Welcome to South East European University - SEEU - Skopje campus

I will be teaching Constitutional Law at South East European University's (SEEU) Skopje campus this semester.

I appreciated the warm welcome given to me by the Vice Rector for International Relations. We discussed the history of the SEEU campus, its academic programs, my teaching responsibilities/logistics - and the current political situation. (On this last point, I will share in a separate post the Vice Rector's analysis of the current situation:  see the post "Macedonia’s instability has huge implications for the Balkans")  He also gave me a tour of the campus.

I have posted separately on this blog about the history of SEEU, but, for here, I will reiterate that the university was founded as a way to provide higher education educational opportunities to ethnic Albanians in their native language.

The Vice Rector's resume is most impressive -- he is a prolific scholar, a former Fulbright Fellow at UCLA, former Ambassador to the EU -- but I am most looking forward to learning more about his work as one of those who drafted the constitutional amendments per the Ohrid Framework Agreement.

with the Vice Rector for International Relations

the Skopje campus looks out on this courtyard - which is surrounded by several museums (stay tuned for future blog posts - when we have a chance to visit these museums)

the SEEU Skopje campus is the building to the right; to the left you can see the Kale Fortress

SEEU Skopje

next to the university is a Turkish hamam that was converted to an art museum

a view of the library reading room

partial view of the cafe

a typical classroom

with the Vice Rector for International Relations

to get to our car we walked through the Old Turkish Bazaar, up the steps, and saw this magnificent view of the fortress

Dobredojde Macedonian Welcome Center Wine Tasting

I was delighted to learn about the Dobredojde Macedonia Welcome Center wine tasting event. This event was devoted to tasting Macedonian Vranec. 

From the DMWC facebook page: "DMWC Evening Wine Club meeting with Vranec, the gentleman of the Balkan ,Tuesday 31st of January.  This fun informal event introduced guests to the VRANEC wine, the gentleman of the Balkan :
*Bovin, Gupka 2011 (Tikves wine district)* Ezimit, Terra Makedonika 2012 (Ovche Pole wine district)* Tikves, Barovo 2012 (Tikves wine district)* Stobi, Vranec Veritas 2009 (Tikves wine district)* Kuvin, Vranec Milo 2011 (Skopje wine district)* Brushani, VranecBarrique 2011 (Tikves wine district)* Popov, VranecReserva 2007 (Tikves wine district)* Chateau Sopot, Vranec 2013 (Veles wine district)* Skovin, Markov Manastir 2008 (Skopje wine district)* Popova Kula, Vranec Perfect Choice 2013 (Tikves wine district)."

It was a wonderful event - giving me the opportunity to sample Macedonian wine and to network.  (I met folks working with the OSCE, journalists writing for the Economist and Lonely Planet, lawyers, doctors, parents at Nova, and others.)

 "Dobredojde Macedonia Welcome Centre (DMWC) is a non-governmental non-profit organization promoting Macedoian culture among the international community in Macedonia and abroad.  At the same time, we organise events aimed at representing and promoting other cultures in Macedonia and encourage intercultural dialogue."

You can learn more on their website - about the organization and about Macedonia
http://www.dmwc.org.mk/

a listing of the 9 wines that were offered ( I was able to sample the first 4, and then I had to leave)

Skopje: Our first weekend....Friday night at CityMall

We arrived in Macedonia Thursday, mid-day (see blog post about travel to Macedonia). As soon as we landed, we were meeting with the rental agency, securing keys to our apartment, etc. Early the next morning, on Friday, we went to the Community Time at my daughter's school (QSI) (see this blog post about Welcome to QSI Skopje January Community meeting)

Quite a busy whirlwind in our first 24 hours in Skopje.

On Friday night (the day after we arrived) we decided to go out to a mall (Skopje CityMall), where we had Chinese for dinner. And we found a lovely spot for coffee and dessert -- where my daughter ordered a "Mickey Mouse" ice cream.  We could have been back in Florida!

Of course, we were eager to learn all about Macedonian cuisine and customs and culture - but - for this first Friday night - something as familiar as Chinese for dinner and Mickey Mouse ice cream was a nice transition in to our new life in Skopje.

The rest of the weekend we spent trying to take care of the basics -- getting the pictures for our Macedonian ID cards, getting a Macedonian phone, stocking up on basic supplies and groceries. (See this post for more about our blog post about our first weekend in Skopje)

THANKS SO MUCH again to our friends Toni and Aneta for helping us to sort out all of the logistics!!

Chinese for dinner at the Skopje CityMall food court

celebrating our arrival in Skopje ...and my daughter's first day at her new school

Yes! We ordered the Mickey Mouse ice cream dessert

and I enjoyed an Irish coffee

"one of Europe's last frontiers...off the beaten track"

When I saw this posting to enter a contest to spend 8 days discovering Macedonia...I smiled when I read the title "Off the Beaten Track in Macedonia"

The article begins "Macedonia is one of Europe's last frontiers and its incredible landscape offers a genuine off the beaten track walking holiday. Dramatic mountains, vibrant forest, spectacular cliffs and thundering waterfalls, Macedonia's wild scenery is home to lynx and eagles. The country has a rich cultural heritage with beautiful Orthodox monasteries and stunning churches, each showcasing breath-taking mosaics and frescoes."

We are so grateful for this opportunity to teach and learn and explore in Macedonia!

19 Days!

Here's the contest info:

http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/hot-stories/2017/1/5/win-a-holiday-trekking-off-the-beaten-track-in-macedonia

 

Win a holiday trekking off the beaten track in Macedonia

January 5, 2017

Spend 8 days discovering Macedonia on foot with KE Adventure Travel

Macedonia is one of Europe's last frontiers and its incredible landscape offers a genuine off the beaten track walking holiday. Dramatic mountains, vibrant forest, spectacular cliffs and thundering waterfalls, Macedonia's wild scenery is home to lynx and eagles. The country has a rich cultural heritage with beautiful Orthodox monasteries and stunning churches, each showcasing breath-taking mosaics and frescoes.
Now there's a chance for you to win a trekking holiday in Macedonia worth £745 with our friends at KE Adventure Travel!

Holiday prize details

• Trek to the summit of Titov Vrv (2747m) the second highest peak in Macedonia and reach the summit of Magaro (2255m) in Galicica National Park. 
• Enjoy a cultural day in the atmospheric lakeside town of Ohrid, the ‘Jerusalem of the Balkans’ and discover the eclectic capital of Skopje.
• Fully guided, all meals included and 7 nights in hotels.
• This holiday will run from 04 – 11June 2017.

Competition closes 28 February 2018. The winner will be announced in KE’s March newsletter (subscribe here).

Enter competition at www.keadventure.com/competitions