Well, it finally happened. It got cold! I thought it was great until I discovered I didn't pack enough winter shirts. I left a lot of stuff home because I was overweight, but got dinged $400 for overweight anyhow so should have packed them.  Oh well, guess I need to go shopping so I can look like a true Macedonian...Pictures later.

Not much happening here, language classes are progressing, however I feel like I take a step forward and two back. Had a conversation, in Macedonian, with my language teacher today and I managed to stumble through describing myself, shopping for food and telling all about my family. I guess this is the important stuff. Seven more weeks to go and I will be a talking maniac, so they say...

Sun is out now and we have been invited to a movie at our language teacher's apartment, will be seeing a famous Macedonian moved that won a number of awards, so should be good. Not much of a social life here in Kratovo. Not sure what the kids do for "fun", except go to the cafe and have coffee. I was told they go on hikes and BBQ??? Unfortunately all of the youg people are leaving Kratovo for the big city. I suspect that in 20-years or so this will be a very small town. There is no work here and no discos to keep kids after they graduate college. Most go to school in Skopje and stay there after graduation, without jobs. The college graduation rate is 97 percent so lots of educated kids looking for work. Many go out of the country to find jobs, but with the EU crisis there aren't too many, so here they sit.

OK, I know what yo have been waiting for, the pictures. So here is the latest batch.

Potatoes going to storage for the Winter

This was just in front of my bedroom window

The rakia still

Feeding time