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Skopje youth scene #1
This time, I want to take you into the depths of the youth music scene in Skopje. I have the pleasure of introducing you to bands from two completely different sides of the scene. Lost In Reverie(post-hardcore/emo/metalcore/extreme noise) They don’t believe in genres. “It’s just bad music or good music. If it’s good, it’s good,…
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Poznań, the City of Goats and Croissants
Taking the last bite of a toast with caramel and banana, you move an empty coffee cup out of the way and get up to leave the café. After stepping outside, you look one last time at the sign above the door – Czarne Mleko (’Black milk’) – and feel the excitement of exploring a…
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Modernist Skopje narrated through cartography
Skopje’s architectural landscape is far from modest. It is no surprise that its location in the heart of the Balkans manifested a confluence of various timelines existing adjacent to one another. We can see towering prefabs next to Ottoman hammams and new neo-classical façades and statues lining the Vardar. Some call it ‘kitsch’ as the…
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In Macedonia don’t be a tourist…
…be a driver. Or better yet, a passenger princess like my friend who I drove around highways, narrow alleys, uphill serpentines and lawless town streets for five days. Because hidden gems of Macedonia are sometimes random stops along the road between set destinations. Coming to Macedonia, excluding Skopje, your first and possibly only stop is…
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Balancing the scales of life
Alone time vs. social time, overthinking vs. underthinking, and work vs. life… All these things require a certain balance in your life. In my view, life is a lot about finding balance: if it’s regarding spending time, thinking, features, or social interactions. For most people, none of the extremes work or are good for them.…
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Travelling alone, but never lonely
As I write this article, I’ve been living in Skopje, Macedonia, for 8 months. During this time, I started reflecting on how I ended up moving abroad alone without knowing anyone… It made me question whether traveling alone is really being alone? Since I have never been afraid to travel or do stuff by myself,…
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A full glass of optimism
Interview with Simona Soleva, psychology graduate 1. In general, optimism is defined either as the belief that in the end everything will be alright or as the conviction that there is always the possibility of positive change. Which one do you prefer? I think, in the core of these two beliefs lies the same thing.…
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Give voices to the cats!
Badem: Zdravo! My name is Бадем (Badem), which means almond in my native language. My favorite daytime activity is coming to the office for cuddles and expertly distracting volunteers. Whenever people try to work, I make sure they maintain a proper work/cat balance, because that is very important. I will nap on their lap for…
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Masked takeover of Strumica
Did you like going to carnivals as a child? Well, in Strumica you don’t have to be a child to do that. At the beginning of March, we had a chance to witness the 35th Jubilee Strumica Carnival in all its glory. As the presenter mentioned at the beginning of his speech, the Strumica carnival…
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Four months of volunteering, a lifetime of memories
The first four months of our six-month European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program in Aruba have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Marija and I, from Macedonia, Despina from Greece, and Pascal from Germany were welcomed with open arms by our hosting organization – CEDE Aruba. The four of us, along with other local and international volunteers, got…
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The art of critical thinking
Part one – Is this true? I have approximately 5 seconds to catch your attention, so I will go straight to the point—we live in a polarized society. People are angry about what is happening around the world and want to speak up. But we are drowning in an overwhelming amount of information. Everyone has…
