Serbia, Serbia, Serbia.

So much has happened in the last week or so (and so little time has passed!), and since I’ve passed my halfway mark that also means I’ve passed my “I’m feeling lonely and therefore sorry for myself!” mark. Which is good, because that got annoying.

I spent the first few days of my trip in Belgrade, a city I wouldn’t recommend to tourists but that was great for my work purposes. Having been there before I already had many friends and networks to tap into, and I took advantage of all of them. I was lucky to have several people (especially one dear one) looking out for me at every turn. I am happy to report that although the American embassy was indeed burned (down?) by Serbs a few weeks ago, they do not, in fact, hate Americans. At least as a whole. There’s something weird about huge mobs of young Serbian boys in group mode who seem to get real rowdy and rev up their Serbo-pride whenever they get a chance, and the burning episode definitely included that.

Belgrade was great, stayed at my fave “Hotel Moscow” (he he) for the cheapest tinyest room they had available. I think they got a kick out of me, because they have tiny rooms but also swanky rooms, and here I was, this young American girl, trying to befriend the 100 staff people (or however many of them there are, they are an overwhelming amount, they are everywhere, they hover, and yet they never seem to complete tasks!) just to add more people who don’t hate the USA to Serbia’s books. And by the way, I was not spit on or even talked to rudely by anyone. Thank you God/Jesus/Allah. I only encountered one mean person, and he was a taxi driver, and I think he was justifiably insane. And just laughed with a mean tone in his laugh at everything I said, even when it wasn’t funny. Like “Where are you going?” me: “Sarajevo.” Him: “HA HA HA HA.”

Onto an important topic: food. My favorite food item in Serbia, definitely the pita & burek. Now don’t you get to thinking that pita is pita like bread. It’s not. It’s this delicious phylo dough wrap with diced & spiced potatoes, delicious local goat cheeses, or (of course) meat. I’ve also had it with pumpkin in it as well as fruit. Totally amazing. Same goes for burek—this phylo dough creation more resembling spanikopita (wait,…pita???) with all the layers of phylo and something in the delicious middle. Plus, the plain, creamy, drink it up yogurt…I could drink gallons of this, and I practically do. While there is a dire lack of fresh fruit in meals (though often sold on the streets), I’ve delighted to eat up lots of fresh salads, including one, yesterday, that had arugula!!

But besides the food, the friendship reconnections were stellar. Still am impressed as heck at some of the people there who go against all the extreme nationalism and fight for a new Serbia, a different Serbia. Most of the progressive organizations are led by young people, a fact I always find appealing.

In Belgrade came spring, which was as heart warming as it was nose warming; that is to say, the allergies got to me hook line and sinker. So often I had to choose between asking to open the windows (in public transit, offices, etc) to not be inundated by the overwhelming effects of being “hotboxed” with tons and tons of three-pack-a-day Balkan smokers and inhaling all the allergens, or just letting it all go. I often forgave the smokers and breathed it in. I hate sneezing 500 times a day. It makes me tired.

But itchiness and sneezing aside, I love the blossoms that seem to find me everywhere on this trip.