Comings and Goings

Mike left this morning - I wish that traveling didn't require leaving sometimes. We had a rockin' good time here in BGD and it was beyond wonderful to have him around once again. I threw an impromptu party Saturday (invited people Friday morning) and while my apartment was STUFFED with people, everyone had a fantastic time (or so they said). Finally I got a bunch of people together that I've been wanting to meet for a long time. Knowing people in such convoluted ways, it's even more amusing to try and explain to them how we all know each other (even better was that many brought friends I didn't know, the circle ever-expands). The downside was having to be awake, dressed and functional for a lesson at noon on Sunday (yes, I worked on Easter); but totally worth it. Now if only a bunch of restaurants/cafes hadn't decided they would close for renovations this week (one night two out of three of my ideas for dinner weren't open) life would be even more perfect.

I head to Venice tomorrow morning for a little over a week. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell afterwards; here's seeing how Italian goes after all this Slavic language exposure. It's late and I have to get up early, so here's hoping your Easter was a good one (that included chocolate bunnies if possible) and that this weird March weather settles down a bit (snow, rain, sleet, and sun happened today in almost every sequence imaginable).

Late nights... and late nights

It's been a bit since my last posting - politics are still running amok but daily life has slipped back into that seductive lull of "I'll do my thing, the government will do its, and there's nothing I can do about it." Perhaps dangerous mindset, but here it is once again (hmmmm, where have we seen this before? It sounds so familiar).

Operating on the 'when it rains it pours' theory of existence, my sparsely filled days with barely any work and not much going out have morphed into a plethora of plans. I'm proud of getting to 2 films in FEST- "Le Scaphandre et le papillon" ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly") was moving and beautiful to see. I had no idea what it was about going in, just knew that I'd be able to understand it (since French with Serbian subtitles I can handle). A man has sudden stroke, wakes up paralyzed and still manages to write a book - incredible. Both movies I saw ("Brokeback Mountain" was the other) spoke to be trapped in a situation you can't change and how varied reactions are to that state of affairs. I ponder on those who think they are trapped when they really could find a way out; we're good at placing blame far away from ourselves. But then again, sometimes you really are stuck in a situation - then it's figuring out how you yourself can make it at least livable, right?

Got to see The Belgrade Dixieland Orchestra play earlier in the week (spreading the music of the oppressors (note the sarcasm) for a Day of Jazz celebration; good tunes. Ate guacamole and played Scrabble, had really good Saturday classes and dinner with a new friend, went to Chinatown market... generally a good weekend and preparation for what will be a busy week as I cover adult classes.

Also looks like I should be working with American Councils for their summer pre-departure orientation for high schoolers going to spend a year in host families in the US; it would mean going to Ukraine for a few days end of April to get trained (where I've never been), then working end of June/start of July here in Beograd before heading to Turkey... plans they keep evolving.

OH! And funny thing - the artists have been having a lot of fun with the opportunities for satiric art current affairs have created. Here are some of my favorites based on actual posters (more here):

Sunday, sunny Sunday

So the travel alert I mentioned earlier has turned into a travel warning. The US embassy took out non-necessary personnel and dependents. But there's no need to panic - so stop panicking! Seems to be a bit more overcautious than needed, also sends political message? Again, my personal safety isn't in danger so I'm staying put.

Yesterday turned out to be a fine one. I have a new student starting next weekend, meeting with another one tomorrow (huzzah), so work appears to be picking up (knock wood). Had an excellent evening at Casa Garica with sangria and a good group of people - it was funny when Miha came because we had the Slovene, the American, and a crew of Serbs. Later on met some Brazilians... oh, the international mixing. Lots of laughter, decompressing and silliness in Serbian and English. One of my favorites was when Miha prepared to tell a joke saying it was funny in Czech, Serbian, Slovene, but not English - which was why he was telling it in English? Wordplay is a good time...

Today talked with the girls who live next door - I really like their family - as we sat on the terrace in the last of the sun and warmth of the day. It was an unexpected language lesson as we went from work/school doings to their reactions to the protests, news coverage, why Kosovo is Serbia. They pretty much felt that idiots shouldn't be destroying stuff and that it was a pity even more since all the protest/rally doings were peaceful. They'd gone down by the Parliament and said they couldn't move it was so crowded.

I find myself with not much more to say - been a quiet day, everything seems normal and that feels extremely good. You can only live with constant tension for so long after all. I'm supposed to go meet a friend here soon, so I'll post later when have more to say.

Why not legged force? Or charming force?

I've decided that in an attempt to balance out the media that keeps focusing on negative actions, let's look at some more positive things. Like the fact that most of the protests were peaceful last night, tons of people DIDN'T burn things or destroy anything.

Today walking down the street saw little kids going to or from school on their own. Things are mostly peaceful, it was a gorgeous sunny day. I'm amused by the "Serbia is Kosovo" signs in most shop windows - suspect that some of them might be there as accident insurance (which if that's the case it worked). I'll put out there too that no one is attacking people in the streets; the hooligans are going after police and buildings. I feel a strange echo of my words during the Paris car burnings/riots - I'm still not a police officer OR a building. So I'll be alright.

Meanwhile I'll keep making jokes about being "zlo" (evil); perhaps they're tasteless but gotta keep laughing. Thanks to those who have been checking in to see if I'm ok - I'm resisting the potential existential crisis of the question "Are you ok?" (Because then I start wondering "Am I ok?"). I am and have lots of class tomorrow, meeting with a new student, and then going for drinks with a motley crew (ok, my crews are always motley, but still) - life continues as normal. And that's important