Opening Event!

This was a great day! We started off the morning setting up balloons, food, and drinks. While we were wrapping up with our work, the people started trickling in. First some kids, some parents and grandmothers, and representatives from the school and the municipal government of Kratovo. The director of Koco Racin Elementary and our friend organization Regional Center for Sustainable Development gave a few opening remarks praising the great work done by Bauorden and Peace Corps for the community. It was very gracious.

The day continued with a few hours of free play for both the kids and us adult kids who were joining in the fun. The Regional Center for Sustainable Development did a great job getting the word out to the community about the new playground and a fun time for all was the result.

This day was bittersweet. We had really grown attached to our Bauorden people and were sad to see them go so soon after they arrived. I think I can speak for all of the families that hosted the volunteers, the people who worked with us, and those in the community who formed special bonds with them, when I say that they were appreciated both for their service to the community and their personal friendship.

Days of Work 8 9 10

To be honest, these last days are a blur to me. Between having budget issues when the price of steel went up on the global market and the cement mix ran out, my mind was preoccupied on how to finish out the project before Jessica and I go back to the United States. All I can say is this: amongst great disappointment with the middle school campus there was equal if not greater excitement that the 1-5 playground was complete and looking good.

We finished off the week being satisfied with our work. The next day we were to have the opening event for the 1-5 playground organized by a local NGO named the Regional Center for Sustainable Development Kratovo.

This was the last day that our friends from Bauorden returned back to Germany and Austria. The Bauorden volunteers had truly become friends to not only Jessica and I, but also to many in the community of Kratovo.

Day 7 of Work

The Bauorden and local crews continued working on both campuses while Jessica and I had to go to a Peace Corps conference for close of service in Ohrid. (Hence, no pictures.) While we were given great hotel rooms over looking Lake Ohrid, I don't think either one of us had a good time because we desperately wanted to get back to the work-site in Kratovo.

Another thing that had been weighing on our mind was the fact that by the end of day 6 we had about 25% of the total area completed, but had used 33% of the materials. Nothing could prepare us for what we found when we returned....(to be continued)

Day 6 of Work

"But it said 'red' on the package!" This day was all about painting! Early in the morning Jessica cruised by the local hardware store and picked up some "red" paint to paint the fence around the new 1-5 campus playground. To her surprise, by "red", they actually meant "burnt sienna". Either way, the work Jessica and the Bauorden volunteers did started really bringing our vision for the playground into fruition. Meanwhile me and other Bauorden volunteers were up at the other campus chugging away at laying the concrete.

Day 5 of Work

Seriously, seriously, seriously, thank goodness it is Friday! The whole entire crew has been working so hard. I felt we all got a real boon in energy knowing we could just relax on the weekend and just enjoy each other's company.

One of the unforeseen difficulties that sprang up was that there we had many workers and only one cement mixer. This being said, everyone looked around and thought there were other little tasks we could do. When we finished with these tasks some of the volunteers went down to the other campus and finished pulling the weeds with phenomenal results. It truly is amazing how much better everything looks when you pay attention to detail!

What was really cool about today was that some of the workers from the high school and our little buddy, Matej, came over and pitched in.

Day 4 of Work

Everyone met at the 6-8 campus as we were going to start laying concrete. However, soon it became apparent that we were overstaffed as we needed to wait for the technical workers to take measurements of the school grounds before we laid the rebar and cement. In the meantime some of us started removing the sand surrounding the soccer field so we could lay the concrete as soon as possible. When we had finished that job, we decided to split the group. Me and a couple of the Bauorden volunteers stayed behind to help out with this task as Jessica and the others went to the 1-5 campus to start pulling weeds and getting that playground ready for the opening day. Later in the day everyone met back up at the 6-8 campus and we started mixing and laying the concrete.

Again, it was a joy that we had a couple of local volunteers wake up early and come out to work. Having these sorts friends in the community really makes all the volunteer work worthwhile.

Day 3 of Work

Day 3: We had completely cleaned up the entire playground and were ready to start laying the concrete. After a morning of painting/sealing the wood around the soccer field with some local and Bauorden volunteers, me and one volunteer started unloading two pallets of concrete and rebar from the truck while Jessica and a few other people used GPS units to measure the field. As we could go as far as we could go without a concrete mixer, we decided to break for the rest of the day.

Later in the afternoon I went to the municipality and informed my contact that we needed to clean the asphalt in the schoolyard so we could start laying concrete the next day. She then called the fire chief to send up a firetruck. Jessica and I met the firemen at the school. Meanwhile, I got a call from a Bauorden volunteer who had been held up at the Hungarian/Serbian border and came to Kratovo late. I had to hustle down to the bus station, bring the volunteer to his host family's residence, and then get back to the work site. Afterwards, the firemen drove Jessica and I back the center of town in the truck. Even though I'm a 29 year old man, I have to admit that that made my day.

Day 2 of Work

Oh, the 7:00 AM workday, how I have missed you! This is the pretty much the first day I've had to wake up this early since joining the Peace Corps. Not complaining.

Today was a continuation of yesterday: clearing out debris, garbage, weeds, and dirt. However, we also started putting some sealant on the wood surrounding the soccer field so it will last the community longer. In addition some of our community friends coming along and helping, so did three of our Peace Corps colleagues. Thanks Josh, Jennifer, & Kristen!

Day 1 of Work

We all met up at the 6-8 campus the next day at noon so the volunteers could sleep off the traveling from the day before. The first thing we needed to do was clean the playground so that we could lay the concrete later in the week. This meant we needed to remove all the garbage from the field, clear out all the asphalt and concrete debris, pull weeds, and shovel out the dirt on the perimeter so it would be level. Luckily, we got some help from some of the locals. Some members from the "host families", students from my and Jessica's ecological group, Volunteer Ecology Kratovo, our friend Mustafa from an NGO, RROMA, and even a worker from the school pitched in.

The mood of the day was very cheerful. Even after a long and hot work day, me and two of the Bauorden volunteers found the energy to have a wheelbarrow race. I came in 2nd place and had to pay my debt: a beer.

They're Here: Bauorden Welcome Dinner!!!

Poor, Jessica. She's a real trooper. Some of the volunteers came via airplane and some by bus... No problem with those logistics. Those coming by train... That's another story. Jessica waited for all the train delays and spent a total of 11 hours in the station! Meanwhile, I was back in Kratovo coordinating the welcome dinner with the host families and the cafe, Talisman, at which we were holding the dinner.

One by one Jessica put the volunteers on the bus and I received them when they got to Kratovo. As they stepped off the bus, my countenance turned to pure sunshine. Although I was feeling under pressure, when I saw their faces I knew that the prior four months' work was actually coming into fruition. I then got a taxi and rushed the first group to their host families' houses and started setting up the cafe while I waited for the next group.