Ask not what your country can do for you...

"I have come to appreciate my role as stranger here, sometimes we need our own tradition offered back to us through the eyes of another. 

-Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

Peace Corps week was February 23 to March 1 this year, an annual event that commemorates President John F. Kennedy’s establishment of the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961.

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” These eminent words from JFK’s inaugural address capture the spirit in which more than 210,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries since the Peace Corps’ inception 53 years ago; 1,302 of those volunteers have been from Idaho.

According to the Peace Corps rankings of the top volunteer-producing states per capita for 2013, Idaho ranked #7 with 4.4 volunteers currently serving in the Peace Corps for every 100,000 residents. Oregon, Washington, and Montana also ranked in the top 10.

I am one of 70 Idaho residents currently serving. When I was a freshman at Coeur d’Alene (CDA) High School, I remember feeling like I would never be someone who could travel the world. It wasn’t my reality, perhaps from fear of the unknown or lack of financial resources. But somehow international travel made its way into my dreams and gradually opportunities to do so have become my reality. Thanks to the U.S. Peace Corps, I’m living halfway around the world as a community development volunteer in the Republic of Macedonia. Though I’m far from home, home is still with me.

CDA has made its way into my work here. Thanks to CDA, fitness changed my life course from child obesity and low self-esteem to self-empowerment as an Ironman finisher. It’s hard not to catch the CDA fitness bug with gorgeous trails for running, biking, and hiking, the lake for swimming, and frequent social sporting events to get outside and get active with friends and family. Access to fitness is something I took for granted until I found myself in a place where fitness is not the norm.

When I arrived in my Peace Corps village thirty months ago, I was shocked to discover that women’s fitness was non-existent. To be caught doing anything fitness related risked the ridicule of village gossip. It wasn't until this past June that two courageous women started a Zumba class for women. Inspired by their courage, I helped them design a fitness program and apply for a grant from the American "Friends of Macedonia" foundation. Our grant was approved. We have bought a sound system and Pilates equipment, and are putting on a series of fitness seminars for girls, women and seniors. 

The most successful results have been with the senior women. Following a seminar about preventative health, the senior women were encouraged to get out and walk. The fitness program coordiantors were skeptical, but one month later in the dead of winter, the senior women formed their first walking group. I met them at the Senior Center in the village center to accompany them, thinking it would last thirty minutes. Two hours later, we arrived back to the Senior Center just as the sun was setting behind the mountains. Not only does the walking group continue to meet two times a week, the senior women have decided they want a weekly Pilates class. It attracts a larger attendance than our classes for the younger generations.

The senior women have taken action to improve their health, at the risk of ridicule and town gossip. They show up to workout in whatever clothes they have, including skirts and heels. I am inspired by their courage. Fitness is already changing lives here. I hope that one day women's health and fitness will be as acceptable as it is in CDA.

I'm curious how many CDA residents have served as Peace Corps VOlunteers. If you or someone you know has served, I invite you to leave a comment on this post with the name, country of service and dates of service. (Example: Hana Truscott, Peace Corps Macedonia, 2011-2014).

For those interested in serving in the Peace Corps, find out more at the official Peace Corps website: www.peacecorps.gov. 

Happy (belated) Peace Corps week!

Ode to Lui.

"God comes disguised as our Life."

-Paul D'Arcy

A blessing came into my life in a large cardboard box. 

It was January 14th, 2013, otherwise known as "Old" New Year's day in Macedonia. That blessing was a kitty by the name of Lui Makedonski. He died last week, exactly one year later on "Old" New Year's day 2014. In honor, gratitude, and awe of how a small blessing made a big impact in my life in a short time, here is my tribute:

The Story of Lui

A blessing came into my life in a large cardboard box. It was January 14th, 2013. Otherwise known as "Old" New Year's day in Macedonia. It was the beginning of my 2nd year in Peace Corps. I had just returned from a haunting weekend celebration of masked demons parading through the streets of a mountain village. I returned home to find Igorche carrying the large cardboard box into my cold living room. I couldn't imagine what was in the box. So I opened it.

My jaw dropped in shock. There huddled in one corner was a small, dirty kitten. I had waited 18 months for a kitty - for one that needed a home. And here it finally was! I beamed. The kitten was surprisingly calm, albeit curled up in the tiniest ball possible. I scooped him up and held him close. He burrowed into my red DU sweatshirt. We sat like that for four hours as Igorche explained how he had found the little rascal living ion the street near his family's shop.

My delight slowly turned to panic. Oh no! What do I use for a litter box? What do kittens eat? I called my mom.

It was January after all, and outside was covered in snow. I wouldn't make the poor thing go poddy outside. Mom told me to line a cardboard box with plastic shopping bags and fill it with shredded paper. I got to work shredding paper with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. It did the trick. The kitten knew right where to do his business. What a smart boy!

Now, what about a name? In 2007 I lived briefly in Ethiopia. The Amharic word for "lion" is ambusa, a name I decided I would use for my first pet cat should I ever have one. Fastforward six years to my little house in my little village in Macedonia on a cold, winter's day. The kitty that was snuggled into my arms was white and black and tan. He was hardly a lion. More like a snow leopard. The name didn't suit him. Darn, Ambusa was supposed to be my default.

The kitten went nameless for a couple of weeks as I waited for a name to emerge that would suit him. Just as his name was becoming "No Name", I noticed that the Louis Vuitton purse that Igorche had recently gifted to me was the same colors as my kitten. Black, white, tan. "Lui." I tried the name out (spelled simply, in Macedonian fashion). "Lui." It stuck. There is no doubt that Lui is a Macedonian cat. He loves to eat roasted red peppers, feta cheese and ajvar. Thus he was granted the surname "Makedonski" meaning Macedonian. Lui Makedonski. Done.

Lui's presence in my little house automatically lifted my mood. I had been suffering from what my Peace Corps doctor finally described as "melancholy." A mild form of depression surely caused in part by the stresses of being a stranger in a foreign land. Lui was something familiar for me. A pet. A companion. A presence. He slept on my head, demanded attention when I'd return home from work, and ultimately pulled me through my 2nd year of Peace Corps service. To Lui I am so grateful.

As my two years of service drew to an end this fall, Peace Corps sent me home for a month's leave before beginning my third year of service. I was anxious to leave Lui for a whole month, but he was cared for by my landlord and Igorche. They made sure he was fed and had lots of pets. I arrived home to Macedonia last week on the eve of "Old" New Year's. Lui was curled up on his brown blanket when I opened the door.

He looked up at me. Then his eyes grew huge and he looked as though I'd come back from the dead. He jumped up and demanded attention. Demanded to know where I'd been all that month. And then demanded mostly to be loved right then and there. We snuggled all night. He never stopped purring. The next morning, despite jet-lag, I had to head to work for the "Old" New Year's party with my colleagues and the mayor. Lui followed me out the door like he always does, and padded along behind me across the street to work. That was the last I saw of him.

Lui went missing for three days. My landlord's grandson, 11-year old Pece, was the one to find Lui's body alongside the road about 20 yards south of my house. It is likely he was poisoned - perhaps he got into rat poison or devoured a mouse that had already ingested the poison. It's the most common cause of death for village pets, along with getting hit by cars.

The average life span of a village pet has got to be no more than 6 months. Every day when i'd leave for work, I could never be certain I'd see Lui again. So I made sure to make time for him every day. To watch him and play with him and snuggle. He loved snuggling. On several occasions when I hosted up to six guests, Lui would make the rounds throughout the night ensuring EACH guest got some snuggle time. By morning he had slept with everyone.

Lui was a lover. Unconditional love for everyone (except maybe my landlady). They had a love-hate relationship. He was scared of her. I often heard her chasing him out of the garden or swearing quite loudly when she'd find his poop among her vegetable beds. I told her Lui was just trying to help out by fertilizing the plants to make them grow better. She disagreed.

We do agree that we miss him. Lui had an ever-growing list of admirers. I'm at a loss for words. I have no creative nor poignant way to wrap this up. I just can't fathom death. Where did that life energy within him go? It's so hard to see his body still and lifeless. To say I miss him is an understatement. But the grief was worth a year of life together. He was the perfect kitty for me. Intuititive. Loving. Open. Present.

To Lui!!  -Hana T.

Embrace the Gift

The Challenge: Make a "hug" - a toy you can embrace

The Result: My counterpart Nikolina rallied mothers and grandmothers of the preschoolers at Novaci's Bambi pre-school to participate in a two-day workshop making pillow toys for the humanitarian action "Embrace the Gift." With colorful piles of soft fleece, thread and pictures of pillow toy ideas printed from the internet, the moms/babas got to work making 20 pillow toys. Each of the pillows made will be inscribed with the name of a child from Bambi and then donated to the sick children who have to spend New Years Eve in the hospital. Here's a few pics of our pillow toys, made with love.

Sewing workshop - moms and grandmothers sewing the pillow toys.

Preschoolers stuffing the pillow toys. (by the time they were done, 
the room was covered in stuffing and looked like it had snowed inside)

The Final Products

Huggable gifts from the moms and kids at Bambi pre-school.

Mr. Pig. My contribution to the project.

big HUG.

Hana T.

Expiration Date. Project Update.

When I set out on my Peace Corps adventure in September 2011, I committed to a 27-month term of service. That 27 month term expired three days ago. And I'm still here.

I can't imagine leaving my little village yet. It feels like the work here has just begun. I'm three days into my third year of service and my colleagues in Novaci are hard at work (although don't you worry, there's always time for coffee). :)

I've recently begun working with three local NGOs (Non-Government Organizations, that operate like a non-profit). Here's a look at the projects we have in the works:

1. Fitness Program for Women in Rural Communities: Fitness is a new concept here in my village. It's a novelty that is intriguing for some, while still considered taboo for others (especially the older generations). Any woman seen doing anything fitness related (aside from soccer) risks becoming the subject of gossip and labeled as odd. I'm fairly certain I meet both of those criteria on a regular basis. When I arrived in Novaci two years ago, I yearned for a women's fitness program, but there was none to be had. Well, this past June, unbeknownst to me, a group of women from the local Innovative Cultural Club (ICC) started a women's Zumba class at the municipality's events hall (across the street from my house). As soon as I heard wind of it, I jumped right in attending their bi-weekly classes. 

Each time I go, I look around in awe at the multi-generations of women who gather. From first graders to high schoolers to college kids and us old farts (thirty/forty-somethings), we all workout together. Inspired by the women who founded ICC and eager to help them expand their programming, I helped them apply for a grant from a U.S. based grant foundation called "Friends of Macedonia." As of this month, we heard word that we got the grant!  Now we are in the process of implementing the project: expanding the Zumba class to now include a Pilates class, buying Pilates equipment (balls, mats, weights, jump ropes, CD player, speakers) and putting on a series of fitness seminars for girls, women and seniors, including a 4-month fitness challenge.  Today our project was featured on the local news. For the 1-minute TV news-brief, click HERE. It's in Macedonian, but you'll see our project coordinator - she's an author, a poet, a mother of two, and the amazing woman who founded the Innovative Cultural Club, Elizabeta Jonchik (pictured below).

Translation: "Elizabeta Jonchik, coordinator of the project"

2. Youth NGO Work Center - Since May 2013, 3 Youth NGOs from the Municipality of Novaci have independently and unbeknownst to the others, been seeking office space from the Municipality, requesting renovation of the run-down municipal hall for NGO events, and attempting to secure funding for construction of a cultural and civic youth center in an abandoned building in the center of Novaci.  

These three NGOs are the only youth NGOs in Novaci, and collectively engage 150 youth (14% of the 1050 potential youth beneficiaries in the Municipality) in weekly programming. The youth in Novaci do not have any place to gather – no cafes, no restaurants, no youth centers, no  youth NGO offices, nothing. Aside from a boy’s soccer league, all current youth programming is provided by these three youth NGOs that exist to meet the needs of the youth. 

Each NGO is finding it difficult to expand its programming and meet with potential donors when there is no office or meeting space. These organizations also find it difficult to hold events in the current municipal hall, as the run-down conditions both deter participants from attending NGO events and deter the NGOs from hosting events involving regional, national, or international partners because the NGOs are too embarrassed by the inadequate and depressing conditions. (That's where I attend fitness classes, and believe me, it's in dire shape. Last week during an evening fitness class we saw water coming in under one of the ill-fitted single pane outside doors. When we looked out the window to see if it was raining, instead we found a man peeing on the door. It wasn't water that was seeping under the door, it was pee! So gross. With this project we plan for properly fitting, quality doors and windows!) While the Municipality cannot afford the 200,000.00Euros necessary to construct the youth center, it is willing to work with the NGOs to help them strengthen their capacity to work together and expand their professional networks to achieve their collective vision. 

Thus was born the idea to create a Youth NGO Work Center, a renovated events hall with stage and dressing room and an office for all 3 youth NGOs to work together, share resources and knowledge, and collectively improve and expand programming for youth in Novaci. The municipality will fund 58% of the $10,000 in project costs. To help with the remaining 42% of the budget, we are applying for a Peace Corps Small Projects Assistance grant. Nikolina (my counterpart from the municipality who pioneered this project) and I are putting the finishing touches on the grant application this week, in collaboration with a newly formed coalition of all three youth NGOs that will be a part of it. Wish us luck! :)

Youth from the Innovative Cultural Club perform a New Years Pageant 2012 on the stage we hope to renovate with this project.

Youth from the Cultural Dance Association (one of the project partners) perform traditional "oro" dancing at an event this summer. My counterpart Nikolina joins the kiddos dancing Oro.

3. Macedonia Model United Nations (Model UN):  Model UN is a conference similar to the United Nations in which students participate as delegates to various UN Committees. There are over 400 Model UN conferences held around the world each year. Participants research and formulate political positions based on the actual countries and convene in a mock-conference, which aims to strengthen the capacities of young people in Macedonia in advocacy, lobbying, diplomacy, conflict resolution, public speaking and writing. The village of Novaci has never participated in Model UN...until this year. 

The Coalition of Youth Organizations (SEGA) in cooperation with us Peace Corps volunteers in Macedonia implements the program in Macedonia with support from the US Embassy. In the past, Peace Corps Volunteers have been the team leaders, but this year only Macedonians will be team leaders as part of building program sustainability. When I saw the call for team leaders last month, I advertised with the Young Citizen's Action, a new civil society organization founded by Igorche and his friend earlier this year. Through this new NGO, we have the opportunity to host a Model UN team.  A member of the NGO is interested in being a Team Leader for the youth in Novaci.  I helped him with his CV (resume) and a cover letter for the application. He was nervous about his English. One of the pre-requisites for being a part of Model UN is excellent English speaking and writing skills. I had no idea this man spoke English until our meeting. He does not have anyone to practice it with, but has learned English from school and now from American movies. Our first meeting went well, and he received word last week that his application was accepted! We will have a team from Novaci!

He attended a Team Leader training (all expenses covered) this weekend on Lake Ohrid, where he met 20 other team leaders from all over Macedonia.  It is a neat opportunity for him, and for the students we hope to recruit for our team!  I will be assisting with trainings leading up to the conference, including practice in English, debate, public speaking, research and position paper writing. I'm looking forward to learning about the United Nations in the process. (Second photo, credit UT Tyler Model UN website).

4. Postcrossing:  My Macedonian buddy Goran (the very first Macedonian friend I made before arriving in this country over two years ago thanks to Denver friend Alex Monroe), is participating in Postcrossing (a project that allows anyone to receive postcards from random places in the world), and would LOVE to have a postcard from YOU. :)  Thus far, he only has postcards from 5 U.S. states, and only ONE postcard from each of the entire continents/regions of Africa, South America, Caribbean, Central America and Oceania. Help me bring the world to him. He'll even send you a postcard from Macedonia. :)

If you would like to partake, send a postcard of your choice with a message of your choice (he speaks excellent English) to:

Goran Andonov

ul.Nevena G.Dunja br.13/2

1000 Skopje

Macedonia (Europe)

Thank you everyone! If you feel inspired to send more than one postcard, my mailing address is below. (wink)

Goran visiting me in Bitola this summer. We had our cake and ate it too. 

Most recent postcards I've received - North Dakota from Jeremiah, and Seattle from Mariah (and one of a lake in Nepal, mailed in Vietnam, from Kate StormoG arrived TODAY) :) THANK YOU!

Lots of LOVE,

Hana T.

Where's your loyalty?

My old career was lovely and interesting,

but I was in it because I was being more loyal to my fears than to my dreams.

-Tara Sophia Mohr

I've been taking more risks for my dream of writing. Rising up, oh so slowly, to my year of 30 writing challenges. I made the commitment on my 30th birthday in February. Nine months later, I've accomplished seven challenges. Here's the result of writing challenges #6 and #7...

Writing challenge #6. 

"I laid back on the cool cement roof of the castle, watching for shooting stars in the late night sky. After a long, packed week of graduate classes in Athens, I felt relieved to kick back under the stars and just be. Beneath me, the Art Maison's Castle of Oia (the oldest and most picturesque village on the island of Santorini) jutted out on a precipice high above the throngs of the Aegean Sea; a sea that had already swallowed up any signs of a horizon, suspending me in the center of an endless black orb. 

I thought to myself, 'I'm on top of a castle. In the Greek Islands. Counting shooting stars. With a handsome Greek man beside me. Can it get any better than this?...' "

Santorini Sunset.

Find out on the PassionPassport website. My wanderlust story "From Sunrise to Sunset in Santorini" was published today! 

Thanks to Denver colleague and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer (in Azerbaijan), Fiona, for making the connection. :) The Passion Passport website features stories, articles and photographs that inspire wanderlust, bringing the adventurous world of travel to its readers. The best part is its Bucket List Initiative. You can apply for a travel grant to embark upon an adventure of your own. I know you've got one on your bucket list. Check it out HERE.

Writing challenge #7.

"I'm told that I'm brave and courageous for moving away from my cushy life in the U.S. to serve in the Peace Corps under conditions of 'hardship' for two years. Sometimes I even begin to believe it, catching glimpses of myself as Hana, the Adventurer.

But the more time I spend in the Balkans, the more I'm humbled by the real heroes of my family. Thanks to my Peace Corps placement in Macedonia, I've begun to uncover the adventures of my Balkan bloodline...I am the first person from my family in three generations to again set foot on Balkan soil. And there's something about the Balkans that feels like coming home. The first time I met my Pre-Service Training host family, they exclaimed, 'You don't look American! You look like one of us!' Thanks to Peace Corps Macedonia, I can feel the pulse of my Balkan blood.

This past June, after 18 months of service, and great strides on my mother's part to dig up details of our Yugoslavian heritage, we made a pilgrimage to the birthplace of my great-grandparents. Upon arrival in..."

To find out what my mom, dad, auntie Carole and I discovered on our Balkan pilgrimage, head to the Fall 2013 Issue of Pauza Magazine HERE. My "Balkan Blood" article can be found on pages 34-35. This is my fourth and last Issue of Pauza Magazine as Managing Editor. Our editorial team has left behind a new website archive for Pauza, with Issues as far back as 2005. It has been a fabulous learning curve this past year and a great stepping stone as I step into the world of writing and dare to be loyal to my dreams. 

Lots of LOVE.
Hana T.

At Last

(Scroll down to see additional pics below...)

At last...I set foot on American soil after more than two years living overseas. And do you know what I found most shocking?

1. McDonalds packaging with an array of VEGGIE decor on the traditional white/red "M" to-go bags. Say what? McD's gone healthy?
2. Coffee maker. By the time I woke up my first day back in Seattle (2pm, ahem), my host (Mariah) was already at work, so I found myself in the kitchen having a staring contest with her coffee maker. It's a standard coffee maker. No bells or whistles. But it looked as foreign to me as a squat toilet. I cocked my head to the side thinking "How do I use this thing again?" Then I panicked. "Where's my instant coffee?" I managed to bring a pot of water to boil, then found one last single-serving packet of Nescafe 3-in-1 (sugar, milk, and coffee) buried in my purse. Happiness IS.
3. To flush the toilet paper, or not to flush the toilet paper? That was a big question. I got confused after two years of not flushing TP. 
4. Smart phones. I showed up in the U.S. phoneless. My Peace Corps issued Samsung flip-phone was not about to find service in America. So while waiting for my fourth and final flight home at the Chicago O'Hare airport (after 5 gate changes, a Terminal change, and 7 hours of being told my plane would be delayed another 40 minutes), I finally asked a girl sitting next to me at the gate if I could use her phone. I needed to call my ride in Seattle and let them know our flight was finally boarding. The very nice girl (a Seattleite on work in Chicago) generously handed me a very sophisticated looking device. Apparently it was a smart phone. As I stared blankly at the screen, I blurted out "OH!....I don't how to use this." She humored me and dialed for me.
5. US coins are SO tiny!

At last...my beautiful friend Beline has had her fairytale wedding.

Her love came along 5 years ago. His name is Yibeltal. I had the honor of being in Ethiopia with Beline when their relationship was blossoming in 2007. By the end of my two months there, she had a ring and a promise. That no matter the distance, they would be together. 

Beline lives in Seattle. Yibe lived in Addis Ababa. It took several years and several trips back to Ethiopia on Beline's part before Yibe got his Visa approved to come to the United States. When we waited at the SeaTac airport to welcome him to Seattle on January 1, 2011, they hadn't seen each other in nearly two years. During the Visa process, government officials asked them to turn in their email and phone call records. They had exchanged more than 500 emails, and the best part for Beline is that at the end of each email, Yibe had written "I love you more and more each day."  

Now, their lonely days are over. Five years after their first encounter, we were able to celebrate their great love. And a great wedding it was! Like Macedonian Orthodox weddings, which last from sunrise to well after sunset, so too was this wedding. The mass was celebrated in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, but not before a morning dance party at the bride's house with her family and friends. 

Once the groom arrived with his family and friends, a tradition began where the groomsmen must fight their way through the bride's family to reach the bride. The most poignant moment was when Yibe first saw Beline. She was sitting serenely on the living room couch upstairs her dress and veil train spread out royally, surrounded by bridesmaids and family members. The groomsmen had carved a path through the crowd so that Yibe could see his bride. Tears welled up in his eyes. Pure joy. His tears had a domino effect. As I struggled to hold mine back (to not disturb the professional makeup job we had risen before sunrise to have done), all it took was one look at fellow bridesmaid and good pal Aimee Khuu for the damn to break. 

Perhaps the most poignant lyric from Etta James At Last song is "And life is like a song." For Beline and Yibe's life is like a song. And dance. From the day I set foot in their home to the wee hours of the morning when I had to head to the airport a week later, we DANCED. Groomsmen had flown in from various parts of the world, family had flown in from Ethiopia, and we DANCED. Aunties who I had stayed with in Ethiopia came and DANCED.

At last...after two years of minimal dancing, I DANCED. It was glorious!  As the wedding party, we learned a simple, choreographed dance to the song "Wobble." We white girls also had to learn the Ethiopian shoulder dance called "Eskista." It took me a while to get started, but once I did, I couldn't stop. The best compliment I got was at the Ethiopian bar near Seattle University after the second day of wedding festivities. A gentleman asked me if I was from Gondar, a place in Ethiopia where castles remain from the days of King Fasilides. I appreciated the compliment.

At last...I was reunited with over 35 friends during my 10 short but oh-so-sweet days in Seattle.  As much as I feel compelled to extend my service in Macedonia for a 3rd year, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss my people! My community! It was a delight to spend time with old friends (and their new additions). :) Thank you Seattle people and my parents who drove out for the wedding - thank you for blessing me with your friendship and time together during my brief trip home. 

  

The story in your soul

"There's a story in everybody's soul, 

and we have to live it out in order to find out how it's going to end. 

Then, at the end of life, you can say, 'I became myself,' 

which is a lot better than saying, 'I rose to the top of the economic ladder,' 

or, 'I became one of the many people who are sixty-five and older.'" 

-Michael Meade, author of Fate and Destiny, the Two Agreements of the Soul

Last week as I was preparing my "message from the editor" for the Summer 2013 Issue of Pauza Magazine - Peace Corps Macedonia's quarterly publication - I wrote: 

I used to feel like I was living with my bags packed. I wasn’t afraid of death. But now it’s my greatest fear.

When I joined the Peace Corps, knowing I would be gone for two years, I dreaded the aching pain of losing someone I love back home. Now I find myself in Peace Corps, grieving the death of a beautiful woman I came to know during my service in Macedonia...

My site mate Helene Wade died in June. She was one of those people who lived her story. She lived and breathed her uniqueness. She was herself.  

I remember the first time I saw Helene. She stood out from the rest of the swarm of Peace Corps Volunteers that had gathered for the fall 2011 field day in Skopje. She was beautiful, elegant, with her long, silvery hair. She was composed, eloquent, and gentle, yet fiery and spirited. She was not afraid to tell it like it is. I remember thinking “I want to know this woman.” She died four months after a diagnosis in which the doctors gave her four to six months to live. She had told no one but her closest family and friends. News of her death came as a shock to us all. We published a tribute to Helene today in our Summer 2013 Issue of Pauza Magazine. 

Little did I know that i would also soon experience that dreaded aching pain of losing someone I love back home. 

On Monday I received word that my beloved friend Maj StormoGipson died in a horrible rafting accident last Friday. She was with her husband Justin and three children on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River when it happened. She died living out her story. She too was an incredible woman who, in my opinion, had become herself. She stood up for justice, for human rights, for democracy in our town of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She made frequent medical service trips to Central America with Justin. She knew what she believed in and she let the world know too. She loved her family and spent quality time adventuring around the world with them.

I met Maj back in elementary school. Her daughter Kate was a year behind me in school. We swam together in high school. When I lived in New York City, Maj's son Luke (a freshman at NYU at the time) was my adventure buddy and pseudo-little bro. Maj and her husband Justin visited and took us to the Spamalot Broadway show. I also met their whole family in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Obama in 2008. Her whole family is a blessing to know. A blessing to be around. Even their house has good energy. I enjoyed summers house sitting for them in downtown CDA and taking their good ol' golden lab Diego for hikes on Tubbs Hill. That dog loved cliff jumping and swimming! 

Of all these newsie updates I've sent out over the years, Maj had replied to nearly every one. The last time I heard from her was in June. She was inquiring about my parent's trip to visit me. She hoped to see them soon and hear some stories re. their travels to Macedonia. She also sent out an Open House invitation to celebrate her daughter Kate's marriage to beau Eric. My parents attended. Maj said she hoped to see me when i returned home this fall. Gosh, it's hard to be away right now. There is indeed an aching pain of loss. For more about Maj, here's an article from the Spokesman Review, including details for the memorial service this Saturday at the Kroc Center.

Sadly, neither Helene nor Maj lived to be one of the many people sixty-five and older. However, by the end of their lives (in my opinion) they had become themselves, they had each discovered the story of their soul and were living it. 

May these women be inspiration to each of us to find the story in our own souls and to have the courage to live it. 

With Maj, Idaho Representative Walt Minnick, Justin and Kate. Washington DC, 2008.

Helene at the Zoolympics in Bitola, Macedonia. Photo from her Facebook page.

Helene with colleagues from Life Start Bitola, including my counterpart Nikolina (far right). Photo courtesy of Lifestart Bitola

Helene in Istanbul. Photo courtesy of Claire Vanessa Goodwin.