This is a second article from a trilogy about my experience as a volunteer, a teacher, in North Macedonia in a non-profit organization Sfera international. This article follows after the first article of the trilogy. To understand the text of this sequel better read the first article.
The total length of the mission was 8 months. I stayed there only for 4 months due to communication problems between me and the boss of the organization, Milcho Duli, bureaucratic obstacles when processing a visa and their hidden interests which we’ll be discussing in the trilogy.
The volunteer mission was organized via a program European Solidarity Corps (ESC). The program is funded by the European Union.
Short introduction into the plot
The paragraph below follows after the fierce Balkan quarrel which happened between me and the staff of Sfera at the end of the first article. What was next? Words, threatening or shooting? Carry on reading.
New measures and an improvement of the situation
After the fierce Balkan quarrel I told both of them to let me know if they didn’t have enough time to do what I asked them for. I could do things myself. From that moment on, I started confirming all of our conversations via an email and began writing down notes from common meetings.
Things improved. I got a laptop upgrade, hosting for students and other things.
Computer Graphics course in Canva
The content of this course was intertwining theory with working on practical tasks. The theory included: brand identity, colours, shapes, typography and rules of design. The practical tasks which the theory was demonstrated on were: Instagram and Facebook invitations and covers, logos, business cards, leaflets, infographics etc.
Adjusting photos in Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop course
The course was divided into two parts. The first one was about working in Adobe Lightroom to make photo adjustments. The second one was about using Adobe Photoshop for more complex adjustments. Each class was filled with photographic theory (exposition, composition, shades and lights, golden ratio, colours and colour management theory, perspective, optical flaws etc.) Students worked on practical tasks during classes and used acquired theoretical knowledge. They also learnt how to pick the right photos to create a collection and how to sort them.
Creating websites in WordPress course
The course included websites theory and its use during creating parts of websites and the websites themselves. The theory included: technical background of websites, core concepts of WordPress, web design rules, how to write articles, SEO, Google services and WooCommerce. Three websites were created during the course. They were: a personal blog, a business website and an e-commerce website. The web theory was practised on the websites.
Putting off the courses for 23 days
The courses were postponed for 23 days because it was not clear where they would take place, which laptops would be used during the classes and overall slack attitude from Kate and Milcho (before the fierce Balkan quarrel). The new starting date was 27th October. I didn’t print new posters, I just stuck a white sticker on the already printed ones. In the end, I was glad the courses were postponed. I had more time for preparation which I needed.
Propagation at schools
In total I visited 6 schools in order to propagate the courses in Bitola. I received the most welcoming acceptance at a Secondary Technical School of Gjorgi Naumov. I was ushered in an office of the director. I presented him the courses and he was delighted. He offered me to take me to classrooms to present the courses to students on my own. He handed me over to Dejan Patrnogik, a school psychologist, who guided me from a classroom to another classroom. I presented the courses and handed over leaflets at each one. I gave them a link to a website where they could register for the courses.
Due to such a generous help the majority of the students who registered came from this school.
The demand for the WordPress course was high. That’s the reason why two classes were opened for the WordPress course. Each class had the maximum capacity of 8 students. The total number of open places for all of the courses was 32. 29 students registered for the courses and 22 students came over at the first class.
Start of the courses and what it was like
The day of the start finally came. It was 27th October 2021. It was something new for me. It was the first time I had been in front of students in a higher number than 2.
At the first class I found out that education works in shifts in North Macedonia. They have two of them. The morning one and the afternoon one. Half of students go to school in the morning and half of them go to school in the afternoon. The shifts switch each month. Thus it meant I had to change the already arranged schedule again.
During a first few classes I was adjusting my reactions and was trying to understand various situations which occurred while teaching. The situations I’m talking about was an assessment of characters of students and how they react on instructions and questions.
The example of the aforementioned is: When I asked students if they needed help with what we’re working on, a part of the students said they hadn’t needed help and the second part said they had needed help. They answered this way irrespective of the actual state of their work. It means some of them said they hadn’t needed help, even though when checked, they needed the help and appreciated it. It also happened vice versa.
I think that a character assessment of students is very important. It is to help a teacher to recognize how to approach each of them in order to reach a set target of the educational process. I consider such activity a demanding one. The point here was to help to those who wanted to be helped and didn’t help to those who didn’t want to.
I felt I didn’t have much authority (respect) at the beginning. I found it interesting that when I began giving a value to students (the knowledge), I experienced a gradual transition to having more respect from them.
I came to a conclusion that if a teacher wants to gain respect, students must see that the teacher passes on values and knowledge. Something what’s useful to them. When I’m talking about the values, I don’t mean when the teacher thinks about themselves they’re good, polite etc., but something subconscious. I mean that the values of the teacher are reflected/mirrored in their work. People don’t need to be told who’s polite, fair and passes on a value. Though many marketing companies do so nowadays. People sense it. The respect is a secondary thing which comes as an inevitable reaction to the knowledge and values being passed on.
Although I tried to arrange the classes in the right order, I had to make changes during the courses running. I found out that the original order didn’t suit a succession of knowledge I sought in order the courses to make sense as a whole.
I also found out that my pace of teaching was too quick sometimes and I adjusted it to capabilities of students.
Issues with discipline appeared a few times. I dealt with them accordingly. When a disciplinary issues appeared, I informed a student to stay in a classroom until everybody left. Then I explained to them what happened, how it disrupted the class and what kind of a correction I expected. I used a direct look in their eyes and a confirmation that they understood the situation as disciplinary means. Then they were asked to leave. Such resolution of disciplinary issues resulted in the students not coming back again. I attribute it to them not being motivated enough for the cause of the courses. Their minds went to places which were in a direct contradiction with a smooth process of running the courses and their targets.
During the second part of the WordPress course only students with a real interest in gaining knowledge were present. It meant better atmosphere for teaching. Based on the findings described above I have concluded that the problem with respect, schools and the educational process is in students’ motivation, old teaching methods and too many students in a classroom.
Why do we need to remember a list of historical events dates at the time when they’re available on the Internet? Does it help you to find causes and consequences of historical events? I don’t think so.
Ongoing visa troubles
I had taught one class and flew back to the Czech Republic to pick up a visa (I went to apply for it the first time.) The visa was supposed to consist of a visa sticker in a passport and a temporary residence permit document. It is not possible to stay in North Macedonia longer than 4 months without the residence permit document.
Employees of the North Macedonian Embassy claimed that they don’t give any such a document. It was also confirmed via e-mail. Milcho took care of it. I called the embassy repeatedly and said that it is their responsibility, but they always replied it is not their duty. The rest of the people involved in the processes claimed the opposite. A second volunteer, Marit, received the document at the North Macedonian embassy in the Netherlands without a problem.
On Friday evening I was at the main bus station in Skopje where I was waiting for a bus heading to Vienna when I read an e-mail from the staff of the embassy. There was written they had a problem with printing the visa sticker and thus I didn’t have to come over on Monday.
I was shocked. I didn’t get how they could do it. I wrote them an honest message what I thought about it. I kept an assumption that the person managing the printing is a slacker to myself. Perhaps he started working on it on Friday afternoon.
The visa handover was put off one week. The courses were delayed one week as well. I stayed that week in the Czech Republic. I went to the embassy next Monday. Mr Ambassador (That’s how he signed himself in emails,) gave me a speech how I should behave to him and his employees. The visa was already processed so it didn’t make any sense to oppose during the speech. Yet every now and then I had to correct his distorted perception of reality. I still remember one of his statements from my visit: “I can deport you whenever I want to or inform Czech bureaus that we don’t want you in North Macedonia.” It really surprised me because when I talked to him on the phone and was applying for the visa, I asked him if he could speed up the process. He said: “I cannot, it’s not in my hands, my superiors decide about it.”
I didn’t ask for the temporary residence permit (further only “the document”) because I was too tired. Milcho told me it could be dealt with a ministry in North Macedonia.
I got only the visa sticker at the embassy. It is valid for 30 days until an applicant receives a Macedonian identity card. The identity card is given after the document is submitted at a local police station in North Macedonia.
Complaint to the Ministry of Foreign affairs
When I got back to Bitola, I paid a visit to the local police station on my own. I already knew Macedonian language enough to communicate. The staff of the police station told me they had needed a payment confirmation for the ID card processing. They also told me they needed the document. They advised me to call to the North Macedonian embassy in the Czech republic.
I explained them the whole situation and told them it didn’t make sense to call there. Mr Inspector answered something like: “It’s fine, it’ll solve itself.” I asked in my mind: “How?” No, not this way. I pulled out my mobile phone and said: “Let’s call to the embassy together,” and I didn’t leave the office. Pontificating and some other stuff followed, but he didn’t want to call to the embassy. In the end he added: “We experience troubles with this embassy all the time,” and: “Don’t take it personally, it’s not you, it’s our government.” He was right, but I didn’t catch on how him telling me this sentence would solve the problem. I was only 30 days of a stay left if the problem wasn’t going to be solved.
I returned to the office. I told Milcho about the troubles. He said I should be cool, calm and wait. I felt dizzy at that moment and wondered which part of the universe such a person comes from. You’ll find an explanation for his slack attitude in the third and the last article of the trilogy.
I lodged a complaint to the ministry of foreign affairs and the interior of North Macedonia. A man called me after a few days. He saved me. He told me to come to Skopje for the document. Should any problems at the police station arise, I could call him. A miracle happened. I had a feeling it was the only person trying to help me. I was grateful.
Covering an incompetent employee
It was Monday and I was in Skopje. I met the man at the building of the ministry of foreign affairs. I thanked him for the document and showed gratitude. He confirmed that it is a duty of each embassy to give the document to each applicant. It didn’t make sense to me why he was covering a slacker who doesn’t fulfil his duties. I explained him how many issues it caused me and that would be causing problems for new applicants. Then I asked him: “Why are you covering him if he doesn’t do his job duties?” He replied: “I am his superior…,” I don’t remember the rest of the dialogue. He didn’t give me a clear explanation why he covers him.
Slacker still at the embassy
I called my contact at the ministry of foreign affairs on 20th April 2022 to ask him about the Mr Slacker Ambassador. He answered Mr Slacker still works and the embassy.
Another visit to the police station
After a return to Bitola, I visited the police station again. I went to an office of foreign affairs. I gave the document to a lady who was there. She couldn’t believe I got the document. She asked me with awe and fear in her eyes: “Who gave it to you?!” I answered with a smile and joy: “A man from your ministry of foreign affairs.” She turned away and went through my documents. Then she turned to me and said that she had missed a payment confirmation for issuing the ID card. I went back to the office. Fortunately the confirmation lied on my desk.
I got back. I gave it to her and I was waiting what was going to happen. She asked me for a birth certificate. My legs weakened and I sat down on a chair. However a Saint was above me and a copy of a Czech identity card for enough for her.
Then a victory came. She took me to another room, took a photo of me and gave me a piece of a paper as a confirmation. She told me to come over in a week or 14 days. I could see sorrow and a resignation in her face.
I assumed either paperwork made her sick or she didn’t have much to do at work. She might have made up stuff just to keep herself busy. If not, she would probably go crazy.
The flat affair
One week before I went to Skopje, Milcho told me that they were going to have a new volunteer, who would live at our flat. “He is fine. He’s homosexual. I know him,” he said. A Dutch princess (Her name consists of 4 words) lived with us for 2 months. He also claimed she was cool. However, when I returned from a trip after a weekend, she moved my stuff elsewhere. I asked her not to do it. She answered that moving my stuff was in the interest of a good relationship among us. Her daily rituals (the Dutch princess) were vomiting two times per day or crying.
There were two rooms at the flat. I lived in one of them. Marit lived in the second one. She didn’t want to have him in her room so it was my turn.
I had around one day to think about it. Sometimes I have a problem with concentrating when other people interrupt me while working. I also like a specific amount of light and heat in a room. In addition to it the job of being a teacher was so demanding for me that I couldn’t share a room with anyone else.
We had a common conversation on Facebook among me, Milcho and Marit. I wrote I didn’t want to move out of my room and that I wanted to live alone. Milcho replied: “I will move the volunteer to your room no matter what you want to. I am taking him there on Monday.” It was the Monday I was away in Skopje for the document.
I was determined firmly it wouldn’t be this way. I bought a key and locked my room as a precaution ahead of the inevitable.
I was a guide to a group of volunteers in Bitola on Friday. It was just before the fateful Monday. I asked Milcho if we could talk the matter with the flat over again. He didn’t want to, he just went away. I didn’t know what to do so my mind decided to tell him that if we didn’t talk it over, I wouldn’t be the guide. He changed his mind. We went to a kitchen of Hotel Teatar where we were at the moment.
I told him about my personal reasons why I wanted to live alone in the room. He gave me a negative answer.
At this hopeless situation I carried on: “If you enter my room on Monday without my permission, I will consider it as breaching my privacy. In that case I will report it to the European union including your inability to fulfil your duties and obligations towards the project.”
He answered: “As you wish, I will take away everything what you got. Everything will vanish. I will cancel everything.” I answered: “It is your decision. I cannot force you not to do so.”
