Jet planes and police

Sitting outside on my roof and jet planes start screaming across the sky. What's going on? There are also helicopters, it's like being under an air highway. Girl in building across the street is standing on her little balcony snapping photos with her phone, the little old lady next door to her stayed out watching a bit and now has gone in with her laundry. The mysteries of Beograd are myriad.

Last week I hosted a mini-British invasion; Simon from my CELTA course, Jaimie (who we met in Ljubljana), and Luke made their way down from Ljubljana for a few days. It was fun, albeit suddenly cold and rainy. I picked them up at the train station at 6:30 a.m. and got us back to my place in the wet, stopping to pick up burek on the way (and practice my Serbian more on the lady who works at the bakery near my place). We had breakfast and then they napped in my living room - when I talked to Jelica later and said I had a living room full of British men she thought I was joking. But no. Jaimie and Luke got a hostel, Simon and I went to register him with the police with Julia and Kata. I was proud - for the first time getting a foreigner to register within 24 hours!

We trekked to the station, blithe and unconcerned (although cold). On arrival they told us that we needed the form. What? The white card - apparently they were out so no help there. This incident allowed me to learn that you can buy pretty much any official form in a bookstore (the kind that are more office supplies and paper than books). But there's a catch - you have to find a store that actually has them. Nothing near the station did, so we decided to go warm up over a coffee in a cool little café we'd passed, underground and decent atmosphere. Simon and I went exploring a bit after I paid my rent (a shady feeling affair meeting on the street and handing over euros in cash), found the foreigner forms after looking in a few more places in center (4 dinars each - such a bargain), then met up with the other happy voyagers (who'd brought their friend John along) and got some food.

The plan then was to meet Julia and do police station, round two, then find the boys and have a drink all together. We three got in, gave the officers all the documents (they wondered why we'd brought a blank white card since they had copies themselves), and then waited on the bench that I've gotten to know quite well. After a few minutes they called Julia in, Simon and I wondered if they were asking what she'd had for breakfast or something. There was some yelling and then she reappeared, laughing. "We can't do it." "Ha ha, you're joking." "No, no. We can't." Apparently Belgrade's finest had declared that since Julia only owns a third of her apartment they would also need her sister and her mother (since Ivan is a minor) to come down for Simon's registration. They were unswayed by her saying we'd done this before, that he was only staying three days. She called Jelica - who was across town - and we sat, stupefied by the situation. An officer appeared, so tall he seemed to brush the ceiling and without many of his teeth in front, asked what was wrong. "Ne razumen nista," I said (I don't understand anything) to which he responded and then explained in English that when you don't understand anything, that's when life is the most beautiful.

Right. Maybe for the night shift in the foreigner's section.

(I was proud of myself - the word "glup" (stupid) never crossed my lips while anywhere in or near the station. I must be maturing or something.)

Simon never registered and successfully recrossed the border, so that's something. It was fantastic to catch up with him, enjoyed a mix of hanging out and walking about. Went to Zemun for fantastic palačinke (crepes) thick with nutella and other goodness, went out to a bunch of different places in the evening looking for diversion and tried to explain that the cold snap mixed with rain made for not lots of people out and about. It was sad to see them go early Saturday morning, although walking to the train station and back with the sun rising is a beautiful thing. Even went to the market and got some things while it was still being set up - 7 a.m. is not an hour I usually see, so made the most of it. It's wonderful to have a place of my own where I can welcome folks.

Oh, and I found out - the jets were trainees practicing for this weekend's military graduation ceremony. Another mystery solved. Although I still need to find out what was going on with the taxis on Tuesday - they were driving in a herd honking near the city parliament. Pretty sure it was a protest/strike, but not sure as to details.