Only in Serbia…. “F-117 Bife (Bar)” in Indjia, Serbia

On March 27th, 1999….. The Serbian air defenses were able to blast an F-117 Stealth Nighthawk out of the sky. The only one ever to be shot down.

The F-117 82-0806 (whose remains are exhibited at Belgrade Air Museum) was shot down by the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia, with one of several missiles fired by an S-125 “Neva” missile system (NATO reporting name, SA-3 “Goa”) at a distance of about 8 miles.

According to Sergeant Dragan Matić, the soldier later identified as the operator who fired the missiles, the stealth plane was detected at a range of about 50 to 60 kilometres and the surface-to-air missile radar was switched on for no more than 17 seconds to prevent the site to be detected by the NATO’s SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense) aircraft.

Some pieces of the 82-0806 shot down near Novi Sad were reportedly sent to Russia, to be used in developing anti-stealth technology.

Fast forward to 2014……I was on a bus from Belgrade to Novi Sad. The bus had one stop in between, in the little city of Indjia, Serbia.  The window seat is usually my first choice. I’ve never liked to sit in the aisle and have folks bumping into me the whole time. I was gazing out the window while the bus was pulling around the back of the bus station in Indjia,

when I noticed the words “F-117″ on the side of a little bar. I didn’t get a good look at the place, but noticed a few pictures in the window too. I had to get back over to see this place.

This afternoon,David Dautovic, contacted me for assistance. He is a young man from Pancevo who has been a Facebook friend for a long while. His sister is trying to gather a lot of pictures of people from around the world holding a sign that shows her love for her boyfriend. He asked me if I could help him out with one. I noticed that the bottom of his message said ” Indjia, Serbia”  I quickly asked him if he was anywhere close to the bus station. He was close by so I asked him to seek out this little bar and shoot me some pictures. He was kind enough to snap the following pictures:

I’ll head over there in the next few weeks to do some videos from this location. I might wear my Canadian flag shirt ! It might be a little safer! 🙂
Everyone likes Canadians.

 

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.”

 

A First in Serbian History???

Serbian history dates back many years before Jesus Christ… so… if you can accomplish a first in Serbian history,  you have done something remarkable! 🙂

1st female volunteer squad in Serbia!

My old buddy in Nis, Dejan Mirkovic, contacted me one day asking me for help. He is the  head of the volunteer fire squad in Nis, Serbia. He has been a good friend of mine for a few years. He was reading about the donated sports equipment that I was able to pull together for Serbia. He asked me if there was any way that I could attempt to find some fire equipment for his fire squad! It wasn’t just any fire squad, it was the first women’s volunteer fire squad in the history of Serbia! 🙂

I have noticed a difference in the place of women in a Serbian household. The lady of the house tends to serve all the food and then stand back while everyone eats. Once everyone is finished she will clear the table and then fix herself a plate. It makes me a tad bit uncomfortable. I don’t like to see someone waiting on me. 🙂

I told Dejan that I would love to attempt to help this historic squad! I spent a few days emailing different fire departments in the USA. I had a few responses from some of the departments. My hometown of Greenup, Illinois was one of them that said they would love to help, but they had just donated some of their old gear to a small community in Illinois. 🙂 One day I stumbled upon an organization called Operation Florian. http://www.operationflorian.com/ They are a wonderful organization out of England. They are a group of average firemen that decided to help their fellow firemen regardless of what nation they come from. England is a country that has very high standards on fire equipment. They must replace it every few years regardless of the condition. They heard that many countries were struggling with ancient equipment or lack of any at all. They decided they would do something about it. They have grown into a large humanitarian organization that provides fire trucks, safety equipment and training to firemen all over the globe!

1,300,000 Dinars worth of equipment that was donated to Nis!

I happened to get in contact with a wonderful human being named Haydn Brown. We started discussing their amazing organization. I told him about my friend’s problem. He promised me that he would see what he could pull together for him. He also discussed the donation of a fire truck to Serbia. They found a city that was really lacking in that department. We attempted to get in contact with many different politicians and important people to get this release form that is needed to donate an emergency vehicle that was manufactured with the steering column on the left side. We worked for a few weeks trying to get a response from someone and had NO LUCK. The organization pulled the fire truck donation and found another country that was easier to get through the “red tape”. 😦 He contacted me a few weeks later and said that he had pulled together 10,000 British Pounds or 1, 306, 100 Dinars worth of fire equipment that he would be delivering to Nis the first week of May. 😮 They even pulled together a brand new helmet, protective clothing, and boots for me!!!!!  WOW!! That was some fantastic news.

 

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!

 

Fire Truck and Fire Equipment for Serbia!

 

Thanks to all of you for sticking with me. I have been extremely busy down here in Mexico. You probably have noticed my lack of posts the last few months. I appreciate all the messages you continue to send me. It really means a lot. 🙂

I was sitting here on my Mexican porch one morning reading my messages… My old buddy, Dejan M, had messaged me about the fire department in Nis, Serbia. He is a head of the volunteer crew down there. He was telling me about their lack of decent equipment. What little they have is torn, in bad shape, or obsolete. I told him that I would write to some places and contact some of the local fire stations in my hometown and others in my area. I contacted a number of departments. They said they would look around and see what they could do. THEN…. I ran into a WONDERFUL human being… Haydn… from Manchester, England. He is a fire man and a volunteer at one of the most amazing organizations on the planet….. Operation Florian!!!

Operation Florian is a U.K charity organization that was founded in 1995. Their mission  “Working to promote the protection of life amongst communities in need, worldwide, by the provision of equipment and training to improve fire fighting and rescue capabilities.” The organization has donated tons of fire equipment, fire trucks, provided thousands of hours of training to help save lives in countries that have little funding for these services. Please take a moment to check out their website at http://www.operationflorian.com and hit LIKE on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/OperationFlorian

Back to the story…. I told Haydn about the struggle down in Nis, Serbia. He quickly offered to assist them with some much-needed equipment and training. He is also in the process of donating a fire truck to a small town in Serbia!!! It is great to know that people still care for others!! I love to find people like Haydn. It gives me a glimmer of hope for mankind. 🙂

He recently contacted me looking for assistance. He is having a VERY DIFFICULT time finding someone who can assist with an “exemption for rescue vehicles form”. This form allows them to ship the fire truck to Serbia without converting the steering column from right to left. It is VERY important that he has this form. Can anyone help?? I spent hours emailing every Serbian government agency I could think of. I have received ZERO response. I also posted on my Facebook page and have gotten very little feedback. 😦 PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!! You can reach Haydn at hbmb79@gmail.com. If you know of anyone that could assist please contact him or I! Governments make it so difficult to donate! That is why so few people take the time to organize it.

In Serbian:

“Srbi..Treba mi pomoć. Moj prijatelj iz Niša je vatrogasac i rekao mi je da su u manjku sa prikladnom opremom. Pisao sam na par mesta i nasao predivnu organizaciju iz Ujedinjenog Kraljestva . Veoma dobrodusan covek se ponudio da pomogne nisu u vidu donacija veoma potrebne opreme za vatrogasce. Oni takodje doniraju vatrogasni kamion u drugo srpsko selo ali imaju VELIKI PROBLEM, on mi je rekao da ne može da stupi u kontakt s pravim ljudima na pravom mestu pa sam ja pokusao da kontaktiram neke ljude i nisam imao srece u tome . On mora da nadje formular za izuzeće vozila za hitne slucajeve . Ovo će im dozvoliti da pošalju kamion u Srbiju bez promene strane volana sa desne na levu stranu . Oni se nerviraju zbog manjka podrske . NE ŽELIM DA DAJU KAMION NEKOJ DRUGOJ ZEMLJI!!!! Da li može iko da pomogne pri ovome i da kaže neke korisne informacije?? MOLIM VAS!!!”

The world is filled with great people!!! THANK YOU OPERATION FLORIAN and your wonderful volunteers like Haydn!!!!

 

Helping Serbian Youth Travel to the USA (OPTIONS)

 

Serbia is filled with many highly intelligent young people. They are introduced to English at a very young age and have two alphabets of their own. Many are also learning German, French, or Spanish. I wish the education administrators in the USA would require American students to learn a  2nd or 3rd language. The key is starting early!  My school in the USA did not offer a foreign language until you were in high school. Many of Serbian friends started studying English in primary school! WOW!

The majority of my Serbian friends are in their 20’s. My American buddies always joke with me about that. I am a BIG kid inside, but the main reason is the lack of English from the 30 and up crowd. Prior to the breakup of Communism in 1990, English was not commonly taught in Serbian schools. Many of the adults were taught German or Russian.

I am writing this post to offer some assistance for Serbian youth and young adults. I am asked over and over for advice on different programs. This post was going to be posted a few months ago, but I wanted to get some feedback on the programs before posting them for you! The last thing I wanted to do was promote some SCAM or rip off program.  I will be adding to this post as I get more feedback from other programs! If  you have any FIRST HAND experience on any of these programs….. PLEASE CONTACT ME!!! I would love to hear about it and pass it on to everyone. I am always here to help my Serbian friends. You guys have been WONDERFUL to me. If you need any further info, have comments, or just want to say “ZDRAVO” … shoot me a message at charlesserbia@gmail.com

HERE WE GO…..

 

A-SMYLE (American Serbia Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange)

Their website: http://www.ac-see.org/programs/eng-sched.htm

A-SMYLE is one of the best programs available. It is a FREE opportunity for high school students in Serbia and Montenegro to spend one school year in the U.S. The program is fully funded by the U.S. State Department. Students live with American host families and attend American high schools for one school year (10 months). Students with disabilities are encouraged to participate in the competition.

Requirements:
– Be registered in the first or second year of secondary school in fall 2012
– Be citizens of Serbia or Montenegro (students who also have US citizenship are ineligible)
– Attend school in Serbia or Montenegro
– Speak English well
– Have been born between 1 January 1996 and 15 July 1998
– Be eligible to receive a J-1 visa (for example, not have been in the US for more than 3 months in the past 5 years)
– Have good grades in school
– Demonstrate leadership qualities
– Students with disabilities who were born between March 15, 1995 and July 15, 1998 and who are not in the last year of secondary school are eligible for the competition

 

I have one wonderful young Serbian gal that was selected to participate in this program. She is from Cacak, Serbia. She is currently residing in Washington, Iowa with her host family. Here is a short message from her. She is a doll. She said she is willing to answer any and all questions any of you Serbian students might have about the program. Just send me an email and I will send it on to her. Here is her story:

The first time I heard about the A-SMYLE (American Serbia and Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange) program was from my High School teacher who mentioned it one day.  It is an exchange program for High School students from Serbia and Montenegro that are interested in spending one school year in the U.S., it is financed by the United States State Department. You will have different rounds of testing, and if you become a finalist you will be assigned to one of the placement organizations, mine is World Link. Placement organizations are the ones that look for host families, so if there is a host family reading this, I strongly encourage you to contact someone at World Link.

When I was selected as a finalist I was so happy and excited!
When I first arrived here it all felt so unreal, I couldn’t really wrap my mind around the fact that I was actually in the U.S.! I think it’s still unreal for me. We flew from Belgrade to Frankfurt and then to Washington DC. That was my first time flying, so if any of you are as scared as I was, let me reassure you, flying is the best thing ever! I’m extremely afraid of heights, but you won’t even feel like you’re in the air.
My host family is wonderful. They have been so helpful and nice about everything! Everyone here loves foreigners and they are very understanding and will always offer to help you. You probably think that school is very different, and …… yes it is. It’s not better or worse, just very different! I was very scared on my first day of school, but there was no need for that because everyone wanted to meet me and to help me find my classes and everything! Every school is different, and you’d probably have 5-7 classes each term, I per example have 4 classes. I got to pick most of them and it was very interesting to pick a class like Journalism, since you probably know that we don’t have that. I joined school clubs like Drama and Art club, and this, along with sports is the best way to meet people, and it’s soo fun! My favorite part of the day is when we rehears lines for the play. You might be worried about missing your family and friends, and I’m not going to lie to you, it is hard. But, luckily we live in the era of technology and you’ll be able to Skype them and talk on Facebook or email! The important thing is to keep yourself busy.
Volunteering is also another great thing, there is something wonderful about helping others and not expecting anything in return, it is one of the best feelings ever, believe me. You will also go to your first football game (not to be mistaken with soccer) and it will be fun even if you don’t know the first thing about it (like me!).

These are just some of the great things you would experience if you came here! There are many, many more and I think that everyone who is considering applying for this program should definitely do it because it will be an amazing experience!

I would like to use this opportunity to thank my friends and family back home, for supporting me every step of the way (I love and miss you all), my amazing host family, the Schindlers, and my wonderful World Link coordinator here, Sherrie Nisly.

Danijela Živković, Washington Iowa (Čačak, Serbia  )

 

 

PAX ABROAD PROGRAM:

Website : http://pax.org/abroad_program_costs.php

The PAX exchange program is good for many countries. It can be pricey, but you can also qualify for a scholarship. Great opportunity to see the world and experience life in another part of the world.

Eligibility

You are eligible for a PAX Abroad program if:

• You are between the ages of 15 and 18
• You are currently enrolled in a U.S. high school
• You are mature and responsible

PAX School Year and Semester Abroad programs require a GPA of C+ or better and three years study of the language of your chosen country.

Application Deadlines:

• For full year and fall semester programs: April 1
• For second semester programs: September 15
• For summer programs: April 15

My friend, Luka, is from Pancevo, Serbia. He took part in program last year. He had a great experience and has also made a short video for you students that are thinking about studying abroad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ksic-Gggo Here is his review:

“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 ”

 

 

WORK AND TRAVEL–

Website: http://www.posloviamerika.com/Prijava%20na%20program.html

Eligibility Requirements:

• All participants must be at one of the regular year of three-year, four-year, five-year, masters or PhD students
• Must have conversational knowledge of English (checks will be done by talking or writing) • It is recommended that studies continuously • Be between 18 and 30 years • Resourceful, flexible, ready for teamwork, cooperation and compromise • The candidate must be capable of working • Do possession of a valid passport that lasts at least until 01.06. 2013th The

This is one of the most widely used programs for Serbs in the USA. They are a great way for college and university students to experience life outside of Serbia and make money doing it! There are many programs out there. This is one that my friend from Ecka, Serbia used. I didn’t get a written review of the program from him, but I know he had an absolute BLAST in Minot, North Dakota. He was one of 10-20 other Serbs that were sent to the middle of the USA. He worked at Domino’s Pizza and Wendy’s for $9 an hour. He was able to travel to Las Vegas and New Jersey! Check out the site!!!! GREAT PROGRAM!!!!

 

 

ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training)

Website : http://www.teflonline.net/

This is one of the recommendations I have had for a few of my Serbian adult friends and for friends from every corner of the globe. This is a teaching certificate course that will allow you to find teaching jobs all over the planet. I use mine to teach English in Mexico, and Serbia. I have been offered jobs in Mongolia, Taiwan, China, Myanmar, Turkey, Georgia, etc… Many of my Serbian friends have very nice American accents and a GREAT grasp for English grammar. I have two Serbian friends that are currently using theirs to teach in Thailand. The pay varies in every country… the same with the teaching requirements. Many countries require you to be from an English speaking country, but many Asian countries do not. This course can be taken online and at your convenience. You will pay from $150-$700 depending on which course you desire. It is best to take it at one of the many locations world wide. They range from $1000-$3000 dollars for course that last from 3 weeks to one month. It is a great way to see the world, make a difference, and make some money!

I have a few other options, but I am waiting for additional follow up from participants. Thank you for your time. I hope it helped. Please message if you have any other travel programs that you would recommend or avoid. Pozdrav!!!!!

 

Two More Foreigners With Serbian Stories

I get all kinds of messages! I need to post more of them on here! Here are a few great travel stories from foreigners that traveled to Serbia and hated to leave!!!!

 

This is a fellow North American that contacted me after reading my blog. THANKS RYAN!!! GREAT STORY!!!!!

“

As I glided up the elevator at the Tesla airport, a few hundred dinars flew out of my pocket and I did not notice. As I continued out towards the taxi platform, a airport worker stopped me and returned my money he had picked up. I knew this was a sign that my stay in Serbia would be great and this was my first introduction to the amazing generosity of the Serbian people.

I took a bus out to Novi Sad where I was greeted by my friend Milan (who I grew up with in North America) and his family. His family welcomed me like I was one of their own. They took my bags, his grandmother gave me a kiss,the rakia was poured and I started to eat one of the most amazing meals of my life full of Ćevapi and other Serbian dishes.

The love and warmth I felt from these people was amazing. Coming from North America, it is safe to say the amount of consumption and excess is overwhelming. Also, the concept of family is often times pushed aside for personal aspirations. In Serbia, you are reminded of what is truly important: spending time with family and close friends. This is what made the biggest impact on me while I was in Serbia. To see how close families are and how generous they are towards each other was humbling and helped me realize that spending time with people who are close to you is truly the richest experience of all.

The generosity of the Serbian people was felt throughout my whole trip. I attended Exit Festival at the Petrovaradin Fortress and met many Serbs from all over the country. They wanted to make sure I was having a great time and experiencing the “real” Serbia as it is often mis-repersented in the media and popular culture. Every Serbian I met wanted to feed me, show me around the city and offered me to stay with them, something that you do not experience everyday in North America. As Charles always points out, this generosity is what makes Serbia one of the most amazing places on the planet.

 

I was also impressed with Serbians understanding of their history. Every Serbian will give you an in-depth history lesson on their country. There is no need to pay for a guided tour since every citizen is well educated on their roots. It was amazing to have a Pivo and sit back and listen to young and old tell stories of Serbia’s past and present. 

I felt compelled to reach out to Charles because what he is doing is important. He is encouraging people from all over the world to visit Serbia and see how amazing the people are. It is the people  that make this country what it is, I cant stop telling all my friends about it. 

 

Similar to my experience, Charles realizes how amazing this generosity is. I was happy to share my experience on his site because I feel it is important to explain to the rest of the world the warmth and a sense of home that is created for visitors in Serbia. I plan on returning because I feel Serbia is like my home away from home now. I encourage all travelers to make a stop here or to reach out to Charles for some advice before you go. “

The next one is from a wonderful Polish gal!!!! Great story!!! She hated to leave Serbia!!! Thanks girl!!!!

” Hi Charles,

I am from Poland. My parents and friends had the same reaction as yours. My friends thought it was dangerous and my parents even thought it was the 3rd world.

Man you’re amazing with this Serbia stuff! I’d like to live in Serbia like you, but I’m not so brave like you and I’m too close with my family to go abroad. And you know, how my parents, they doesn’t want to let their only doughter to go 😉 and no future for me there, I study weird stuff on my university 😉 But I miss Serbia so so so so much, this Burek and Pljeskavica, my serbian friends (especially one) and streets of Loznica and Novi Sad!!! And lovely time with Drina and a lot of sun !!!  You won’t believe but we have only one bus from Poland to Serbia! One bus once a week. They’re crazy. I want Serbia closer, I felt in love. :)”

 

Three more tell Angelina Jolie “You don’t speak for me!”

I have had a HUGE amount of support on my last post!! I am getting many people that are HAPPY to share their “Serbian story!”  We will keep this up!! I hope to start a book and a documentary in the near future!! We will discredit this rich, clueless, movie star!!!

My first story comes from another American from Pennsylvania! Her name is Shaina and she is currently married to a Serb and residing in Pennsylvania. She is a fitness instructor that first encountered a Serb on a cruise ship! Here is her story!!

 “I love, love, love Serbia! I met my husband, and many other ex-Yougoslavs working on a cruise ship! Before that I’m not sure if I have ever heard of Serbia. I was attracted to this wonderful group of people becuase I was sick of the fakeness from “friends” in the Entertainment department. These people were always together laughing, yelling, singing, drinking, and having FUN! On the ship they were all brothers!

I came home from the cruise ship in love! We kept our relationship going and it came time for me to go to Serbia. My mother was a wreck! My grandmother thought they were in war, and that there were Russian tanks stationed there (she watches fox news), and I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into! But it didn’t matter to me, I came to know my Serbian friends better than some of my friends at home, and I trusted them!  Yes, I am a little bit crazy! 

My first visit to Serbia was AMAZING! So much culture, food, friends, family. I always felt like I belonged, like i was family! Besides the language barrier, no one ever treated me like a foriegner or an American, always like I was one of them.

Its a different way of life there! People appreciate the simpler things. It still amazes how the majority of people make $500 a month, work a lot, and still make time to see friends and can go out and enjoy their weekends and not think about the money or the lack of time. In Serbia your friends are your friends for life. There are more important things then the she said he said crap.

I love Serbia and would LOVE to move there with our daughter when the time is right!”

AWESOME!!! LOVE IT!! Thanks for your respect!!!

The next story is from a small town kid named Michael from South Dakota. He came to Serbia in the spring of 2008. He was backpacking around Europe and ran into a Bosnian Serb… that invited him to Bosnia and to see his family in Serbia..

” My first encounter with Serbia came while I was backpacking through Romania. I had came from France and hitchhiked and traveled through many countries on my way to see Draculas castle… I intentionally avoided all of those media labeled countries of the former Yugoslavia because everything i had read said “its not safe, they hate everyone that is not pure serb, its a war zone, they will sacrifice me to their evil god, etc..” While in Romania I encountered a couple fun loving people. We started talking and they told me they were born in Bosnia but 100% Serb! I didnt know much about Bosnia except that the Serbs had “killed THOUSANDS of innocent people”.. I said ” wow.. is it true that its a war zone and no foreigner is welcome in the former Yugoslavia?” they told me it was all B.S.. I really didnt believe them but they told me they would pay my bus ticket if I went back to their hometown of Sarajevo, Bosnia with them.. I thought for a few minutes.. I didnt want to call home and tell mom that i was going to “HELL”… I finally agreed and then regretted my decision.. We arrived after a long bus trip and “WOW!!! I was totally taken back by the beauty of Bosnia!” It was scenic and everyone we encountered was sooo kind and welcoming…. It blew me away! I had the same experience as you with rakija… i had not heard of it but after the initial shock of its STRENGTH i grew to love it! We stayed at his families for 3 days and then was off to “Land of HATE, TERROR and DEATH” or Serbia! He had family in a place called Novi Sad….. Serbia was nothing like i had pictured. It was scenic, green, many fields full of crops, small cars and kind people! We get to Novi Sad and I was blown away!!!! It was GORGEOUS!!! I pictured bombed buildings, dirt, pollution, mean, angry people” but ran into nothing but beauty, generous people and some great food!!! I watched your videos and everything you said was SO true!! The food is amazing and the beer was remarkable! The people we met were kind, sincere and honest! They told me ” we hate your government but have no problems with any of your people”… I really enjoyed my stay in Serbia and Bosnia! Charles, I know you have not been there yet but you MUST!! Its gorgeous and CHEAP!!  I didnt mention going to Serbia and Bosnia till i arrived back at home. My parents were ANGRY!!! They said ” you could have been killed or taken hostage” they, like many others thought serbia and bosnia were war zones and unsafe.. I am from South Dakota, which has almost ZERO crime but felt safer there that I do here!!  It was great to watch your videos on Serbia.. I should have done the same thing but was lazy!… thanks for showing the truth! they are great people!!”

Thanks Michael.. that was great!!!!!

The next one is from a musician that has traveled to manyyy countries in the world! He is from Italy and has a great Serbian story!!! His name is Francesco and he is a very talented musician.. Show him some love by liking his fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Francesco-Angiuli-fan-page/181231011897720

”

What do I think about Serbia?
Well, I was born in a country where the people don’t even know exactly what Serbia is or where it is.
At the same time they ignore the difference between Croatian, Serbians, Bosnians and they still wonder if the
war is still going on.I feel so bad when I have to explain this kind of things to the people and even more
when I hear that the only things they know about Serbia are not true, cause they heard a big ammount of
fake news from the tv.
This Tv in our Western countries is a big responsable of a process who is making the people more and more
stupids and unable to thing with their own minds.If they would spend half of the time they spend in front of
the tv travelling around the globe, we wouldn’t have all this ignorance which nowdays is killing the whole
system.
I feel lucky to be a professional musician, cause I have been able to see everything only by my eyes.
I have been traveling a lot and I am sure that I will never stop with this kind of life, since I love to feel
myself as a world’s citizen.
I came to Serbia for the first time in 2008, to see a friend who I meet in Montenegro after one of my concerts
on a tour with the Croatian singer Vesna Pisarovic, an ex pop star who used to study jazz in the I
same Conservatory as me. I don’t know if this is a coincidence but this conservatory was in The Hague, the
most unfriendly city for a Serbian lover as me.
Thanks to Vesna I was several times in the countries of Ex Yu, but unfortunately it never happened to be
invited in Serbia, even tought Vesna is married with a Serbian guy and she used to be pretty popoular there in
the ’90.
So, since the music didn’t give me this chance to visit Serbia, I decided to go there by myself, to make a
vacation and meet this lovely young woman who was at the moment studing in Belgrade.
In a few hours I could understand how interesting this country is and how warm and gentle those people are,
despite the difficoult situation they had.
It’s still hard for me not to feel guilty for what happened in 1999, when NATO, Italy included, decided to
show off that they can do whatever they want.
I started to feel more and more attached to this land and to this people and it came naturally in me the desire
to get as much informations as I could whatching serbian movies, documentaries, reading book about history,
politic and litterature.
Now is much easier to me to figure out how many lies we heard on the tv, from the newspapers and for this
reason I started to make an opposite propaganda among all the people I know.
I made many of my friends curios about Serbia and I am sure that if one day some of them we’ll ever get
there, they will never blame me, since I told the only the truth.
People, food, landskape, sport, everything is really on top; this is what I tought at the beginning and this is
what I still believe after almost four years of visits to the country.
You can’t immagine how happy I become noticing from youtube that there are several people that things as I
do, and specially what Charles Cather is doing makes my hart full of joy.
These people deserve much better reputation than they have as for the Country which is gorgeus and full of
History.
What can I say….I am more than 100% sure that one day I will live in Serbia.
ZIVELI!!”

GREAT WORDS, BROTHER!!!!!

Angelina, looks like we have a lot of people that don’t see Serbia in the same light you do!!!! Maybe you should come and see the “other side” that you dont hear about in the main stream media!!!!  MORE TO COME!!