A Stroll to Kocani

I decided yesterday to finally do something I've wanted to do since I arrived at site- walk to Kocani from Obleshevo. Up until the last week, the weather wasn't cooperating, but finally yesterday I had both the free time and beautiful spring-like weather to do it. It also helped that I wanted to go to Kocani to buy some essentials at the supermarket like muesli. Muesli is my daily breakfast food. While it is good on its own, the deliciousness increases exponentially with addition of dedo's homemade yogurt. It is like the Greek yogurt you can buy back in the US, only its not $6 for a 16oz container and it's homemade. Or as they say it here, it's domashno. In my experience (5 1/2 months down), with few exceptions, domashno is always better. Ok, enough digressions. So I was going on a walk to Kocani...

Here's the road to Dolni Podlog. It's a small village on the way to Kocani.

A creek off the side of the road.

A church and cemetery in the village of Dolni Podlog.

Over the duration of my walk, I ran into several people and said hello, though I'm sure they thought I was a bit weird. I tried to avoid taking pictures when people were in the vicinity, lest they think I was going to publish the photos in my next SITREP to the CIA headquarters. Or whatever they call it. Anyway, eventually I made way through Dolni Podlog and Gorni Podlog, and crossed the M5 highway and marched through a medium-sized industrial zone to take the back way into Kocani.

I think this guy is made of motor parts and is playing a cello.

At the end of the industrial zone, looking across to Plachkovica mountain.

Another purpose to my walk was to figure out the route I will take once I purchase a bike. Originally I planned to buy one in December, then it got cold and snowy, so I decided to wait until the spring. With a bike, a trip to Kocani is either 30 denari (one-way bus) or 150 denari (one-way taxi) cheaper while taking no more than around 20 minutes. So anyway, after walking for about an hour and 40 minutes, I made it to Kocani:

I managed to get the items I needed at the supermarket, and then walked towards the city centre in search of insoles for the new shoes I bought in Skopje (no luck). However, during my search, I stopped in a sports store called Orka and met the brother of my host mother's colleague at her school. We talked for a bit about America, and it made me think of something that Macedonians also thankfully enjoy:

Yep, I bought a basketball. There is a primary school directly across from my house in Obleshevo with two basketball hoops, so I think I'll be able to make good use of it. Maybe the 8th graders will let me join them in some games. With March Madness coming up soon back home, it's my way of showing solidarity with my alma mater, the Duke Blue Devils. You'll notice my basketball is also in Blue Devil colors. GTH, Carolina, GTH!

More photos of my walk are here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150566042364117.377521.525244116&type=1&l=9694b66ad1