I think these photos express it well. Macedonia is a land of contradictions. In two photos you have a shopping mall that has been built in the last two years. New, beautiful, air conditioned with Diesel, Lacoste etc. but who in the hell can afford it? The prices are as expensive as it is in the states and yet the average monthly income in Macedonia is $300. They even charged $2.00 to park for an hour at the shopping mall. This is a country that has left socialism but still struggles with how it is to embrace capitalism. A system set up to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. There is almost no middle class and those that technically are classified as such could spend their entire lives just getting by. There is no hope of an "American dream" here. As normal as it is to see such places as this mall just a few feet away the other extreme stares you in the face.