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Published: November 10th 2005
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I have become something that I have always been ideologically opposed to when travelling; someone who spends a few days in a country and makes sweeping generalisations. Knowing that time is limited on my trip to Macedonia I simply cannot afford to let an opinion develop naturally; I actively searched one out😉…
Macedonia is noticeably more western and developed than Albania, I stayed in Ohrid, Macedonia’s tourist-mecca, which had a quaint little pedestrian shopping street catering to tourists from the surrounding countries (this is where Greeks take their holidays when the local Chlamydios islands are in season!). The attraction of Ohrid is its eastern orthodox churches and monastery’s . The churches are not too dissimilar to those you’ll see anywhere in the region - however, these are unique in that they are set in strategically scenic locations on cliffs overlooking Europes deepest lake (275m) nestled in the mountains.
I stayed with a family in Ohrid. A professor of History and his economist wife - doing crappy jobs and letting rooms. They had a son called Toni who was 8 yrs old. I was told he knew the Capital of every country in the world (He did!). This totally freaked
me out - how a kid could know all these ‘useless’ facts without even the slightest notion of what they meant. What other ‘facts’ had he been taught by his family, how much of what I know do I really understand? Fuck all probably! - anyhow, I succumbed to the gurus wisdom, and for the next half an hour, an 8yr old attempted to teach me the Cyrillic alphabet.
Being a professor of History, Toni’s father knew ‘stuff’. I felt some of his views on race were a little close to the mark; so he became known to me affectionately as ‘professor bigot’. Fortunately, for a balanced Macedonian stereotyping, I spent two leisurely afternoons over coffee talking to Silvana, a 32 yr old who worked for the tourist board. She had more rounded views. Many locals think that regional tensions could even lead to war, and in a few years Macedonia could cease to exist, but everyone I spoke to had the impression the future of their country was in the hands of external powers. If you speak to people from surrounding countries about Macedonia they will invariably say “that’s our country” . Everyone I met wished to leave,
which did annoy me slightly; I felt it was a quest for that extra zero on the monthly wage, rather than an escape from genuine hardship - maybe we pushed that capitalism-is-better-than-communism thing a bit too far? But in fairness they are still living behind a wall!
The women in Macedonia dressed pretty ‘provocatively’. I spoke to a Bulgarian chappy who believed this was a backlash to the communist days when women all tied their hair back and dressed down and dull, and today’s perceived depressing times, meant they were more willing to procreate, and fulfil their role in life!? How could I judge; sure they looked good to me, and in a purely marketing sense they knew how to sell what they had - but did that mean they were subservient to men - certainly to my western mind 'nice' girls don’t dress like that, and what about those Muslim girls - shouldn’t they be more wild? after all it is 'we' in the west who decide for the rest of the world… isn't it?
It was probably my overactive imagination, but I had the distinct impression that I could have had a whole lot of fun with the local ladies of Macedonia. But you don’t need a psychoanalyst to work this one out - they weren’t solely after the substantial contents of my underpants, or even my wallet. This was passport envy! I was told a local women would genuinely be willing to pay over $20,000 US to marry a westerner.
In Macedonia I felt like I was on holiday in the more conventional sense; the holiday atmosphere was all around, the sun shone, I took great pleasure in taking pictures and enjoying the sights, I felt like a bloody tourist and It was great. I felt totally at ease, slipping into the groove of another endless adventure. It was difficult to comprehend I had only been going for just two weeks?
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anonymous
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Nice Read
Hi I come from Macedonia but live in Sydney and have been here since 1987. I miss home but not enough to move back there. I don't have much to say but I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading your entry and I beleive you have hit the mark. I'm surprised you absorbed so much in such a short time. Regarding Toni, I am willing to bet that had you stayed a bit longer you would have met dozens of little Toni's with 'useless facts' only we don't consider them useless, it is general knowledge. - Goce