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Published: October 10th 2006
Strumica
Another overlook of Strumica!Well... been in Macedonia for a week now and figured I'd get a quick update on here!
We are staying with Alex's family in Strumica, Macedonia... few quick facts:
Population:
Macedonia: 2 000 000
Strumica: 50 000 + 30 000 more including the 72 surrounding villages!
Currency: Macedonian Dinar, some use of euro! 1 Euro = 61.3 Dinar... an hour in a net cafe = about 30 dinar max, can of coke = 30 dinar, restaraunt pizza = 180 dinar, cheap taxi fare = 100 dinar, beer at a club = 60 dinar...
Lex's family consists of:
Baba Sanda (Grandma: baba meaning just that, Sanda a shortning of her name, Alexandra)
Corcho (Oldest child of Baba Sanda)
Vancho + Fanka, Alees and Tomcho (Second oldest, his wife and two boys - 23,25)
Macedonia is a bit of a sad country... an average job makes you about 10 NZD/day!! So working 6 day weeks you can expect to get a bit over 200bucks a month! Just think, in NZ you can get like 170 a week on the dole! And thats just the few people who have jobs, so many people are unemployed! As result of the money situation,
Strumica
Lex... Family house in background... second one down the street! families of all generations live in the same houses! Up to 3 generations! Lex's family home works on seperate floors: Baba Sanda (Grandma) and oldest son, Corcho live on the bottom floor; where there is also a kinda social dining room...
Middle, and entrance level floor is mainly kept empty as a kinda guest space where we have a bedroom, bathroom, lounge, dining room, kitchen (which we're so looked afer by baba sanda, remains unused!), and Lex's dad Zoki, also has a room on this floor. The floor above us is occupied by Lex's uncle Vancho, and his family: wife Fanka, and sons Alees, and Tomcho... and is pretty much identical to our floor! Above them is a mostly open roof space which is mainly used to hang washing!
Anyway enough of that...
Most young people are unemplyed, and due mainly i think to a desire to get out of their homes lead extremely social lives... Most 14- late 20 year olds go out at least 4 nights a week... very common to go everynight. The variation being, whether you go to a club, bar, cafe or kinda country pub equivalent; with live Macedonian music.
Lex
and I can find the constant expectation to go out a bit hard even... and also people cant really understand why we enjoy getting out and exploring, on foot... locals definately prefering to drive almost everywhere! However there is a very strong soccer (well football as it is here) culture! Macedonia played England on Saturday... extremely good game, and managed to pull off a nil-nil draw and domiated the play, very impressive for such an unknown, unproven team against oneve the world soccer powerhouses!
Along with the constant care, loving attention, and constant feeding from Baba Sanda is an interesting and a bit sad culture, with a very one sided amount of house work and care... females do everything in the home - I get virtually told off and/or laughed at for wanting to, and doing dishes! It makes me a bit uneasy and i don't like it... For the amount of care and looking after we get i defiantely want to help out... how things are going to work in the future for the macedonian male i don't know... females are getting lots of western influence... movies etc (also the #1 english teacher!) however males don't seem to
Strumica
Lex... main street heads into background! be gettin grounded with the skills they need to look after themselves!
Our Macedonia lessons continue; Vancho is an excellent teacher considering he has next to no english, and is somewhat unrelenting!! But it is proving an enjoyable and useful experience - despite being told by the locals of our generation that its a pointless language to learn!
Zoki is supposibly coming down on Friday to stay for about 3 weeks, before we head with him back to Germany for another couple of weeks - thats the very rough plan still nothing definate!
Anyway i'm going to head home and i think we're going to take advantage of the break in the rain to go for a second walk of the day; up the hill to some ruins! (history is all around here, yet not really held in any reguard - or milked for any tourist dollars, probably due to the lack of many tourists!)
Lots of love to everyone back home (I'm sure from Lex too!)
I will try to get some pics up here just didn't bring camera today!)
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Damon
non-member comment
Missing ya ez, work is quiet without u.
Hi, the blog makes interesting reading. Today is Angela's 8 week birthday. She is smiling, it's the most beautiful thing I ever saw. I like reading of your adventures, un-touristy places are cool, and cheap. Have fun, get drunk.