Spreading Christmas Joy Abroad

by 𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿, YES Abroad student

I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year. When I was in the States, I usually spent the time with all my family. My direct family would travel to Miami, where a lot of my extended family live. There we all spend Christmas, making food, eating too much of said food, hanging out on the beaches, and blasting music on car rides. When I came to Macedonia though, I knew Christmas would be a ‘bit’ different. Even so, I wanted to feel that same joy I felt in Miami, the joy that comes from spending time with others. It was this kind of thinking that gave me the idea of a Christmas concert.

I went to Filip, a Yes Alumnus, asking if he knew any young people who would be interested in performing for a nursing home. He connected me with Dimitar Vlahov, a school for young visually impaired people. Two students-Daniel(on accordion) and David(drummer) along with Filip(on accordion), my Yes Abroad cohort members Bella and Rachel(voices), and myself(clarinet), set out to perform for Dom za Stari Lica Arija( A nursing home in Chair).The Christmas spirit was very present at the concert. The elderly people sang to our songs, and when I got up to oro, people joined me. There were smiles on nearly everyone’s faces and “come again!” on people’s tongues.

Still with the Christmas spirit, the group of us went to Dnevna Doza Srekja to sing and dance with young people with down syndrome. We performed the songs we did at the nursing home among others, and listened to music on speakers. Filip dressed up as Santa and gave gifts to the young people.

The whole experience reminded me that you can experience Christmas joy wherever you are and whenever it is. Spending time together, whether with strangers, friends, family or all three, is something that makes the time so special.