A Big Dilemma

For a couple of days I was sure that my work was done. The only thing that was left, I thought, was to put everything on paper and voila! I’d be done.

Until I realised how many people I’ve met, talked with and interviewed, and then transcribed all the interviews to my computer.

Right now, I’m not sure whether I’m finished or if I haven’t even started.
 
To write a 2,000 word article about identity issues in the Balkans is a mission in itself. To write a 2,000 word article about identity issues in the Balkans, when you have at least 20,000 words of interviews, with ten different people, many of whom consider themselves ‘fonts of knowledge’, is an even greater mission.

What kind of methodology is needed to decide whom to include and whom to exclude when you have to decide between a Macedonian who “translates” words from antique Macedonian to modern Macedonian, a Greek who says that in the Greek skull resides a 19th century brain, and a Bulgarian who claims that there’s no such thing as a Macedonian.

When I started planning this article, I thought that my biggest problem will be to find an interesting anecdote. Now I feel like I have enough material for a true burlesque!