Swiss Pickled....?

OK, I will refrain from commenting on the Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese that I'm enjoying while here in Switzerland and instead share a new food. See those burnt orange cubes? Well, several of us tried them and couldn't quite figure out what they were, but they certainly packed a flavor punch of different spices (like cinnamon and ginger) and were delicious. Well, we asked the chef and she said they were pickled pumpkin! Who knew?! She then went on to say that they'd had a huge crop this year and she really doesn't like making the same things over and over and prefer making new and different things. So would you believe that the pickled pumpkin was an experiment? Oh that all my cooking experiments come out as good! Now... how to I talk her out of the recipe... hmm......

Switzerland, Starbuck's and Silence

This morning a colleague and I took off for a conference in Switzerland! I love Skopje, but I'm SO GLAD to get outta "Dodge" for a while.

I handed my vehicle off to another colleague who then dropped us off at the airport... of course it was as I was pulling out my passport for check-in that I'd realized I'd forgotten to give him the car documents! So I franticaly called him and luckily it wasn't too big of a hassle for him to turn around and come back... thank goodness, because he needs those documents to get some work done on the car while I'm gone! :)

Aside from that our travels went really smoothly. The skies were clear for quite a while and as you can see from above, the view was breath-taking! We also met a really nice couple of Macedonians who were sitting in our same row. Then once we landed I got separated from my colleague in the shuttle bus and so ended up having more time to chat with the couple who were quite delighted and surprised that I spoke Macedonian. Actually, it was quite amuzing to watch the faces of the Macedonians around me as they too were intrigued by this American who could speak their langugage! Fun stuff.... there's just something about being able to communicate with people in their own language... I find that I'm more aware of how comforting and encouraging that is especially now that I'm in a land where I know NADA... or neight (or however you spell that... in my defense, I took Spanish in high school instead of German...).

Anyways, it won't come as any surprise to those who know me well that after we purchased our train tickets our first stop was at Starbuck's! Three years ago this particular Starbuck's was just a teaser behind a barrier as it was just being built... so I was SO happy that it was open! "Hello, my name is Carolyn and I'm a coffee addict." Frankly I've been craving good coffee for several weeks... so you can imagine that I savored each sip!

Down on the train platform two other ladies arrived that we knew and who were going to the same conference! Due to unforseen circumstances (delayed flights, missed train) we all ended up on the same train. That was really nice! Especially as we had the next hour to catch up with one another. Thanks to Swiss timing, our ride was there waiting for us as our train arrived and then ferried us up the mountian to where I now sit typing this blog and looking out at the wonder that is a snowy Switzerland.

And I LOVE how quiet it is!! I'm a country girl at heart and so the noise of the city has always been something I've had to work to get used to. Something deep inside me relaxes when I'm in beautiful and peaceful places like this... been like that since I was a kid and we'd go camping every summer.... ::::exhaling:::: I'm so looking forward to this week. Yes, it will be some intense and deep training... but it's also a retreat... and I'm really looking forward to spending long and uninterrupted time with my King as I learn and He teaches me. =)

Thank you for praying for me during this time... I will update things as I can along the way.

"I signed I signed my life away... "

One of the newest songs we've been singing at the International Church has a chorus that goes, "You gave you gave your life away.... You gave you gave your life away.... You gave you gave your life away.... for me!" Well the tune was skipping on that line in my head this morning while I was at the bank, though admittedly with some minor changes to the lyrics.

Two days ago I went to the bank to close an account... and spent well over an hour there and had to fill out SO MANY forms with so MUCH detail. Just to CLOSE the account! Well, after feeling like I'd given almost everything but a kidney, I left the bank cash in hand thinking that all was good.

Not so.

About 3 hours later I got a phone call to inform me that in the process of closing the account they had posted interest (cool)... and so placed it in my main account. Huh? I'm sorry, "what?" My "main" account? I thought I'd closed everything.... at least that's what I told them I wanted to do...

Apparently it got lost in translation...

So back to the bank I go this morning... and spent ANOTHER hour there to close an account that I'd thought was closed two days ago. And as each piece of paper was shoved through the small slot under the bullet-proof glass that song's tune was playing in my mind to the lyrics of, "I signed I signed my life away... I signed I signed my life away... I signed I signed my life away... bank-iiinnnngg!" TWENTY-THREE signatures in all... Yes, you read that right: 23!

Another version of the song would be... "We killed we killed a tree today... We killed we killed a tree today... We killed we killed a tree today... this morning!"

Oh yes... and the best part of all this (feel the slight tinge of sarcasm)... it was all for €7.81. LOL.

On another note, though, the teller and the manager who was helping me were very helpful, courteous and nice... and so made what could have been a nightmare culture experience not so bad at all... and quite pleasant. If I need to open another bank account someday I wouldn't hesitate to use the same bank.

Среќен Осми Март! Happy Int'l Women's Day!

It's Осми Март and the annual celebration of women young, old, single and married. As a colleague mentioned earlier today, she likes this holiday better than Mother's day because it includes her too (she's single like me). It's funny, but according to Macedonia language rules (and thus cultural) you're not a жена (woman) until you're married... so even though I'm 40, I'm still referred to as a девојче (girl). So, I must confess that I'm liking this holiday as well because even us девојчиња get to celebrate it along with all the жени! ;)

The fun thing about days like today are that the men around town are more likely to be courteous and open doors and such. Infact, a colleague up in Kosovo was given a ride home by her language teachers husband in honor of the day. It's a distance she normally walks, even in the snow and ice, but not on this day! It's also typical that various parties or celebrations be held around town. It's International Women's Day (IWD)!

An interesting tidbit about this day is that it's not a strictly "American" or "Macedonian" holiday. It's actually celebrated all over the world. Infact, it's been around for 99 years! Here's some text from the IWD website: "International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, IWD is a national holiday."

OK, so all that said, I must confess that I didn't even really celebrate it today! Yeah, shocker! But it was snowing all day and I just didn't want to go out. Yes, I do admit to having an irrational fear of falling on the slippery uneven sidewalks. I did get a couple of surprise phone calls, though, from some Macedonian friends. It'd been a while since we'd talked and so it was really nice to hear their voices and to make plans to see each other when I get back from Switzerland at the end of the month.

Anyways, to celebrate International Women's Day, I've posted this picture of some Springish daisies that I bought to cheer up my apartment a couple of weeks ago. And yes, that IS snow in the backdrop.... gotta love the contrast... =)

Happy International Women's Day!

Simple Pleasures

It's always exciting when something new appears on the shelves here in Skopje. Things like: M&Ms, brown sugar, tortillas, Brita filters and so much more! Well, the newest item to show up was celery stalk! Frankly, I couldn't hide my excitement when I saw them! I snatched one up and held it too my chest, smiling like an idiot and dreaming of all the wonderful things that can be done with celery. Sure, we've been able to get celery root here all along, but it's JUST NOT THE SAME as the snappy, crunchy wonder that is a celery stalk (especially in soups, stuffing, stir fry, etc).

The next purchase I made was some peanut butter.... mmmm..... celery sticks and PB... a favorite snack. It's amazing how something so simple can bring so much pleasure. :)