Front Matter - Part 05

local community too is not that well off to be able to give support to its museum. I think time will solve this problem. I enjoyed my trip to the museum very much and Spiro summed it up when he said that now I know a bit more about the revolutionaries about whom I have written in my books. As we were descending one mountain and getting close to ascending another to go to Krushevo I received a phone call from my internet friend Tomche who was anxious to meet with me. I was happy to hear that he would be available to meet during the evenings for the rest of the week so we set a date for Thursday. Just as we were approaching the peaks of one of the mountains near Krushevo, Spiro made a point of mentioning how difficult the mountain was to climb even by car. That’s why it took the Turkish army twelve days to overpower the famous Krushevo Republic during the 1903 Macedonian National Uprising. I then jokingly said to Spiro that what Macedonia needs are helicopters. It took us about half an hour to come down one hill and climb up another which would have taken us no more that a couple of minutes by helicopter. In fact with a helicopter one could probably see all of Macedonia in a single day. Macedonia could start its own industry manufacturing helicopters as a specialty and sell the finished products to the tourist industry and not just in Macedonia. Spiro also mentioned how much easier it would be to patrol and defend Macedonia with such helicopters. Just an idea. When we were almost at the top of this great big mountain we took a diversion and drove over an unpaved path. “We are entering Mechkin Kamen,” Spiro said. “Tourists are not allowed to drive up here. They usually leave their cars at the side of the road and walk the rest of the way. But since no one is here I will drive us further up.” When we reached the peak we could see the clouds below forming. We could also see rain in the distance. I had to take pictures because no one back in Canada was going to believe that we were standing high up above the clouds. I could feel moisture, tiny droplets on my skin. It felt as though we were inside the cloud. Spiro took me to the great big bronze monument of a man with a rock raised over his head getting ready to hurl it. This is the place where only a handful of Macedonian fighters in 1903 took on the entire Ottoman army and held it back. “The picture on the cover of one of your books is of this statue,” said Spiro. Spiro was talking about the book “This Land We Do Not Give a history of Macedonian resistance

to foreign occupation” by Michael Seraphinoff and Chris Stefou, published in 2008 by Nettle Hollow which can be found at www.MacedonianLit.com and at www.oshshcima.com. On our way back we stopped at an open area to marvel at these majestic old mountains which had seen so much and heard so many secrets. As clouds passed by we could see the valleys below dotted with villages and patterns of fields and meadows. We could have spent hours breathing the thin fresh air and enjoying the cool moist breeze as it blew in our faces but we had more of Macedonia to see so we headed for the village Krushevo. On our way down we met the rain we had seen from the distance and drove through it into Krushevo. The first stop was Toshe Proevski’s memorial. Toshe, a very popular pop star not just in Macedonia but in most of the Balkans, was recently killed in a road accident outside of Macedonia and was buried in his hometown Krushevo, where he was born. In spite of the heavy rain his memorial was packed with people, probably fans paying their respects. Judging from the languages they spoke, most of them were foreigners but no less devoted to him for his music and humanitarian beliefs. The rain continued to pour as we again headed for the road, this time uphill on a muddy dirt path. As we drove further and further up the road became steeper and there were moments when I thought we would never make it. I couldn’t help but feel that any moment now we would be stuck in the mud. I guess Spiro had more faith in his car and in his ability than I did. Personally I would never take such risks. When we finally reached the top I could see the outline of a giant circular white structure with circular protruding windows and a long ramp leading to it. I had seen it before in pictures but I failed to estimate its huge size. It’s called “the Makedonium”. In spite of the pouring rain we got out of the car and ran up the open ramp to the shelter inside. As soon as we got in we were greeted by two men, one was a guard and the other was the attendant. They both recognized Spiro and immediately struck a conversation, mostly about politics. Spiro did not know them but obviously they knew him. As Spiro busied himself with the two men I looked through the building and was met by a group of visitors. I could see that they didn’t look like Macedonians so I spoke to them in English. They were Norwegians hiking through the Macedonian mountains. I asked them what their interest was in visiting

this building and one of them, a woman, laughed and said they were using the building as shelter from the rain. Before leaving the Macedonium Spiro bought me four wood-framed etchings of Macedonian revolutionaries and a great big photo album entirely composed of old photographs of Macedonian revolutionaries from the 1903 Ilinden era. The book, written in both Macedonian and English, is by Professor Dr. Blagoj Stoichovski. It is entitled “Macedonian Revolutionaries 1893 to 1908” and was published in 2006 by N.I. Historical Museum of Krushevo. For me this was a great gift because it has the largest collection of photographs of revolutionaries and of revolutionary bands that I had ever seen in a single book. Thank you Spiro. The rain had somewhat subsided as we left Krushevo and headed for Prilep. Our plan was to visit Prilep then Veles then return to Bitola Region and meet up with Lenche (Spiro’s wife) and her father at her father’s cottage for supper. We then received a call from Slave informing us that I was invited to do another interview in Skopje early in the morning the next day. Unfortunately the next day I was committed to visiting with my relatives in Skopje. On top of that Spiro kept getting urgent calls from his work where he was needed. So I had to make a decision which was a bit of a compromise. Instead of going back to Bitola and driving to Skopje early the next morning, I asked Spiro to take me back to Skopje that afternoon so that he could be back to his job the next day and I would be able to do the interview early in the morning and visit my relatives at noon. I hope I didn’t disappoint Lenche who spent the entire day cooking for me and preparing for my visit at the cottage. I am sorry Lenche, I hope you can forgive me. As we continued our trek north Spiro pointed out various historical landmarks like Marko Krale’s kule (castle), the Marko Tsepenko Cultural Center, the Drenovska Klisura pass where Pero Toshev was killed and more. As we continued to travel we passed through Kavadartsi Region, famous for its grapes and wines. There we could see nothing but vineyards stretching for miles. We arrived in Veles around 2 pm and stopped for lunch. Spiro wanted to take me to this particular place because this town has its own traditions of preparing foods. It even makes its own beer. It was still raining when we entered the sheltered part of this large outdoor restaurant which at the time had only a few customers. The

waiter took his time to come around to get our orders and it took twice as long for the food to be prepared but we were not in any hurry. This time Spiro ordered a surprise meal for me, a specialty, only made in this town. When the food finally arrived we were served a Shopska salad, three varieties of bread, peppers, cheese and a number of spicy sauces. Spiro got a huge chunk of pork and I got a four inch in diameter brown stuffed ball sitting in a bowl of thin, fat laden gravy. “What is this?” I asked Spiro. “Sample it first,” he said “and then I will tell you.” I ran my knife over it and as the skin broke the stuffing fell into the bowl of gravy. I scooped it up with my fork and took a bite. “Mmm it’s delicious,” I said. “What is it?” “It’s a sheep’s stomach stuffed with meats, grains and spices,” Spiro said “something like a Scottish haggis.” Now I know what you are thinking but don’t knock it until you try it. I will never think of haggis the same way again (as something disgusting). When I finished eating the haggis, which by the way absorbed all the gravy on its own as the stuffing landed in it, Spiro gave me a chunk of his portion of pork (why I don’t know) and on top of the salad, peppers and bread, I ate that too. The local beer was just as good if not better than the Skopsko. Thank you again Spiro. When we were finished with lunch we visited the monument of fallen heroes and Alexander the Greats’ new statue before heading back to Skopje. We arrived in Skopje around 6 pm and after saying our goodbyes Spiro left immediately for Bitola. I stayed in my apartment and used the rest of the day to organize my visits for my next few remaining days in Macedonia.

There the sunrise warms the soul, The sunset glows on wooded heights; There are gifts in great profusion Richly spread by nature’s power. Watch the clear lake stretching white Or bluely darkened by the wind, Look upon the plains or mountains: Beauty’s everywhere divine.

To pipe there to my heart’s content! Ah! Let the sun set, let me die.

Konstantin Miladinov (1830-1862)

(www.tikves.com.mk)

Meeting with friends

I was back in my apartment on the evening of July 23rd and Skopje was nice and cool. The rain had dropped the temperature to the low 20’s and sleeping was not a problem. Slave came early the next morning and we were off to the MTV1 studio where we were met by Krstenka, the host of the show. Scheduling was not a problem because the interview was going to be taped for broadcasting sometime after August 2nd. Krstenka took us to a studio and asked us to wait there while she went to get us some refreshments and find the film crew. At this point I asked Slave to contact my relatives and let them know where we were so that they could let Zoran know where to find us. I had asked Zoran to pick me up from the studio but I had no idea where it was. I did not have Zoran’s cell phone number so I could not tell him what time the interview was going to end and where to find me. The interview, which was supposed to take about half an hour, took more than an hour but once the filming began we could not answer our cell phones. So Zoran had to wait outside the MTV1 building not knowing what was going on. The interview went very well and Slave was quick to mention that this was by far the best interview we had done. As soon as we had finished, Krstenka escorted us out of the building and there were my cousin Vasil and his son Zoran waiting. I thanked Slave for his assistance and left to visit my relatives with a quick stop at my apartment to change into more casual clothing. I had asked my cousin Vasil to do the impossible and get all his brothers and sisters together in one place at the same time so that I could visit them all at once. To my surprise all of them and even some of their children and grandchildren were there by noon. Vasil’s family had prepared an elaborate meal and Zoran cooked the meat in their brick barbeque in the backyard. Vasil also has a gazebo in his backyard which easily accommodated the dozen or so people in attendance. This was indeed an honour for me to have everyone there on such short notice. Some had to even take a day off from work just to be there with me. I am truly grateful. After lunch the time passed quickly as we drank Vasil’s personal stash of rakia (alcoholic beverage) and shared stories about our separate

experiences back in Oshchima. I hope we didn’t bore the young ones too much, those who had never been to Oshchima and had no idea why we cared so much for the rustic and desolate place we once called home. By five o’clock everyone looked anxious and ready to go and I decided it was time to go too. I said my goodbyes and left with my cousin Lena. Her son Slobodan took me back to my apartment. Just as I arrived around 6 pm I received a call from Tomche asking me if he could bring some friends with him and if it was possible to move our meeting to an earlier time. I told him I was ready now and gave him instructions where to find me. About twenty minutes later we were sitting at a café near where I was staying, drinking Skopski. Tomche was a lot younger than I expected and he knew a lot more about me than I knew about him. He had read many of my articles posted on www.maknews.com and had been a reader of mine for some time. Tomche is also a contributing member on the www.maknews.com/forum and regularly posts his views on Macedonia from the inside, since he lives there. Just as we got comfortable more of Tomche’s friends arrived and eventually we had to join two tables to accommodate everyone. To my left sat Tomche, beside him sat Voislav, Igor and Avram. Tomche listened for the most part while the others exchanged ideas and stories. Compared to me these new friends were young men in their late twenties but intellectually and knowledge wise they all spoke like professors. I couldn’t help but feel proud that the future of Macedonia would be in good hands. They were no nonsense young men who knew who they were and what they wanted. What impressed me even more, which at least three of them mentioned, was that somehow I was responsible for putting them on this path. When they started looking to learn more about Macedonia, they found my articles on the internet. The information they found confirmed what they had known from their own parents and grandparents which appealed to them and drew them even further in their search to find their place in the world. This reassures me that I am on the right track in terms of my own activities for the Macedonian cause. In a short span of time these young Macedonians will become the bearers of Macedonism. They have the knowledge and confidence to hold their own.

I think it was Igor who gave me a couple of red T-shirts. On the front of the T-shirt up at the chest are two yellow crests; the Macedonian 16 ray sunburst on the left and the Macedonian lion on the right. Below the crests, written in yellow Cyrillic letters are the words “Makedonets do koska” (Macedonian to the bone). On the right sleeve is written the website Milenko.com.mk and on the back in white letters on a black background it says “Makedonija Tsivilizatsija Idnina” (Macedonia Civilization Future). Thank you guys for the gifts. When we ordered food, I told everyone that I had just eaten a big lunch and was going to skip supper but in typical Macedonian fashion they ordered food for me anyway and then gave me portions of their own food. Feeling they had done enough for me I announced that it was my turn to buy at least the Skopski (beers). I knew how little money they made in Macedonia and I didn’t want them to frivolously spend it on me especially when I could easily afford it. I told them I have money and I can afford to buy everyone a beer. That’s when someone whispered in my ear and said it wasn’t a matter of affordability but a matter of pride. These young men want to treat you because they respect you, don’t take that away from them. Friendship is not about who has money and who doesn’t, it’s about being equals and treating each other with respect. So, an old dog can learn new tricks after all. I took this person’s advice and zipped it as they each treated me to Skopsko after Skopsko with mugs full of beer lining up in single file one behind the other like soldiers. I asked the guys if I could take pictures of them and they agreed so we asked the waitress to take some group shots with several cameras. Tomche said he was going to post his on the Maknews forum. I think it was Igor who left for a few minutes and came back with hard copy photos and gave us each one. I had a great time that night. Thank you Tomche for inviting me and introducing me to your friends. Also say hello to the guys and thank them for me for all they have done. Surprisingly with all the beer I drank that night, I did not get inebriated. We left the café at midnight. Everyone had to go to work the next morning and I had plans to visit Dr. Kosta Peev. I walked to my apartment. At 8 am the next morning I contacted Dr. Peev to confirm that I was coming and he gave me instructions on how to find his house. He lives in Selo Bardovtsi just outside of Skopje which took about half an hour to get to. I wanted to go early so that I could leave early because I had

an open invitation to visit Aleksandar, my soldier friend. But even the best laid plans sometimes don’t work out. When I arrived at Dr. Peev’s house I told him my plans and that I was going to leave around 11 am. Unfortunately Dr. Peev had different plans for me and shot down my idea by simply saying that I came all the way here from Canada but I could not make the time to at least have lunch with a friend? I have known Dr. Peev and his wife for about four years now and have been to his daughter’s house to see him in Toronto a couple of times. The last time I went visiting he insisted I visit him in Macedonia. I agreed to stay for lunch provided we ate very close to noon. His wife, who at the time was serving us breakfast and Turkish coffee, suggested 2 pm. I was thinking more like 12 noon but we agreed on 12:30 pm. Dr. Peev first showed me what he was working on and then took me for a tour of the neighbourhood. Dr. Peev for some time now has been working on a dialectal dictionary of Aegean dialects, particularly those of south-eastern Aegean Macedonia. So far he has published four volumes from the Cyrillic letters “A” to “P”. Currently he is finishing volume 5 and getting it ready for publication. He has one more volume to go before the entire dictionary is completed. However he has a problem. He is not sure if he has sponsorship to publish volume 5 and definitely has no sponsorship for volume 6. There were some commitments made for volume 5 and he will not know until September if those commitments are firm or not. Dr. Peev’s work is invaluable in terms of preserving those particular dialects because the Macedonian population from that region has been ethnically cleansed by the Greek State and if the language is not preserved it will be lost. Dr. Peev and I exchanged books. He gave me a copy of each of the four volumes and I gave him a copy of my history book. I know it’s not a fair trade but Dr. Peev insisted that I take the books. Thank you Dr. Peev. The tour of the village included a visit to the local church “Sveta Troitsa” and its visitor’s quarters where church goers from out of town can spend the night. The lady caretaker took us from building to building telling us stories about each. After we were done she invited us to her home where we met her husband sitting on the front porch. She served us all Turkish coffee while Dr. Peev chatted with her husband about church matters and local village issues.

Behind the church property Dr. Peev showed me a new housing development of expensive houses encroaching on the village. “As long as the locals hold out and don’t sell their properties,” he said “we will be able to preserve our village and our simple life.” Both Dr. Peev and his wife are retired now and have lived in this home for a while and don’t like the hustle and bustle of the busy city life. They have two daughters both living in the Diaspora. As promised lunch was served at half past noon, followed by a second cup of Turkish coffee without sugar. She remembered not to put sugar in my coffee from the first time we met during my visit to her daughter’s home. I had said that I don’t take sugar in my coffee which she found amazing that I could drink “that bitter poison” without sugar. But since then she had been cutting down on sugar herself and now she also drinks it without sugar. I gave Dr. Peev the phone number of a taxi company (Bel Marsedes Taksi) that was recommended to me by one of Gjorgji Donevski’s assistants and he called me a cab. Twenty minutes later I was on my way to Skopje. As soon as I got back to my apartment I contacted Aleksandar and asked him to meet me at the plaza where I spent the previous evening with Tomche and his friends. Aleksandar was there within an hour but before going to the café he took me to a sporting goods store and bought me a stylish T-shirt and one for his friend John Kuzev in Toronto. While visiting with Aleksandar I received a call from Tomche. I told him where I was and that I was with a soldier friend and then asked him if he wanted to join us. Tomche brought with him Gotse, another friend who also turned out to be one of my readers. Gotse was one of the people responsible for bringing the Mir and his wife (Hunza King and Queen) to Macedonia. He is also very active in the Macedonian community and working for the Macedonian cause. The last time I met Aleksander I mentioned something to him about how I was never a soldier and was curious about how I would look in a Macedonian military uniform. Well tonight Aleksander had a surprise for me. He had invited Tony, a Macedonian army officer I had met back in CFB Borden several years before. Tony was the only officer in that group with roots from Aegean Macedonia. I was happy to see Tony again who surprised me by giving me his old uniform. Unfortunately it’s too small for me and I would have to lose a few pounds to fit into it

so I will not be marching dressed as a Macedonian officer in any parades anytime soon. Thank you Aleksandar and Tony. Besides picking up the tab for everyone that evening, Aleksandar also had another surprise for me. I don’t know where he got it from but he gave me a lovely memento. It was a porcelain plate, the kind that hangs on the wall, which bears the “Army of the Republic of Macedonia” gold crest in the center and an inscription with red Cyrillic letters on a white background all round. Again thank you Aleksandar. I was really proud to be with this group of friends because as I found out they were all soldiers or former soldiers with a lot of stories to tell. Tony who is still a soldier was the higher ranking officer in the group and a lively talker. He had us holding on to every word. As the hours passed well into the night, one by one everyone left and only Tomche and I remained. It was getting very late and he too had to go to work early the next morning so we called it a night with prospects of meeting again the next evening. I don’t recall what time I got home or what time I went to sleep but all I could think of was how great it was to be with these guys and to bring old and new friends together.

Last day with friends

Saturday July 26th I received a call from Slave early in the morning reminding me that Stojan Trenchevski (mentioned earlier) had invited us to visit with him at his office. I just want to say that Slave is an early morning person who gets up at 5 am every morning and does his long jog along the Vardar River banks before he goes to work. After visiting Mother Teresa’s statue and a construction site of a building being built in her honour, which I had visited several times before, Slave and I headed for Stojan’s office. At the moment Stojan was not there so we sat on a bench to wait for him and reflected on my visit and the experiences I had in Macedonia. It seems that almost everyone I met wanted me to write something about Macedonia. When Stojan arrived he greeted us with many blessings and apologies for his tardiness. His office was on the ground floor in a multi-story building a couple of steps below ground level. Stojan’s office was not just an ordinary office, it was a shrine decorated with icons and mementos of Mother Teresa, Toshe Proevski and others. Among the various paintings included there were three by our very own Canadian-Macedonian world renowned artist Michael Close. Michael has done a lot to promote Macedonia and the Macedonian cause worldwide and his works can be found everywhere in art galleries, embassies and even international buildings like the United Nations. Just recently Michael donated a large painting to Dr. Srgjan Kerim, President of the sixty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly. Thank you Michael. When Toshe felt lonely and blue he used to come to Stojan’s office and marvel at the paintings, letters, photographs, mementos, etc. of Mother Teresa. “Toshe gave me this comfortable chair right here,” Stojan said pointing at it “in which he used to sit in solitude when he wanted to pray. I had given him a key to get into my office whenever he needed to.” We spent over an hour with Stojan as he recounted story after story of his experiences of how he met Mother Teresa and how they became lifelong friends. I wish I had a movie camera or tape recorder to record all that was said because it would have made an interesting story. I hope some day Stojan will publish it. One thing that Stojan said stayed with me of what Mother Teresa had said to him, which by the way he has recorded on tape. This is how

he phrased it to me. “There seems to be a competition between various ethnic groups laying claim to Mother Teresa’s ethnic identity but her true identity is not what others want it to be but what she herself said it was.” He posed this very same question to Mother Teresa herself during a taping session and she answered it by saying, “I was born in Skopje and I am Macedonian.” When we were ready to leave Stojan gave me a book he had written himself entitled “Vozdushkite na Gotsevata Vnuka” which roughly translates to “The Spirit of Gotse’s niece”, a collection of interviews and visits with Gotse Delchev’s niece Katerina Trajkova-Nurdzhieva. The well illustrated book with photographs was accompanied by a DVD made of Katerina’s visit to Skopje. When we met Stojan the previous week he had given me a CD of another of his projects which contained various liturgies performed by Bishop Kiril on the 40th anniversary of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Stojan was also supposed to give me a CD of the radio interview he did of us the week before but the CD I received was of songs. He must have given me the wrong CD by mistake. When we were finished he gave us each an 8.5x11 inch autographed photograph of Mother Teresa and a tour of the construction site where her building is currently being constructed. Since I didn’t have anything else scheduled for the rest of the morning Slave decided to take me on yet another tour of Skopje and some of its neighbouring landmarks. The first stop was Sveti Spas, the church where Gotse Delchev’s remains are laid to rest. There we visited the museum of artifacts, weapons and photographs of the revolutionaries of Delchev’s time. In the same yard on the other side of the museum we visited Sveti Spas, the 17th century Church built underground. Slave mentioned that there was a reason why it was built underground but I failed to note it. Perhaps one of our readers who is familiar with the church’s history can write to us and let us know. The inside front of this church is covered with the most exquisite and intricate wood carvings I have even seen. It must have taken a lifetime of work to accomplish such an achievement. I couldn’t help but admire the dedication of the person or people who carved it. After our visit to Sveti Spas, we picked up Sonja (the lady who translated my book) and went for coffee to another church outside of Skopje called Sveti Pantelimon, located in the village Gorno Negrazi.

On our way there Slave pointed out the Theological Faculty near Sveti Jovan Church and reminded us that today was the 46th anniversary of the massive Skopje earthquake. Before stopping for coffee at the local Panteleimon café we went inside the Sveti Panteleimon Church and marveled at the original old frescoes painted on the walls which will soon need repair. It is amazing how this beautiful church survived two world wars and a massive earthquake and is still standing, considering it was built I believe in the 14th century (1376?). We were not allowed to take photographs inside. The view of Skopje from the outdoor terrace at the café was breathtaking. At the same time we could see dark clouds forming and coming in our direction so we decided to move indoors under a shelter but before leaving Slave and Sonja picked handfuls of wild plums that were just hanging over the terrace. Knowing how I loved to munch on the sour fruit they both gave me a handful. After coffee we dropped Sonja off and Slave took me for another big lunch at “Kaj Zlate’s” restaurant to which I had been several times before. I had what Slave had which came with a Shopska salad, olives, cheese, large portions of meat and plenty of “yellows” (whisky), Slave’s choice of drink. Thank you again Slave. After that Slave took me back to the apartment and gave me an old suitcase of his for the trip back to Canada in which I packed most of the books that were given to me. As soon as I got back to my apartment I changed into more comfortable clothing and contacted Tomche for our last evening visit. Tomche said he would be bringing more of his friends and would be picking me up by taxi. As I waited for Tomche at the usual intersection I met a Macedonian man selling flowers. I was standing under a great big advertising sign sheltered from the rain while he was standing at a corner getting wet so I asked him to move his flowers where I was to avoid being rained on. Unfortunately he was afraid the proprietor of the property would chase him away so he declined my offer. I then asked him to move here to get out of the rain. He took my advice and did. From our conversation he could tell I wasn’t from Skopje so he asked where I was from. After I told him I was born in Greece and now live in Canada he sympathized with me and mentioned how Greece has wronged the Macedonians and is still punishing them by not allowing them to return to their birthplace and reclaim their properties. I said I

was not a Begalets (war refugee). My family and I are economic refugees but just the same we were driven out of Greece but for different reasons. I asked the man if selling flowers was his livelihood but he said no. He had a full time job but sold flowers to supplement his income. Some days he could make up to 1,000 ($ 25) denars an evening which was twice what some people made working a whole day. “There are all kinds of extra jobs people can do if they want to, they can pick up some extra denars if they are willing to clean the street in front of shops, even collect plastic bottles or cardboard boxes and sell them,” he said. I felt proud to have met such a person so I asked him if I could give him some money in advance and he could donate some of his flowers to whoever he wanted. To my surprise he refused to accept such money and said if I wanted the flowers for myself then he would gladly sell them to me but not as charity. I then asked him if he would sell some to a young lady passing by and I would pay for them. He agreed but it was difficult to find such person as one after another refused them. Finally one agreed. At first she refused but when I explained what I was trying to do she accepted and we had a sale. I bought her two bouquets for 100 ($ 2.50) denars each. Both the man and young lady thanked me as the taxi with Tomche arrived and picked me up for another evening of visiting. “This evening we are going to the ‘Irish Pub’ café,” Tomche said “the place where I work.” This is where Slave and I had visited with Robert the professor and Zoran the Macedonian consul from Perth, Australia. After a few drinks of Skopsko one of Tomche’s close friends, Stojadin (www.macedonialovesyou.com) arrived with two young ladies, one his girlfriend named Vaska and the other Elena, a visitor from Bitola. Afterwards more people joined in but I didn’t ask for their names. Tomche from Drachevo, kept silent and listened for the most part while Stojadin acquainted me with his activities. Physically I was there but I lacked the usual pep and flare that night, I guess by now the late nights were catching up to me so I too sat silent most of the time and listened to the conversations around the table. The place was very busy and getting busier as the night progressed. Almost everyone there knew Tomche and stopped for a conversation. We met all kinds of people, even a relative of Lui Temelkovski’s. After conversing with him for a while, the young man said to say hello to his

relative Lui and tell him it was “Igor son of Foti” who we met. Tomche was anxious to introduce me to all the people he knew with roots from Aegean Macedonia. By 11 pm I was getting tired and I asked for a taxi but Tomche asked Stojadin who had a car to take me home. We said our goodbyes and I went straight to bed for a long rest before flying home the next day. The late nights had indeed taken a toll on me as I felt tired and weak the next morning, barely able to pack my bags. I was worried about how I was going to make the long trip back home but after some rest I felt better and focused on packing, trying to balance my luggage weight so I wouldn’t get fined. I was told it would cost $ 10 per kilo if my two bags weighed over 23 kilos each. I was lucky the students who lived in the apartment there had a scale and was able to juggle things to balance the weight. I came to Macedonia with 6 kilos and left with 44.1. I was in no shape to visit anyone that day so I spent most of the day resting in the apartment until Slave came to take me to the airport at 1:15 pm. He gave me more things to take including a couple of books from Boshko Rajchovski (the person who interviewed us in Ohrid) which I put in my bloated carryon bag. We were at the airport by 1:45 pm, early enough to beat the crowds and after checking my luggage we said our goodbyes and Slave left as I pressed my way to the waiting area. We boarded the plane on time at 3:10 pm when I caught a glimpse of Pobeda Piskacheva who was also returning to Toronto on the same flight. We had an hour and a half layover in Budapest and left on time at 6:00 pm for Toronto. I was lucky to get a window seat and was able to observe the terrain below all the way from Macedonia to the Atlantic Ocean. After that it was dark and we were traveling at 33,000 feet. We arrived in Toronto at 10:05 pm about half an hour later than our scheduled time. It took a long time to get through customs but since I had nothing to declare customs did not bother to check my luggage and sent me through. I was home by midnight. For those who are interested I compiled a small list of income/expenses items below from questioning various people (including Spiro) in Macedonia. These are by no means accurate and should not be used for anything other than for personal information.

Wages and pensions in Macedonia ($ are in US dollars) Range of workers’ wages 130,000 ($ 3,250) to 240,000 ($ 6,000) denars per year, the mean being 180,000 ($ 4,500) denars per year. A Member of Parliament or director of a factory earns about 504,000 ($ 12,600) denars a year. Pensions for seniors can range from 108,000 ($ 2,700) to 240,000 ($ 6,000) denars per year.

Cost of some items in Macedonia

Gasoline costs 80 ($ 2.00) denars per litre. Beer at the bar costs 80 ($ 2.00) denars per half litre. Beer at the store costs 70 ($ 1.75) denars per 1.5 litres. Meat costs 250 ($ 6.25) denars per kilogram. Cheese costs 500 ($ 12.50) denars per kilogram. Bread costs 25 ($ 0.65) denars (half kilo). Bottled water costs 20 ($ 0.50) denars per 1.5 litres. Fruit juice costs 60 ($ 1.50) denars per 1.5 litres. Average cost of hydro for use in a typical house costs 18,000 ($ 450) denars per year. Rent for a two bedroom apartment in Skopje costs 150,000 ($ 3750) denars per year. Rent for a two bedroom apartment in Bitola costs 90,000 ($ 2,250) denars per year.