Veegs Moves to Struga

In this picture Veegs is looking frightening with Bread Fangs.

The day after Christmas was kind of a bummer because my good friend Liz, another PCV moved from Gostivar to Struga.

Liz is a superstar. Last year when I was living in the village from hell and going through some really tough times she helped me survive. Throughout last winter when my hot water heater was breaking every other week I found solace (and cleanliness) in her bathtub. Every time I was on the brink of quitting (and there were a few) Liz was the one who helped me overcome my misery. She also reminded me to eat vegetables (Liz you see, is a vegan). If Liz were not the closest neighbor I had last year I sometimes wonder if I would have remained in the Peace Corps.

But things for Liz were not perfect either. An ardent environmentalist, Liz was assigned to work with an environmental NGO that didn’t really ever do any environmental activities. She found herself wasting away comforted by the thought that one day soon environmental activities would begin, but eventually she realized that this was never going to happen. Rather than spend two years only learning languages and not cultivating her professional skills and gain experience in her chosen field of environmentalism—the reasons that motivated her to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in the first place—Liz decided it was time to talk her situation over with the Peace Corps. Soon thereafter, Liz got a new site. She is now in Struga, working with another environmental NGO, but this one is active and they are working in areas Liz is highly interested in, like solid waste management and composting. Did I mention that Liz began composting on her deck last spring? When she went to visit her new organization she mentioned her project. Her new colleague told her she needed to bring the compost-in-progress to Struga! It already sounds like things are going to work out just fine.