A kick-ass octogenarian b-day bash...Serbo-style!

Last Night I Went to a Surprisingly Kick-Ass Party…

So yesterday I had a list of things to get done and was feeling a bit blue in the aftermath of the congenial and mutual but none-the-less difficult break-up of my three year romantic relationship with “P.” But it had been a week, and watching silly rom-coms with a bowl of popcorn was no longer acceptable in light of the fact that there are still many things to be done before I leave for my holiday to the US in a few weeks.

So, in light of all of this, I first gave the apartment a massive amount of cleaning attention in anticipation of the return of my roommate from Prague on Thursday. Then I got down to the business of returning a few important and dangling correspondence issues. I then spent some time making my hair and make-up look lovely. In the afternoon I was off to my faculty to retrieve a stack of books that I wanted to have here at my apartment now that the semester is over, and to obtain the letter I need to finish the business of renewing my residency visa (which I’m sure will be another adventure to report!).

The tram ride from my apartment to the faculty is about 45minutes. I may have mentioned before that my faculty is the furthest from the center of any of the University of Belgrade faculties. I have been told that this is because, during the Tito days, the Political Science Faculty was considered subversive and so it was placed a good distance from the actual center of political action. At any rate, I got to the faculty, got my letter, and loaded my bag with books. Now my bag was ridiculously heavy, and I had a decision to make.

I was due at the WiB offices to help prepare for a party that evening that was being held in honor of the 80th birthdays of two of the activists. So, given that the tram does not really go near the WiB offices, I could either take the tram all the way back to my house, drop off the books and then head to WiB, or I could get off the tram about ½ way and walk about 40 minutes to WiB. Given that I was asked to pick up beer and wine for the party and had a couple of stops to make, I did not want to be late and so decided to get off the tram and make the trek.

Oh how heavy those books became!!! Oh how long that walk seemed! But it was too late to change my mind and so I trekked on. About 10 minutes from the WiB offices, I stopped at the liquor store and bought two bottles of wine, and the equivalent to a case of beer. As I was about to leave the liquor store I decided that I might want a glass of whiskey at some point in the evening, and so I bought a fifth of Four Roses Bourbon, with the idea that I would offer it to the people at the party, but assuming that really no one would be interested…another miscalculation!

As I left the liquor store, now loaded down like a pack-horse, it began to pour rain. The hair I’d wasted 45 minutes on was now ruined, and my clothes were soaked (which for Serbian people…wet hair + wet clothes = instant pneumonia – regardless of the warm weather!). I was a little disappointed, but was so happy to get to WiB and set down my bags that it took a minute to realize that I now looked like I’d been pushed into a pool! I felt doubly ashamed of my appearance as others began to arrive in pretty party clothes, but at least I was there and ready to help prepare for the party, right?

Anyhow, for the few hours before the party, myself, the group leader and the two American girls who are interning with us for the summer decorated for the party. At about the time we were to begin, I announced that I had brought beer, wine and whiskey…and there was a sudden and palatable delight from several people there!

As people arrived, I greeted them, and offered them drinks, and to my surprise, the whiskey was a hot commodity…so much so that within an hour of the party’s beginning, the entire bottle had been demolished! At an 80 year old’s birthday party!! With a total of about 35 people in attendance! Even with no ice on hand! You’d have thought there must’ve been a hole in the bottle! I was thrilled that so many people were happy to share the whiskey, and had I known it would be such a hit I’d have bought a better whiskey! (and would’ve brought whiskey to these ladies much sooner!)

There was a great mix of interesting people, mostly activists from the organization. There was an amazing spread of food – including a special treat of guacamole prepared by one of the American girls. There were fantastic cakes, happy birthday was sung in Serbian and in English, and many great photos were taken. In all, to my surprise, it was a really kick-ass party! In fact, the two octogenarian birthday girls and many other people over 60 years old far outlasted me. When I finally departed around 11pm on a Wednesday – tired and a little drunk -, they were still going strong!

It’s funny because I was not sure what they would think about the whiskey, but it seemed to be a welcome treat, much to my surprise and delight. So much so that when I left, one of the women said to me “Next time you should bring two bottles of whiskey!” Hilarious!!

Oh, and one of my favorite parts of the evening…one of the women sat next to me while we were eating. She asked me how old I thought she was, to which I responded “57.”

“No” she said “I’m 72!”

“You’re kidding!” I said

“No!” she said “And do you know how I keep so young?”

“How? Please tell me!”

“I drink beer everyday! It gives you a little belly and radiant skin!” she exclaimed. I then got up and got her another beer…and poured one for myself – I can use all the help I can get!

On the way home I had to carry all of those books again, and when I woke up this morning, I had bruises on my collarbone and lower back. Still, it was a great night, one that I will certainly remember and one that I think I will be remembered for as well :-). There are some really wonderful photos from the evening, taken by awesome “B”, and I will update this post with a few when I get them.

In all, I can say that tonight proved to me again that Serbs know how to have a good time! Just as much as I was impressed by the dancing that went on at the Leskovac party, I was impressed by how much fun everyone had celebrating the birthdays of these two amazing women. And many of the other guests would have counted individually as the most interesting person many people could ever meet, so it was really a kind of honor to have them all in the same room and to have a chance to spend time with them. I feel really lucky to be a part of this group!

Thanks for reading!

Xina