Well, currently in Seattle. But for how long? :)
I wanted to share some exciting news that many of my friends have seen by now. As you may know, I finish my master's degree (public administration) in June here in Seattle and have already been looking at what comes next. While I've got a running list of organizations in which I am interested, one of the things I began looking at has been picking up steam.
I'm excited to share that I have accepted an offer from the Peace Corps as a community development volunteer in Macedonia!
As inspired by my friend Hillary's Peace Corps blog, here is a page with my timeline with the Peace Corps process, but in the meantime, I'd love to share a bit more about this amazing country to which I'll be going! As many of you may know, my undergraduate work at the UW was in Eastern European Languages, Literatures & Cultures with the Slavic Department, with a focus on the Balkans.
Macedonia is a relatively small, landlocked country (est. 2.1 million people, roughly the same geographic size of the state of Vermont) and is located in southeastern Europe. It is one of 7 countries that comprised the former Yugoslavia, and is neighbored by Greece, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Macedonia gained its independence in 1991, escaping the violence that unfortunately embroiled many of its nearby neighbors during the dissolution of Yugoslavia and afterwards.
Macedonia is predominantly comprised of ethnic Macedonians (around 65%), followed by a sizable Albanian minority (25%). Despite its small size, there are a surprising number of other minority groups, many with their own distinct languages, cultures, and histories. Macedonian is a south Slavic language that uses its variant of the Cyrillic alphabet -- Macedonia written in Macedonian would look like Македонија. Almost 65% of the country is Orthodox Christian (mostly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church), and some 33% of the remainder is Muslim. The capitol city of Macedonia is Skopje, located in the northern part of the country, not far from its border with Kosovo.
I could easily launch into my history nerd mode, but I'll leave it at this for now. I'll be sure to share more posts about random Macedonia facts and update as my Peace Corps process continues. Until then -- thank you! Blagodaram / благодарам!
I wanted to share some exciting news that many of my friends have seen by now. As you may know, I finish my master's degree (public administration) in June here in Seattle and have already been looking at what comes next. While I've got a running list of organizations in which I am interested, one of the things I began looking at has been picking up steam.
I'm excited to share that I have accepted an offer from the Peace Corps as a community development volunteer in Macedonia!
As inspired by my friend Hillary's Peace Corps blog, here is a page with my timeline with the Peace Corps process, but in the meantime, I'd love to share a bit more about this amazing country to which I'll be going! As many of you may know, my undergraduate work at the UW was in Eastern European Languages, Literatures & Cultures with the Slavic Department, with a focus on the Balkans.
A Brief Overview of Macedonia
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| CIA World Factbook |
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| CIA World Factbook |
Macedonia is predominantly comprised of ethnic Macedonians (around 65%), followed by a sizable Albanian minority (25%). Despite its small size, there are a surprising number of other minority groups, many with their own distinct languages, cultures, and histories. Macedonian is a south Slavic language that uses its variant of the Cyrillic alphabet -- Macedonia written in Macedonian would look like Македонија. Almost 65% of the country is Orthodox Christian (mostly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church), and some 33% of the remainder is Muslim. The capitol city of Macedonia is Skopje, located in the northern part of the country, not far from its border with Kosovo.
I could easily launch into my history nerd mode, but I'll leave it at this for now. I'll be sure to share more posts about random Macedonia facts and update as my Peace Corps process continues. Until then -- thank you! Blagodaram / благодарам!
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