And I'm famous!

My last day of work before heading to Indiana a woman came into my shop and we chatted about tea and delicious things. Then she told me about a project she was doing where she took a portrait of a person a day and would I mind. What's really cool is that she took a picture of Mike as well in the summer. When I told her she was completely thrilled - we're the closest connected folks she's photo'd.

The blog is gorgeous and a great collection of images. Check me out - #327 - and Mike - #146 - (his hair blowing in the wind) as well as the blog itself http://www.limagequotidienne.blogspot.com/ I think it's a neat idea, especially since she's doing it to meet new people in a new place (I've heard that before!)

Back in Belgrade

The hot climes have become a distant memory after less than a week - going from 25-30 Celsius to 12 Celsius and wet, rainy is a huge difference (to put it mildly). I've started working a bit, more focused on seeing lovely people that I've missed over the past few months, and preparing for the next move (more later on that).

The last weeks of excavation/cleaning up paperwork blur together as time did so often there. Mike and I traveled to see Ekin at her excavation (outside a small town on the way to Adana) for a break that turned out to be more harrowing than normal dig life, but it was good to get out of the compound, see Ekin again, and be on another adventure. It involved being dropped off at a highway intersection (the road goes to the town) and waiting by a gas station, fervently hoping that we were in the right place. Ceyhan (the town - pronouned Jay-han) was much greener than Antakya, it's on a river that still flows mightily (unlike the Orontes) with parks and actual cafes. Very exciting. The team was a mix of Germans and Turks, much smaller than Atchana's team, and we made a welcome diversion (at least that was my impression). I was even able to do a proofreading job for a professor I've worked for here in Belgrade. We stayed at the house of the watchman (where Ekin and her little girl Lale were as well since the excavation house was full up). Battles with mosquitoes lead to trying to sleep through the call to prayer (quite loud since it was Ramadan), roosters crowing and Lale practicing to be an opera singer... exhausting stuff. But one survives. And even enjoys.

I have photos up now of time in Turkey - just to put some faces with names and all that I suppose. For some reason I really like being on top of mountains looking down - apparently the ancients (or at least people in the past) had a similar view since so much is high up. There aren't many photos of our site because not allowed to post unpublished material. When I see you in person I can show those, but not publicly.

Good news too is that both Mike and I have been invited back to the dig for next year, it's nice to be loved. And useful - I find that is hugely important to my state of well-being, the feeling of utility. Darn American values. So assuming all goes well we have an idea for next summer already - talk about long-term planning!

Next adventure is moving to San Francisco. I'm excited about it, looking to get my ticket in the next few days to head there mid-October or so. Hopefully I'll find work with books or food (two of my loves), enjoy seeing folks I've not seen in awhile, and travel up to Seattle/Portland in the not too distant future as well. Mike will be there too (how fun!) and applying to grad schools for next year. Good times. Let me know if you're there, plan to be there - once I have an address I'll be sending it out once again. And you'll be welcome to come and visit (naturally).

Photo!

So I'm worried about McCain's VP choice - apparently she wants to kill polar bears. And had foreign policy experience because you can see Russia on a clear day from where she is. Hmmm. And then New Orleans will be hit with a hurricane in 12 hours or so. It's a scary world.


I wanted to put up this photo (taken by Hakki, the most relaxed and chill human I've ever met) from the Syria trip because it's actually a decent one and Mum always fusses that there are never any photos of me (there's the original and then what I cropped below). I'm still working on posting the trip itself when I become unmired from entering Bike's locus sheets and edit Maria's senior thesis so she can finally get her hands on her B.S. The compound's beginning to empty too - season really is winding down. But I think we still have enough to try and play volleyball, so that's a good thing.

Some photos

I had a mini-break, here are some photos from the dig camera to give some ambiance - a little on site, our compound during last Friday's fiesta. I'll take more soon, promise.

Kiev - a few more details

I'll try and make this amusing, yet brief.

Branko and I traveled together to Kiev on 22 April, eating little meals from different shaped trays (triangles, squares, rectangles all had their turns). We decided too that Ukrainian Airlines had better uniforms than Austrian. Our driver met us at airport, sign in hand, and I was incredibly thankful that Branko could pull out his elementary school Russian because it's a heck of a sight more than I have. We made it to conference center, checked in and were given one room key. Eh? Just after unpacking Cassie knocked on the door with the other training staff behind her and told us that since we'd met that afternoon we weren't expected to stay together and would in fact both be moving in with different people. I had the lovely Liliya, the TA mentor, as my new roommate - we found ourselves chatting a ton as the week went on, even having our neighbor come and knock on our door because being "too loud" in the evening (the walls were perhaps a bit thicker than paper but not by much).

The conference was by American Councils to train teachers to run orientations for high schoolers who've won a scholarship to go and live in the US for a year. Branko and I represented Serbia, there were others from Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Armenia. Most of the teachers were Peace Corps volunteers; Sean (doing a Fulbright) and I were "Hard core" since were were the only non PCVs. Learned a bunch, got to tryout teaching with Branko and went well, there was silliness and a bunch of walks whenever I could find a free 15 or 20 minutes - having my day totally programmed was totally bizarre. As was 8 a.m. breakfast.

On the last day (Saturday) after photos and goodbyes, the Georgian and Serbian representatives went to a hotel in city center since we had later planes to catch. It took four people to get me checked into the hotel - my name doesn't transliterate into cyrillic easily and I still don't speak Russian or Ukrainian... Martha and I took a walk to the gorgeous churches, then down St. Andrew's street - Cassie had told us we could find eggs and other souvenirs there, lots of little stalls with almost anything you could think of. But no postcards (I looked all around never found any). We met up with the others staying at hotel and some Ukraine PCVs who had later trains to catch to get a little walking tour, go to dinner at a buffet restaurant with cheap traditional food (better than hotel catering for sure). We were thrown out a bit after 7 since they were closing early (Orthodox Easter was the next day), they just started turning off lights. Wandered a bit more, then had a few drinks in beer tent equidistant between the two churches I took tons of photos of. Some thought to go to midnight service, but I headed back for some sleep with idea of early rising and walking some more.

Sunday (Easter) had me meeting Martha at 7:15 a.m. (YIKES!!!) and going to explore some more. My favorite thing was this incredible building across from the president's house - it was covered in stone animals for apparently no reason. We couldn't find out what it was but on drive to airport driver said that the architect was just a creative guy, president now uses it for receptions. Got back for breakfast, goodbyes and then picked up to head to airport. I asked Branko before we got into the car if he had wallet, passport, foreigner card - all there, we're good to go.

But... almost to airport Cassie asks us if we've got plane tickets. I do, but Branko says, "tickets?" He thinks he might have thrown them away thinking that we had e-tix or something; the poor guy hasn't flown much and apparently misunderstood when I'd said on the day we left how we'd get new boarding passes for return voyage. He starts digging through bag, our driver (who was very droll) is incredulous. At airport Branko ransacks bags on the curb, can't find tickets. We go inside and after talking to three windows finally get the Austrian Air ladies who say that they can't do anything with the reservation because of how it's ticketed. Cassie asks how we can get him back that day - we can buy another ticket. Meanwhile Branko is digging through his bags one last time and shouts "I found them!" Whew. Everyone laughs, all is well.

We go to check-in desk next, passing odd waiting line of customs. Cassie checks in, I do the same. Branko is now looking for his foreigner card (Cassie had handed it to him with some other papers from his passport when talking to airline humans) and realizes it's in his wallet. Which he can't find. Repeat the last 15 minutes - digging through bags, the stress, the irritation of doing something so boneheaded. He goes back to where we were (ticket and passport in hand so can get back in), can't find any trace. There's no lost and found for things at the airport, only luggage, and the check-in lady tells us he should get up to the counter since a team of 25 will be coming through shortly. The poor guy gives wallet up for lost and we manage to catch our plane without further mishap, even seeing famous Serbian musicians and a filmmaker in Vienna airport (we all have the same flight). Lesson learned - when stressed, never put down important documents unless they're in something you're carrying.

Alright, I wasn't brief. But hope you were at least a little amused. And looked at the photos... gorgeous place.

Venice photos!

I posted most of them there photos from Venice - enjoy!

No Death in Venice

Listening to my father's words, I did not die in Venice, allowing me to escape the fate of having parallels made between me and Thomas Mann (a blessing for sure). Although redheaded men currently do play a leading role in my life, I had no contact with any whilst there this time.

The rest of my trip involved lots of history - I visited at least a museum a day. Tuesday was an exhibition about Romans and Barbarians where I wished they had better (or at least a big more descriptive) labeling. Wednesday began with the Dodge's Palace and all its splendor. The waiting room covered in maps with two large globes (one of the earth, other of the heavens) really struck me as did the enormous chamber where the Grand Council would meet. My ticket got me into a few other museums so I decided to take advantage. That afternoon I headed to Museo Correr (which focuses on history of the Venetian republic) and enjoyed a globe exhibition - incredible details and art from so long ago. Attached was also the Archaeological Museum and rooms in the National library (now exhibition space). I was glad there was so much as a thunderstorm blew in maybe a half hour after I'd entered, allowing me to peruse at leisure the overwhelming richness therein. When not only the walls but ceilings are covered in art it can get a bit too much. I'll not drone on about the cool statues, etc. I saw but if you go to Venice it's worth the visit. Thursday afternooon brought me to Ca'Pesaro, a modern art museum that also houses an oriental/Asian art and artifact collection. I was glad to rest my eyes on something more familiar and not drenched in history that I don't know much about.

Met some more artists when I tried to find Stefan (the Bulgarian painter) again. The address I had wasn't the place I was looking for but another gallery instead. Thus I got to meet a woman who does striking things mixing cloth, paint and transferring photographs over top. I did manage to locate him and the others too, making new acquaintances in the process. Roamed around a bunch, ate gelatto, and hung out with Pia and company late in the evenings. A good balance of work and play overall. Thursday night we went out to meet some of her acquaintances - a few girls were from Belgrade and confirmed this as truth by the first thing they asked me: "Where do you live in Beograd?" Location is everything, even when away from home I suppose. Also got to chat with a great guy from Chad in French (huzzah), it was nice to be free once more in a foreign tongue. It was a fun last night but getting home in the wee smalls and then chatting more made our planned departure time on Friday of 10 a.m. impossible. Instead took a more leisurely time, had one last cappuccino with Pia in the square by the apartment (here we are below), and then hit the road (well, the valporetto that took us to the road).


Swung through Trieste - wish that had more time to visit there, it was simply gorgeous with the coast in the sun - and continued the drive back home. But took longer than planned (stopping to eat helped that) so I didn't get to my apartment until 1 a.m. And I had classes at 10 a.m. that morning (which I still had to prep). Still, I did it and survived (and slept a whole ton last night finally). In short a good trip where I learned a bunch. I'll post photos soon so you can enjoy the plethora of pretty old buildings that surrounded me for the past 10 days.

Party photos!

I'm inordinately proud of the party I threw before I went to the states in Dec - more people than I'd expected came, it ended up being an all-night affair and lots of fun for just being a "gathering." There were foreigners from the US, France, Congo, a mix of Serbs from English teachers to art students to doctors - truly a motley crew and a lovely way to see folks before going away for a month. Just when things seemed to be winding down (Nicholas, Raphael and I were the only ones left) Miloš showed up with a French girl, two American/Serbian girls, and sandwiches, starting us off again until past 6 a.m.

Finally I've gotten the photos up - I even had Christmas lights courtesy of Julia and Kata (hvala!). Hope to get some other winter photos of Beograd and beyond posted soon as well. Enjoy!

Climb every mountain...

So finally I've got photos of Kop posted. Enjoy them! I could use some of the cool right now, that's for sure. No word yet as to my fall schedule so I'm being patient and spending my days reading, writing, studying Serbian and English grammar. Trying to be on vacation is hard at times. And I mean that seriously. Although I'm getting used to it...

Novi Stan!

(Means "new apartment" in Serbian)

Zdravo again. Made it back to Belgrade and have slowly catapulted back into "real life" (notice two posts in one day!). Objective number one was to find an apartment, so Julia and I signed up with an agency that looks for you and then you pay them afterwards (there are tons that demand money upfront but not trusting that so much). Dusan was my fellow apartment looker/translator as we tramped around most of last Wednesday afternoon and evening with Marija, our agent. Saw tons of stuff and then was struck by one in Vracar. So looked at it again next day (in the daylight) and decided it was what I wanted. I've never rented an apartment before, so this whole process (in a language I still struggle to speak) has been very challenging but positive on the whole. Friday morning came to sign the contract, the owner was late and going to be later when we called, so went to cafe nearby with Marija and Dusan, he joined us. There's something very civilized about reading contracts and discussing terms over espresso. Terribly Belgrade as well. We then all went to the place, did final check through, I handed over ridiculous sums of money and then we had coffee on the roof terrace (and now I've learned how to make Greek/Turkish/Serbian coffee from my landlady). Just fabulous.

Here are some photos of pre-moved into apartment, but it's basically a living/bedroom with a little terrace, entryway with bathroom, then kitchen (with study corner and excellent comfy chair that I'm typing this on). The kicker (besides the natural light) was the roof access - whole roof deck that I share with across the hall neighbors (who I still need to meet), just fantastic. Also the fact the kitchen and bathroom are black, red, and white - what I wanted to do my first kitchen in (so my scale matches!). The neighborhood is residential, pretty quiet but right next to one of the major thoroughfares. I'm about a half hour walk from center where I've been working (was 20 minutes before), and close to both Julia and Dusan. Just great. Already had folks over on the weekend for iced sun tea and then watching "Aladdin" on the roof outside in the dark (power had gone out on the block so better out there).

Of course, the other big event of this weekend was the release of Harry Potter - I picked up my copy at 1 a.m. Glad I'd pre-ordered it since the line was so long. Met another American there, she's also teaching here - maybe we'll get together sometime. It was hard though needing to pack and move-in whilst Harry was calling my name. So adjusted to new digs mostly by reading, unpacking is taking its sweet sweet time (although now that I'm done with the book have no real excuse left). People have left for the sea, I'm going to Kopaonik mountain on the weekend for a 2 week English camp for kids - must be summer in Beograd.

I'll post moved in photos after I get good paintings up and all that, so be on the lookout. Also will send out my new address after we've made everything official with the police.

Greece- the wrap-up

The past month and a half have gone by so very fast; I can't believe I'm back in Beograd again. I left for Athens early June and stayed with some friends for a few days enjoying not teaching and looking at amazing old dead rocks (yes, it's irreverent, but you must admit it's accurate). The Acropolis was incredible, looking out over a city is always one of my favorite things, but the detail and just feeling the weight of history was amazing. The Parthenon was a thing of grace and beauty despite its trappings of scaffolding as they work to restore it. The Archeological museum had so much in it but I missed having someone who knew the stories with me to make it that much more real. Linear B is pretty darn rad though (early writing) as were some of the sculptures. Again, the sheer age was astounding (and I've learned a bit more since then, so that's great). Otherwise really enjoyed just hanging out at Mike & Traci's place in Filothei (lovely folks Rebecca got me in contact with).

I headed to Korinthos after a few days to join the dig. Korinthos (Corinth) has many parts: there's Acro, the old fortress up on a mountain/big hill (500+ meters) that overlooks Archaia (Ancient) Korinthos, which is the archeological site as well as a small village where we were based. There was an earthquake (mid 19th C?) and so the main town, Neo Korinthos, is a few kilometers away on the coast proper. It's a good sized town, had banks, shops, lots of cafes and internet access (huzzah). When I got to Rooms Marinos Susan and Andrew were there, it was like having home come to me. Andrew's a lot bigger than last I saw him two years ago (being 5 will do that), that's for sure.

I won't go into painstaking detail about the next few weeks but basically the days started at 6 a.m. breakfast and then everyone caught the bus to Kenchreai to go work (leaving me and a sleepy Andrew to plot our next move). Andrew and I would go on different adventures as we fancied until 2 or 3 when Susan would come back, the rest of the crew (we were around 50-60 at the height) at 3:30. Then hanging out, staying out of the heat until our 8:30 dinner. Naps became quite necessary for basically everyone. Andrew and I often went to the beach with John, Helen and Thomas (the two other kids on site and their dad) although they left after 2 weeks. We also explored our environs, making trips to Neo Korinthos via bus to play on the "big" playground, run errands and then go sit in a cafe and color while I drank frappe. Now Andrew knows how to pick a café - look at the seating and pick most comfy looking ones. It was a pleasant challenge keeping things interesting for a dynamic 5 year old. He was adopted by all the staff as well, making afternoons fun as we played with the "big kids."

On the weekends the education program had trips around to different sites. The first Saturday we hiked Acrokorinth - Andrew and I made it to the top on our own! Again, I don't want to become a total travelogue, but there are tons of things to see in the area. Unfortunately often we were pressed for time as herding around a group of over 30 students took more time than planned. Paracora was gorgeous - it's a sanctuary for travelers where they'd stop on their way out to sea. Also Mycenae with its massiveness (the lion gate is there) and an excellent little museum. Andrew and Susan came on that trip so going through the site was highlighted by Andrew having been "kidnapped by the Sea People" and thus hiding behind me being invisible to one and all. Luckily our guess that he'd been taken to the cistern was correct (bad guys tending to go to dark places) and he was restored to us. Huzzah.

We had a long weekend off starting with the educational program taking us to Athens. I ended up hanging out with Mike, crashing with Mel (a friend of his) who's working at the Agora. His roommates had organized a party, but then some people came and said it'd been canceled. Turned out to be the best canceled party ever with lots of folks from the Agora dig showing up and hanging out. I enjoyed pretending to be an archeologist for a bit (although I'd come clean about my full part on the team after awhile). Bizarre dynamics though - our Kenchreai crew had much better bonding, basically no catty drama or anything of that sort. The next morning Mike and I headed to Hydra, a totally pedestrian island that we explored most of upon arrival as we looked for a place to sleep (a fun game). By the end we'd been directed by an old woman (Mike speaks Greek) to basically the highest house (which had rooms) where the man said he had nothing but would call his travel agency and see if they could help. After a short rest (this is all between 12-14h by the way and HOT) we headed back down to port. There was no room at the agency but a hotel, one of the first we'd passed, had things free. So always check the first stuff you pass. Later we explored the labyrinth to go up to a monastery/church overlooking the town below. Ate a little picnic, watched the sun slowly set- completely lovely. Almost as much as not having to get out of bed at 6 the next morning. I really do enjoy islands - we explored more the next day, ate excellent seafood and then caught a fast boat to Athens to take train to Korinthos; it was hard to go back to "the daily grind" even if had only been a few days out.

I fell in love with Nafpilo, a coastal town that was briefly the capital of Greece during the early days of the Greek state. It had the best gelatto ever (Italian run place), great walks, little beach (not the best but still easy to access). I ended up staying basically two weekends there - it was part of the excursion one weekend and I and some others just stayed, finding a pension. That weekend everything took 3 hours - frappe, dinner, ouzo on the sweet little balcony of our room. Really enjoyed relaxing with Katie and Mike. When I left the dig (Susan was flying back) I just went back because I liked it so much. Went swimming, ate more gelatto and seafood, tramped around more with Mike- a great way to end time in Greece.

In short a wonderful experience and one I was sad to have end. It was a great group of people not in the least because of their unfettered dork-ness and love of jokes (alright, so not everyone liked them. But still). I mean, any group that supports my throwing basically 3 birthday parties is one worth being around isn't it? As promised, there are photos as well. I'd go on and on, but feel I'm stretching word count. Next installment: new apartment!

Cafe musings

It's funny, we spend a lot of time in cafes here (by we I mean seemingly everyone in town). And there's always the search for the perfect one - they have widely different personalities. Some are great for afternoon lounging, others for a quick(er) cuppa, yet others for nighttime but never day. I've been discovering some tucked away ones, great big terrace kinda places. Practically every place now has outdoor seating set up, great to watch the world go by. But regardless of where you go, you need at least 10 minutes to get the waiter's attention for your bill so you can leave. I went and downloaded photos from Oplenac the other day at one with free wifi. Which was great except that the waiter spilled coffee all over my computer (he broke the first rule of serving - always use a tray)! Now it's caffeinated although I've been told decaf is better for electronics.

And then yesterday our server asked me and a friend if we were from Beograd. She thought I was English and he from North Africa or Asia or something. Bizarre. But funny. I had a student the other day think I was Serbian for the entire lesson (he'd not been in the class when I'd visited before). Acclimation? Or just that we see what we expect to see? Or is it the new haircut?

Oh, and photos

You can find photos from Slovenia Carnival in Ptuj here. And my learning to ski in February in Kranjska Gora here. I'll try to get more recent stuff up soon, but making no promises. I start teaching at a third school tomorrow after all.