The past three months of my life have been a whirlwind of diverse, fun, and formative experiences, gifting me new friends for life and etching memories I'll cherish forever. The time I was able to spend in Bitola flew by and before I knew it, I was sitting on a plane back to Vienna. Having just freshly completed my bachelor’s degree in the summer before, I was looking for a new and fun adventure which puts me out of my comfort zone of my home in Vienna. And by volunteering with SFERA International in Bitola I found just that.
Life in Bitola is very vibrant. The first thing I noticed, was that Bitola seemed to be shaped by grabbing a coffee in one of the many cafès in the city – and this impression turned out to be true. Bitola really is formed by its lively coffee culture which constitutes an integral part of the everyday life here. Along the main street, Shirok Sokak, you can find numerous cafés and bars with people enjoying their coffee or tea throughout the whole day. If you have enough time, it’s easy to spend hours in a café, enjoying a coffee and conversation together. Going for a coffee quickly became an integral part of our everyday lives here as well - whether it was for a brief work break, a relaxed evening hangout, or a leisurely Sunday afternoon treat after our explorations of Bitola's natural surroundings.
With Bitola being closely located to Pelister, a mountain and national park, the hills as part of the city itself with a great hangout spot next to abandoned military airplanes or the park in the center – you can easily find several paths that take you away from the busy city life into some greenery. This offered a great opportunity for taking a break during the weekends while simultaneously catching great views of the city and the valley.
However, what truly defines Bitola is its lovely people. My fellow international volunteers and me were met with genuine, great hospitality. We were swiftly invited to many events around the city – especially the live music plays an important role around here! It was very easy to quickly become immersed in Bitola’s great community and city life. Also, the whole team at SFERA made us all feel very welcomed. They continuously shared various Macedonian traditions and customs with us, enriching our experience abroad. Particularly special was the opportunity to experience the Christmas and New Year’s festivities here, learning about and being part of all the Macedonian traditions to mark these holidays.
While getting to know Bitola and North Macedonia, volunteering at SFERA International was at the core and thus obviously a great part of my experience here as well. Everyday work life at SFERA International has always been diverse and exciting. From painting the whole youth center and our offices, doing small research activities, organising, and holding the activities for the youth centre, to managing the social media publication of these events – there were always new challenges and tasks waiting for us. We got to follow our interests through organising workshops for the youth centre, get to know many young people from Bitola during these and learn from each other at each other’s activities - and in all of that, we were able to work together as a team and find support with everyone at SFERA International.
However, the most important aspect of my experience in Bitola definitely were the people and now close friends I got to meet and learn from during my time here. To some local’s surprise there are relatively many international people in Bitola who are part of different exchange programs. We quickly formed a little group, experiencing Bitola and North Macedonia together. With SFERA International and other organisations hosting several volunteers from various countries as well as students and young professors from abroad at the university of Bitola, it was easy getting to know each other.
Portugal, Turkey, France, Italy, USA and Austria - our time in Bitola brought us together, every one of us from a different country, background, and culture. In nearly all our conversations we realized new differences between each other’s home countries – and that some stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. By that, we not only got to learn about the Macedonian culture during our time in Bitola, but also about Portuguese, Turkish, American and Austrian customs, and traditions as well.
The youth center always was a place of community also for us, enabling us to meet many young people from Bitola who quickly turned into wonderful friends and joined us in our little adventures. They introduced us to all their favourite spots and things to do in the city and its surrounding area by which we got to see and learn about Bitola out of a local and very personal perspective. This truly deepened my experience of the city and my time in North Macedonia, for which I will always be grateful.
My time in Bitola, even though it was brief, truly was special and I will always hold all the memories and new friends I made, close to my heart. And to be honest, I can’t wait to come back to visit again, enjoying a delicious burek while sitting by the airplanes, watching the sunset over Bitola together.
