I've been so bad about updating this thing regularly. Better late than never, I guess. Now, I must take the time to record my absolutely wonderful fall break in my motherland, Makedonija.
Prepare for the World's longest post.
I got on the my plane on October 22 and made the easy flight to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, in about 7 hours (including a 5 hour layover in Budapest). The happy/excited feeling I had when we were landing is indescribable, it really felt like I was going back to a home I was comfortable with and I couldn't wait to be with my family. Practically running off the plane, I made my way out of Alexander the Great Airport (cheeky name!) and saw Teta(Aunt) Gorde in the middle of everyone waiting for me. Imagine those cheesy movie scenes where reunited loved ones run towards each other and end up hugging and crying. That's exactly what happened. Tetin(Uncle) Zoran was also kind enough to pick me up and we all piled in the car and made our way through the beautiful mountains back to Ohrid. The four hour journey seemed to fly by because Teta and I were preoccupied with catching up on each others lives from the past 5 and a half years.
When we got to Ohrid, more tearful hellos and hugs ensued. Seeing Dedo (Grandpa) Dimitri and Baba(Grandma) Vesa was just amazing. Then, the feasting began! Everyone sat down for a big family meal that consisted of the world's biggest komat/zelneek and the best. If you haven't tried zelneek, it's something you must do in your lifetime and for best results, go to my Baba Vesa's. SO good, especially with the homemade yogurt that you drink with it. We spent the next couple hours laughing and finding out what everyone had been up to. It was awesome; it felt like I had never left. At about 10 pm I couldn't stay awake any longer because those dang mid-terms kept me up for two days straight, so I passed out immediately in the cozy room Baba had set up for me and didn't wake up until noon the next day.
I woke up to a beautiful, sunny day and as I made my way to the kitchen, the smell of coffee and graf(a type of traditional Macedonian stew) simmering on the wood-burning stove. That made my morning even better. I spent the morning hanging out with Baba and Dedo, drinking my coffee with Baba, and eating tuloombi (yummy pastries). Around one, my cousin Naumche came and got me and took me around the spectacular sights of Ohrid. We spent the day walking around the lake, drinking coffee, and visiting the many churches that Ohrid has. The city prides itself on the the fact that it has 365 churches; one for everyday of the year. We hiked up to Sv. Kamil, which is an ancient little church that is built on one of coastal cliffs, so the views are breathtaking. After that, we went through the lovely old town and made our way back to Baba and Dedo's for our dinner of graf and homemade bread. Later on that night, I went out with Naumche and Aniti to the coolest small-scale club. The DJ that was playing at first was the best one I've heard in a long time. He looked really young though, so I asked Anitche how old he was and she said, "Sixteen, seriously." Crazy! After the teenage DJ was done, this really talented band started playing covers of popular Yugoslavian songs. All in all, a great night out that I didn't expect from this calm, lakeside city!
Sunday, Naumche and I went to a semi-pro football match, and let me tell you, I have never had more entertaining commentary of a sporting event . It was Ohrid against some other sorry team and the fans made it clear who was dominant, but in reality, they trash-talked their home team just as much as the opposing one. So many threats and profanities flying around, it was extremely difficult keeping a straight face when I was one of the three girls in the entire stadium. That night, we made the uphill trek to Plasnik, an archaeological site with ruins from the 12th century and Sv. Pantelion, a beautiful church that was built in the 1400's. We went to Samuel's Fortess, also called "The crown of Ohrid" and were accompanied by a darling little mutt who followed us around for the rest of the evening.
Wednesday, I went to my mama's hometown, Bitola and stayed with my awesome cousins, Chechko (not dedo!) Lupche, Teta Zora, Ana, and Goce. Of course, I had an excellent meal waiting for me and we spent the night talking, relaxing and laughing. The next day Ana and I went out to the downtown area of the city. She showed me the countless cozy cafes and bars that Bitola is known for. After a cappuccino or two, we went back to the house for some Bitola-style lasagna (it was good!) and then it was time for me to return to Ohrid. I saw my first snow of the season when we were driving back, it rested on the huge mountains and looked better than any Christmas card.
My last day in Ohrid was very bittersweet. I adored my family and was having the best time with them, but I did not want to say bye until who-knows-when. Following Macedonian procedure, my Baba and TetaKOMAT for me to devour and honey cake for dessert. The evening was spent reminiscing, planning trips to visit each other, and as usual, laughing until we cried. I got up early, like 8AM, the next morning and said goodbye to them. It was heartbreaking, especially saying goodbye to my amazing baba and dedo. We need to visit them ASAP.
I boarded the bus and commenced the 4 hour journey to Skopje, to spend my last day in Macedonia, with my cousins, Bojan and Milena. I know bus doesn't sound like the most ideal way to travel for four hours, but when you have the stunningly beautiful country of your heritage to ogle at, it goes by pretty fast. I arrived in Skopje before I knew it and set about searching for Milena. Thing thing is, I had never met them until that day and was only friends with Bojan on Facebook, and me being the smartie I am, did not think to ask what Milena looked like…opps. So, I figured to looked for someone tall and light-featured like Bojan right? Well, imagine my surprise when a petite, dark-haired girl came up and cautiously asked, "Bile?" Jackpot!! Turns out that Bojan and Milena were always meant to be my best friends, its just unfortunate that we had to wait 20 years and be separated by a big ocean when we finally met. In that one day, we probably had about 3,8787 inside jokes. They also introduced me to their awesome friends. We went out to eat, went to a couple different bars and ended up seeing yet another amazing Macedonian rock band. Picture Kings of Leon meets the Foo Fighters Macedonian-style. SO talented. We just stayed up the whole night and they and their wonderful father (who made me bomb palachinky) drove me to the airport. Hugs and kisses all around and then it was back to the PRG for me.
Might be one of the best breaks ever. I miss them all. Amen.
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