A Week of Learning, Laughing, and Not Knowing

Another week in North Macedonia, and somehow, I have officially made it through my first week of language classes!

Every morning from 8:00 to 12:30, the other volunteers living in my host town and I become kindergarteners again. We show up to class, our host families pack us lunches and snacks, and our brains spend four hours trying to make sense of an entirely new language.

In the moment, learning Macedonian can feel like a lot. My mind is constantly jumping between new words, questions, endings, pronunciations, and trying to remember what I learned just five minutes ago. But one of my favorite moments this week was stepping back at the end of class and looking at everything we had put up on the walls. Posters covered in words, adjectives, singular and plural endings, definite endings, questions, and so much more.

It was a little reminder that even when it doesn't feel like I'm learning, I actually am.

I am slowly understanding more and more, and perhaps even more excitingly, I am starting to communicate more with my host family. Conversations that once felt completely impossible are becoming little opportunities to recognize a word, understand a question, or even contribute something myself. I still have a very long way to go, but I am starting to see little glimpses of progress.

And outside of language class, life has started to settle into a rhythm that I really love. My days are busy, but in a very peaceful way. I go to language classes, come home to do homework, maybe go to a café, work out, take a walk, or just spend time with my host family. I am learning that I don't need every day to be filled with something exciting for it to be meaningful.

My host family also loves having people over, which has given me some of my favorite moments this week. We had the other volunteers over for lunch, and it was so much fun watching everyone laugh together, joke around, and enjoy the food. My host dad is especially hilarious and loves making jokes, including reminding us that there apparently won't be showers for the next three months. His sense of humor has become one of the many little things that makes this house feel like home.

One thing I am quickly learning about life here is just how much it revolves around people. Macedonia is known for its strong sense of family and human connection, and I am continuing to experience that in ways I couldn't have fully understood before arriving.

That has been especially clear in the way my host family has welcomed me into their lives and introduced me to the people and places that are important to them. This week, I visited two different towns with my host family. One was the village where my host mom used to work, and another was where her sister lives. Both trips reminded me that sometimes the best experiences are the ones you don't plan, or even know are happening until you get in the car.

One Sunday, after exploring my town and going on a walk and hike to an archaeological site, I came home and took a shower. When I came out, I was casually told that we were leaving. I had no idea where we were going.

So I got in the car.

Eventually, we pulled up to a house, and I realized I knew the family; they were cousins of my host dad. What I didn't know was that our quick lunch visit would turn into about five hours at their house, and it ended up being one of the highlights of my time here so far.

They had two kids around my age, and we spent the afternoon talking about Macedonia, what it is like to live here, and our lives in general. They even helped me with my Macedonian homework and, naturally, made sure I learned some of the curse words I'll need to know!!

It was one of those afternoons where nothing was planned, but everything felt easy. We talked, ate, laughed, learned, and just spent time together.

And somehow, those connections continued into our other trip that week. In another town, I got to meet up with another Peace Corps Volunteer and their host family. I already knew the family through a mutual connection from Colorado Young Leaders who lives here in Macedonia and is hosting another volunteer. Finally meeting them in person was such a fun reminder of how small the world really is. Somehow, everyone really is only six degrees of separation away from someone you know.

Things I'm Proud Of

This week also gave me a few moments that made me stop and realize, okay, I really am doing this.

I got a gym membership.

That might sound small, but for me, it has been important. After spending hours sitting in language class and having my brain going a million miles an hour, going to the gym gives me a chance to move my body, get out of my head, and do something familiar. It has become a little piece of my routine that is just for me.

I am also proud of a much smaller moment that probably wouldn't seem significant to anyone else: buying grapes.

One of our homework assignments was to go out and ask someone how much an item cost. So I walked into the little flower shop near my house, where they also sell produce, and asked how much a kilo of grapes was.

The woman responded completely in Macedonian. And I stood there blankly for part of it. But then, somehow, I understood the number she gave me. I paid, completed the transaction, and walked home with my grapes.

It was such a small interaction, but I was genuinely proud of myself.

A lot of the time, I am with my host family or the other volunteers, so I have an easy out. People know that I am the American volunteer, and there is often someone around who can help translate or explain something. But walking into that store alone meant I had to rely on whatever Macedonian I had learned.

I didn't understand everything.

But I understood enough.

And I think that is what I am learning to celebrate.

I am also really loving the fact that I have, in a way, no idea how my days are going to go. I wake up knowing I have language class, but after that, anything can happen. Maybe I come home and do homework. Maybe my host family has people over. Maybe we go to the market. Maybe I end up at an aerobics class. Maybe I suddenly find myself sitting in a stranger's house for five hours.

There is something really freeing about not knowing.

I have to keep reminding myself that I have only been here for a full week. I don't need to know everything. I don't need to understand every conversation. I don't need to have a perfect routine or feel completely settled yet.

I am learning a language.

I am learning about a culture.

I am learning about a family.

And I am learning to integrate myself into a completely new place.

For now, I think that is more than enough.