i'm a macedonian, lots of my family in macedonia enjoys going to greece on holiday and my father is from bitola, where i see many greek shoppers on day trips because the exchange rate is often in their favor. i like greeks and try to bond over what we share in common, which is very similar cultures and customs, although, different enough that they still remain distinct in my mind. i've always been told by greeks, serbs, and bulgarians that i'm either greek, serbian or bulgarian so it's water off a duck's back at this point, and i'm not too interested in claiming or parsing the shared or separate history of macedonia and greece, although i do feel macedonia should focus on developing it's identity as a modern nation. i understand the tenor of both sides of the argument on the naming dispute, but from the most basic studies in classics in cuture, macedonia historically was separate from greece, and a nation to the north. i think the people of the region have long identified as macedonians, and all the provisional suggestions tend to sting, it'd be like me suggesting greece change its name to "hellenic macedonia" if it likes the name so much. Anyways, I know I said I wouldn't go into that, but that's my opinion, sorry if i invite the hellfire, I grant it's a personal subject for all involved.

i have met some aegean macedonians before and they made the distinction that i am "slavic macedonian". i was surprised that the one greek macedonian i met, canadian born, considered themself to be neither greek or macedonian, but their own specific thing.

also, last thing about macedonians, greeks, et al both my parents grew up within 30 minutes of the greek-macedonian border. i just did an ancestrydna kit and though i was raised to believe that the cultures, and religions in the region caused everyone to be very homogenous, in addition to macedonians i got a lot of greek and alabanian relations, so i think we're not all as distinct as we'd like to believe and the point about who has more of alexander's blood is a moot point, we all got some of it.