It's a very small world

Today I started the day with trekking to the other side of the city via bus for Macedonian language lesson #2. You should be proud because this is only my third day here and already I can navigate the bus system--and I know more Macedonian words! This day was more laid back than any other which made me happy. I'm still struggling with jet lag and culture shock started to set in today, so having a not so eventful day was necessary.

The best part of the day was definitely this evening. Our friend Katie invited the girls and I to a cooking class at her church. The pastor's wife uses this cooking class as a ministry for teenage girls while teaching them how to cook traditional Macedonian food. This class was packed with new people. I was pleasantly surprised that almost everyone in that room spoke English. It was so much fun. They taught us how to make this pork/veal/rice filling wrapped and cooked in steamed leaves. My description hardly does this recipe justice but it was the best thing I've tasted so far--and Macedonians can make some really good food.

The most interesting part was when a church group from Arizona piled into our little venue to eat with us. Apparently they are here for a month long missions trip working in Old Town which is where the very poor Albanian population lives. They are staying at this evangelical church for a couple weeks. There were more Americans at dinner than there Macedonians! I got to meet some great people who are very on-fire for Christ. After dinner, we had a short worship service (cooking and socializing took much longer than anticipated) with the mission trip people, the Macedonians, and our group.

The mission trip people went some where--they kind of disappeared after worship leaving us talking with our new Macedonian friends. This youth group was for high schoolers but several college-aged students help out with it. A group of 19 of us walked down to the main square of Skopje for icecream. Then we went to the center where there is this huge fountain with lights and shooting water. A massive statue of Alexander the Great riding a very muscular horse is erected on top. We sat on these stairs overlooking the river that divides the Albanian and Macedonian sides just talking and getting to know one another.

We couldn't believe and they couldn't believe that's we've only been here for 3 days. I feel like I've know these people for so much longer. I enjoyed wandering through the city with them..and I'm really glad they were there because I got all turned around and would definitely have been lost had it not been for them. I'm looking forward to becoming good friends with them.