Some random thoughts on the first of February:
On the пазар/treg. I wish I could transport you all to the bazaar. Tuesday for centuries has been the day of the bazaar, and so it is yet in Gostivar. The bazaar is like a huge farmers market, with fresh fruits and vegetables. Just throw in clothes, household goods, tools, eggs, cheese, meat, honey, spices, household knick-knacks, and spread the booths over a half acre or so, and you have the bazaar. I love walking through it and soaking in all the sensory delights - the babble of different languages as people bargain, the colors of everything, the people hawking a variety of things in the aisles, the general mayhem going on everywhere. I need to take pictures but they would not do justice to everything that goes on. I go almost every week to buy my fruits and veggies and anything else that tickles me, and generally end up hauling home more than I had planned on. Sometimes I bargain, most times I'm just happy when the vendors understand me and I understand them! It is an adventure that always invigorates me.
On Peace Corps friends. I guess it is no surprise that people who join the Peace Corps are a special bunch. I have PC friends who are anywhere from 23 to 72. The majority are in their 20's, and it's such a pleasure to have them as friends. I must say I lose them when they talk about music and TV shows, but they are fun, energetic, and caring. It is also a special treat when I see my friends who are closer to my age, but none live in Gostivar, so it's a less frequent treat. In March I'll hopefully be going on a trip to Turkey with one of them, Lillian. I can hardly wait!
On water fountains in Gostivar: I want to do a photo album on nothing but water fountains in Gostivar. The ones in the United States are so boring, but each one in Gostivar is different and reflects its history. You can see Roman, Greek, Turkish, and who knows what other architectural influences on them. They seem to be ancient and I wonder if they're all attached to natural springs rather than the city water. I have to confess that I have not drunk any water out of them, but I have a feeling once summer rolls around they will be a favorite treat.
There is a holiday in Judaism that celebrates the beginning of sap rising in the trees. I suppose it's somewhat analogous to Ground Hog's Day, but somehow its marking of the beginning of the end of winter seems much sweeter and tied to the earth. In any event, it's February, and by the end of the month the smell of spring will be in the air. Everyone says Macedonia is exquisite in the spring, and I'll leave with that thought. May February find you happy and warm and feeling spring's breath. Прејатно!