Merry Christmas, Darling

This is my mom’s favorite seasonal song, and since I can’t be with her for Christmas this year, it’s only fitting that I make it the title. 

Skopje is alllll dressed up for Christmas and New Year’s – even the ATMs are decorated with garlands and ornaments. The city center is decorated with myriad trees and super-sized ornaments, Santa hats, and stars. There is a market set up with booths selling mulled wine and mini donuts (крофни), and there are artisan bazaars all over the city. Most shops have glass or chalk-marker drawings of reindeer, snowmen, or Santa. Even though Christmas isn’t celebrated here until January 7th, the city is certainly in the holiday spirit. 

It’s been too long since my last post, so there’s lots of updates to mention.

The Last Bit of 2023

The past few weeks have been filled with coffee dates, baking parties, Macedonian tutoring, an Embassy visit, teaching, and a graduation party. A friend of mine graduated with his Master’s in Business, and he invited our group over for wine and food, including sarma (grape or cabbage leaves filled with rice and meat or vegetables) made by his mom. 

I went to the Embassy to be on an interview panel for professionals who applied to do a program in the States geared towards professors and journalists. It’s always nice to go to the Embassy and chat with the FSOs (they’re the best!). It was clear the people we interviewed had not done many of these in their careers, because simple interview questions like, “Tell me about the professional accomplishment that is most important to you” led them to read from the whole “Professional Experience” section of their resumes. That’s the norm in a culture where connections get you farther than merit.

Two Peace Corps friends came over last week to make Christmas cookies, and we had a blast listening to Christmas music and putting the Youtube fireplace (complete with cracking) on the TV to set the holiday mood. We made peanut butter, chocolate chunk, and chai-spiced cookies, and all of them were so good. Jackson also made me snickerdoodles before he left for the States, so I have plenty of cookies to celebrate the season. 

I went to karaoke with a group of friends and ended up running into some of my students – of course we had to do a song together, so we chose “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys because it’s easy to sing and everyone loves the vibe, especially after a few beers. 

I taught Sunday School at church for the first time last week, and it was low-key but went well. Only four kids came (all from the same expat family) so we watched a short video, lit a candle, did a craft, talked about Jesus as our Light and how we can share His love and light with others, and then played a game until it was time to go back into the service. 

Emily in Skopje!

My best friend from college, Emily, got here on the 21st to spend Christmas with me. On Friday, she came to university with me and co-taught the class. She brought Pop-Tarts, Jolly Ranchers, and Hershey’s for my students, per their request (their favorite were the Ranchers). I took her to Silbo, we ate Turkish food in the Old Bazaar (shoutout to Галерија 7, I’m there once a week), and we went to two museums – the City Museum of Skopje and the Contemporary Art Museum. The latter had its interesting pieces but also had such an unhinged exhibit that I left (scarred) only thinking about that particular one. I won’t share the details but it makes you wonder why anyone would approve it to be on display for the public….

The Dean of my department at the university is so kind-hearted and also very organized, and she planned a small Christmas/New Year’s celebration at Irish Pub downtown for those of us who teach in the Philology faculty. I brought Emily along, and we chatted, ate, and drank with my colleagues for a couple hours. They’ve been so lovely (and fairly hands-off, which I appreciate), and I can’t believe my first semester here is over Thursday the 29th.

Unfortunately, the traffic in the city has been particularly bad lately – on Saturday night, it took 30 mins and 3 people (thank you to Iva & Co.) calling all the taxi numbers we had in order to find one to get home after the club. The buses haven’t been much better… I think I’ve gotten used to them being dodgy and only remember that they’re unreliable when people come to visit. I mostly don’t have complaints when it comes to the buses… I ride for free because the lady selling bus cards told me she wouldn’t sell it to me yet because it will be less expensive in January, and I usually don’t have to wait too long when taking them to and from school, the mall, the center, etc. 

On Christmas Eve, I did a little shopping, and Emily and I took two of my friends to church, and there was a potluck dinner afterward. I made cookies, and there was so much good food there: mashed potatoes, pork roast, an Indian curry, fried rice, charcuterie, burek, and all the bread items you would want to see at a Christmas table. We enjoyed the service, and after dinner we went to the center as a group for mulled wine. We finished the night watching half of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Emily’s favorite Christmas movie, which I used to be really scared of but have since gotten over the fear).

This morning – Merry Christmas! – I made палачинки (palachinki, a Macedonian crepe) and we did stockings and opened a present each. Emily got me a pair of phenomenal wool slippers from a bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where she lived last summer. We finished Home Alone 2, went for a walk in the park, she met my language tutor during my lesson, and we had a quick coffee with a girl from church. We went to a kafana for Christmas dinner, with two of my girlfriends. There was live music too (accordion, fiddle, and guitar) to round out the authentic Macedonian experience. 

In other good news, I’ve finally fixed my sleep schedule, mostly. When I first moved, jet-lag didn’t get to me, but I started socializing a lot and wound up getting way too little sleep, and when I did get enough, it was at different times of day than usual. This contributed to lower energy, disengagement from my hunger and fullness cues, and generally feeling a bit untethered, so I committed to getting at least 7 hours every night, and I’m feeling so much better. 

This is definitely my most unique holiday season to date! To those of you who texted/DM’d/emailed me with well wishes for the holidays, thank you. Your care means a lot to me. 🫶

(Song Credit: Carpenters)