Join the new world

Never have I felt so lost as that time when I first arrived in Skopje. After my stay in Beograd I got quite accustomed to that city. But all that was over now. It was Macedonia's turn, or in other words my start of the one month adventure here aiming to achieve, well, honestly saying - nothing. At least I had no expectations nor goals what to achieve once being here. One thing was clear though. It took me by surprise. And the way people behave, and how I am perceived by others.

Having a huge backpack, having no knowledge of Skopje. It's hard to get along.

But I got along. Somehow. My survival instincts kicked in. I am not an old guy. People are surprised what I am doing in a country like Macedonia by myself. I tell them simply I can and I did. That is why I am here. That is why I am behind this keyboard in Skopje writing this damn article after having drank some beer with my friends.

Me arriving at the train station in Skopje. The magnificently grandiose pose of the train stops. I unboard the traveling hell and head downstairs. To unknown parts of Skopje. You even have to pay for the bathroom. It gave me a bad impression.

A wanderer had just seen the lights of a whole new city. He just had his first contact with a culture that a month later he would begin to respect and consider like his own. But at start, being a nobody to locals, enables you to be anyone. And I fully enrolled into that role of a foreigner. I even liked it. Although visually I could easily blend into Macedonian people with one single, huge weakness. I cannot speak Macedonian and it is hard to understand the language that they speak here.

With gentle, cautious steps I was walking into a life that would soon open my eyes. I had just spent two days in Serbia's capital and the echo of that life was still upon me. Now Macedonia was here, and Macedonian life. And Macedonians. And me. And nobody to tell me what to do.

I was like Robinson Crusoe stranded on a lonely island writing my thoughts to myself. The fun part was: what was happening outside my body posture might not have been interesting, the interesting part took inside of me. How I comprehended people. I quietly giggled being released like a bird into the vast openness of the Balkans.

I had only one contact in Skopje when I departed Ljubljana a few days before. The girl was late. It kind of suited of me. I was making small big steps into the big, miniature city that soon turned out to be my second home. My second eye opener, my second everything.

I just walked. I explored - and I was bad at it. I headed into the wrong direction from the main bus station. I am a tramp. And I acted like one.

My backpack was huge and it bothered me as the back suffered quite a lot. After some time of walking around cluelessly I simply stopped. I decided to give that girl one more call to tell her that if she has time now, she should meet me in front of the bus station. Previously she said she had some choirs to do related to her family, the nonsense things you mustn't do while being away from your home country traveling into the wide unknown.

After 30 minutes of waiting, I was finally ready to ... find out which direction to head to ... to get to the city center.

Or, well, get even more lost and gaze and the huge statues that will soon fill the blank pages of my colorful eye balls.

A few minutes later I finally saw her arriving. She seemed a bit shy and insecure, yet very friendly. With her mild voice she said hi to me. She sounded a bit funny as she had this cold and her voice was tremendously silly. One can say it represented her in some sense.

Later on that day my thesis was confirmed.

...

While we were walking to the city center, the goal was to find a hostel. Once we reached the inner city center, she was quite bad at it. Luckily enough I made some lists of hostels in which I could stay before departing from Slovenia. Oddly enough it turned out to be quite useful. She turned out to be attractively useless. The fun thing is: she lives in Skopje and I can tease her how her knowledge of her home town is beyond amazing.

But needless I mention, exploring cities which are not familiar to you is much better than letting others spoil the fun of discovering. And for that I was grateful.

From what I remember, what followed that day was some cocktails and me being, well, Slovenian enough for people to see it. From being a serious chap I turned into a wacko. And all that it took were just a few cocktails to breach the wall of my interior nature.

While she, well, still plain silly.

One month later ...

I have been to all parts of Macedonia. Stayed in amazing, horrible, fun and not so fun places. Seen life.

I noticed that the only thing that stays the same is you. Your nature. People change, the culture changes. Their way of perceiving you. They take these peculiar roles in life and you are here trying to uncover what they are trying to tell you. My life has always been a mystery. It keep being a mystery here, but it has some hidden enchanted magic to it. Being in unknown places. Being lost and not found. Hopelessly out of reach of people in Slovenia. Wandering around places that others might not want to visit.

I feel oddly special. People make you feel special, although I always need to some time to warm up for people. To open up, to make them feel my warmness.

My plan at start was to stay in the Balkans for around 10 days. I stayed much longer. One might say too long. But the things that you might begin to hate when you stay in the same place for too long are the things you will end up missing. Or so I tell myself and ponder and dream and seek.

I don't know. I seriously never knew. Nor will I ever know what in the world drove me to this crazy action, beside reading Kerouac, to enlist on this trip of revelation. The only thing missing is a car. And thoughts of freedom and an endless road and some substances that might make my dreams come alive in the times of everlasting pondering when in the near future I will write articles while traveling all by myself or by my friends in the Balkans across the roads of Europe.

The joy that shall fill me will be comparable to me first meeting new friends that will in the future change my life. As I promise myself, Macedonia will always stay in my memory and will never be forgotten. For I shall sometime return here after my traveling story ends. And once more reveal the beauty that is still hidden within this country.

Now ...

While I gently "tick tack" on this black keyboard ... left to me is a friendly chap wearing his glasses, elegantly chewing his hamburger. He was the one that invited me to stay at his place.

Without ever properly knowing, he said his home is always welcome for foreigners that visit Skopje. And imagine the surprise that filled my face and how overjoyed I was with the hospitality being offered here in Skopje. One can easily get the feeling that this is the land of lunatics. Good lunatics. Inspiring ones without any doubt.

While I am close to finishing my article, the one hosting me sarcastically says how short this article is getting and adds that he has read the majority of them. And may he see, may he learn that writing is pure beauty when in company of sincere people.

Life is beautiful if one knows where to look.