Hi, I’m Martha from the UK. More specifically, a town called Huddersfield in England (1 hour from Manchester.) I actually came to Macedonia by default… I was trying to quickly save money to fulfill my dream of going to Guinea in West Africa in January but I failed. When the opportunity to volunteer in Macedonia for free landed on my lap by chance, I decided it was a good alternative and that I had nothing to lose, so here I am! I wanted to have my mind re-cogged and expanded by the experience of learning a foreign language whilst living in another culture. I didn’t even know where Macedonia was before I came but now I’m enjoying learning about the gateway to the Balkans. I’m a fledgling performance artist (I finished my degree in June 2011) and I’m interested in everyday life in the streets and in the issue of homelessness. My favourite things so far are learning Capoeira and communicating with the children at the daily centres in Aftakomanda and Shutka by pulling silly faces, making noises and using body gestures.