Ciao Bella

As I'm writing this blog post, I'm sitting in a cafe in the heart of Vienna, sipping caramel mocha and eating chocolate cake :) (22 hour layover on my way to the States is what brings me to this gorgeous city).

As the last post for this blog unfolds, I'd like to take this opportunity to offer my last "words of wisdom" about my lovely journey back home :)

First off, I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who made my Christmas trip possible!
I'm so extremely grateful to have met such wonderful people who inspire me with their generosity, spirit and goodness of heart!

When I think about the past two weeks, my heart warms up. Those who spend time away from home can understand me when I say that there is nothing better than coming home and spending time with family and friends after being away from them for so long. Spending Christmas break with my parents was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I loved going to my mom's pharmacy every morning, drinking coffee with my friends at my favorite coffee shop and wandering the streets of Skopje like I used to do before I came to the States five years ago.

While I reminisce about the good old times, I can't help but think about what's next to come in my life. I'm excited about graduating from Goshen College in three months and starting a new chapter.
Thank you for reading my blog and for joining me on my journey in Macedonia!

Until we read again...

Bojana

Making Macedonian Pie / Campfire /

Throughout the Christmas weekend, I made two videos that I didn't get a chance to share with you till now.

This video was taken on January 5, two days before Christmas, when Macedonians gather at a local park and start off the Christmas celebrations with a campfire, music and rakija, a traditional Macedonian alcoholic beverage. The video shows the fire and the priests' singing to bless the food that was served at the park my dad and I went to.

This other video was taken on January 6 at my grandpa's house. The video shows how traditional Macedonian pie is made from scratch. In the video you will also see my grandpa- one of my most favorite people in the world! He's just adorable :)

Below are some pics from both places:

Grandpa and I 

My grandpa's phone. Despite all odds, it STILL works today! :)

Campfire in a local park starts off the Christmas celebrations

Macedonian food

I'm absolutely in LOVE with Macedonian cuisine!
Everything here is very healthy and natural. Fruit and vegetables are very common in our diet, the meat is always fresh and most of our food is prepared from scratch.

In my family, we always have at least three salads to go along with whatever we are eating. Salads in Macedonia, unlike in the States, are usually made with vinegar, salt and olive oil; we don't have pre-made salad dressings here.

Bellow are some pictures of my favorite food items.

Sarma, a mix of rice and ground beef wrapped in cabbage

Leak and cheese pie, one of my favorite meals in the world 

Traditional Macedonian-style beans with red pepper spice cooked in the oven 

A mix of cooked green peppers and tomatoes, very fresh and yummy

Cheese (cow, goat or mixed) and yogurt are my two favorite milk products in Macedonia

Burek, one of my favorite breakfast food item, is usually stuffed with cheese, ground beef, spinach, or pizza stuff
It originated from Turkey, as did many other things from the Macedonian cuisine, because of their rule in Macedonia for a period of 5 centuries

Cheese burek with yogurt

Green salad made with olive oil, vinegar, salt and garlic

Christmas Eve

In the Christian Orthodox tradition, Christmas Eve (called "Badnik" (bud-nick)) falls on January 6. This is absolutely my favorite day of the year because it's filled with traditions and family time.

Around 8 am on January 6, little kids start the day off with "trick or treating".  They go from door to door in their neighborhood, singing this one particular song with the purpose of announcing Jesus' birth on January 7. After the children sing their song, people give them apples, chestnuts, candy and some money (I know, it's a pretty sweet tradition).

I remember going "trick or treating" every year up until I was 12 and it was always so much fun. I would usually go with my friends from the neighborhood and sing for about 3-4 hours before returning home and joyfully (almost frantically, to be honest) looking at all the things I got that day.

In the late morning/early afternoon families usually go to church to light a candle, drink some warm rakija (ra-keeh-ya), a traditional Macedonian alcoholic beverage, hear a short blessing from the priests and chitchat with the hundreds of other people who came to church that day. In Macedonia, we don't have church on Sunday and churches are not designed to host a lot of people at the same time. On January 6, all the people stand in the huge yard in front of the church, entering the church only to say a prayer and light a candle.

In the afternoon, people have their traditional Christmas Eve dinner which sumps up the whole day. This dinner is all vegan, no meat or milk products are allowed on the table. Below are some pictures from our own Christmas Eve dinner.

Our Christmas Eve dinner table: fresh fruit, nuts, home-made bread, traditional Macedonian beans, pie, and pumpkin

Nuts, dried fruit and olives - yummyyy

Meet Dad :) 

Meet Mom :) 

Meet Victor, my brother :) He joined us via Skype

This is not your usual homemade bread. It has a small coin hidden inside it. The bread is divided among the family members, leaving one piece for the household and one for God. It is said that whoever gets the piece with the coin, gets luck all year round. 

Guess who got the coinnnnn ?? :))) 

At the marketplace

The primary sector of the Macedonian economy is its agriculture. Unlike in the States, fruit and vegetables are an essential (and very cheap) part of everyone's diet. Depending on the season, you can get 2 lbs of the season's fruits and vegetables for anywhere between $.50 and $3 (although $3 is pretty rare).

A few days ago, my mom and I went to one of the biggest marketplaces in Skopje (the capital). This marketplace, unlike the smaller ones, has anything from eggs and fish to PJs, shoes and jewelry.

I love going to this place because of the abundance of smells and sounds. Every corner has a different smell (depending on what the farmers are selling) and sound (mostly sellers saying that their tomatoes -or whatever they are selling- are the best and cheapest you will ever find).  Traditional Macedonian music playing from the sellers' radios is also a prominent part of every marketplace.

The day my mom and I went to the marketplace was unusually crowded because it was a) the weekend (when all the retirees get to ride the public bus for free) and b) it was the weekend of Christmas.

Here is a video I took from the marketplace and some pics from the scene :)

My lovely momma at the market

My mom and I always buy the best olives from this guy

Nuts, dried fruit, beans, lentils - common foods at the Christmas dinner table

Dried peppers are used in many meals in Macedonia

Shoes and jewelry sold at the marketplace

Mekici (meh-key-tzi), the Macedonian equivalent of fried bread, is a very common breakfast food item in Macedonia. They are also served during baby showers. 

A lady uses a saw to cut a pumpkin. During this time of the year, we put pumpkin in the oven, pour some sugar over it and eat it

A lady uses 100 denars (roughly $2.50) to buy some nuts and dried fruit for the Christmas dinner

Fresh fish 

New Year's Eve in Macedonia

Celebrating New Year's Eve in Macedonia is one of the biggest events of the year. It's the time of the year that EVERYONE celebrates. Young people go to clubs, at someone's place or rent a house and celebrate the New Year, usually for couple of days in a row.

This year, 12 of my friends and I went to Berovo, a small town in the eastern part of Macedonia. We rented a house and stayed there till Jan. 3rd. We had a blast and although it was a bit crowded in the house, we managed it and enjoyed our time together.

On the first day of the new year we went to Berovo Lake, a small and beautiful freshwater lake that is located just outside the town of Berovo. Below are some of the pictures we took at the lake and throughout our stay.

A beautiful resort overlooking Berovo Lake

The whole crew at a local restaurant that played traditional Macedonian music. We are drinking a very popular drink in Macedonia -  a mix of white wine and sparkling water 

Part of the Crew on New Year's Eve 

Five people slept in one bed, not exactly the definition of a good night's sleep :)

About me

Hello my dear blog visitors!

I'm delighted to have you here on my very first self-initiated blog that will cover my Christmas experiences in Macedonia, my home country.

For those who don't know me, I'm a senior PR student at Goshen College who came to the States five years ago to graduate from high school and college.

Since coming to the States, I was never able to go home for Christmas due to finances and to change that, last year I tried to raise money to go back to Macedonia during my Christmas break. Unfortunately, my plan was not organized well enough and I ended up in Goshen for those four weeks.

This year, however, I was determined to try harder (and better) and to my surprise, I was able to raise enough money and bought my ticket to Macedonia :D

Here I am right now, writing this blog post from the living room of our apartment in the center of Skopje, Macedonia's capital.

I will try to post every day or two about my experiences here and I hope you enjoy my posts and getting to know Macedonia.

Until my next post, here is a link to a video that will help you find out more about Macedonia: Get to know Macedonia!

P.S. let me know if you want me to post more videos like this, it will be my pleasure to do so :)

Till next time..

Bojana