By Arishia Badani, YES Abroad 2016-2017, USA, hosted by American Councils in Skopje, Macedonia

Coming abroad, I knew some of the most difficult times would be during the holidays. While most probably associate this with Christmas or Easter, I was thinking of the “American” holidays which are not recognized abroad: namely, Halloween and Thanksgiving. As the autumn season kicked off back home, I watched my friends and family participate in classic fall festivities - such as navigating corn mazes and drinking pumpkin spice lattes - from afar, yearning for a way to enjoy my favorite time of the year in a place where none of these things exist.

I have been living in Skopje for just over two months now, and it feels like home. In the community where I’m from, volunteering is something everyone actively participates in. It brings us together as a community, and we enjoy doing it.

Since opportunities to volunteer here are more rare, all of the YES Abroad students in Macedonia are always looking for new opportunities to give back to the community which has welcomed us with open arms, and continues to give us experiences and memories we will have for a lifetime.

When Vesna, our local coordinator, told us that the YES alumni Semra Amet ’11 and Filip Stefanovski ‘15 were organizing a Halloween workshop at a local elementary school, none of us hesitated to join, especially me. I love working with kids; their excitement and enthusiasm for the little things that most of us take for granted never fails to bring a smile to my face. And of course, as I was looking for ways to bring Halloween here, I could not pass up this offer.

On Halloween, with bags of craft supplies (including masks, markers, and Halloween stickers and decorations) in hand, together with the YES alumni we ventured out to the Braka Ramiz i Hamid Elementary school. This school is in Shutka, a neighborhood in Skopje with a predominantly Roma population. We met with the head of the school, who took us to a third grade classroom, where we were greeted by 16 excited 8- and 9-year-olds.

We decorated the classroom, played games, and organized a craft: making masks. We allowed the students to decide how to make their masks spooky and fit for Halloween. Watching them work so hard and appreciate us coming to do such a small thing was an amazing feeling, and a great way to celebrate a holiday I thought I would miss out on.