Popova Shapka

I haven’t written in a while because not much has been going on besides preparing for classes. I did go to Popova Shapka on Sunday with a colleague and a graduate student. It was wonderful. The weather was perfect. Of course I don’t ski, but I was able to walk around and get some fresh air. I guess the literal meaning of the mountain is Pope’s hat because when the Pope visited, the wind knocked off his hat. Enjoy the pictures and if you ever come to Macedonia, I’ll take you there! Please check out my updated pictures on flickr also.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I wasn't able to post because my Internet was down for a week or so. Finally it's fixed and I'm leaving. I leave tomorrow and will arrive Saturday evening. YAH! I've been sicker than a dog though. My voice was almost completely gone on Christmas, so I decided the next day to go to the doctor. I went and was told I have para influenza. =S I went to the pharmacy and got antibiotics and cold meds for about $8. Can you believe that?! Also, my trip to the doctor was $10 and that's without insurance. I will go again today just to make sure the meds are doing what they are supposed to.

I hope to see you soon. I'm looking forward to 20 degree warmer temps. It snowed yesterday. It's not fun anymore!!!!

Christmas Package!!!

Today I was still in my pajamas and heard the door buzzard (not doorbell, you would know if you heard it!). I wasn't going to answer it because I thought it was the cable guy. Then I heard him saying my name, which the cable guy doesn't know, so I opened it and it was a package!!! I opened the package and to my delight there was an abundance of my mom's homemade goodies!!! Also, there were Christmas cards that smelled like chocolate! =) I was so happy to receive the socks from Grandma because I was just telling a friend about getting them every year and wondering if she would have some for me after new year. I hope none of the cousins read this because then they might not be surprised that they are getting socks for Christmas!!! ;)

And to Grandma Helen, I didn't open the cards early. I promise. I have set them out for the three days till Christmas.


Thank you for contributing to the Christmas package. Thank you Mom and Deb for my Thanksgiving package. I can't wait to see you soon!!!

The picture I added is of Leshok. It is an Orthodox church that was destroyed in the recent war and then rebuilt. I added more pictures on Flickr.

The First Snow

I woke up this morning and looked outside. I thought it was raining because the ground was wet and there were drops coming from the roof of my apartment. Then I was told it snowed. I took a closer look, and sure enough... SNOW! I think I'm going to have a white Thanksgiving. =)

Do not be alarmed

To say I had an interesting night is an understatement. The “fantastic four” (Christina, John-Paul, Ben, and I) went to meet some students at a restaurant for food and drinks. After, we went to a club to meet another student whose birthday is on Monday. She had reserved a VIP section. When we were entering the club there were some men who were arguing and pushing each other. If this were to happen in Fresno, security would have escorted the men to their cars and made sure they left the premises; however, this is Skopje, so the men were hurried into the club. Ten seconds later I hear fists hitting skin. They started to fight, but thankfully none of the fantastic four were near or injured.
Eventually we made it to the VIP section and soaked up our environment. It was a techno club with three levels. We were at the very top. We sat in a corner section with small love seats. Christina and I decided to go down to the “dance level” to see what it was like and possibly dance. There were hardly any people dancing. It gave me the impression that people just came to this club to drink and hear loud music. No socializing because the music was too loud. When Christina and I returned to the top, there were two women with almost nothing on dancing in front of the guys. If you knew the guys and saw the women, you would know that this wasn’t a treat. Finally, we left the club and called it a night. I left out a lot of detail to keep the story short. Also, I experienced all of this sober. So…who wants to visit me? :D

Kozle Puppy

I was walking back from buying water and this little puppy came up to me wagging its tail. I think it wanted food, so I went to my apt. and brought down some milk that was about to expire. The puppy ate it "all up" (as Gage would say). I had to fight off the cats. There are about seven cats that live in the dumpsters outside my apt. and they can get food easily, but it's more difficult for the dogs. The poor puppy was shaking because it was so weak. I hope it is ok during the winter becasue I am NOT brining it into my apartment. I also took pictures of the snow on top of the mountains near my apt. Enjoy.

Sofia, Bulgaria

We went to Sofia on Thursday and returned last night (Saturday). The first day we didn't have much time because it was dark when we arrived, but we did go to a very nice restaurant for dinner. The next day (Friday) we went walking around the city and it was beautiful. There were a lot of places of worship (churches, mosque, synagogues, etc.). There was a lot of old architecture. As you will see in the pictures, it was beautiful. We entered one to see the altar and old paintings. There were paintings dated back to the 12th Century. I regret not reading more about the history before I went. There were obvious differences if compared to Skopje. Sofia was cleaner, had nicer restaurants, nicer buildings, and vegetarian friendly. :D I could easily be a vegetarian there. There are two veggie restaurants. Their food was ok, but tofu was available at a couple of restaurants we went to. There was an earthquake in Skopje in the 70’s and it demolished most of the buildings. After, they wanted to rebuild as quickly as possible, not spending a lot of time on details, so the architecture isn’t that beautiful in Skopje. Back to the trip, on Friday night there was a thunder and lightening storm. It was difficult to get a taxi, so we decided to walk once it wasn’t raining cats and dogs. The streets were flooded, so we went wherever we could and ended up at a mall. We went to a tea café and a vegetarian restaurant in different buildings. Both of them seemed to be a great find though because they were in odd places. To sum things up, it was a very nice trip. Now I’m back in Skopje, and the weather is COLD!!!