and a wedding

On Saturday I returned to Ohrid and got ready for a wedding I had been invited to. I was involved from 4pm Saturday till 3am Sunday, and I won’t attempt to describe all that happened at this Macedonian wedding, but I will provide some of the highlights in superlative form.

Most fun: the hours of circle dancing. At all events Macedonians stand in a circle, holding hands and do a dance which is something like 3 steps to the right, 2 steps to the left, repeat. A single dance can last 30 minutes and this will go on all night. But it really is fun!

Most horrifying: The ride home with three teenage girls and two small children, driving much to fast along the dark, winding road back to the city from the hotel. They were all singing and passing around a bottle of champagne. The girl driving passed someone through a tunnel, and was run off the road once. There were no seat belts to be found. Two of the girls were smoking and arguing with the third girl about whether or not they could smoke in the car. The front passenger was throwing huge pieces of litter out the windows every time she could. I asked to be let out as soon as we were in town and I felt safe walking.

Most interesting cultural exchange: With a Macedonian who had been living in Canada since he was two. He is not very found of Macedonia or Macedonians, and was not shy about telling me why. He was, however, found of telling me his theories on immigration policy, which seemed very restrictive for a first generation immigrant, interrupting, and staring down my shirt.

Biggest difference from American weddings: the casualness. Two days before the wedding when I asked what time things would start, they didn’t know. They guessed around 1:00 or 2:00 pm. When I asked afterwards how many people there were at the wedding, they said they weren’t sure, but maybe around 325. They had been expecting 400. When I asked if the couple would be going on a honeymoon, her best friends said they didn’t know. And so on and so on…

Most often heard: Na tvoata glava!! On your head!! It means may it happen to you also, in this case: may you also find a husband.

Most unusual complement: Imash yubavi zabovi! You have beautiful teeth! From an old baba, and every time she said it I would smile more and she would get all excited about my teeth again.