Identities in North Macedonia
A Journey to the Balkans
Five hours after I turned in my badge at the White House, I boarded a flight with five friends to a country I never expected to visit: North Macedonia.
The star of our next edition of hometown adventures was Bobo (of Capital Bikeshare fame). Bobo grew up in Skopje – the capital of North Macedonia – before going to high school in Germany, college in the U.S., and starting at McKinsey D.C. the same day as me.
Skopje admittedly doesn’t top many travel lists. But when we couldn’t rely on online itineraries or tour guides, Bobo created his own schedule (read: learning curriculum) for us, centered around this question: “How does a city build its identity?” Equipped with a spreadsheet, a Macedonian-Albanian rap playlist, and an oversized van, we had everything we needed.
Over five days, we walked (literally) through two millennia of Skopje’s history. We saw Roman Skopje through ancient ruins, Byzantine Skopje in castles, Ottoman Skopje in street markets, Yugoslav Skopje in museums about independence, and modern Skopje everywhere else.
I had barely scratched the surface of Eastern European history before this trip, and still don’t know enough. But as Bobo patiently explained, the region’s evolving set of empires and nations means that a city’s identity can change drastically from one century to the next.
A city can be defined by the boundaries of a kingdom, such as when Skopje was part of the Ottoman Empire. Or it can be defined by its response to a tragedy, like in 1963 after a devastating earthquake destroyed 80% of the city.1 Or, a city can choose to claim its own identity, as the government has in the past decade by building new statues and buildings to connect themselves to the era of Alexander the Great.2
Our days were packed, but the nights were slow. Most evenings we would go to kafanas, cultural institutions for not just dinner but hours of socializing. With only a few weeks between work and school, relaxing was a priority for me, so kafanas fit my vibe perfectly. (The most mental energy I spent on this trip was trying to solve Mo’s ridiculous riddles.)
Before our trip, I wondered what a vegetarian would eat in North Macedonia. I shouldn’t have worried. During the week, we ate every type of cheese imaginable: goat cheese, sheep cheese, burrata, beaten cheese, etc. My family calls me a “cheese-e-tarian,” but a few days into the trip, I physically could not have more.
Bobo’s curriculum was about Skopje’s identity. But the more memorable experience was seeing the different layers of Bobo. Throughout the trip, we spent time with Bobo’s parents, cousins, and friends. We heard about his middle school gaming era and his failures in Balkan computer science competitions. We saw his neighborhood, his embarrassing childhood photos, and a letter from an upset ex-girlfriend. We learned how much he gives back to his community, and how much he means to them.
No matter how you meet your friends or how close you are, you probably only interact with a few of their dimensions. So when you get to peel back the layers of their identity, you appreciate them even more.
The same lesson was true in Jordan. Many of us had visited last year and didn’t think we’d be returning so soon, but our dear friends Dina and Jason were getting married.
At the wedding, Bobo and I co-gave a speech for Jason, joking about how much he’s changed because of Dina, but celebrating how much they love each other. As we watched their first dance, I reflected on how lucky I was to find such strong friendships from a job. They’ve made the past three years better than I could have imagined, and I’m grateful for all the journeys ahead.
Tomorrow, I start law school. As I mentioned in my last post, I have no idea what my writing cadence will be going forward. But as I find the next layer of my own identity, I’m excited to share it with you all soon :)
https://www.mrt.com.mk/en//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3316&Itemid=27
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/19/let-them-eat-alexander-the-great-statues-skopje-2014-macedonia-colorful-revolution/
Sidd this one made me tear up a bit :’)