The other night a colleague/friend and I headed down towards the river for dinner. Upon entering the square we were greeted by a sight of true randomness: A performance curtain set up at the base of the Old Stone Bridge. No signs or anything indicated what on earth it was there for besides just being a testament to the occasional and always entertaining randomness that comes with living in the Balkans. =)
Went to the store tonight to buy some hairspray... well, I ended up asking for whipped cream for my hair instead! You see, the word for hairspray is "Laq" and the way I remember the word is to think about shaLAQ'n my head... but then if you accidentally shorten that word (like I did tonight) you end up asking for "shlak" (шлаг) which is the word for whipped cream. So that's how I ended up asking for whipped cream for my head!
Gotta love language bloopers! They are pure entertainment (especially for my local friends). =)
Since I was 10 years old I have packed up and moved somewhere every 1-2 years. There was only one stretch of time when I was able to stay put for 5 years... This moving trend continues to be a major element in my life...
The field office moves on MONDAY and so right now I'm in my office and surrounded by Chaos and disorganization: stacks of filled boxes, binders, drawers pulled out of cabinets, computers and equipment unplugged and awaiting a box or the movers steady hands. All this while trying to catch up on bookkeeping, prepare for fiscal year-end and a big bookkeeping change for the team....
Nothing like getting back from the US two weeks ago and having to hit the ground at an all at sprint! Oui....
Have I mentioned before that I don't enjoy packing or moving?? As of this moment I feel so unready--Monday's coming way too soon! And because I'm just back from the US and playing catch-up, I've not been able to pack like I prefer... instead it's, well, unorganized chaos! =( I'm also finding that we're short in the number of boxes needed and.... can you tell I don't enjoy things like this??
Having moved so much in the last 30 years (ie. apartments, homes, offices, cities, states, countries....) I don't enjoy change and can get quite stressed about it. (I know, shocking for a "bean-counter" lol!) Add to that all the other things on my plate right now and.... well, I guess you could say I could use the prayer. =) Even amid the chaos, though, I can see how God is working to pull the details together and so He is my rock in the middle of all this. :) He will provide, I know. :) He always does. =)
Thank you for praying.
It's hard to believe I've been back in country for only 2 weeks... my time in the US seems so long ago already. One of the things I missed while in the US was meeting friends for coffee or breakfast/lunch at a little place called "Eriko's." It's tucked away in the Leptokarija shopping center, around the corner from "Gringos" (lol) and on the opposite end from Tutunska.
For you Californians, I'm sure this name makes you imagine all sorts of Mexican cuisine. Sorry, this restaurant, though it's decor and menus boast African/tribal themes, the food is all Italian... Macedonian-style. :)
The atmosphere is quaint and inviting with seating both indoors and outdoors and the servers always polite and helpful. The food... well, let's just say that they make the BEST pepperoni pizza on the PLANET! (No, I'm not exaggerating.) Not too much sauce or cheese, lots of real pepperoni and the most amazing crust ever.
Other favorites include what's called the "Enriko Breakfast" and is the perfect blend of flavors; the fruit salad that's always changing according to the season, but always flavorful; and rich coffee that always comes with a small piece of homemade chocolate. I've never tried their pastas, but as the pasta itself looks like it's made from scratch I imagine it's great too!
The best thing about Enriko's, though, is to enjoy this atmosphere and meals with friends. I've had the pleasure of going a couple times now with two different friends. One friend & colleague and I had a "girls days" that consisted of a trip to our favorite hair-stylist and then heading out to lunch. We enjoyed a great time catching up on each others lives and continuing to build on the friendship. The other friend is a relatively new one. I'd met her just before I went to the US and this was out first day hanging out since I got back. Enriko's was again a great place to go and hang out and chat, while enjoying some of the best food Skopje has to offer. =)
It's great to be back in Mac!
[My apologies for how much like a commercial this sounds! That was so not intentional!]
Sometimes a billboard is so striking that I just can't resist taking a picture and sharing it. This one, complete with "death" holding not only the sickle but a checkered finish-line flag, is no exception. The message?
"Drive rashly, arrive prematurely!"
Wow, that makes for quite the billboard statement as well as a comment on driving in Skopje. Just maybe defensive driving is in our future, then, rather than offensive. That'd be a nice change. =)
You see them, first time travelers, disheveled, wrinkled and looking as wide-eyed as a deer in headlights while trying to negotiate their way through immigration, aka. Customs. Many times I've wished they'd actually hand out a list of "Customs" for these newbie visitors if only to ease their nervousness.
Last week while waiting in the "Foreign Residents" line at the airport, I reflected back to when I myself was one of those newbies. It was 2001, just a year after the crisis in Kosovo and I was here with a short term group to help with humanitarian aid and teaching English. We'd been traveling for about 36 hours, which included an overnight in the Zurich airport, and arrived tired and very hot as it was 100+ degrees outside.
As we stood in the customs line, not really sure if we'd picked the right one, I felt as if I'd followed the rabbit down the hole into wonderland... or rather, "where am I again" land". Everyone around spoke a different language, there were strange sights, smells and, well, everything was different... I did mention this was my first time in Eastern Europe, right?
Anyways, what got me thinking about all this last week was due to the EXTRA TIME I had to wait and wait and wait in the customs line... and how 8 years ago when waiting in this same line I unwittingly started a tradition that continues to this day: I pick the wrong line and always seem to be one of the LAST FOUR people on the plane to be processed. Always. It's like Murphy's Law or something.
Yes.... I am writing a blog on this.... I claim sleep-deprivation and jet-lag! ;)
It never fails... each time I return to Skopje I end up picking the wrong line at customs... this time I thought I'd picked a good one as it was moving quickly and there were at least 30 people behind me. I thought, "Yeah, this looks great! I just may break the vicious cycle of wrong-line-picking."
Well, no sooner had I thought that than I noticed a group of "foreigners" (aka non-locals) being given the VIP treatment and being escorted to the front of MY LINE! (The people were arriving for some special event happening that was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture or something.) When all is said and done, I was again one of the last people to make it through customs. Even the 30 or so people behind me managed to maneuver to another line. :(
The upside of all this, though, was that due to the little green ribbon I tied to each of my pieces of luggage, an airport worker had removed each of my suitcases from the baggage claim belt and stacked them neatly on a cart! So when I got through customs (and walked by the table with the Swine Flu hand-outs) my luggage was ready to go! So, no complaints about waiting this time.
Besides, getting in the wrong line almost seems nostalgic at this point anyways. ;) My own personal Macedonian-entry-custom, I supposed one could say.
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Note: Some may wonder about me using this image again.... well, it's become a fond image for me to use with anything refering to waiting in line. So, as one tradition/custom continues, so does another. ;)
Sleep deprivation has been my friend, my constant companion, since returning from the US this week. I find myself wide awake at 2am, at times sleeping in until 2pm, then wanting to go to bed at 5pm! Then when I am awake it's like I'm sleep-walking in some sort of strange fog. Oui! Gotta love jet-lag!
This morning I was up at a somewhat normal time (9am) and so after sitting with some java and QT for a while, I decided to set out on my first real adventure back into life in Skopje. Yes, I went shopping!
Walking out the door I was immediately struck by all sounds and fragrances of the city: car horns, conversations of passersby, fragrant trees (like honeysuckle), exhaust, fresh bread... I could go on and on... but it all combined to evoke the fond memories of Skopje and a sigh of joy to be back here. :)
As I walked to the store I also took in just how much had changed in three months: one store out of business, three new ones, a building almost completed and a cafe that has completely renovated (for the 2nd time in as many years).
In the store things had changed as well. Whole aisles have been rearranged and not many things were in the same places I remembered them. At least the produce department gives you plastic bags again for collecting fruit (the paper ones, while green, were not quite user-friendly). I also found freezer bags--a bonus find I must say!
After negotiating my way around the store my cart was a bit full (mostly veggies and cleaning supplies... the basics, really)... so I decided to catch a cab home. Well, while I was waiting, the sleepiness of jet-lag was starting to hit and so I wasn't really paying attention. Next thing I know my shopping cart had rolled off the curb and splattered my bags and their contents all over the pavement!
As I righted the cart and re-packed up the groceries, I chuckled at myself and the funniness of the whole thing and then vowed to take a nap when I got home... Sleep deprivation, though, made for a fun trip and I am convinced it's why it seems so strange for me to be back. lol
