A Breath of Fresh Air

               I don’t know if it will ever be possible to top our China story. In my experience, the more interesting story is usually made by what goes wrong rather than what goes right. There’s not much to be said for “We walked on the Great Wall, and the view was gorgeous!” other than throwing in your favorite vocabulary words to try and spice up a bland event. That being said, I really enjoyed my time in Macedonia. As I’ve been traveling, I have been keeping a mental list of countries that I wouldn’t mind living in. Don’t ask me what the criteria are because there aren’t any other than a general impression. Macedonia makes the list (along with Singapore), but I would of course prefer the former if for nothing else than Singapore is really hot all the time.

               Since we had to book a plane ticket last minute from China, we ended up flying into the capital of Bulgaria instead of Skopje. On the flight, they handed out sandwiches. After eyeing mine with a suspicious look, I decided it couldn’t hurt that much and downed it. No negative reaction. They had also handed me a piece of chocolate that was just begging to be tried. I could almost hear it calling, “You’re feeling better now and haven’t had anything sweet in weeks. What harm could I do?” A lot. I didn’t immediately regret my decision much like a child doesn’t immediately regret what he/she has done until the mother and father arrive on scene. However, on our bumpy decent down into Bulgaria, my stomach started to churn, and the acid reflux I had been fighting began to rebel. After landing, we headed for the baggage claim, and that’s when it hit me. The familiar feeling of nausea accompanied by the same feeling of regret previously said child would feel. Exiting out of baggage, you can imagine my mixed feelings when seeing Mom and Dad. In my mind, it was a “Hey! I’m so glad to see you guys again!” mixed with a “I just wanna not be conscious until this goes away.” Fortunately, over the course of our 4-hour drive back to Skopje, the feeling slowly resided. I like to joke that Macedonia healed me. It was as if crossing the border just lifted my symptoms right out of me. And by dinner, I ate a full portion of food (which I think had been a first in over 3 weeks.)

               I’ve loved being able to experience the places of all of Hannah’s childhood memories. It’s always great for my mind to have a picture along with a story. Tell me a story in an unfamiliar setting, and I’ll forget it. Tell me a story where I can picture something, and it’s trapped in my mind. We even visited Hannah’s childhood apartment and found her name written on the wall outside the door. She claims she didn’t write it though. While walking through her old neighborhood, we met a world famous concert pianist on a walk with his kids. For those of you in Chicago, he will be playing at Ravinia with the Chicago Symphony on July 16^th of next year.

               They also took me to the sights of Macedonia. Granted, it was nothing quite as exquisite as the limestone cliffs of Thailand or the architecture of Singapore. But it did have its own charm. OK, maybe there were a few too many statues cluttering the city, but to a simple American, it’s not always a bad thing. We took a cable car up the mountain to overlook the city and countryside which was also pretty nice. We also visited a place called Matka. It reminded me a lot of the kind of scenery Hannah and I would see on our Korean hikes: lots of rocky mountains next to a river. The only difference being that we shared the trail with people that didn’t stare at us for being white. It’s nice to blend in and enjoy nature. I almost feel camouflaged here in Europe. No one seems to notice me behind my white skin.

               One of the many highlights of this trip was the food; for several reasons. First, I hadn’t actually eaten anything with taste since about September 5^th. (I am of course discounting the chocolate on the plane.) When stuck to a diet of blah for that long, just about anything will taste heavenly. Second, the food is actually quite amazing. Whose mouth wouldn’t water with the whispering drifts of cheese filled chicken wrapped in bacon? With a side of freshly baked and seasoned bread? With a pepper paste and cheese? And with drinkable yogurt to wash it all down? OK, well maybe those of the lactose intolerant persuasion wouldn’t find it the most enjoyable, but I was digging in for sure. Up until Macedonia, I had lost roughly 17 pounds from my mystery disease, and I think I gained a good 5-6 pounds of it back in the week I was there. Now Hannah and I can crave Macedonian food together throughout the rest of our lives. I feel her pain.

               The week flew by the quickest in our vacation so far. I really wish that we had more time to spend there with friends and family, but things are what they are. Onwards and upwards as they say to one of the most beautiful cities in the world: Prague.