A fun week in Belgrade...

Week of fun in Belgrade…

So in my last post I elaborated on the fantastic fun I had at the WiB octogenarian birthday party. Well, it turned out to be quite a fun week all around!

So Thursday I went for a “last supper” with my friends “E” & “M” who, with their three boys, are about to return to the US after a year in Belgrade. They were my first friends here in Belgrade, and I tried to eat with them about once a week. They have been great friends to me while I have been here and I will miss them. I never would’ve made it through the winter without them! They helped me find my apartment, helped to locate my office, have been fantastic company, and always had a bottle of American whiskey waiting for me! It will not be the same without them!

Thursday night my roomie returned refreshed from her trip to Prague. We stayed up late catching up and I am so glad she is back!

Friday morning I had to make my journey to the “Ministry for Strangers” to renew my residency visa. As I have mentioned previously, going to take care of business at this place is always an adventure and takes many attempts to complete any task…regardless of how prepared one might be! So as this was my third trip for this task, I had hoped it would be successful. Well, after a small moment of panic when I was notified that under the new rules I had to provide proof of health insurance (as if I or anyone would be here in an effort to defraud the Serbian health system) I called the embassy to get my proof. Whereupon the representative told me I did not have insurance…which I do have! So after some discussion and wrangling they agreed to write me a letter, which was good – but I would have to return again to the ministry…which was frustrating.

Well, I decided to alleviate my frustration with some good ole American retail therapy. I had heard there was a mega-store not too far from where I live so I hopped a taxi to “Tempo”…and oh what a gloriously western place this is!!! Costco meets Wal-Mart! A warehouse sized shop that I thought was non-existent in these parts!

Need a pillow? They’ve got it! Need a slutty swimsuit? They’ve got it! Need a crate of apples? They’ve got it! Need a lawnmower? They’ve got it! Need a sleeve of plastic cups? They’ve got it! Need a stapler? They’ve got it! Need frozen pizza? They’ve got it! Need a 5 liter bottle of vodka? They’ve got it!

I called my roomie to see if we needed anything…but we really did not need much, so I spent my budget on supplies and decorations for the party we had planned for Saturday – a party we decided to throw for no real reason other than we like parties and had not been invited to many that did not include a majority of senior citizens.

Feeling electrified by my consumerist binge at Tempo, I returned to the Ministry for Strangers, got my visa, and went home to put away my new purchases and decorate the place for the next night’s party.

As I was rearranging furniture and making the place look festive, a friend from WiB who lives in the neighborhood (“Jo”) stopped by. Given that the previous night, in the course of our last supper, E & M had given me all of their left over liquor, I had a bottle of gin, a bottle of American whiskey, a bottle of irish whiskey, a bottle of rum, a bottle of absinthe, 2 bottles of wine, a bottle of pear rakia (Viljmovka), a bottle of blackberry rakia, and some beer. So Jo and I decided we should test out some of these supplies to ensure they were up to the standards of tomorrow’s party. I am happy to report that everything passed the test!

Saturday during the day was dedicated to work I had to do, and then party prep. I spent about 2 hours beforehand getting the food ready, and the place looked good. We were fully stocked with food and drink, music and décor. We had expected about 20 guests from the RSVPs that we got. Our first guests to arrive were friends of my roomie. 3 Americans and one Serbian guy (who was the husband of one of the American girls). They brought a bottle of vodka and a shaker and proceeded to make a delicious version of the cosmo that we dubbed “Belgrade Cosmos.” Then came our Swedish friend “K,” followed by two more Serbian girl-friends of ours. We were having a laugh, drinking and dancing when another guest phoned and asked if he could bring a few friends…SURE, we said!

Within an hour we had another 15 or so guests, all Serbian folks, most of whom we had not known previously, but all of whom were super cool. The dancing, eating and drinking went on until about 4am. It was a good party! And while not all of the originally invited guests came, we had a good turn-out and a lot of fun! Sadly, as the party heated up, the camera died, so most of the best moments were not documented…but no matter!

Sunday was dedicated to cleaning and eating.

Monday it was back to work. There was a woman visiting who is a Srebrenica survivor and a very active leader in the victims’ rights group Mothers of Srebrenica. She was amazing. I had time to talk with her and was captivated by her. Prior to the war she was an illiterate home-maker from a small village. Now, after the war, she has found a strength and a voice that is remarkable. She acts in no way like a “victim,” instead being an outspoken and assertive advocate for reparation and recognition for Bosnian war victims. Her stories were incredible.

In the evening I went out for a final drink with E & M before their departure to the US.

Today I went to get my hair cut. I am not sure if I mentioned this, but I have the very best hairdresser in the world here! His name is Dragan. He is like the Serbian celebrity hairdresser and I was lucky enough to get an appointment with him a few years back. He gave me the best haircut of my life back then, and I have been trying to replicate it in the US ever since…with no luck! Back in May, when A was in town, we went and had our hair done by him again…and he again gave me the best haircut ever! And fantastic color! LOVE IT! It is such a nice cut that people stop me several times a week to comment on it! So today I went to have my color and cut touched up so it looks good for my trip back to the US. Sadly, after the beautiful blow-out he gave me afterward, I was caught in a rainstorm on the way home and now it is flat, but the color and cut are still hot! Seriously, he is amazing!

In all, a great week in Belgrade! Now there are two more weeks before I leave for the US for a month. Pretty much every one of the next days will be filled with work, but all will be super interesting. I hope to have a lot to report soon.