Serbian City/Town/Village Names Translated into English

 

Serbia has a lot of unique city/town/village names. A friend of mine from Republika Srpska, Hristof Romanic, decided to throw together some translations for some of them.

Can you guess the names without cheating?

Subotica
Srbobran
Srpska Crnja
Bačka Palanka
Novi Sad
Deliblato
Crna bara
Beograd
Kurjače
Zlokuće
Valjevo
Sisavci
Velike Pčelice
Bor
Krivi Vir
Mokra Gora
Kraljevo
Zasad
Sokobanja
Ribarska Banja
Novi Pazar
Niš
Prijepolje
Žitorađa
Peć
Gornje Žabsko
Baba boks
Begunci

 

Spreading Love from Wales to Serbia

 

Back in the summer of 2013…….  I had the honor of meeting the wonderful crew from “Operation Florian” who provide donated fire equipment to Serbia and other countries around the world.  Haydn Brown, a representative from Operation Florian,  had mentioned that there was another organization from Wales that was doing some AWESOME things in Serbia too. A few weeks later I received a message from them! They had a catchy name “Blazing to Serbia“! We agreed to meet up at the mall in Belgrade, Serbia when they arrived. We sat for a few hours discussing our lives, our connection to Serbia and the foundation of the amazing “Blazing to Serbia” organization.   “Blazing to Serbia” has visited Serbia on 12 occasions taking various items of equipment from the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service. The equipment provided includes 93 Gas Tight Chemical suits, over 300 Breathing Apparatus sets and cylinders, approximately 30 sets of hydraulic rescue equipment, over 300 sets of protective fire kit and helmets and various other items used at road traffic collisions, lines and torches.The most amazing part is the 18 fire trucks that they have driven down here and donated to many different cities in Serbia!  It is rare to find such kind and giving folks who have no ties to Serbia, but who have such a passion to help the country and its people!!  The ONLY thing that they are asking from all of us, is to help keep this wonderful organization going by clicking “LIKE” on their Facebook page!

I sat down to interview the leader of the “Blazing to Serbia” crew, Steve Logan! Here is what I found out:

1. What is “Blazing to Serbia?

A. Blazing to Serbia is an initiative of the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service, whereby a small group of volunteers acquire Fire Service vehicles and equipment and then donate them to the Fire Services in Serbia.

 

 

2. Who does it consist of and why did they join?

A. The Blazing to Serbia team is made up of Operational Firefighters from across South Wales, together with former Young Firefighters and friends.

 

3. Out of all the countries out there, how did you choose to assist Serbia?

A. Serbia was selected by accident. Due to my involvement with the Young Firefighters scheme, which operates all across South Wales, I decided to get myself a youth working qualification. On the course with me was a Scout leader who had recently returned from Serbiawith a group of Scouts. Whilst there they had visited a Fire Station and found that the fire engines were really old. He then asked at what age the trucks were replaced in South Wales and so the seed was sown. This was September 2006 and in March 2007 we made our first visit to Serbia.

 

4. What did you guys know about Serbia before making your first trip here?

A. Yes I knew that Serbia was part of the former Yugoslavia and had a vague knowledge of the recent Balkan conflict. Other than that I didn’t know anything at all.

 

5. Tell me a bit about your first impressions of Serbia when you first arrived here. How does it differ from Wales?

A. Coming from Pontypridd at the foot of the South Wales Valleys, I was used to mountains and hills all around, but the part of Serbiathat we visited was really flat, so this surprised me. But the thing that I remember most is how friendly and welcoming the people were.

 

6. How do you guys get your funding, donated vehicles, etc?

A. In order to get the vehicles and equipment form the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service, I gave presentations to the Senior Officers and the politicians who make up the Fire & Rescue Authority. After much persuasion they agreed to support Serbia for a fixed period of time. This period has now expired, so the arrangement that we had is now being reconsidered.

In order to transport the vehicles and equipment to Serbia the team carry out various fund raising events, like packing people’s bags in supermarkets, sponsored events, raffles and social functions. Without the good will and commitment of the Blazing to Serbia team, these fund raising events would not be possible.

The first convoy of 6 fire trucks that we drove to Serbia in 2011 was accompanied by a television crew from our National television station ITV Wales, who documented the journey. This documentary, called ‘Blazing to Serbia, was shown on National TV in November 2011. This documentary can still be seen on our web site www.blazingtoserbia.co.uk Because of the involvement of television, we were able to gain sponsorship for each of then trucks, which made the task of fund raising much easier.

 

7. How do you determine which city will get a fire engine?

A. Because the Serbian Interior Ministry is best placed to see where the trucks will be most useful and where they are most needed, we donate the trucks to them and they then allocate them accordingly.

 

 

8. What is the funniest story that you could tell us about all of your times in Serbia?

A. It won’t come as too much of a surprise to know that rakija leads to lots of funny situations, but a generally good example can be found on You Tube, just search for Tom Mac Fishing joke.

 

9. What do you see in the future of “Blazing to Serbia?

A. Fire Services across the UK are experiencing serious budgetary shortfalls and South Wales is no exception. Because of this the future of Blazing to Serbia is in the balance as Senior Officers and Politicians decide whether to sell the trucks, or continue to donate them to Serbia.

Outside of the trucks and equipment, the team has also been working with the Serbia Red Cross at Sremska Mitrovica. The team has helped with the provision of clothing, blankets, shoes and gifts for children and hygiene packs for families. We are also working with two animal rescue centres at Nis and Sremska Mitrovica.

So to answer your question, the future of Blazing to Serbia is uncertain in its current format, but if trucks & equipment is not available, then we will concentrate on other things. However, it would be a shame if we were not able to donate any more trucks, as the trucks also allow us to bring lots of donations to Serbia, at no additional cost.

In July, my future son-in-law James Randell, did an open air concert in the square in Ruma. A couple of weeks ago he did one in Sremska Mitrovica and a second one in Ruma. The concerts in Ruma have been to raise money for the Ruma Rotary Club and for a Bowel Cancer Charity. This is certainly something that we will be doing more of.

There is a saying that goes, “Charity, like its sister mercy is twice blessed, it blesses him that gives and him that takes.” The experience of driving across Europe in a fire truck and being able to make a positive difference in people’s lives has certainly made an impact on me and influences my thoughts and the way that I lead my life. This would be the same for the other team members too. Young people in theUK very often get a very bad press, so the fact that Blazing to Serbia has lots of young people who are thinking of others, often before themselves, can only be a good thing and benefit communities in Serbia and in Wales.

 

10. I really loved to hear about your little shoe boxes for the kids. Didn’t you run into some issues with customs last time? How did the kids react to them?

A. In December 2013, we sent a lorry load of equipment, ladders and clothes to Serbia. Whilst we were collecting these goods, I thought that it would be nice if we could send some gifts out for the children. I messaged the Red Cross at Sremska Mitrovica and they agreed that this would be a great idea. The team then set about collecting and filling 268 shoe boxes, with gifts for needy children. The contents of the shoe boxes varied, but contained items such as coloured pens & pencils, felt pens, crayons, chalk, calculators, note pads,colouring books, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste and toys, puzzles and sweets of every different type.

The Serbia Customs Service is always a challenge, but thankfully we are always able to resolve things eventually.

The intention was for us to visit a couple of weeks later and then help the Red Cross to distribute the shoe boxes. However, the shoe boxes did not clear customs until we had left the country, but the photographs that we saw ensured that the effort that we made was worthwhile.

Seventeen of the team visited Serbia 4^th – 8^th November and brought just over 400Kg of gifts and hygiene products with us. These were made into gift bags and we spend two days with the Red Cross, distributing them to needy children. This is an experience that will not only live with us for the rest of our lives, but will also influence the way that we lead our lives. Everyone was so happy to see us and were extremely grateful for our support and concern.

 

11. How can all of us that read this article help ensure that your awesome organization … continues? Is there something that we can do?

We really need people to visit the Blazing to Serbia Facebook page and give it a LIKE. We then need people to SHARE it with their friends and ask them to like & share it too.

Follow us on Twitter @BlazingToSerbia

On our web site we have a section for ‘Our Followers’. If there are any Serbian Celebrities, Politicians etc out there who would like to give us a photograph and some words of support to put in this section, it would be great.

We need to raise the profile of Blazing to Serbia in Wales & in Serbia, so any sort of media coverage would be great.

 

 

Serbia’s British Friend

What is one thing that can be very annoying about having so many Serbian Facebook friends? Having your inbox flooded with the same info and links on anything that is going on in Serbia. That is how I first heard of Kevin Shannon, the adventurer , who was planning to march all the way across Serbia. There were over 20-30 folks who were sending me something from the local newspapers and tv stations about him and his mission. We had connected over Facebook and he asked me to join in on part of journey. I wish I had taken the opportunity to do so not only for my health, but to experience a little bit of his adventure.

We bumped into each other again the “Exit Festival Global Adventures” tourism conference. I was there to giving a presentation on my social network and blog while he was there to present  “Walk Serbia”. I decided to quiz him with some more detailed questions about his time in Serbia.

1. Where are you from and what do you do?

So: my name is Kevin Shannon and I’m from the UK. Currently I run my own small creative design studio called Chips & Gravy studios

2. How in the world did you get the idea to “walk across Serbia”?

 

I originally visited Serbia the first time in the autumn of 2010 whilst on 10,000 km cycling expedition from the UK to the far end of Turkey and then back again. On that visit to Serbia I completely fell in love with the country and made some great friends. During the 3 to 4 months that I spent in Serbia I spend most my time in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sabac and Nis. When I returned home I realised that I’d only seen a fraction of Serbia and although I had learnt about the country a little there was still Hell of a lot more to see. So I decided that one day I would return to Serbian  and walk the length of the country.

3. What did you know about Serbia before you came here? 

Before I visited Serbia first time I didn’t really know that much about the country. I had simply drawn a line across Europe and Serbia happened to be on that path. I knew the region was obviously famous for conflicts and I had a they recollection of seeing the NATO bombings on television when I was younger, but that was really it. But as I was cycling through countries before I got to Serbia I was warned that Serbian people what do horrific things to me once I crossed the border. Of course I don’t believe this but when your cycling on your own across Europe these warnings do not fill you with confidence.

4. Prior to visiting Serbia for the first time, give me four words that you would used to describe it…

Unknown, War, Scary, New

5. How long did your walk take?

The walk is actually two walks. The first in February 2013 took me five weeks and during that time I walked from the border with Hungary down to the city of Nis. My second walk was in July 2013 and I walked from south west Serbia back to the north of the country, which also took five weeks.
6. Biggest complication.

The biggest complication was issues from walking with such a heavy pack. My left knee became very sore during the first walk, and during the second walk I had horrific blisters on the sole of one of my feet.

7. Funniest situation.

I was in a small village about 75 km north of Nis, feeling very tired and the little homesick and out of nowhere a group of young kids came up to me with pieces of paper and pencils. The oldest had a hand written note in English which said that they were big fans and have been following my journey in the newspapers. Because they knew my route, they knew I would be passing through the village and so had taken it in turns to keep a eye out for me, just so they could get an autograph – they had been waiting for 3 days.

8. Favorite part of your journey.

The end? No, i’m just kidding. It’s actually very hard to pick a favourite part of the journey because so much happened but if I had to say one thing it was the generous hospitality everybody that i met on the road.

9. How would you compare Serbian food to your normal cuisine back in England? 

Serbian food is very rich with strong flavours, and of course there’s a lot of meat. Which is really the case in England. I guess if I had to make a comparison I would say that Serbian food it’s very much like a traditional English roast dinner that is served in most households every Sunday – however in England you have that once a week  and in serbia you have it almost everyday

10. Did you ever feel threatened or in danger?

I never really felt threatened or in danger, even in small Kafanas in the middle of god knows where surrounded by big, burly Serbian guys. The biggest issue with regards to safety to me was the packs of wild dogs. They were always a concern when I was walking in the mountains or sleeping out at night.

11. What 4 words would you use to describe Serbia after walking from top to bottom and back?

Beautiful, friendly, Great food, my second home 

 

12. Will you return to Serbia? What would you say to someone that is considering a visit to this part of the world?

Without shadow of a doubt I’ll be returning to Serbia – in fact I returned earlier this year for a conference where spoke about my was through Serbia. I already have plans to take my fiance to Serbia,  have my stag party there and maybe one day by small house somewhere where I can spend my summers (not walking)

 

 13. You have decided to publish a book about this exciting adventure, right? Tell me a little about the project.

OK, So the project was quite simply to walk through Serbia to try and discover the real Serbia. In my original trip to the country i felt i’d only scratched the surface and was intrigued to see more of the country so i set up Walk Serbia. When you look around the internet looking for more info on Serbia you’re met with a lot negativity (except for a few sites included yours) and i decided that i wanted to create a document of my personal journey to not so much counteract the negativity but give a truthful view of a country. Now, don’t get me wrong, i expected it to be a positive trip due to prior experiences but i was open to negativity also – i essentially wanted to create a truthful account of spending 10 weeks tramping around the country. And this is, i hope, what i’ve done.

I’m still in the process of writing the book – i’ve rewritten some chapters 4 times – but i decided that i would set a date (in my head) for it’s release. So now i’ve set up a website – walkserbia.com – which will be the hub for all things to do with the book including, the opportunity to buy the book, perhaps some videos from the road, exclusive photos and information on speaking engagements and a potential book tour. For the moment i’ve thrown up a very simple landing page which has a small blurb about the book and an area to signup to the newsletter which will give you exclusive updates, a free chapter here or there and an exclusive discount on the final book. I set up the newsletter for the reasons i just mentioned, but something amazing happened when i did – i realised just how much interest there was in reading the book; not just from Serbia but from all over the world. Serb’s from Australia, the USA and Canada and even South Africa have sent me messages to tell me they would like to buy copies for friends, families and co-workers which is exciting…and daunting.

My plan for releasing the book was to self-publish and through friends in Serbia distribute the book there and of course here in the UK. But, with the response i’ve had so far i’m not looking at other options. I’m thinking about getting the book translated into Serbian, i’m going to start looking for distributors in the US and Australia AND if the list keeps growing i could have a great opportunity to promote the book to publishers around the world  which will then (if i’ve done my job right) help to give the world a better understanding of Serbia.

Just like the journeys themselves felt like a community – i had people tweeting, facebooking and emailing to help influence what i should visit and where during the walk – the book is starting to feel the same.

 

 

Irish Gal tells about her Summer in Serbia

This wonderful young lady met her Serbian boyfriend on the social media site, Say Serbia, that my Chicago Serb friend and I helped bring about.  Hope they name their first child after me. 😉 She contacted me on Facebook to ask for a few tips and bits of advice prior to coming here this past summer.

We had plans of meeting up while she was here, but we never seemed to be in the same place at once. One day I was with some friends in Novi Sad and bumped right into her and her Serbian boyfriend. They told me about a ton of experiences that she had encountered. She told me about her plan to create a video diary of her Serbian vacation when she returned to Ireland. Guess what I received in my mailbox today? This beautiful 28 minute video that documents her entire trip. I wanted to grill her with a few questions before posting it and she was kind enough to respond.

1. What did you hear about Serbia before visiting?

“I had never really heard much about Serbia. The only word I would have used to describe it previously would have been Sports! I was aware of a few of their athlete e.g. Vidic, Ivanovic, Seles, Djokovic etc”

2. Did you have any fears about visiting Serbia?

“As a kid, one of the stereotypes I heard a lot was Eastern Europe is dangerous, especially if you are black, as a result I never questioned that statement and deemed it to be a no go area for me.  As I got older and began to interact and befriend more people from different nationalities I realised most stereotypes I’ve heard are extremely false and through stereotypes prejudice and discrimination are formed. I wanted to overcome that.  I became more interested in travelling and learning about different cultures .My mum visited Poland a few years ago and loved it. It really encouraged me to want to travel more and experience places for myself. That’s where my curiosity to visit the eastern part of Europe began. Naturally I researched alot about different places to visit but after randomly talking to someone from the Balkans (he didn’t want to tell me he was from Serbia at first) and seeing how friendly and pleasantly easy to talk to he was, I wanted to learn a bit more about Serbia. Which is how started reading about other people’s travel experience and also how I came across YouTube videos of this American guy who was excited and passionate about Serbia.

Initially I wasn’t scared about visiting but when I started informing people about my upcoming trip, I was really taken back by the prejudice comments I was hearing from others, who I’m certain couldn’t even point out the country on a map if asked. This did lead me to start to worry about my visit just from allowing others comments to scare me. Two weeks before I was to leave, I messaged a black girl from London who had just returned from the EXIT festival held in Novi Sad. She shared with me her observations during her time there, how she loved every minute she spent in Serbia, how friendly and courteous people were and not to allow opinions of others to dictate my decisions and said that I should go there and see for myself before passing any judgement. Today I’m glad to say I’m delighted I went.”

3.  I have heard a lot of propaganda about Serbs being racist. What are your thoughts after being here ?

“I did get alot of stares especially in Zrenjanin; people didn’t even try to hide it. I was asked to take many pictures in Guča but you realise that people are just curious about you. People were interested in my background, my hair, the type of music I like etc. I didn’t experience any hostility during my visits to different towns and cities. 

Serbia is country that is often misunderstood by the world and seems to be painted in a negative way. All i can say is that it’s a place full of rich heritage, culture diversity and truly exceptionally warm and hospitable people. It’s the people who are the true treasure of this country. I’ve been to different countries but Serbia by far is the only place where i’ve truly felt welcomed and well looked after. It is impressive how they are willing to show you their home places and share their personal stories with you. I cried days before my flight, i just didn’t want to leave. Not many places or people can make you feel that way.”

4. What are four words that you would use to describe Serbia after spending your vacation here?

 

Divini ljudi

Odlicna hrana

Hospitality

Rakija

5. What is one thing that really shocked you about Serbia?

“I wouldn’t say shocked but more touched. People don’t earn alot and yet you wouldn’t realise that from their behaviour. A friend of ours had been working almost 24hours one day and yet whenever we went out he always made sure to come and spend time with us while I was around. Everyone would always offer to pay for me, they wouldn’t accept no for an answer. What I’m trying to say is that regardless of whatever situation they are in, people were still generous, caring and humble, making sure I was well looked after and even offering me gifts before I left. . My boyfriend’s baba gave me a gift she had owned for over 30 years. I loved the fact that every meal we ate together at the dinner table or that the Sunday lunch was always at the grandparents’ house, and everyone would insist that I should eat more because baba thought I was too skinny. Ne hvala, Sita sam was a phrase I used far too often. These kinds of gestures no matter how big or small really touch my heart.”



6. Name one thing that annoyed you or something you disliked about Serbia.

“smoking indoors”

7. Favorite food and drink?

“Oh my goodness, there are too many to choose from. The food was so delicious with so many different flavours and very healthy. Most of the ingredients used were from my bf’s fruit and vegetable garden.”

Food

Gomboca

Gibanica

Cevapi

Sataraš

Domaćinski

Homemade plasma favoured ice cream

Drink

Medovača Rakija (had one too many

8. What would you tell any other women of color or women in general that were considering a trip to Serbia?

“I’d say go for it and experience Serbia for yourself. Immerse yourself in the culture, people and food of course. I highly recommend.”

Serbia has left another great impression on a first-time visitor! She will be back soon.

 

Mexican Girl Falls for Serbia…..

I had a wonderful young lady contact me over Facebook. She was from the middle of Mexico , the exact state (Michoacan)  that I lived in for 1.5 years . She was nice enough to answer a few of my questions about her experience. I copied and pasted the responses so forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. If you would like to send her a nice little message, here is her Facebook profile.

Q) Tell me a little bit about yourself and your hometown

About me, well, theres not much to say Im a student, soon I will get Mayor in Psychology, next May actually, im 22 years old already, and I still live with my mom and my older sister, I have another younger brother, and he lives with my father and his wife. I loooove food, dance and sleep very well right now, im training crossfit, I really love it, its very complex and beautiful sport . My hometown… Morelia is a very historic place, it could take a looooooong while for me to tell smth about it, but, what can I say… Morelia is the city with most populated city in Michoacán (its state), and is the most extense, with an area of 78 km² and 597,511 habitants. It used to be a very strategic place for wars (when it was founded) and right now, the most important activities are culture and economy, you know, it’s a touristic place, for example, we have one touristic event called “Mariposa monarca”, and is a reserve of nature, where you watch all butterflies migrate to Canada (I think), and of course its an opportunity to sell food and services, tratidional food, like enchiladas, corundas, uchepos, tamales, elotes, atole de grano, atole of different flavors, churipo, carnitas, buñuelos, tequila, charanda, mezcal and other funny drinks , by the way, mescal burns almost like rakija, and taste is very similar, and of course don’t forget the effect jajajaj

Q) How did you first hear about Serbia?

Serbia was a country I never heard before in my life before, I even thought it was some sort of Asian country xD (sorry people, but we only learned about Yugoslavia) I first heard about it on the internet, I won’t say more , but when i heard about it I started to investigate it. I looked up its location on the map, the music, culture, food, and started to like it.

Q) What gave you the idea to visit Serbia? 

With time, I wanted to travel, thanks to a special b-day present from my mom so I started to look for different scholarship or volunteer programs that would allow me to travel and have some experiences. I found a program called “Vive Mexico” it is an organization here in Mexico that allows kids to travel, experience new cultures and volunteer. I applied for many countries including Serbia. I was accepted into the Serbian program called ” Drustvo Istrazivaca- Vladamir Mandic- Manda.”

Q) What did you like the most about Serbia?

this is a hard question for me, cuz, basically, I can say im in love with this country. I cant say I like everything, but…when I got there I really felt like I was at home. Serbia is very similar to Mexico starting with the people. They were very generous and kind. The food, OMG, the food was so interesting because it’s not the same food we have in Mexico but had some things that were similar like style, flavors and ways of cooking. They had spicy foods, cheeses, homemade dishes, yogurt, milk, meats and bread and so on. My favorite of them all was  sarma and burek. I could eat them both forever and never get tired of them. and even if it’s not a dish or anything special, yogurt (moja kravica) and cookies was great. Landscaping is amazing in Serbia too. Mexico has some green places, but I never knew green until I came to Serbia, PERIOD. Another thing was the water. In my country you cant take water from the tap or public places and drink it. But in Serbia you can drink it which is so practical. I loved the music, dance and drinks too! Rakija is similar to our drink, tequila. but when i tried it the first time it made me think of “Metzcal” because it burns and tastes so delicious. I almost forgot, the old buildings, they are beautiful!!  The Serbian guys are also very good looking so girls GO TO SERBIA. 😉

Q) What were your favorite cities that you visited and why?

I cant tell you like my favorite, i mean i enjoyed staying at all those cities, but, instead i rather say like an order, and the number one would be Jagodina, its a small one, and because of that I think the most calm one, and i loved that, whole city is amazingand beautiful, very nice and great people, and one of my favorite parts besides downtown, is Potok park, that place is so simple and so misterious at same time, I couldnt be at the top of it, but where i was, I could see a place where you can just close your eyes and feel how the whole city embrace you, I cant explain the exact feeling, but is a great place to be chill . Number two, is Kragujevac, and again, city is great!, bigger, but still not crowded, I also loved the park, Veliki park, and I actually got lost there, it was very funny , anyway, that place is beautiful!!, green is all over the place, and there is a place where you can sit and watch people passing by, and still is quiet and relaxing, that place brings me lots of special memories, there, I felt some strong energy of love, peace, and fullfillness, its a magic place , third Valjevo, its a great city, great ice creams at plaza, but what I really loved from that place is Gradac, I actually stayed there, and we went to rock climbing, we were inside a cave, and the craziest and most amazing experience there was at this mountains, is near a border of town, but I cant remember the name of those mountains, we went there with Russian cars, and it was very fun!! Again, greeeen all over the place, there were like 3 mountains in a roe, all together, the smallest, middle and biggest, I wish i can remember the names, but, that was amazing. And last but not least, Belgrade, that city reminded me of Mexico city, crowded and big, people all around, transports, plazas, huge malls, even I rather more peaceful places, I still find Belgrade interesting, is because its huge, and full of history, buildings, that makes it so interesting, it still isnt that crowded as Mexico city, and gosh thats great, but, that city wellcome me and said goodbye to me of an amazing experience

Q) What was the strangest thing you encountered?

I cant say strange, but I wasn’t familiar with the carpets, you know, you get in a place, and take off your shoes. We don’t do that in Mexico. The toilets were also very strange. They are a different style and I didn’t know how to work it. One time in a restaurant I had to go out and ask a waiter to show me how to flush it. 🙂 The door handles are also a different style and the electrical outlets are so different from the rectangle ones we use in Mexico.

Q) What was the biggest problem that you ran into? 

Not problem actually, the only thing I can complain is that I couldn’t stay longer xD 😛

Q) Did you learn any Serbian ? 

I did learn Serbian, actually, im still learning, with my friends I made there, they help me a lot, plus, I search for pages where I can check grammar and all basic stuffs, but now is harder cuz im not constantly hearing it, when I was there, I realized I could actually learn it 100%, but of course I had to stay there way longer, I love Serbian, and the hardest part for me, probably to remember how to change last part of words, depending on tense and depending on gender, so, its funny for me sometimes to write it xD jajajaja

Q) What advice would you give to someone that is interested in visiting Serbia?

To not be afraid of what news, media or anybody that say things, especially negative things about Serbia, just don’t listen to that and go to Serbia, live your own experience. I can say that it is very safe, of course it isn’t perfectly safe, just like any country there is some crime, but it doesn’t mean there is a terrorist on every street corner, that is ridiculous. I can assure you that it is a place where you can find peace, so i am sure you are going to love the place. Go everywhere you can while you are there, try everything you can, meet all the people that you can meet , there are many things to enjoy. You will find a very close “family” there! 🙂

 

 

Serbian Athlete Discusses Life in the U.S.A

The best part of my job is getting to speak to hundreds of Serbian kids that have had the opportunity to visit and go to school in my country. It is very hard to find one that had negative things to say about their time in the US or about the American people. The A-SMYLE exchange program is one thing that the government does well. Apply today….http://www.ac-see.org/programs/hs-citiesdates.htm Two months ago, a dozen kids from this program wrote to PRVA TV to beg them to help me stay in Serbia longer! 🙂 They told PRVA that they use my blog posts and videos to introduce their classes to Serbian life and culture. I was very touched when the tv station reporter told me this. ❤

Exchange programs are very important and can really change the world. I feel that all high school students should be required to live in another country and experience a totally different culture. It really is the only way to destroy propaganda. There always seems to be  billions of dollars available  for bombs, guns, and terror…….. why don’t we try spending it on the kids who will be running this evil planet in a few years? Our governments would never do that. There is so much more money to made in military conflicts! Obama, Bush, Nikolic, Tadic…… they are all controlled by higher powers. 😦 Sad, but true!!!

This young man was going to school in a small town in Illinois. He has enjoyed his exchange program very much. I asked him to write down a few things that he noticed about life in the USA. Here are his thoughts :

“Before I came to the US two years ago all my knowledge about it was based on things that I saw in the movies, tv and the internet. There are many stereotypes about Americans and some of them are accurate at some level, some of them are not but in general the picture that the rest of the world sees is somewhat true but it’s not complete until you actually visit and spend some significant time living here. First thing that I have noticed is how things look better here. Buildings, roads and infrastructure in general are a lot better in the US. Serbia has many beautiful old buildings and monuments but in general most of the things in Serbia are built back in the post Josip Broz Tito era. Some of Serbian buildings are very old and they are pretty much falling apart but since Serbia don’t have money to build new ones we are forced to use them. In the US everything just appears nicer and newer since there is more money to spend to take care of it. Other thing that was very different is the amount of space Americans are using to build towns and cities. I could say that just a regular US town somewhere in countryside or suburban area with a population of 20.000 probably has a bigger area then, for example, Novi Sad which has a population of 300.000 or more. Now something about people. Mentality is different than Serbian for sure. People here don’t talk or discuss politics as much as people in Serbia do. There are people who disagree with the US government of course but politics are not as common topic as it is in Serbia. I would say that main topic in the US are sports. I knew that Americans watch sports but I wasn’t really aware how much it is big until I came here. I also knew that professional sports are big deal but college sports are probably even more watched than professional sports. In Serbia the sports that are followed by people are pretty much at the same time of the year but in the US it is divided by seasons. With the beginning of August/September football is most popular I believe, both college and NFL. Then later on, somewhere around October/November NBA starts but it is not really that much watched until the playoffs. College basketball however is very popular. Hundreds of Universities with great basketball teams so there is plenty of good basketball to watch. Then in March it becomes super popular. No wonder that it’s called March Madness. I haven’t met a single American who doesn’t follow March Madness. It doesn’t matter if it is 10 year old boy or 70 year old granny, everyone have their favorite team and pretty much everyone makes a bracket and tries to predict the team who will win the National Championship. Then after that baseball season starts and it lasts throughout the summer. There are other sports like golf, hockey, track and fields and other but I don’t know much about that. There are plenty of good sports to watch all year long and people love to do it in the US. In Serbia its mostly just soccer and basketball and maybe tennis. People in Serbia watch other sports only when our national team is playing. Other than watching it youth here plays a lot more sports during the middle school and high school. Very often kids play more than one sport and all the competitions are mostly related to schools. Girls involvement in sports is also way bigger than it is in Serbia. Pretty much everyone here is playing or has been playing some sports. Social life is very different. I would say it is much more “alive” in Serbia. For youngsters there is a big legal problem which is no drinking before age of 21 and if you ask me it is a big deal. Law is very strict and for kids younger than 21 sometimes it is really hard to get booze and have fun. Young people here have to be very careful with throwing a party because there is always a risk that police will bust it and check for everyone’s age. In Serbia there is no such a problem so it’s easier to have fun and that is the reason why other people would say that Serbians live “laid back” life style. So parties and hang outs until early in the morning are not as common as they are in Serbia. Fast food in the US is very popular. Not just fast food but the custom of eating outside the house is much more popular. Plenty of restaurant chains and many different types of food so there is always a new place to eat. In general life here is easier, there are more opportunities for jobs and careers and material wise there is a lot more things and products. It is way more organized and the systems and patterns that people follow in the US are better so that makes life here simpler. On the other side I believe life in Serbia is more fun. It is harder but I would say that Serbians enjoy life better. This is just my personal observation so it’s not necessarily true. There is obviously a lot more differences and these are just some of the most interesting ones but it would take me forever to write them down.”

 

German Biker Talks of Serbian Hospitality

My encounters with interesting people continues to grow. It seems that I meet a very unique person everyday.

Pink Tv will have my episode on in a week or so

Pink Tv called me for an interview last Monday. He wanted to meet me in Pirot at 10AM. My stomach failed me after eating boat loads of food at this little village slava so I left Pirot on Tuesday and returned to Nis. The gentleman said he could pick me up in Nis and I could ride with him to Pirot on Wed if I was feeling better.

beautiful lavender fields

I woke up that morning feeling a lot better! I met the gentleman at the entrance to the hospital. He was very kind and driving an American car! 🙂 He wanted to take me to Pirot on a back road to see the beauty!!! OMG, WAS HE RIGHT!!!! We headed south of Niska Banja on a small two lane road. The view was FANTASTIC!!! There are some massive mountains, lots of trees, a beautiful river that runs down in the canyon and lots and lots of lavender fields! The smell was intoxicating!! You could see some of these strange contraptions that were harvesting them!!

Melanie from Germany

We pulled into an entrance to ask a young lady for permission to enter. She said ” I don’t speak Serbian”. I immediately jumped out of the car and asked where she was from. I could tell from her accent that she wasn’t American. She told us she was from Germany. She had a bicycle that was loaded down with supplies. She had decided to take a bike trip from Turkey to Germany by herself!!! What a trip that would be!!! I walked from Sremska Mitrovica and almost got to Ruma and it was only 17km!!! ahhaaha.. I thought that was an accomplishment. She was riding for months!!!!

The guy from Pink Tv was equally as impressed and stunned by our strange encounter with a German biker on this little road. We all took out our cameras and took numerous photos to remember this. We gossiped for a few minutes about everything imaginable. I decided to find out what she thought of Serbians. She quickly said “ I could tell a huge difference once I crossed into Serbia from Bulgaria! The Serbian people seemed to smile more and were more interested in me.” She had just entered into Serbia when it started to rain heavily. She pulled into the first home she saw and went to the door. She was going to try to use gestures to ask where the closest town or place she could camp would be. An elderly man answered the door. He instantly motioned her in. She stepped into a small, not very nice home. She felt bad for the man because of his home. He pulled up a chair for her and instantly started to make some coffee. He also got out an egg and put some milk into a pot. She was trying to say that she didn’t need to eat because she could tell he had very little food. She gave up and sat down. He brought over a cooked egg and a bowl of milk and bread.

bread and milk

He threw his hands in the air as if to say that was all he had to offer. She really felt bad, but didn’t want to be rude. She ate the food and thanked the man. He kept pointing at his sofa and wasn’t going to let her leave. She got all of her belongings and laid down on the couch for the night. The guy was up early and already preparing coffee for her. He also broke out more bread with butter for her to eat. She didn’t want to argue with him and ate it and drank her coffee. She was preparing to head off on her journey when he pulled out his wallet and handed her 200 Dinars. She is sure that he didn’t have much at all. She told him that she didn’t need it and for him to keep it! He kept pushing it at her and she opened her wallet to show him she had some Serbian money. He finally put his money back into his pocket. She gave him a hug and thanked him over and over. She left the house in awe of the kindness of a poor old man from a Serbian village. She told us that it seemed that the poorest of society were the ones that were most generous with her on this journey!

We departed with a short hug and I taught her to say “Srecan put” in Serbian. She said it will take her a few months to get back to Germany!! If you see a young lady on a bike pedaling through Serbia ……. give her a big “ZDRAVOOOO Melanie!”

It is very rare to find a foreigner that hasn’t had a good experience with a Serb!!

 

Young Nis Student Experiences Fast Food Culture Shock!!

Beautiful Nis, Serbia

I really love hearing from Serbian exchange students. I have been contacted by 4 of them that are enjoying their time in the USA. These programs are a great way to break down stereotypes.

This young lady, Natalija Kandic, is from the gorgeous city of Nis, Serbia. She was selected by ASMYLE Exchange Program and was sent to Cary, Illinois. 🙂

Here is her story…… Hvala, Nat

”

Hi Mr. Cather!

As you probably don’t remember, you’ve asked me long time ago to write you about my experience as a Serbian exchange student in the US.

I am an A-SMYLE student, leadership program in Serbia and Montenegro.

It wasn’t easy at all, from the beginning until the day I left my family. I believe you need a lot of courage to do this, but the experience and growth you get is immesurable. If you ask me about the procedure and the process of testing..honestly, it will take some time to remember. It was last year..

All I know is that 2 years ago I applied for the same program and I didn’t pass. I know why..I was late for the testing! One minute, but enough for them to see how immature I was. So, last year I came an hour before, with my sharp pencils, pens, my knowledge and most important, positive attitude.

The testings were held in ”Gimnazija 9. Maj”, Nis, Serbia. A bunch of competitive, mostly smart kids. It wasn’t easy at all. I had my best friends around me, and a lot of unknown faces. What’s funny is that some of those ”unknown faces” became my best friends! For example, Jelena Jevtic (she is in Pueblo West, CO now). I will tell you more about her. We live on the same street in Nis, Mokranjceva. I live in the beginning, she lives in the end. Before the testings I saw her only once, and she said Hi  I couldn’t remember if I know her, but I replied Hi! From the very beginning of the exams we were encouraging each other. Of course, other best friends Marko and Masa were always there for me, helping, cheering and loving me. But, since only Jelena passed in the 3rd round of testing (as I did), she knew how hard it became. I believe both of us knew that we can easily ROCK this  Not that easily..because we thought it’s only 1 person in 6 that is chosen. Wrong! Our last exam was group debate..6 of us debating about ”Woman vs Man as a President”..Jelena and I..we were unstoppable! Not bragging haha!
So, Jelena is the first one who found out she passed and she is going to the US. I was in my high school ”Prva niska gimnazija Stevan Sremac”, in my literature class. My mom called me and said ”Sweetheart, mom and dad are proud of you!” I knew what’s next..I am going to the US!! My whole class was cheering, my lovely literature teacher Danijela ..it was a blast!

To sum up, when I came here first thing I saw was Mc Donald’s and King Burger. I didn’t like that..Later, I found out you have Mc Donald’s and fast food EVERYWHERE. Not trying to be mean, I am just sad because a lot of teenagers eat there and it’s cheap and fast so it’s easier for them. I guess it’s my Serbian mentality, but the food is just so fake here. I miss sarma, pita, cevapcici, pljeskavica, hleb, pogaca..everything when it comes to food!!

Another thing, American school..not that easy, but not hard as Serbian.
In Serbia, I go to philologic class, Stevan Sremac high school. And I adore it, although people think we are nerds. Wrong! Haha.
We have 16 subjects..and it’s a lot, I know.

Here, in Cary, Illinois I chose 6 subjects and gym. Every day I have lunch 45 minutes (in Serbia, only 20) + I have commons, which is a class in cafeteria for doing homework (actually, chatting with your friends AND doing homework). I volunteer..I go to Evangelical church with my mom almost every Sunday and that’s where I help and volunteer. I am so grateful how people accepted me there, it’s like a small family. I am Christian Orthodox, and I know it sounds strange that I go to Evangelical Church, but I do it for my mom. And for myself, because I made some amazing friends there. It’s the part of experience here!

I played varsity tennis in Cary-Grove (my awesome high-school), and that’s where I met most of my girlfriends. Some of them I met in French, because I speak fluent French and LOVE to help people in my class. I was shocked first time my American friends asked me: ”Why do you help us??”..WOW. Why? Well, because that’s what people do, help..No, it’s because I am Serbian! That’s how I responded

I guess here people pay if you help them..I don’t know, It’s not how I was raised. For now that’s all I can think of..oh yes! My host family..I have a host mom (I call her just mom or mommy or sis), her name is Meg. I have a host brother Griff (he is at CMU), and Hayla, my host sister. I ADORE my host family . Now I feel like I have 2 families..one Serbian and one American..

Everyone should try this, it’s not the easiest thing in the world, but with some help from your family and friends + your attitude and knowlegde..you can get A LOT. Thank you, Charles..for everything you do for my country. It takes a GRAND man to do what you do..thanks from my family, too.

Keep in touch! Pozdrav “

 

American Marine Bumps Into Arkan!!!

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the amount of messages I get from all over the planet. I get to hear so many stories from people with totally different backgrounds! Just today …I received a nice message from a guy in Japan that told me how much he misses Serbia, and will move there after he graduates! Keep the stories coming… 🙂

A few days ago….. I received a message from a Marine that was helping guard the U.S Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia in the 1990’s. He has so many great things to say about his time in Serbia. He grew to love many things about your country, culture, etc. He still has many Serbian friends to this day. He told me this very interesting story about an accidental encounter with Zeljko Raznatovic … better known as “ARKAN”

WHO WAS ARKAN?

Mr Raznatovic was a paramilitary leader  of the Serbian Volunteer Guard or Arkan’s Tigers….who organized and lead the forces in the Yugoslav Wars. He was accused of many crimes during the 1970’s-1980’s and was on Interpols most wanted list for many years.  He is considered a hero by many and a brutal monster by many more. He was assassinated in 2000 before he could be tried by the court.

The Story…..

“I will give the short version of the Arkan Story,  while in Belgrade we were
in charge of security, there was 5 Marines and one Marine Detachment
Commander.  The five of us lived together in a house, kind of like the Real
World, but not on TV, we ran 8 hour shifts, and when you were not at work,
you could do what the Romans do, in this case, do what the Serbs do…..  we had a bar in our house, in fact all Marine houses around the world has a
bar.  We would have parties twice a month to raise money for the Marine
Corps Ball,  we sell wine, liquor and beer, mostly to Americans and other
Expats, but in this Case the Beautiful Serbian People, mostly the girls
because they loved coming to our house, because it was safe, no fire arms
and gun fire going on during the techo mix, LOL.

anyway, one night at Three
Carrots (a Irish Pub), on Knesa Milosa, a very hard looking individual
approached me, and said you are a Marinats, ….. well of course being that
I want to maintain a low security profile, I did not answer his question, he
asked again but this time got in my face but starting talking to me in
Serbian, I politely replied, Izvinite, Moy Serbski nije bash najboje, Da li
Goverite Engleski, he smiled and said, I like an American that tries to
learn our language, and invited me to sit with him.  He bought me and
another Marine a Beer and said he wanted to talk to us about business, of
course I was in condition red, and was surprised by the convo.  This guy
explained that he knew we had parties at our house and sold beer.  He wanted to sell us some beer at a good price, the Beer was Grolsh, not sure if you ever seen it, but it has a pop top, we sat and talked, he told us about
being a Soldier for Serbia, He wanted to sell us some beer, we asked what
kind of beer, and he said what you are drinking now, Grolsh…….. it was
the big bottle too, so I was interested, I said how much, he gave us a price
and without trying to do the conversion in my head, because in those times
the Dinar was all over the place, I said in dollars, he replied even better,
and gave us a ridiculously low number.  I said, per case (24) he said yes,
It was like 5 dollars a case, even if we sold the beer for 2 or 3 bucks in
our bar we make a killing, so I say lets start with 50 cases, he replies why
so small of an order, I was like, well this beer is new or least I have
never heard of it, and I wanted to test it at our bar first, he agreed, so
we set a time the next day to come pick up the beer.

The next day (early
evening) me and another Marine drove our duty van over to the bar and we
expected to load some beer at that location, instead this guy says to jump
in the van and he would take us to were the beer was, now the alarms start
to go off in my head and I hesitate, he assures us that it is all good and
that it would be fine.

We drive for about 30 minutes in an area of Belgrade
that I have never seen before, it seems like we went north East, but we took
so many turns I got all mixed up and got turned around, it was during winter
so it got dark as we were driving.  We finally arrive at a place, these
buildings look residential, but you know BG, there is bars and cafes
everywhere, we get out and walk down some stairs, and there is this big iron door, the Serbian guy knocks on it, it was straight out of a movie, the
slide opens, they speak to each other and the door opens.  We get led down this dark hallway in which it gets darker and darker, I hear music and
people talking, we reach a big velvet type drapery and walk through and bam, we are in a Gentleman’s club, older well dressed men sitting around with young well dressed women at every table with food wine and drinks, and now I crap my pants because I have a scary suspicion on where we are!  I look at “JASON”  and say be cool follow me lead, if I hall ass you better move with me. The guy walks off and talks to some people, we are standing in the room with lots of eyes on us.  Next thing I know a waiter walks up with two shots, he offers them to us, I say no thanks, he says no you have to drink this, I say no that we have to work and that we cannot drink alcohol.  He says no, you really have to drink this because that gentlemen behind me bought you these and it would be a sign of disrespect, and his face was like “seriously just do it”  I look over his shoulder and as plain as day, I see Arkan with a shot glass in the air, I know immediately who he is but act like I dont, the other Marine has no clue as this point, but later acknowledge that he seemed like somebody important.  I decide to pick up the shot glass and tell “JASON”, to do the same.  We knock em back, Rajkia of course……. and as I feel the burn on my throat I nod to him and thank him as does he.  I hear the double doors open on the side wall and out comes two dolly’s loaded with beer.  I nod my head again and I turn and follow the guys with the beer, we load it up, as they bring the other cases, I give the guy the cash, and we shut the doors.  I ask the guy if he wants a ride back to Three Carrots, he says no, that he will stay there.  I drive off with my heart doing 180 beats a minute
and realize the magnitude of it all.  It took me a while to find my way out
of Dark Streets Covered in Coal and soot……… lets just say, that
situation could have turned out very badly, but so glad it didn’t.  It
actually showed me that Serbs are proud and people of their word.

I know I said short version at the beginning, but I could of had a bunch of
other detail, but I think you get the idea!!!

It was weird, when I found out he was killed, I remembered that human side
of him more then the bad things he was accused of.

Alright time to take a breath on that one.  What took you to Serbia????  and
how did you come to love it so much????

Later”

Very interesting…. Thanks for sharing your story with us, sir!

 

TWO SERBS TELL ABOUT USA EXPERIENCE

Two Serb friends of mine were kind enough to send me their thoughts on the USA. I hope to have to many more. Thanks boys! It’s great to hear opinions and thoughts on your own country. Sometimes it takes a foreigner to point out things that you take for granted.

Luka is a Serb from Pancevo, Serbia. He had the opportunity to travel to Louisiana last school year. He is one smart Serb. He made a video about his opinions of my country. Check it out..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y8WOpGDaMU..Here is his story……

“I went to America as an exchange student via PAX Organization. I contacted a representative from Belgrade, filled out all the applications and a few months later I was accepted. 10 of us from Serbia and Montenegro went to New York. There we’ve spent a week for the orientation and then each and every one of us flew to their host families. I went to Shreveport, Louisiana. It is mid-sized city located between Dallas and New Orleans. That was my first time in America so I had no clue whether or not the people are gonna like me or not especially because I’m coming from Serbia. I was happy when I found out how friendly the Americans are and I couldn’t believe that probably 99% of people never heard of Serbia. Most of them confused it with Siberia. Lol. At first it was hard to ajust to being so dependent on cars since there’s no public transportation in the US nor you can walk anywhere cause everything is so spread out. The schools in America are much easier compared to Serbia because you can pick 4 classes a semester and that’s it while in Serbia you gotta take up to 15 classes. In my American school I was able to teach to teachers and the entire classes about many different topics including the history of the Balkans which they found to be cool. I enjoyed my stay in America and made many new friends who will come for a visit one day. I traveled to Missouri, Arkansas, Houston, New Orleans, New York etc. I love America and I’ll definitely come back soon. I believe that if our two countries would collaborate more no one would be able to stop us ”

Marko is a Serb that attended the college beside my hometown! Lake Land College contacted me about  my equipment donations for Serbia. They mentioned that two Serbs were currently enrolled in athletic programs through Lake Land. I wrote to both of them and they were kind enough to write me back. He is a 6’6 Serb with some awesome basketball talent. Check out his highlight video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anHF0ankV5k Here is his story…..

“How i got started:
I had heard from my fiends that there is a agency who helps people ( players) to find school in US. So I decided to go to the agency, and to talk to them about the program and everything that they have to do for finding a college in US for me. I went to two agencies to see how each one works and I decided one of them. The one that was helping me had really nice people who were working there. I explained them my problem, and what i want. I told them that I want full scholarship, job and everything else was as we agreed. Also I did pay money and it was a good amount of money. Was a lot for me, but I payed first half for signing contract, and second half after they find me school actually when i got I-20 from school. everything was ok. They did find school for me and I went to LLC to study for two years.

..Before I got to US I didn’t know a lot about different culture, college basketball or anything similar to this. My biggest dream was to play basketball somewhere in a college. My dream came true two years ago when I come to US. I will never forget my first time when I traveled to US. That experience was unforgettable. By the time when I was flying to US I had a long trip over Belgrade, Ljubljana,Paris, Dublin and finally Chicago where my assistant coach was waiting to pick me up and take me to Mattoon. After three hours drive from Chicago to small city Mattoon on south side of Illinois I arrived to finale destination. Here we are Matton about 25.000 people nice and quiet place with beautiful Lake Land college campus. Lake Land College is one of most beautiful junior college schools in US where i spend 2 years of great experience. My first year was kind a tough for me because of my lack of English. With hard studying, and with help of the other people I started learning English. I remember that i was studying English every day so hard, so that i didn’t have a time to hang out with other friends. After few months I started speak English that people were wowed how good i can speak. People that i have met in US were very nice and kind to me. I never seen people who willing to help, and smiling that much as people in US. Practicing working, and studying are three things that filled my every day. We almost have practice every day two times, plus three classes, and work not easy but really worth to sacrifice yourself for better life, and learning new things. .Now I have the best experience from US in my life. I will never forget it for sure. Of course people that I met and people who were there to help me in my hardest moments they always going to be deep in my heart. God bless everybody there. I can say that Im caring the best memories from US with me.:”

Thanks, Marko.. Glad you had a great time in my state!!!

I might be working with a non-profit organization that helps Serbs find athletic scholarships. I will keep you informed.