Olympic Village Skopje

... background. <br><br>10,000 or so people eventually pack in the park. What diversity. There are Goths, punks, families, preps &#8230; Kristin points out that in small towns everyone comes out to events since there are so few things happening. <br><br>We separately run into Celine, a guy from the hostel in Ohrid and a guy I met at the hostel in Barcelona. Small backpacking world. <br><br>With a good buzz going on, we make our buses. Goodbye to the girls.

... whose name quickly became ****** tours in my head. I spotted a hotel behind the row of buildings I'd been dropped off opposite and went through an alley, rousing a large dog which barked from somewhere in the shadows, to get to the entrance. I pushed open the door. I took stock and established there was no way I could afford to stay here, it had carpets and little trees in pots- I'm not made of money, if they can afford little trees they can probably ...

... me more,,, but that is my theory!! I must say that I had a very good time with them... even if they are a bunch of crazy people( who may have had too much to drink)! I think I fit in well with them and I will miss those two very much when I go. Tuesday: Marija and I went to the old Charshija to do some last day shopping and we didn't leave til afternoon, so she drove around and showed me the city's park before heading to dinner with her father ...

... to stay. Helpful Macedonian Armz sergeant guides me to all night cafe where I can stay till citz wakes up. Fall asleep at table, not disturbed Wake up about 7 AM. Nobody speaks English. Finally get directions to train-bus station and just decide to move on. helpful taxi operator without an angle Get bush ticket to Nis Serbia where I hope to figure where to go from there.

Not much has happened the last few days. Met some people at a coffee shop, but havent hung out with them since. We text a bit and might in the next few nights. 5 more days of shooting. Leaving for switzerland on the 5th. Maybe to greece on the 1st. Back to New York on the 10th. No one died in the explosion/demolition thing. Have a few pictures ...

... they prefer to heat with wood stoves and space heaters, lots and lots of space heaters, but only in the rooms they actually use. Unfortunately, the bathroom is not a room ever in continual use and hence, remains freezing most of the time. But enough on Eastern European heating customs. The real story of today is Skopje's old town. I venture out into the snow-dappled world from the perfectly acceptable Hostel Hostel, amidst my hostess' protests that ...

... Our work mates Lume and Anita have not been too happy to hear those comments and they are saying that I'm demanding too much from the kids. Everything is so unbeliavable relative. Maybe it is part of this culture, that no critics is allowed but if they take volunteers, they should listen to us a bit more. But yeah, here the idea of voluntarism is pretty blurred, what makes me sad. But in order to keep my head clear even at work, i have started to talk to the kids ...

... on travel. Skopje was, Skopje is and Skopje will always be a pleasant place to visit and an exciting community to live with. Although This entry will open up a view on Europe of 40 or so years ago, it is all like yesterday to me. The welcoming photo depicts the old, almost regal railway station, probably the most modern of all in whole of Yugoslavia, if not the Balkans. Kings ...

... special people i have ever met. So Vida: Zagreb and Rovinj, here I come -sooner or later. :) On 13th of July i finally arrived in my new place of recidence, Struga. What to tell? Well, facing the local mentality has been harder than I expected. For example now i have had basically a holiday, since the centre we I will work is closed. Holidays are nice, but as a child of the protestant work ethics, I'm stressed. You can imagine. But in fact it is good to have time to ...

... by mules,packhorsed with supplies for the rebel army in the enclave,including food,weapons and ammunition. Our way switched from scrub,to a path,to rough ground again,and the walking pace was fi**ce.It was also impossible to see your hand in front of your face for most of the journey,let alone hazards such as potholes,or brambles that came unexpectedly out of the night,and v**y often we stumbled or fell behind.I was not helped by a swollen ankle,caused ...