After almost a week in Sarajevo, my next stop was Skopje and (f.Y.R.) Macedonia. It was nice to be back in Macedonia. I have noticed that going to a country that I already know is much easier than when I come to a country for the first time, because I don’t have to focus so much on the logistics and just finding my way around, the new currency, new ways of doing things, etc. We often meet more or less the same people in the government institutions also, so coming back means that I do not meet everyone for the first time. It is really nice!

In addition to my project team, the Macedonian football team was staying at our hotel. (They were impossible to miss since they for some mysterious reason constantly wore their team sweatshirts.) They played a World Cup qualification match against Norway in the beginning of our stay, and later that week, they had a match against Iceland, which we went and to see.

Skopje’s Stadium was still partially still under construction

Me with a dedicated fan

Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to go out of Skopje this time. The Project that I work with focuses on institution building, so my meetings were only with public authorities in the capital.