Third-grade adventures – “Family Trip To Macedonia” by Bella

Last year when I was 7 years old my family and I planned a trip to Macedonia. We spent the month of May buying gifts for our relatives, packing our suitcases, and getting ready for our trip!

We decided to go to Macedonia in early June as it really gets hot there in July and August, so I had to miss the last few days of school. I was sad to leave my friends, but I was excited to see my relatives in Macedonia.

It was a long trip to get to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. We had to take 3 connected flights to get there. After almost 13 hours of flying and a few waiting at the airports we finally got there! My mom’s brother was waiting for us at the airport and I was very happy to see him. I only saw him for the first time when I was just 1 year old, so the excitement was much bigger than last time! My uncle and my aunt helped us shop before we went to the house where my dad grew up.The house was clean and ready for us to stay there while we were in Skopje. Being in the house where my dad grew up made me feel happy and excited!

Over the next few days we met many of my parents’ childhood friends as well as a lot of relatives. I’m not very fluent in Macedonian, and I was worried how i was going to communicate with people in Macedonia, but I was pleased to find out that most of them were very fluent in English.

Macedonia –  the land of large hills and deep valleys

There are many things to visit in Skopje, like the Old Bazar, the Stone Bridge, the museum of Mother Teressa, Kalle Fortress, etc. I had lots of fun visiting all of these places!

The next few days we were in Ohrid, an old city on the hilly shores of Lake Ohrid in the southwest of Macedonia. We visited many medieval churches, monisteirs, ruins, including the centuries old Samoil’s fortress and The Bay of The Bones.

We were about three weeks in Macedonia and I loved to see the natural beauty of the country and learn about its history! I felt very proud of my Macedonian ancestors, I hope i will visit Macedonia again in the future!

Bella