In Macedonia, I was struck by the multilingual signage, both in tourist areas as well as on streets and highways. The country has two official languages, Macedonian and Albanian. Most signs were written in both languages, plus English (out of necessity, I was told).

The signs implied a peaceful co-existence between the Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority. In truth, there is deep ethnic tension in the country, also visible in the signs. On highway signs, the Albanian faction will often blacken out the Macedonian version of the name, while Macedonians blacken out the Albanian text; a visible refusal to acknowledge the existence of the other. Neither party seems to be offended by the English version; that text was always intact.