Not much time to write b/c I am rushing to get everything together, get packed and get the house cleaned before my Italy trip tomorrow. But I have had such an amazing and action packed week that I felt I had to write a quick update.
So…classes going great. Jobs going great. Busy busy busy…
The last week of April my BFF “A” came to town. She grew up here and had to spend a lot of time seeing family, but we got to hang out nearly every day for at least a coffee, and we got new gorgeous, euro-sexy haircuts!! (Which I am super excited about!!). And spent a day at the zoo – which is kind of my new favorite afternoon get-a-way. The most fun you can have for $3!!!
That weekend Aussie “L” came back through town. I am so glad he came back to Belgrade b/c when he was here before it was winter and I must say that spring in Belgrade is an entirely different animal. AWESOME!! Sunny! Friendly! And lots of fun. Suddenly everyone is smiling, everyone is happy, all the cafes have opened outdoor patios, just really fantastic! While he was here we spent one evening out drinking with a group of folks at one of the friendliest places I’ve been so far. The next day we had a leisurely breakfast of “palacinke” (local crepe-type things) on the main square, and then met up with English “J” at the zoo where we spent the afternoon feeding the animals. Of course you are not supposed to do this, but everyone does. You see, in Belgrade there seems to be an unspoken agreement that the rules don’t really apply in most situations. Hence, most zoo patrons bring a bag of these local snacks called “Smoki” (shape and consistency of cheese puffs, but with peanut butter flavor) and feed the animals. The polar bears were especially entertaining as the big one delighted in catching the Smoki in his mouth.
After the zoo, we went to the top of the fortress in the Kallemagdan Park to have a beer and then walked around the park for a while. It is so lovely in the spring! The sun was starting to go down and it was really crowded. After the park we went for a traditional meal of meat meat and meat. “L” left early the next morning and my real mega-work week began!
So in the last week I have given 5 lectures, participated in 2 demonstrations, have been interviewed for television twice, and have hosted a Bosnian film maker with whom I organized a screening of his film. On Saturday I participated in an anti-fascism rally for WWII Victory day here in Belgrade. The streets were packed!
On Sunday we screened the film for a private group of US students that were here. This was really fun as we hosted them in the WiB offices where we were able to talk to them about the work the organization does. Then the Film maker “Dz” gave a talk, and the students seemed really interested. We showed them the film, fed them snacks, and had a discussion. All-in-all, a great day!
Then, yesterday we had a public screening – the Belgrade premier – at the local activist center “Center for Cultural Decontamination.” The turn-out was fantastic!! We had about 100 people, and among them were 3 ambassadors from Norway, Denmark and Austria!!! I was so nervous! I gave a short talk in the beginning, which I began in Serbian, but was too nervous so I finished in English. The audience was great! Really big, really interactive, and for the first time here I felt really relevant.
There is so much more to say and to explain, but I need to get packing. Just wanted to share a few pics and a few adventures before I am off to Italy.
So…classes going great. Jobs going great. Busy busy busy…
The last week of April my BFF “A” came to town. She grew up here and had to spend a lot of time seeing family, but we got to hang out nearly every day for at least a coffee, and we got new gorgeous, euro-sexy haircuts!! (Which I am super excited about!!). And spent a day at the zoo – which is kind of my new favorite afternoon get-a-way. The most fun you can have for $3!!!
That weekend Aussie “L” came back through town. I am so glad he came back to Belgrade b/c when he was here before it was winter and I must say that spring in Belgrade is an entirely different animal. AWESOME!! Sunny! Friendly! And lots of fun. Suddenly everyone is smiling, everyone is happy, all the cafes have opened outdoor patios, just really fantastic! While he was here we spent one evening out drinking with a group of folks at one of the friendliest places I’ve been so far. The next day we had a leisurely breakfast of “palacinke” (local crepe-type things) on the main square, and then met up with English “J” at the zoo where we spent the afternoon feeding the animals. Of course you are not supposed to do this, but everyone does. You see, in Belgrade there seems to be an unspoken agreement that the rules don’t really apply in most situations. Hence, most zoo patrons bring a bag of these local snacks called “Smoki” (shape and consistency of cheese puffs, but with peanut butter flavor) and feed the animals. The polar bears were especially entertaining as the big one delighted in catching the Smoki in his mouth.
After the zoo, we went to the top of the fortress in the Kallemagdan Park to have a beer and then walked around the park for a while. It is so lovely in the spring! The sun was starting to go down and it was really crowded. After the park we went for a traditional meal of meat meat and meat. “L” left early the next morning and my real mega-work week began!
So in the last week I have given 5 lectures, participated in 2 demonstrations, have been interviewed for television twice, and have hosted a Bosnian film maker with whom I organized a screening of his film. On Saturday I participated in an anti-fascism rally for WWII Victory day here in Belgrade. The streets were packed!
On Sunday we screened the film for a private group of US students that were here. This was really fun as we hosted them in the WiB offices where we were able to talk to them about the work the organization does. Then the Film maker “Dz” gave a talk, and the students seemed really interested. We showed them the film, fed them snacks, and had a discussion. All-in-all, a great day!
Then, yesterday we had a public screening – the Belgrade premier – at the local activist center “Center for Cultural Decontamination.” The turn-out was fantastic!! We had about 100 people, and among them were 3 ambassadors from Norway, Denmark and Austria!!! I was so nervous! I gave a short talk in the beginning, which I began in Serbian, but was too nervous so I finished in English. The audience was great! Really big, really interactive, and for the first time here I felt really relevant.
There is so much more to say and to explain, but I need to get packing. Just wanted to share a few pics and a few adventures before I am off to Italy.
View of Danube & Sava Rivers from top of Kallemagdan fortress
Part of lower city around fortress 
Display of historical weapons inside gate of fortress
Part of fortress wall
Looking down onto river and old lower city from fortress
Sunset from top of fortress
Seriously the biggest, freakiest kangaroo I have ever seen!! (Not to be vulgar, but you should have seen his male bits when he was lying down! EEEWWWW!)
Belgrade zoo Antelope
Srebrenica commemoration demonstration with WiB
Srebrenica demonstration with WiB
Some seriously F'd up nationalist graffiti! This is an image of Bosnian-Serb nationalist wartime leader Radovan Karadzic with the date 1389 - which is the mytho-historic date of most importance to Serb nationalists (see my earlier history post for more info)
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Have a great trip. I want to see oictures of the new haircut!!
ReplyDeleteAmy