The primary school I teach in has formed a sister-school relationship with an elementary school in Turkey. On Thursday a group from that school came to visit Tearce and sign the official papers. Our students and teachers gave them a warm welcome and showed them a bit of the culture in Macedonia through traditional dress and dance. The school I teach in is unique in that it teaches and operates in three languages: Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish. Each of these ethnicities comprises at least 20% of the population. Additionally the school has a significant Roma ("gypsy" - although this is a very derogatory term) minority. The picture below shows three of my students dressed in traditional clothes. From left to right they are: Turkish, Macedonian and Albanian:
The students below performed an Albanian "wedding" dance for the guests:
The Turkish guests thanked the teachers as well by presenting each one with a gift of a Turkish shoe magnet.
We followed this up by a cocktail and slideshow presentation of our school, then with a formal dinner in a restaurant up on the mountain above the village. The view was great, although the clouds rolled in as we ate and it even hailed for a short time -- the one day of the week without constant sunshine. The guests have returned to Turkey now but seemed to enjoy their visit. This is a great opportunity for the school to connect with students outside Macedonia, so I hope it will be active in creating projects to further expand its horizon!
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