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!
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