TOTAL FRUSTRATION!!!

 I have been  living in Serbia for 10 months and 10 days. Every time I speak to a friend back home or overseas they ask me the same question.  ”DO YOU SPEAK SERBIAN YET?” My answer is always the same!!!! “HELL NO! It’s considered one of the 5th hardest languages in the world!!!” That excuse has finally worn out!!!! hahahahaha

I am a little odd. Traveling to a country where I understand NOTHING is a HUGE rush for me! Most people in their right mind would never do it alone. I have never claimed to be smart or even slightly intelligent. I just like to live a fun and entertaining life until my liver, kidneys or heart gives out!

 I remember when I told my mom and dad that I was going to move to Serbia. My father told me that if it wasn’t for mom keeping him in Central Illinois  he would have moved to Brazil back in the early 80′s. My father is a farmer in Central Illinois. He also has a construction company and builds residential homes. He had thought about and was very close to purchasing some farm ground down in Brazil. The farm ground was very cheap back in the 80′s and in that climate you can harvest two crops of soybeans and corn as opposed to one in Illinois. Mom is the opposite. She has more “roots” to the small Cumberland county community. She couldn’t imagine someone wanting to travel to a land where they don’t speak our language and you don’t know anyone. I remember them and others asking me ..“Why would you even think about moving to a country where they don’t speak English and you don’t speak their language!” I always answer “Most Serbians under 30 speak or understand English.” People are amazed at that. I will never say anything negative about Mexico because living there for 10 months was one of the greatest experiences of my life but English is not as common there as it is in Serbia! Serbia is currently requiring English in primary school! The level of English knowledge from the younger generation is AMAZING! The kids all tell me that they learned most of their English from watching American cartoons! The USA is a very diverse nation and needs to get on board with other countries and require Spanish or another foreign language in primary and secondary school! I just visited the gymnasium school in Nis. The kids are amazing. A few of them told me that they are studying English, Latin, French and German!!!!!!!!! OMG!!! That blows me away! The first chance we had to take a foreign language was in high school! The younger you learn a language the easier it is to pick up others! My friend from New Zealand pointed out this problem in his country too.

To sum it up….. I do enjoy traveling to a foreign country and not understanding anything but after 10 months…. IT GETS OLD!!! I really need to get my ass in gear and learn more Serbian. My friends all speak English perfectly… so I don’t get too many opportunities to speak Serbian! I live in an apartment behind my buddies grandpa’s house. The family here is so kind but they speak ZERO English. The grandmother, grandfather, aunt and mother live here and are so helpful to me! They bring me food, blankets and i think the grandmother offered to do my laundry but wasn’t sure. I really wish I could communicate with them. Nothing is worse than saying “NE RAZUMEM NISTA!” ahahhahaha… ITS TIME TO GET SERIOUS WITH MY SERBIAN!! 

 

USA vs Serbia… Presidential Elections

I have had a few political posts in here. It is a taboo but it is a very important year for both countries. It is the season to re-elect or elect a new president in the USA and Serbia.

The USA is based on a two party system. It is made of two main parties.. the Republicans and Democrats. There are other parties but they are usually not contenders in our presidential elections. A few examples are Libertarian party, Green party, Socialist party, and back in the 90′s, the Reform pary was really making a run with Ross Perot taking on Bill Clinton and George H.W Bush.

The two party system is far from perfect! You are given the choice between two parties that are made up of extremist elements. You have to try to appease large masses of people. Let’s look at me, for example… I am a liberal Democrat that supports social programs, unions, religion out of politics, minority rights, universal healthcare, a woman’s right to chose, etc… I don’t like the anti-death penalty, extreme animal rights activism, extreme anti-gun policies of my party. This forces voters into supporting a candidate and a party that has opposing views and causes major polarization! It’s like the old saying ” i am voting for the worst of two evils!”

The United States is a very divided country. We have extreme right wing nuts, the Tea Party…. and we have extreme lefty nuts, me! hhahaha… If you take a look at the last three presidential elections you can see just how divided we are! They were very close to 50% of the electorate supporting one candidate and 50% supporting the other one. The USA uses the electoral college to select our president. That is a strange method that causes it to trump popular vote. Al Gore won the popular vote for president in 2000 but lost the presidential election because of the electoral college. The electoral college is the system the USA uses to elect its president. It is based on the population figures of each state. With that info, the states are given a number. That figure then allots that amount to the winner of the popular vote of that state. Here is an updated chart showing the total votes for each state…..We are currently the only country to use this outdated system.I feel it is time to eliminate the electoral college and allow the PEOPLE to decide!

It is really sad how campaigning has evolved. They have states labeled as red for solid Republican, blue for solid Democrat, purple for swing state or a state that can “swing” either way. This causes politicians to avoid some states all together and battle for only a few states! It also causes lots of voter apathy. People on the West Coast can see how the elections results are going and they might call the election before the polls close in every state! Its STUPID!!! I think the press should be banned from reporting results until a few days later after ALL votes are counted! This would create more excitement and make you feel like your vote actually counted. I have many friends in Illinois that don’t vote. They say “what makes the difference? they are already saying so and so will win!” ughhhh

This 2012 election has been narrowed down to two candidates. Democrat incumbent Barak Obama vs Republican Mitt Romney. Obama has my vote, hands down! Romney is an out of touch millionaire from Massachusetts. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, dodged the military by joining a Mormon mission in France, oh yeah… he is a Mormon! I am not religious and don’t care if he is a Hindu but the Mormons scare me! They believe that the Garden of Eden is in Missouri, that God lives on a planet next to the sun, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that blacks are dark skinned because God is punishing them… ENOUGH SAID!!! He scares me!!! Obama isn’t perfect but look at the pile of shit that was on his plate when he took over this country in 2008!!!! We had the “bailout” that the Bush administration put into place but Obama gets “credit” for! Yes, he did support it but stop blaming him for  dreaming it up! He took over a country that was bleeding jobs , housing market tanking, auto industry one step from bankruptcy, two wars, etc… It was far from heaven! Obama took the reigns and made “some” lemonade with those lemons. He was the first president in decades that was able to see the passage of universal healthcare, ended the war in Iraq, saved the US auto industry from bankruptcy.. now GM is boasting record profits, gave the order to kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, signed equal pay for women act, ended the crazy “dont ask dont tell” policy, ended the Bush policy of “WE DONT TALK TO OUR ENEMIES”, etc… He has disappointed me in a few areas. He has continued to fund and up the troops in Afghanistan, he has not closed Guantanemo Bay prison, etc. I know I will hear a lot of B.S from this but that is my view and my opinions.. We all have opinions and that is what makes the USA a great place! We can disagree in a friendly, respectful way. This is where I feel Serbia has a problem!

Serbia is a country that uses the multi-party system of government. This form of government has many parties that must form coalitions to win and create policy! One single party cannot achieve victory alone! I like this in the sense that it creates unity and keeps the RADICAL elements of any group at bay! It brings most issues to the CENTER where they belong! Back home, Congress and the Senate are voting for most bills along party lines. This form keeps that from happening and allows many things to get through in a timely manner!

Serbia just held its elections last Sunday. Boris Tadic, the current president of Serbia, resigned in March to force a consolidation of all elections in May. They had 13 people on the ballot for president. Tadic came out on top with 26.2% of the vote. The next closest challenger was Tomislav Nikolic of the Serbian Progressive Party with 25% of the vote. The only other candidate to get double digits was Dacic of the Socialist Party. Serbia requires a run off election if the candidates don’t receive a certain %. They will face each other on May 20th! Tadic has been in power since 2004 and has faced Nikolic three separate times.

The biggest difference I have noticed between the USA and Serbia is the ability to discuss politics politely. I am not talking about the entire Serbian population. I have MANY friends that are support their candidate and are open minded but in general there is a lot of STRONG opinions here. My Facebook page page is a good example. I have around 4000 Serbian buddies from around the world! They are very, very diverse in their beliefs. I have many people who side with the Chetniks , many that align themselves with the Partizans, many who think Boris Tadic is a Godsend, many who think he is the worst thing that has ever happened to Serbia, many who think Seselj and the Radicals are patriots, many who think he should be in Hague for life, many who support Vojvodina independence from Serbia, many that think its HORRIBLE, many who despise the thought of Kosovo independence , many who say its time to recognize it…. WHEW!!!!! I have posted a few pictures of Tadic, Tito, etc and the comments went BRUTAL!!! I have had many friends drop me for posting a picture and many friends drop me because they were insulted by the rude comments of other Serbs and told me that I have too many radicals on my page.

The other insane thing about Serbian election season is  the amount of stickers that they post on walls, windows, posts, everywhere they will stick!! They don’t stick up just one! They have a whole wall full!! One day you might walk past a wall in the center of the city and its covered with pro-Tadic stickers. The next day you walk past and its covered over with Radical party stickers. It wouldnt be so bad if they were a two party system but they had 12 candidates on their presidential ballot!!! hahahaha.. You can tell how many of these stickers are around town. I was watching this crew of workers scraping layer upon layer off of a window in downtown Nis. What a waste of time and money!!!! We don’t see this in the USA. There are signs that are stuck in peoples yards, some billboards but most of ours are tv, newspaper, radio etc! If the politicians would spend this money on the citizens or Serbia or programs to better society they could do a lot of good instead of throwing millions into these stickers that will have no effect on voter outcome! SAD!

 

FINALLY!!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Ladies and Gentleman……

I finally have my Serbian documentary 100% planned! Check out the intro video that my buddy, Dalibor T was kind enough to make for me!!!! The sound has a slight echo because of me.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zcH4-7JvHQ I have hired a film producer and professional cameraman from Belgrade. The lady is AMAZING!!! She is working with a historian to get the most out of each town along the way!! The cameraman has done some beautiful work in the past!!! They will coming on the 3 week trip with me! We will depart from Subotica, Serbia on June 20th and end three weeks later in Raska. We are going to stray off the path for a 3 day tour of Tara and hit Nis! It is also going to have an episode from my hometown of Greenup, IL.. that is the little city that I was born and raised in . I will speak to locals, show the sites, food, prices of gas, etc.. We will also meet some of the locals that were CRITICAL in the baseball donations for Serbs. Chicago will also have a spot in this! I will travel to Chicago to meet some of the 600K Serbs that call my country home! We will discuss the differences, show the impact some of them have had on the USA economy, etc!

This is going to cost me A LOT of money!! I have to rent the crew a car, gasoline, hotel, food for 5, editing, dvd burning, website, equipment, insurance, etc…. My estimated cost is going to exceed $8,000 USD! That is a lot of money for a guy that has volunteered for two years!!! I really need ALL OF YOU TO HELP WITH THIS!!! You don’t have to donate $50- $1,000 dollars!!!! $5, $10, $15 etc will all add up!!!! I have over 5000 friends on Facebook and thousands of views on Youtube!!! You could all organize a little fundraising drive like my Serbian buddy, Slobo Jokic in Australia!! PLEASE!!! This is being done to benefit the Serbian people in Serbia! I am not going to profit off of this. The episodes will be uploaded for free for viewing because I know many Serbians here dont have the extra money and it wouldn’t be right to charge for it! I hope to enter it into some world wide film festivals and will be contacting local tv stations in my home state and in Serbia to try to get it aired on tv.

Here is the WEPAY.COM link… please share with all the international Serbs and their communities!!!! HVALA!!!!https://www.wepay.com/donations/serbia-through-american-eyes

ANYONE WITH A VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS CREDIT CARD OR DEBIT CARD CAN DONATE!!! Many Serbs have an INTERNET PURCHASING card. Those work PERFECTLY!!! Go to my WEPAY.COM site and add the amount and hit DONATE. It is that EASY!!! If you don’t have a Visa, Mastercard, American Express card you can email me for other options! charlesserbia@gmail.com… I decided to go with WEPAY.COM instead of Kickstarter because they only charge 3.5%.

I have had a few of you already donate!!! It means a lot.. Vlasina Travel is a Serbian owned travel agency in Chicago that was very generous. The Mixon family met a wonderful young Serbian lady on a cruise ship and traveled to Serbia and fell in love with this country too.. They made a very large contribution! Another BIG HVALA to fellow Serbs… Angela Skocic, Mario Maric, Marko Nikolic, Marijana Stojadinovic for their donations!!!! IT REALLY MEANS A LOT!!!!!! WE CAN ALL CHIP IN TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD!!!!

Any donor will be listed in the film credits!!! PLEASE contact me for any further questions!!!!!  charlesserbia@gmail.com… If you know of any businesses, media outlets, etc that might be interested…. LET ME KNOW!!!!

 

 

Arrival into Nis, Serbia!!!

I know its been a long time since I last wrote here. I have been on a little expedition in South Serbia!! I promise I will get better! Thanks for the messages of thanks and support!

I like to do crazy things. My trip to Nis was totally random. I hit the bus station in Krusevac at 3PM on Friday, April 30th. I just walked up to the window and looked at the schedule. There was a bus leaving for Nis at 3:50PM and I chose that one! I have a lot of buddies there and thought it would be nice to surprise them. Nis is said to be the 3rd largest city in Serbia with around 250,000 people. If you ask some locals they will tell you they are larger than Novi Sad because Novi Sad includes the surrounding village populations in their numbers. This was not my first visit to Nis. I was here for one night in 2010. We pulled in late and got a hotel room but didn’t get a chance to check out the sites on that visit.

The one hour bus ride from Krusevac to Nis was great! I had my own seat, the window was clean and easy to see out of. The landscape in South Serbia is very beautiful! You see many hills, trees, crops being tended and land being plowed by hand! I noticed many old folks bending over tending their soil on their small plot of land! You don’t see many tractors but people doing it with hoes and rakes.

It was a nice sunny afternoon when I arrived into the Nis bus station. A guy sitting a few seats away came up to me when the bus pulled into the station. He had overheard me speaking English and wanted to know if I needed any help finding anything in Nis. He was half Serb/ half Aussie. He moved here with his mom about 5 years ago. It was nice to hear that Aussie accent that I grew to love while in Australia in 96 and 02! I gladly accepted his offer because I knew nothing about this town and had no idea where I would stay. His friend met him there and they walked me through the center of town stopping at a few hostels. The first two were sold out because of some cooking competition that was being held that Saturday. They continued to walk me to different hostels. They finally found one that was secluded but a few minutes from the center of  Nis. I grabbed their hands and thanked them for taking the time out of their day to assist me! It is always refreshing to find good people! The great thing is… i seem to bump into good people all the time!!! Knock on wood!!!

I went into the hostel and chatted with the young lady.The name was the ART HOSTEL.  She said ” You are the first American to ever stay here!” Her father wanted me to send them a little USA flag when I get home. I have to remember that! The upstairs room was perfect. It had two beds but if you pay 1400 Dinars you got the whole room to yourself. I put my things away and went on a walk! I still had not informed my buddies that I was here! I brought my little laptop with me and set off.

The city has such a small town feel to it. You wouldn’t know it had over 200K people by looking! There isn’t a lot of traffic noise, congestion and LARGE groups of people like in similar sized cities I have been in. I stopped the first under 30 person I found. I asked him if he spoke English and how to get to the center of town. He told me that he was going that way and to follow him. He was curious about my accent. I told him I was American and he was really shocked. He had never spoken to an American before. He walked me to the walking district and we went our separate ways.

The center of Nis is AWESOME!! There are hundreds of little shops, cafes, food shops on every corner, a couple large malls, banks etc. I sat down at the first cafe that had internet and messaged my buddies on Facebook that I was in Nis! They were very surprised! Dejan, Marko and Mimi made plans to meet me at FloCafe at 8PM. The guys showed up at 8PM. I had sat there and drank a few drinks while waiting on them. They were tall and very social guys!! I had never met them in person but chatted with them on Facebook many times. It is always great to put a real face with your Facebook buddies! It seemed as if I had known them my whole life! They were very polite, well mannered, funny and personable. We discussed everything from politics to women. I got up to use the restroom and came back to find that Marko had paid my bill! I was angry because I had not expected it and it was around 900 Dinars and that is a lot for a young university student with no income! They, more or less, told me to “SHUT UP!” They were honored to do it.

We made plans for the following day! They told me of all the things to see in Nis! I never dreamed there were so many things! Marko had a date that night and we parted ways. Mimi and Dejan took me to this new football stadium that was being built. It was still under construction but kids go in there and sit in the bleachers and drink beer. We bought some pivo and chilled out in the open air! We discussed everything imaginable! We drank our fill and decided we had better be off to bed. They walked me back to my hostel. They owners left for the night and told me to go around to the side door. The hostel was empty besides me. I turned on the tv and was quickly asleep.

We met the next morning around 11AM. They decided the first thing to do was show me the fortress. It is located beside this little river. It is so beautiful! The look of the old stone fortress is awe inspiring! It is hard to describe the sensations I get by looking at all that history!

They took me to a little memorial outside of the fortress. It was a little gazebo with three stone tablets in it. They were inscribed with the names of all the Nis citizens that were killed in the NATO bombing raids in 1999. It is very sad to see the effects of your countries military decisions.  We made a quick video and then walked into the fortress.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XQUq7cVskI

There are 4 or 5 cafes and a dance club inside the fortress. One of them is located inside the old Turkish bathhouse. We walked along this little walkway towards the center of the fortress. The surroundings are amazing. There are little benches along the path with many people sitting there enjoying the day. There is a lot of grass that is neatly trimmed, flowers and bushes. We came upon this old Turkish mosque that has been turned into an art exhibit hall. The great thing about the Serbs is they didn’t destroy the Turkish churches and historic sites like the Turks did to the Serbs.

The guys were telling me that Nis was the birthplace of Roman emperor Constantine! I had no idea!! There are some very old ruins from Roman times and then we found this old cemetery!!! WOW!! I was in awe!!! There were about 15 or 20 old tombstones that were in great shape! You could make out the Latin inscriptions and carvings of animals and faces. I never dreamed this stuff was still around! We made another video and by this time it was spitting rain! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEPRlge5EeA

They took me to the edge of the fortress that overlooked the river. There is an outdoor theater with around 150 chairs that they showed me. It is used in the summer for outdoor plays and such. BEAUTIFUL!! There are some places you can large portions of the city. We were standing on the edge of the fortress looking down into the river and we saw a wagon of gypsies ride past with their horses. My friends always find my fascination with Gypsies.. odd!!! hahaha.

The concentration camp was next on our agenda. It was located not far from my friends home. We got there in the afternoon and we were the only ones there. It was 150 dinars to enter and my friends didnt want to enter because they had been there a few times. The guide spoke perfect English and entered with me. The whole surrounding camp gives off this depressing, scary feeling. When you enter the 3 story housing complex it is even worse. The camp is called “RED CROSS or FEB 12″ That was the date it was liberated from the Germans. The guide walked me through every room. One room was the main residence and sleeping quarters. He said it housed around 100 inmates in this room and they slept on straw. Ughhh.. The next floor was devoted to the women and children that were killed in the camp. One in particular broke my heart. It was a pregnant mother that entered the camp. She gave birth to her child in the camp and afterwards they shot her in the head and killed the baby. The Nazis didn’t discriminate in this camp. They killed women, men, children, Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies all equally.They said the camp was responsible for over 12,000 deaths. One other room was filled with many pictures from the local school children in Nis. They were told to paint a picture about how they saw life in a camp. Very sad images! The top floor was for “special prisinors”. The ones the Nazis really despised. They had a number of small cells that had the floor  completely covered in barbed wire and the prisoners were forced to sleep on it. This room gave me goosebumps. It was dark, lined with small cell doors, gray dreary walls and it was chilly. I imagined all the sick and dastardly deeds that were committed in there. That camp was one the most memorable things I have experienced. I think everyone should go to a camp like that to see what mankind is capable of!

We had walked many kilometers and were tired and hungry! I started to develop a TERRIBLE case of heartburn! We arrived at the home of Mimi and his family! They live in a large apartment complex. He introduced me to his mother and father! They were some of the nicest people in Serbia! It is rare to find a parent that speaks English but his mother is a pro!!! She said she hadn’t spoken English in 10 or 15 years but was able to communicate with me! She was so eager to feed us and make us happy! My heartburn was really out of control. I was trying to remember what I had ate prior to our days adventure. The only thing I could remember was a raznic. It is a sandwich with chicken bits that are wrapped in bacon. I put lots of onion on it and think that was the cause! His mom made a huge meal and I ate as much as possible! It was delicious but i was limited!!! I decided I better go back to my hostel and lay down. The guys walked me home and I laid down for the night!!! It had been a great, exciting and memorable 1st  day in Nis!!!

More to come……..

 

Serb/American governor off to prison!

Illinois became the 21st state on Dec 3,1818. It has been home to my father’s family,  the Cathers & Burtons, and my mother’s family, the Roans & Glidewells for decades. It is the 5th most populous state and home to many different ethnic groups, religions and nationalities.  It is also home to over 450-500,000 Serbian Americans.

One of the most publicized Serbian Americans from Illinois… the last few years…has been former Governor Rod Blagojevich.  Rod is well-known for his expensive suits and his bushy hair!! He ordered his aides to “NEVER BE WITHOUT HIS BRUSH!” He was more commonly referred to as “BLAGO”

Early years…….

Rod was born on December 10th, 1956 in Chicago, IL. He is one of the sons of Radislav and Mila Blagojevic. Radislav was born in Kragujevac, Serbia and his mother, Mila, was born in Gacko, Bosnia/Hertz. They fled Yugoslavia in 1947 to start a new life in a new world! Radislav worked hard to feed his family! He spent many exhausting years working in a steel plant in Chicago. Rod grew up fast! He was shining shoes, delivering pizzas, washing dishes to assist his family with the bills and to pay for his education.  This helped to shape his politics. He was a strong supporter of blue-collar workers and union rights.

Education….

Rod graduated from high school and attended North Western University with a major in history. He graduated and enrolled in Pepperdine Law School in California where he graduated with his law degree…

Amateur boxing career…

He was an athletic guy! He played high school basketball and loved boxing. He had an amateur boxing career that lasted 13 months in the middle 70;s. He fought in the 160 lb middleweight class. He won his first three matches and felt it was time for Golden Gloves competition. He won his first match but lost in the championship round! He retired after the loss. He retired with a record of 4-1.

Entrance into politics……

He married Patricia Mell, daughter of powerful Chicago alderman Richard Mell.  Rod left his position as Cook County Assistant States Attorney  to run for State Representative in 1992. He had specialized in domestic abuse, felony gun crimes and other felony cases. His father-n-law had many connections which helped propel the Blagojevich to the top of the ticket. He easily won his first primary in 1992 to face off against the Republican opponent. The district being HEAVILY Democrat made him a shoe in. He surrendered his State Rep job in 1996 to run for congress in the Illinois 5th district. He easily defeated Republican Michael Flannagan by capturing 74% of the vote! One major accomplishment he had in congress was flying to Belgrade, Serbia in 1999 with Jesse Jackson to negotiate the release of American soldiers that had been captured. He is also the only Illinois Democrat to vote in favor of the Iraq war. He did cast a NO vote on HR1664 on May 6th, 1999. That amendment was brought before congress to stop funding for use of ground troops into Yugoslavia. The bill was defeated. http://ontheissues.org/HouseVote/Party_1999-119.htm

Run for governor…..

Rod ran for the Democratic nomination in 2002. He had a hard-fought battle with popular Attorney General Roland Burris. He drew the largest support from Southern Illinois which helped him win the party’s nomination. He would be facing Jim Ryan, not to be confused with the previous governor, George Ryan.George Ryan, a  Kanakee Republican, was governor from 1999 to 2003. He was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for the “license to drive” scandal. Blagojevich beat out Jim Ryan with 52% of the vote. Becoming the first Democrat governor in Illinois… since 1972.. He ran on the platform of “CHANGE” and “FIGHTING CORRUPTION”… kinda ironic, huh?….  I was a proud supporter of Gov Blago. I remember the day I wore my Blagojevich 2002 sweatshirt to my father’s house. He just shook his head!!! hahahaha…

Re-election of 2006…..

Rod didn’t have the most productive 4 years but did make some friends and plenty of enemies! He had large support from the African-American community, gun control advocates, union workers….He claimed to have said ” I am the first African-American governor of Illinois!” He continued the moratorium on the death penalty that Gov Ryan had imposed. He also oversaw the passage of the Earned Income Tax Credit, statewide smoking ban, expansion of Kidscare and other health programs for the minority and needy, he signed a law that would prohibit discrimination of gays in housing, employment, etc and campaigned on pork barrel spending! Blago would face former Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka in the 2006 election. His approval rating had fallen to about 36% but he was able to beat her by 11% points by linking her with former corrupt Gov Ryan. Blago was very unpopular in Central Illinois. The LARGE % of my friends and family couldn’t stand to look at him and I would proudly wear my Blago clothes shirt and paint my car windows with BLAGOJEVIC 2006!!! .. Dad told me one time to park the car behind the house so no one would see it. I liked his work with AMTRAK. He provided additional funding that would guarantee 3 trains a day for all AMTRAK locations! It is a cheap, clean and reliable form of transportation for college kids and downstate professionals!

Making enemies….

Blago was very good at making enemies! He was despised by many Republicans and fellow Democrats. He expressed concern that if more Democrats got elected he would face greater opposition. Pat Quinn, his Lieutenant Governor, claimed they had such a falling out that they had not spoken for one year! He also had a HORRIBLE relationship with Attorney General, Lisa Madigan and her father, House Speaker Michael Madigan. Joining the list are more fellow Democrats, Jesse White and Dan Hynes! One legislator said ”That’s a real reason he has such poor relations with the Legislature and can’t get any of his agenda passed, because he doesn’t talk to anybody.” Rep Joe Lyons was quoted as saying  ”We have a madman. The man is insane.” Other words used to describe him  ”disengaged” ”dictatorial” “cukoo” “lunatic”…….Blago tried intimidating one lawmaker into supporting a bill and the lawmaker claimed  ” he blew up at me like a 10-year-old child. Screaming obscenities , telling me he will ruin my career”

Drop in poll numbers…….

In Oct of 2008, Blago was ranked as “least popular governor” by Rasumessen with a NEVER SEEN BEFORE 0% ranking him excellent,  4 % ranking him good, 29% fair and 64% poor. The Chicago Tribune reported that he received the lowest ratings of any politician in the history of their newspaper polls. These poor numbers were before the charges were labeled against him. His approval numbers dropped to 7% after that happened!

Corruption and arrest….

6AM … December 9th, 2008 … Federal agents showed up at Blagojevich’s residence and arrested him for counts relating to bribery  and corruption. They had been investigating him for many years. They tapped his phones and had hours of taped conversations to use in the prosecution of him. The charges against him included “pay to play” schemes. He was recorded trying to sell the Senate seat that Barak Obama had left. The governor is responsible for filling the seat of anyone that vacates. One priceless moment was when he called President Obama a “m*therfucker”…

The tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers.

“F**k him,” Blagjoveich says of Obama during a lengthy call with top aides and his wife recorded on November 10th, “For nothing? F**k him.”

In another section of the complaint, Blagojevich expresses exasperation that Obama and his team aren’t willing to offer him an inducement in exchange for appointing  an aide, apparently Valerie Jarrett, to the Senate.

Blagojevich “said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but ‘they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F**k them,’” says the complaint.

Listen to the recording….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6md3ap4YIwY

Blagojevich eventually appointed Roland Burris to fill the vacated Senate seat before he was impeached by the Illinois legislature on Jan 9th, 2009 by a vote of 114-1. He became the first Illinois governor to be impeached and was removed from office on Jan 29th, 2009. He was charged with 24 federal charges and the first jury was hung on one of the 23 counts. A mistrial was called but the prosecution said they would proceed with a retrial on the 23 counts. On June 27, 2011 …he was found guilty of 17 of the 20 charges, not guilty on one, and no verdict was rendered by the jury on two counts. He was sentenced to 14 years in Englewood Federal Correctional Center in Littleton, Colorado and started serving the sentence on  Mar 15th, 2012. Colorado law states that a convict must serve up to 85% of their sentence … meaning he will be there for a minimum of 12 years. Englewood requires inmates to work at small jobs such as cleaning toilets, cooking, picking up litter, planting trees at a wage of $.12 an hour. 

There are many wonderful, intelligent, inspiring Serbians in the great state of Illinois but this is one for the record books! I get lots of messages from people saying that I never talk about any negatives. Here you go!!! I loved Rod Blagojevich and never dreamed he would turn into this kind of monster. There are some conspiracy theorists that claim he was targeted because of his threat to stop all business with Bank of America. Who knows!!! When you listen to him on those tapes its hard to believe that!!!

 

USA vs Serbia….. Comparing holidays….

I have been to many places and experienced very unique and unforgettable moments. Holidays and traditions are two things that I always find interesting.  I thought it would be worthwhile  to list the majority of holidays that are celebrated in the USA and Serbia.

The United States of America is a country that is broken into 50 states and each has their own laws and implementation of holidays. We don’t have national holidays in which every employee receives mandatory days off. It is only mandatory for federal employees. Each state sets their own holiday schedule based on local customs. They have their own state holidays.

Federal holidays…….

1. New Year’s Day- Jan 1st…..celebrates start  Gregorian calendar new year
2. Martin Luther King Jr Day…..3rd Sunday in Jan- Birth of civil rights leader
3. President’s Day- 3rd Monday in Feb….. combination of Washington and Lincolns birthdays
4. Memorial Day- Last Monday in May…..honors those killed in our many wars
5. Independence Day- July 4th….. celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence
6. Labor Day- First Monday in September…..celebrates the workers and labor movement
7. Columbus Day- 2nd Monday in Oct….. discoverer of USA… some states celebrate Indians instead
8. Veterans Day- Nov 11….. honors all veterans and the end of WW1
9. Thanksgiving- 4th Thur in Nov…..traditionally celebrates thanks for autumn harvest .. turkey dinner
10. Christmas – December 25th…..celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ

Other informal, traditional or religious holidays celebrated in the USA…..

1. Epiphany- Jan 6th…..celebrates baptism of Jesus , manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles..etc
2. Mardi Gras- Feb or March varies……. french for FAT TUESDAY or last chance to eat fat before Lent
3. Groundhog’s Day- Feb 2nd…..groundhog is released to predict more winter or start of spring
4. Valentine’s Day- Feb 14th…..celebration of love and romance.
5. St Patrick’s Day- Mar 17th…..celebration of Irish culture… wearing green and drinking green beer
6. April Fools’ Day- Apr 1…..day of playing tricks and pranks
7. Palm Sunday- Sunday before Easter….. celebrates Jesus entry into Jerusalem.
8. Good Friday- Fri before Easter…… commemorate crucifixion and death of Jesus
9. Easter- Sunday after Good Friday…..commemorates the resurrection of Jesus
10. Earth Day- Apr 22nd…..celebration and recognition of our environment … pick up litter etc
11. Arbor Day- Last Sun in April….. celebration of our trees.. most people plant trees on this day
12. May Day- May 1st…..in US , celebration of Spring and organized labor
13. Cinco de Mayo- May 5th….. in USA celebration of Mexican culture..  don’t confuse it with Mexican Independence Day, that is on Sept 16th
14. Mother’s Day- 2nd Sunday in May….. Celebration and appreciation of your mother
15. Flag Day- June 14th…..commemorates the adoption of the USA flag, in 1777
16. Father’s Day- 3rd Sun in June…… celebration and appreciation of our father
17. Women’s Equality Day- Aug 26th….. celebrates adoption of 19th amendment and marks the day of protest in 1970, when women protested nationwide for equality
18. Patriot Day- Sept 11th…..commemorates the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 01
19. Constitution Day- Sept 17th….. celebrates the adoption of our constitution
20. Rosh Hashanah- Sept or Oct varies…… Jewish celebration for beginning of High Holidays and Hebrew calendar new year.
21. Yom Kippur- Sept or Oct varies…..Jewish celebration … known as “Sabbath of rest”
22. Halloween- Oct 31….. originally celebrated the end of Celtic year but also eve of All Saint’s Day.. kids dress in costumes and go door to door for candy and snacks .. if they do not receive any.. they do tricks on the homeowner… like take a bar of soap and smear on windows and throw toilet paper in the trees
23. Election Day- 1st Tuesday in Nov….. observed by federal and state in applicable years… voting
24. Black Friday- Friday after Thanksgiving…… start of shopping season… the busiest shopping day of the year
25. Hanukkah- Dec varies….. Jewish holiday commemorates rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BC
26. Pearl Harbor Day- Dec 7th……day to remember the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese  Dec 7th, 1941
27. Immaculate Conception Day- Dec 8th….. commemorates Virgin Mary being kept free from sin…
28. Christmas Eve- Dec 24th….. night before Christmas… almost every business is closed
29. Kwanzaa- Dec 26th- Jan 1st…..African American holiday celebration
30. New Year’s Eve- Dec 31st….. Last day of Gregorian calendar year….

Misc info……

Many states have their own holidays. Here are some interesting observances……

• California and Ohio celebrate Rosa Parks day… she is the African-American who refused to sit in the back of the bus and led to major civil rights activity and reform
• Three states celebrate Susan B Anthony Day… she was a prominent figure in the women’s rights movement in the USA.
• California celebrates Cesar Chavez Day and two others mark it optional… he was a Latino farm hand that was essential in the creation of the National Farm Workers Association and Latino rights activist
• Only 12 states recognize Good Friday as a state holiday…..
• Nine states celebrate Confederate Memorial Day…..celebrates the lives of those killed fighting for the confederacy in the Civil War
• A few southern states celebrate Jefferson Davis Day…. it celebrates the birth of the Confederate States of Americas leader Jefferson Davis
• In my state of Illinois … we celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day…. he was a heroic, US military, cavalry officer that was born in Poland and helped defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. We celebrate it because of our large Polish community in Chicago
• Malcom X Day…. celebrated in California

Serbian holidays…….

I have only been in Serbia for 9 months but I have noticed one thing…. SERBS LOVE HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS!!!! During the winter months, there’s non stop celebrations… I work at many different schools and most of the time I would only have one or two kids show up for class because they would all be attending some kind of holiday celebration……Serbs don’t make a lot of money but you would never guess by looking at the menu!!! They throw everything at you but the kitchen sink!!! My favorite thing about attending many of the feasts was being able to take home some leftovers!!!! My buddies mom always sends me home with lots of goodies because I growl around and complain because I can’t cook!!! hahaha…

Serbian public holidays……

1. Božić- Jan 7th…..  pronounced (bozhich) this is Serbian Orthodox Christmas… it is celebrated on the 7th of Jan because of the use of the Julian calendar.
2. Nova Godina- Jan 14th….. this is Orthodox New Year…
3. Dan državnosti Srbije- Feb 15th or 16th…… anniversary of the first Serbian uprising in 1804 and the first Serbian constitution in 1835
4. Veliki petak- varies….. Orthodox Good Friday… commemorates crucifixion of Jesus
5. Vaskrs- Sunday after Good Friday….. Orthodox Easter celebration of resurrection of Jesus
6. Vaskrsni ponedeljak- Monday after Easter…… Continuation of Easter celebration
7. Praznik rada-May 1st….. International Workers Day… celebration of labor
8. Dan primirja- Nov 11th… Armistice Day…celebrates the end of WW1

Additional holidays.……

Serbia is predominately Orthodox Christian but they have a large minority of Catholic and other Western Christian sects, a smaller Jewish and Muslim minority also…. Here are a list of holidays and observances given to them…..

1. New Years Day- Jan 1st…. celebration of the beginning of the Julian new year
2. Good Friday-varies…. commemorates crucifixion of Jesus
3. Easter- varies…… resurrection of Jesus
4. Easter Monday-day after Easter- continuation of Easter celebration
5. Eid ul-Fitr…. Muslim celebration of end of Ramadan
6. Eid al-Adha… Muslim celebration of “festival of sacrifice”
7. Yom Kipper…..Jewish holiday.. “sabbath of rest”

Additional working holidays in Serbia……

1. Sveti Sava- Jan 27th…..St Sava Day… he is known as the Patron Saint of Serbian schools.. all schools are closed on this day.
2. Don Secanje Na Zrtve Holokausta- Apr 22…..remembrance of those who died in the holocaust, WWII, and through genocide
3. Dan Pobede/ Dan Evropa- May 9th…. Victory Day or Europe Day..celebrates the defeat of the Germans in 1945 or the signing of the Schuman Declaration  of 1950… which called for an organization of European states.. similar to the E.U
4. Vidovdan- June 28th…… Saint Vitus Day…..remembrance of the Battle of Kosovo….
5. Dan Secanje Na Srpske Zrtve- Oct 21…. National WW2 Victims Remembrance Day… day to remember all the thousands of Serbs killed during German occupation

Last but not least…….

That didn’t seem like a lot of holidays did it??? I saved the best for last…. Serbia also celebrates hundreds of Slavas. That is the celebration of the families patron saint. It is called Krsna Slava in Serbian.I have tried to find the total number of saints but have never gotten a concrete answer. Slava is a very important celebration for Serbian Orthodox families. It has many wonderful, unique and traditional foods, songs, methods and decor… Here is a link to a Slava forum that can provide many answers and the ability to converse with those that have the knowledge on the subject!!! http://www.slavorum.com/index.php?topic=1001.0My experience was written about in a previous blog entry!!! My memories were of lots and lots of awesome food, traditional music, and the  bringing together of family and friends!! It is a must for all of you traveling to Serbia!! There are Slavas all year round but the best are in the Winter time!!!!

Both countries have great holidays and traditions!!!!! We all have more in common than our governments want us to think!!!! I wish I could bring all the Serbian kids to the USA and all the American kids to Serbia!! We would develop a life long love and respect for each others rich and beautiful traditions!!!!

I am not a religious fanatic and have very little knowledge in the details of many of these holidays. Please understand that before you leave me a bad comment because I didn’t fully discuss something! This is a blog not a book and I don’t want to bore people with the tiny details.

 

Believe it or not… the Serbs have suffered too!!!

I have always felt my day was incomplete until I turned on the nightly news or read the daily newspaper. Many experts say that it is not a good idea. It can set the stage for your entire day. The media focuses most of its attention on HORRIBLE atrocities. That kind of stuff sells their papers and programs! I always thought it was strange that on the CBS evening news… the last story of the newscast was a “bright and cheerful story”.. the rest of it showed death, violence, debt crisis, protests, political gridlock, etc… It also bothers me that independent news is gone! I consider myself a liberal but realize that a few news sources are prone to shaping a story from their point of view. The conservative side has control of the majority of national radio shows and Fox ….It is hard to know what to believe and what to flush down the toilet!!!  Propaganda is something that every country uses to its advantage!! NO COUNTRY IS IMMUNE TO IT!!! My favorite spewer of propaganda is North Korea!! Just go to Youtube and type in North Korean Propaganda! It is priceless!!!

Let’s get to the subject at hand…. SERBIA and SERBS…… Prior to visiting this country and speaking to hundreds and hundreds of Serbs about their experiences, I believed that they were responsible for all the problems that existed in the Balkans over the last 20+ years. Well, to be honest, I never really let the subject cross my mind! I just remember the newscasts, Bill Clinton and many Hollywood movies “labeling” the Serb as the EVIL aggressor! I can hear the comments and emails now…. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT WENT ON OVER HERE!!” “MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!” ” SERBIANS KILLED MY FAMILY!” etc… I have never insulted any of the surrounding countries or mentioned the wars! It is a sad part of world history! I am not saying that some Serbs didn’t do despicable things during these conflicts! My country has done some pretty despicable things in our past too!!! I just wanted to list a few things to show the rest of the world that the Serbian people have dealt with centuries of discrimination, genocide, ethnic cleansing, etc… The media likes to focus on one side!!!! That is so unfair!!!! Just like a coin…. every one has two sides!!  I have had the opportunity to speak with many Serbians who told me they despised the USA and Americans. They said things that really made me angry and made me want to pack up and leave Serbia. I didn’t do that. I told myself to sit down, shut up and listen! This world would be a much better place if we would all put ourselves in the others guys shoes. This one student that was telling me of his hatred….mentioned that he was a small child when NATO forces bombed Serbia for 3 months.  They had to go to a neighbors basement and sleep every night for 1 month! The father worked but because of sanctions the inflation ballooned to astronomical levels! They would get his paycheck and go to the store to buy bread and could barely pay for it with his monthly pay!!! That made me realize that there is some justification for his anger! If a country was bombing my hometown for 3 months I know how I would feel!! I was the first American he had ever met or had the chance to sit down and talk to. I felt great at the end of the conversation because he told me that he could see that AVERAGE Americans are just like AVERAGE Serbs! We have a great friendship now. You are not weak if you sit down and discuss things with your “enemy”. You are a strong and courageous for doing that! Not to stray off the subject but I had one little boy from Libya that sent me a Facebook message about 2 years ago. He said ” I have always wanted to say HI to an American but when I tell them I am Muslim they  call me a terrorist and block me.” It broke my heart! I wrote back and we are still speaking to this day! You can never go wrong by being respectful, kind and acting interested in others. You never know, you might have inspired the next Nobel Prize winner or spoken to a future president. Damn, I always get off the subject.. The funny and sad part about the Serbian story is we NEVER HEAR THEIR SIDE!! George Clooney said that very thing… He said, when asked about his opinion of the Kosovo independence ” what bothers me is, we have never heard Serbias side of all this! We hear one one side!”  I investigated some of this areas LONG history!!! There have been MANY accounts of HORRIBLE acts against Serbs. I don’t want to get into too much detail but will briefly discuss them below! Once again, I am not saying Serbs are all angels and sent here from heaven to spread love…. I am just showing that they have suffered more than many other people and they were not acting as aggressors ! They were defending their territory like any other nation would do!

Ottoman Rule ….

The Ottoman empire ruled over Serbian land for over 500 years! During that time, thousands of Orthodox Christians, the primary religion of Serbs, converted to Islam to avoid horrendous torture and certain death!  Many young Serbian boys were taken from their parents and forced to fight for the Turkish military! Thousands of Serbs were killed during the reign of the Turks. One prime example of Ottoman brutality is the Skull Tower in Nis, Serbia. It is constructed out of hundreds of human skulls from Serbs killed in the Battle of Cegar.

Catholicism…..

The Catholic church was also guilty of crimes against the Serbian people! During the 1600-1700s, they forced many Orthodox Serbs to convert to Catholicism or face torture or death!

Albanization.….

There has been a long and bitter tension between Serbs and Albanians. Many believe that the majority of Albanians were Serbs that had adopted the religion and married into Albanian families to avoid death or persecution! Many writers and well respected men have noted that during their visits to Albania in the late 19th century, many of the Albanians were wearing Serbian clothes and speaking Serbian but claimed to be Turks or Albanian ethnicity.

Early 20th century……

The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie is said to have started WW1. The man responsible was of Serbian decent. The after math led to a deep division between Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Croats and Muslims held large anti-Serb protests. The mob attacked Serbs, their churches, businesses. Two Serbs were killed and many injured and many homes and businesses destroyed by the mobs. Anti Serb sentiment spread all throughout the Austro Hungarian empire. There was a saying in Vienna that was popular at the time… “ALL SERBS MUST DIE!”

World War II…

Adolf Hitler was not only a hater of Jews. He despised Serbs too! He opened Jasenovac concentration camp. It is in present day Croatia and was ran by Croatian Ustasa. The numbers of Serbians killed in Jasenovac numbers between 200,000 and 217,000!!!  Once again, many Serbs converted to Catholicism to avoid death!!! Present day Serbia  was occupied by the Germans from 1941-1944. There are many numbers out there that list the amount of Serbs killed, raped and tortured. One source says 50K more were killed , 280K arrested, raped or tortured… while over 100K Serbs fled the country….

picture shows Ustasha troops getting ready to cut the head off a Serbian civilian…..

1990s……..

The wars with Bosnia and Croatia were the worst in Europe since WWII!!  Thousands of innocent people were killed on all sides! The wounds from these wars are still fresh and hard to heal! I am not taking a stance on this issue and not blaming any side. I am just reporting about Serbian deaths and crimes committed against them. The loss of Croatian and Bosnians is very sad and you all have my heartfelt condolences. Thousands of Serbian civilians were killed , raped, tortured or forced out of Croatia and Bosnia during these wars! There are hundreds of first hand accounts on the brutality of the Croatian and Bosnian forces. The media in both nations are not immune to criticism either! A few examples are…….

*** Croatian patriot song reads “Dear mother, I am going to plant willows, we’ll hang Serbs from them. dear mother, im going to sharpen the knives, we’ll soon fill the pits again“

*** Bosnian newspaper said ” Each Muslim bust name a Serb and take an oath to kill him!”

*** Radio broadcast said ” Public calls for the execution of Serbs!”

These all led to beatings, torture, confiscation of property, desecration of churches, etc.. It also led to ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Croatia and Bosnia.. It is said that over 200K Serbs fled their homes for a new life in Serbia or abroad.

Kosovo….

This is a subject that is highly controversial! Kosovo is the autonomous region of extreme South Serbia. It is home to a majority of ethnic Albanians. NATO forces started Operation Merciful Angel on March 24, 1999. Kosovo decided to sever ties with Serbia and become their own independent nation. NATO took their side and reprimanded Serbia with sanctions and air raids for 3 months. Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Serbia, signed a treaty ending the war in June of 1999. Serbia and many countries of the world do not recognize Kosovo as a country. There are currently 89 countries that recognize it as independent and many  that do not… including most of Asia, Africa and South America. This operation led to thousands of Serbs being beaten, thrown from their homes and farm land. One friend of mine told me a TERRIBLE story! He told me he was from Kosovo but living in Zrenjanin. One day a group of Albanians drove up to his families farm house in central Kosovo. They said ” If you want to live, leave NOW!” They barely had time to grab their clothes and leave. They fled to Serbia. I asked him “what did they do with your house and farm land? did they pay you?” He said “NO!! Someone is living in their old house and farming their land and they get nothing!” I couldn’t imagine how I would feel or my family would feel if something like this happened to us!!! Kosovo is also the heart of Serbian Orthodoxy! It is filled with hundreds of monesteries and churches. Many of them have been desecrated, destroyed or burned by Albanians. 

You can see that Serbs  have had their share of HELL! The world loves to talk about everything they have done but never wants to mention the brutality, torture, murder and discrimination they have gone through! Once again…. I am not condoning ANY BRUTALITY, DISCRIMINATION, MURDER, ETC!!! I am not taking sides in any affair! I am just providing some information so people can see the WHOLE picture!! I don’t care if its an American, Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Saudi, Frenchman, Aussie….. any senseless death is a crime against all of us!!! Peace is the only answer..

Thanks for reading…..

 

Yankee Doodle Went to Serbia??

The title of  my documentary web-series is decided!! Yankee Doodle Went to Serbia?….. It is one of the most recognized  songs in the USA.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwHvyqNDUvE&feature=relmfu It is currently being used as the state anthem of Connecticut. Many Americans look to it as a patriotic song. Most Americans understand it but do you? The song “Yankee Doodle Went to Town” was thought-up during the Seven Years War. It was thought to be created by the British to mock the poorly dressed and disorganized “Yankees” and “Doodle” was thought to represent “fool”. They claim “macaroni” referred to something of “high fashion”. The term “yankee” continued into the Civil War. The southern “rebels” used the term to describe anyone from the Union Side or Northern USA. The term is still used today…..sometimes in a negative context to refer to an American.

I have been unable to sleep well since January! That is when this whole web series idea popped into my head! I sat down one day and devised a route that will take me through many of the smaller, lesser known, tourist sites. It will be a route that will take me on smaller roads and avoid lots of dangerous traffic. Many of you expressed concern because I will be missing manyyyy sites on the East side. Don’t think this is the only thing I have planned!! You might think I am crazy, stupid, etc but I would love to one day visit EACH and EVERY town and village in Serbia! That would be an accomplishment I would treasure always! I might even set a world record!!! I had to start somewhere and this is the path I chose! You can see it below.

My plan and route….

My web series will start in my hometown of Greenup, IL USA. This is where I was born and went to school. It is a historic little town with many unique and wonderful sites to see! I will interview some locals, classmates, show the touristic sites, local sports, talk to my mom and dad.. if they let me! This community went out of their way to assist the local Zrenjanin baseball team. I wrote a letter to the newspaper about the kids lack of good equipment and money to buy new and they published it. The Greenup and surrounding communities BLEW ME AWAY with their support. I had friends, family, businesses and schools donate used equipment for the baseball team! They pulled together so much and made me so proud!! I want to talk to the ones that made it happen!! Next,  it is off to Charleston, IL… This is where I spent most of my time partying, working etc… great community and also helped in collection of baseball donations for Serbia! It is also home of Eastern Illinois University. That is the alma mater of Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo. It most famously known for being the home of “LINCOLN LOG CABIN” or the birthplace home of our 16th president Abraham Lincoln. After that, It is off to Chicago. Chicago is home to 600,000 Serbs. The 2nd largest city in the world for Serbians after Belgrade! I will be interviewing some Serbians to find out their thoughts about the USA , seeing how they live and if they have kept their  Serbian traditions and talking to some local Serbian business owners! Then it’s back to Serbia! I will make one long episode in Belgrade and Novi Sad and one long one in my “new hometown” of Zrenjanin. FINALLY, it’s time for my bike trip!!!!! I have scheduled this to take 3 weeks… Here is the 500km route that i will be bicycling ……

Subotica to Stari Zednik 18.4KM, Stari Zednik to Backa Topola 16km, Backa Topola to Kula 28KM, Kula to Vrbas 11km, Vrbas to Zmajevo 14km, Zmajevo to Kisac 13.8KM, Kisac to Novi Sad 18.5km, stop in Fruska Gora, Ruma 33.8km, Ruma to Sabac 34.7 km, Sabac to Valjevo 70km, Valjevo to Gornji Milanovac 80km, Gornji Milanovac to Cacak 23.6km, Cacak to Kraljevo 36km, Kraljevo to Raska 80!

We will also veer off to visit the beautiful Tara National Park..I will be stopping in more of the smaller villages along the way to make some episodes too! We might hop of the path and cruise to a few more larger towns on the way! If I get enough funding…. we will come back on the East side and go through all the beautiful cities along that route!!! If I can’t do it this time….. I will have it done next year!!

Kickstarter…..

Kickstarter is a WONDERFUL web-site for American citizens. It is a funding website that promotes artistic, creative works and helps you showcase your idea to the public for donations.http://www.kickstarter.com/  I have had a few friends that  successfully funded  their music cd and documentary! There are a limited number of projects that are approved and you must meet their requirements. The GREAT NEWS is ….. MY PROJECT WAS APPROVED TO BE PLACED ON THE SITE! My goal was to have it up and running by March 1st but I hit some snags. It will be up next week!

 

How Kickstarter works.….

Kickstarter is not a guaranteed success! Manyyyyyyyyyy projects will fail! I have faith that mine will be a HUGE success! Kickstarter has many rules in place for those that publish their ideas..You must use the money for project costs only! You can’t use it to fund a “FREE” vacation…..you can’t use the money for charity purposes….it must be for a film project, book, music, invention….it can’t be used to help you start your own business, etc…You must also provide the person that donates with a “REWARD”. Rewards are what gives the person donating the incentive to donate! I have some AWESOME rewards planned to give out depending on the amount you donate!!! Some of mine will include….. Choice of t-shirt, choice of movie poster, copy of my entire web series, bumper sticker, etc!!!! The most important thing about Kickstarter is….. ITS ALL OR NOTHING!!! You provide Kickstarter with a list of your expenses and the total dollar amount you need for your project…… then you select how many days it will take you to reach that goal…30 to 60 days…..according to the stats…. 30 day fund drives are the most successful. If you hit your funding goal or exceed it, the money is yours! Kickstarter keeps 5% and Amazon payments keeps 3% for using their site. If you fall short of your goal… you get nothing and the money is returned to the donor!

I WILL NEED ALL OF YOU……

I am doing this web series for the people of Serbia and to show the rest of the world the beauty, kindness, and unique things about Serbia. I will be uploading all of the 15-20 min episodes for free. There will be approx 30 of them. I realize many of the Serbs that are living here don’t have a lot of extra cash to spend and I wouldn’t want you spending it on me! I have been living here since July and volunteering at numerous schools so I am farrrrrr from rich! A few of the ladies give me some pocket money because they are dolls!;) I live here and am doing everything in my power to help shine a ray of sunshine down on Serbia! It is working!!! I have received hundreds of messages from Americans, Brits, Aussies, Mexicans, French, Italian, etc…thanking me for my blog and videos! It is a great feeling to know I helped someone decide that Serbia would be a great vacation holiday! This documentary series will help me do SOOO MUCH MORE!!! It is going to cost me a lot of money!!! I will take me over 3 weeks and I will have to pay for a  rental car, gas, hotel, food for 5, medical insurance, new video camera, sound equipment, extra batteries and memory cards, website development, music production for dvd, dvd reproduction, editing, posters, tshirts, graphic designer, salary for student cameraman, producer, film festival entrance fees, etc!!!! My dream is to have it entered into some film festival and have it air on some American tv stations!!! WITH YOUR HELP I CAN DO THAT!!!!!  I will also be using Serbian film students to assist me on this venture! It will provide them with some GREAT experience, help them make a little money and provide me with GREATLY needed assistance!!!

 

Who can donate?…….

Anyone in the WORLD with a credit or debit card can donate! Serbia does not allow Paypal but Kickstarter uses Amazon Payments as its checkout provider. You don’t need to have an account with them. You can click the DONATE button and it will take only a few minutes to complete the transaction. It will convert any currency into US Dollar. The other great thing…. It will only allocate those funds and not charge your card until the funding goal has been hit!! Once the goal has been hit, it will take the money from your card…… if I fall on my face and do not hit my goal…. the money is not taken from your account!!! Its a WIN WIN situation for you!!! You also get a cool gift from me based on your donation!!! The different donation levels I have will be $2, $5, $10, $25, $50, $65, $85, $100, $250, $350, $500, $1000, $2000….With a $5 donation you get a hug , your name written in my blog post and listed in the credits as a “FRIEND OF SERBIA” on my dvd!! If you are someone able to donate $2000….. You get KING treatment… You will get t-shirts, posters, we wear your picture or name on our tshirts in an episode, dvds, bumper sticker,  a full episode devoted to you, you tell me which town to go to , what you want us to do, your name listed in the credits as Executive Producer, etc…. I don’t plan on getting many of those donations! hahahahaha… They say that the most popular donation level is $25.. EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!!! I have over 5000 Facebook buddies, hundreds of Youtube followers and have had 50K people view my blog in the last 3 months!! I should be able to hit my target goal and make a great product!!!

Other possibilities……

Kickstarter doesn’t allow the funds to used for charitable donations but IF I EXCEED my goal… that amount can be used for anything!! I think it would be fantastic If I was able to locate a family that was struggling in each town and be able to have money to buy them $100 worth of food or clothing or help them fix their car, house, etc!!! It would show a gesture of goodwill from an average American and help a family in need!! The other excess will be used for shipping the rest of the baseball equipment from my parents home to Serbia! It is very expensive and the kids need it soon!!

Why Serbia?……

Prior to seeing Serbia and Serbians with my own eyes… I had many negative images about their country and people from the years of media, political and Hollywood propaganda. A Google search or Youtube search of Serbia brings up many negative things. I feel the world should see the REAL Serbia that you won’t see in the movies or tv.

* The international media has destroyed the good name of the Serbian people for decades!

* 10 plus Hollywood movies that show a Serb bias and numerous tv shows.

* You never see the beauty of Serbia, great food, excellent beverages, unique culture, beautiful women, athletic and some of the most hospitable and generous people I have ever encountered.

* The Serbs deserve it!! They have suffered in many ways through the years.. the breakup of Yugoslavia, high inflation, 70 day bombing mission in 1999, and having their name drug through the mud for years!

Why me???………

I have received a number of messages from Serbs telling me to leave, you are not wanted , you are doing nothing to better our image, we don’t need a foreigner discussing our country and promoting it because we can do it ourselves……. I think it would be great if the world would listen to a Serbian that is promoting his country and take it to heart! The SAD truth is they won’t!  The majority of people in this world grow up to love and adore their country but ignore the faults…. It takes a fresh set of eyes to find the beauty, unique things, bad things, etc…. Many people have asked me to describe the great things about American culture, my hometown, etc…. It takes you a few minutes to formulate ideas because you take so many things for granted when you are born and raised in a location. Foreign eyes are able to notice things that you are blinded by! I am a NOBODY!!!! I am was born in a small town, lived in a middle class household, hated school, etc.. I didn’t come here looking for respect, love, fame, fortune, popularity, nor do I have ANY hidden agenda. I have had a few people tell me that I came here looking for wealth!!! I just about laughed myself into a coma after reading that one!! If I came to Serbia to get rich, I need to be put in the mental institution!!! This is the last place I would have ventured if I was out to make a dollar!! I would have went back to France, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand or stayed in the USA!  I decided to come here because I wanted to! Living in Mexico for 11 months was great! I would never give up those months for all the money on the planet! I made so many friend and learned so much from the Mexican people but Serbia had a HUGE effect on me! It is hard to explain how my 2 week vacation in 2010 changed me! I am not perfect nor do I want to be… I just want to live a happy, enjoyable life until I fall down and can’t get up! Serbia is a place I enjoy, have little to no stress, have been able to lower my blood pressure and become a more calm and laid back guy!!! Damn…… I talk too much!! Here are some of the reasons why I feel I can be successful in promoting your country to the world…….

* 5000 Facebook friends! That is the maximum and they are from Serb communities all over the world, and people from every point of the globe!

http://www.facebook.com/charles.cather

* 50,000 blog views in the three months I have had it

http://serbiathroughamericaneyes.wordpress.com/

* 200,000 views on my Serbia videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/cather76?feature=mhee

* Android phone application made for me….

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.conduit.app_55e82a50008a428c85caf407acea53aa.app

* Facebook fan page created by my friends with 500+ fans

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charles-Cather/211679315559835

* Voted # 2 Gentleman of the week on Prva Zene (3:34)

http://www.prva.rs/media/galleryPopup.jsp?mediaId=7665&mediaSetId=2785&position=1&type=0

* Prva Exploziv featured me in an episode

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgNtSobDYrw

* RTS or Serbian National Tv invited me to Belgrade and has had me on the air on two occasions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiclQI_CutU

* Santos Tv in Zrenjanin shot a 12 minute interview about my involvement in baseball and short interview when I first arrived

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of_pwhnY4fQ

* RTV interviewed me twice for their newscast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXtiDhMOo5w

* KTV in Zrenjanin had me on the air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIYihDKPVEk

* 24 Sata is a free National paper and I was featured on the cover twice http://www.24sata.rs/vesti/aktuelno/vest/dosao-da-vidi-zasto-srbi-mrze-amerikance-i-ostao/12748.phtml

* Kurir is another National paper that featured me on the cover

* Blic is another National paper that featured me

http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Drustvo/290035/Amerikanac-se-preselio-u-Zrenjanin-i-uci-decu-bejzbolu

* Politika featured an interview with me

http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Drustvo/Amerikanac-na-Begeju.sr.html

* Danas featured an interview with me http://www.danas.rs/danasrs/drustvo/terazije/zavoleo_srbiju_preko_grupe_mrzim_ameriku.14.html?news_id=224513

* Zrenjanin List featured my story

http://www.listzrenjanin.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21818%3Aarls-keter-neformalni-ambasador-dobre-volje-u-srcu-banata&catid=6%3Adrutvo&Itemid=6

* Toledo Democrat in Toledo, IL featured my story

*Greenup Press in Greenup, IL featured my story

* Charleston Times Courier and Journal Gazette featured my story

http://jg-tc.com/news/opinion/article_ede6d478-0366-11e1-98aa-001cc4c03286.html

* I have been contacted by hundreds of foreigners to provide additional information, make videos and answer different questions about travel to Serbia

Once again, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR MESSAGES, PHONE CALLS AND LOVE YOU HAVE SHOWN ME!!! It means a lot!!! Together we can continue to promote your country the way it needs to be!!! Don’t leave it up to your government!!! They have another agenda!!! I will  post another blog post to let you know when this project is listed on the site!!!! I need you to donate a few bucks and LET EVERY SERB ON THE PLANET KNOW ABOUT IT!!!!!  JA VOLIM SRBIJU!!!!!

 

 

Forget Paris and Rome… Belgrade is # 1

 

I have told you that I have always been fascinated by world travel!As a boy,  I remember telling my friends and family that I wanted to travel to the U.S.S.R and everyone just shaking their head. One of my favorite authors…. Robert Pelton wrote “The Worlds Most Dangerous Places” and I have read three of them. They are what motivated me to explore places that are “off the beaten path”….He is a motivated writer that will travel to places that most wouldn’t venture. He didn’t specifically mention Serbia but I remember his chapter on Bosnia. He did discuss the Serbs and it planted a seed in my brain that was hard to remove. …If you would have asked me before I traveled to Serbia… what the first words that came to my mind when I heard  the word Serb it would have been “BIG, STRONG and MEAN.”  It isn’t surprising but its very sad! This book was probably my first recollection of hearing something about Serbs… Then in 1999 President Bill Clinton come on tv tell us about the “horrendous acts” that the Serbs were inflicting on  others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBKGjMB6Uwk We also had the HUGE influx of Hollywood movies that had a HUGE ANTI-Serb slant…. so you can imagine my thoughts and fears when I realized I was going to be arriving in Belgrade for a two day holiday and it just happened to fall on March 24, 2012 . That is a date that every Serb will always remember. It is the day that NATO started “Merciful Angel.” It led to the three month bombing campaign and the loss of many lives and untold billions in damages to infrastructure! I had received a death threat a few days earlier from some nutcase so I was a little on edge. I had been to Belgrade on a few occasions but never had two FULL DAYS to explore. I jumped on the bus in Zrenjanin at 8:55AM on a beautiful Saturday morning. It is amazing how timely and clean the buses are. If you have ever ridden Greyhound in the USA you know what I am talking about! They pulled away from the station and arrived in Belgrade in a little over an hour… exactly as scheduled!!! My buddy, Rade, is a Kosovo Serbian that is studying in Belgrade. He was going to show me the sites and would arrive 20 min to pick me up. The first place I headed was McDonalds! hahaha.. I know, I know…. TYPICAL AMERICAN! They had a McDonalds in Zrenjanin but it shut down a few years back. I had to get my fill! I ordered a Big Mac meal, french fries and coke. It was around 400 Dinars or close to $6. If I remember correctly … its about the same or a little cheaper in state of Illinois. The cashier was a beautiful little brunette girl. I asked her if she spoke English and she said ” Yes, I do”  I told her what I wanted and she asked me where I was from. I told her and then complimented her on her PERFECT English. She smiled from ear to ear and thanked me. I could tell that the compliment made her day. She was whispering to the other employees and smiling. It feels good to make a strangers day by throwing them a compliment. Everyone should try it. 

A little white lie won’t hurt anyone and it can really make someones day! …. I finished my meal and my buddy showed up to greet me. Him and I have been Facebook buddies for many, many months and it was great to finally place a face with a voice. We have very different political views and beliefs on many things but he is a great friend. We decided we would stop at a little cafe for a coffee. The social aspect of coffee in Serbia is very important. It is VERY rare to see someone ordering a coffee to go. We sat at a little cafe in the heart of the shopping district or Knez Mihailova Street. We sat and argued many subjects. There is nothing wrong with having friends that you don’t agree with on every subject! It makes it more exciting.

We decided to go to Kalemegdon fortress first. The walk there was fantastic. You see so many people out enjoying the day, street musicians, street artists, puppet shows and kids trying to sell you these little cards to help the poor kids. It is really a great place to sit and watch the crowds. I heard a guy speaking in an American accent. I asked him where he was from. He said “I am from Sweden but learned the American accent because I didn’t like the British!” haha..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Xi-7orutI We continued on. The street has an ENORMOUS amount of people. The women in Serbia dress like they are attending the wedding of a queen. They have small salaries but always dress VERY WELL! We get to the fortress and my buddy explains some of the history and walks me all over it! It was stunning. It is a great feeling to walk over this ancient structure and imagine all the battles and history it has to offer. We found two little caves that were cut out in the lower walls of the fortress. We walked over to get a closer look and found some belongings from a homeless man and a make shift bed. hahahaha.. The fortress is massive and covers a large area. The area serves as the central park and contains a restaurant, a couple bars, tennis court, military museum, basketball courts and statue of Pobednik and great views of the two rivers… the Sava and Danube!

Next up……a look at many of the beautiful buildings in Belgrade. One of my teachers told me about a site for ESL teachers. It is a guide book for teachers that are going to specific countries. She told me to read the description of Serbia. I was DISGUSTED. A few of them said that Belgrade was big, dirty and had old communist style block buildings. THIS COULDN’T BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!! I have been to many of the worlds biggest tourist cities…. Sydney, Australia…. Paris, France….. Los Angeles, California….. San Jose, Costa Rica…… Mexico City, Mexico…. Guadalajara, Mexico….. Brussels, Belgium…… Toronto, Canada…. Auckland, New Zealand….etc and feel that Belgrade has the most historic, unique and gorgeous buildings and the friendliness of a small town!!  We walked all over town while my friend explained some of the history behind some of the beautiful buildings. My favorites had to be the Parliament building, house dedicated to Vuk K, and many others that I can’t spell!! …

Next up…. Churches… .. Most of you know that I am not religious. I have friends from every single faith and love them equally but I feel that Orthodox Christianity has some of the MOST AMAZING churches and monasteries you will ever see!!! I swear some of the pictures of Orthodox monasteries throughout Serbia will lower your blood pressure just looking at them!! They are BREATH TAKING!!!!! We walked up to one the many churches and there was a priest coming out. I joked with my friend that I wanted to get my picture taken with him. My friend said ” I will ask him!” i said “NO! He will probably not want to take one with an American!” He asked him all the same. The gentleman was very kind! He smiled and positioned us to have the church in the background. I smiled and said “Hvala puno!” I wish I could have remembered to say “SIR” in Serbian but its something that starts with a G.. ahahahah.. We walk inside and i notice all of these candles burning in different sections. They also have many pictures of saints all over the interior. One unique difference between Orthodox churches and others I have been in is the lack of seating and benches in them. They have only a few chairs along the walls. The ceiling and paintings were unbelievable! We walk to a couple more and then we headed to St Sava…

St Sava is a MONSTER!!! This GORGEOUS church has been under construction since the 1930s! The exterior is close to being completed but the interior still has work to be done.  The ground floor covers over 30,000 sq ft. This should be one of the WONDERS OF THE WORLD! It sits in a little park with fountains, benches, grass and flowers and a statue of Karadjordjevic…the guy who led the first uprising against the Ottoman Turks… Sitting beside the temple is a little church where they conduct services. It is TINY in comparison but filled with some of the most exquisite murals you will ever see! We walk up to the entrance of St Sava. The doors are MASSIVE in size and when you enter the temperature drops about 20 degrees! The cold chill and enormity of the building is truly shocking!!! There is a little gift shop inside the entrance and a place to purchase candles. They light candles for the living and for the dead. My friend explained that there are two different trays to put your candle in. The top for the living and bottom for the dead. This temple only had the top tray because they are still under construction! They have some amazing portraits of their many saints inside. No trip to Belgrade would be complete without a visit to St Sava! It will be ingrained in your memory for a lifetime!!!

Next up…. PIVO……. I had heard of a little club that was simply called “?”... They said it is the oldest pub in Belgrade and dates back to the 1800s …. we sat out on the patio and across the street is the building where Pavle, the patriarch of the orthodox church, was brought after his death so the people could pay him their last respects… my friend said that the line was backed up all over Belgrade and he didn’t get a chance to see him. They say Pavle was a great man. He did most of his own repairs on his residence and walked everywhere he went. They claim he said ” i will not drive until every Serbian has a car!” The “?” pub was full and I went inside to take some photos they had of slava bread and the old log furniture that was inside. We leave there and head to another pub called “The Retirement pub” … it sounds like a old people hang out but was small, homey and had bright beautiful walls and cheap, cold beer! Last but not least…. we were headed to this bar my buddy had told me about a few times. It is called “RED CREW”. It is a pub that celebrates communist and socialist leaders and philosophy! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip! Being brought up in the largest Capitalist country on earth, i felt a little strange entering! The first thing you see when you enter is a large star , the symbol of communism…. Inside they had hundreds of pictures on the wall.. They had Fidel Castro, Chairman Mao, Josef Stalin, Lenin, and most of all TITO! He led the former Yugoslavia from the 1940′s till his death in the early 1980′s. They had pictures, statues, books, records, etc… It was truly an experience!!!!  The beer was also cheap! It was 120 dinars for a draft. I know because I accidentally took the menu!!

Next up…..finding a place to stay….. On my previous stay in Belgrade… I stayed at my first hostel.. I met some great guys from Iraq and decided to try that hostel again. It is the Chillton Hostel that is located across from KFC! http://www.chilltonhostel.com/ Very close to the center, clean, friendly and the staff speak perfect English! It is very cheap at 13E a night. While I was checking in, we met a guy from Spain, Australia and a Serbian muslim from Novi Pazar. My two serbian buddies were with me and we invited the three guys to go for a pivo.. We went to a little bar that was below the bookstore. We drank many beers and had a great time. If you ever need a cheap place in Belgrade and like to socialize with other foreingers…. CHILLTON HOSTEL ROCKS!

Belgrade has so much beauty, history, nightlife, annual festivals, great food  and hundreds of excellent little cafes and bars! It is also very cheap in comparison to Rome, Paris, London, Sydney etc…. The people are friendlier too!!!! GIVE BELGRADE A SHOT!!! You won’t want to leave!!!

 

 

Are Gypsies real?

When I was young… i remember my mom and grandmother telling me that if i was a bad child they would “sell me to the gypsies”…I always thought of Gypsies as being a thing in fairy tales… like vampires, werewolves, etc…In all of my world travels, I had never encountered this wonderful ethnicity…

“Romani” as they are called in a more politically correct way… The term Gypsy is used commonly in the USA. I have heard that the name gypsy is considered a rude word. They are also called CIGAN in Serbia. I Googled the word Gyspsy and found that it is the foundation of the common slang word “GIPP” in the USA. We use that term to describe someone being RIPPED OFF or paying too much for something. I never realized it had any correlation with the word GYPSY. They say the word “GYPSY” is a Greek word that means EGYPTIAN because they thought they came from Egypt.

The Romani ethnicity is very old! It is said that they originated in India. They  fled central India in the 11th century during the raids of  Mahmud of Ghazni. They have a large population in the Balkans and all over Europe but the largest amount is in Brazil……  They have very unique traditions and are known to travel from one location to another. In Serbia … many of them are singers, musicians or work in recycling. There is a large disparity of wealth in the Gypsy community. Many of them suffer from extreme poverty and lack of education … while others build BEAUTIFUL, LARGE and ORNATE HOMES…

They speak their own language called Romani or Cigani. Many of them also speak German, French and English.. The language is said to have over 2 million speakers worldwide.

My first encounter with this wonderful people was this summer in Zrenjanin Serbia. My friend and I were walking along this little lake. There was a family sitting in wagon and yelling something in Serbian. I asked my friend what they were saying. He said ” they are asking for goose feathers!” hahaha..I was amazed!! I also had the opportunity to record a guy this morning…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1-kdbe_RH4&lc=SDaNBeASAz8nTvWWwBkGdOvyrvliTEXROpvoAxSkaak&feature=inbox.. He is driving around in a wagon and looking for things to recycle…. This is something you wont find in the USA!

I hope to befriend a few of them and learn more about their unique and beautiful culture!