Rising in the East, Setting in the West

I have enjoyed many unforgettable sunsets through my lifetime.  Sunsets surrounded by close friends, and some solitary.  I have seen the sun disappear behind mountains, into oceans, and through skyscrapers.  From beaches, to mountaintops, to tea fields, to the barren badlands.  Sunsets have a funny way of helping us live in the moment.  As the sun dips closer to the horizon, we await every minute as the sun's last for the day.  We see the colors change, notice the shadows grow, feel the air grow cooler.  Everything seems to change as the day ends.  And yet we know that the sun will rise again in the morning, and set again in the evening.  All which causes the time to drag during sunsets provides us with the opportune time for introspection or reflection.

During my last weekend in Macedonia, I spent Orthodox Easter weekend in my original site, Prilep.  bidding farewell to my former counterparts and host family.  There was obviously no other place where I wanted to spend my final weekend in Macedonia.  Seeing everyone in Prilep during the Orthodox Easter holidays was a bonus to what would be an emotional experience.  As I wrote in a previous post about Orthodox Easter, families and friends often return to their hometowns, and thus there are countless opportunities to visit on "na gosti's" at others' places.  On Saturday night, young people also await Easter at midnight in front of a church, lighting candles and cracking eggs, and then celebrating Christ's resurrection by partying at the bars.  Overall, I did not have to pull any teeth in order to convince people to commemorate my final days in Prilep.

On Saturday morning, my former and current sitemates, Susan and Dave, joined me for a sunrise hike to Markovi Kuli, the ruins of the medieval Serbian king near Prilep.  It was a hike that I led many times to visiting volunteers and tourists, but now I was hiking the mountain for my final time as a Peace Corps volunteer.  We had originally intended to execute the hike during the sunrise, but Susan and I both agreed that sunrises are more beautiful, and I had never seen Prilep during sunrise from the ruins.  Even though rain clouds obstructed a pristine sunrise, the moment was as magical as I had imagined.  And while Prilep was waking up below us, I began pondering about my next journey in life.

Because while the sun sets and rises at different points in the sky, they are still part of the same day.  If we had hiked for a sunset, maybe I would have brooded over an end to a great experience.  And it dawned on me- experiences need to end so another may begin.   Put another way, I am not sad that I am physically leaving Macedonia (I always can and certainly will return for a visit).  Rather, my time as a Peace Corps volunteer has come to an end.  Everything that I had prepared for is finished, and compared to our structured lifestyle as Peace Corps volunteers, the way forward is unchartered open waters.  Yet, while harbors are designed to keep boats safe, boats are not designed to stay in a harbor.  My time as a Peace Corps volunteer has come, and I anticipate the next journey of my life. 

The following pictures courtesy of David Strouse, MAK19

Sunrise hike to Markovi Kuli

Sitemates

Hardest of all is saying goodbye to the people that are closest to me here.  We met as strangers, but eventually the bonds with my host family and counterparts grew, allowing us to build a life around each other.  I think this is what makes saying goodbye as a Peace Corps volunteer most difficult- our work is most successful when we establish sincere bonds with host country nationals.  Yet while two years is a long time, it is still temporary, and ultimately relaxing those relationships to long-distance friendships is as difficult a goodbye as ever.  Peace Corps forewarned us that some PCVs may gauge the impact of their service by the number of people visibly sad to see them go.  In my opinion, it is a bittersweet indicator of success.

Still, I did not know that saying goodbye to my host family in Prilep could be so difficult.  Shortly after finishing our Easter meal, I had to depart to catch the bus back to Tetovo for my final week in Macedonia.  As I said goodbye to each person, tears continued to well up in my eyes.  I was on the verge of crying, knowing of course that I will likely visit them again very soon.  I think what impacted me the most was that this loving family took me in as their own, and treated me as such for two years.  They will always be my Macedonian family.  But still, an era is ending so that another may begin. 

My host family during our Easter meal in Prilep

In a way, extending helped to ease the process of COSing.  I have fewer farewells to bid since most of my MAK18 friends had departed before me.  Moving sites meant that I could concentrate my final reunion with host family and counterparts to one weekend. 

Overall, like most memorable sunsets in my life, this entire Peace Corps experience will forever be cherished.  I have enjoyed countless life-changing experiences during my past ~3 years here, which is more than I can say about the 3 years previous.  It has shaped me into a different person from whom I entered Peace Corps, for better or worse (I hope better).  As our former Country Director would often say, "No matter how much you give during your time in Peace Corps, you will always receive so much more". 

The sun is setting on my time here, but I am not melancholy.  I have optimized my Peace Corps experience, and I feel comfortable on my next path in life.  I can only hope for many more memorable sunsets and many more promising sunrises.

Yelp! Macedonia Style

Over the weekend, a few of my sitemates organized our first annual Tetovo Beer Tasting.  Basically, we went to the local grocery store and purchased 10 beers that we could purchase in bottles or cans.  We then randomly poured them into small dixie cups, from which we tasted blind and ranked based on our preferences.

I am providing my own ranking below (beers brewed in the Bakans are indicated with their country of origin in parantheses):

1    1. Skopsko (Macedonia)

2. Laško (Slovenia)

3. Starogradsko (Macedonia)

4. Becks

5. Amstel

6. Tuborg

7. Kamenitza (Bulgaria)

8. Heineken

9. Staropramen

10. Zlaten Dab (Macedonia)

Not only was I surprised that Skopsko ranked at #1 for me (it is brewed in Skopje), but I also feel very guilty that the Prilep-brewed Zlaten Dab ranked last.  Typically, when I go out for a beer in Macedonia, I prefer to order a Zlaten Dab over a Skopsko.  But this taste test was eye-opening.

Ready to be judged

Examining dat viscosity

Also, here are the averaged results of the entire taste test (ranks added and then divided by 3):

1. Laško (8.7)

2. Skopsko (8.3)

3. Starogradsko (6.7)

4. Staropramen (6.3)

5. Amstel (5.7)

6. Heineken (5.3)

7. Becks (4.7)

8. Zlaten Dab (3.3)

8. Kamenitza (3.3)

10. Tuborg (2.3)

Other Reviews of Macedonia

Given that I have lived here for almost three years now, I figure that I may also share my favorite places for different Balkan delicacies or other cuisines.  Of course, these reviews are all based on my opinion, but they are well weighed/ contemplated given the amount I have traveled and eaten during my time here.  And if you want a review of what each of these food items are, feel free to visit my previous post about Macedonian cuisine.

Best Burek- Beličev Bakery, Kochani

Burek is the basic fast food in Macedonia.  It is greasy, cheap, and prevalent.  The basic types are with ground meat, with cheese (sirenje), pizza, and with spinach.  So choosing the best burek is a complicated task, since there are so many dimensions from which to judge them.  But without a doubt, only once have I repeatedly praised the taste of a burek, and that was of the burek with leeks and cheese which I purchased in Kochani at the Beličev bakery.  The cheese was markedly fresh and creamy, the crust was crispy without being greasy.  It was heaven in a burek.

Best Kebabi- Baba Tsana, Kumanovo

Kebabi are also very difficult to judge, since they are very prevalent and seem pretty difficult to screw up.  In a way, judging kebabi is like judging breakfast sausages (minus the maple syrup taste), so a lot of the content for judgment comes down to the texture and consistency of the kebabi.  But in my opinion, the kebabi from Baba Tsana in Kumanovo ranks at the top.  The flavor is distinct and heavenly, and the texture is perfect (not at all spongy).  Baba Tsana is renowned in Macedonia for being a quality kafana overall, so do not limit yourself to the kebabi if you make it out to Kumanovo for a visit.

Best Shopska Salata- Berovo

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and white cheese (sirenje).  These three simple ingredients together make one of the most delicious and healthy meals you can eat in Macedonia.  As I mention multiple times through this blog, the tomatoes in Macedonia are heavenly (when they are ripe in the spring and summer).  The best are supposedly produced near Strumica, which gives Berovo an edge.  Berovo is also known for being very cold (given its elevation), so that makes for delicious, creamy cheese throughout the year.  It probably does not matter where in Berovo you eat a shopska salata.  Just know that the cheese and tomatoes will be out of this world.

Best Tavče Gravče- Žežo, Bitola

I mentioned in a previous post that tavče gravče is my favorite Macedonian dish.  There is nothing like a simple batch of baked beans siting in a clay pot (and sometimes topped with a kielbasa) that can fill you up for the night.  Anytime I eat tavče gravče, my stomach instantly becomes happy.  But Žežo has the best tavče gravče I have ever eaten.  And Žežo is also my favorite kafana throughout all of Macedonia (probably more due to the great nights I experienced there than anything else), so any visit to the Bitola restaurant is warranted.

Best Donër- Dajti Donër, Tetovo

Even more so than with kebabi, donërs are difficult to compare since they usually comprise of the same ingredients, and they are very difficult to screw up.  They are also the perfect night food (ie. helping to soak up some brews in the gut), so they are like the late-night tacos of Europe.  Donërs are very difficult to find outside of Albanian communities, so it's self-evident that my ranking for the best donër would be from Tetovo.  Nothing really sets Dajti's donër apart from others, besides that you can order one quickly, and it was the first donër which I have ever eaten here.  Nonetheless, it's always good.

Best Čorba- Makedonska Sofra, Ohrid

Čorba is like the McDonalds breakfast of Macedonia- if you can start your day early enough to eat it, you may have to Snapchat about it.  Basically it is just a simple soup, but it is heralded as one of the best hangover cures (if accompanied by a rakija) that one can eat in the morning.  Thus, čorba is difficult to find after 11AM each day, since most of the old Macedonian men finish the morning stock early in the morning so they can start the day of drinking anew.  Luckily, getting to Makedonska Sofra in Ohrid had never been an issue to many of us PCVs who were in the town for a weekend of fun.  They also typically have multiple čorbas on stock each morning, including čkembe (stomach lining, similar to menudo), chicken, beef, fish (their specialty), and jagneška (lamb, my favorite).  Don't forget to add the vinegar!

Best Topeno Sirenje- Castello's, Struga

As Ohrid's neighbor along the lake, Struga has the best topeno sirenje in the country.  Topeno sirenje is basically a clay pot filled with a medley of baked cheeses (saturated fats galore).  When we celebrated Vevčani in January 2014, we devoured many pots of this delicacy, which was easy since Castello's offers three different versions of the dish (including a pot with garlic).  And the baked bread with sesame that accompanies the cheese- glorious.

Best Pizza- Leone, Prilep

Sure, it may seem strange to include pizza on a list of cuisines within Macedonia.  But as I mentioned in previous posts, pizza in Macedonia is so different to those typically found in the USA since pizza here pretty much lacks pizza sauce.  Thus, many Macedonians top their pizza with mayonnaise and ketchup (which many PCVs see as barbaric).  I have personally adapted to topping my pizza with ketchup, especially since the component I find most crucial when judging pizza is the sauce.  If a Macedonian restaurant cooked a pizza with a delicious sauce, I would certainly give it my vote.  However, no pizzeria has diverged from the norm, so I have to give my vote to the most delicious pizza in Macedonia- in my former site of Prilep.  The pizzas here are cooked perfectly in what seems to be a wood-burning stove.  The best pizza is the Krali Marko pizza, which may not be on the menus anymore, but basically contain peppers, pepperoni, gorgonzola cheese, sour cream, and sesame seeds on the crust.  Pizza made for a king.

Best Rakija- Kruševo

It is a bit sacrilegious of me to claim that the best rakija in Macedonia is not made of grapes (Lozova rakija, the kind most people make at home), but rather of plums (Šlivka, which is more prevalent in Serbia).  Yet, whenever I want to buy a bottle of rakija, I always head straight for Kruševo, where they serve a glass of the plum elixir for only about 50 cents.  My love for this rakija may also be a result of great memories created while drinking it (one of which involved good company before our 2015 YMLP camp).  Note: I forgot the name of the restaurant that serves it, but once I rediscover it, I will share it on this blog.

Best Late-night Food- Kaj Vili, Skopje

I may have cheated with this category, since others on this list may also qualify for late-night food (donër, burek).  However, nothing has quite saved me on nights where the balance of alcohol-to-food ratio in my stomach was off like Kaj Vili (English translation: By Willie's).  Their grilled chicken sandwiches, stuffed with French fries and topped with curry sauce are the perfect weapons to pacify any bender in Skopje.  And they are located in many locations around the city, including near the Holiday Inn in the center and near the City Park.

Looking forward to my return to Macedonia in however many years, you can be sure that I will be visiting a handful of these places to satisfy my cravings for the epitome of Macedonian cuisine.