My New Life in Macedonia

It has almost been a month since I last slept in my bed, played with my dog, and seen my family. Since then I have been able to love my new bedroom, interact with the street dogs, and most importantly I have been cared for by an amazing new host family. Macedonia is such a beautiful country. Everyday I wake up grateful for living in Skopje. My host family lives in an apartment in a neighborhood called Aerodrom. Although I live pretty far from my school and the city center, I really enjoy the area I live in. I have been able to take the bus wherever I need to go. The buses here are mostly double decker buses which helps in learning the geography of the city. Also, the views are great.

Aerodrom is a completely self sufficient area. My favorite place to hang out is Capital mall which is a 20 minute walk from my apartment. My apartment overlooks the river Vardar and downtown Skopje. Across the street there is a taxi service, grocery store, a hair salon, and anything I could possibly need. Especially in my first 2 weeks, kids would play outside in the courtyard of my apartment complex from 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm. In fact, most people are out and about in the late evenings, even with their children, as opposed to the day time when it is 90 degrees outside.

The program that is overseeing my stay here is American Councils. With my local coordinator and the country overseer of the program, I have been able to see a lot of the city. I was able to visit the American Embassy here and meet with diplomats. They have also taken me and the other 5 girls on the program to Canyon Matka, and up Mt. Vodno. The program provides daily language lessons. Included in the curriculum are many field trips. So far we have visited the old bazaar, the museum of Macedonian Independence, and Mother Teresa’s memorial house.

I am so excited to learn the language and to see more of Macedonia. I love meeting people here and can’t wait to see what the rest of my stay has in store.