cultural experiences
HOLI
H
OLIDAYS AWAY FROM
HOME
By Brittney Harmon - MAK 18
T
his was my first Christmas holiday away from
home. Previously, like most unmarried people
my age, I would trek back home from wherever I had
ended up in the preceding year to celebrate among
family and friends in a familiar environment, with good
wine, tons of food involving pork products, and snow
adventures. I knew that would not be happening this
year, because at some point you trek a bit too far
to return on a whim, the plane tickets become a bit
too dear or, as in my case, you don’t want to miss
out on seeing the way holidays are spent elsewhere,
and also you aren’t allowed to leave the country until
March 1st.
This year I celebrated Christmas twice. My first
Christmas was in Skopje, on what was Christmas
day in the United States, with the family of an old
friend whose relatives all happen to be Macedonian.
Knowing that I would be in Macedonia during a
holiday usually spent among family, my friend’s
mother planned an entire “American” Christmas
celebration for us (us being my friend Ivo visiting to
renew his work visa, my boyfriend Sean visiting to
see both Ivo and I, and the entire Andova family).
What I loved about this celebration was that, other
than it being on the day of American Christmas,
there was nothing very American about it. During the
beautifully arranged dinner, we ate ajvar, traditional
Macedonian breads, and any number of traditional
Macedonian foods. We drank great wine and talked
in a mix of Macedonian and English and listened
to hours of traditional Macedonian music. It was
wonderful, and just enough like Christmas back
home to assuage my homesickness, but different
enough for me to enjoy the novelty of the scene of
which I was a part. As Macedonian is not the primary
language I communicate with in Macedonia, I found
myself working hard to understand the conversation
and also doing my best to help my significant other
out when he had no idea what was going on. It was
a holiday I will never forget, and I look forward to
repeating the experience again next ye