The month of November was a particularly long and difficult month, full of projects, training seminars, and sad goodbyes. The month started with spending a far too short of a week in the capitol, Skopje, with the girlfriend before sending her back home to Los Angeles with two years of life and love in Macedonia. Sitting in the cold and watching the plane take off has been the hardest thing I have experienced since coming to the Balkans, and reflecting on this, I cannot imagine how difficult it will be next year when I do the same thing, and depart Macedonia for new adventures. California, South Korea, Serbia or Sweden; the plans are always changing and the road is always winding... but its the drive to experience new places and cultures that are keeping the days passing.
From the airport, the time to mourn was brief because by the time I arrived back in the bus station, we were already leaving for Bulgaria, and a youth exchange that we had been working for months to plan. From Bulgaria, it was a nice, short flight to Prague, in the Czech Republic. Of all the cities in Europe I have visited thus far, Prague may have been one of the most beautiful. The bridges, the architecture, the beer, and just the atmosphere in the city is just incredible. Did I also mention the beer? For a euro, you can get some of the best beers you have ever drank in your life; light lagers, dark stouts and tasty pilsners.. It is all in the Czech Republic. After landing, we were free to wander the city for a few hours before heading out of the town on the train, into the Czech countryside where our project took place.
.jpg)
Here are some lovely buildings near the main station in Prague, in all the lovely colors of Easter.
Karlov Most (Charles Bridge) is one of the best things to see in all of Prague. The bridge is known for its statues and local artits who work, selling paintings for extremely high prices. This picture is taken from a second bridge, but there are like 8 awesome bridges crossing the river here.
Our exchange was held in an awesome little town called Dankovice, which is located approximately halfway between 'nowhere' and 'somewhere'. The nearest town was an awesome little place called Zd'ar, where they had an awesome UNESCO World Heritage church, and lots of little cool places to eat and drink. For our eight day exchange, we discussed many interesting topics related to the fields of photography, racism and European identity. We also conducted lots of experiments involving alcohol's effect on the body and reveled in the beautiful fact that for one euro, about 26 Czech Crowns, you could buy three or four big beers at the local grocery store. However, the exchange went incredibly smooth, like a delicious, cold glass of Kozel Cherny.
Here is our Italian participants investigating the beautiful old church in Zd'ar on one of the free days.
One of the final products from our project was a group gallery exhibition. During the week, everyone was constantly taking and editing their pictures, so for the final day, we had a printed copy of everyone's best pictures. The winner of the contest received a delicious beer as a prize. Consolation prizes to everyone else, ironically, was also a beer.
The day after the competition, I took one of my favorite photographs to date. Sounds like my luck... Here is the fog rolling in as our group prepares to depart our small town of Dankovice and head back to Prague on the train. The countryside in this part of Czech Republic is absolutely breathtaking.
Coming back to Macedonia is always a nice feeling after a long trip away from home, and during the winter, it is particularly great due to all of the holidays celebrated locally. Particularly in the month of January, it seems there is a wonderful holiday every single week. By far the most interesting, outlandish, and possibly offensive of these holidays is the Vevchani Carnival.
The festival occurs each year on St. Vasilij Day, which is an Orthodox saint and marks the beginning of the old Julian calendar. The festival is rooted in pagan rituals and for many of the past year, the festival has gained a lot of attention due to the nature of some of the costumes and political and ethnic sensitivity. It is not uncommon to see participants dressed in outlandish outfits, as demons, Nazis, various politicians, and the like. If you'd like to learn more, here is an interesting article written by the Atlantic. This is a legitimate publication with much better writing than my own since its what they do for a profession.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/01/the-carnival-of-vevcani/100661/
If you think these people dressed in red KKK outfits look like Grand Dragons, its not so far from the truth. However, they play an interesting role in the festival. They roam through the streets of the village carrying whips, and animal hides covered in dirt and shit. If you get too close to them, they will wrap you up and smack you in the face. Truth.
This playful reveler has jumped into the fountain near the people who were trying to remain far from the action and watch the chaos. This is January by the way, and that water is probably 4 or 5 degrees Celsius, like the outdoor temperature.
The group parades through the center and gather around here with their costumes and dance. Following the parade, everyone visits various houses to drink and share in life. The following day of the festival, all of the costumes are burned to ward off spirits and celebrate the new year. The festival comes full circle, but after 1400 years, there is always the next.
This year was the first chance I had to attend the Carnival, and I can only hope that I will be still in Macedonia next January to attend it again. Mix pagan tradition, with St. Patricks Day and men with red suits whipping you with dead animals and you've got one crazy recipe for a holiday. With that notice, it is currently 3 in the morning in Macedonia, I must wake up in two hours to head to Bulgaria for a reunion and planning visit with our lovely Gradiste volunteers! Back on the road!
