Well, I guess it has been a while since I have talked about my life here in Belgrade. I should start by saying that since the weather has been nice (beginning at the end of March and intensifying each week) both the city and the people have become so much nicer! I am certainly much happier here than I was my first few months and much busier as well as I have gotten to know a lot of people – socially and professionally – so that I have had many more professional engagements and invited speeches, etc. than I did in the first months. I am so glad I decided to stay on through the Autumn semester b/c there is so much to do, and I am really enjoying every bit of my work!
One small down-shot: My fight to remain upright and uninjured in Serbian public space continues to be a negotiation of give and take! While on the tram on the way home from the university a few weeks ago, the tram driver slammed on the breaks and everyone went flying. I got my foot wedged under the metal wall near the door and broke a toe. OOOHHH the pain! I wanted to scream, but I stayed quiet for fear of unwanted attention.
Ironically, just as I was alighting from the tram at my stop, an insanely intense thunderstorm had begun and as I hobbled home in the driving rain, each raindrop to hit my toe sent waves of pain up my leg. My linen pants were quickly thoroughly soaked and I was freezing. A sense of relief washed over me as I arrived at my apartment building, but was short lived when upon entering I realized that the power was out (and hence so was the elevator) and I had to walk up 7 flights of stairs – wet, freezing and in pain! When I opened the door to my apartment the ceiling had begun leaking like Niagra Falls into my living room. Seriously…the biggest series of bad luck events over a 30 minute time span that I can remember in a long time!
But other than that…things have largely been great!
First of all, I have recently taken a roommate! My American friend from WiB, “J.,” has moved in with me and I couldn’t be happier about it! We really like each other, and we get along great. We have a sort of honest and sisterly relationship where we can tell each other if we want to be quiet, or if something is bothering one of us. We share food and expenses fairly. I totally trust her. We work together at WiB, that is how we met, though she is full-time at WiB through a 3 year U.S. fellowship program (and is really the “right hand man” there), while I am only there part-time. We like the same music and movies, we chat and laugh a lot, and – yes I am a dork – I was thrilled to see that she brought with her one of my most cherished card games, Phase 10! (Like a rummy type game from the makers of Uno). Also great is the fact that we have some common friends and some separate friends so we aren’t together every minute. I just can’t say enough about how much her living here has improved my daily quality of life. It is awesome!
So, with “J.” living here and with the fact that I have now been here about six months, I actually have a group of friends now (mostly from WiB) that I hang out with and talk to almost daily. I get invited to things now, and I have friends I can call if I want to hang out or get a coffee or even just chat. Fortunately this also means that my social interactions with Serbian people are no longer limited to any person who asks and speaks English! I had met one person here who I had hung out with a few times, and it was like spending time with Eyore [from Winnie the Pooh] – just so negative and such a downer! Just about the time I also found out that this [astoundingly highly educated!] person is also rabidly homo-phobic [to the point of thinking it is degenerate and disgusting to associate with gay people] I made another group of friends who are very cool, and much more like me! Hooray for social choices!
And, as an aside, I am really still shocked when I meet people, here or in any country including the US, who are still rabidly homo-phobic! Especially educated people. I suppose when it comes to things like people who oppose legalizing gay marriage in the USA, while some of those opposed may be mis-informed and/or home-phobic, there is at least room with many who oppose gay marriage to have an ideological debate, and not all opponents are necessarily rabid homo-phobs. But with people who have a dogmatic hatred, there is no debate. [Just to make my position clear, I am in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in US law. People can do what they want in their church – allow it, don’t allow it…whatever, but equality under the law is the only logical position for our country. I am totally against discrimination of any kind – race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. and I have a hard time suffering close-minded people. I usually will try to take and “enlightenment” approach and try to help the person understand how they might think differently about the group they “hate,” but I won’t tolerate hateful language or attitudes in the people around me.]
OK…so…I love Serbo-summer! People had told me how fantastic spring and summer were here, but it was hard to believe in the dead of winter when everything looks so grey and people rarely smile. But spring and summer here are fantastic! I love it that you hear music all the time on the streets, and that big name concerts come here (AC/DC, Madonna, David Byrne, and others). I love it that the people who seemed so unapproachable and sour in the winter are friendly and smiling now. I love it that the cafes all have installed huge outdoor patios and everyone is outside all the time!
Even though it was been 80 – 90 Fahrenheit degrees for like 6 weeks now, I still love it. I love having a coffee with someone before or after work. I love going to the zoo and going to the Kallemegdan Park to take walks or even to bring a beer with a friend and sit and chat. I’ve gotten comfortable going to the huge open-air market (which used to intimidate me). I’m even getting more confident with my language skills and am starting formal classes to get better at the Serbian dialect and Cyrillic alphabet. I feel so lucky to be here. I am very happy to be able to stay for those extra months until end of December. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the city, though there is still so much I don’t know!
So, I am having a great time in Serbia. I am learning like crazy, enjoying myself socially and am generally happy. And now that the semester is finally finished (mid-June) I am more involved with the daily goings-on at the organization I have been working for, WiB. This is where I will stop this entry. In my next entry I will talk a lot more about my work here and all of the exciting professional things that are happening for me here.
Thanks for reading. And check out some of the Belgrade summer pics below...
Xina
Sunset at Kallemegdan Park
Sunset at Kallemegdan Park
At the Belgrade Zoo - feeding the Polar Bear - he's a great catch and I swear that zoo is the best entertainment $3 can buy!
Belgrade Zoo - Antelope (perhaps the only word that rhymes with cantelope!)
Belgrade Zoo - a huge and somewhat vulgar kangaroo
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