A Festival for all the Beers

Good evening friends! Mid July is bringing lots of exciting changes in Macedonia. First up, the weather finally feels like summer has arrived. I wake up every morning, completely soaked with sweat in the hot-box that I call my apartment bedroom. 90 Degrees everyday from 9 am? It's still much cooler than living in Oklahoma. While this may seem negative, trust me, it is far better than the blowing cold winters that freeze the Turkish coffees in the gezve (the device for making this type of coffee) and buries the city in a layer of ice and snow.

No no no.. The summer is a much better time. There is tourists everywhere, clogging the thoroughfare on the Sirok Sokok; like the cholesterol from too many Big Macs clogging the arteries of Americans from Maine to Hawaii. Aside from the rampant Australians everywhere in the city, there have been cars pouring in from all over Europe. Like usual, I am extremely excited about seeing these foreign license plates from places which were just names in an Atlas when I was a child. In my building in Bitola, there are two new cars both from Germany in the parking lot. Many Macedonians work in Germany during the year,while still having family here in Bitola. Also, there have been many cars from Sweden, Austria and Switzerland everywhere in the city.

One of the more exciting events that have taken place in the past week has been PIVO FEST, or for those of you in the English world, BEER FEST! Here is the flyer from the event:

Here is our completely incorrect list of available beers. Much to my dismay, Erdinger and Jelen were both missing from this event... My hopes for a delicious German Hefeweizen were crushed.

Despite the lack of German beers, the event was still a much greater variety than I could have asked for in the bars in Bitola. All the major names in Macedonia were present, as well as Union (from Slovenia), Becks (from Germany), Kamenitza (Bulgaria), and Tuborg (Denmark). There was also Lasko! My favorite Serbian beer aside from Jelen, and the beer I am currently drinking as I type this entry. After many many rounds of beers, I would consider the festival a big success, and I will do my best to summarize the days for you all with brief details and hazy memories.

Thursday: Arrival at the event. 4 adventurers (1 American and 3 Macedonians) set out from Bitola in an old Tico from the 1980s. The trip to Prilep is merely a 40 minute drive, filled with beautiful mountains and scenery. We congregate at a PCV's flat outside the center of the city, proceeding to drink rakija and Krali Marko (the Natural Light of Macedonian beers). After some time, we venture to the festival that is full of volunteers and all sorts of friends. We drink approximately 7 or 8 beers throughout the course of the evening. The headlining performance is a group called 2Cellos from Croatia. They give an epic performance and the drunken crowd is pleased. Around 3 I walk across the city after attempting to speak Macedonian with the brewing company from my city. Our host is missing when I return and the guests are sleeping on the stoop.

2 Cellos! Great performance from these awesome Croats! I couldn't get a very good picture from where we were standing but the music was great and everyone had a good time.

Friday: Waking up in an uncomfortably hot sauna with 5 Americans, sleeping on the floor, in chairs and on the small sofa. People open a 2 liter bottle of beer. Another day, another denar. We eat delicious Thai food on the way to the center to meet the other Americans. We play a giant game of chess near the center and drink coffees. I, remember my disaster games of chess versus the ex convicts in Cleveland while working for the CMSD decline to play and watch from the sidelines. Drinking continues throughout the day. Sunburn continues throughout the day. We see a sign that says 'Collect 7 cups, recieve one free beer'. Search all afternoon for the space to deposit our cups to collect said beer. Never exists. By accident at 10 pm, I stumble across the location that distributes the free beers! After hours of carrying cups, I am ecstatic. Accept free Zlaten Dab. Zlaten Dab in Macedonian means 'Golden Dab'. Please don't confuse this with 'Zlatna Zora', which is not a beer, but a right-wing hate group in Greece that targets immigrants and praises Hitler. Continue drinking all evening, return to the apartment. Sleep on floor with kitten named 'Megatron'. 

Team Kumanovo is planning their next move. Step 1) Beer. Step 2) Chess. Step 3) ????? Step 4) Profit?

Saturday: Liver is angry with my life decisions at this point. Decide its best to have a water instead of a beer. Eat a massive pizza near the center. Disappointed with the state of affairs that have led to this choice to eat massive pizza. Sulk to the bus station. Take bus back to Bitola. Guy on bus next to me has the same phone as me (for the record I hate this phone and will never buy an LG again). Point out this interesting fact to the guy with the phone. He shrugs. Chance for making conversation with a stranger ruined. Arrive home in Bitola. Sleep for the rest of the weekend and do not drink any more alcohol until writing this blog.

All in all, the event was pretty successful, and the weather was great. I will finish up with some local pictures from Bitola that were taken recently and some good news with work. Work has been fairly exciting in the past months, mainly due to the flood of activities occuring during the summer festivals. There is always something to do, a performance to watch, and an activity to take part in. For the fall, I have been gearing up to begin my own project in Bitola that is part of the ongoing and successful CLIPS project that essentially is an advanced and professional develop program for interested students who want to learn how to become better suited for the working and academic environment. While the project is still in its planning stages, I have never been more excited to take charge of something like this. I am making this my pet project for the upcoming year and have many goals for it, since it is closely related with my own future goals of working with universities. Lets hope it all goes well!

No big deal here, just me standing on a tank that was formerly in the command of the JNA (Jugoslavian National Army).  Once a machine of war, it is now a favorite for the children to climb on and take photos. I think this is a much more applicable use for several tons of steel.

The encroaching storm as seen from my balcony in Bitola. Its a stunning backdrop for sure. I still wake up in disbelief that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer some days and am lucky to be in such a lovely and dynamic place!

Estonia and Italy and the Beginning of Bit Fest

Well, it has certainly been a long time since I have updated any of my avid readers with some new and tantalizing stories from my Peace Corps travels, so I apologize profusely for so much slacking. Well, after a brief break, I am back in Macedonia and back to our very busy summer schedule of holding workshops and planning events. For two weeks, I was on a work-sanctioned trip to participate in and held organize a youth exchange in Estonia. The best part of work-sanctioned trips means that at no point during this awesome adventure with my counterpart, was I required to use vacation days. On the downside, I was technically still working everyday on activities.

However, the youth exchange was an awesome program and a truly interesting way to meet excited and active young people around the world. For this exchange, we had participants from Estonia, Poland, Turkey, and our group from Slovenia/Macedonia. Sticking people in a small town in rural Estonia is the best way to learn each others cultures and to form great friendships. The theme of this youth exchange was 'Media in Action' and thus the participants were divided into three groups connected to media projects. One group worked on projects related to photography, one with video, and the third group connected them all with social media.

The groups were relatively successful in their categories, however, the most exciting part of the exchange was being able to travel and see both Tallinn and Narva, two very unique and interesting cities in Estonia. Our first day trip with the group took us from our town, Sillamäe, to the very Russian city of Narva. I am going to take a brief second to talk about our town, Sillamäe, first though. During the Soviet days of the USSR, this town was the site of a hidden nuclear research facility, and was what is referred to as a 'closed city'. Closed cities during this era were fairly common, and no one without authorized Kremlin permission was granted access to the town. While most people were upset that we were so removed from civilization, I thought this historical information was incredibly interesting. As a result of this, approximately 95% of the town is Russian, rather than Estonian. The city of Narva however, is closer to 99% Russian, considering it is one of only two border crossings with their former comrades. 

 Here is one of the two border crossings with Russia in the country. Although the Estonia flag looks like its over there, it is on the EU side of the border. I wanted to go across but without paying for the ridiculous visa cost for Americans, it is impossible.

This is the castle at Narva on the Estonia side of the river. It was really old and pretty amazing to visit. I am fairly certain it was built by the Danes in 13th Century. Like Macedonia and South Korea, Estonia has a long history of foreign invaders. 

Here is a photo of the Russian castle across the river. Although we couldn't go, we could still wave at the tourists there and take pictures. It is probably the closest I will ever get to Russia. 

Here is our happy group of Macedonians hanging out in the castle. From here you can see both sides of the river. 

Continuing on our fun adventure, the following Saturday we were given the opportunity to spend the entire day in Tallinn.It was a great adventure and we decided that after the exchange, to spend a few more days in the city to take it all in. The city contains so much interesting architecture and history, including the old defense towers, monumental Russian Orthodox churches, and all sorts of Gothic and Classical style buildings. I won't bore you with the details, just give you some of the pictures from the journey, as well as some pictures of our stay in Sillamäe. 

 Checking out the view from the top of the hill in Tallinn. Awesome view, and in the background you can see the old towers and the steeple of St. Olaf's Cathedral. 

Here is the Russian Orthodox Church that is located conveniently across the street from the houses of Parliament.  So polite and considerate of the Russians to put it so close to their Estonia friend's government offices.

 This picture I just happened to enjoy. It was taken while walking down the narrow alleys that comprise the Old Town, which is in the center of Tallinn.

 Here is one of those very narrow streets mentioned above. This flag is not Estonia, it is from the Lithuanian Embassy that is in Tallinn.

 Gothic towers and  pretty flowers. That is all there is here.

Another narrow alley with the cobblestone street. Like in Macedonia, many of the streets in Old Town are the original cobblestones  It gives a very real feel to the city.

 Back in beautiful Sillamäe, here are the famous 'stairs' that our tourguide claimed to be a Wonder of the World. Town pride has to start somewhere. The town hall in the background is quite stunning though.

 Russian typewriter from the museum. Badass.

 ЖИГУЛИ! Surviving the Cold War and still running.

This is perhaps the single most amazing thing about being in Estonia in June. Its at such a high lattitude that the sun never really sets. This photograph was taken around 11 pm. At 2 am, it becomes a little more dark, however, the sun rises again at 3. Perfect for partying all summer long.

After saying goodbye to Estonia (and my phone charger at the hostel, unfortunately) we were headed off to Milan, where we had a full 26 hours to enjoy the country until we had to leave the next day. Now many of you in America have this beautiful notion of what Milan 'should' be:

    "Wow! Its the fashion capitol of the world!"
    "Milan!? The Center of Culture in Italy and the Renessaince!"

    "Ooooh Italy, the pasta is so good and the lifestyle is wonderful!"

...And then you come back to reality and realize that, yes you are in Italy, and there are more immigrants and tourists than actual Italian people. The over-hyped ideal of the city contrasted to the reality was a complete reminder of being in Paris in 2008. While I truly enjoyed the experience, people overly romanticize these places and imagine them to be something they are not. In reality, Milan is a city of vast 'have's and have-not's, much like New York City, Paris, and London. We met many people who were foreign to the city, searching for a better life by escaping the poverty of their own country, only to be impoverished and homeless living in a new country.

While hiding out at the local McDonald's  we even met a homeless man from Bangladesh, who joined our table, ate our french fries  and blamed me (as an American) for killing of Muslim people worldwide while the media ignored the issue. Inspiring. Sleeping all night in the public park produced many of the same results; with people on drugs being treated by EMTs and a Roma woman who looked approximately 14 years old, going into labor in front of that same McDonalds. All in all, after sleeping for 45 minutes during the entire trip through the country, I can say I have had enough excitement traveling in Italy for a lifetime.

This park was one beautiful exception in Milan Center. In the middle of the concrete (and mostly ornate marble) jungle, this park was wonderful. Many people were riding bikes everywhere in the city!  

 Walking through the city of Milan, there was a huge international festival, despite the fact that everyday is an international festival in this giant mess of a city. We searched for hours and couldn't find the Macedonian flag represented. Here is our good buddy Ilija with the flag of our friendly neighbors over in Albania.

 Lots of coffee, no sleep and the sun is starting to set on the Duomo di Milano. This massive cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen, it took 6 centuries to complete, and we had the luxury of sleeping on a bench in front of it!

 Here is our brief nap on that bench next to the cathedral. Overall, there are worse places to be homeless for the night.

 Following our lovely evening as Milano vagrants, we were off on the train towards the East. We had a brief stop in the city of Vicenza, which compared to the cluttered and polluted industrial hub of Milan, it was like being in a beautiful Italian villa. Here are some of the old buildings in the square.

 Vinceza houses along the river bank.

Such a magnificent old bridge! This town is beautiful!

Upon returning to Macedonia, I wouldn't change a thing about our trip. Everything was exactly what an adventure should be. With zero planning, and no expectations, everything turned out to be fabulous. We made a ton of new international friends on this trip, and were given such a wonderful opportunity to learn. Much knowledge was gained about new cultures, and I for one, learned that Estonia has one of the better brewing companies I have sampled since moving to Europe. One day I will go back and buy cases of Saku to smuggle into Macedonia.

Once back in Bitola, things slowly returned to normal, currently we are in the middle of our massive summer festival, Bit Fest, which is a wild two month long festival full of daily concerts, parties, plays, workshops, and various other activities. Recently I have been holding a workshop for drawing comics (something I have zero experience with), and working with youth volunteers to help organize things. It's a real challenge but rewarding, plus it is always better than sitting all day in an office.

I realize this is an overly long blog post, and from now on, I will try to make these posts shorter and more frequent, maybe with pictures and quick descriptions. It is much more intriguing to the reader to see my life, rather than listen to my mundane details and stories.