Don’t Stop
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I mostly write about the good things and the funny challenges, but it’s worth mentioning the actual hard things, too. For example, this week, it was hard to teach grammar to a group of 25 eighteen-year-olds who just stared at me unyieldingly, then refused to participate in class discussions. It was frustrating to be at university and have to choose between using a bathroom that only has one working stall and never has any soap or toilet paper, or a bathroom with no paper towels, in which none of the stall doors close. It was hard to stay patient when I was speaking Macedonian as best I could to the owner of my gym and said he ‘wasn’t following what I was saying’. It was annoying to have to decalcify the float mechanism in my toilet because we have hard water here, and if I don’t fix it, the toilet won’t work.
Every week has challenges, and sometimes they just aren’t fun and cool to write about — but they are part of life, and I wouldn’t be sharing the full picture if I didn’t share my frustrations sometimes. But small glimmers – like petting Ricky, or eating a really good donut, or riding home on the top deck of a double-decker bus, or randomly seeing friends and acquaintances around town – are spliced between the hard things, and everything kind of rights itself again.
Mambo!
I went to the Skopje Philharmonic this Thursday as a little treat to myself, because I really love listening to live orchestral arrangements. They played selections from West Side Story and An American in Paris, and it was lovely. Midway through, the lights began to flicker, then dim, then flash, and finally they went out altogether (briefly). Maybe it was atypical for the Philharmonic, but it felt like a pretty Balkan experience. No matter, the music was still top-notch. One of the best things about going to the Philharmonic (anywhere) is siting there and letting your mind and emotions wander while the music whisks you away for awhile. Plus I got fries on the way home, and you really can’t say it’s been a bad night if you get to end it with fries.
(Song Credit: Fleetwood Mac)
