Peace Corps Macedonia Archive

volunteering

Suggestions for incoming Peace Corps volunteers

I've thought about making a little list of suggestions for incoming Macedonia PC Volunteers. The new group (MK 11) will be here sometimes towards the end of September. There are 51 of them, the biggest group ever, and they will almost double the number of volunteers in-country (assuming they all last through training). So, here's my list. some packing tips and attitude-related suggestions. Packing -

• bring your hobby. and i don't just mean backgammon (ok that probably won't be a hobby until AFTER you have come here ). if you love your nintendo 64 or x-box, why not bring it? like movies? bring them. a frisbee (regulation size, please -- the kids in our training village loved throwing the frisbee once they got the hang of it). running shoes. a football.



• bring a sleeping bag. i didn't bring one, but about 90% of the other vols did. i felt pretty left out and cried many nights about this. i ended up ordering one from the US and having a friend who was going home for a wedding bring it back for me. if you get a new fancy one, it will stuff up all tiny and not take much suitcase room. you probably don't need it to be safe in arctic temperatures, since mostly you'll use it in other volunteer apartments.



• don't weigh yourself down with books. bring a couple favorites, but not a whole library. they're heavy and there are many books to read in-country. the PC office has a library with a couple hundred books and volunteers are constantly trading them back-and-forth.



• measuring cups and spoons. if you like to measure, that is. macedonian recipes tend to roughly measure sugar, flour, butter, etc, in grams and liquids in 'cups,' as in, a cup that you drink out of, approximately. somethings are measured in 'spoons' but that just means a spoon from the cupboard. while this method works great for some, we americans tend to do things like measure a 1/3 cup and then carefully scrape the top with a butter-knife.



• digital camera/laptop/ipod if you like these things. most volunteers bring them and consider them vital to their sanity. if you're buying a new laptop, i'd recommend getting a reliable one, because if it breaks, there is no way to get it fixed under warranty without taking it to the US or Western Europe. The latest consumer reports survey has Apple, Toshiba, and Sony as producing the most reliable laptops, ranked in that order. Something to consider.



• i wish i would have brought a nice sharp cooking knife. every one i buy seems to be crap. could be that i haven't looked hard enough though.



• don't bring anything that requires an electric TRANSFORMER (sometimes referred to erroneously as a converter). over the course of two years, it will get plugged in by you or someone else without the voltage transformer and then pop! it's all over for that device. Guaranteed. Seriously. Only bring electronics/appliances that need a simple ADAPTER. If this is confusing, then see footnote 1.

Your 'tude:

• yes, i just said 'tude



• try not to 'compete' with your fellow volunteers. for some reason, the training period brings out some bizarre competition among some people. in washington, this can manifest itself as a game of who-has-travelled-the-most-and-makes-the-most-references-that-no-one-can-relate-to, who-has-studied-macedonian-before-coming, etc. just try to relax as best you can and enjoy the company of your fellow volunteers, who will come to be some of your best friends in the world. keep this advice in mind as you go through training, and do your best to avoid passive-aggressive language-learning-speed competitions and my-training-site-is-tougher-cause-i-don't-have-a-toilet competitions. this kind of stuff just adds to all of the stress you'll be going through.



• relax, relax, relax. you won't be in control of your living situation and you won't be able to communicate with people. it's okay. if you're a type-A personality, start thinking of your coping strategies, because you won't be able to control 95% of what goes on around you.



• language learning is different for everyone. if you're good at it, don't ever, ever passively or actively put down people who aren't so good. if you're not so good, it's not the end of the world. you can be an outstanding volunteer even if you only speak the basic phrases. language learning can be very personal and sensitive, so try to keep that in mind.



• try not to define your peace corps experience by your living conditions. you will probably have indoor plumbing and you will definitely have electricity and internet access. you'll be able to eat at McDonald's and buy soy sauce. after you've been a volunteer for 8 or 9 months you won't think so much about these things, but at first they tend to dominate our thoughts since we haven't quite figured out what we're doing here. you won't be able to afford to pay someone to do your wash and fetch you water, but on the other hand, it isn't that hard with a faucet and washing machine.

That's all i've got for now. I'll probably update this post in the next few days with things that I will have forgotten to include. If any incoming folks have questions, shoot me an email (sickmiller AT gmail) Footnote 1 Item 1: This is an electric TRANSFORMER (may be called a converter). It lets you plug in something that will only use American Voltage (110 Volts) and steps voltage up to the European standard (220 Volts). Common items needing a transformer include irons, hair dryers, battery chargers, blenders, and small appliances. Item 2: This is a simple ADAPTER. It simply allows the American plug shape to fit into a European outlet. What you are plugging in, however, MUST BE ABLE TO HANDLE EUROPEAN VOLTAGE. If not, it will pop, fizz, maybe smoke, and that will be the end of your contraption. Items that require only the simple adapter include Laptop Computers, iPods, and most gaming systems (Playstation 2, etc) -- however, you should always check to see what the voltage input of the device is. This brings us to: Item 3: This is a special battery charger I bought from USA that can handle both American voltage (110 volts) and European voltage (220 volts). If you look at the blownup picture (click it) and at what I circled in RED, you can see where it says what voltage the device will handle. Every single device you own that plugs into the wall will have a similar marking. If the device has a "power brick" like laptops have, then it will be written on that. If it says 100-240V or 110-220V or something similar, than it can handle American AND European voltages. If it says 100-120V or 110V or something similar, it can only handle AMERICAN voltage, and would require a Transformer, and I would NOT recommend bringing it with you to Macedonia...because over the course of two years, an accident will happen. So if you're bringing or shopping for an electronic something, only bring it/buy it if it says it can handle 110V and 220V (written usually as 100-240V or similar). * for more in-depth info on this stuff, check this link