trcham /i am running. i run/

well, i think it's probably more in the realm of jogging. actually. you probably can walk faster than i ''run''.
but that's not the point. the point is that there is an awesome river that goes through the center of the city. it happens to curve its way around and flow pretty near my apartment.
the river is really the only acceptable place to run. running in the streets is not really seen as practical or something a local would do. so i don't. 'cause i'm local and all.
'don't hassle me. i'm from here' i believe that is on a t shirt that bill murray wears in 'what about bob'. i haven't found the macedonian translated version of it yet. but when i do... it's on.
anyway.
seeing people relieving themselves, well actually, men. not people. only men. it has become a surprisingly unshocking and frequent occurrence. not just along the river. but in the middle of 'old-town' and outside the mall and other prominent places such as these.
but the other day brought back a little of the shock. i was running pokrie rekata (along the river) and there was a guy beneath one of the overpasses. at first i thought he was sitting on a chair. nope. well, i guess you could argue that the 'phantom chair' was there. but needless to say he was not merely sitting, no matter the type of chair. so i looked away and was trying to run straight with my head turned to the left. harder than you might think. as i got to almost passing the location of the scene i looked straight ahead so i wouldn't fall off the narrowing path or hit my head on the low clearance bridge. and out of the corner of my eye i could see that the man had stood up and was just standing there. he must have forgotten that there is a very vital step in completing the process. IE pulling up his pants. i am really grateful i did not get anymore than the peripheral suggestion of what had just happened. might have been scarred for life. although, since i have been on the east side - i have seen more than i ever wanted or needed... and then some. and enough to cover your portion too. yikes.
the only upside to this occurrence was that i had planned on doing intervals and that bridge was my stop-to-walk marker. but i did not do so. in fact i was even probably verging running and not just jogging at that point. and then i ended up jonning (running+jogging) the entire way.
so one man's "trash" is another man's motivation to avoid eye contact and run real fast.... that's what i always say.