It's a Wrap

Seven weeks down and after a penis confirmation, two baptisms, much chatting/translating and cups of Turkish coffee later I have returned home.

Thank God the return flight was much more uneventful than the one coming.

I contemplated kissing the ground when when arrived in the U.S. but wasn't too sure about being able to get back up.... but the thought was there. And I did get misty in the eyes when we passed our first Tar'get on the drive back home.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. I think Truman had her first case of being truly smitten. Which is all good by us since they are separated by an ocean and thousands of miles. (Though they are keeping Skype busy).

This trip was really a trip for the girls. Truman became inseparable best friends with her cousin Tea' and I think her eyes have definitely been opened to the world outside of Abingdon, Virginia. Riley, well, Riley was just spoiled. I doubt boredom ever entered her mind from the moment we arrived until the minute we left. She rekindled the special bond with her Macedonian grandparents after having not seen them for two years. The down side is for Riley is Mommy doesn't feed her on demand every two hours and doesn't hand feed her as she soon learned Baba would. I definitely see weight loss in her future. Both girls continue speaking Macedonian and I hope they can keep that up.

As for me, I'm still pregnant, just bigger.

I have an "expanded" appreciation for all things American. Much more so than I did when I was traveling through Europe in my 20's. I guess getting "older" also means I've gotten a little more pampered to such things as on demand hot water and central heat and air. But I also realize that we (Americans) just don't take the time to truly enjoy life... our families....even the day we have been given. Doing without "things" can bring on that realization pretty quick but then again what have Americans ever really done without?

We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful Macedonian family and the girls and I could not have been treated better or with more love any where else. They made our visit an experience we will never forget.

A special thanks goes out to my good friend, Amy McMurray, who's regular phone calls kept me linked with everything back home and was therefore responsible for my sanity abroad.

I must also express thanks to J.R. Ward, author of the Dark Lover series. I completed six of her books while abroad and they helped many long afternoons pass as I waited for the 100 degree temps to return to a bearable level for venturing out into the evening. The fact that they were awesome was an added bonus.

Waves of Welcome and Goodbye

I don't think I mentioned the fact that during my seven week stay in Macedonia I spent at least four of those weeks sitting on my ass! You see I had the "welcome to Macedonia" get togethers for me and the girls and then I had round two with "welcome to Macedonia Dejan" and then finally the "goodbye to Macedonia" sessions. And these aren't quick in and outs. Five to six hours is average. Macedonians have an amazing sense of hospitality and like I said, my ass can attest to that fact. But by week five I had learned to best thing for me was to chit chat as best I could for the first two hours and then being pregnant I was somewhat forgiven for finding a more comfortable place to sit, propping up my legs and reading a book. Dejan of course took things from there. And as you can see from the photos of one such evening..... he decided to include dancing in his repertoire.

More Probistep Photos

Probistep Photos

Visit With Family in Probistep

Mind you the last time I visited Probistep, eight years ago, I saw a man riding a donkey with his wife walking them as we were heading into town. So I really wasn't sure what to expect on this go round. What I did find was a cute, clean, close knit rural community probably comparable to some of the small towns we would find back home.

Obviously the main reason for the visit was to see Dejan's family. Two of his favorite cousins, Toni and Vladko, live in Probistep with their families. Toni is a career firefighter who was diagnosed with lung cancer a few months ago, so the visit was bittersweet.

There are so many photos I love from this visit and I guess a picture is worth a thousand words!

Celebrating Macedonian Style

As you might guess, a baptism is call for celebration and Baba and Biba were not to be outdone. Somehow in their small apartment we hosted at least 25 people that evening. Friends and family brought lovely gifts for the girls and the Macedonian music could have probably been heard throughout the entire building. I had to include photos of the food. For those who know me, please don't think I had some epiphany while over there and I will be cooking like this anytime soon. These photos are as close as you're going to get.

Orthodox Christianity

After several questions regarding the blog photos of the girls' baptism, it appears many of you are not familiar with the orthodox church; and really before this trip all I knew was that they had the priests with long beards and black robes. So I have found a fairly easy to understand explanation of the religion below for those of you who are interested.

FYI - We are heading back to the United States later tonight but I have many photos and information to share with you about Macedonia and the trip so stay tuned. And please pray this trip is much less dramatic than the first.

The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church[note 1] and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church,[note 2] is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number between 225 and 300 million members.[2] It is considered to have been established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago. The Church is composed of several self-governing ecclesial bodies, each geographically and nationally distinct but theologically unified. Each self-governing (or autocephalous) body, often but not always encompassing a nation, is shepherded by a synod of bishops whose duty, among other things, is to preserve and teach the Apostolic and patristic traditions and related Church practices. All Orthodox bishops trace their lineage back to the Apostles through the process of Apostolic Succession, in the same manner as the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and some other churches.
The Orthodox Church traces its development back through Byzantine and Roman empires, to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles. It clings tenaciously to its ancient traditions and practices, believing in growth without change (see below). In non-doctrinal matters the church had occasionally shared from local Greek, Slavic, and Middle Eastern traditions, among others, in turn shaping the cultural development of these nations.
Orthodox Christians believe that the ultimate goal of every Christian is to become like God, to love perfectly, to become “Little Christs” within Jesus Christ. This process is called theosis or deification.[3]
The Biblical text used by the Orthodox includes the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament. It includes the Deuterocanonical Books, which are generally rejected by Protestants, and a few texts that are not in the Western canon. Orthodox accept scripture as the inspired Word of God, believing scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit to its authors, speakers and editors. Orthodox Christians also utilize icons as focal points when venerating the Saints, in their daily worship while rejecting three-dimensional statuary. It should be fully understood that the icon is not venerated. But is a device to identify with the consciousness of the person represented therein. This is not idolatry, as the icon is used only as a means of identification of a God created person.

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Sveti Spas (Church of Salvation) in Skopje, Macedonia

If case you haven't already guessed Baba Ivana was the whirlwind behind the girls being baptized. However, I must admit after having visited several monasteries and churches over the last seven weeks I was intrigued by the idea. Macedonian culture, customs and history or so tied to Orthodox Christianity that it was something we could not leave without experiencing. You are talking centuries upon centuries of customs all topped off by the fact that their father, Dejan, was baptized in the exact same church as a baby.

As with everything else in Macedonia there was a list of procedures to follow and much preparation to do. It cost around $60 per child to have the baptism and then we also had to supply the church with a list of requested donations such as soap, towels and oil. Ok. Then we had to have a godmother and godfather for the girls. Of course, Baba calls upon her best friend, Ivana, who was also Dejan's godmother and her son, Igor, served as godfather. Igor's older brother, Ivica, had served as Dejan's godfather but he is now living in London so Igor took his place. As custom, they brought robes for the girls to be used during the baptism as well money.

It was ironic that on the way to the church Ivana was listening to her ipod and out of the 100 or so songs on it, she filled the car with the sound of her singing, Jesus Loves Me. The ceremony was lovely and there was no doubt the Lord's presence was felt in the room. Ivana wore a swimsuit rather than being nude. Truman was allowed jeans and a white t-shirt. I think we were all tense Ivana was going to burst out crying at the strangeness of the situation but she was a trooper - a true, stoic Macedonian. And you could tell Truman was moved by experience.

Sveti Spas is Baba Ivana's sister, Tica's church and the priest that did the ceremony, Goran, was a family friend, who had promised to try and be the one to perform the ceremony. Check. All just kept going on with seemingly divine intervention. The ceremony took around 30 minutes with the actual baptism taking place in a special room and concluding in the main church. (I also need to add this is the only time you can take photos of the inside of a church so I was thrilled). I obviously didn't understand the entire ceremony as it was in Macedonian. But generally it went down as the priest clearing any bad spirits from the girls, then blessing them in Christ. He took three small snips of their hair (which he gave us as a keepsake) to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They also lit incense as the priest took them around the room bowing at certain points to represent them going forth in their walk with Christ.

I was hoping to be baptized as well but being pregnant omitted me from that experience. I guess I will be doing so someday with our newest family member. While they usually do this as babies, I really liked having the girls older and hopefully they will both remember the experience. This was also a time I wished my family had been with us to experience such a wonderful event.

After experiencing the ceremony, Dejan and I were both moved to ask the priest for our own family saint to be chosen. Again, another Macedonian custom. Most families have their own saint and on the special day during the year your particular saint is celebrated, your family must also do the same.

Dejan and I had to go to the front of the church and the priest asked Dejan to open some special book to a random page three times. The priest told us two of the picks had been St. Mary (Sveta Bogorodica) and the other one was Sveti Nikola (yes, i.e. Santa Claus). Again, irony or better yet divine intervention abounded. Sveta Bogordica was celebrated by Dejan's father's family and Sveti Nikola is celebrated by Baba Tica's family. I had always thought Sveti Nikola would be cool as Ivana was born in December and the anticipated new family member is expected for December as well. But..... while traveling through all of these churches and monasteries over the last few weeks I was repeatedly drawn to St. Mary and even purchased two icons of her. So, St. Mary it was but I think we will always consider them both dear to our family.

I would without hesitation say this was one of the highlights our our trip to Macedonia. And I will even admit that once again, my mother-in-law was right.

Note: As with every "event" in Macedonia, it now means it must be followed by a celebration. Somehow we are going to host 30 plus people in Baba and Dedo's apartment tonight. God help me.

Sveti Naum Monestary (near Ohrid)

Sveti Naum (Macedonian: Свети Наум; English: St Naum) is an old Eastern Orthodox monastery in the Republic of Macedonia, named after the medieval Saint Naum. It is situated along Lake Ohrid, 29 km south of the city of Ohrid near the Albanian border. The monastery gets its name from the saint who founded it. The monastery was established in the year 905 by St Naum of Ohrid himself. St Naum is also buried in the church. A surface spring near the monastery feeds directly into Lake Ohrid.

St. Pantelejmon - Plaosnik (in Ohrid)

The monastery stands on a hill which is now known as Plaosnik (Macedonian: Плаошник) overlooking Lake Ohrid. Clement built his monastery on a restored church and a Roman basilica of five parts (the remains of the basilicas can still be seen outside the monastery). Judging by the architectural style and design of the monastery, researchers say that Saint Clement intended for his building to be a literary school for disciples, thus it is believed to be the first and oldest discontinued university in Europe.

Apart from the monastery's many reconstructions during the Ottoman empire, it has recently undergone extensive reconstruction and excavation. Reconstruction started on December 8, 2000 and the physical church was fully reconstructed by August 10, 2002. Most of Saint Clement's relics were returned to the church. A partially ruined bell tower was restored on the right side of the monastery and the floors of the interior of the church have been reconstructed with marble. Reconstruction was carried out by hand using materials used to build the original church in order to preserve the original spirituality of the monastery. Machines were only used to polish the interior during the reconstruction of the monastery.

The first excavations of the monastery were carried out in 1943 by Prof. Dimche Koco. Excavations inside the monastery have revealed underground tunnels and crypts. Further excavations have been planned to uncover more remains under the monastery, including more ruins of the Roman basilicas that stood there (the pillars outside the monastery support the idea of more remains).

On October 10, 2007, a depot of approximately 2,383 Venetian coins was discovered by archaeologists while excavating the monastery. A prominent archaeologist of the Republic of Macedonian, Pasko Kuzman, stated that the coins are of special significance because they indicate that Ohrid and Venice were commercially linked.

Macedonian Orthodox Christians gather at Plaosnik to celebrate Easter. As the monastery is the most sacred of all the churches in the Republic of Macedonia, thousands of Macedonian Orthodox Christians gather at Plaosnik during large religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas to celebrate and take part in the liturgies.

CITY OF OHRID

The ancient city of Ohrid, situated along the coast of the magnificent Lake Ohrid, is undoubtedly the most beautiful and most attractive Macedonian town, a pearl of old architecture and a treasury of valuable cultural and historical monuments. Located on the shores of Lake Ohrid, Ohrid could literally be called a city-museum - another typical mixture of the western and the oriental, a city with a special architecture, and modern, luxurious tourist facilities.

One should have heard of the long tradition in making the famous Ohrid pearl, as well. Ohrid is a town which has always been of interest to every visitor to Macedonia. Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe.

The ancient name of Ohrid was Lychnydos, based on an ancient stone inscription that was found that reported of King Philip's II take-over of the city in 353 BC; the earliest evidence of the current name of the town is from 879.

Ohrid is the highlight of any trip to Macedonia. Its uniqueness is endorsed by its UNESCO World Heritage status and it is said there's a church for every day of the year here.

(Enjoy the only photo of my pregnant self on this blog)

Ohrid Pearls

The Ohrid pearls are one of the trade marks of Ohrid , is very famous in Europe and all over the world. They are esteemed because of the natural origin and being hand made. Its production is an art and unique.

They are made out of a shells found in Lake Ohrid and are covered with an emulsion made out of the scales of the local fish called “ Plashica “.

LAKE OHRID

Lake Ohrid is the largest and most beautiful of Macedonia’s three tectonic lakes. Its astonishingly clean, clear waters together with the serene stillness of its mountain setting have captivated visitors since prehistoric times. The lake is enormous, at some 30 kilometers (18 miles) long and up to 288 meters (945 feet) deep.

Lake Ohrid, that came into being between four to ten million years ago, is Europe's oldest lake, and is amongst the oldest in the world.

With its unique flora and fauna characteristic of the tertiary period (2-4 million years ago), Ohrid is one of Europe’s great biological reserves. Most of the lake’s plant and animal species are endemic and unique to Ohrid. The most famous among these are two types of Ohrid Trout (letnica and belvica, in Macedonian). Other unique Ohrid creatures include two types of eel as well as the bleak, whose scales are used for making the well-known Ohrid pearl. This treasured jewel is produced according to a secret method passed down from generation to generation. Sport fishing attracts many passionate fishermen from Macedonia, Europe and the world.

Most of the Lake's water bulk comes from numerous surface and underground springs. That is the reason certain researchers consider it unique in the world. Most of the surface springs lie along the southern shore, near the monastery of St. Naum on the Macedonian side, and near the villages of Tusemiste and Starovo and the town of Pogradec in Albania.

Photos From Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) Monastery or Sv. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist)

Traveling to Ohrid

Normally the drive from Skopje to Ohrid takes around two hours but we took the scenic route to see more of the Macedonian countryside and two hours turned into almost six. Which of course included numerous potty breaks and even some alongside the road.

Truman got to experience traveling third world in style with a traffic jam out in the middle of no where. Everyone just got out of their cars and sat along the roadside for around 40 minutes until we could pass. (photo included)

Along the way we saw Mavrovo Lake and the monastery for St. Jovan Bigorski (a.k.a. St. John the Baptist). Truman tried to pull some fashion drama on me when she refused to wear the skirt provided by the monastery. Women cannot enter without a skirt and men without pants. They provided both for visitors. Getting her to agree to a photo took a few threats as well. I would hate to ruin her fashionista status back home but I think she looks pretty darn cute (smile).

Background information on the Monastary St. John Bigorski

Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) monastery is dedicated to Sv. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist). It is located on the road between Gostivar and Debar, in the beautiful valley of the river Radika among the villages of Rostushe, Velebrdo, Bitushe and Trebishta.

It is mentioned in the monastery files that the Monarch Jovan started building it in the year of 1020 and when the monastery was attacked by the Turks in the XVIth century, only a small church remained. The rebuilding of the Monastery has been started in 1743 by the jermonarch Ilarion who was the first Igumen at the "Bigorski monastery".

Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) is famous for its iconostasis the most beautiful one in our country. It is done in tiny woodcarving by the magical hands of Petre Filipov - Garkata from the village of Gari.

The monastery is also famous for the Icon of "Sv. Jovan Krstitel" (St. John the Baptist) which is believed has a mysterious power. The Icon was found by the monarch Jovan in the year of 1020, on the same place where the Monastery was built later on, and it was floating over the river Radika. In the XVIth century, under the Turkish ruler Selim II, Turks burned the Monastery and the Icon mysteriously disappeared and returned later, again un-harmed, to the same place.

The old mansions with the spacious wooden balconies and the dining room furnished with authentic furniture from the time of the construction, late XVIIth and early XlXth century, add to the monastery's ambient.