tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52852279517026571212024-02-19T03:06:02.390-08:00Winter in SkopjeA blog following my 3-month AED Department Fellowship with USAID's Primary Education Project in Skopje, MacedoniaTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-15451978679700744592010-03-19T05:06:00.000-07:002010-03-19T05:16:02.081-07:00Чао Скопје... Merhaba Istanbul!Just wanted to quickly take a break from my reflective postings to give a more practical update. <br /><br />I'm sitting in the Skopje airport right now, waiting for my flight to Istanbul in about 45 minutes. I never would have thought two and a half months ago that I would have been sad to leave Macedonia, or that I would have made the kind of friendships I have. Who knows how sustainable they will prove to be, but I feel that I have a solid group of friends and acquaintances now in the Balkans. My office was so sweet this morning and all gathered together for a send off, complete with cake and even the presentation of a few very nice pens (I guess these are the kind of gifts I should be expecting now that I'm out in the real world- I would have settled with food). They each wished me well, kissed me twice, and sent me on my way... <br /><br />In two short hours I'll be landing in Istanbul- How crazy is that? My friend and fellow Sullivan Lauren is meant to pick me up at the airport, but I'm a bit nervous since as a city with 15 million people, finding one another does not sound easy. Very excited for everything there though.. I've got the Rick Steve's Istanbul City Guide downloaded to my iphone for some light plane listening. :)<br /><br />Hope all is well with you all. I'm thinking about everyone at home-- very excited to be there in a week!<br /><br />Love love love, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-69431528131298554912010-03-15T15:43:00.000-07:002010-03-15T16:42:52.905-07:00The Importance of Mindfulness//HumilityThese past few months, I've reflected very little on my own personal growth in this blog. Certainly much less than I did while in Berlin, where my stable, slow life was scattered with understated lessons- the importance of home cooking, lazy days, conversations- I shared snapshots of my life that touched me, that taught me something. <br /><br />Part of my hesitancy here has been the variety of my readers. Although I've enjoyed sharing my blog with co workers and new friends in Skopje, their presence in my audience has definitely impacted the depth in which I go into experiences here. Not to say that I have been dishonest in my feelings or untrue to the purpose of my blog, but both have been affected by potential interpretations of my observations.<br /><br />I needed to write that for my own peace of mind and although this next part is related, it may not seem to be. Bare with me, it's late. Besides, blame my upbringing as the daughter of a therapist, type A personality, or identity as a Sullivan, I'm in a sharing mood...<br /><br />THE IMPORTANCE OF MINDFULNESS<br />I think my mother/our buddhist gathering growing up had it right. Mediation, reflection, and breathing truly are the keys to a good life. Not only a good life, but also a productive and fulfilling one. <br /><br />In the past few years, I have become incredibly self-critical. At times, its manifestation is negative-- sending me into an overly anal state of self-deprecation about most of my physical, emotional, mental capacities. I become sloth like and withdrawn- blaming myself and others for uncontrollable circumstances. During a good time, however, my intensity allows me to be self aware of my positive qualities and identify areas of strength and of needed improvement. It is in this latter state that I find myself now: intentionally in a state of reflection and re-evaluation as I enter a new chapter of my life (or multiple new chapters- seattle/alaska/post-grad). Perhaps the fact that I am now able to slow down and talk about these emotional experiences comes from a new found maturity or the simple opportunity when removed from my native environment, or a blog audience to virtually bounce ideas off of. In any case, it has improved the way I interact and the way I evaluate situations. As I shared last week, I can now see different perspectives and put myself in others' shoes- obviously not always crossing ethnic barriers, rather dropping my own self-righteousness for the sake of friendship or peace or communication in general. Even when others aren't willing to do so. I cannot say that I always act like this or that I don't lash out at times and become defensive, but I now understand the lack of validity or productiveness in those confrontations. I see that true confidence is found not through falsified ego-inflation (attainable short term through staunchly defending ones opinion and self-affirmation), but through long term reflection, discernment... and therapy. <br /><br />It is also through the invaluable quality of admitting when one is wrong. The more experiences I have in life, the more I recognize the importance of being humble. This goes along with mindfulness, as I think it is very difficult to be a thoughtful arrogant individual. And obviously, humbleness (is this even a word?)... humility is a sign of true confidence and stability, as it suggests a lack of need for material recognition, but rather internal affirmation. <br /><br /><br />Ok. I'm going in circles. Mindfulness=good. Humility=good. Self-reflection=gooooood. <br /><br />Goals for these next months as I get back to Seattle:<br />1. Be Mindful. Take time to reflect. Take time to evaluate. Keep values/goals in mind.<br />2. Be Humble. Listen without ulterior motives/ waiting for the chance to speak.<br />3. Be Simple. Clear unneeded clutter. <br /><br />I would love to hear your feedback. Shoot me an email, or make a coffee date when I arrive where ever it is you live. I thrive in conversation and dialogue, and, as you can see, reflection on ones' own is only productive for the length of a circle...<br /><br />Thanks for listening. <br />In love and in peace, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-7936275293281934742010-03-10T01:07:00.000-08:002010-03-10T01:11:10.567-08:00Empowerment and PerspectiveDear Friends, <br /><br />I only have one week [+ 3 days] left in Skopje and am entering into a time of reflection as I prepare to return to Seattle and the craziness that is Spring Quarter. <br /><br /> As I begin the transition back to Seattle and into the academic sphere, I wanted to share a small personal reflection with you, specifically about the words <span style="font-weight:bold;">empowerment</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">perspective</span>.<br /><br />These are two terms that I thought I understood- I am empowered because I am a woman who can vote, I am educated, I am respected in certain circles. I understand different perspectives because I have worked with minority populations, listened to their stories and respect foreign cultures. But empowered does just mean having power and being "culturally sensitive" doesn't just mean avoiding racial slurs or offensive lingo. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Empowerment:</span><br />I am beginning to believe that empowerment is less about the state of having power and more about the "EM" part. This prefix implies a process-- putting something into something. For example, I already am in power. I was born into my right to vote, to cut my hair, to speak my mind. I was born into a family whose values I respect and share. It is easy, therefore, for me to step into a culture like Macedonia and say, oh, it's easy to break down ethnic boundaries, it's very simply to make a school green. I do it, I recycle. But I forget that it was not I who took those first steps and fought against the basic, accepted status quo. And I don't know if I would have had the courage to do so. I do not mean to negate or put down our culture where we often take things for granted, simply to say that I have learned so much from these students and people here who are struggling to feel empowered. People who believe in things their parents and communities don't understand or validate. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Perspective:</span><br />I think in any country we grow up believing that the history we learned is unbiased and true. Perhaps this is my own bias, but I think American history prides itself especially on representing both sides -- although the mass genocide of Native Americans is by no means flashed about throughout history books, we have learned it. Wait, I take that back. If we were to have a true American History, it wouldn't start with the country's foundation, rather any course would include all tribes and battles that were fought before the arrival of the white man... I can't even name one fight. <br /><br />The same situation is everywhere, I suppose, but especially exaggerated in Macedonia. With two large communities divided by language, religion, and ethnicity in many sectors of society including education, the histories they learn have been separated as well. In Macedonian language classrooms they learn Macedonian history--- the history of the ethnic Macedonians. In Albanian language classrooms, they learn the history of ethnic Albanians. But they don't learn each other's history. <br /><br />How could this not do harm? <br /><br />In this social analysis paper I am writing right now, I am doing my best at presenting a fair and unbiased version of events that have happened in the Former Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia.. But when is one a separatist and when is that same person fighting for independence. When does a terrorist become a freedom fighter? When do you start the chain of events that triggers mass murder.. Maybe histories about Yugoslavia portray Serbia as the main perpetrator [i am not disagreeing with this assertion], but mention nothing of the Croatian genocide of Serbs during the Second World War... <br /><br /><br />I know both these issues are neither new nor simple. I know it's easier to say all of this being an outsider and not understanding the complexities of the situation. I know my desire to be unbiased comes from my American P.C. culture where we think that what we say/do/think is not offensive to anyone. I suppose all I can do is write about it.. hopefully provides some food for thought for others. <br /><br />Best, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-51936596946573757412010-03-08T10:35:00.001-08:002010-03-08T10:44:12.703-08:00JUMP if you like Serbia!... or just stand and smileMy friend Beth has a tradition of taking a jumping photo in each country she goes to. I just may start doing that as well. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqb59iUthcBWTm4xzM0or-y6UCD5pJhBz9gLDzs4-lLAHlp1xiaJ1Z045sOQLcrYT-PUrl0Mejfqyr0TPtLnt5HGG-q49sWx46GVItYlZs7ryxS0RXzOyVYu9QqkYiw0-rpI37qjExnTA/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0220e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqb59iUthcBWTm4xzM0or-y6UCD5pJhBz9gLDzs4-lLAHlp1xiaJ1Z045sOQLcrYT-PUrl0Mejfqyr0TPtLnt5HGG-q49sWx46GVItYlZs7ryxS0RXzOyVYu9QqkYiw0-rpI37qjExnTA/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0220e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446333783761191266" /></a><br />#2<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mziWIw4S5ehyjp882e0oGYuCc3nNrNfF1OU2BZaI3e5UmuoCT9GqW5H8Ng4w8juDqL-qLM8IdFANbREVQ4nhNRY1llta7CSibyAU_A1mavAiDjNafuNY1dQEOlO4q582SfA6_9Ham9c9/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0099e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mziWIw4S5ehyjp882e0oGYuCc3nNrNfF1OU2BZaI3e5UmuoCT9GqW5H8Ng4w8juDqL-qLM8IdFANbREVQ4nhNRY1llta7CSibyAU_A1mavAiDjNafuNY1dQEOlO4q582SfA6_9Ham9c9/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0099e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446333773407878242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRj8X6FrWWouArPGay6wmU9gKXyX_XkT_JrgI7ynzm-DMX6THnDs-wvWvK6hMJHBCktmyzN-yBmIkmjCzB2AV7JLA9J27hE_iqXErdpPo5KUUVnI3Ft3UeWqY9UdRb6XwGmhF6ENK4L4CS/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0255e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRj8X6FrWWouArPGay6wmU9gKXyX_XkT_JrgI7ynzm-DMX6THnDs-wvWvK6hMJHBCktmyzN-yBmIkmjCzB2AV7JLA9J27hE_iqXErdpPo5KUUVnI3Ft3UeWqY9UdRb6XwGmhF6ENK4L4CS/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0255e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446334391215461650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAMC0MVrkXB1EQZeRdPb3DEFrDXT36XsiFyTDGW1E_M9nFW0nSB5D5zHEzRZviLRxu-aSzH22ufGO5oXNyEXa6S6xknPg5lhv9vAmAL1epS7Yz0FgKk743qbGzawBDNFhf0NICNwjl-FB/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0149e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAMC0MVrkXB1EQZeRdPb3DEFrDXT36XsiFyTDGW1E_M9nFW0nSB5D5zHEzRZviLRxu-aSzH22ufGO5oXNyEXa6S6xknPg5lhv9vAmAL1epS7Yz0FgKk743qbGzawBDNFhf0NICNwjl-FB/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0149e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446334381455390018" /></a><br />The Whole Gang... <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC6wX466p6dCsw5cZYTJhC4p8OXmabhwMn0ai5NMdeJFplEIaCHzj3tM_GwJs-0-eFuTJ0Vi4TVA96aMqDRgg_RkYRhx420uLl7kYEulzZtzIjLNKnSD5Pp48OA9thRAnh7sPInX6TcYI/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0135e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC6wX466p6dCsw5cZYTJhC4p8OXmabhwMn0ai5NMdeJFplEIaCHzj3tM_GwJs-0-eFuTJ0Vi4TVA96aMqDRgg_RkYRhx420uLl7kYEulzZtzIjLNKnSD5Pp48OA9thRAnh7sPInX6TcYI/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0135e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446334375440207650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7anUGDoVnkwxO6gfFIDNUsfd85qK2vz5qnbSvhWvmpKGYjnyqDEfPLPCF_-4bdzxiJ3IVll-YctAGS0u83h8Aq4y-D8c1aE2nFoTdRSQ79XSbG7FII5rbu-pWOp0sVUSrdhGVbHLHXW-/s1600-h/2010_0226+Serbia+0133e.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7anUGDoVnkwxO6gfFIDNUsfd85qK2vz5qnbSvhWvmpKGYjnyqDEfPLPCF_-4bdzxiJ3IVll-YctAGS0u83h8Aq4y-D8c1aE2nFoTdRSQ79XSbG7FII5rbu-pWOp0sVUSrdhGVbHLHXW-/s320/2010_0226+Serbia+0133e.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446334370555596418" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-56100613438962000532010-03-06T05:03:00.000-08:002010-03-08T02:09:21.683-08:00Local ColorSaturday<br />A felt like a semi local today... I walked around downtown a bit after mailing a box of things home and then stopped by the green market on my way home. While there, I ran into the Green Club director from one the Green School, Drita, in the small Albanian village on the outskirts of Skopje. He was working at one of the vegetable/fruit stands and we chatted a bit- all in Macedonian! Then after buying bananas and lemons, I was walking home and ran into the husband who lives below us-- the landlord-- and we spoke a bit as well. It was nice to feel like Skopje was a small enough town where I would know people. <br /><br />It snowed last night, but it's beautiful and sunny this morning. <br />I'll be back in Seattle in just over three weeks. How crazy is that?<br />Love love love.<br /><br />glücklich<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRbbKCt9SBqjvQBiSydZW3A32-nW3pI7FRSJNYpreaxx0uafSkmcBZ9uKosKGpgVTfZ32Ig9970V1-T5NK94Lj3sV90fZljYHytn2t6B8S0MOakk2cHs01EBLjpRAP9sedbSxtgHnDUpn/s1600-h/DSC_0057.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRbbKCt9SBqjvQBiSydZW3A32-nW3pI7FRSJNYpreaxx0uafSkmcBZ9uKosKGpgVTfZ32Ig9970V1-T5NK94Lj3sV90fZljYHytn2t6B8S0MOakk2cHs01EBLjpRAP9sedbSxtgHnDUpn/s320/DSC_0057.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445509407254470850" /></a><br />les fleurs<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYj1fcGi5lwkzwRSnCuz9G99b71LS-whMW-_jq2N9N0Ewnd3w1Xj8eRv2ikAoCkg0RpoQDBppiywx6ILIpng6KZkKN3FXiMVIzK3Nf90fg17ktCET7ZpCszJYA_d7FCW8LWyZwfmgDoj9/s1600-h/DSC_0018.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYj1fcGi5lwkzwRSnCuz9G99b71LS-whMW-_jq2N9N0Ewnd3w1Xj8eRv2ikAoCkg0RpoQDBppiywx6ILIpng6KZkKN3FXiMVIzK3Nf90fg17ktCET7ZpCszJYA_d7FCW8LWyZwfmgDoj9/s320/DSC_0018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445509398363282354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8sKPQd9zX-b9mf2DxkONBhhLuBCjrAMJU_CIOPXs-_c52AFbj1jlzLXMZSHgXwBX6w7LwVHlQsCkkVJH5lsMH5dtdheprUFRPKMHsMvO7kctVZ3w4ShbWwM3iKXpH5UK8uaike4NabiUU/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8sKPQd9zX-b9mf2DxkONBhhLuBCjrAMJU_CIOPXs-_c52AFbj1jlzLXMZSHgXwBX6w7LwVHlQsCkkVJH5lsMH5dtdheprUFRPKMHsMvO7kctVZ3w4ShbWwM3iKXpH5UK8uaike4NabiUU/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445509394056084082" /></a><br />зеленчук<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel0jabYQEVGudvugacJc1v5soeUI81fbw5yNQKsLByeT8PI9zCzE-m5MXkgFNTsaNGFqPT99bxGsyByKGp5pRthgIKouQLr5iQiEnT_ug8saUAiaFdmxGnvffriNhxZRrwB6jD67Fxo0E/s1600-h/DSC_0021.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel0jabYQEVGudvugacJc1v5soeUI81fbw5yNQKsLByeT8PI9zCzE-m5MXkgFNTsaNGFqPT99bxGsyByKGp5pRthgIKouQLr5iQiEnT_ug8saUAiaFdmxGnvffriNhxZRrwB6jD67Fxo0E/s320/DSC_0021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445509392263757570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIQQeJajSyjEYCu0PwuzyRHbbbWA7yV3_CP3E0Car6oz-AtI3H-Eq5d5OiCwhCTTPvVIf2nu5ZgeDN_f3Cz8QWms6NLPQyNfX8F_60ZO2BOxY58BofBNpGsvoLBUmCiEZ_bmvBgRZ7DSV/s1600-h/DSC_0023.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIQQeJajSyjEYCu0PwuzyRHbbbWA7yV3_CP3E0Car6oz-AtI3H-Eq5d5OiCwhCTTPvVIf2nu5ZgeDN_f3Cz8QWms6NLPQyNfX8F_60ZO2BOxY58BofBNpGsvoLBUmCiEZ_bmvBgRZ7DSV/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445509377544255794" /></a><br />his man did agree to have his photo taken... i promise<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MDn8VaDaWiQEY5pI12zwMF4FVqTIm83QUr32N7Yv0nCw8u2_0thxnCWpFctKET0YjVtmYUJnKX4BLN-x9Ce4HBVMQBuL-1Dz3q2HrvT-CqOhDgkhMTwSlOOwVLXW3SWLx2r0itmwHqLP/s1600-h/DSC_0024.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8MDn8VaDaWiQEY5pI12zwMF4FVqTIm83QUr32N7Yv0nCw8u2_0thxnCWpFctKET0YjVtmYUJnKX4BLN-x9Ce4HBVMQBuL-1Dz3q2HrvT-CqOhDgkhMTwSlOOwVLXW3SWLx2r0itmwHqLP/s320/DSC_0024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445506373553770178" /></a><br />garlic.garlic.garlic.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBisC6eWFU1_uaB5ukRwyRqLRfOfRwNOF95C1E4hDRw1qyGjiHsZJacfQkhQ34Un5AgQUdtaV5ZX8Lq18Wd_subcyFhXRzaQnhBSQor42Yk-wmz292mcxM2IMDSuv3U-p_OSl_5CidNjWv/s1600-h/DSC_0026.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBisC6eWFU1_uaB5ukRwyRqLRfOfRwNOF95C1E4hDRw1qyGjiHsZJacfQkhQ34Un5AgQUdtaV5ZX8Lq18Wd_subcyFhXRzaQnhBSQor42Yk-wmz292mcxM2IMDSuv3U-p_OSl_5CidNjWv/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445506367773386786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemlIfEAUDzNskZP7uMy6zVVY3sZVTVBapPWN8lAkCGNdOwLcLyi2RGOPTgvjHag5qmPHI2fFtT8666-8FVSDJEVGdSOABpKnVNuGBwkjTk4UmmMA6KOY3VtbWLz4PB_jiOG1z9eHvmmrX/s1600-h/DSC_0027.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemlIfEAUDzNskZP7uMy6zVVY3sZVTVBapPWN8lAkCGNdOwLcLyi2RGOPTgvjHag5qmPHI2fFtT8666-8FVSDJEVGdSOABpKnVNuGBwkjTk4UmmMA6KOY3VtbWLz4PB_jiOG1z9eHvmmrX/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445506364685213218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16JjeP5PuChbtLKCwbMSsiCVymT8i-M1tSgxxfoaHCRxtx8_cIl_K-ZNKAimyETT5zxevjH29lFZ99P2LyiX7InOPXM6izE_7L79Rwj08xnvw7xzRmFTRfURRCF3dWEj63w4-cvs1T-36/s1600-h/DSC_0060.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16JjeP5PuChbtLKCwbMSsiCVymT8i-M1tSgxxfoaHCRxtx8_cIl_K-ZNKAimyETT5zxevjH29lFZ99P2LyiX7InOPXM6izE_7L79Rwj08xnvw7xzRmFTRfURRCF3dWEj63w4-cvs1T-36/s320/DSC_0060.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445506353077020498" /></a><br />no need to watch food,inc.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHe0Iu6xiXIbQwOW02XQy7_bFaoMVekIpndq6arbBMNl6rDFABvkS536lfgQssVWoT1Nf-XWYN_B5m9QPSFCw_OH2C1wHTPnOQ9CZxm3nH7aq8JKeRdwMuSQEoBUbBcy25ny4DC472cat8/s1600-h/DSC_0063.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHe0Iu6xiXIbQwOW02XQy7_bFaoMVekIpndq6arbBMNl6rDFABvkS536lfgQssVWoT1Nf-XWYN_B5m9QPSFCw_OH2C1wHTPnOQ9CZxm3nH7aq8JKeRdwMuSQEoBUbBcy25ny4DC472cat8/s320/DSC_0063.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445506348535036674" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-28282681840391484712010-03-05T05:05:00.001-08:002010-03-05T05:40:15.678-08:00Belgrade PhotosI've become lazy and senile in my old age and now have neither the energy nor memory to write a full blog entry about belgrade. Suffice it to say that I went to Belgrade last weekend with six friends: Nive, Beth, Igor (+ his boyfriend Igor who we met there), Gordona, Jordan, and Amanda. We saw cool things including churches and synagogues and ate good food and drank good wine. It was a lovely weekend and I drove my first rental car. No photos of that, because I'm not actually sure I was supposed to be doing that.. whoops. <br /><br />There are some good photos still to come on Beth's camera. JUMPING PHOTOS in the works.<br />Enjoy.<br />xx, <br />Me<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXzL4SRJZknLMjRzrHO0xQbipVRGPSTXVvnBs8aO90RA752CxxJr1zjgGZ-StzJ2sVJfyok53pRqAS85fIAh2Njf3tXJl6PcU0bL5JhzSed50N963SSFtMBB58I46mrJDOBP32HNWzySW/s1600-h/DSC_0008.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXzL4SRJZknLMjRzrHO0xQbipVRGPSTXVvnBs8aO90RA752CxxJr1zjgGZ-StzJ2sVJfyok53pRqAS85fIAh2Njf3tXJl6PcU0bL5JhzSed50N963SSFtMBB58I46mrJDOBP32HNWzySW/s320/DSC_0008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445143038305400914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWi2KIjPsqAMcdshB2z9BBjba2wiK_f4M-gJ_DJtIJS4okoKNLWd6joNoWY1UimNg0QyBD43hTxmsTePZYlMaO4lSvMKaIrpEoMOM9LCyxENsiPYkgy0bqXrMA9Wxw2B_JTOeUKYDkRh2/s1600-h/DSC_0012.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWi2KIjPsqAMcdshB2z9BBjba2wiK_f4M-gJ_DJtIJS4okoKNLWd6joNoWY1UimNg0QyBD43hTxmsTePZYlMaO4lSvMKaIrpEoMOM9LCyxENsiPYkgy0bqXrMA9Wxw2B_JTOeUKYDkRh2/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445142225634563314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHlbH-80BY8_5MahxaZbhRitNdgwC61UVSbZ2LqAqLj5TzqL6K3AIXsEDaFiWaeINgUn_Xpua7v28oanR2bYXHIbZRmr-WGJUswOxARB0m-0TM-ED4CE2IZ1dhBZxa61zxJQvLC7jy-em/s1600-h/DSC_0018.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHlbH-80BY8_5MahxaZbhRitNdgwC61UVSbZ2LqAqLj5TzqL6K3AIXsEDaFiWaeINgUn_Xpua7v28oanR2bYXHIbZRmr-WGJUswOxARB0m-0TM-ED4CE2IZ1dhBZxa61zxJQvLC7jy-em/s320/DSC_0018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445142218276920002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6ZsabphiTJEHom5grtcjU0bzOpcAhK-Ph2auPKGHm2kopYYbKlbrsbLtItlITQJUXm_e6Qf-W3wQCU0FZqu2W-Ow5gxZiqUq-ZJUC5kig24MyRs3smb-fNUHfLxsdaQmcG2wSGGpFm9a/s1600-h/DSC_0039.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT6ZsabphiTJEHom5grtcjU0bzOpcAhK-Ph2auPKGHm2kopYYbKlbrsbLtItlITQJUXm_e6Qf-W3wQCU0FZqu2W-Ow5gxZiqUq-ZJUC5kig24MyRs3smb-fNUHfLxsdaQmcG2wSGGpFm9a/s320/DSC_0039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445142214153350530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp4nBxXaxxF3pfFryEEeZ0zdwzFAq_PKgZ8rwXcf_VjLNy1ABoYd9AHwtONzyqEUoDtcF0CYHV-aKfOH4Yt_vX9kZWC8fBczfXlFZvLz_hJaf_DZPTM3bsGflijOFwFesd-YhJSDaWwOh/s1600-h/DSC_0053.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp4nBxXaxxF3pfFryEEeZ0zdwzFAq_PKgZ8rwXcf_VjLNy1ABoYd9AHwtONzyqEUoDtcF0CYHV-aKfOH4Yt_vX9kZWC8fBczfXlFZvLz_hJaf_DZPTM3bsGflijOFwFesd-YhJSDaWwOh/s320/DSC_0053.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445142205093472242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB3DiKA7Yi12yWOGJ-bYnhcdTjJ7T82r3uQujSCd9WaED2_hFs7Ij9r7IohqTc8ujty_comCistd3O_urVrWP2KYd03oFcDeGQElbl6234CPjRyrDhjle5mHccsTghizJgzb5ln2bnaim/s1600-h/DSC_0054.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRB3DiKA7Yi12yWOGJ-bYnhcdTjJ7T82r3uQujSCd9WaED2_hFs7Ij9r7IohqTc8ujty_comCistd3O_urVrWP2KYd03oFcDeGQElbl6234CPjRyrDhjle5mHccsTghizJgzb5ln2bnaim/s320/DSC_0054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445142195610589090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Bg2WZbFdTzSZPbPbp-9gc93O6NATY-UOtCv4lnSD0d4btgmLLJGRD3lhqgHelte6HIA_ybIIJDPTMMZ61Bt4M8Maw5jkoZtoekK2J8SusC8DTwlvr2DfJ_TOPjl4S2hckU-lCfhvuQJw/s1600-h/DSC_0062.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Bg2WZbFdTzSZPbPbp-9gc93O6NATY-UOtCv4lnSD0d4btgmLLJGRD3lhqgHelte6HIA_ybIIJDPTMMZ61Bt4M8Maw5jkoZtoekK2J8SusC8DTwlvr2DfJ_TOPjl4S2hckU-lCfhvuQJw/s320/DSC_0062.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445138831736358690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJs8eGPxajZGxi-W4LAXVczn53GB9P2vIsfkXnOzJnV5vaJsT0pW0lT-CtNwM_PVYMUxk-9L0errIrdrlcQu9toDtfN92QUvEbGKrndA-qCp6GgT_JPxpZhUr3yFmludoikJCleeZIVAK/s1600-h/DSC_0063.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJs8eGPxajZGxi-W4LAXVczn53GB9P2vIsfkXnOzJnV5vaJsT0pW0lT-CtNwM_PVYMUxk-9L0errIrdrlcQu9toDtfN92QUvEbGKrndA-qCp6GgT_JPxpZhUr3yFmludoikJCleeZIVAK/s320/DSC_0063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445138825801959842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUFnXHzk9vkDeXxtGmOWuK-VMs23AIAyhPeGkPl2BqpdimCzDDnZTlaSR0O6ZFA518mOF62IA-qpSFABdrAvhewC0pvHj4dWBWwrUsWCTm9mi5fKqdP9K852oJ-UeYF5MhA4kx4x3Aao-/s1600-h/DSC_0073.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUFnXHzk9vkDeXxtGmOWuK-VMs23AIAyhPeGkPl2BqpdimCzDDnZTlaSR0O6ZFA518mOF62IA-qpSFABdrAvhewC0pvHj4dWBWwrUsWCTm9mi5fKqdP9K852oJ-UeYF5MhA4kx4x3Aao-/s320/DSC_0073.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445138819467085042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_i3XS6KC5-PmydOW3YOvlBeij3l0z4foBzcfYnPzgD25wrAGi-8FNukUO4LQmQXLFdmYV3MFscjol_QDbLh5CoI0w1s_VtNLrH4O6b5LDSUGuvip29n9UTPmmmSl1dVCcrebPIoFwXh6J/s1600-h/DSC_0083.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_i3XS6KC5-PmydOW3YOvlBeij3l0z4foBzcfYnPzgD25wrAGi-8FNukUO4LQmQXLFdmYV3MFscjol_QDbLh5CoI0w1s_VtNLrH4O6b5LDSUGuvip29n9UTPmmmSl1dVCcrebPIoFwXh6J/s320/DSC_0083.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445138811819983906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOY1itl9hCfhbU29GkSu3PgAiIlZqfIprQ53uJlMXfl8Dqql2YUX-6V86N_RD1iNGBK7dCdlf1Zyb3FvJ7q6iQ7Pz5F7meuB2BChr34HLRZHFtLKhNzyiqFsDInIt4Ycyl92Oc5Uq_XbF9/s1600-h/DSC_0095.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOY1itl9hCfhbU29GkSu3PgAiIlZqfIprQ53uJlMXfl8Dqql2YUX-6V86N_RD1iNGBK7dCdlf1Zyb3FvJ7q6iQ7Pz5F7meuB2BChr34HLRZHFtLKhNzyiqFsDInIt4Ycyl92Oc5Uq_XbF9/s320/DSC_0095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445138807211668322" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-50135032105071834262010-03-03T07:22:00.001-08:002010-03-03T07:35:34.150-08:00Rabbit RabbitI guess I'm three days late to greet the new month. Oh well-- things go slower in Macedonia.<br />This is a good post to read if you haven't been keeping up with my blog [which is totally understandable], as it is the reflection/update that I submitted for J.Quill to be posted on the IDIP website. If you missed my first reflection or feel the need to see a cute photo of me as a platinum blonde, here is it: <br /><br />http://www.seattleu.edu/IDIP/Inner.aspx?id=55446<br /><br /><br />Reflection #2<br /><br />So here I am. My winter wear that I resented upon arrival is long packed away, my Macedonian language exceeding any and all personal expectations and I was told last week by a local, “You know enough about our country to get a Macedonian passport”. I’m not quite sure that’s true, but I accept the compliment with pride as I look back at the wealth of knowledge, personally, academically, and professionally I have acquired over the past few months here in Skopje. <br /><br />I mentioned in my first reflection that I was working with Green Schools. My involvement with the environmental friendly skole ending up scrapping my idea of a qualitative evaluation system as many of the schools were unable to provide data or figures from which one could properly and fairly asses schools, and instead resigning their website and creating “project profiles” for the four pilot schools that are in their second year old Green Clubs now. I figure that since a main part of the evaluation system was for having concrete ways to show improvements done, the profiles will do that same this in a more holistic and qualitative approach. They look not only at decreases in expenditures, but also at changes in students’ behavior and attitudes, teacher-student communication, and student empowerment. Although my role in the Green Clubs has been almost exclusively one of observation, I was moved and inspired by the students involved and am incredibly proud of each of them for the passion and enthusiasm they display.<br /><br />As I am still not yet done with my internship, I cannot comment on the completion of the second half of my work here, but I have become involved with peer-mediation clubs and organizations working with inter-ethnic dialogue and non-violent communication through the Forum ZFD. It is with this focus where I have discovered a passion. In high school back in Alaska, I worked in this area as a member of the Student for Social Responsibility and Mediation, but have not revisited or connected this interest with my recent world traveling until now. Here, I have discovered the value of education and youth work in social change, especially in the realm of multi-culturalism and inter-ethnic dialogue. In contrast to adults, the students I have observed and met feel passionate and empowered to change the status quo in the way they see their nation being ripped apart. As young as I am, I realize how easily jaded one becomes by society constantly rejecting social change from below, and am even personally inspired by them. And again, very very proud. These kids are amazing.<br /><br />I’ve begun writing my social analysis paper due at the end of spring quarter. Reason number one for starting so early is my own fantastic forethought that I will probably not want to spend multiple hours in front of a computer during my senior spring quarter, but reason number two that has become much more important since I’ve begun the process has been the perspectives and assistance I have received from friends and colleges. Being so diverse and with ethnicity such a touchy subject, having differing backgrounds and cultures of my proof-readers has made a world of difference. <br /><br />I will be sad to leave Skopje. I’ve made good friends, started pilates, and now will only eat French fries with sirenja (amazing Macedonian cheese) on them. I’ve established a life. Although I’m excited to go back and join my Seattle U and Alaska communities in the next few months, I look forward to coming back to Macedonia [next time I’m skipping the winter]!<br /><br />Again, if you want to read more about my experience, please feel free to check out my blog: www.tessinmacedonia.blogspot.com<br /><br />In peace (and non-violent communication), <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-18599139383631716182010-02-25T02:47:00.001-08:002010-02-25T02:52:20.856-08:00WEBSITE!Hello my virtual audience!<br />The website that I have put a lot of effort into (I did the entire design and wrote the text for it) has finally been launched!<br />It's not quite done, I'm finishing up the Project Profiles, which should be done next week, and I we need to edit the donate page and add a photo gallery, but it's looking pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself. <br />Check it out!<br /><br />www.greenschools.org.mk<br /><br />Please let me know if you like it-- I've worked very hard :)<br /><br />Love, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-29513676302749826922010-02-20T14:55:00.000-08:002010-02-21T04:17:42.569-08:00Ohrid!I am living the good life right now. <br />Ohrid, which lies on the lake of the same name across from the Albania, is the gem of Macedonia. And after being here for two days, I can see why. <br />I arrived on Friday as an observer for a three days long training/workshop for high school kids from Skopje in non-violent communication and conflict resolution. The drive is 2.5 hours, which, frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of doing on a weekly basis, but it's beautiful once you arrive here. The lake is wild and serene, calming and unsettling all at the same time. I hadn't spent much time in this city, so on Saturday, Igor - a macedonian who lived in Germany for 8 years - took me around the quaint little old town. It's UNESCO protected and reminds me of a little italian or french village, with winding cobblestone streets. Although now many of the residents are rebuilding their houses to look old, the age of the town seeps through the new renovations. Some houses are made of simple sticks or small boards, falling apart at the edges... The water comes right up to the homes and restaurants that line the coast.. We went to two churched, St. Sophia and St. Johann/John. St. John was my favorite. It's located out on a little peninsula with waves crashing against the sturdy stone walls that surround the gardens and church. It was misting while we were there and a took a bit of time and sat on one of the walls and looked out- imagining that I could see Albania (which is somewhere on the other side of the lake)... Places like this always make me a bit homesick, or perhaps homegrateful is a better word. I don't need to rush back to false outer point to skip rocks or dance on the beaches of Gearhart in OR, but my heart aches a little. Skopje has a river but nothing with such vitality, beauty and spirit like this lake. I was moved and haven't quite recovered since.. Open water (or water that looks open) makes me more contemplative.<br /><br />Last night, all the kids and leaders went to a restaurant in the center which is owned by the same people who own the hotel-- which is absolutely beautiful p.s.. There was a traditional Macedonian folk band playing music and Binche, one of the high schoolers who speaks amazing English and has been helping me out a lot, got me to get up and dance. So there we were, have way through our chicken stake and french fries and suddenly I'm holding hands with strangers and doing a Macedonian polka. Maybe it's wasn't a polka, but it was certainly the closest thing I've ever done to one! I loved that after spending three days with these kids, who have been talking about intercultural dialogue and some of the problems seen in their schools that I was dancing between an Albanian and a Bosnia, all united in a Macedonian folk dance. Although ethnic and language conflict is definitely an issue here and something not to be ignored, there are so many beautiful people who are more than happy to unite around a common culture. [side note: perfect timing-- It's a wonderful world by Louie Armstrong just came on in the hotel... ahhh background music to my life]<br /><br />I would talk more about the workshop, but honestly, I understood very little of it. I recognized many of the games from other courses I have taken, but what I think I enjoyed more was watching the students become more comfortable and vulnerable with one another and with me as the weekend went on. Regardless of the lesson learned inside the classroom, I hope these kids will remember how much they learned outside of it.<br /><br />Fr. Cobb has us do a retreat every year in addition to our Oregon Coast funfest, and i think this could count for half of it. It had times of water and contemplation, but not a lot of alone time for reflection. I'm considering going to Belgrade for a long weekend before I leave here which could be the other half of my retreat. Dive into history [yay] and reading and coffee shop sitting. We'll see. I bought my ticket for Istanbul to visit Lauren (a sophomore sully studying there right now) at the end of my time here, and that was $500, sooo financially, I may not be able to swing Belgrade. Not sure Istanbul will be much of a retreat though. ;)<br /><br />I can't believe I only have four weeks left. Time has flown by. I love the work I'm doing and for that reason, honestly wish I could stay here much longer. However, I'm ready to speak English at a normal pace again, and live somewhere that doesn't perpetually smell of mold. I do think it will be difficult to get back into the habit of doing homework and assigned things- I'm loving this no homework lifestyle - and hard to see so many of my friends graduate while I pretend to, but come back for an extra quarter... I'm content to be here and I will be content to leave. Just trying to enjoy every moment that I have. (Oh, but I do wish spring would come!)<br /><br />I'll write more soon, this is probably enough for now!<br />Pictures below:<br />Love love love, TEss<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pWKnAdf29osi-UjR_Ikx3RMlEH7LZhBOOc8jyBiaxcLtkcDd0Zotqi3pwG5cCq6odcS2ZnTkfgHkK8W4hyphenhyphenyaog5BlloX45eMSuw50bL_6qipZ84j_5VH8jcsLo-El4WJA4wonQKUUBeq/s1600-h/DSC_0029.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pWKnAdf29osi-UjR_Ikx3RMlEH7LZhBOOc8jyBiaxcLtkcDd0Zotqi3pwG5cCq6odcS2ZnTkfgHkK8W4hyphenhyphenyaog5BlloX45eMSuw50bL_6qipZ84j_5VH8jcsLo-El4WJA4wonQKUUBeq/s320/DSC_0029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440669180015323362" /></a><br />View from my window!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39yxbrwTqw2FnWoJ3mRvs0K0twJClwUIId8UQGV14Krilsign4oKjHKBJu28hoWZkOvnLVQlkiGGk7xBFBV8d5CZzoXEveeo5UGwFzL2LZxAKvAlBsUkO-QPiB0mM7m0wRNwF6elQ1Mb/s1600-h/DSC_0056.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39yxbrwTqw2FnWoJ3mRvs0K0twJClwUIId8UQGV14Krilsign4oKjHKBJu28hoWZkOvnLVQlkiGGk7xBFBV8d5CZzoXEveeo5UGwFzL2LZxAKvAlBsUkO-QPiB0mM7m0wRNwF6elQ1Mb/s320/DSC_0056.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440669173435729298" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLCOMjcyTX5tAtnSiYZJ4u-f5UHO8OWKq5D0w7VFhK2cdLfOD_4ViMjgvTfQuLmy1u30Q_FINoj_IqHl-RmHPzWNrj24WstSIVc4oT7QF7G83Bq5xlWhdR8eSnwv4W0xecl_gDdJGXhPp/s1600-h/DSC_0073.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLCOMjcyTX5tAtnSiYZJ4u-f5UHO8OWKq5D0w7VFhK2cdLfOD_4ViMjgvTfQuLmy1u30Q_FINoj_IqHl-RmHPzWNrj24WstSIVc4oT7QF7G83Bq5xlWhdR8eSnwv4W0xecl_gDdJGXhPp/s320/DSC_0073.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440669167192718674" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjXJgkt0uOupiEeVyduQZvwPWvnH6Bj1wqHnHISQRUCG9WPhibWlI6SgfQgG-bX0exVrsjWwnh8T-uWWpCGxTaSpKTCopbaKGhFF23U9EW8mLzKRG2nJL5pGYeQ5_sEgFliEqr3GgctMy/s1600-h/DSC_0080.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjXJgkt0uOupiEeVyduQZvwPWvnH6Bj1wqHnHISQRUCG9WPhibWlI6SgfQgG-bX0exVrsjWwnh8T-uWWpCGxTaSpKTCopbaKGhFF23U9EW8mLzKRG2nJL5pGYeQ5_sEgFliEqr3GgctMy/s320/DSC_0080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440669158152225538" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIX6dTOQAQgEbO06oM8myq6Uc3RQeVfSDl0X9rRphbKQRn5s1yb_ode6KjG73_Eg3HYwrS-p5rnC51RFaFUBnL-q8x6hw1dP1m8AbldUQiyP1YODRapcumhx28OhlJkWUxzEoibp0s7aso/s1600-h/DSC_0105.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIX6dTOQAQgEbO06oM8myq6Uc3RQeVfSDl0X9rRphbKQRn5s1yb_ode6KjG73_Eg3HYwrS-p5rnC51RFaFUBnL-q8x6hw1dP1m8AbldUQiyP1YODRapcumhx28OhlJkWUxzEoibp0s7aso/s320/DSC_0105.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440669146015185314" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_C_5Vfw0gYYotX0yLfvcB7tcEBKjjE8Q9e9glddm7q6dTJaJa5xtuUPSKBsTX634BmX__Hvtf1WOkl1HhpmTHlkkBh16uxQTHcQ1K9HkQxUWEYv5WhF1DlJFfV-xwg8D9EapUO5LJcxv/s1600-h/DSC_0100.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_C_5Vfw0gYYotX0yLfvcB7tcEBKjjE8Q9e9glddm7q6dTJaJa5xtuUPSKBsTX634BmX__Hvtf1WOkl1HhpmTHlkkBh16uxQTHcQ1K9HkQxUWEYv5WhF1DlJFfV-xwg8D9EapUO5LJcxv/s320/DSC_0100.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440668524735013890" /></a><br />St. Sophia<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctKRAHkmQRu_Ge1ZwRuafAIe3784bAUNhlMioR3_CpwcPhZfCd_IGs2iHBKBoQU1jT9H5PQBq4mgnr27QazE4n9DMTV2FLpfhwR3gn8rIsP68UQD3TQbG61hvg1dKztckVFQ1Nqiu6RiC/s1600-h/DSC_0132.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctKRAHkmQRu_Ge1ZwRuafAIe3784bAUNhlMioR3_CpwcPhZfCd_IGs2iHBKBoQU1jT9H5PQBq4mgnr27QazE4n9DMTV2FLpfhwR3gn8rIsP68UQD3TQbG61hvg1dKztckVFQ1Nqiu6RiC/s320/DSC_0132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440668517309470770" /></a><br />At St. Johann<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08Yojd5CaC6tPw4jw2gdASloIyCQRPVrbvB8uNTHl-CbC_aik-wvCSfGJ9-XHZeCMd1W0PygFyMHYP1IXW0dAC3tCG-jW4ZoIyi6Yyn7PyWN7HOGbHPzBHwpMYtr9mtBy3i8CAltFOCC-/s1600-h/DSC_0135.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08Yojd5CaC6tPw4jw2gdASloIyCQRPVrbvB8uNTHl-CbC_aik-wvCSfGJ9-XHZeCMd1W0PygFyMHYP1IXW0dAC3tCG-jW4ZoIyi6Yyn7PyWN7HOGbHPzBHwpMYtr9mtBy3i8CAltFOCC-/s320/DSC_0135.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440668513407998210" /></a><br />St. Johann<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjZYbDtqpQogOIb1b7PdVrUUTCDrMyZ_YdS9fyYubu9PFpfbz4NcspsQl4Q-W0TTOHoOE_dwLEDJJx-Uv1qW-aup04UKmfWMDGVTXq50HzOmO-IKIzRi6yJRSCnHg8cgCpS2RCoOAgJtr/s1600-h/DSC_0141.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjZYbDtqpQogOIb1b7PdVrUUTCDrMyZ_YdS9fyYubu9PFpfbz4NcspsQl4Q-W0TTOHoOE_dwLEDJJx-Uv1qW-aup04UKmfWMDGVTXq50HzOmO-IKIzRi6yJRSCnHg8cgCpS2RCoOAgJtr/s320/DSC_0141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440668501420400722" /></a><br />St. Johann -- my new retreat home. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH3OAc5jcCgxWEjf3UTt5riJCQj27KHtUwMWLqk7ZhP1XGy5i5QEmfQ4exULdD3w-Eut7WNFy_czXcOEi0qMp4yBGQD6MG-Uc_wAKR_BUxhCCwG2-NhlEe7sE_3iQirTZsysxJ4Kokan6/s1600-h/DSC_0165.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH3OAc5jcCgxWEjf3UTt5riJCQj27KHtUwMWLqk7ZhP1XGy5i5QEmfQ4exULdD3w-Eut7WNFy_czXcOEi0qMp4yBGQD6MG-Uc_wAKR_BUxhCCwG2-NhlEe7sE_3iQirTZsysxJ4Kokan6/s320/DSC_0165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440668493598269586" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-88481772162948439872010-02-16T07:32:00.001-08:002010-02-16T07:54:17.591-08:00Marketing, zee Germans, and a message for the children.I'm in a big of a strange mood this afternoon as a write this. Neither good nor bad, just kind of quorky. sp? I think I may have chewed too much gum.<br /><br />Monday: <br />Morning- meeting with Keith and the Forum ZFD (referred to normally as THE GERMANS). <br />Noon- Visit to Green School- Drita (SEE PICTURES BELOW)<br />Afternoon- Meeting with Webdesigner to go over new suggestions. <br />Evening- went with Ilir to the same bar where the salsa night was. There was a band playing kind of acoustic rock... every song was my *favorite* song ever. -- They did play Layla, which really is my favorite song ever.<br /><br />Tuesday [today]: <br />Morning- write article for local paper about Drita Primary School.. apparently I'm channelling McLean and his mad journalism skills.<br />Afternoon- Visit to Green School- Mirchev Acev<br />Evening- a run and pilates.. slleeeepp<br /><br />Wednesday:<br />Morning- drive at 7:30 to Struga [2.5 hours]<br />Spend day in the schools there that I've mentioned: half alban german ian half macedonian. USAID is building a fence and installing a new surveillance system. The Germans [there's really only one at this organization, but their title is confusing to the macedonians, and i like this title better anyway] are holding focus groups to decide what still needs to be done.. perhaps holding a competition for the students' suggestions.<br />Evening- drive back [2.5 hours]<br />Evening Evening- Salsa dancing (If I'm awake)<br /><br />Thursday and Friday- Finishing Project Profiles for Green Schools. I'm beginning to think I should have gone into marketing. or design or something. It's seems to be not only what I'm good at, but I'm interested in. I think it's because it's a creative job without having to think about words... I like moving boxes around. Not so big into writing in the boxes. <br /><br />Mood: very productive.<br /><br />I need to start reading about identity mapping and brush up on my mediation skills since I'm supposed to assist in a workshop for students who are being trained to be mediators. I'm not sure my years in Gastineau Elementary and SSRM/CDC in high school qualify me as the best trainer in these areas, but it's all professional development, right?<br /><br />I've also gotten an incredible head start on not on my big IDIP paper due spring quarter, but also my Fulbright application due in October. I realize that this is a bit ridiculous, but i have time.. Something that seems to disappear in Seattle... oh Moe Bar, how I miss you. Just kidding, kids. Don't drink.<br /><br />Have a good one, my virtual friends. I'm off to make chicken and reorganize [this action allows me to feel productive, without actually putting any effort into anything]. <br /><br /><3 T$Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-65450647961286763062010-02-16T04:13:00.000-08:002010-02-16T06:21:11.590-08:00Pictures from Drita Primary SchoolThese photos are from my third Green School visit- Drita Primary School. This was the school I spoke about earlier when I blogged about my reaction to the first Green School I went to [but didn't have my camera on me and there weren't any students because it was still break]. Drita is on the outskirts of Skopje- about 20-30 minutes east of our office and is in a small Albanian village. There was trash covering the streets and fields surrounding, so one of the most important things for this school is starting a waste management/recycling system. The kids, as you can see, were adorable.<br /><br />Also: this first photo is a picture of the graveyard that I talked about. You can see a human bone poking out from the dirt<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlqaKUP_W60PL8dg1TaI4lVTkFjRtGZ0MqxCuocwC2FR-6ob5cgrLXlEduoqBa_oXKK9fmlH74w-G8WiMYrpgMr2_8xM6lx1igV1aFITdUnW5lLgMPjVYnOKvcvFCpgtjs2h-68iUc1mS/s1600-h/DSC_0026.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlqaKUP_W60PL8dg1TaI4lVTkFjRtGZ0MqxCuocwC2FR-6ob5cgrLXlEduoqBa_oXKK9fmlH74w-G8WiMYrpgMr2_8xM6lx1igV1aFITdUnW5lLgMPjVYnOKvcvFCpgtjs2h-68iUc1mS/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438845900040728210" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VQCXg0FSfSe-6R2DgLRpUELj__NtoRPfxt5xoFnY_Ni0G1sVL6_NysaL8c9KGMLWIBH3l52OFp1Pi9sylm-rYSIe9nHcTXUuc0i0ldOKX60TkBN5mveL23XkE4ZMmfLlnUA88pUqleZD/s1600-h/DSC_0034.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VQCXg0FSfSe-6R2DgLRpUELj__NtoRPfxt5xoFnY_Ni0G1sVL6_NysaL8c9KGMLWIBH3l52OFp1Pi9sylm-rYSIe9nHcTXUuc0i0ldOKX60TkBN5mveL23XkE4ZMmfLlnUA88pUqleZD/s320/DSC_0034.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438845890734824898" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8Wg8zGvRmoYm3ITQizZ5gtcc-hoZkGOWMxyewyNSi3hp6XoiDB4oWjcItycty_ADrJxRawMHifAvunWJs_8tUxDIec7DOXaut7DN6H1ZZ5wCUPm0_l4fZrjZVJIgsy7nKwzTjb_xISx_/s1600-h/DSC_0043.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8Wg8zGvRmoYm3ITQizZ5gtcc-hoZkGOWMxyewyNSi3hp6XoiDB4oWjcItycty_ADrJxRawMHifAvunWJs_8tUxDIec7DOXaut7DN6H1ZZ5wCUPm0_l4fZrjZVJIgsy7nKwzTjb_xISx_/s320/DSC_0043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438845882031039314" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdrEk6f2vmeO4oAJmFR15c1BY26D_TXVvD5e770IUxxvF7haxNdWA1BKF9c_5ral2i_yB20iB7jaJujss30Zaw6MdyI2j9Tz9gkrf4ZBOUR06MN-d2oZ8_nsi8Qeip3zZoqO_A4tKm5gG/s1600-h/DSC_0064.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdrEk6f2vmeO4oAJmFR15c1BY26D_TXVvD5e770IUxxvF7haxNdWA1BKF9c_5ral2i_yB20iB7jaJujss30Zaw6MdyI2j9Tz9gkrf4ZBOUR06MN-d2oZ8_nsi8Qeip3zZoqO_A4tKm5gG/s320/DSC_0064.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438816401817686018" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxD9jczjfordvNrAhDO0JZZIzONfMUNluVgQcqjdSmT8tTxKHJTlI3beUJFp-00hK6KY6ZWueUPioUXyV_K3FwLyNEHUYiCoaxd7oLrPi1E0OXh7fFfbuWaNAY5FyErNzNGDwA1P4hm2V/s1600-h/DSC_0079.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxD9jczjfordvNrAhDO0JZZIzONfMUNluVgQcqjdSmT8tTxKHJTlI3beUJFp-00hK6KY6ZWueUPioUXyV_K3FwLyNEHUYiCoaxd7oLrPi1E0OXh7fFfbuWaNAY5FyErNzNGDwA1P4hm2V/s320/DSC_0079.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438816392479437346" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjXARQDFZdJ4QvwSFJ3TaNmQ82EIdNy2v8FBKb-I1SRCoTCvro4PcAGdfuhugNZtPe2OvKInz2vjuoQd-9y0v6F_66eWaLQ2J3SEwZdwys3MNaH88GIBJp9MW_4rsxJwOrMgs2ST2NF-K/s1600-h/DSC_0090.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjXARQDFZdJ4QvwSFJ3TaNmQ82EIdNy2v8FBKb-I1SRCoTCvro4PcAGdfuhugNZtPe2OvKInz2vjuoQd-9y0v6F_66eWaLQ2J3SEwZdwys3MNaH88GIBJp9MW_4rsxJwOrMgs2ST2NF-K/s320/DSC_0090.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438816390681144674" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVMAR0gKYG2qPMzZdp16QxaOtx7ficKzV7BM-b27gna3oC3mLaCEqFTkeSyx_drDcqtTQjFT2GdWm79u0ywEfrRH4rlM3Wci_T9bfXD4wObGpwvt1J4ihmK8lvBvZQ3gf0WfiAm1nyR7y/s1600-h/DSC_0092.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVMAR0gKYG2qPMzZdp16QxaOtx7ficKzV7BM-b27gna3oC3mLaCEqFTkeSyx_drDcqtTQjFT2GdWm79u0ywEfrRH4rlM3Wci_T9bfXD4wObGpwvt1J4ihmK8lvBvZQ3gf0WfiAm1nyR7y/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438816380375859202" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL17tgen9-CKjVPiVRDIBlsD5zfamt-JVBNVfrFCsjd4FPoakHmzcG01mMtEHHpcNC5uv7R7LsyZ4JUjbxfKOiRSkBTC-fIkhyphenhyphenPa69y2nkXGiD5UVQ4oCEStklJEu5JKfo-EqoGpsxIie4/s1600-h/DSC_0099.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL17tgen9-CKjVPiVRDIBlsD5zfamt-JVBNVfrFCsjd4FPoakHmzcG01mMtEHHpcNC5uv7R7LsyZ4JUjbxfKOiRSkBTC-fIkhyphenhyphenPa69y2nkXGiD5UVQ4oCEStklJEu5JKfo-EqoGpsxIie4/s320/DSC_0099.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438816369397977714" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-17476362519116725402010-02-11T01:53:00.001-08:002010-02-11T02:06:35.466-08:00not so xtratuffI apparently only move to places where it's between 28-40 degrees (f) and precipitation is never ending. The snow returned yesterday, and with it, a certain glum mood settled in on the office. Melancholiness blanketing like fog reminded us that regardless of the groundhog's shadow, Macedonia still had a bit more winter. The snow didn't stick, rather, it became slush, the devil love child of snow and rain, upon arrival to the ground. <br /><br />I think slush is God's way of telling people to lighten up. It's hard to keep a straight face while wading in 3 inch deep water in soaking socks and water dripping down your nose. I am reminded of when I was in New Orleans (age 12 or so) with the Alaska Youth Choir. It was pouring, but as warm rain was incredibly foreign to us Juneau kids, we left the other choristers under the awning to frolic among the pregnant drops.<br /><br />I'm taking a class on Cuba this coming quarter. Am hoping to become extremely interested in the only warm communist country and move there.Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-7810351892042815482010-02-09T00:55:00.000-08:002010-02-11T00:09:23.984-08:00Pictures from the Green SchoolsGrigor Prlichev School in Ohrid<br />5. Feb 2010<br />Celebration of patron name day or something. The mayor is the big guy and the guy in red is the school's director. Ten minutes later the entire room lit up cigarettes.. I was like are you kidding? <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYVoS3oLZ5ftFGeYBk2rnw64vbO1RofBTtRhVa9JuP5aJ2FTHpzifPS8QVGTF-pBlEoKz4_Iu-iD_24q3vM8PHzJELeFBEG4vJqY-JlW_Q-ALvFr80FbLX35wDR2mrwY_o1hlWk8cHIYx/s1600-h/DSC_0014.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYVoS3oLZ5ftFGeYBk2rnw64vbO1RofBTtRhVa9JuP5aJ2FTHpzifPS8QVGTF-pBlEoKz4_Iu-iD_24q3vM8PHzJELeFBEG4vJqY-JlW_Q-ALvFr80FbLX35wDR2mrwY_o1hlWk8cHIYx/s320/DSC_0014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436172400504368274" /></a><br /><br />New USAID windows! The students and teachers all said they feel much safer because the wind no longer breaks their windows. Also, to greenify, their heating bill has gone down.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5NDSNHsOGdpNvy-jwVFcp2UIe39g-71SLMzW7c00exLHpnUvMwvJz7JqzZPFHlHqf6pX08xu3MzuiEzhy_kNCngKcBhMk2f0_M8YCVcGWBezyw6QXHGCkFyXXSulxgvSOommNy9GSIf5/s1600-h/DSC_0024.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5NDSNHsOGdpNvy-jwVFcp2UIe39g-71SLMzW7c00exLHpnUvMwvJz7JqzZPFHlHqf6pX08xu3MzuiEzhy_kNCngKcBhMk2f0_M8YCVcGWBezyw6QXHGCkFyXXSulxgvSOommNy9GSIf5/s320/DSC_0024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436172396231570802" /></a><br /><br />Smaller projects that the students can do on their own include things like this- that remind students to turn off the lights when they leave the room!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOxVWDG2sPtrnY7Z5qJkjPStfJks_hSL35UHVh80L-JGUbKSOPKl23q8AH46zGMRS4IHhIOzt2KJv-j8cZu_skdivOfT3jtIADOvI_SGXnQOi3LQ2Lp3USPZbqDHD7HTfrvieit_r7r6A/s1600-h/DSC_0036.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOxVWDG2sPtrnY7Z5qJkjPStfJks_hSL35UHVh80L-JGUbKSOPKl23q8AH46zGMRS4IHhIOzt2KJv-j8cZu_skdivOfT3jtIADOvI_SGXnQOi3LQ2Lp3USPZbqDHD7HTfrvieit_r7r6A/s320/DSC_0036.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436172387217170498" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdosvdBBmaX6Dv4u6ZtNqbsbqw-f-oZYK8TgxltoeOeUOgK29Jc_J5onFB_1PG8XXnTuCZP-fpChnmlECnwujVAVvSF0BVOmqpa4jOXfR4ReoWc-6gMd8EXBamku2ewlMoisXLWOU8Pz1/s1600-h/DSC_0041.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirdosvdBBmaX6Dv4u6ZtNqbsbqw-f-oZYK8TgxltoeOeUOgK29Jc_J5onFB_1PG8XXnTuCZP-fpChnmlECnwujVAVvSF0BVOmqpa4jOXfR4ReoWc-6gMd8EXBamku2ewlMoisXLWOU8Pz1/s320/DSC_0041.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436172375258009442" /></a><br /><br />Green Club- Grigor Prichev!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-qkpvNCE48GAya1rqr_Vr8dQSGilemKJmN4-xxIhUOdunHHqcSk_AFx3Cpt0PtcTD8BH1MSy_A6LlbGwSY-Ddy1fDBpj-Y0zqrp1sq006Nw06OXyfyiPcYMmq09TzYhIzKN2qLz6XCeF/s1600-h/DSC_0051.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-qkpvNCE48GAya1rqr_Vr8dQSGilemKJmN4-xxIhUOdunHHqcSk_AFx3Cpt0PtcTD8BH1MSy_A6LlbGwSY-Ddy1fDBpj-Y0zqrp1sq006Nw06OXyfyiPcYMmq09TzYhIzKN2qLz6XCeF/s320/DSC_0051.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436172374273929266" /></a><br /><br />New florescent flights installed!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45vxKdVpO1rxnO3fn105Vper76WorF-mBrD5PcHEQp7By0Nq3uYh_OGpzQXf63W9e_nAPuM6hAw_VDjupvNKw6Q_plamQBciVsKpPu7aqd5m_a6I0dsAztRCQ5yKSj0TkG8kjoSJqUt1d/s1600-h/DSC_0068.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45vxKdVpO1rxnO3fn105Vper76WorF-mBrD5PcHEQp7By0Nq3uYh_OGpzQXf63W9e_nAPuM6hAw_VDjupvNKw6Q_plamQBciVsKpPu7aqd5m_a6I0dsAztRCQ5yKSj0TkG8kjoSJqUt1d/s320/DSC_0068.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436169936009287858" /></a><br /><br />Hallway painted by the kids (aided by professionals). The two schools that I've visited have a strong presence of the color green. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9K2r2gm12z8quf0IEwuj0vfqrONOh7ESbjbu1pePKtXgi8wQTxKSwA2NmihgYpvSB2JfOvlcKAjLTJnQjjvBBW3CBZHv8y8vb7LIenykdCQu72Ley4C3eo9hnhijqsspI1hI2cWIJydW/s1600-h/DSC_0072.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9K2r2gm12z8quf0IEwuj0vfqrONOh7ESbjbu1pePKtXgi8wQTxKSwA2NmihgYpvSB2JfOvlcKAjLTJnQjjvBBW3CBZHv8y8vb7LIenykdCQu72Ley4C3eo9hnhijqsspI1hI2cWIJydW/s320/DSC_0072.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436169930176762322" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtMG8_E2MH6HwQcmFPmOvRfZprTRDBdYK0KmSm8We2CxPSKZMeLkjHj7_5tI8a5vEk0o-t-Qok69pAdqHMMiu679G6Tt2G8zg62sDqWPC672FnvZU5BnTNqr5W21NYzsN_n_QfqEF1zkU/s1600-h/DSC_0091.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtMG8_E2MH6HwQcmFPmOvRfZprTRDBdYK0KmSm8We2CxPSKZMeLkjHj7_5tI8a5vEk0o-t-Qok69pAdqHMMiu679G6Tt2G8zg62sDqWPC672FnvZU5BnTNqr5W21NYzsN_n_QfqEF1zkU/s320/DSC_0091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436169924697116834" /></a><br /><br />Goce Delcev in Negotino 8.Feb 2010<br />(the rest of the photos are from this school)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbFnzCIk1G8Um8InNfIiuhyDXCFaUQ3b9t5GVtFUVtqec7LoNWuhDDj3u10ybEyDa6tYiJh_1qP9jRKbw-A7YoQcgY1C_l3C6CgRy4gZIfWC7diopt2yrF0mF0rtwScXs9wX1-lyeuQNA/s1600-h/DSC_0001.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbFnzCIk1G8Um8InNfIiuhyDXCFaUQ3b9t5GVtFUVtqec7LoNWuhDDj3u10ybEyDa6tYiJh_1qP9jRKbw-A7YoQcgY1C_l3C6CgRy4gZIfWC7diopt2yrF0mF0rtwScXs9wX1-lyeuQNA/s320/DSC_0001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436169914948495650" /></a><br /><br />Green Schools. Green Club.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUI0oX_TT5vYU2Sn61hkawgCB-xUrqZpQrIzI5FeUcgnXCfls2oVgTRvaYh_8QcYUIvpBLpZj3A5bp7AWA86AxmoEQKaGH4USo6IXSA31tDnkuKJGJizMN_rNy8kIDNlAjzZlt31T4RMk/s1600-h/DSC_0003.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUI0oX_TT5vYU2Sn61hkawgCB-xUrqZpQrIzI5FeUcgnXCfls2oVgTRvaYh_8QcYUIvpBLpZj3A5bp7AWA86AxmoEQKaGH4USo6IXSA31tDnkuKJGJizMN_rNy8kIDNlAjzZlt31T4RMk/s320/DSC_0003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436169913244873746" /></a><br /><br />The new faucets the kids bought last year. These ones turn off automatically. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEWPi-Obcb1t2c1v1XFj77gg88G6p4j0WMT7TdbrEOQMyvXOf4uTiyrZG1voJpn2bmsLAaa8KR4j7D2eec3liH3WglL-2ACEZjiaUk5VxDNXtzjRToPvdQLV_fsjoitVjQUI0etCrHpvH/s1600-h/DSC_0020.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEWPi-Obcb1t2c1v1XFj77gg88G6p4j0WMT7TdbrEOQMyvXOf4uTiyrZG1voJpn2bmsLAaa8KR4j7D2eec3liH3WglL-2ACEZjiaUk5VxDNXtzjRToPvdQLV_fsjoitVjQUI0etCrHpvH/s320/DSC_0020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436167375564798930" /></a><br /><br />I don't know if you can see it here, the kid in the black sweatshirt by the window was taking photos of me on his camera phone the entire time. Way to go Macedonia, way to raise green creepers.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KP-FEoRfgCOXAP6hNlbsrYqW3ezGJh98odMR3zTKYW9XxN-TWUrRNtbuTG_qFGeMAYY4jmjtH0tgOgcuUWN5e30LJGZDXV6xNNIKdW-XOzk6NlCmWcPNO06w9PkpheIwPYNvDEmoYcsh/s1600-h/DSC_0025.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KP-FEoRfgCOXAP6hNlbsrYqW3ezGJh98odMR3zTKYW9XxN-TWUrRNtbuTG_qFGeMAYY4jmjtH0tgOgcuUWN5e30LJGZDXV6xNNIKdW-XOzk6NlCmWcPNO06w9PkpheIwPYNvDEmoYcsh/s320/DSC_0025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436167370179128210" /></a><br /><br />A rare photo of me.... and I'm working! two birds, one stone.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHP_F7cIKBV2NUdQ6c-I6GhzaxQY4zIrbUvueaWfMXZNOvpHF0TbelfY8WcorEIEsxCCN5GFfKEKtX_hc03OqAhRkV5ZCJ4eliD46NXPs9CtvbfWsl5uXAY709katIoQz4egIxpLnATcX/s1600-h/DSC_0032.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHP_F7cIKBV2NUdQ6c-I6GhzaxQY4zIrbUvueaWfMXZNOvpHF0TbelfY8WcorEIEsxCCN5GFfKEKtX_hc03OqAhRkV5ZCJ4eliD46NXPs9CtvbfWsl5uXAY709katIoQz4egIxpLnATcX/s320/DSC_0032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436167359712351042" /></a><br /><br />All of the kids with their two advisors. Such fashion. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC98Rk5UlTN5f1Q2046Veh-1V6UhKg-HOwHk-9CpLM5aYp9xlHhZuFcBtj_8TPMPws6WMGPEpVTdg_VZsP2YsoCBmycESFcMfDTp1pLC8NWKw9o2kvC7NM-12xBnU54AQefIrYXcwGMweN/s1600-h/DSC_0033.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC98Rk5UlTN5f1Q2046Veh-1V6UhKg-HOwHk-9CpLM5aYp9xlHhZuFcBtj_8TPMPws6WMGPEpVTdg_VZsP2YsoCBmycESFcMfDTp1pLC8NWKw9o2kvC7NM-12xBnU54AQefIrYXcwGMweN/s320/DSC_0033.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436167353030910386" /></a><br /><br />Posters Made for the GREEN CLUB classroom<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx16h75qd1eS7cDEA3Mq2H4_iteQwscJ5q2667U4jYBCXK7ukgIRQVTiejf0F_AAb81ZRlOruL966mrAyFV6RCWuTEdC5tN6Mc-WjeOklEgzQno3k7IThCNGN1LojL7k-3kvBN8cb0JZe/s1600-h/DSC_0034.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx16h75qd1eS7cDEA3Mq2H4_iteQwscJ5q2667U4jYBCXK7ukgIRQVTiejf0F_AAb81ZRlOruL966mrAyFV6RCWuTEdC5tN6Mc-WjeOklEgzQno3k7IThCNGN1LojL7k-3kvBN8cb0JZe/s320/DSC_0034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436167342843223170" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-68790116390750445372010-02-08T06:36:00.000-08:002010-02-09T00:54:04.136-08:00Two Case StudiesToday (Monday) and Friday I spent most of the two days with the green clubs of two separate schools and thought I would comment on both of them a bit. <br /><br />The two schools I visited were <span style="font-weight:bold;">Grigor Prlichev</span> in Ohrid and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Goce Delcev</span> in the town of Negotino.<br /><br />Both schools are in the second phase of the Green School Program- so that means that not only have the had the USAID renovations, they have also had the presence of a "Green Club" for a full year and a half now. The Green Clubs are made up of 25 students- specially chosen- and they do different activities on their campuses to raise awareness and to educate their communities about the environment and what people can to do help out: i.e. picking up trash, turning off lights, turning off faucets, etc. They also make teaching materials to do presentations around the school- especially for the younger kids - and patrol the hallways after school to monitor the level of trash left or faucets left on, etc. In addition to their efforts made to change the behavior and habits of their students, the students are allowed 800 USD from USAID to change something about their school each year. Both of the schools we visited chose to change the faucets - either just to non-broken ones, or to automatically shutting off ones. <br /><br />ANyway, so that's the official part of the Green Clubs. All of the work they do really has affected the schools and the surrounding communities: from helping teachers keep the hallways and classrooms clean and void of food trash- to advocating for buying new light bulbs, etc. However, what has struck me above all, is the level of passion and commitment these students have for their work and the changes seen in their lives as well as the students around them. Unless the US, where school clubs are commonplace, the is the first example of any type of organized group designed to empower students. I remember being in student government in high school and the feeling of importance that came from being listened to, encouraged, and valued as a member of the community. Many of the students, if not all, now feel a personal responsibility to be environmentally friendly, which is amazing, but it also very moving to see the long term effects this type of club will have in their lives. I think this is true of American schools as well, but it's so built into our system that it's hard to get through life without having been part of some sort of club, and the effect has probably been diluted by the intention to "empower" everyone- quite difficult when trying to run a high school. <br /><br />One story was especially touching. Martin, a kid who had issues at home and at school and was known as the bully, was going downhill very fast. After a few months in the green club, he has become a passionate and sincere advocate for being green and although the younger kids may still be slightly scared of him, they now only have to recycle instead of give up their lunch money... <br /><br />One of the advisors said that when the students put on their green shirts- donated by USAID- they take on a certain maturity and responsibility, through which they've gained respect from the students and the GC members respect their fellow students as well. I asked if they were the same after they took their shirts off- hoping that the maturity stuck around outside of their one meeting a week. The advisor laughed, held his head in his hands, and said: They never take them off- Every student wears his teeshirt every day!<br /><br />I'm inspired. If these students can find a passion at age 12, I certainly can soon. <br /><br />Love, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-68784273602167263142010-02-01T01:30:00.000-08:002010-02-01T01:50:07.185-08:00Winter FunkYesterday I went on my first run since I've been here. I normally try to incorporate a significant amount of exercise into my daily routine, but the past few weeks it's been difficult to motivate myself to move after a long day in front of a computer-- especially since the sun is well on its way to setting by 5, when I get off work. But yesterday afternoon is geared up in my running tights and long-sleeved zip up, prepared to brave the elements that accompany any eastern european winter. Surprised, I left my apartments and entered into what felt like 65 degree weather! I checked later and it was only 46, but the sun was shining and people were out with their dogs- sometimes it seemed they had heard an American would be out running and didn't want to miss the show. A lot of people stared at me. One woman was just awkward about it, so I smiled and waved. :)<br /><br />One of the reasons it was so important for me to get out and exercise is that I'm feeling like I'm slipping into my annual winter funk. Although the symptoms resemble a light depression, it feels more like an incredibly calm indifference. Actually it's not always a bad thing. I feel exhausted and relaxed at the same time.. but all the time. Kind of unmotivated, listless even. But I'm from Alaska and this is the first time I've lived anywhere south of Seattle (latitude-wise), so these sorts of swings are not unfamiliar. And some of it is the weather. <br /><br />But some of it is my frustration with work right now. As I've said many times, my coworkers are incredibly great and very well intentioned, but I can only imagine how difficult it is to have a non-Macedonian speaking 'Academic Intern" with them. They can't give me busy work, but I also have to have things that are recordable to the program and it's goals. Which is great and I would be thrilled doing it, if they seemed to have the work for me. When I was given my placement, I was told I was attractive to the PEP project because I speak German and I'm interested in conflict resolution/prevention through dialogue and education. And yes, that speaks directly to one area of my Scope of Work. However, that is the part I haven't started. In the mean time, I've been working on Green Schools. When I work with Milica, from the other organization, I am excited and feel useful and productive. But for the past full week, I've had very little to do. Today I asked if I could take on some research in the field of educational funding in relationship with the government-- so tracking how educational policy and its funding has changed since 1991 when Macedonia became a democracy. I was told that it really didn't have anything to do with my project and that we needed to show that all of my time was being used to help the project. But for the past week, very little I've done has helped the project. <br /><br />I'm not complaining and I'm sorry if it comes off that way. I needed to vent briefly. I am at my happiest when I am engaged intellectually and am stimulated by whatever task I am given - which often can be any task at all. I understand and appreciate the work that everyone around me is doing and see that it is difficult to have a new person without language skills to try and keep busy. <br /><br />Hopefully the days will continue getting longer- they're already 10 hours!, the weather will get nicer and I will get busier. <br /><br />Until then, I'll continue doing the things I know will best help me in gettin' thru the funk!<br /><br />Love, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-50963802159055734512010-01-31T07:18:00.000-08:002010-01-31T07:41:35.366-08:00S'more PhotosMacedonia Street! Full of Coffee-bars (whatever that means) and expensive stores.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaxbcqxALkJidUo9vZ-U5P0fOeoedEXglgryOHXte8ElKLmkwpCmKvo6x5UUHsQo4FTFdOIZOyDQbQnptobwROmkdf-GoFkikuwjScNdK9hgK82wsaBQ1eoQqBPTgbsQqA8H0HDr7B9Br/s1600-h/DSC_0263.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaxbcqxALkJidUo9vZ-U5P0fOeoedEXglgryOHXte8ElKLmkwpCmKvo6x5UUHsQo4FTFdOIZOyDQbQnptobwROmkdf-GoFkikuwjScNdK9hgK82wsaBQ1eoQqBPTgbsQqA8H0HDr7B9Br/s320/DSC_0263.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432929261252565570" /></a><br />My roommate, Nive<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hb-nO525oa90e7fWBTDZowpUkHYLMeVxq74klFEHCAD8qMfagvA-dYDNIjl6PMM0ZEaOqSqgCpBOTGAoDk16rWoowr22KnwAN17GkLNATO0rHG2ZivAUJlnpAX20ftkKR1lCiLOqnAUC/s1600-h/DSC_0276.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hb-nO525oa90e7fWBTDZowpUkHYLMeVxq74klFEHCAD8qMfagvA-dYDNIjl6PMM0ZEaOqSqgCpBOTGAoDk16rWoowr22KnwAN17GkLNATO0rHG2ZivAUJlnpAX20ftkKR1lCiLOqnAUC/s320/DSC_0276.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927072575816418" /></a><br />One of the statues that are all over the city. Apparently they were commissioned by the government and young people designed them.. some of them are random and kind of communist looking, but i liked this one. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4kxsWHyfhkqjDybuqqdLfsndOIO-61LZjUwtyGg2t6qJh70VOw95W4gBZ6t4-dc14sfRwdBaGIqKlHiMA9PSY5ZoDSBxgSMrgqxlr19iOYd1L5TkfkDk5EsicoMM7L0AW_fjuuIwUazV/s1600-h/DSC_0279.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4kxsWHyfhkqjDybuqqdLfsndOIO-61LZjUwtyGg2t6qJh70VOw95W4gBZ6t4-dc14sfRwdBaGIqKlHiMA9PSY5ZoDSBxgSMrgqxlr19iOYd1L5TkfkDk5EsicoMM7L0AW_fjuuIwUazV/s320/DSC_0279.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927064619388338" /></a><br />The statue of a diving woman into the river-- right in front of the stone bridge<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCBZP4zTTkzYE85vG7yJ2Zvw1SeKxN6bwEbizceIzkA4ISH6nNEPgQZx16whmfiVeLHRIVNXKnthkiNX6ZQMstsxx03zL0zAOPZG4Cki0gwbrkzt2UiEcmouHbbFGXRTdWWLRf_i7mJ1W/s1600-h/DSC_0280.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCBZP4zTTkzYE85vG7yJ2Zvw1SeKxN6bwEbizceIzkA4ISH6nNEPgQZx16whmfiVeLHRIVNXKnthkiNX6ZQMstsxx03zL0zAOPZG4Cki0gwbrkzt2UiEcmouHbbFGXRTdWWLRf_i7mJ1W/s320/DSC_0280.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927062684814354" /></a><br />Random Rooster tied to a post.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmi0z9KRpsLA9JKP6qJKqc3Qq5Ciy9XGpu2p7Uf5BEXsDIBKiO2GcTBD4NsDq6cVsC272t4zlj73XF9_44C_YoBf3XNrZdnXno2wux1MhJhxKwWFQujD2ZLqEyQmTqVnM_Djq3H6dD6z9F/s1600-h/DSC_0283.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmi0z9KRpsLA9JKP6qJKqc3Qq5Ciy9XGpu2p7Uf5BEXsDIBKiO2GcTBD4NsDq6cVsC272t4zlj73XF9_44C_YoBf3XNrZdnXno2wux1MhJhxKwWFQujD2ZLqEyQmTqVnM_Djq3H6dD6z9F/s320/DSC_0283.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927052683097314" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWq3LVwQ_nukqmC7NsX00GjivO-mKaSAGeOu9_Vmunntg_Klk2_EQ9wYGZFFaqL-AtiTktsDmfqBxGfkJc7AyJDyNuGufvTLBkRBEBrQIgSm6xdewNQyTgzkb4Q47wiURZuKtx9r-nlQw/s1600-h/DSC_0284.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWq3LVwQ_nukqmC7NsX00GjivO-mKaSAGeOu9_Vmunntg_Klk2_EQ9wYGZFFaqL-AtiTktsDmfqBxGfkJc7AyJDyNuGufvTLBkRBEBrQIgSm6xdewNQyTgzkb4Q47wiURZuKtx9r-nlQw/s320/DSC_0284.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924578731322962" /></a><br />Streets and shops by the Turkish bazaar in the old part of the city<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDOK4PWmiU-T1VzvyKBvejrwL-53Ds3ixj2SIJL5zAOVYzENa5cQjik5aFX7x9MucVeyXmcwBbHOcBhqUeb-MOXaUgF4u6T_PHUopMVj5cTIjhz8rUd9pqYuxIie6RcE1gcoEE70M_uZS/s1600-h/DSC_0285.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDOK4PWmiU-T1VzvyKBvejrwL-53Ds3ixj2SIJL5zAOVYzENa5cQjik5aFX7x9MucVeyXmcwBbHOcBhqUeb-MOXaUgF4u6T_PHUopMVj5cTIjhz8rUd9pqYuxIie6RcE1gcoEE70M_uZS/s320/DSC_0285.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924575269781298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmL5qYkb23yzD_wVh50cto2jkFgNxfB_Bc9vqPFlrFe4TumBMzgQSXcwdzxwHYIK4mNbjDOSJF3BiFWwZbO7iTLWX8IMOif1YJCRr1paUq9vcvTiUqgsC01WbfbVpkWrJWOXs-2JiCnrw/s1600-h/DSC_0292.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmL5qYkb23yzD_wVh50cto2jkFgNxfB_Bc9vqPFlrFe4TumBMzgQSXcwdzxwHYIK4mNbjDOSJF3BiFWwZbO7iTLWX8IMOif1YJCRr1paUq9vcvTiUqgsC01WbfbVpkWrJWOXs-2JiCnrw/s320/DSC_0292.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924566068913330" /></a><br />There are so many random cats around.. They all have discolorations.. it's quite sad- they perch on garbage containers and rummage through everything.. :(<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbKHxpBqd5CAgjeL4v0bKEdx0UeOUM6xGYXeIQDHta0vWBHQB_niB4Mhh1DrrI_8S3KmY1o6OkHlEhavhDHFv0oi52WrD112ssNvAatUA0ko8Nmimj2V9P_cFsr5M5dTtpBEcdWov3le3/s1600-h/DSC_0293.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbKHxpBqd5CAgjeL4v0bKEdx0UeOUM6xGYXeIQDHta0vWBHQB_niB4Mhh1DrrI_8S3KmY1o6OkHlEhavhDHFv0oi52WrD112ssNvAatUA0ko8Nmimj2V9P_cFsr5M5dTtpBEcdWov3le3/s320/DSC_0293.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924562107806338" /></a><br />view from my apartment!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCpthiRCfzxAHihOgapa6b_c2elyrSNYOKSM0Zz6U2N3QQusJMKn6rYJVBLCpfzP4dJb4cbXvN_C4J3kK2PFTSRAyWTsj3YlQzpwYgdCiT8OZT5a8RoC4gIbQAdl2coI5ODplHdZ3Rd67/s1600-h/DSC_0294.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCpthiRCfzxAHihOgapa6b_c2elyrSNYOKSM0Zz6U2N3QQusJMKn6rYJVBLCpfzP4dJb4cbXvN_C4J3kK2PFTSRAyWTsj3YlQzpwYgdCiT8OZT5a8RoC4gIbQAdl2coI5ODplHdZ3Rd67/s320/DSC_0294.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924554322824114" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-63717478360211639452010-01-30T01:57:00.000-08:002010-01-30T02:13:20.049-08:00photos of film nightThis photos are from a film showing PEP had this past week. We showed the move, "The Water is Wide" and then had a discussion afterward. It was all in both Macedonian and Albanian, and although I didn't understand any of the words, I definitely could understand a lot of the sentiments behind them! People got quite upset about the choice of movie and some people were demanding answers to how they should be acting as teachers.. It was an interesting night, but I'm not sure it was all that productive in reaching their goals! Apparently they have had other movie nights and they have all gone much much better.<br /><br />The first photo is of Keith- our Chief of Party- and Virna another coworker. Nive and I were also asked to speak a bit about the situation in the U.S. as well. the rest are of participants-- nice lipstick, right??<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0FNb58t0MBBTz4A7mw_Ly94IwBFGXp1IV-LjqZZLbyR-KCE3ugwcpq1t4gg-lMz7ydRPzLAfCRvzcRQDM-MXz46k4aRpDbLllw6t_XJefEvpRUCYtZWWc2NRsA3QQg2l_9LYfEXCFtte/s1600-h/DSC_0234.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0FNb58t0MBBTz4A7mw_Ly94IwBFGXp1IV-LjqZZLbyR-KCE3ugwcpq1t4gg-lMz7ydRPzLAfCRvzcRQDM-MXz46k4aRpDbLllw6t_XJefEvpRUCYtZWWc2NRsA3QQg2l_9LYfEXCFtte/s320/DSC_0234.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432471933586817138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjB-9yt-cTOSquQR1zFzP7O86z-N-xOd_g5HdkOV2cLOGKYtg2GUbnr9atpn0DPP8U_kABuamhBZR6mTQ0jf93ptSQp6XfKpDmEIDJEy94Mpl_LATt_35oB1PEXrr_Ss1xFCAutsxRN4G/s1600-h/DSC_0225.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjB-9yt-cTOSquQR1zFzP7O86z-N-xOd_g5HdkOV2cLOGKYtg2GUbnr9atpn0DPP8U_kABuamhBZR6mTQ0jf93ptSQp6XfKpDmEIDJEy94Mpl_LATt_35oB1PEXrr_Ss1xFCAutsxRN4G/s320/DSC_0225.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432471924106768194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaR6orneNSKipOf35nXWuBbJKii9v8K-Z6MrYDEVNHmYt8DyH9IFpjHExsYx2eoXvrq6cT3OE0RuaCKRiXMWvt-V5wNLD9A_B2TsHDg_6iwupKRjzIXECbjoHGgGfDN-q5RuJNAAfp0_mr/s1600-h/DSC_0232.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaR6orneNSKipOf35nXWuBbJKii9v8K-Z6MrYDEVNHmYt8DyH9IFpjHExsYx2eoXvrq6cT3OE0RuaCKRiXMWvt-V5wNLD9A_B2TsHDg_6iwupKRjzIXECbjoHGgGfDN-q5RuJNAAfp0_mr/s320/DSC_0232.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432471913151645890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZr20HBaLNq1RHe1uAuqR0E3Wh_sNIjpCLdxyAzxVhqgjxtMdxx2rRe2kK8lKqvPLaI8xBiPdsF5qhaH-A21HCu_i8-r-IuZPo0T9zy1kvadslo5yj1EOrzOuZy2frFviHEYim1hYarUp/s1600-h/DSC_0236.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZr20HBaLNq1RHe1uAuqR0E3Wh_sNIjpCLdxyAzxVhqgjxtMdxx2rRe2kK8lKqvPLaI8xBiPdsF5qhaH-A21HCu_i8-r-IuZPo0T9zy1kvadslo5yj1EOrzOuZy2frFviHEYim1hYarUp/s320/DSC_0236.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432471909331569842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwJrjTA880izLYHkL44ibuh80bRLuGVKEWtkxR46g5js50s-uMq4ekTzInKKj-2qwM5P3uUn0nrXVMewK9ndpSD4MSQ0JMo_ils_hM9ExieCSJEaaydFHBL2q8lDR64x7TVQAj1LO6DfI/s1600-h/DSC_0251.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwJrjTA880izLYHkL44ibuh80bRLuGVKEWtkxR46g5js50s-uMq4ekTzInKKj-2qwM5P3uUn0nrXVMewK9ndpSD4MSQ0JMo_ils_hM9ExieCSJEaaydFHBL2q8lDR64x7TVQAj1LO6DfI/s320/DSC_0251.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432471901772843490" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-53369686957675303202010-01-27T00:15:00.001-08:002010-01-27T01:04:00.664-08:00Day to DayI've talked mostly about my job and work related things, so I thought I'd mention a few things about my day to day life and then a quick update on work at the end.<br /><br />NEW ROOMMATE<br /><br />I have a lovely new roommate now. Her name is Nivedita (Nive for short) and she is a 32 year old grad student in development studies in Brighton, UK. Since she got in on Sunday we've been able to get to know one another quite well. She seems really great and I look forward to having her in the apartment for the next few months while I'm here! She has a had an incredibly interesting professional life since graduating from undergrad, so it's great to see where I could be in ten years-- and also fun to hear what her friends are doing to see all of the other options there are out there!<br /><br />We cook dinner every night, I haven't gone out once. Partially due to the fact that I've enjoyed cooking and know that most of the meals I enjoy would be difficult to find here, but partially because going to a restaurant is incredibly difficult with the language and alphabet barrier. Unlike countries where the alphabet is shared and most things are at least recognizable, it would take me hours to translate the menu and most likely would be much more trouble that it was worth! Having said that, we often go out to eat for lunch, which is actually quite nice because then I learn more vocabulary every day. Today, however, I brought some soup that I made on Saturday, because although most stuff is quite inexpensive (A full meal out is often 3-4 USD), the rent and costs associated with our housing situation are turning out to be more expensive than I originally anticipated. It's not super spendy, but we think we may be being a bit taken advantage of, being foreigners.. :( One of our coworkers is going to call our landlord and talk to her, so that's nice. <br /><br />MACEDONIAN<br /><br />I'm still learning quite fast: I make flashcards at night and study what I can. I can now put together very simple sentences like, that is beautiful, and you are boring. I have even learned the past tense of "to be"... Although my German has helped me in absolutely no way here- even hurt me, since they keep trying to get me to roll my r's and not use my throat!- but i do think that having learned, or at least started, three languages before this one, I know the basics of what I need to know to start teaching myself... Of course, with Spanish and French, I rarely had a problem guessing things!<br /><br />One of my coworkers also gave me some of her daughters books to try to read. We'll see how that goes.. :) It's hard because there isn't an internet dictionary to help me out.<br /><br />WORK<br /><br />The rest of the this week may be a bit slow for me because I'm waiting to visit the schools with Milica next week to start implementing my evaluation system. I did write a statement about the Green Schools yesterday for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which was pretty cool. I have no idea where its' final destination is or if it will be published, etc, but it's neat to have something to slide into a portfolio! I just got it back from Keith (The COP- Chief of Party- of the Project here) and he said that he made a few revisions, but that it was really good work! --> You can read this directly to the right of this post on the side column.<br /><br />Next week I will also start creating the Project Profiles for each individual school. I'm excited to start this project because it's partially artistically creative, which I'm excited for. I'll definitely learn a bit more about how to use WORD... <br /><br />I'm still doing really well and enjoying everything.. Nive and I may join a gym this weekend because our nights are rather sedentary as are our days, and I'm definitely not used to it... And it's hard to motivate ourselves to go out into the city (a good 30 minute walk) after 5 when we get off work and it's already dark... <br /><br />Oh one more thing, just to end with. Milica, the woman I'm working with at the partner organization, said that she loved all my ideas so much she would hire me immediately! And Nebo, my immediate boss complimented me on my work (and speed, I think, that's normally where I get compliments) and joked that they needed me for another 10 weeks. I'll write later about what I'm thinking about doing post-graduation, but how neat would it be to do a Rotary or something here?... Food for thought at this point.<br /><br />Hope you're all well.. I especially send out love to my fellow IDIPers-- I've so enjoyed reading everyone's blogs and seeing their photos.. I love how different all of our experiences are shaping up. Can't wait for Spring (If I ever come back)..<br /><br />Lots of love,<br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-49874382424180360962010-01-26T08:33:00.000-08:002010-01-26T08:44:57.367-08:00A few photos of WEEK 2!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UidIeREekKt7e5h2apYxPGI4REuAwE2IOz3XB-m4Q2EkcbNWX3Xv8HDSBt7gpW-VkFp_QkKXhTpQlKFwAE0BDMtsQ_tufTRdVE2Y6NrCqx6ksnXRt4lDHzjYNbY3HO9Oi6gloH-f5oMh/s1600-h/DSC_0355.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UidIeREekKt7e5h2apYxPGI4REuAwE2IOz3XB-m4Q2EkcbNWX3Xv8HDSBt7gpW-VkFp_QkKXhTpQlKFwAE0BDMtsQ_tufTRdVE2Y6NrCqx6ksnXRt4lDHzjYNbY3HO9Oi6gloH-f5oMh/s320/DSC_0355.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431090351084117378" /></a><br /><br />On the road...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKRQBEgJpZzBsYdNTogGpj7pPsYNfOQ5LBZl54EUGc6hxIZfOgxqRSCSit5aBqEcNtC5Xg57dc44vPL02UQQk9NcKmPXeCkdOEUJTedJ6FcA1WdHRQdOAVTHQceC5hiUcC6kVWEBZbdlr/s1600-h/DSC_0369.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKRQBEgJpZzBsYdNTogGpj7pPsYNfOQ5LBZl54EUGc6hxIZfOgxqRSCSit5aBqEcNtC5Xg57dc44vPL02UQQk9NcKmPXeCkdOEUJTedJ6FcA1WdHRQdOAVTHQceC5hiUcC6kVWEBZbdlr/s320/DSC_0369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431090087264968466" /></a><br /><br />WINE COUNTRY (although not "THE macedonian wine country")Driving over the mountain to the Eastern Side of Macedonia--to Ohrid, right by the Albanian border<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgts5rW7afPBXL2F33zZNmHDEWisSMn4CysBUJyzTiRBOWguVjP7McKI32AUjlA644Fw-ERLwbi2KkrXDiEyANwaXvB2mIfYXl8DtnK_CohaFNzHjVvoKBtf0Oqi8iw6IB47AI2XRy_VEl-/s1600-h/DSC_0396.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgts5rW7afPBXL2F33zZNmHDEWisSMn4CysBUJyzTiRBOWguVjP7McKI32AUjlA644Fw-ERLwbi2KkrXDiEyANwaXvB2mIfYXl8DtnK_CohaFNzHjVvoKBtf0Oqi8iw6IB47AI2XRy_VEl-/s320/DSC_0396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431089790426647986" /></a><br /><br />Ohrid! So beautiful!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiECrS_jkq1AffnjWn5UKfeM4euAkl5YTA06VDRapyrF4P_PZI8EUmn3mF5Fx7sbDHGkEiuEELumb9n4szMxud79OirjNn699UnGefsrT41dMZgI8YEMyWt_Ibg9sxwDU8nYkAMwjKucvv/s1600-h/DSC_0413.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiECrS_jkq1AffnjWn5UKfeM4euAkl5YTA06VDRapyrF4P_PZI8EUmn3mF5Fx7sbDHGkEiuEELumb9n4szMxud79OirjNn699UnGefsrT41dMZgI8YEMyWt_Ibg9sxwDU8nYkAMwjKucvv/s320/DSC_0413.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431089483916464530" /></a><br /><br />Me in Ohrid -- Охрид<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6efVfLgSLJFz__afGkWFKeB1CgcuE0xMXW9BxwxyYGSY8UKUyDhGzpAe6-VtrA9A64ul_FywAez5HDVF3R929pRCxhoSwB3HEAmH6zbP2TaalGFRxkd2sOUaJCCDxlqGpC__8JYCJwggO/s1600-h/DSC_0425.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6efVfLgSLJFz__afGkWFKeB1CgcuE0xMXW9BxwxyYGSY8UKUyDhGzpAe6-VtrA9A64ul_FywAez5HDVF3R929pRCxhoSwB3HEAmH6zbP2TaalGFRxkd2sOUaJCCDxlqGpC__8JYCJwggO/s320/DSC_0425.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431089087095816306" /></a><br /><br />A big political Issue-- Macedonia wants to join the EU (They've applied already along with Croatia and Turkey.. but Turkey applies every year), but they don't want to change their name from Macedonia, which Greece always wants them to do...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4582e64OLe3ubhnTjfTlwUPOYbN7wVPifQY7f5Flv3qzzbvnu9Won144TCwHMdv_yFaS8Q1GJtvcDBTjcDi0sWebH235gYiu5xvOG0AkfXIFHqR2hs6EQR7WSCUzhjVO-QuYGVGZ_oCnu/s1600-h/DSC_0443.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4582e64OLe3ubhnTjfTlwUPOYbN7wVPifQY7f5Flv3qzzbvnu9Won144TCwHMdv_yFaS8Q1GJtvcDBTjcDi0sWebH235gYiu5xvOG0AkfXIFHqR2hs6EQR7WSCUzhjVO-QuYGVGZ_oCnu/s320/DSC_0443.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431088803660578546" /></a><br /><br />A church downtown-- from my walk in the center on Saturday!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9Ec-b45TOZ8BurlnMNLXcrHwCb6nvtjkNilWTVmHDGfEnxWD7SaOO1eq47FlBrwWgoNJ9lLuRhMDtTbuARQ-ry0srNnvmlWhQ2pegG_Jx05y9RDtA3XY2LkNrp7L3Sz4IIzs2wntNSrd/s1600-h/DSC_0447.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9Ec-b45TOZ8BurlnMNLXcrHwCb6nvtjkNilWTVmHDGfEnxWD7SaOO1eq47FlBrwWgoNJ9lLuRhMDtTbuARQ-ry0srNnvmlWhQ2pegG_Jx05y9RDtA3XY2LkNrp7L3Sz4IIzs2wntNSrd/s320/DSC_0447.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431088493110514146" /></a><br /><br />We went out to this Restaurant/Bar and ate French Fries, onion rings, and a bread with a dippable cheese!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKo42Ej3FR7F62vZ_PfL-Wnguvd_9Mi_EKTWoLRIggMrm7p0dCq_Ds8L1nLJ7vog6r0OGWjNIuVdSqEtzebSS4syacnk4GVHC_NKAwknZQB4E-4C4GPZap2b9EC_LuXOgfX80BUltWD8u2/s1600-h/DSC_0450.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKo42Ej3FR7F62vZ_PfL-Wnguvd_9Mi_EKTWoLRIggMrm7p0dCq_Ds8L1nLJ7vog6r0OGWjNIuVdSqEtzebSS4syacnk4GVHC_NKAwknZQB4E-4C4GPZap2b9EC_LuXOgfX80BUltWD8u2/s320/DSC_0450.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431088197824583874" /></a><br /><br />My friend Elena and I.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66UiPzVbFXnNkByob2PdQITzh2m6L1jz1nSKEQuk4RMrajtBF-fGmDTmcMmOpfUp1is3oab2M5XafLgqirrh860VplCZfwBocf3NiZxE03_gXBnGMab8CmZwNpGU1VV44NZVDvuL7Uo09/s1600-h/DSC_0461.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66UiPzVbFXnNkByob2PdQITzh2m6L1jz1nSKEQuk4RMrajtBF-fGmDTmcMmOpfUp1is3oab2M5XafLgqirrh860VplCZfwBocf3NiZxE03_gXBnGMab8CmZwNpGU1VV44NZVDvuL7Uo09/s320/DSC_0461.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431087827374469170" /></a><br /><br />Some New Friends..Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-58917792036028256952010-01-22T04:10:00.000-08:002010-01-22T04:30:54.524-08:00струга и охридSo the first part of my project is working with the “green schools”, like the one I described on Tuesday. I am currently developing a system of evaluation that is designed to increase communication among schools and promote a bit of (friendly) competition. Part of what was difficult for me during Tuesday’s visit were the differences between the things that can be evaluated and assessed in the United States and the things that can be done here. To be considered “green” in the U.S., there is a whole list of standards you must comply with, in addition to decreasing energy, heating, and water bills. Oh and to earn the most points, there must be a regional aspect- meaning that the materials used come from within a 100 mile radius. And these are just the standards that I, as a non-science person, actually understand. When I began outlining standards for the Macedonian system, I started with the assumption that these types of statistics would be available. I knew that there were certain technologies that it would not be possible to use here, but never anticipated that the schools would not have their heating or electricity bills on record. Or that because of different factors, they are not usable as quantitative data! So back to square one. I have now written more of a qualitative (shout out to Therese) survey for the schools to fill out after their two-phase face lift (1st phase being the USAID sponsored renovations and 2nd phase being the establishment of Green Clubs inside of the school for smaller changes), to give us an idea of how the money and energy put into their projects have been effectively used… Anyway, it’s all very interesting. <br /><br />So the second part of my work here in Macedonia is working in Struga, better yet: струга, with a half Macedonian, half Albanian school. I went there yesterday with my immediate boss, Nebo, and another coworker. It was a 2.5 hour drive over a huge mountain, and we literally went through four different seasons, ending up in this beautiful seaside town Lake OHRID (Охрид) that was about 50 degrees with beautiful sun! The school has an interesting history: Because Struga is quite near to the Albanian border, there is a lot of perceived ethnic tension in the area. Although some of them are legitimate as many national problems have risen from the 2001 civil conflict between Albanians and Macedonians, some are only presented as such because it is easier to blame it on such things. As Nebo said , "If I hit a Macedonian, there is no issue, because it's a Macedonian hitting another Macedonian. But if I hit an Albanian, all of a sudden there is ethnic conflict. Sometimes the issues aren't racial, they are personal". So that is the problem in the Macedonian school in Struga. There are two schools on one campus: One with a Macedonian name, one with an Albanian, but the students are not divided on ethnic lines in the two groups. The school asserts that any conflict that happens in the school does not originate there, rather is it the result of outside influences and forces upon the impressionable minds of high school students. USAID is there to build a better fence around the school- what the school themselves decided they needed- and then another organization, the German one that I will be working with- is working with the students themselves... <br /><br />That might have been a bit too much information. I promise I won't blog every day as I have been.. I've just had so much to say/show!<br /><br />I'll write more when more there is to say.. <br />Цао! (Ciao!)<br /><br />Тessary<br /><br />Here is a Macedonian Map: Skopje is in the North Central Region.. Skopje is West and South of it... right on Lake Ohrid. We also went briefly to the town of Ohrid- which was absolutely beautiful and I understand why it is the pride of all Macedonians. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHb1Ej4T58Buhwcg5Pxx1mxbs7Fj0t5dd4kIA7VefbxA1KElNkO9yvZHprpwhIjX2C31f2h1jVCdD3KgpsYzp_2JPGOIdLI0Q9d-CUspV_juLRzuRb64pxUxWlGMS4vxqegYbK7pMONHK/s1600-h/Macedonian+Map.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHb1Ej4T58Buhwcg5Pxx1mxbs7Fj0t5dd4kIA7VefbxA1KElNkO9yvZHprpwhIjX2C31f2h1jVCdD3KgpsYzp_2JPGOIdLI0Q9d-CUspV_juLRzuRb64pxUxWlGMS4vxqegYbK7pMONHK/s320/Macedonian+Map.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429539534188906962" /></a>Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-71663731445179827632010-01-22T00:15:00.000-08:002010-01-22T00:38:43.194-08:00Skopje Photos- my first few days!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir31hX3sZX1FkDJ9jhlOKoJa1pikcFN-dYHz1c1QJpu6LrCMrpb8CQVO7rLTx3IO-CZxhwQ85YntNuMTnuJoKRIhjdz_MnVRPhH9rDWNFWrQyFD1OQbkjmrFWGRC0riMZ7AnxzWU5ZoPkR/s1600-h/DSC_0306.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir31hX3sZX1FkDJ9jhlOKoJa1pikcFN-dYHz1c1QJpu6LrCMrpb8CQVO7rLTx3IO-CZxhwQ85YntNuMTnuJoKRIhjdz_MnVRPhH9rDWNFWrQyFD1OQbkjmrFWGRC0riMZ7AnxzWU5ZoPkR/s320/DSC_0306.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429478014496536562" /></a><br /><br />View of Skopje from the top of the fortress<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa1zNx7SLItiRK5f48ch0m82jV_L_MQL7ifVEUo5jkOX_TKp0k6-7Ze-rpkEAzzR9YJejGC6GdeInIRO1jKxMKlK9_fDSscFOqRwilZKwVGxCW8-jllmYQOo5GL471c3K-LJbtRqnNwpC/s1600-h/DSC_0320.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa1zNx7SLItiRK5f48ch0m82jV_L_MQL7ifVEUo5jkOX_TKp0k6-7Ze-rpkEAzzR9YJejGC6GdeInIRO1jKxMKlK9_fDSscFOqRwilZKwVGxCW8-jllmYQOo5GL471c3K-LJbtRqnNwpC/s320/DSC_0320.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429477334527526242" /></a><br /><br />Drinking Turkish tea..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9ziowbM0H6nvxEdUenEVpnl3AGlIvR1l2zb5snBIgqpcsk6Dh5gehroo3j5Se4MQZjCfbXu0QdP5zEIm14cGFnQdN42T7XkZUC6KOus9z4WC1ka6-nYIIvMUffmmpBf5ahTvAxIMhYrM/s1600-h/DSC_0324.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9ziowbM0H6nvxEdUenEVpnl3AGlIvR1l2zb5snBIgqpcsk6Dh5gehroo3j5Se4MQZjCfbXu0QdP5zEIm14cGFnQdN42T7XkZUC6KOus9z4WC1ka6-nYIIvMUffmmpBf5ahTvAxIMhYrM/s320/DSC_0324.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429479785289496674" /></a><br /><br />... and eating Turkish Pizza<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxnWwzyASI2RM_LzsSdA0v0AclhngEM5eaWRRoKQxjjY2NDHeHGmdkqa_rMS2EANzOf47TUT9cdpjF5BPNJgE3Sr8p8SbQktl8jQ_criwftdJhmIxwWX6G8jZQmVuEyVaqfeNuBFjWDl6/s1600-h/DSC_0332.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxnWwzyASI2RM_LzsSdA0v0AclhngEM5eaWRRoKQxjjY2NDHeHGmdkqa_rMS2EANzOf47TUT9cdpjF5BPNJgE3Sr8p8SbQktl8jQ_criwftdJhmIxwWX6G8jZQmVuEyVaqfeNuBFjWDl6/s320/DSC_0332.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429475674274010626" /></a><br /><br />The Old Train Station. The clock is stopped at 5:17- which was the moment an earthquake hit in 1963 and destroyed it, along with much of the city.. It is now a museum.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzKGz2CyFNOm0EfEyCitqtOukvNSDl8WWSnd8p96EEItmA-w_qiWPQ8iNctSS1-GGu6xrybVJvmhskC5J8cLs8IsQO1KdqKRPU1zFdfsCy1AarZPY8Vr87eqaDTNu8r2wSXGuRZr4NkD9/s1600-h/DSC_0335.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzKGz2CyFNOm0EfEyCitqtOukvNSDl8WWSnd8p96EEItmA-w_qiWPQ8iNctSS1-GGu6xrybVJvmhskC5J8cLs8IsQO1KdqKRPU1zFdfsCy1AarZPY8Vr87eqaDTNu8r2wSXGuRZr4NkD9/s320/DSC_0335.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429475190139304690" /></a><br /><br /><br />The Stone Bridge, dating back to the 15th century, is the most prominent landmark of Skopje; the bridge connects the old and the new parts of the city.Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-39188620045855257302010-01-19T12:53:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:01:12.178-08:00berlin photos for mum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlhHx_EVpwtTzwz6oTWgj10ya9LJ4p8KLazPn9HV3DP5wH2CjByGqEhVn7bX4wm1zwXn_RKpdW1p2Hu_uAHTr0cRzBsKRBvdC4pnjG21zFWZ7C73kkRkA47V_RGZJMkoWtEv29X5oQMnM/s1600-h/DSC_0165.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlhHx_EVpwtTzwz6oTWgj10ya9LJ4p8KLazPn9HV3DP5wH2CjByGqEhVn7bX4wm1zwXn_RKpdW1p2Hu_uAHTr0cRzBsKRBvdC4pnjG21zFWZ7C73kkRkA47V_RGZJMkoWtEv29X5oQMnM/s320/DSC_0165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557872286445298" /></a><br /><br />Host Fam! Heide made Quiche<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLrjITIb9NHXBMyLINUBzl1fRyRqqzqjaJS6HJpZa4JJYWYkviwRxe99GHiPxwSS7XhcLgxKUtgndfQRp4t_aiR9DZMKvimURMjBBHXapdfVRfVcFkGOSJSxLCsczwFjXyaCWs7-E_Tds/s1600-h/DSC_0146.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLrjITIb9NHXBMyLINUBzl1fRyRqqzqjaJS6HJpZa4JJYWYkviwRxe99GHiPxwSS7XhcLgxKUtgndfQRp4t_aiR9DZMKvimURMjBBHXapdfVRfVcFkGOSJSxLCsczwFjXyaCWs7-E_Tds/s320/DSC_0146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557868521576162" /></a><br /><br />My old Cafe- Buchhandlung<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyK2nlR07B0M4iFyL5MSPKEkPDsrn2jodGAeVWiviqX_nvf-JdzBCgIMue3y-Nsl2nWgcBDv_vlsvWs_ZZmquFyw_G3Cs2ha0p73bEQAaEDftCjAlo5JtTXqusW-Gd67oXxjv-XINTxV5j/s1600-h/DSC_0118.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyK2nlR07B0M4iFyL5MSPKEkPDsrn2jodGAeVWiviqX_nvf-JdzBCgIMue3y-Nsl2nWgcBDv_vlsvWs_ZZmquFyw_G3Cs2ha0p73bEQAaEDftCjAlo5JtTXqusW-Gd67oXxjv-XINTxV5j/s320/DSC_0118.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557858077044690" /></a><br /><br />Philip, the FU- BEST assistant, and me<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv5u5tX6U0fzIp6W3V5yOObA-jwUK_PjhobVAmigSH71ItV47IAlkfptvf9S9fUnzkgQC0wS8YDoGezgewIDmaglT2I9qbWxPnDjyyPgTt9Z6QF_9KHRBT9JqOMUfF5BD67WmiNgMpvlo/s1600-h/DSC_0055.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv5u5tX6U0fzIp6W3V5yOObA-jwUK_PjhobVAmigSH71ItV47IAlkfptvf9S9fUnzkgQC0wS8YDoGezgewIDmaglT2I9qbWxPnDjyyPgTt9Z6QF_9KHRBT9JqOMUfF5BD67WmiNgMpvlo/s320/DSC_0055.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557852888422690" /></a><br /><br />Silberfisch- with old friends Berdt and Daire!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN6zK60dq-tTTQWYoa2YjtaqRh2AmimZAsn2AcqczZSrxx2ho_M7Dm05UMw_RhcenBYP5MKnIQSzpGXFeegQQqVw8BLK4AJaIPk9xJhIqX2aRRVN2FV4VHg9rTq67pyyM3nBesbMKHSOM/s1600-h/DSC_0036.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN6zK60dq-tTTQWYoa2YjtaqRh2AmimZAsn2AcqczZSrxx2ho_M7Dm05UMw_RhcenBYP5MKnIQSzpGXFeegQQqVw8BLK4AJaIPk9xJhIqX2aRRVN2FV4VHg9rTq67pyyM3nBesbMKHSOM/s320/DSC_0036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557846144068658" /></a><br /><br />Casey and I reunited!Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-46347428211763718102010-01-19T05:43:00.000-08:002010-01-19T06:08:23.760-08:00Visit to Albanian VilliageToday was a Macedonian Reality Check.<br /><br />The building we work in is beautiful, my apartment would be bearable by american standards, but is nice here, but mostly the biggest difference until today has been like ehh-- the roads aren't as nice, there are some run down deserted houses, etc. It looks like a really run down American city-- kind of what I assume Detroit to resemble these days. Today, however, we drove to this little Albanian village (but still in macedonia) and went to one of the schools labeled as a "green schools". I had spent so much time researching american green schools in the U.S., which are easily the most beautiful, state of the art, like oh heyo, this piece of wood was hand carved by my mother and now it has given itself to us for the children of the world-- kind of mentality. I know I wasn't expecting that, but I certainly wasn't expecting to go in the school and see that what made it a "green school" -- or environmentally friendly, were the very EXISTENCE of trash cans (not abundance, just a few tiny trash cans), florescent lighting, a bike rack, and new windows. It was insane. This school needs a new (central) heating system because currently they use wood stoves in each classroom and the floor tiles are all broken because half of the school hasn't been updated since it was originally built in the 1930's. And here's the thing. Even if they did something, i.e. not throw their trash off the side of the mountain, the entire village is covered in trash anyway because the government doesn't have a garbage system. The school would have no where to put any waste they were responsibly disposing of.<br />These are not problems I was prepared to face. We discussed in our IDIP class - I think with Ian - the differences between disaster, recovery and development work. I see why people gravitate toward disaster relief- there are very tangible, attainable goals that deal with the very basics. And afterward, you are released from thinking about the quality of life of the victims prior to the disaster (natural or not). As if Katrina victims were all living in mansions and just happened to get caught in a flood. Development work is different. It's not depressing in the way the pictures of Haiti are. It's not urgent like a tsunami and the deliverables may not be nearly as large or as rewarding for those signing checks. But I feel almost sadder. Because development projects slowly trek along. With school directors with no teeth and teachers in misfit blazers, carefully unfolding his plans for the first central heating system that would improve the lives of all the children in this small village. <br /><br />When we were driving into the small town, Ilir pointed our an old graveyard that was jutting off the side of a small cliff rising about us on the right side. You could tell from the looks of it, that over years of erosion and lack of upkeep, layers and layers of dirt had disappeared: leaving human bones exposed to not only the presumed disrespect of the open air, but to the likes of small children and dogs. <br /><br />Yesterday and this morning i had all of these great ideas about what we could do... how i could bring in a new perspective. and they were excited about it too... but now i'm feeling very helpless. Ilir and i were driving back from the school and I said, "they know what they need," the school director had pulled out this folder that he was very proud of and was showing me the plans for a central heating system, "but they just don't have the money for any of it. what can i do?" He kind of laughed sadly at my naive frustration and said, "we ask ourselves that everyday. what can any of us do?"<br /><br />Well, unless you happen to have 50,000 euros, in which case you can heat a small primary school in Western Macedonia.Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-68585611850978478972010-01-18T00:49:00.000-08:002010-01-18T00:50:59.164-08:00добра нок#2<br />16. January <br />Saturday<br />My coworker, Ilir, who was born and raised here, but is ethnically Albanian, picked me up this afternoon and took me around the city a bit. I learned straight off that all of the words I had learned last night were actually Serbian, but many are quite similar or actually the same. He was great in putting up with my constant questioning on the pronunciation of new letters and foreign words. He showed me around the city center, the old Turkish fortress, and took me out with his friend for a Turkish pizza and tea. So very delicious. We continued on to the old train station, which was destroyed in 1963 (?) during an earthquake, which seems to have also destroyed a significant amount of the city.<br /><br />I made sure I was home by 4:30, because the landlords had invited me to “lunch” at that time. The family consists of the father, a burly looking man, his wife, an architect, and their son and daughter. The daughter is just finishing her studies in architecture, and the son works as a civil engineer. It’s quite normal for a family’s children to live with their parents until, or even after, they marry and start a family, as evidenced by David and his sister’s being almost 30. We ate a very traditional Macedonian meal: what we would call a Greek salad (don’t mention that here), a sort of cheese filled cake, broccoli, potatoes, and two types of meat. We finished our meal with what the husband called “reform-cake”, which I guess is named after the tumultuous history of this country. <br /><br />Over dinner, the entire family was very excited to tell me about the traditions and the pride that Macedonians have for their country. Although I knew many of the facts from my research pre-arrival, I found myself very surprised and moved by the connection they felt to their unique history and troubles with Greece over rights to the name, flag, and Alexander the Great. We also discussed what it means to belong to a country or to be a national of a specific country. I think this is a question that Americans have dealt with much longer than European countries, whose ethnic make up and language have defined them for much longer than our has us.<br /><br />…. 18.Jan (Sunday)<br /><br />Just a few first impressions:<br /><br />1. The people here, at least those I have met, are not only very nice, but genuinely open and welcoming. Perhaps they only ask me how I am because they know it is customary in English, but they seem genuinely interested and concerned about my response! <br />2. I really want to learn Macedonian. One of my biggest mistakes when I lived in Bremen in 2004-2005 was how timid I was about making a slight fool of myself for the sake of learning German. I now know how much it inhibited me in making friends and in furthering my understanding of the German culture. I know that only a little can possibly be learned in the next 9 weeks, but I hope to learn as much as I can. I’ve already learned the new letters and one of my coworkers doesn’t believe that I have never used the Cyrillic alphabet before!<br />3. The culture is so multi-lingual and multi-cultural. When Ilir and I were on our city tour, I asked him about traditional Macedonian food, and all that he could think of were Turkish specialties. We met up with a friend of his who is half Turkish and half Albanian and the two of them spoke Albanian together when not talking to me. Many of the food products are labeled in German (making it much easier for me) or Turkish.<br /><br /><br />I’m very excited to be here. On Thursday, I may be accompanying my supervisor to Struga, which is the other town I’ll be working in. It’s right on the Albanian border, a few minutes away from the popular tourist destination of Ohrid. Both towns are on Lake Ohrid. <br /><br />I have so much to learn and so much to take in in my short amount of time here, but I’m going to do my best to get over any fears or hesitations. <br /><br />I haven’t mentioned this at all, but even here, I’m thinking of our Haitian brothers and sisters who are suffering unimaginable losses right now. Their livelihood and that of their loved ones are in my thoughts and prayers.<br /><br />Hope all is well. <br />In love and in Peace, <br />TessTess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5285227951702657121.post-48435803698891634162010-01-17T23:52:00.001-08:002010-01-17T23:52:58.508-08:00ZDRAVO!Blog Entry<br />#1<br />Macedonia<br />15. January<br /><br />Zdravo! (That’s hi in Macedonian)<br /><br />After a long five months of planning and build up, I’ve arrived in Skopje!<br /><br />The week I spent in Berlin was the perfect transition period between my hectic life in Seattle and this new job and environment. I spent my time visiting old favorite spots, discovering new ones and of course, catching up with friends. The weather was Alaska-esque (but with even MORE snow) and to be honest, it was quite nice to get off the plane this afternoon in Skopje to balmy 40-degree weather! <br /><br />Crazy day though – never before has the advice to always keep a sense of humor held truer. I woke up early to catch my 9am flight, but when I got to the airport, I discovered that my reservation had been canceled due to something wrong with my credit card when I bought the ticket. (Strange since the ticket I bought the same day for Seattle-Berlin went through) In any case, I bought another ticket with a different airline and flew through Budapest instead of Vienna! Of course, my bags were also overweight, so needless to say, by the time I finally got in the air around 10, I was exhausted already. :]<br /><br />When I got in, two of my new colleagues were there to meet me at the airport, one of whom was Sanja, a recent uni graduate who is also an intern at the office. They took me to my new flat, helped me exchange money and got me a cell phone. I think I’m more set up after four hours in the country than I was after my first week in Berlin! We then swung by the office – only about a 15-minute walk from my apartment – where I met my supervisor and other coworkers and got a short tour. Everyone I’ve met has been incredibly friendly and welcoming, asking about my flight, time in Berlin, and even offering to take me on a city tour tomorrow! <br /><br />I am now relaxing in my new apartment. I went grocery shopping, made dinner and am now watching Grey’s Anatomy in English with Macedonian sub-titles! I remember these days when I first got to Bremen in high school- writing down small words that I can correspond with my native language: yes, no, hi, good, mother, father, night, day, who, fine, excuse me, etc. I feel like an infant again and I know that I may become frustrated, but the beginning of a new language is always the most fun- I see the most rapid improvement!<br /><br />While I’m here, I’m living with another intern, but she doesn’t arrive until next week, which is kind of nice to settle in on my own.Tess McLean Cannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485244115378447906noreply@blogger.com0