On November 2, I finally made the big move. I left my site of 1 year and 11 months and
moved to Tetovo. Over the course of ~2
years, Prilep had developed a special place in my heart, and I was very
emotional to leave a place that I called home for so long. Of course, this was a decision I made in
order to expand my work with AIESEC in Tetovo and to make the most of my remaining
6 months. However, no amount of ambition
can eliminate the feeling of all that I was leaving behind.
I do not know from where I heard it, but supposedly moving
is one of the most stressful things somebody can go through. Which makes sense and aligns perfectly with
culture shock- moving to Tetovo brought me to one of the lowest points I had
ever felt during Peace Corps. It is
funny, because I had lived in this country for two years, worked in Tetovo to
the weeks prior to my move, and so I should not have felt the same low typical
of a PCV starting his service. But alas,
it hit me, and it took a lot of mental tricks in order to overcome it as
quickly as possible.
Leaving Prilep was a lot easier than I had thought. Up to my departure date, I was often busy
with travel for work with AIESEC Tetovo or for PST training, so I made sure to
spend my final week at site with my host family and sitemates. I did the typical- spend as much Turkish soap
opera time as I could with my host mom, hit up the Thai restaurant again, go
for a few runs in the fields near my house.
But overall I was trying my best to abscond from Prilep, drawing as
little attention to my departure as possible.
 |
| I did not want to leave PC without taking pictures of my daily living situation, so here are some last-minute pictures |
Moving to Tetovo was a lot more difficult than I had
imagined. As soon as I descended from
the bus and entered the apartment for the first time since its previous
inhabitant vacated the spot, I instantly felt a rush of "Whoa, I am
seriously doing this. " Six more months in a new situation. The next morning I tackled all of the important
chores- unpack, clean, purchase basic items for the apartment, sign the
contract with my landlord, and so forth.
I thought to myself, as long as I stay busy, I won't be forced to think
of things that may make me emotional. It
seems, however, that the world did not want any of that. As soon as I woke up on Wednesday, I knew
that my efforts to dive into creating my new life would be thwarted by the
flu. I spent most of my second day in my
new site bedridden or vomiting in the toilet.
Luckily, my recovery was quick, and on Thursday I was on my
feet and ready to try again. I staggered
to the university, completed what work I had to accomplish, and returned back
to my apartment to find my landlord. He
brought with him furniture that he insisted was better than what I had, so I
helped him move in some couches and remove the others. However, I really enjoyed the one couch that
was more like a bed, but for some reason I did not have the gumption to tell
him to leave it. Overall, I think he honestly
believed that this new furniture was superior to the items he removed (on the
bright side, the new refrigerator is 2X bigger and has actual freezer
space). But for me this was a lot of
change in a short few days, and all I could do to not panic was think positive
thoughts.
So that was my way of dealing with this entire change- stay
positive. That night, I forced myself to
buy a donër because I could not do that in Prilep. A similar situation occurred last week on
campus, as I was hanging posters on campus.
That morning I was feeling anxious about the progress of work for AIESEC
Tetovo, but as I left for work I committed myself to be positive that day no
matter what. Well, even though I was
granted permission to hang posters earlier this year for the member
recruitment, as I was taping a poster for the promotion of internships, the local
security guard stopped me and detained me in a corner as he verified my
permission to hang the posters.
Eventually, I was given permission, and the security guards even helped
me locate the best places that would generate the most publicity.
In short, moving to a new site was all about
perspective. For example, while my
shower fails to work during most reasonable hours of the day, I now finally
have my own oven to use. This move also
allows me to take baby steps as I leave Macedonia. I can still visit Prilep and see my host
family whenever I want for the next 6 months.
And once I leave Macedonia, I can then miss the broader aspects of Peace
Corps and Macedonia. Which is another
opportunity to stay positive- instead of focusing on my transition and struggle
in a new city and organization, I can instead revel in enjoying this beautiful
country and culture for 5 more months.
