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| | Chai Make You Cool
Posted on 6/7/2010 by Isabella
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Here, it's Macedonian. It's very Macedonian. Which means, maybe we have a show and maybe we don't. Maybe it's on this pitch, maybe it's over there, maybe a giant stage with folkdancers moves into the plaza. Maybe we should run up hill to make it to a 2PM meeting, since it's 2:10, or maybe Pane will meet us eventually which gives us time to order iced coffee, listen to the band, and learn to say, "I'd like to order_____" in Macedonian.
Tonight, two shows, back to back, at Aerodrom and the plaza. Aerodrom is 20 minutes away. This year, I do not freak out. I don't even bring it to Natasha's attention until mid-afternoon. And sure enough, after meeting with Pane, we are shown to a delightful, shady courtyard in the Old Market, to do what will be our only show tonight. The courtyard is an exact microcosm of Skopje that side is the Macedonian bistro, with hanging pot plants and couples in ironwork chairs eating sopska salat. This side is Albanian, with a men-only crowd playing backgammon and cards over tiny glasses of tea.
We set up the rig, it's an important show tonight, Pane is partnering with an NGO (A charity? A folk group? We can't tell) to bring the festival to more of the local people. Some Albanian men finish their card game and drift over to us. They don't speak a ton of English, but one of them used to live in Germany, and helps us translates our hat line from German (which I have handy from last year) to Albanian. This excites me. I'm already caffeinated. And midway through, Gandhi, Hadji and the Guy Whose Name Starts With an N, tell me in three of the four languages, "[Albanian meaning chill the heck out]! Ne arbeit on Saturday! Chai!".
N is dispatched for boiling hot tea in shot-like glasses with miniature lemon wedges on the saucer. "Chai make you cool, good for hot." And over tea, I learn to thank the audience in Albanian, via German with an Austrian accent and Macedonian with an American accent. The men confer over phrasing and argue semantics among themselves. Unlike Macedonian, in which everyone sounds angry all the time, their eyes crinkle and the sounds of Albanian are softer in the back of their throats. I promise to practice, and we stash our gear bag in the backgammon restaurant, and head out to eat and change. |
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