront an emotional outpour
like that. After all, two years is a long time to be gone, so the emotions are
natural. But you also know full well that you're going to come back, fully
intact, and better than ever, so it can be hard to get on the same page.
I spent my last week saying goodbye. To family, which was the most difficult,
and to friends, which was also difficult, but in a way fun, and often revealed
emotions that left me feeling even closer to the person I was leaving. I am
better for the process of saying goodbye, if only because it provided some
desperately needed closure.
I drove to the airport with my dad, my stepmother, and my step sister. We
said goodbye at the security checkpoint (for some reason MKE lets guests past
the ticketing area and into the shopping space beyond) and then I boarded my
flight to DC. The Peace Corps holds a staging event somewhere in the United
States for each departing group. In our case, we were staging in DC for one day
before boarding our flight to Macedonia. Staging consists of some
get-to-know-you events, information about the Peace Corps, and a genuine
opportunity to reflect on why you have committed to serve and if that is a commitment
you are prepared to keep.
My day in DC started with my arrival at the airport. I collected my
overweight luggage at baggage claim (the fee generously waived by the woman at
the Milwaukee Airport when I told her I was joining the Peace Corps) and headed
out the door to catch a shuttle to the hotel. Fortunately, the shuttle was
sitting immediately in front of the gate I walked out of, so I threw my things
aboard and jumped on. Arriving at the hotel, my room wasn’t ready—as expected—so
I stowed my stuff in their baggage check space. As I was doing this I ran into
another guy, Patrick, also arriving for the Peace Corps. He checked himself in,
dropped off his luggage, and we walked to a nearby mall to grab some lunch. My
appetite is never good when I’m feeling anxious, but I managed to cram down
some food before the training started.
We made our way back to the hotel after lunch and met a few other
volunteers. Kelly and Jessica specifically, but the others soon began to
trickle in for the beginning of the first session. We started with a mountain
of paperwork and didn’t properly start the day until about an hour after that.
As people completed their paperwork they entered a separate room and
icebreaking activities began. The Peace Corps icebreakers actually worked
exceptionally well. By the end of the day I knew almost everyone’s name—no
small feat for someone terrible with names in a room full of almost 40 people. The
rest of the day was filled with self-reflection and information about the Peace
Corps—useful, but not a terribly exciting subject for a blog post.
As the day wore on we all got tired, and I began to get sick. I had the
misfortune of developing a sore throat and cold during the last few days before
my departure, and seven hours locked in a room talking did nothing to alleviate
my symptoms. By the end of the day it was actually painful to swallow or talk.
I really made the effort to keep myself involved with the group though, so as
everyone went out to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen for the evening I
tagged along. We all sat and split pizzas in pairs, so my pizza-buddy Karen and
I split an artichoke heart and spinach pizza. Delicious.
After dinner we had pledged to go back to the hotels rotating rooftop bar
to have a beer and take in the view of the city. The bar’s $10 cover charged
wrecked those plans (and I discovered how cheap I really am!). We settled
instead for a beer in the lobby with some good company. Shooting the shit for
about an hour or so, I decided to retire for the evening and went to my room. I
loaded up on every kind of cough medicine dreading the thought of a 9-hour
flight the next day feeling so sick, and went to bed.
I slept well and felt considerably better in the morning. We grabbed some
breakfast at the mall, packed our things, and checked out of our rooms. I had
been advised that the airline might not be so lenient about the weight policy
at Dulles, so I packed a separate checked bag and my awesome roommate Sam
checked it as one of his own. In some freak-of-nature way he managed to pack
only one carry-on. I was seriously impressed (and thankful). The flight to
Vienna from Skopje was uneventful. I watched Moonrise Kingdom, which was very
pleasant, read the first chapter of Team of Rivals, and caught an hour or two
of sleep. We had a quick stopover in Vienna, not much to say about that,
followed by another quick flight to Skopje.
Skopje was absolutely wonderful, though rainy. The airport was new and
nice, the people were friendly, and the Peace Corps staff and volunteers met us
to help us with our luggage. It was an amazing reception after travelling for
so long. We threw our luggage in a truck and all hopped on a bus for the ride
to Kumanovo, where our training takes place for the first week. On the bus ride
we got an opportunity to meet some of the Peace Corps staff that we will be
working with over the next two years and learn a little bit more about how they
help us during our service.
We arrived at our hotel to more cheering Peace Corps Volunteers who had
shown up to greet us and help us carry our luggage upstairs. We were placed on
the 2nd European floor of the hotel, so the 3rd in the
United States. The help was much appreciated. After we dropped our bags I
showered and changed, then went down for lunch. At lunch we got our first
allotment of walking around money, which is essentially just spending money for
the time we’re in training when we don’t have to pay for meals or housing. It
was really nice to have a little cash, and I promptly bought a beer to go with
the enormous lunch spread that the Peace Corps set out for us. It was
definitely a nice introduction to the cuisine in Macedonia, and I ate my fill.
After lunch some of the volunteers retreated to their rooms to catch up on
some sleep, while others, myself included, ventured out with some of the
veteran volunteers for a walk around the neighborhood. Along our walk we
stopped at a local house/show (one in the same, I think) and the MAK15s and 16s
(we’re 17s) chatted a bit with the owners. They grew grapes, along with other
crops, and made wine and Rakija. Rakija is Macedonia’s local alcohol. The Irish
have whiskey, the British have gin, the Russians have vodka, and the balkan
countries have Rakija. A couple of my fellow 17s and I went in on a bottle of
this moonshine Rakija (after assurances from the 15s and 16s that it would not blind
us) and got a 1.5L bottle for 300 denar. That’s $6. Rock n’ roll.
We walked back and had a short meeting with some of the 15s and 16s about
the volunteer services available to us. Truthfully, exhaustion had majorly set
in for me at that point, so I was having trouble staying awake during portions
of the presentation. I got the essentials though! After that we all had a light
dinner and chatted a bit more, then the rakija came out.
I spent the rest of the night drinking rakija and playing spoons (with
pens) with some of the finest company I have ever kept. The conversation went
from strange to absurd but never left the realm of entertaining. All around: a
wonderful first night in Macedonia. I think I could get used to this.
