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Exploring Macedonia, discovering myself
Exactly one year ago, I gave all the documents to the Macedonian embassy in Poland and was waiting to receive temporary residence to go to Macedonia. I felt contradictory emotions about moving abroad for one year and volunteering at Volunteers Centre Skopje (VCS). On one hand, I felt excited to change my life, meet new…
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Leaving city life for a peaceful one
On the 1st of May, I discovered a new side of Macedonia—the Macedonian countryside. With my Macedonian friends, we decided to celebrate the Labour Day in the best way we could. BARBECUE! They invited me to Celopek, a little village not far from the Serbian border. The beginning of the day was similar to how…
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The first home I chose
If you told me five years ago that I’ll live in the Balkans for a year, I would probably assume you’re joking. Not only Balkans, but Macedonia out of all places – a country I never really heard much about, maybe apart from the characteristic red flag with yellow sun and location on the map…
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Perfecting Imperfection
When I picked up my first Jane Austen book, I was unsuspecting of what I was getting myself into. To set the scene, I was a clueless eighth-grader that discovered English 19th century literature after picking up “Jane Eyre” by chance in the children’s library two years prior. So, little did I understand of the…
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VOICES June 2025
Hope is a dandelion – and a dandelion is it. The story of everything takes its course with the smallest, tiny-tiniest seed of it getting carried and carried away by the early summer breeze. Despite its completely inconspicuous looks, the slender seed possesses a secret super-power: It can take a hold even in the most…
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Between Dream and Reality: The Link between Psychological Conditions and Sleep Disorders
In the fast-paced world of modern life, many people are increasingly faced with sleep-related problems, unaware of the profound impact that poor sleep has on their physical and mental health. Sleep quality is closely linked to the occurrence and development of psychosomatic disorders — conditions where psychological distress is directly manifested through physical symptoms. But…
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Be the change
“Change is the only constant in life” – this bit of ancient wisdom, which can just as easily be found on a motivational pinboard as in a philosophy textbook, bears some fundamental truths about the essentiality of change in life. In fact, it is not only the case that each individual life is shaped by…
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GOing into a GREEN future
Interview with Angela Zimbakova the Youth Erasmus Coordinator and Assistant of GoGreen This month I visited the GoGreen office in Skopje and talked with their Youth Erasmus coordinator and assistant Angela to learn more about their NGO Can you briefly introduce GoGreen and your main mission? GoGreen is a non-profit organisation. Its mission is to…
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Message to Her
Makedonijo, vecna Makedonijo Slowly,I must begin to say goodbye to you. Strong winds of your streets,the sun burning high in the sky, they allow me to finda quiet gratitude inside me. Gratitude for your people, whose hospitality is second to none, and which I came to love deeply. Gratitude for Romani songs, and melody from the towers of mosques, that woke…
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Hinduism inside the Caribbean
I’ve talked a lot about the Caribbean already and mentioned that Hinduism is the second-largest religion in this area. How is that possible? How does Hinduism appear in the Caribbean? During the second part of the XVIII century, the British and French brought South Asians to the Caribbean and the Mascarenes to replace enslaved Africans…
