Florida Girl in Winter

I don't know what I was thinking when I was 18 and living in Lithuania... I genuinely loved the winter there. I loved the feet of snow, the lack of sun, and not to mention the clothes. Flash forward almost 8 years and apparently I have become old... Was the winter here in Skopje that bad? No, not really. We didn't get any snow and it wasn't nearly as cold as it was in Lithuania but man, am I too old for the cold now. I ache when I wake up and I think 26 is still too young to ache... My apartment doesn't have central heating so I survived off of a lamp heater pictured below. And then my landlord gave me another heater and I have been toasty warm with the two heaters going.

Do I still love the clothes? Absolutely I do. I mean come on. I love shopping and "expanding my wardrobe for winter" is the perfect excuse to head to the mall and shop. Yes, I said mall. Malls here are a huge deal and it has free heating so I don't complain. Sweaters and skirts are all I wear to work now. I have also found my new love for turtle neck sweaters and have them in multiple colors. As much as I miss my sundresses and shorts, the change is kinda nice.

Winter break was mainly in January so I had time off from work to go hiking! A group of other volunteers and I have decided to create a hiking group. It started off with just a few of us wanting to go to a monument in Veles that is at the top of the hills and some stairs and then it turned into full blown hiking mountains. It was incredible to be up in those mountains. I was definitely having a Pride and Prejudice moment on the top. You know, when Elizabeth runs off with her aunt and uncle to avoid her feelings for Mr. Darcy and then the wind is blowing as she's standing on the top of a mountain? Or was it a cliff? I'm not sure but I definitely was channeling my inner Elizabeth Bennet at that moment. (Rereading this paragraph has me realizing I might need to spend more time with real humans and less time in books.)

Work has been... I don't think I have a strong enough word to describe how amazing it is. Outstanding? Awe-inspiring? Extraordinary? You pick. I feel so incredibly blessed to be at this school with my counterpart and other colleagues. We are such a close-knit team that really look out for one another. And my admin? Let's just say it finally feels good to work for people who truly appreciate you and trust you as an educator. We had a crazy New Years party full of dancing and laughing. I can't mention my work without mentioning my students. I was kind of apprehensive at first since I would be working with 8th and 9th graders but these kids are so sweet and welcoming! Plus they get my jokes so that's nice. (Because someone has to laugh at my jokes other than me...)

A few weeks ago, I started my Secondary Project. If you didn't know, Peace Corps Volunteers must have a Secondary Project they work on and collect data on on top of their primary work which is my 9-5 teaching. I now lead an English Club at a local school for students who do not have the economic or social means to hire a tutor in English. So every Tuesday and Thursday I have so much fun with my other kiddos. Tuesday is for the older kids (6th-9th) and Thursday is for my younger kids (1st-5th). I love having the freedom to plan what I want. This could be charades using our new vocab words or it could be homework hour where they get one-on-one help with their homework. Yesterday one of my girls gave me the biggest hug and in Albanian said "I love you so much!" and I almost cried. It's moments like that that makes me realize this was the right thing for me to do. I use more of my Albanian with these groups so it pushes me to study harder.

Here is just a mess of different photos from the last couple of months. If you want to see more, check out my Instagram! @thecurlsabroad Memories on top of memories that I wouldn't trade for the world. :)