Pay it forward, backward and everywhere

For some reason, people here say Ciao for goodbye. In fact, Skopje is not too far from Italy. Today, my staff (Biljana and Jelena) and I lunched down by the river (about 2 minutes from the office). I ordered spinaci (Italian for spinach pizza). It was almost as good as pizza in Brooklyn and a relief from what I do not consider to actually be pizza (anything ordered in Minnesota!).

A recent campaign to upgrade the city, known as Skopje 2014, has resulted in a massive number of outsized monuments scattered throughout downtown. Jelena (She is actually Serbian and, therefore, is neither Elena or Helena but Jelena) - finds the new monuments mimicking old-style arches and statutes to be nothing more or less than kitsch- and, there is no one in Skopje, apparently who can explain why a choice was made to erect fakey looking fake monuments and statutes - not just a few but everywhere.

Skopjians have high confidence in foreigners. Upon buying a book to begin learning Macedonian, the salesgirl assured me she expected to chat in Macedonian with me the next time I came by.

Jelena's last name ends with a k but be cautioned - it is a placeholder for a sort of a ch type sound that does not exist in Macedonian and for which there is no equivalent letter. Biljana and Jelena tried several times pronouncing the different ch sounds to see if I could hear the difference and of course I could not.

After getting lost within the five blocks from my office to my hotel returning home (in fairness to me - IN THE DARK), I stopped to get a water and then at the falafel shop next door to my hotel. The falafelers did not speak English but a wide sweep of the arm towards the door allows them to fully understand that you want yours "to go." The falafelers do not like big bills - a 1000 denar (44 denar to the dollar). They would not accept it. After scraping through all the denars I possessed I showed them
I was short some denars. They indicated that was fine and I could have my dinner for however much money I possessed. Retuning to my hotel, I stopped in the lobby to see if they could give me change and explained I had to short the next door felafelers. The lobby person went to see if she had change and came back and said she could not change the bill either. She insisted I simply take the amount I owed the felafelers. I took it, went back to the felafelers. They were so genuinely joyful and surprised I had returned with money. They should have replaced Hillary Clinton with me.

Back in the hotel, in my room I found the amount the lobby person had given me and went down to give her back the money. She was genuinely taken aback and refused to accept it. I guess I won't really carry any money anymore- I'll just run a tab in Skopje.

Somewhere between buying the water, trying to pay everyone back and going back to my room, I lost my water. Back to the hotel minibar- the beverage dispenser of last resort.

 

 

Biljana and Jelena

 

 

My street at night with Alexander the Great statue at the end

 

My street (Seats out on the street on the right side belong to the felafelers)