Recently we had an exciting online session with an International school in Thailand!
Technology allows us to talk with them like we are sitting in one room even though we are 8,000km away.
We had a session with 2 students who decorated their classroom with Macedonian flags.
The ambient was set just show their enthusiasm towards the Macedonian lifestyle, culture, and landmark knowledge.
The students of the International School of Trinity in Thailand started the interview just like everyone starts their day – with breakfast.
“What do Macedonians eat for breakfast?”
There was no common answer to this question, it is a tradition for the older generations becoming a habit for younger generations that coffee or Turkish tea is the main course for breakfast.
This generalisation of the whole Macedonian population is a cultural cliche – coffee and gossip.
Usually, it is not until after work that people go out for lunch and it is mostly to socialize.
Socialisation is a big part of Macedonian culture, so people often use that as an “excuse” to drink coffee, and to have lunch. It was a surprise for the Thai students, due to the fact that breakfast is a big part of their day unlike ours.
So yes! It is “not very common everyday”
“What is the most famous place in Macedonia?”
In Skopje, it is definitely the majestic city center because there is an impressive culture clash that is divided by a bridge.
On one side of the bridge, there are historical monuments that explain the history of Yugoslavia and how North Macedonia gained its independence.
On the other side there is the Old Bazaar where traditional food, and culture prevails through drinks, restaurants, music, and traditional wear. Both areas are there as a way to show the culture and history but the emphasis is really put on the fact that we “communicate through food”.
Even though the “main landmarks are in Skopje” every other city has some type of landmark that is specific to that city, its development, and some type of accomplishment.
Ohrid with its beautiful landscapes, and beaches is inscribed on the World Heritage List., Kochani has…..
General questions were followed by sports topic.
Sports and sport fans are very prominent in the society but we have our own local teams that we cheer for.
Handball and basketball are the most famous sports that we cheer for here and from time to time when it is a football season we have huge celebrations.
“ Mainly the male population is fond of sport games.”
It is because the “competition was high”.
Basketball was played and introduced mainly when Yugoslavia was intact after that it just became a habit to play it, and watching it was motivational and inspirational.
We moved through questions quietly and swiftly, as our next topic was music.
In Macedonia, we do have national music that is played at weddings and at restaurants where traditional food is served.
The folklore music is mostly played by the individuals Aleksandar Sarievski, Jonče Hristovski, and Dobri Stavrevski.
Going into pop music, Tose Proevski was one of the most infamous artists who unfortunately died from a car accident.
In times of Yugoslavia there was a mixture of music of all different forms, however when it was separated the artists from their homelands started making their unique local music.
“We love socializing” and that is what we do in our free time here in Macedonia.
We find the ways to socialize whether it’s through drinking coffee, playing different card games, or playing sports as we have so many cafes, board game places, and sport bars all over the city.
Teenagers have now found ways to expose themselves to different cultures and have also set up invites such as art openings and schools where cultures are taught.
However “coffee and conversation is the main way to go” whether you are sitting at the cafe or on a park bench. As long as there is coffee there will be a lot of socializing and conversation. For the Thai students, this sounded “really chill and relaxing”.
To conclude the conversation the interviewers asked about interesting facts about Macedonia and one of the facts that I thought would interest them among others is that the public high schools work only for 6 hours every day that means students study for up to 6 hours daily and the rest of time y is up to them to fill with activities and to explore hobbies that they believe would be interesting to them.
Other interesting facts included:
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- Mother Theresa of Calcutta was born in Skopje.
- Ohrid Lake is the oldest and one of the deepest lakes in Europe. It is estimated to be around 4 million years old.
- Macedonia is the only country that gained independence from Yugoslavia without shedding any blood. It remained totally at peace during the Yugoslav War in the early 1990s.
We can not discover everything about our Macedonia here.
If you are interested, just drop us a line to explore such a unique country full of anecdotes!