This Weekend: Brought to You by the Letter "S"

Author: Abbey /

S is for...


Sofia. I went there this weekend! And it was tons of fun! I went for some additional job training with another family there... who happens to be one of my favorite families! We went to the two-month orientation together. Can I just say that Sofia is way better than I thought it was? It's a beautiful city! I plan on visiting it much more in the next year and a half.

Shopping. I never was much of a shopper in the States, but we went to a four-story mall last night, and I couldn't get enough of it. I didn't buy much, but it was just fun to be in that atmosphere. We have malls in Skopje, too, but four stories? Great.

Superman. As in, Superman cape. As in, Ben wore a Superman cape to the mall.


Suspected Mafia. Yep. Really. I saw them.

Surly dogs. They attack people. Not as nice as the ones in Skopje. 

Starbucks. Twice.


Subway sandwich. Sweet onion chicken teriyaki. Also twice.

Super Mario Bros. 3. On Wii. And I beat the scary castle level! Andy, I didn't need you to play that level for me all those years, after all!

Sight-seeing. Cameron took the boys and me on a whirlwind tour.



Smiles. Duh. Because when you're with the Phillips, that's just what happens. :)

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Merry Christmas! [Again.]

Author: Abbey /

Awesome thing about living in Macedonia #97: Two Christmases. :)


That's right, I got to celebrate Christmas twice this year! Macedonians have a 3-day celebration for Christmas, but it's not quite as cool as it sounds. Dec. 5, I don't really know what all they do, but I do know that they light bonfires and sing really loudly in every neighborhood. Dec. 6, early in the morning, children ring doorbells and sing for the person at the door, expecting candy or money or walnuts in return. (Think Christmas-ified trick-or-treating.) Dec. 7, people usually go to a church service and spend the day with family.

So how did I celebrate Orthodox Christmas? Dec. 5, I walked by a bonfire and wondered what they were doing. Then, I went back to my apartment and wondered what in the world people were singing so loudly about. (Didn't find out about the Christmas traditions until the next day.) Dec. 6, I didn't answer my door because I didn't have anything to give the kids. Horrible, I know! And today, I totally immersed myself in Macedonian/Roma culture! I went to our church's Christmas service at 11. Afterwards, Gef (a teammate) and I went to a Roma home for a delicious Macedonian-style Christmas dinner of salad, baked chicken, chicken sausage (?), bread, baked peppers, and peppers in cottage cheese (better than it sounds). After spending about five hours at their home, I went to a Christmas party with other teammates. The party was with some Roma that come to a Bible study they lead. There were about 30 people there. I really enjoyed it! I met tons of new Roma people who are gracious when I tell them I don't speak Macedonian, and I got to hear some Christian songs in Romani. 

In short, today was: Slightly overwhelming. Completely awesome.

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Lessons Learned

Author: Abbey /

A few lessons learned so far during my time in Macedonia:


  1. The Macedonian alphabet song is waaay cooler than ours.
  2. Macedonians have a hard time saying "squirrel." It's funny to hear them try.
  3. There are tons of things America has that Macedonian doesn't. But. There are some things Macedonian has that America doesn't! Like stoplights that have a countdown so you know when it will be green; and magical kitchen appliances that boil your water for coffee in five seconds or less; and 3-in-1s that have coffee, milk, and sugar in them so you just have to add water.
  4. 2 Christmases = HAPPY
  5. Always say yes to burek. Always.
  6. The Skopje Zoo is quite possibly the very worst place to be an animal in captivity. Perhaps that's why the peacock tried to escape.
  7. Some squatty potties are okay. The one at the bus station in Prilep is not. Avoid at all cost.
  8. New Years is a big deal here. 12-hour parties two nights in a row is to be expected.
  9. Macedonia is a bad place to be if you don't like cucumbers.
  10. Take care when greeting someone in Macedonian. He/She will undoubtedly mistake you for a fluent speaker and begin babbling in Macedonian. No number of "Ne razbiram!"s will deter them.
  11. Coffee. Everywhere.
  12. White teeth make you stand out as American (see #11). Even if you are wearing skinny jeans.
Fly, peacock, fly!


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