Macedonia

In 1991, an exchange student from Macedonia stayed with my family for one year. The student, Ljupco, and I attended many of the same high school classes, and became brothers. It was another 7 years before I was able to visit his family at his their home in Skopje. Jeanie (my wife) and I had a great time during that 1998 visit, and we learned a lot about this ambitious country of two million people. Best of all, I learned that besides my Macedonian brother Ljupco, I had a Macedonian mother, Milka, and sister, Bube.

In 2001 we prepared to return to Macedonia, but a short-lived civil war there scuttled our plans. In 2006, we finally returned to Skopje, for Ljupco's wedding. We had some extra time, and explored the city a little more than before; and this time, we had a digital camera.

I always enjoy the time I spend with Ljupco and his family. Touring Skopje, Ohrid and the Macedonian countryside is rewarding, due to the country's rich history and mountainous terrain. It is difficult to capture my favorite parts with a camera -- fresh and traditional Macedonian foods don't taste as good through a lense, and my Macedonian family's hospitality defies film and description. I've met many wonderful people in Skopje, but that doesn't come through well in pictures, either. So I've simply included photos below that make me happy when I reminisce about my 1998 and 2006 trips.

It may be tempting to think of Macedonia as a low-tech backwater in the Balkans, but this is wrong. I saw my first DEC Alpha there in 1998, and they were digitizing their phone network at this time. During our 2006 visit, we visited fx3x, a digital animation and postprocessing company in Skopje. fx3x has worked on many commercials, the first full-length digitally-animated Macedonian film, and movie effects. If you remember the "Invasion of the Fantanas" commercials in American movie theaters the summer of 2004, or have watched the Oscar-winning 2005 film "The Aviator", then you have seen some of fx3x's work. We also enjoyed the citywide WiFi network now in Skopje on this trip. Even if Macedonians were all sheep herders (they're not), they would at least have ubiquitous, fast internet connections.