Day 141 – Monday 1/30/12

Perspective – Observation – Situational

Lizzie was stayed one more day in Tetovo before heading back to Bitola to start her semester.  After being at SEE-U we headed out on the town in Tetovo.  We had two stops- the store and the bookstore.  Being that it was so cold, we opted for taking a taxi this time.  Tinex was successful, we got the groceries that we needed.  It was then to the bookstore… I wanted another copy of Harry Potter in Albanian.  This one is not for the kids back home… this one is for me!  I only have 4 months left here in Macedonia and I want to know Albanian better than I do before I leave.  This Harry Potter is for studying!  The plan is to read what I can, and look up what I can’t, but write in the margins and between the lines.  As a teacher I know that the more ways I can be exposed to the language the more effectively I can learn it- so here it goes!!

Walking back I was struck with an amazing sense of awe.  I have been here 141 days, or 5 months. Still walking down the same road I see things I have never noticed before… I think this has to do more with perspective than my observation skills.  When I arrived in Tetovo my walking had purpose, get food, find a store, learn how to get places.  I know how and where to get these things now. I know where I can get the cheese that I like and where water jugs are the cheapest.  I also know where the bookstore is along the walk to the center.  I know all 4 places you can purchase roasted chickens on the walk.  I know where the taxi stops are, and I even know some good local restaurants.  But today I saw a building I had never noticed.  Perhaps it was situational… my situation now is much different then 5 months ago.  Although I still stand out, my red hair doesn’t quite blend in, and although I don’t know the language and its obvious, I function in this community, I am a member of the daily life, but yet until today, I had not really noticed things I have walked and driven by many times.  But the good news is, I still have 4 months to experience all the parts of Tetovo and Macedonia I have yet to observe!

Lesson: At times we become so wrote in our routines, we forget to look around. Other times we are so filled with purpose that the world around us blends into the background.