I'm here in Skopje for my last night in Macedonia. I was supposed to leave today for Belgrad but people here twisted my arm to stay for International Dinner night...and I'm not one to pass up food :)
While in Macedonia, I've had the chance to only visit Skopje and Ohrid. Patty took me around Skopje when I arrived. Its quite a small city and not much in the way of tourist sights. Nonetheless I've enjoyed my time here. Its been good just to relax a bit. Now I'm understanding how traveling can wear people out. You go from one place to another and you're always doing something. It's almost like I feel guilty for taking a break during traveling knowing that I should be out seeing or doing something as this could be the only time I come to this place.
I spent 2 days in Ohrid. Its west of Skopje - 174km to be exact as I was told
. Its a very nice city and reminded me of the coast of Croatia. They have a lake there and the city is designed similar to the Croatian coastal cities.
DisappointmentWhile my year spent in Croatia was an intense development experience I can't help but leave feeling a little disappointed. One of the goals I wanted to achieve was to learn the language. I put in effort at the beginning but was nowhere near as consistent as I needed to be in order to accomplish it. Setting this goal and not achieving it has lead me to think about the real reasons behind it. As I see it, my failure consists of not connecting this goal to the vision for myself. I've spent some time re-reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" in order to help with this.
Still, I believe setting this goal and not achieving it will help with future goals that I set as I'll be able to better commit to them and see them through.
PicturesI haven't been able to post any pictures yet since I haven't had access to fast enough internet. I'll probably have to wait until I get back to Zagreb or to Poland.
On the road again...Tomorrow morning I'll be heading to Belgrad for a couple days. I'm looking forward to seeing this city. Most people say its one of the must see places in this region. Also it will be interesting for me to compare and contrast it with the other countries and cities in the former Yugoslavia. After Belgrade I'm heading to Romania where I'll be spending some time with my good friend
Sebi. Romania will be followed by a brief stop back to Croatia to pick up my luggage and hopefully see Vukovar (and possibly Osijek again). Then its off to Budapest to see the city and Ines and afterward my final stop, Warsaw!
