North Macedonia is a small European country with no coastline. It's surrounded by places that are more popular with tourists, including Greece to the south.

But wait — don't write off North Macedonia just yet! Here are just a few good reasons to visit a country Lonely Planet calls a "little-known gem."

Many travelers start with a place that's been described as one of Europe's best-kept secrets: Lake Ohrid.

The area, which includes the lake and the old town of Ohrid, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it's easy to see why.

Old monasteries look down over the clear blue waters of the lake, which is one of Europe's oldest and deepest.

The town, which is said to be home to 365 churches — one for each day of the year — is also one of Europe's oldest. You can walk along the walls of the fortress, look around the town's old streets or relax by the water.

But there's more to see in a country that was part of Yugoslavia until 1991. Travel away from the lake and you'll find green national parks that are still home to bears, wolves and lynx.

But don't worry: there are lots of places where you can enjoy nature without getting close to those animals! Some people like to walk 2,500 meters to the top of Ljuboten, which means "the peak of love."

In winter, those same mountains are great for skiing. Many visitors choose to go to Mavrovo National Park, which is not far from Ohrid.

The capital, Skopje, is in the north of the country. It's a city full of quirky statues and lots of different types of architecture.

And don't miss the beautiful painted mosque in the nearby town of Tetovo.

North Macedonia might not be a hidden gem for much longer!




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

North Macedonia: 'Little-Known Gem' Worth a Visit

On some tour buses, you'll hear the guide welcome passengers in a number of different languages.

And at airports around the world, announcements might be made in more than one language to help more travelers understand what's being said.

But in Belgium, a train passenger made an official complaint after the conductor used both Dutch and French to say good morning.

The problem for this passenger was that the train was traveling through a city called Vilvoorde in the Flemish part of Belgium, where Dutch is the main language.

But Vilvoorde is very close to the capital, Brussels, where both Dutch and French are used.

The French-speaking conductor, named Ilyass Alba, wrote about the complaint on Facebook.

He said that after greeting passengers, one had replied: "We're not in Brussels yet, you have to use Dutch only!"

And while many people have taken Alba's side, the person who complained was technically correct — only Dutch should have been used.

According to the country's language rules, only Dutch should have been used while the train was in the Flemish part of the country. And as Belga News Agency explains, Belgium's rules say only French should be used when trains are in the French-speaking part of the country.

But announcements can be French and Dutch in Brussels. And on trains traveling to Brussels Airport, Dutch, French, German — another of Belgium's official languages — and English can be used.

Some Dutch-speaking politicians have said it's important that conductors stick to language rules.

But the country's French-speaking transport minister said that making passengers feel welcome is the most important thing.

The train company, SNCB, agreed with the transport minister. "Saying hello in several languages is just nice, we can only thank our conductors for that," an SNCB official told Agence France-Presse.

Greeting in Two Languages Upsets Train Passenger

Each fast food meal we eat in a week could increase our risk of developing depression by as much as 4%, according to a new study.

Researchers from Iran also found that eating more than two fast food meals per week could increase the risk by almost a quarter.

They wanted to look at the effect of eating fast food on both obesity and depression.

Previous studies have found that eating a lot of heavily processed foods could lead to depression.

The research team thought that eating a lot of fast food was likely to cause obesity and that this could lead to depression.

However, they found obesity was not as much of an important factor as they thought it would be, and perhaps it was fast food consumption — and not obesity — that increased the risk of depression.

The researchers looked at data from more than 31,000 people in the US, taken between 2008 and 2018.

The participants were asked how many fast food meals they ate in a typical week, and they answered a survey that asked them about symptoms of depression.

During the study period, 11% of women and 7% of men showed signs of depression, although those with higher levels of education were less likely to be depressed.

Those who ate more than two fast food meals a week had a 24% higher risk of depression compared to those who ate fewer than two fast food meals per week.

However, the researchers say they can't prove that the cause of the participants' depression was eating fast food.

Each Fast Food Meal Could Increase Depression Risk

It's no secret that Hawaii is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists. In 2023, the islands welcomed around 573,000 visitors from Japan — the most from any country.

But did you know there's a connection between Japan and Hawaii that goes beyond travel and into clothing?

Aloha shirts, also known as Hawaiian shirts, have roots in Japanese culture, beginning with Japanese immigrants in Hawaii.

In the late 1800s, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii started importing Japanese clothing as well as rolls of fabric to make clothes with.

In the 1920s, locals in Hawaii saw these fabrics and started using them to make casual dress shirts with Japanese patterns on them. These shirts became popular with tourists to Hawaii.

Soon after, aloha shirts were made in bulk, but instead of using fabric made for Japanese clothing, stores in Hawaii started bringing in printed fabrics made just for aloha shirts.

And by the late 1930s, the designs had changed from Japanese patterns to the Hawaiian inspired patterns we're used to today — images of Mount Fuji and Japanese pine trees were replaced with things like coconut trees, surfers and fish.

But even though today's aloha shirts don't look very Japanese inspired, they still remain popular within Japan.

Yosuke Seki, an aloha shirt aficionado who goes to Hawaii every year, told CNN he wears his shirts daily, and hopes to inspire others to try them.

"Right now, I'm wearing a replica of one of the expensive designs," Seki said, adding that his shirt cost between $130 and $200. The more expensive shirts can cost thousands of dollars, he explained.

And for some fans, aloha shirts are not just clothing — they're collectable items, or even considered art.

Yoshihiro Nakano is the brand director of Sun Surf, a Japanese company that has been making aloha shirts for about 50 years. Many customers don't even wear the aloha shirts they buy, and instead just collect them or frame them, Nakano told CNN.

From Japan to Hawaii: The History of Aloha Shirts

A record 78% of Japanese people feel anxious or worried, according to a new government survey.

That's the highest proportion in the 43 years the government has been asking people about these feelings.

Common worries among the adults who took part included health, life after retirement, and future income. Almost 64% of people said they're worried about their health, while 63% said they're worried about what their lives will look like after they stop working.

This was quite a small survey, however, and it was done by mail, with only 1,830 people across the country taking part.

Previous surveys have been done in person, and the government said people should be cautious before making comparisons between this year's survey and those done in the past.

But the survey did find that people in Japan are a little happier with their finances this year than they were in 2023.

However, 66% of people said they think the government should do more to combat inflation.

It's not just in Japan that people are anxious. Other reports have found that this is a real problem around the world.

At the end of 2023, almost half of young workers from seven countries said they found it difficult to work because they were so worried about what they saw in the news. Many felt they were living in a time of uncertainty, with wars happening across the world and geopolitical tensions rising.



Japanese People More Anxious than Ever — Survey

A new survey in Japan has shown that many people may be giving up on "happily ever after" when they get older than 35.

A survey by the Nippon Foundation asked 6,000 people, aged 15 to 45, about the country's falling birth rate. Among the 3,935 single participants, 46% said they want to get married, while 33% said they don't.

However, when asked if they really think they will get married, only 27% said yes, while 39% said no.

Younger people were more hopeful about marriage, with about 40% of those aged 15 to 25 thinking they will marry. But over 50% of single people aged 36 to 45 believe they won't get married, suggesting people may give up on marriage as they age.

Of the 1,313 people who said they don't want to get married, 40% said they prefer being single. Other reasons for staying single included not being able to see any benefit to marrying, and wanting to put their own life first. More than 20% didn't have a clear reason or just didn't know why.

For the 267 people who want to marry but think they won't, the top reason for thinking it won't happen is not having chances to meet potential partners, which was mentioned by 49% of these people. Others said they weren't good at getting along with people of the opposite sex, or felt financially insecure.

Where people lived also affected views on marriage. About 30% of people in central Tokyo and big cities thought they would marry, but only just over 20% of those in smaller towns and villages felt the same.

Marriages in Japan have been decreasing for years. In 2023, there were 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in Japan — down from a high of 12 marriages per 1,000 people in 1947.