A Macedonian Holiday

[Ms Domainer]

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I'm currently in Skopje, Macedonia. Some of you may know that I spent 2009-2010 as a Fulbright Scholar here.

My husband and I have just fallen in love with this part of the world, so we visit whenever we can. We arrived on May 31 and return back to the States on June 17, so we're winding down our visit.

Today was just one of those rare days when everything just went right. I finally got my Skopje feet back (a great walking city, no car, so great exercise to be had). We went to "BuskerFest," a festival dedicated to those folks who play music on the street--sing and play instruments for their living.

Amazing...Not only was the music great, but there was food, drink, crafts people selling their wares, and CROWDS of people grooving downtown.

Imagine that.

Skopje is a vibrant, lively city with outdoor cafes and music. It's just a heady place to be.

We bought gifts for friends and family and had a great time doing so. We ambled the center city and the Turkish Market.

Here's what really grooved me out: the other day, we were in the center during a rain storm. A young girl--she may have been Roma (but I don't really know, and it doesn't really matter)--was hustling, trying to sell umbrellas. We didn't buy because we already had our own. In bad Macedonian, we politely declined, but the girl switched to perfect English with a slight New Jersey accent (!!!) and tried to convince us how sturdy her umbrellas were, much better than our own flimsy ones (she was so good, I was almost convinced).



Fast forward to today. During the fest, this same girl was selling some really cheesy and overpriced rocket launcher toys that shoot straight up into the air and light up. This girl was hustling her butt off, selling these toys.

Well. I have three young grandchildren, so I was the perfect mark for these things. We got to talking a bit; it turns out that this girl learned English by watching American TV. No formal language lessons at all, just Boomerang TV and Universal TV and bad American movies.

:p

I was blown away at just how nuanced her speech was. Obviously, she's a naturally bright person who has a bit of the hustle in her blood--I love it--she could sell just about anything to anyone: refrigerators to Eskimos, mink coats to Africans and vegetarians, yada, yada. Opportunity in this country does not come easily for people in her lower working class, but this girl has taken her natural gifts and carved out her own opportunity--no whining or "woe is me" nonsense, just cheerful hustle and hard work and determination.

Somehow, that girl was the capstone of an already great day in the city.



Thanks for listening.



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[Kate]

Waiting for tomorrow's installment :gl:

 

[Ms Domainer]

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Today's installment.

Again we walked to the center, this time to visit the Holocaust Museum of Skopje. where I learned a lot about the once-vibrant Jewish community in the Balkans. It was the Turks who welcomed Jews from Spain in the 1800s. They spoke "Ladino," a combination of Spanish and Hebrew, which eventually appropriated elements of Turkish and Macedonian/Serbian/Croatian. The language is still spoken by its descendants, but not as a first language.

During WWII, the Jewish community in the Balkans did not fare too well; Jewish families were rounded up and forced into concentration camps, where many died by gassing. On March 11, 1943, the Bulgarian army rounded up all the Jews in Bitola and took them to Skopje, where they were interred in a camp where the museum now stands. I cite this because one of our friends was a boy in Bitola when this happened, and he told a story about the night his neighbors were taken away, never to be seen again. The round-up had been sudden; the family hadn't even finished their evening meal. Later, Vlado could see through the window the family's half-eaten meal still strewn on the table, a moment frozen in time. That image has stuck with me for years, and today's visit reminded me of Vlado's sad tale.

Yesterday, I had bought some stones, including an amethyst, which I wanted to have wrapped in wire and set in a necklace. So we left it with a street artist, who promised to have it finished by the next day. I must admit, I was dubious about leaving my stone with a total stranger, but my friend Lile said it would be okay (he was a stranger to her as well, so how she knew, I didn't know). Sure enough, he had done a beautiful job, and I have a nice necklace--and I learned a lesson about taking a risk by trusting a total stranger. Now, on my next trip, I'll have another friend to visit. It's easy building a social network here.

It was a gorgeous hot day, brilliant blue sky, so we ate outside in a garden cafe. Later, we decided to have coffee in yet another cafe, Cafe Roma across from the Mother Teresa museum (She was born Skopje and spent her first years here), where we spent about 90 minutes (going for coffee with a friend here is nothing like grabbing a cup in the U.S.--in the Balkans, having a coffee is an important social ritual, one that I have grown fond of).

Later, we went for drinks with yet another friend, where I had one rather strong Mastika (a stronger version of Ouzo)--another two hours of catching up with my mentor from my Fulbright year.

My friend Lile mentioned something about taking a cable car to the top of Mount Vodno; if I survive, I'll post something about it tomorrow.



Meanwhile, my Skopje feet are tired: Three cafes, a lot of walking, and a museum, all in one day, and I'm bone tired.

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[Kate]

Enjoy the good life Jennifer - it's too short

 

[mobilespecialists]

interresting posts. The stroies wrom WWII are very sad. That what happens if human fall into sick visions of might and power. I'm from Poland and know so many of what bad happened, to the Jews, but also to the Roma, the Poles, the Kashubians, the Russians and at the end of war the last victims of Hitler - the Germans. All bad stories. But to not give only a bad image of the Bulgarians - it was the bulgarian Car who while WWII did NOT allow the bulgarian Jews to be deported to Auschwitz. This saved thousands of jewish people lives. I suppose the Bulgarian people made a wrong decission at the start of war time to support Hitler, because Bulgarians were and still are fascinated by Germany (not the bad Nazis, just the old german culture). This turned later to be a fateful decision for them. Btw. some of my relatives came also from Macedonia. I suppose finally this country is on a good way and the people there can live in peace. The Balkans are so pretty. And 3 days ago I even bought a macedonian domain. Enjoy the time there!

 

[Kenny]

Very cool/hip!!!!
Let us know how tomorrow goes :wave:


Peace,
Cy

 

[GILSAN]

I remember years ago Greece objecting to the formation of Macedonia as a state because of the name, since one of Greece's province is also called Macedonia.

"The breakup of Yugoslavia reignited a multifaceted dispute centered over the use of the name Macedonia, this time between Greece and the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, formerly a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since 1991, it has been an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations. Citing historical and territorial concerns resulting from the ambiguity between the Republic of Macedonia, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia and the ancient kingdom of Macedon which falls mostly within Greek Macedonia, Greece opposes the use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier, supporting a compound name such as "Northern Macedonia" for use by all and for all purposes"

"As millions of ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians, unrelated to the Slavic people who are associated with the Republic of Macedonia, Greece further objects to the use of the term "Macedonian" for the neighboring country's largest ethnic group and its language. The Republic of Macedonia is accused of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great, and of promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which involves territorial claims on Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia."

Read more from Wikipedia: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_naming_dispute"]Macedonia naming dispute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Enjoy yourself

 

[Ms Domainer]

I remember years ago Greece objecting to the formation of Macedonia as a state because of the name, since one of Greece's province is also called Macedonia.

"The breakup of Yugoslavia reignited a multifaceted dispute centered over the use of the name Macedonia, this time between Greece and the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, formerly a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since 1991, it has been an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations. Citing historical and territorial concerns resulting from the ambiguity between the Republic of Macedonia, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia and the ancient kingdom of Macedon which falls mostly within Greek Macedonia, Greece opposes the use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier, supporting a compound name such as "Northern Macedonia" for use by all and for all purposes"

"As millions of ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians, unrelated to the Slavic people who are associated with the Republic of Macedonia, Greece further objects to the use of the term "Macedonian" for the neighboring country's largest ethnic group and its language. The Republic of Macedonia is accused of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great, and of promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which involves territorial claims on Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia."

Read more from Wikipedia: Macedonia naming dispute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Enjoy yourself

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Yes, one more day. On Monday, I'm going to turn into a pumpkin.



The naming squabble is still the case.

Ironically, before the break up of Yugoslavia, the name (Republic of Macedonia) wasn't even an issue; the two neighbors co-existed and traveled back and forth. Ordinary people still feel that way about their Greek friends.

It was only after independence that this naming became a political bone of contention.

As a foreigner, I try not to get involved in these political disputes; I figure I have enough in my own country. But I listen as my friends here discuss these things and nod my head politely.

Yes, during WW II, a lot of bad things happened to other groups (not just the Jews), and the Bulgarians weren't the only people responsible--not by a long shot.

This part of the world has always been a powder keg and will probably always remain so. Back in 1988-89, my husband and I traveled all through Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia), which then seemed peaceful. Two years later, everything changed. That same year, we also traveled through Hungary, Romania, and West and East Germany. Well, we know what happened in Romania and Germany. We were in Hungary during the reburial of Nagy (spelling?).

We seem to specialize in traveling to volatile parts of the world--I just hope that Macedonia is finally settling in (though I'm not banking on it). I feel an affinity with this part of the world--my second home, so to speak.

Off to the cable car (maybe)!

Peace and later!

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[mobilespecialists]

So, a nice Sunday there.

 

[-EM-]

Reg a few .mk names since you are there :D
Enjoy your stay.

 

[Ms Domainer]

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We returned home on Monday, dead tired, but happy.

Back to normal, even sold a "welcome home" domain to help take some of the sting away from vacation expenses.



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