Day 227 - Wednesday - 4/25/2012

 I had the honor of being a part of the Tetovo Library and American Corner Tetovo's poetry contest today. Students were invited to write poetry for the competition. They could write in Macedonian, Albanian, or English, and each was a separate contest. Along with the American Corner, I was able to read the poems in English and help select a winner. I have to say, there were some very beautiful, creative and touching poems!  The presentation today included a musical selection on violin- BEAUTIFUL!  Also the all of the students, teachers and schools that participated were recognized. Each group (language) of winners received a gift and read their poems to the group. What a fun day, and a great way to inspire kids to expand their knowledge, experience and love of poetry.

Handing out awards

All contestants

The English Poetry Contestants

Since it was Wednesday, it also meant that it was time for Learning English Through Games! But since it didn't start for a few hours, I went to Vero to find a few things to take on the road trip tomorrow to Montenegro! Being the fair-skinned redhead that I am, I needed to find some sunscreen. It was suggested to me to look at Vero since they are a store where you can find most things in 1 place.  I am sure that somewhere in that store there was sunscreen, but for the life of me I could not find it... and I couldn't get the courage to try and ask. HOWEVER I had also been told that you could probably find it at the pharmacies that are throughout the city (this is also where you buy thinks like baby bottles, band-aids, thermometers). Well inside Vero there is a pharmacy and I happen to have met the owners, they are part of my friend Vesna's family, and I have met them. So after making my other purchases, I went over to their pharmacy and asked. Sure enough, they had some!  It is only block 27, but I don't plan to be out all day like I am back home at the lake during the summer, so I think this will be perfect!

At 6 it was time for games and  I had a new game for the group today- Cups!  Cups is a game where each player makes a rhythm on their cup with their hands and then pass it to the person next to them, and then repeat. If a person messes up on the rhythm or drops their cup they are out. It is quite a fun game!  After a few rounds of that I let the guys decide what game to play next. We played a round of Mafia and then some others chose to play Spoons.  What a carefree hour! LOVE IT!

Lesson: There is much joy to see between a teacher and a student - the teacher is filled with pride for the student, and the student is filled with the pride of their achievements.