20 days out

Update

T-minus 20 days! So, as I mentioned before, my cohort's staging will be in Washington, D.C. on 9/21 -- and the days are flying by! I've snagged some temp work for a bit in addition to my coffee gig, so 4/5 of my weekdays are pulling doubles, though a colleague is interested in snagging some of my shifts. I realize as the days pass and my departure date sneaks closer, I'll probably appreciate a bit of a breather beyond the weekends.

In the meantime, here are some more miscellaneous things about Macedonia! 

Countdown! Miscellaneous Macedonian Things

1. Language: In whittling down the list of minority languages in Macedonia, we've hit some more that I've studied over the years: Bosnian and Serbian. When what many knew as Yugoslavia existed, it was actually a federation of multiple republics: Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro; it went by the official name of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The official language of the country as a whole was typically referred to by many as Serbo-Croatian; it was also the official language in the individual republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. As the federation began to dissolve in the early 1990s and its member republics declared their independence, we saw the establishment of the republics of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia (comprised of Serbia and Montenegro, the latter which later gained independence in 2006).
   
   With each of these countries then being separate, what to call a language? To better reflect the current political reality, many refer to the languages as specific to the country - Croatian, Bosnian, or Serbian. While the linguistic debate goes on to this day, it is worth noting that each of the languages are mutually intelligible. An example that I personally use to describe the differences to people is that it's like English spoken across different countries where English is the official language: there are dialectic differences, vocabulary differences, and some other nuances. Across Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, an additional difference includes alphabet - Serbian typically uses the Cyrillic alphabet (like Macedonian does), but understanding and usage of the Latin script (as in Croatia and Bosnia) is not uncommon on multiple levels.
2. History: So why are there communities in Macedonia that speak Serbian and Bosnian? I found this quite interesting, myself. Serbs in Macedonia seem to either have roots in historical Serbian communities in the Balkans (a la Wikipedia, "based on medieval populations," as part of the Balkans was historically under the medieval Kingdom of Serbia), or later relocated or migrated to Macedonia. The same seems to stand true for Bosniaks in Macedonia, with some communities having historical and more recent roots.
3. Music in Macedonia: While I'm not necessarily familiar offhand with any Serbian or Bosnian artists from Macedonia, I can at least share some Bosnian and Serbian music that I know! Željko Joksimović is a Serbian singer whom I have liked for years, and Hari Mata Hari is the first Bosnian singer I ever listened to - and I've had the chance to see him in concert, too!
   
   
   
   
   
4. Geography: Relatedly, Serbs in Macedonia seem to be mostly along the northern border (near where Macedonia meets Serbia), although there seem to be notable communities in some parts of the country's southeast. For Bosniaks, most tend to reside in and around the capitol of Skopje, though there are a couple of regions in central Macedonia where there are Bosnian communities as well.
5. Nature: Matka Canyon is one of the many natural wonders in Macedonia, drawing tourists from all over the country for its natural beauty. The link included has some amazing pictures, one of which is included here. I know that I definitely hope to visit! 

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
6. Food: In perusing some of the links that Peace Corps Macedonia shared with us about Macedonia, I came across this really interesting one that is all about food! In particular, the concept of 'slow food' (as opposed to fast food, with which most all of us are familiar). Particularly interesting and exciting was seeing how Macedonian chefs and foodies are looking to bring a focus to Macedonian and Balkan traditions, highlighting the foods with which they are familiar, as well as preserving and passing on those dishes and traditions. I've had some things, some of which I've mentioned in previous posts, but there are a number of things I'm excited to try!