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! 🙂

 

 

My Serbian Food in Pictures

Karađorđeva šnicla with potatoes, bread, and a sopska salad

One of the reasons that I have yet to leave this country is the vast amount of delicious foods! I wanted to share some of my past food experiences with you. Hope you enjoy!

Easter dinner with colored eggs, stuffed peppers, pork and lamb soup

 

Homemade meal from a friend’s house in Nis

Kafana meal with cevapi, fries, sopska salad and Zajecarsko pivo

Sarma, pickled peppers, green onion and homemade bread

 

Fish soup (ribala corba) bread, and Zajecarsko Pivo

 

Komplet lepinja. Specialty from Uzice, Serbia. Grease from a roasted lamb on bread with egg and kajmak

 

Fresh fish from a small village near Uzice

 

they raised these fish in a stream by the restaurant

 

Mixed meat platter from Kod Srbe

 

cevapi, steak, and big cuts of pork with some fries and veggies

Sopska Salad

 

pizza with something called “beef sauce” smeared all of it

 

plate of fresh roasted lamb at Mokra Gora

 

different meats from a restaurant at Zlatibor

 

Gurmanska pljeskavica

 

palacinka or Serbian pancake

 

Eurocream and Nutella… sweet creamy hazelnut spread they put on pancakes

 

a few of the condiments you can get on your burgers

 

Sarma or stuffed sour cabbage rolls… my favorite

 

meat tray from a friend’s party

 

big pljeskavica with bread, urnebes, and fries

 

little pumpkin pies

 

cheese pies with spinach in them

 

snack tray of pavlaka, ham and fried zucchini

 

my favorite snacks… cheese, ajvar, crackers and a big bottle of Zajecarsko Pivo

 

after dinner drinks of Nescafe and boiled wine

 

Serbian traditional drink, rakija that was served in a glass of crushed ice 

 

 

Serbia Leads the World in……?

You might remember my other post about Serbia leading the world in highest self esteem ….https://serbiathroughamericaneyes.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/serbs-1-in-the-world-in-highest-self-esteem/….. I just found out something else that Serbia leads the planet in…….

Thank God I never started smoking. My insides would be a total loss!! 😉 Alcohol is enough for me!!  I have a lot of friends that tell me that they only smoke when they drink. Is this possible? How do you get the urge to smoke only when you drink?  I have a lot of friends that smoke and I’m not going to sit here and lecture them about their habit! I believe in the slogan ” live and let live”, but just keep your smoke away from me! I like beer and am not ashamed to say that. I don’t go around pouring beer down the throats of those that don’t drink so why should I have to breathe your cigarette smoke?

Thanks to “http://www.mydoorsign.com” for the use of their image

The state of Illinois adopted the Smoke-Free Illinois Act on January 1st, 2008. The Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces, including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores, restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities. It also prohibits smoking within 15 feet of all public entrances, doorways, windows, etc. A person who smokes in an area where smoking is prohibited can fined between $100 and $250. A person who owns, operates or otherwise controls a public place or place of employment who violates the act can be fined not less than $250 for the first violation, not less than $500 for the second violation within one year after the first violation and not less than $2,500 for each additional violation within one year after the first violation. The only exceptions to this rule are:

• Retail tobacco stores that derive more than 80 percent of its gross revenue from the sale of tobacco products and do not have a liquor, food or restaurant license.
• Private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes or long-term care facilities occupied by one or more persons, all of whom smoke and have requested to be placed in a room where smoking is permitted. The nursing home or long-term care facility must ensure designated smoking rooms comply with other laws and fire protection and life safety codes.
• Up to 25 percent of hotel or motel sleeping rooms may be designated as smoking rooms, provided they are on the same floor, contiguous and smoke from these rooms does not infiltrate into 

I love Europe…….. specifically … the Balkans. One of the first things I noticed when arriving in Serbia in 2010 was the outrageous amount of smokers!! I would have to guess that more than 75% of my close friends in Serbia smoke!! No offence to this wonderful country that I have chosen to reside in, but it is hard to get away from cigarette smoke! I have heard that there are some laws about smoking in restaurants, bars, and public buildings, but I have yet to see any enforcement. Kafanas are my favorite hang out, but the amount of smoke in the air is enough to kill a bear! 🙂 Smoking in the US isn’t as common as it used to be. I am sure that cost has played a major factor in this drop. According to a study by the Wall Street Journal…. the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the USA is $6.36 and rising. Serbia has an average cost of $2.03! One other thing that I notice is the amount of young kids that are smoking over here! You can see high school kids standing out in front of their schools smoking cigarettes during their breaks. You would be kicked out of school for doing the same thing in Illinois!

Russia has led the planet in cigarettes consumed per capita for many years. That streak ended in 2012 when Serbia surpassed them!! Russians smoke around 2,786 cigarettes per person per year! Serbia hit 2,861 cigarettes per person per year!!!! 😮 😮 The United States is sitting around 1.028. Russia has been pushing through some tougher laws to combat their smoking epidemic. I think it is time for Serbia to do the same!!!! Here is the entire article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443624204578058201182906048.html?mod=e2tw#articleTabs%3Dinteractive

I will probably get some death threats for posting this. 🙂 You know one sick and twisted bit of information that I learned from my time in Nis?? N.A.T.O bombed the Yugoslavian owned cigarette company during our “peace” mission in 1999. Guess who owns it now????  Phillip Morris…. -_- I guess they were aware of the smoking epidemic!!! DISGUSTING!!

Keep smoking those cigarettes if you like. I am not a saint either! 🙂 Volim vas!

Join our new Serbia website and share your passion for this great country and people….. http://www.sayserbia.com/ and for those that are interested in helping Mr. Cather with his Serbia documentary with a few dollars, go to https://www.wepay.com/donations/serbia-through-american-eyes  I need you!!! We have completed the first episode and will be showing the premier to the Ruma community the first week of August and discussing it on “ZIKINA SARENICA” on August 3rd!!! I need you!!!! Hvala puno!!!!!!!

 

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!!

 

Biggest Embarrassment to Serbia and its People

I know , I knowwwwwww… People are always telling me to STAY away from Serbian politics. I am just curious to find out where the majority of my friends sit on issues.  I stay farrrrrrrrrr away from your politics, just like to see your views.

I asked a poll question the other day looking for the best leader of Serbian lands since 1900 and for the biggest Serbian hero. The poll is still going strong. I was asked by a few people to add a poll for them to vote on the worst of the worst in recent Serbian history. I apologize for not adding all the names or neglecting some. Please be respectful in your comments to others. This is a big world with many different view points. Your people have gotten a bad wrap over the last 20 plus years. I started a neat little series on Youtube to break some stereotypes against Serbs. If you haven’t watched it, please do!! 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzePnUSVI0U

Thank for all the messages of support after the airing of my Prva Exploziv episode. It is great to have so many Serbs show their love for me. Volim vas. If you haven’t joined Say Serbia yet, please do!!! http://sayserbia.com/  We are going to be in Blic soon!!!

 

Serbian War Crimes in 1885???

I knew this title would attract some attention from my Serbian buddies!!! It will also get its fair share of haters too. 🙂

War is a terrible thing. It is usually very difficult to find something positive or a humane act that is worth noting.

My country has been involved in many military conflicts over the years. I remember sitting in my Mexican classroom talking with my students about war. They asked me to name all of the wars that the USA has been involved in since The Civil War. 😮 😮 OMG! Could I do it?? I started to sweat and gave up! I asked them the last time they were involved in a war.They quickly replied ” The Mexican American War  and our independence” DAMN!!! My country has been through countless wars and conflicts since that war.

The Balkans have had their fair share of war too! The Serbs tend to get blamed for all the bad things that happened during these conflicts. I am not a Balkan scholar….. I don’t even pretend to be very bright , but when there is a military conflict there are usually horrible things committed on both sides!! Thank God for our international media that is always looking out for us. They would never mislead us, would they??? They always show both sides of every conflict and never have a hidden agenda!! ahahahahahaha… The media is one thing that gets me fired up. If you turn on a newscast in the USA you would think we had two totally different countries. MSNBC is my choice for news. They are known for leaning LIBERAL and then on the other side of the aisle you have FOX… They are the CONSERVATIVE news source! I am not going to sit here and talk about how insane Fox News is, but they have a totally different view. I thought it was NEWS!!!!! The days of a balanced and unbiased newscast are over! If a station is owned by large corporations… WHAT DO YOU EXPECT!!!!???? (shaking my head in disgust)

In 1885 the Serbs and Bulgarians were in a bloody conflict. They had many wounded soldiers on each side. Serbia had founded the Red Cross a few years earlier in 1876.  Bulgaria formed their Red Cross in September of 1885!!! They were both being offered additional assistance from the Red Cross organizations throughout Europe, but Bulgaria had a big problem!!! Serbia stood between them and Europe and the Danube River was frozen solid!! They had many wounded and sick soldiers that were in dire need of medical treatment. What did the Serbs do??? Let them freeze, starve and die??? NO! They did something that only was unheard of!!!! They halted the war for one day to allow medical supplies into Bulgaria!!!! The Austrian Red Cross had contacted the Serbs about the need of supplying the Bulgarians with needed supplies, and it was  supported  by  the group of  Serbian surgeons, the Serbian Army Headquarters proclaimed the one-day armistice and opened the state border, allowing the Red Cross entry. The two delegations met near the small town of Pirot, Serbia.  That wasn’t the end of it! The Bulgarians were still short of medical supplies and the Serbian opened their medical supplies and shared with their enemy!!!!

This act didn’t go unnoticed! The headquarters of the International Red Cross in Geneva hung up a plaque in their hallway that states “Be Humane Like Serbia in 1885”

 

 

How to Avoid Irritating Serbian Grandmothers

One thing to expect when entering a Serbian home is to be offered a pair of house slippers! 🙂 I found this so funny! It didn’t matter if you were in the northern part of the country or the extreme southern part… if there is a grandmother in the house…. YOU BETTER TAKE THEM UP ON THE OFFER!

I have never owned a pair of house slippers and we never wore them growing up. I can’t remember going to a home in the US and using their house slippers to walk around in! 🙂 Maybe it is because many of our homes are carpeted. My grandmother and other old ladies would wear them, but not young men! Different story in Serbia. 🙂

I was invited to a friends birthday party in the little village of Krajisnik, Serbia. He lived with his grandmother and great grandmother. They had never seen or spoken to an American before. 🙂 The great grandmother was about 90 and so sweet. She kept speaking to me in Serbian and my friend would have to tell her over and over that I was American and didn’t speak Serbian. She kept using some foul language that I understood to tell him that she didn’t believe him. hahahahaha…I had to keep asking him to translate. She was telling me how one of her sons was perfect and handsome and the other was lazy and worthless. AHAHAHAH! The other thing she kept mentioning was my lack of slippers! She said it 3 or 4 times. She couldn’t walk very well, but she got up and got me a pair and placed them at my feet! 🙂 She was a doll! She also LOVED TITO!! HAHAHA.. My friend and his cousin would aggravate her by mentioning Boris Tadic. She wasn’t a fan of him! One thing is certain… Serbian grandmothers treat you like their own! She didn’t care if I was from America, next door, or Ethiopia … I was going to wear those slippers If I liked it or not!!!! 🙂

Put on the slippers when they are offered.. 🙂

 

My stay in Pirot, Serbia in June 2010

After my first Facebook encounter with a Serbian I wanted to know more about the country and try to meet people in all parts of Serbia. I pulled up a map of Serbia and selected towns that I thought might be interesting. I typed the town name into the search feature on Facebook and randomly contacted a few Serbians in Pirot. We quickly struck up a friendship and they offered me a place to stay if I came to visit. After hearing about the income of a few of the families… I was shocked and wondered how they could possibly eat and pay their bills… coming from a state where the average income is $22,000USD a year to hear that some people lived on $250 or less BLEW ME AWAY!!!!! I would spend that much on a drunken, party weekend!

The day came when I was to leave Zrenjanin for Pirot.  My buddy told me he would drive me from Zrenjanin to Pirot so I didnt have to take the bus down there. I loved the idea. We picked up two of our buddies and headed off around 12pm. He had a little, red Opal that ran off of butane. We got to Belgrade and it started raining very hard. His windshield wiper on the drives side stopped working and he had to stick his arm out the window to try to correct it so we could see. He finally got it to functioning and we were on the interstate south of Belgrade. The car started acting up and he had to pull over along the interstate. Thank God his father owns a car parts place and he knows a lot about cars. He found some wire and was able to rig it to where it worked! We sat there along the interstate and smoked and had a pivo. We continued on our route. The further we got the more beautiful it became… There were many hills, streams, mountains, flowers and trees ALL OVER!!! We entered many tunnels that were cut through the mountains… 

We got to the BEAUTIFUL town of Nis and decided to crash for the night. We found a hotel that was 10,000 dinars a night for two rooms and we took it.. My friends said it was expensive but to me it was a good deal. We walked to the fortress and sat by this beautiful river that ran beside our hotel. We didn’t get to spend as much time as I liked in Nis. The next morning we were off again. The entrance into Pirot was remarkable… one of the first things I remember seeing was the Pirot Fortress that was built in  the 14th century…..It was a beautiful entrance to a BEAUTIFUL city!!! We arrived a little after noon. We parked and walked to the center of town. they had a beautiful fountain and lots of little shops, bars, and cafes. We sat down for a pivo and called my buddies from Pirot. They arrived a few minutes later and greeted my Zrenjanin buddies. I remember one of my Zrenjanin buddies saying ” I can’t even understand these guys!” ahahahha… My Pirot friends were very kind. My Zren buddies left us and they took me to their homes. Their mothers were both home along with grandparents. They were AMAZING!! They had a large meal prepared for me along with some rakija! I stayed for several days and was able to see many amazing things. Pirot is known for its Pirot handmade carpet or rugs…the symbol on the left… resembles the city crest. The rugs are of great quality and sold all through out the Balkans. We visited the tourist center in downtown Pirot and saw many amazing, old artifacts and one of the first two story homes in the Balkans that was owned by a trader.  One of my first impressions of the main street was the gaudy, pink and other brightly colored  buildings. The color was HIDEOUS and looked out of place for such beautiful architecture ! We walked the whole city and experienced many great little pubs and bars in the center! I noticed people in south Serbia were interested in getting to know strangers. They were very open, kind and curious! It seemed that every club or bar I walked into people would come up to speak to you. That is a bit of change coming from the USA. It is not that common that most strangers come up to speak to you if they don’t know you. They also have a beautiful river that runs right through the city with rows of trees running along side it. It is a very relaxing and peaceful atmosphere! Great for a picnic or a place to lay down and read a book…We spent many great days and nights walking beside this beautiful river. I remember Pirot being the first place in Serbia that i noticed their odd way of posting obituaries of the dead on every post or wall in town. They also show a picture of all the dead on their tombstone.

The mothers in Pirot treated me like a son! It amazed me! On one occasion I had went off with some guys I didn’t know. One of the mothers asked her son to go find me. He found me with some guys and called him mom. She started crying and told him to bring me home IMMEDIATELY! I went with him and he translated that she was worried because the guys I was drinking with had ties to the mafia!!! It was like I was her son or family! It amazed me that they would care that much for a stranger.

The next day we went off with this Bulgarian/Serb. He had a nice little car and wanted to take me to this Orthodox monastery that was up in the woods..We had to drive way up into the mountains on many winding , tree covered roads. We had to park a km from the monastery because it is secluded and back off the open road. You had to cross through a forest and over a little bridge with a beautiful stream. We arrived at the opening and I had a sleeveless shirt on. You are not allowed to enter without having your arms covered. There was a box of shirts beside the entrance. I slipped one on and we entered the grounds. The lawn was neatly trimmed and they had a garden with vegetables and a living quarters to the right of the monastery. We walked to the monastery and entered. It was creepy for me. It was the first one I had ever entered. It was dark, chilly and had little candles burning in a little section. I heard monks chanting and then a priest came to us and spoke. My friends told him I was American and he was very kind. He wanted to know what I knew about Orthodox religion and offered to tell me anything I wanted to know. He asked if I wanted to light a candle for anyone. The top section was to light a candle for someone living and the bottom was for the dead. I declined because I am not religious and hoped to not offend him. He was very respectful and nothing like I had pictured an Orthodox priest. My friends burned their candles and we left. Great experience.. The monastery had many old paintings on the ceiling and walls.

My last night in Pirot I had to DEMAND to stay in a hotel. I wanted a little time alone and to relax. I met so many great people in town that a few of them heard where I was staying. They called the hotel at 2AM and wanted me to come to their house to drink some pivo and rakia. I accepted and went to their house. We had a great time! We listened to music, drank pivo, talked and got to know each other very well.. The sun started coming up and since I was to leave Pirot at 2PM that day my friends wanted to take me to this lake that was very close to Pirot. It was Lake Zavojsko.

We left his house around 5am … just as the sun started to rise. We had a lot of pivo and a bottle of rakija. Only one of the kids had a car so we walked to his house to get it. It wasnt far from theirs. We got to his car and I had never seen such an old car that would run. It was a Lada.. They are a Russian made car that are not much to look at but are very durable. It was a baby blue color and he told us we would have to push it to start it.. it had rained the previous evening and the roads in Pirot were not the best. There were many holes and lots of water in the streets. We all get behind it and push . It finally starts and we all get in… We had all had a lot of pivo and probably shouldnt have been driving but that is life. The trip to the lake took about 20 or 30 minutes. We passed some beautiful scenery and many curvy, windy roads with pine trees dominating the landscape. This car had to be pushed to start but once it was going it got up to some high speeds or so it seemed. My friend was driving like a madman. I was a little drunk but still nervous at the rate of speed he took the curves. We somehow made it. Once we stopped and got out I was instantly in love!!! It was a HUGE lake with hills and trees on all sides of it. We watched some old fisherman for a bit, drank more pivo and walked down the back of this hill.. There was a waterfall going over some rocks and my friends told me to drink it. I said “HELL No!” They all drank from it like it was nothing and said it was some of the cleanest water in the Balkans. It was one place I MUST return for a camping trip. It is someplace anyone could have a great time. It will lower your blood pressure by at least 20 points!!!

To sum it up…. Pirot was one AMAZING little town that had some of the most friendly, funloving people I had ever encountered. It doesn’t get a lot of tourist activity but it should!!!!!! It is cheap, fun and filled with AWESOME Serbs that love to share what they have!!!!