Day 106 - 12/26/11 - Monday

The more experiences I have with kids and youth while I am abroad the more I am reminded of how similar ALL kids are! 

Tonight I had the opportunity to go to an exhibition for SEE-U's 10th anniversary celebration.  This particular exhibition was for the public and was held in the House of Culture in Tetovo's city center.  Pictures from the past 10 year, and a slide show were on display.  There were also speakers and I would share more with you about what they shared, but my Albanian is still progressing... :)  This exhibit will actually travel around Macedonia to other cities for publicity.  There was also a traditional Cocktail following. I am noticing that "cocktails" are very common.  It consists of a table of hors d'oeuvres for people to eat.  Similar to a buffet in some ways.  One struggle I have at these is how to eat properly. I think we all struggle with that even in our own cultures, but when you are outside of even what you "know" its tough!  Using your fingers for food here is not common, for example, french fries are eaten with forks, or already on your sandwich. 



The SEE-U exhibition

I also had an invitation to go to concert with my office mate, Suzana. The concert was for her daughter Besa's students.  Besa is a teacher at a private school in Tetovo. The school is called Neting School. It is a school that parents can send their students to in addition to primary school. The students learn about mathematics, technology and many different languages, one being English. The parents pay around 25 euros a month for their children to attend the school.  The program was the Winter program, it was great to see students working together to put on a program- it reminded me of home.  My first sentence of this post was: The more experiences I have with kids and youth while I am abroad the more I am reminded of how similar ALL kids are! I say this because again tonight I was reminded of this!! 


All of the kids singing Jingle Bells



One group reciting poetry



Today I also said "see you soon" or "good-bye for now" to my dear friend Vesna.  She is headed of to the next leg of her life's journey.  I of course wish her the best and am so excited for her!  With that said, this will bring new challenges for me in the new year.  She has been my go-to person for questions about work, for cultural questions, for help knowing where to find things in Tetovo, and most importantly for a confidant.  I will miss her greatly, BUT I am already looking forward to when our paths meet again!  Thank you Vesna!!!

Lesson: My lesson today can be summarized in these two quotes:"We all walk a path of life, the people who matter to you leave footprints on your heart"
"People come into your life for a season, a reason or a lifetime"