My recent trip to Macedonia

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  • Tomche Makedonche
    Senior Member
    • Oct 2011
    • 1123

    #31
    Originally posted by Phoenix View Post
    I'd prefer to battle to establish a beachhead before launching further action elsewhere...
    In the spirit of the immortal words from the little Old El'Paso girl "why can't we do both?"

    But you are right, my apologies Gocka for my part in diverting from the original topic, if you have any further stories to tell about your recent trip, please do

    (same goes with anyone else who has recently returned and would like to share their experiences)
    “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you’ve got to make it stop, and you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all” - Mario Savio

    Comment

    • Phoenix
      Senior Member
      • Dec 2008
      • 4671

      #32
      Originally posted by Tomche Makedonche View Post
      In the spirit of the immortal words from the little Old El'Paso girl "why can't we do both?"

      But you are right, my apologies Gocka for my part in diverting from the original topic, if you have any further stories to tell about your recent trip, please do

      (same goes with anyone else who has recently returned and would like to share their experiences)
      Sorry TM, hope you haven't taken what I wrote the wrong way...I hear what you're saying...I just find it really frustrating when visits to the occupied territories come up and we know that most of those people (inhabitants and some visitors) are Macedonian but they'll do everything they can to conceal it...unless they start making an effort to help themselves, I think they're largely a write-off...unfortunately, the Macedonian's in the Republic are on the same well trodden goat path to cultural oblivion.
      Last edited by Phoenix; 12-11-2017, 08:26 PM.

      Comment

      • Tomche Makedonche
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2011
        • 1123

        #33
        Originally posted by Phoenix View Post
        Sorry TM, hope you haven't taken what I wrote the wrong way...I hear what you're saying...I just find it really frustrating when visits to the occupied territories come up and we know that most of those people (inhabitants and some visitors) are Macedonian but they'll do everything they can to conceal it...unless they start making an effort to help themselves, I think they're largely a write-off...unfortunately, the Macedonian's in the Republic are on the same well trodden goat path to cultural oblivion.
        Not at all Batska, totally understand and sympathise with where you're coming from, like a lot of things Macedonian, trying to find the "right" way to go about things is complicated, even when it really shouldn't be, personally I like to think that perhaps by discussing and sharing our views here together, we can get somewhat closer to achieving that goal together

        Placing that aside, I too have been enjoying Gocka's storytelling, and likewise am keen to hear more (if he has anymore to share, no pressure)
        Last edited by Tomche Makedonche; 12-11-2017, 08:58 PM.
        “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you’ve got to make it stop, and you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all” - Mario Savio

        Comment

        • Phoenix
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2008
          • 4671

          #34
          Originally posted by Tomche Makedonche View Post
          ...Placing that aside, I too have been enjoying Gocka's storytelling, and likewise am keen to hear more (if he has anymore to share, no pressure)
          ...Fark...it's like 'Days of our Lives' with Gocka, at his glacial pace of story telling, his four month vacation will be recounted over about four farkin' years...

          (no pressure)

          Comment

          • Gocka
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2012
            • 2306

            #35
            LMAO I am really long winded when I tell stories, so I really need to be in the right frame of mind. I had no intention of writing anything tonight but, I have to give the people what they want.

            Sorry Phoenix, I don't really have any stories relating to being an American because most people don't know where I'm from. I speak perfect selski Ohridski, I am not flashy despite what certain cunts might think. I drive a Yugo, and it doesn't have New Jersey plates. The only thing that gives me is the color white, my sneakers and teeth. No one wheres white sneakers because they get dirty too fast, and apparently Americans have really white teeth.

            I do have an interesting story about the educational system.

            I have a cousin who is a teacher at a high school in Ohrid (Grigor Prlichev). For those who don't know its considered the "prestigious" school in Ohrid where the important folks send their kids. So my cousins comes to me with a couple of situations in his classes.

            First there is Andrej Kalaj, some rich kid from some well known family with he Sir name Kalaj, apparently they are all well known doctors in the region. The kid is a complete douche, typical spoiled rich kid. He comes in late, talks back, doesn't do his work. So my cousin decides to give him a deserved 7 in one of his classes. The next day my cousin gets called into the administrators office and told point blank, you can't give Andrej Kalaj a 7. My cousin asks why, and is told that the kids family knows the mayor, and that you have to give him a 10. My cousin says okay, but he doesn't deserve a 10, he deserves a 7. My cousin argued that the kids parents, know that their son is a trouble maker, and urged him to be tough on him. The administrator says, I don't care you can't give him a 7 otherwise you are out of a job. Basically the parents never really made any demands or threats, but the people in charge are so worried to offend them that they preemptively make sure their kids all get perfect grades anyway.


            Same cousin another situation. He has a kid in his class, sadly I forgot his name. The kid would come to school all bruised up. Black eyes, and what not. Everyone knows the kid is getting beat up at home. So he goes to the school's psychologist, and pedagogue, to bring it to their attention and figure out what to do. They advise him that there is nothing they can do about it. He asks why, and is told that the kids dad, the one who beats him, is a well known associate of the local mob. Apparently this guy a couple of years ago punched one of the teachers out cold just because he bumped into his wife at a parent teacher conference. He also apparently has friends in the police and is effectively untouchable. My cousin pleads that one day he might beat the kids to death and that they would all be liable. They said, there is nothing we can do, we don't plan on being killed over it.

            I told him that he had a moral obligation to give the kid not a 7 but a 0, and also to report the child abuser to the police. I said a job is a job, how do you live with yourself knowing that the poor kid gets beat up everyday, and you just watch. He says " why should I be the martyr. No one does anything, the administrator, the psychologist the pedagogue, all the people who are responsible for this very type of problem, do nothing. What am I supposed to do, quit, get fired, get killed over it." I said, listen someone has to be the first, otherwise the same excuse applies to everyone, no one ever needs to act because why should they be the first.

            There you have it my friends, Macedonia and Macedonians in a nutshell. This is the side that people in the diaspora don't know intimately. Literally nothing, absolutely nothing in the country functions as it should. The institutions are rotten to the core. Even though a lot of people are aware of it, they are too cowardly to stand up against it. Everyone just plays their part in perpetuating it all.

            It was these types of events that really made my appreciate living in the USA. If I were in the same situation, I couldn't just look away, I would have to do something. I didn't learnt hat in Macedonia, I learned that in the USA. I see my family in Macedonia, I didn't get it from them. In the USA, people for the most part stand up against plane old everyday injustice, its inherent. In Macedonia everything is an open secret, everyone knows exactly who is doing what, it can all be picked apart overnight if there was a unified upheaval against it.

            Once corruption is out in the open, you know you live in a banana republic, when they don't even try to hide it. This is all happening in a city which is mostly Macedonian, small enough where people know each other, at one of the better schools. I can't even imagine what goes on in some smaller towns and villages with even less oversight and visibility.

            Comment

            • Gocka
              Senior Member
              • Dec 2012
              • 2306

              #36
              One more, short one.

              So I'm in Ohrid with the wife at Zito Leb getting some Burek, a daily occurrence. Its a bakery, you go to the counter get your fix and go. So we get our burek and sit down to eat. across from us there is a family, husband wife and two kids.

              The woman from this family, comes to her table all exasperated, and starts complaining to her husband. (in Skopski dialect) " Lele, sto bilo ova, trebalo da odis na kasa da platis i sam da si go doneses jadejneto, pa sto bilo ova. Pa ne moze, ne moze vaka. Kakov grad e ovaj da trebes sam da se sluzes" Then she turns towards the girl at the counter and yells "Pa dan sakate i tajnirite da gi mijeme"

              My wife, on whom my douchery seems to have wiped off on, says to the woman. "Aman mori, dosta mi piskas dur jadam, sto sakase za 30 denari, da dojdit i da te ranit" The woman says "Ova e stramota, ova e demek turistichki grad, a nemat kenler" my wife "Vo pekara si, ne si vo restoran, prodavet peciva" the woman "Ovaj grad e serajne, koga bevme u Grcija segde te sluzeja, zato nemate turisti" my wife "Ko prvo, imaj malku kultura, lujge jadet ovde a ti so zborvis, ko vtoro vo pravo si, nemame turisti, samo Skopjanista sto ni go gadet ezerovo, drug pat slobodno odisi vo Grcija, ili ako ne ti drzit dzebot namesto da idas ovde, odi butkajse u reku vo Skopje"

              Everyone started laughing at them, so they got all flustered and left. It was pretty funny. You see Ohridjani and Skopjani are like the Bloods and the Crips. BTW the bakeries in Greece don't serve you with a waiter either.

              That is what Skopjani act like while in Ohrid, but when they go to Greece they are perfect little angels. They pay fifty cents for a pastry and expect the red carpet. In Greece they are perfect little Serbs.

              Comment

              • Phoenix
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2008
                • 4671

                #37
                It seems that nothing changes in that place...how depressing.

                Keep 'em coming Gocka...

                Comment

                • Liberator of Makedonija
                  Senior Member
                  • Apr 2014
                  • 1595

                  #38
                  Thought this may be the best thread to bring this up:

                  Curious what the population of Macedonians are in many places in Aegean Macedonia. Lerin, Kostur and Voden are generally mentioned as the 'big three' who still retain strong Macedonian cultural and linguistic influence but what about other cities?

                  The city of Katerina across the bay from Solun for example. As far as I can tell, the Macedonian name for this city is just a transliteration of the Greek name (Katerini). Are there Macedonians there today? Was there a strong Macedonian population the past? Does anyone know anything about it?
                  I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                  Comment

                  • Pelagonija
                    Member
                    • Mar 2017
                    • 533

                    #39
                    Originally posted by Gocka View Post
                    LMAO I am really long winded when I tell stories, so I really need to be in the right frame of mind. I had no intention of writing anything tonight but, I have to give the people what they want.

                    Sorry Phoenix, I don't really have any stories relating to being an American because most people don't know where I'm from. I speak perfect selski Ohridski, I am not flashy despite what certain cunts might think. I drive a Yugo, and it doesn't have New Jersey plates. The only thing that gives me is the color white, my sneakers and teeth. No one wheres white sneakers because they get dirty too fast, and apparently Americans have really white teeth.

                    I do have an interesting story about the educational system.

                    I have a cousin who is a teacher at a high school in Ohrid (Grigor Prlichev). For those who don't know its considered the "prestigious" school in Ohrid where the important folks send their kids. So my cousins comes to me with a couple of situations in his classes.

                    First there is Andrej Kalaj, some rich kid from some well known family with he Sir name Kalaj, apparently they are all well known doctors in the region. The kid is a complete douche, typical spoiled rich kid. He comes in late, talks back, doesn't do his work. So my cousin decides to give him a deserved 7 in one of his classes. The next day my cousin gets called into the administrators office and told point blank, you can't give Andrej Kalaj a 7. My cousin asks why, and is told that the kids family knows the mayor, and that you have to give him a 10. My cousin says okay, but he doesn't deserve a 10, he deserves a 7. My cousin argued that the kids parents, know that their son is a trouble maker, and urged him to be tough on him. The administrator says, I don't care you can't give him a 7 otherwise you are out of a job. Basically the parents never really made any demands or threats, but the people in charge are so worried to offend them that they preemptively make sure their kids all get perfect grades anyway.


                    Same cousin another situation. He has a kid in his class, sadly I forgot his name. The kid would come to school all bruised up. Black eyes, and what not. Everyone knows the kid is getting beat up at home. So he goes to the school's psychologist, and pedagogue, to bring it to their attention and figure out what to do. They advise him that there is nothing they can do about it. He asks why, and is told that the kids dad, the one who beats him, is a well known associate of the local mob. Apparently this guy a couple of years ago punched one of the teachers out cold just because he bumped into his wife at a parent teacher conference. He also apparently has friends in the police and is effectively untouchable. My cousin pleads that one day he might beat the kids to death and that they would all be liable. They said, there is nothing we can do, we don't plan on being killed over it.

                    I told him that he had a moral obligation to give the kid not a 7 but a 0, and also to report the child abuser to the police. I said a job is a job, how do you live with yourself knowing that the poor kid gets beat up everyday, and you just watch. He says " why should I be the martyr. No one does anything, the administrator, the psychologist the pedagogue, all the people who are responsible for this very type of problem, do nothing. What am I supposed to do, quit, get fired, get killed over it." I said, listen someone has to be the first, otherwise the same excuse applies to everyone, no one ever needs to act because why should they be the first.

                    There you have it my friends, Macedonia and Macedonians in a nutshell. This is the side that people in the diaspora don't know intimately. Literally nothing, absolutely nothing in the country functions as it should. The institutions are rotten to the core. Even though a lot of people are aware of it, they are too cowardly to stand up against it. Everyone just plays their part in perpetuating it all.

                    It was these types of events that really made my appreciate living in the USA. If I were in the same situation, I couldn't just look away, I would have to do something. I didn't learnt hat in Macedonia, I learned that in the USA. I see my family in Macedonia, I didn't get it from them. In the USA, people for the most part stand up against plane old everyday injustice, its inherent. In Macedonia everything is an open secret, everyone knows exactly who is doing what, it can all be picked apart overnight if there was a unified upheaval against it.

                    Once corruption is out in the open, you know you live in a banana republic, when they don't even try to hide it. This is all happening in a city which is mostly Macedonian, small enough where people know each other, at one of the better schools. I can't even imagine what goes on in some smaller towns and villages with even less oversight and visibility.
                    Beh you still cut up about the Jersey plates hehe.. Zenska Eden..

                    Get over it.. take some Prozac or rakija.. anything..

                    Comment

                    • Amphipolis
                      Banned
                      • Aug 2014
                      • 1328

                      #40
                      Originally posted by Liberator of Makedonija View Post
                      Thought this may be the best thread to bring this up:

                      Curious what the population of Macedonians are in many places in Aegean Macedonia. Lerin, Kostur and Voden are generally mentioned as the 'big three' who still retain strong Macedonian cultural and linguistic influence but what about other cities?

                      The city of Katerina across the bay from Solun for example. As far as I can tell, the Macedonian name for this city is just a transliteration of the Greek name (Katerini). Are there Macedonians there today? Was there a strong Macedonian population the past? Does anyone know anything about it?
                      Read this (including pages before/after if you're interested)

                      Let us all add the information we have available about the Greek colonization of Aegean Macedonia since 1913. Here are some maps related to the largest influx of colonizers, the Christian Refugees from Turkey that arrived on Macedonian soil for the first time in 1923. They were what Greece needed to make Aegean Macedonia Greek

                      Comment

                      • Liberator of Makedonija
                        Senior Member
                        • Apr 2014
                        • 1595

                        #41
                        Originally posted by Amphipolis View Post
                        Read this (including pages before/after if you're interested)

                        http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum...terini&page=11
                        Ok according to this member, the Katerina region had a heavy Greek population. I don't fully doubt this but they didn't provide any of the sources they were mentioning and didn't go into any detail.
                        I know of two tragic histories in the world- that of Ireland, and that of Macedonia. Both of them have been deprived and tormented.

                        Comment

                        • Phoenix
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2008
                          • 4671

                          #42
                          Anything more to add Gocka...?

                          Comment

                          • Solun
                            Member
                            • Sep 2012
                            • 166

                            #43
                            Originally posted by Liberator of Makedonija View Post
                            Thought this may be the best thread to bring this up:

                            Curious what the population of Macedonians are in many places in Aegean Macedonia. Lerin, Kostur and Voden are generally mentioned as the 'big three' who still retain strong Macedonian cultural and linguistic influence but what about other cities?

                            The city of Katerina across the bay from Solun for example. As far as I can tell, the Macedonian name for this city is just a transliteration of the Greek name (Katerini). Are there Macedonians there today? Was there a strong Macedonian population the past? Does anyone know anything about it?
                            Draw a horizontal line on your map where you see Solun. North of it you would have found many more Greek speaking Priests than you would have found Greek speaking inhabitants

                            Comment

                            • Gocka
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2012
                              • 2306

                              #44
                              Originally posted by Phoenix View Post
                              Anything more to add Gocka...?
                              Oh god yes. I've been swamped lately. Anything specific you want me to touch on? A specific city, topic, just a story about interactions?

                              Comment

                              • Amphipolis
                                Banned
                                • Aug 2014
                                • 1328

                                #45
                                Originally posted by Liberator of Makedonija View Post
                                Ok according to this member, the Katerina region had a heavy Greek population. I don't fully doubt this but they didn't provide any of the sources they were mentioning and didn't go into any detail.
                                This is an extended discussion (in Greek) with people from Pieria about the exact topic. There was a small population in Aeginio (Libanovo) but that is debated there because the Bulgarian statistics totally omit Pieria. They were probably exchangeables with Bulgaria. (I'm busy and couldn't read much of it).



                                You can see a green pock in North Pieria in this pro-Serbian map.

                                Last edited by Amphipolis; 12-21-2017, 09:26 AM.

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