Approximately two minutes later a big chunk of my hair (which I later could not even locate the remaining root of) got sucked into the fan, flames and smoke blew out of the hairdryer, and I hastily unplugged it, frowning at my still half-wet, wavy hair.
Oh well. Of course going outside with my semi-wet hair invoked some tsk-ing and concern from my neighbors. Understandable, as having wet hair on your neck will most certainly cause painful neck ailments on even warm June days�
Later I headed off with Nikola to Berovo to hit up the green bazaar. I am currently on a temporary (!) raw-vegetable diet. That�s right � no potatoes, no pasta, no rice, no fruit (no sugar), no starch, no meat, no pretzels, no nuts, no chocolate, no cheese, etc. etc. etc. I realize the extremity of this �diet�. In fact it�s basically just a one-week system cleansing regimen. I have also been drinking about 4 liters of distilled, pure water per day, as well as several cups of chamomile tea with lemon. There�s no way anyone could build muscle (without protein) or go running (without carbohydrates). I have been cheating somewhat and eating hard-boiled eggs because I am obsessed with them, (plus what is the point of doing all this yoga if I can�t even build lean muscle mass!?!?) and a couple glasses of milk per day because my vitamins don�t give the total of calcium I need.
Anyways, all of that wasn�t even my point. So while I was in Berovo at the once-weekly bazaar I helped enable my raw vegetable diet through the weekend by purchasing enough food to eat NOTHING ELSE. Plus, I bought a few items to make my apartment more hospitable. Considering that we are given approximately $6.75 a day to live (It is a common, irritating misconception that Peace Corps Volunteers are paid or �earn� money; we aren�t paid � hence the term �volunteer�; however, we are allotted a monthly living stipend, to do just that and not much else!), you can see how �expensive� Macedonia is:
Round-trip taxi - 300 denars ($5.77)
1 kg tomatoes � 60 denars ($1.15)
� kg green peppers � 20 denars ($0.39)
2 kg green peas � 60 denars ($1.15)
2 long bunches garlic � 20 denars ($0.39)
Small pkg chili powder � 20 denars ($0.39)
5 wooden kitchen utensils � 50 denars ($0.96)
2 Brillo pad-like scrubbers � 40 denars ($0.77)
1 supposedly �sharp� kitchen knife � 100 denars ($1.92)
2 new pillows � 900 denars ($17.31)
Kitchen tablecloth � 550 denars ($10.58)
2120 denars, or $40.77 isn�t much � to someone with a damn salary! Of course, I don�t buy pillows or tablecloths on a monthly basis (and these purchases were a long time coming�it would be nice to have more than 2 plates, too) but it just goes to show that we don�t have enough money to buy things we need. OK, I don�t have a color TV and cable like most of the people in my town, but then again, it�s not like they�re �rich��my hairdryer is currently with Nikola who is convinced he can fix it, whereas my American self was ready to just throw it away� I�m really *OVER* all the expensive things that there are here, for example, a tiny package of cereal for almost three dollars, shampoo and deodorant for four or five dollars each, at least � maybe this sounds like total whining but hey, I�m living at what we�ll call a �developing world� standard, but all of us here are paying American drugstore prices for stuff!! Thought it�s kind of entertaining for me to eat so simply, only buying a small piece of chicken when I�m feeling wealthy, and not worrying about car payments or health insurance bills�