Greetings from the FYROM.
That's right, I have escaped Bulgaria! Though as of yet I have not gotten very far. At the moment I am enduring a VERY long layover in Skopje, Macedonia, as I wait for the bus to Sarajevo. With my nine hours to putter around Skopje, I had been planning to find some bookstore with English books and browse, which I can do for hours and hours. Unfortunately, Macedonia has yet to embrace Americanism as much as Bulgaria (where everything is open all the time, including Christmas and New Years Day), and everything is CLOSED because it is SUNDAY. Boo!
Turns out that April Fool's Day is a big deal in the FYROM. A couple of German backpackers who were on my bus from Sofia and I went off to explore the city and promptly ran into a gigantic crowd of children in costumes. We escaped the crowd by heading across the river to the old city, which is completely charming and very Middle Eastern-ish. There are a BUNCH of mosques here, and, unlike any of the mosques in Bulgaria's big cities, they actually call to prayer, which I love to hear. It just sounds so cool. (I know some volunteers who live in really small all-Muslim villages in Bulgaria and they say that they do do the call to prayer there, but even though there are big mosques in the centers of Sofia and Plovdiv, they don't do the call.) It was a really lovely day here in Skopje, so German dudes and I found a lawn on top of what used to be the Skopje castle and relaxed in the sunshine. Don't worry, mom, I put on sunblock first.
So, it's been a nice day. I took a bunch of pictures that I will post. (I know I said that before, but the computer I usually use at work has been destroyed by some evil virus, AND I've been really busy with Official Peace Corps Volunteer Work lately, so I haven't had a lot of time recently.) If I hadn't spent all of last night in the company of some crazy English people revelling in how much their pounds can buy in Bulgaria and had gotten more than 3 hours of sleep, today would have been better, but it's been pretty good anyway.
Catch y'all in Sarajevo.
Turns out that April Fool's Day is a big deal in the FYROM. A couple of German backpackers who were on my bus from Sofia and I went off to explore the city and promptly ran into a gigantic crowd of children in costumes. We escaped the crowd by heading across the river to the old city, which is completely charming and very Middle Eastern-ish. There are a BUNCH of mosques here, and, unlike any of the mosques in Bulgaria's big cities, they actually call to prayer, which I love to hear. It just sounds so cool. (I know some volunteers who live in really small all-Muslim villages in Bulgaria and they say that they do do the call to prayer there, but even though there are big mosques in the centers of Sofia and Plovdiv, they don't do the call.) It was a really lovely day here in Skopje, so German dudes and I found a lawn on top of what used to be the Skopje castle and relaxed in the sunshine. Don't worry, mom, I put on sunblock first.
So, it's been a nice day. I took a bunch of pictures that I will post. (I know I said that before, but the computer I usually use at work has been destroyed by some evil virus, AND I've been really busy with Official Peace Corps Volunteer Work lately, so I haven't had a lot of time recently.) If I hadn't spent all of last night in the company of some crazy English people revelling in how much their pounds can buy in Bulgaria and had gotten more than 3 hours of sleep, today would have been better, but it's been pretty good anyway.
Catch y'all in Sarajevo.
posted by Blogaria at 9:16 AM
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