snapshot

Here a is a taste of what I've been up to...

smile!
:)

I am officially 21! Its kind of funny I celebrated my 21st birthday in Belgrade, which is pretty nutty. I have to say, I think i am experiencing culture shock for the first time. Belgrade defiantly feels different than home. I talked with my host family today a bit about politics. My host mom here brought up when Nato bombed Belgrade in 1999 and I felt for the first time as an outsider and it hit home how difficult it must have been to live in Serbia in 1990s and even somewhat today. We are learning a lot about the EU and economics and I never realized how have an American passport is like having a golden ticket. If you are Serbian it is ex termly difficult to get a visa to other countries, which in the US doesn't sound like that big of deal but as student in a small European country that physically limits how you move around the globe. As easy as it was for me, as far as legality goes, to travel around Europe someone here would have a much harder time. In fact, they can't even go to places that used to be part of Yugoslavia, like the coats of Croatia where many Serbs used to own summer houses.
Any way on a less serious note, its been a very packed couple of days.Yesterday i woke up early and started the day off right by visiting the fortress. Belgrade is an incredibly old city, it stands where the river sava and the danube meet, thus making it very strategic. I dont know how old the fortress is but it is huge and had a military museum inside and some crypts. After that I wondered with my friend trying to decode the Cyrillic street names. We have a map of the city with the street names in the english alphabet in the real world that is of very little help. What we did find however was a wedding in an orthodox church (that was amazingly beautiful but you cannot take pictures inside) and the oldest Kafana in Belgrade thats name is "?" because it existed before you named Kafanas. Kafanas are all over belgrade and there a few in Zagreb, they are lingering proof of turkish influence in the region. KAFANA there is a link for more info on Kafana, although it doesn't sound like that article is very accurate. As far as i know they are fancy drinking establishments meant for social gatherings and have high ceilings. They serve food but one is not obligated to order a meal if you sit down at a table. After wandering a bit more we gave up and headed to our respective homes for lunch.
Later that night i headed back into town for birthday celebrations. Waiting for me at the main square was a poem, three good friends and a mcdonalds cheeseburger (which is a whole story itself). We split the burger and headed towards an amazing restaurant find called little bay. Little bay is a ridiculous restaurant that is opera themed. If you make a reservation you can sit in a box. The meal was super fancy and we even order a bottle of wine, started slides and deserts, which is a luxury on a student budget. The ridiculous thing is it was super cheap! (most things here are comparatively cheap, but are a trick for the brain to work out, for example 100 dinar (the currency here) is like 1.25$ so things appear to be more expensive, but it sure makes you feel snazzy to hold 1000 dinar bill!) Anyway we had an excellent time, that was supplemented by some live violin music.

okay so there is more to say, but i am tired of typing for now...

AND! thanks for the birthday wishes...

A change of place/pace

So i have arrived in Belegrad, which means i should probably change the name of my blog at this point sinc ei am no longer in croatia but serbia. I am staying in a nice tiny flat right outside the city. My room is pretty neat and is lofted in the apartment...The mother here has a daughter, 17, who is doing an exchange program in the US. She is in highschool in Des Moins for the year and is loving it, which is why my host mom here wanted to host an american. She is very welcoming, but i think it will take getting used to here, even though it is only for two weeks. The city is much bigger and very different than zagreb. I hear it is more exiciting on a lot of levels but as seen more wear and tear. It sort of becomes clear very quickly that zagreb is a richer city as far as money goes. However, belegrade has amazing streets, hills, shops, and a very bustling atmosphere. We'll see what I think after a few days. Our classes here are being held at a university which is one of the first private university in belegrade. The building is very new inside and pretty hip.
So not too much to say now, except it was quite the exciting morning trying to catch our bus here... more to come later.
Miss you all!
Emily

Dox

The last twenty four hours have been a bit crazy! First of all there is a major film festival happening in Zagreb right now (zagrebdox). We tried to go to the opening film monday night but only made it time to realize the tickets were sold out, however, it wasnćt a complete waste of time, since as we were discussing or options in walked the president of croatia. Virgil pointed him out and we dashed ahead trying to snap a picture, but alas he was too fast and slipped into the theatre in which we had failed to get tickets for. At least we decided to buy tickets for one of th emovies showing tonight, which was an excellent choice. Before the movie however we wanted to get dinner... which mostly resulted in a comdey of erros and extermly ull bellies. We thought it would be a good idea to try the only mexican restruant in zagreb. After arriving and grabbing a table we took a long time to order without realizing how close to our movie we were cuttin git. So eventually our fodo came and we decided we needed to scarf it down in no time, whcih resulted in a few dropped forks and amricnas probably appearing very piggish. after we finished we paid and literally had to run to the tram stop, jump on, get carded by a tram lady, who sarahjane practically knocks over when the tram came to sudden stop, and run into the theatre just in time to grab the last 5 seats in a row. So i think one, we have ruined the mexican resturants preceptions of american students permantly, two gotten sick from eating tons of food and running, and three worked off some of the food from laughing at our own mistakes (which includes at some point getting off on the wrong tramstop)

In the realm of the classroom things are moving along. I have already been here a month and am started to think seriously about what i want to do my independet study project on, which we have to decided relativly soon. In addition we had a lecture from one of the youngest memebers of parliment, when she was elected she was only 21 years old, that would be like me becoming a congresswomen next year. kind of hard to imagine. Today we had a lecture from a feminist and LGBT activist which was also pretty good and really interesting.

Its weird to think how comfortable i have become with the city. I feel like i know pretty well and feel like in some ways it has become a home. We leave Zagreb on thursday and it is weird to think after that i will be traveling a lot more.

I hope everything is good at home...
Love,
Emily

bananas!

February 21, 2009
What a wonderful day!

I think I have had one my best days here yet. This morning started off with a bang, meaning we ate scrambled eggs for breakfast which was the first time since I have been here…usually breakfast is bread and cheese and yogurt, which is good, but not scrambled eggs. Anyway, today I went to Samobor with my family. Samobor is a town 30 mins away that has a carnival. (I posted some pictures on facebook of a man with a banana not oo long ago, he was promoting the carnival…) We spent the morning creating our costumes, I was a black cat, Dora a ghost, and Irena a hula girl. The dad came with us too and he bought he best costume at Samobor (look for pictures later) At the carnival we ate great food, danced to live music and drank mulled white whine. I hung out with my family all afternoon and met up with some friends in early evening at the part of the carnival that had carnival rides. After a bit of wondering around we hear approaching drums. A giant parade snaked through the cobblestone streets. There were “turks” and a lot of people dressed as bananas and a sign that said “the republic of bananas” and a group of pirates in a marching band… and many more. It was pretty much the most exciting thing ever. They all proceeded to the stage, the earlier that day had held talent shows and cover bands. On the stage all sorts of shenanigans took place, however we couldn’t understand thing that was happening, except for the rather sexual parts. I guess everyone is making fun of everything and then on the last night of the carnival, which is Tuesday they burn the prince of the carnival, which is a puppet. I need to do a bit more research. Anyway, everyone dresses up and makes fun of everything, and there is dancing, and this specialty cream cake you can only buy there, so basically it was everything great in one place.
Yesterday after class I went to a contemporary art museum that had a lot of good video art, as well as a few terrible pieces that seemed rather unethical. Afterwords we decided to have coffee and stumbled upon an amazing café, whose sign read “save the animals, pickle a squirrel” We knew immediately it was promising. When we walked in the bar tender made a joke and we didn’t know what he said so we had to speak English, at which point he revealed he lived in NYC for 10 years. We grabbed a rustric table and order some kava s mlijeko (coffee with milk). The coffee shop was decorated with this and that, including a stuffed animal proudly wearing scuba gear right about the “stage” area. The best part of all was when our bill came! (What an oxymoron) But the bill comes in a book, which is just cute. Anyway, it was cozy and nice and just a good find.
The rest of the weekend is very busy. I have a paper to write, family lunch, reading an an interview to do. Sigh! And next Thursday I am off to belegrade…
Well,
I hope all is going smoothly in the states!
Pusa!
Emily

PS, we found a drip coffee maker at our classroom and made drip coffee on Friday! ☺

I posted pictures on my facebook account, because it is easier... sowwy

I just got back from vukovar about an hour ago. It was a long bus ride back considering it snowed for the first time since I have been here. It was a strange feeling almost the whole way there and back. There is some universality to driving down a long highway through fields. At points I would look out the window and swear I could be on a part of 1-70 (well except for the lack of billboards). Anyway, after watching American movies on the bus, a bus that could have been driving through the us, arriving in Vukovar was a quite a shock. Many of the houses looked like swiss cheese. It is hard to even image the amount of bullets that had to fall to create such a plethora of scars. With us on the bus was our guest lecturer who had done field research in Vukovar in 2001 and 2002. He went on and on about how the city had been totally rebuilt. I think the majority of us were baffled by the difference in perception. All we saw were bullet holes and bigger holes, which meant tanks, and then places of rubble. However, mixed into the mess was many new pre-fabricated houses in pastel colors with no facades. The difference of perspective finally become clear when we visited the hospital that took in victims for the three months the city was under siege and which eventually was bombed and evacuated at the end of the three months. The hospital was the strangest place I have ever been. It really revealed how the whole city of Vukovar exists as some weird time-sace role of monument, national symbol, and yet a city that people live and try to move on in. This hospital still functions as a hospital, and quite effectively actually as one girl found out when she went to get an ear infection checked out,yet the basement is also a museum to the fall of vukovar. We went in to find the museum and were really confused. The man a the desk gave us wacky directions through the hospital from the entrance. After a couple of turns the directions he gave use make us walk through a waiting room full of people and kids waiting to see a doctor, and here we were four American students with cameras and puffy north face coats looking for a museum. At first we turned around thinking we had obviously gone the wrong direction when a lady motioned to use. And there, around the corner began a museum, which I have to say was one of the most shocking and bizarre museums I have ever been in. In effect they reacted the living circumstances and left the basement, holes and all, as it was at the end of the siege. We watched an intro film subtitled in English which had footage of the fighting. I finally understood why our lecturer kept raving about ho they had rebuilt the city. The entire city, every building, had been demolished to rubble. The city looked like the end of the world. Comparatively, vukovar today was a beautiful restoration. The basement of the hospital was cold, and small, and filled with cots, and operating rooms. During the siege the doctors never left and worked from 6 in the morning till 1 or 2 am only to spend all night sterilizing things again. On any day they received 10-50 new patients, including the delivering of a several babies during the siege. The museum, however, left me with strange feeling in my mouth. They had created these white-gauze covered figures throughout the museums as if they were the people. It seemed bizarre and distant and anonymous. Then one room was completely dark covered in mirrors with a red box in the middle. I am not quite sure the symbolic meaning. After the museum I ate some burek (really delicious Bosnian specialty, basically pasty filled with meat and cheese).

In the two days we were there we also had two really great lectures. The first was by a guy who did research after the peaceful integration of serbs and croats into vukovar (the political history is interesting, after the fall, and if anyone wants to know I’ll fill you in). he interviewed people about memories and talking to their neighbors. The reintergration of western slovania (the part of croatia that was taken over by Serbia for a period of time in the 90s) is considered one of the most successful UN peace plans. However, until this day, which is 18 years after the fall of vukovar, Serbs and Croats do not talk to eachother and do not put their children in mixed classrooms. The second lecture was given by a guy who works for an NGO here that is starting a project called the Nansen New School, which would be a public school that would take children of ethnicities, however, it is not open yet. Between our two lectures we explored the town and visited the Croatian defenders cemetery. This was also the first time I have seen a landmines sign. The field surrounding vukovar are still heavily mined. In fact for miles of the outskirts there are no fields, just wil grass because of the mines. Our last bit of business in vukovar was the visit to a small town outside of vukovar were there was a mass killing of Croatian fighters and a memorial and museum at the site of the once mass-grave. At this point it started to rain and we proceeded back to Zagreb on our mini-bus.

All and all it was a strange trip. On one hand, it is really hard to image and therefore hard to relate to and another hand it is emotionally jarring. I mean, the streets themselves are quite because you do not talk to your neighbor here. There are still problems with trust. In addition it made me question a lot of my right to come her and study someone’s suffering. Am I just prolonging the process of moving on? It is obvious you are in vukovar to look at the damage and I have to wonder how that makes people who actually live there feel.

On a side note we stayed at a really silly hotel and played bananagrams all night last night with the bus boys who tried to play but just couldn’t really play a word game with broken English. This was all after a group dinner at the hotel that consisted of lots of laughs, a game of telephone with our professors and ended with chocolate-walnut pancakes (aka crepes). It made me happy that we have a good group of people and funny professors who are nice and really care about us. I think we all needed a laugh after such a weighty day. Today on the bus we took our break with Nicholas cage by watching national treasure, quite a silly movie. When we got back Zagreb had a light dusting of white snow and my professor, who lives literally in the building diagonal from my apartment was taking a taxi and offered me a free ride back from the bus drop off. It was a nice way to keep my toes warm.

Anyway, now I am back “home” and am seriously contemplating joining a gym due my diet here. I did about 5 minutes worth of crunches when I got back and pooped out. I have a group meeting tomorrow morning and class in the afternoon, but I will post this as soon as I get some internet time.

Hope everyone is doing well!
Xoxo
Emily

Ps 1. My ankle is all-better
Ps 2. I met a Bosnian who had been to st.louis
Ps 3. Vukovar kind of looked like cement-land, for those of you who know what cement land is.

 

Ouch!

Below: Croatian National Theatre. I didn't take this picture... but it looks Just like that!

It’s Sunday afternoon now and I have sort of just wasted my morning. Last night I rolled my ankle on accident, which isn’t a big deal unless you have to walk everywhere! So this morning I gave it a break and put some ice on it and I hope it is better quick. Dora was being my nurse! She was really good at it, she even brought me ice cream. I can’t remember the last time I rolled my ankle, but I have forgotten how much it hurts! Other than that things are pretty good.
Tomorrow we are going to Vukovar. It is a 3 hour bus ride. During the wars in 90s Vukovar was under siege for 3 months. Most of the fighting was fought between paramilitary groups. We watched a documentary about Vukovar that was hard to swallow. It was like little kids playing war but with real weapons. I will write more about it when we get back. We are only staying there for one night.
On Friday after class Fiona and I went to see the Rembrandt exhibition here, which was pretty incredible. It was all his prints, which I thought were beautiful and very delicate. Also, he made all these prints of “ordinary” people, which were kind of hilarious and included a man urinating.
Yesterday I had coffee with a friend and a guy from Zagreb who worked at my friend’s summer camp one summer. It was Valentines Day and people were selling hearts of the street. I have to say it made me a bit homesick, but my host mom gave me some delicious chocolates in a paper heart. I wanted to get up and go to a flea market this morning that only happens on Sunday but due to my ankle aching I didn’t go, which is too bad. I feel like I need to start traveling more or finding more adventures to go to on the weekends. I also need to find friends who will check out the museums with me. Ah too much to do and not enough time, or language, to figure out how.
Oh also we bought tickets to go to the opera soon at the national theatre, a beautiful Austrian building that I can’t wait to go inside!

Anyway, I have to go for Sunday lunch now with my big extended family.

Miss you all!

Emily


a little later... i came to this cafe to use the internet and it is absolutely adorable it is called Booksa.
also...my ankle feels better :)