Excursion Day

The main cathedral on the mountain.

My English teacher, Vesna, and her English class. (She's kinda hidden by the tree..boo.)

Some of the flowers and pathways at the monastery

Here are some pictures from today's excursion. The school I teach at had a field trip today, and they invite me! We traveled in 3 large buses to a city called Kumanovo about an hour away from Skopje. Up a mountain we went...and what a beautiful mountain it was. The monastery is located out in the country. From atop the mountain, I had the most spectacular view of the countryside with it's rolling meadows, fields, and trees. The monastery had flower beds, water fountains, benches, open fields, and paths to walk around.

I stayed with Vesna (my English teacher). She and I walked around the grounds, talked with her colleagues, and she introduced me to her class. I really was a perfect day to go on a field trip. I was surprised that they just let the kids roam. The priest was there along with his wife who made sure the kids didn’t ruin the flowers or kick their soccer balls down the hill, but other than that the teachers sat under this gazebo-like thing all afternoon.

I’m pretty sure my lungs now look like smoker’s lung because of all the second hand smoke I inhaled this afternoon. A group of ten or so teachers just sat around drinking coffee and smoking one cigarette after another. I didn't really talk to many of the teachers. I talked to those who tried to talk to me and to those who could speak enough English to hold a conversation with me. It was a bit disappointing that more people didn't try to include me. I understand talking to me in English is hard for almost everyone who came on the excursion...but I already felt insecure enough about what I was wearing that it would have been nice if more people reached out to me.

Oh yes I forgot to mention that my outfit was completely inappropriate for this type of excursion. I was expecting it to be hot and sunny like it was yesterday. I wore a cool dress and even brought a towel in case I sweated a lot! The weather was completely the opposite. It was cooler and not as sunny and definitely not dress-weather. Plus, all of the teachers were wearing jeans or track suits, so I stuck out even more than usual. Oh well, I just tried to keep in mind that this will make for a good story later on.

We stayed on top of the mountain until it started to rain which was about 1pm. We all piled back into the vans and traveled the hour back to Skopje. A sore throat is going around our group, and I was so fortunate to catch it. So, I spent the rest of the day resting and not doing anything. Being sick while at college is one thing, but being sick in another country is a whole different ball game. Please pray that I will get better and fast--and also that no one else would get sick.