Saturday at the "Animal Market" and other things...

Even though it is Saturday, today I was up and ready to go at 6:30.  We were off to Kumonovo so I could witness the "Животински пазар" first hand.  Each Saturday villagers from around the city gather to buy and sell assorted farm animals. 


A combi to the city, a short walk, and then a taxi and we are at the market.  This is an amazing place.  Men arrive in trucks, vans, tractors, and cars hauling the goods to be sold.  Cows, calves, goats, pigs, and sheep comprise the bulk of the days fare but there are also vendors selling goods ranging from electrical supplies to old Yugoslavian army uniforms.  Of course there are also the food vendors as well as a few folks selling fresh produce.

Just watching these men unload their animals makes the trip worthwhile.  Some coax, some lead, others push, some drag, while a few even kick, but one by one, these animals are offloaded. They are then either led to a pen or tied to a rail , ready now for inspection by perspective buyers. One man passes with a lamb whose feet are bound, hanging from his forearm.  I pass another tractor whose small trailer is crammed with 10 or so small pigs.  Goce has accompanied me on the trip while Sveto arrives later in his tractor along with the calf he will sell.  I did get to watch a few deals being made and the traditional exaggerated handshakes that mark the conclusion.  Some men are here to buy, others to sell, and some to buy and then re-sell.  The financially stronger men flock to potential sellers that they know may need the money and will sell at a better price than others. We observe one such transaction where a man sells all four of his cows as soon as he unloads his truck. Goce recognizes this man as a poor villager and the man making the deal with him appears by his attire to be of more substantial means.  I also see a few deals fall apart and men walk away shaking their heads.

We are there for over an hour before we spot Sveto amid many men and the small cows.  By the time we reach him, he has already sold his calf and we are looking for a taxi back to the center of the city.

On the return trip,  Sveto and Goce stop to buy new shoes in the center of town. Goce and I stop again, where he buys a new toaster for his mother.  One final stop at the food market and we are headed to the combi . 

There we catch up to Sveto and we are all back home by 10:30 AM.  Just in time for lunch!!!

• In Romanovce everyone apparently knows everyone else!  While it may seem that everyone pays a visit to everyone else, I am sure we have not had anywhere near the current population of over 2400 visitors during my three weeks here.  People here are extremely social.  They visit each other often and without reservation as  "stopping by" is welcomed by all.  Those who do visit are offered always food and beverage.

• The cooking stove at my home is kept outside in the summer and brought in for the colder months.
• There is no heating system in village homes and a wood stove will provide the warmth for the downstairs when it is connected.
• It can be mighty cool here in early October!
• It is surprisingly easy to live without American television.
• By the time I leave this village and this home, I could and probably will weigh a lot more than when I arrived.  They are always offering food ..."jadi, Bill jadi"...and I am always eating what is offered.
• Mac n cheese is pretty good for breakfast as is soup, tomatoes, and many other tasty dishes that I cannot name.
• "Main Street" (below) doesn't have a name, nor is there a village center!
• ATMs here offer a choice of English or Macedonian