City”s slogan rings true for this visitor

Spokane – near nature, near perfect. A slogan that perfectly fits the city. You just need to cross the street and get lost in a green paradise – the most marvelous creation of Mother Nature. Beautiful trees, the grass so green, the most amazing flowers, the waterfalls. When you step into that beauty, you get an impression that nature has thrown all the colors she has in this place.

But, as a stranger who is in Spokane for the first time, I dare say that the slogan cannot prepare you for what you are going to experience in this place – a big, warm embrace from its inhabitants.

Apart from the amazing natural beauty, the friendliness and the hospitality of the people are what really “trap” you when you come to Spokane. When I came here two weeks ago, I had a feeling that I had come home. I just became part of this place and started enjoying myself at once.

I got my first impression when I left the airport. The first thing I saw was a huge smile under a big hat, which I found out belonged to the editor of The Spokesman-Review, who wished me a warm welcome. Steve Smith told me that everybody in the newsroom was friendly and pleased to host a journalist from Macedonia. And so they were.

At first I could not imagine why anyone would be pleased because some journalist from nowhere is coming to the newspaper. But, after I had met the staff at the Review, I no longer wondered about that. These people simply have a gift to make you feel welcome and part of them. It obviously is a natural thing to them to make you feel happy. I was very surprised to find out that some of them had even tried to learn something about my country before my arrival.

Knowing that my country is very small and not known much outside Europe, I was astonished that someone in this part of the world, so far from my homeland, has heard anything about Macedonia.

After I met the staff of The Spokesman-Review, I went to “explore” the city. And, another surprise came. Everybody in Spokane behaved like my colleagues at the newspaper. Everybody kept asking me where I was from, why I came here, whether I liked the city. People in the shops, restaurants, even in the street. All of them were pleased to see me and wished me a nice stay in Spokane.

My colleagues and friends from the newspaper, apart from their everyday activities, wanted to show me the way they worked. They took me to meetings, lectures, local events to see how the city lived, what was going on.

The first day, I went to the meeting of the City Council with reporter Mike Prager. While listening to the city problems and tasks of the council, I heard (council president) Mr. Dennis Hession say, “I would like to welcome our special guest from Macedonia.” I could not believe my ears – me a special guest? And he didn’t even get my name wrong.

Before I came here, I knew nothing about Spokane. I was very pleased to find out that the nature is so beautiful around the city, that the air smells so nice, the food is delicious. And the atmosphere and the spirit of this place is something that can’t be described. Words are not enough to express it; you have to feel that, and then you will know.

It is really very, very comfortable to be a stranger in Spokane. Because you feel like you are home, only people around you speak in a different language. So, if you want to feel a real paradise, come here. Spokane – near nature, near perfect. Indeed.