Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MACEDONIA
A P E A C E C O R P S P U B L I C ATI O N
FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS
February 2007
A W E L C O M E L E T TE R
Congratulations on your invitation to become a Peace Corps
Volunteer and on your decision to begin what will be one of
the most rewarding and challenging experiences of your life.
The people of Macedonia, along with the Peace Corps staff
members, look forward to meeting and working with you over
the next two years.
Lucianne Phillips
Country Director
A Welcome Letter 1
Packing List 95
Pre-departure Checklist 99
8 PEACE CORPS
10 PEACE CORPS
12 PEACE CORPS
16 PEACE CORPS
Government
18 PEACE CORPS
Economy
20 PEACE CORPS
Environment
22 PEACE CORPS
www.countrywatch.com
On this site, you can learn anything from what time it is in
Skopje to how to convert from the dollar to the denar. Just
click on Macedonia and go from there.
www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations
Visit this site for general travel advice about almost any
country in the world.
www.state.gov
The State Department’s website issues background notes
periodically about countries around the world. Find
Macedonia and learn more about its social and political history.
www.geography.about.com/library/maps/blindex.htm
This online world atlas includes maps and geographical
information about countries around the world. Each country
page contains links to other sites, such as the Library of
Congress, which contain comprehensive historical, social, and
political background.
www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/infonation/info.asp
This United Nations site allows you to search for statistical
information for member states of the U.N.
www.worldinformation.com
This site provides an additional source of current and
historical information about countries around the world.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacecorps2
This Yahoo site hosts a bulletin board where prospective
Volunteers and returned Volunteers can come together.
www.rpcv.org
This is the site of the National Peace Corps Association, a
membership organization for returned Volunteers. On this
site you can find links to all the Web pages of the “friends of ”
groups for most countries of service. The groups include former
Volunteers who served in those countries. There are also
regional groups which frequently get together for social events
and local Volunteer activities.
www.peacecorpswriters.org
This site is hosted by a group of returned Volunteer writers.
26 PEACE CORPS
www.maknews.com
Current events in Macedonia from many sources
www.mia.com.mk
The site of Macedonia’s official information agency, in English,
German, and Macedonian
www.antiwar.com/maknews/macedonia.html
Unconventional news about Macedonia
www.macedonianamerican.org
A site hosted by the Macedonian American Friendship
Association
www.realitymacedonia.org.mk
Current issues with some emotional overtones
www.macedonia.org
Well-rounded site about all aspects of Macedonia
www.ajvar.com
A site (in Macedonian) with some entertainment value
www.blesok.com.mk
A site featuring electronic literature and other arts
www.usaid.gov/regions/europe_eurasia/countries/mk
Information about the U.S. Agency for International
Development’s work in Macedonia
www.iscvt.org
Site of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, which runs
the USAID-funded Democracy Network Program in Macedonia
www.dai.com
Site of Development Alternatives, Inc., which operates a
USAID-funded local government reform project in Macedonia
www.iom.int
Site of the International Organization for Migration
Recommended Books
28 PEACE CORPS
30 PEACE CORPS
34 PEACE CORPS
36 PEACE CORPS
Transportation
Social Activities
38 PEACE CORPS
Personal Safety
40 PEACE CORPS
Technical Training
Language Training
As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you will find that language skills
are the key to personal and professional satisfaction during
your service. These skills are critical to your job performance,
they help you integrate into your host community, and they
can ease your personal adaptation to the new surroundings.
Therefore, language training is the heart of the training
program. You must successfully meet minimum language
requirements to complete training and become a Volunteer.
Experienced Macedonian and Albanian language instructors
teach formal language classes five days a week in small groups
of five to seven people. Language is also incorporated into the
health, culture, and technical components of training.
Cross-Cultural Training
Depending upon your work site assignment, as part of your
pre-service training, you will live with a Macedonian or
Albanian host family. This experience is designed to ease your
transition to life at your site. Families have gone through an
44 PEACE CORPS
Health Training
During pre-service training, you will be given basic medical
training and information. You will be expected to practice
preventive healthcare and to take responsibility for your
own health by adhering to all medical policies. Trainees are
required to attend all medical sessions. The topics include
preventive health measures and major and minor medical
issues that you might encounter while in Macedonia. Sexual
health, alcohol issues, nutrition, mental health, and safety
issues are also covered.
Safety Training
During the safety training sessions, you will learn how to adopt
a lifestyle that reduces risk in your home, at work, and during
your travels. You will also learn appropriate, effective strategies
for coping with unwanted attention and about your individual
responsibility for promoting safety throughout your service.
46 PEACE CORPS
The Peace Corps will provide you with all the necessary
inoculations, medications, and information you need to stay
healthy. Upon your arrival in Macedonia, you will receive a
medical handbook. You will also receive a medical kit with
supplies to take care of minor illnesses and first-aid needs.
The contents of the kit are listed later in this chapter.
50 PEACE CORPS
If your dental exam was done more than a year ago, or if your
physical exam is more than two years old, contact the Office
of Medical Services to find out whether you need to update
your records. If your dentist or Peace Corps dental consultant
has recommended that you undergo dental treatment or
repair, you must complete that work and make sure your
dentist sends requested confirmation reports or X-rays to the
Office of Medical Services.
54 PEACE CORPS
56 PEACE CORPS
58 PEACE CORPS
1The average numbers of incidents are in parenthesis and equal the average
reported assaults for each year between 2001–2005.
2Incident rates equal the number of assaults per 100 Volunteers and trainees
per year (V/T years). Since most sexual assaults occur against females, only
female V/Ts are calculated in rapes and minor sexual assaults. Numbers of
incidents are approximate due to rounding.
3Data collection for Macedonia began as of 2001
60 PEACE CORPS
62 PEACE CORPS
64 PEACE CORPS
66 PEACE CORPS
70 PEACE CORPS
Once you move to your site, you may work and live with
individuals who have no experience or understanding of
a non-Caucasian-American culture. Because of ignorance,
stereotyped cultural perceptions, or Macedonia’s historical
involvement with certain countries, you may encounter
varying degrees of attention in your day-to-day life. You may
not be perceived as being North American, in some instances,
72 PEACE CORPS
While staff and your fellow Volunteers will do their very best
to support you, there may not be current Volunteers or staff
role models who can personally relate to your experiences.
Relationships with host country nationals can develop, but as
with all cross-cultural relationships, they may not be easy. AIDS
(SIDA in Macedonian) is a serious issue in the country, and
though condoms are widely available, they are not widely used.
74 PEACE CORPS
78 PEACE CORPS
80 PEACE CORPS
84 PEACE CORPS
Se gladame vo Makedonija
—Douglas Urquhart
..............................................
Mirëdita miq!
Do të shihemi!
—Dennis Wesner
..............................................
Macedonia looks Western, it looks modern, it looks even
progressive at times, but it is not. We have laptops and high-
speed Internet, discos, turbo folk, great coffee bars, and the latest
designer knock-off fashions. We have oranges in winter, bananas
all year, pineapples and kiwis and just about any vegetable in
season. We have pasta, brown rice and all kinds of meat, even
low-fat milk and Coke Lite. True, peanut butter is hard to come
by, so is ranch dressing, brownie mix, and a variety of spices.
So why is the Peace Corps in Macedonia? When you do
“scratch the surface,” you find a country where being an
emerging democracy is a daily struggle. A country stuck
between its nostalgia for the former Yugoslavia and its
growing ambivalence about joining the EU. The challenges
are historic, cultural, and spiritual. They are intellectually and
mentally challenging—for you and for the people who live
here. Finding where and how to have an effect is truly difficult
and the greatest challenge. Sometimes I long to dig a latrine,
plant a garden, or build a school instead of struggling to
determine where I fit in, find a teachable moment, and plant a
seed of change.
86 PEACE CORPS
11. The Peace Corps will help you find adapters that work
in Macedonia. Buy hairdryers that work on 125 and 250
volts. They are easy to find in the States. A small surge
protector for your laptop is a good idea.
Welcome to Macedonia!
—Nancy O. Wilson
..............................................
88 PEACE CORPS
—Erika M. Steiger
90 PEACE CORPS
Blessings,
—David Fox
92 PEACE CORPS
General Clothing
Shoes
• Hiking boots made of leather, waterproof, and
lightweight (good-quality ones are available in
Macedonia but expensive); winters are cold and very
wet
• Work shoes
Kitchen
Note that most items can be bought in Macedonia and many
dried spices and herbs can be found here, especially in Skopje.
• Favorite recipes
• Plastic measuring cups and spoons
Miscellaneous
• Travel alarm clock
• The Peace Corps discourages you from wearing contact
lenses and does not provide contact lens cleaning
supplies. You may bring your own supplies or buy them
96 PEACE CORPS
Family
❒ Notify family that they can call the Peace Corps’ Office
of Special Services at any time if there is a critical
illness or death of a family member (telephone number:
800.424.8580, extension 1470; after-hours duty officer:
202.638.2574).
❒ Give the Peace Corps’ On the Home Front booklet to
family and friends.
Passport/Travel
❒ Forward all paperwork for the Peace Corps passport
and visas to the Peace Corps travel office.
❒ Verify that luggage meets the size and weight limits for
international travel.
❒ Obtain a personal passport if you plan to travel after
your service ends. (Your Peace Corps passport will
expire three months after you finish your service, so
if you plan on traveling longer, you will need a regular
passport.)
Medical/Health
❒ Complete any needed dental and medical work.
❒ If you wear glasses, bring two pairs.
Insurance
❒ Make arrangements to maintain life insurance coverage.
❒ Arrange to maintain supplemental health coverage
while you are away. (Even though the Peace Corps is
responsible for your healthcare during Peace Corps
service overseas, it is advisable for people who have
preexisting conditions to arrange for the continuation
of their supplemental health coverage. If there is a
lapse in coverage, it is often difficult and expensive to
be reinstated.)
❒ Purchase short-term traveler’s or health insurance
to cover yourself while traveling to, and during, Pre-
Service Training events. The Peace Corps will cover
any service-related injuries while you are in the United
States, but will not cover further complications from
such injuries or non-service-related injuries (such as
while jogging).
❒ Arrange to continue Medicare coverage if applicable.
Personal Papers
❒ Bring a copy of your certificate of marriage or divorce.
Voting
❒ Register to vote in the state of your home of record.
(Many state universities consider voting and payment
of state taxes as evidence of residence in that state.)
Personal Effects
❒ Purchase personal property insurance to extend from
the time you leave your home for service overseas until
the time you complete your service and return to the
United States.
Financial Management
❒ Obtain student loan deferment forms from the lender or
loan service.
❒ Execute a power of attorney for the management of
your property and business. (Peace Corps suggests
that you obtain a power of attorney signed over to your
parents or a relative so that they can receive financial
documents such as your W-2 form in order to submit
your U.S. income tax forms.)
❒ Arrange for deductions from your readjustment
allowance to pay alimony, child support, and other
debts through Volunteer Financial Operations at
800.424.8580, extension 1770.
❒ Place all important papers—mortgages, deeds, stocks,
and bonds—in a safe deposit box or with an attorney or
other caretaker.
For Direct/
Questions Toll-free Local
About: Staff Extension Number
Responding to Office of
an Invitation Placement
Europe Ext. 1875 202.692.1875
Mediterranean,
and Asia
Medical Handled by a
Reimbursements Subcontractor 800.818.8772