A word to the wise: in the Balkans, one cup is enough.
It doesn’t hit you right away. The full effects take hours.
As Rachel put it, “The first hour is okay – you feel like you’ve just had any normal coffee. Within the next hour, however, you are flushed and sweating slightly.” Then, your heart begins to palpitate and you wonder if you should phone a friend or the paramedics. Eventually these feelings pass and you feel like you’ve had one of the most intense workouts of your life.
I’m accustomed to drinking my coffee black. But, alas, that is American drip coffee. Here, in cafes, they serve espresso, and at home, Turkish coffee. Bring on the cream and sugar!!
Turkish coffee is an acquired taste for some. It’s made by boiling cold water with fine, powdery grounds. Actually, it’s boiled twice, so that it releases more flavor and caffeine. It’s serve in a small mug, with the grounds. They sink to the bottom – be careful on those last few sips or else you’ll get grounds in your teeth! I add inappropriate amounts of sugar, but overall, I like it. In cafes, I drink the best cappuccinos ever created (and in ceramic mugs too. None of that Starbucks paper cup nonsense for me!!).
I’m posting this at 12:30, because, unfortunately, I had espresso at 8 and I’m still wide awake...
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Balkan Pedaler
Here is a blogpost written by Jacob, the "Balkan Pedaler" (one of the guys on my program):
"Welcome to the Crossroads: Snapshots from the White City."
Written better than I could have ever put it.
"Welcome to the Crossroads: Snapshots from the White City."
Written better than I could have ever put it.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Weekend Update
Wow, I've been in Belgrade for 8, 9 days, I guess. I love this city. I'm coming back to do my ISP here in April. If you haven't noticed by my last few posts about the Roma, I really want to come back and work with the community here. It's a pretty radical switch from my previously proposal of working with refugees in Bosnia, but it's something that I decided the minute I saw the Roma settlement coming into Belgrade via the Gazela bridge.
Ok. So. My week. Belgrade is awesome. Two weeks is not enough. A blog post can't describe. Come visit.
We spent a TON of time in class and everyone is getting burned out and sick. I have a sore throat, but I've been loading up on my fizzy vitamins and fruit juice (they have the best juices here!!). We're presenting some constructive criticism about our schedule to our coordinators... we need a student's Bill of Rights!! Some days are just awful - we'll have class schedule from 10-6 with 2 hours of lunch, but class runs late and then we have announcements, so then we have an hour for lunch, which means booking it up to the square to get some carry-out and then running back for afternoon seminars. Those seminars inevitably run over (and I mean, run over as in, one hour over).
I'm thinking about walking out the next time classes run that late (which is what would happen in the States!). In a program where the philosophy is "just as much learning goes on outside of the classroom as inside," we sure spend enough time within four walls. That, plus balancing a commute, completing homework and assignments, integrating with a host family, experiencing Belgrade and taking a few minutes for yourself is A LOT.
We had American faculty visit our program this week. They were professors and study abroad coordinators who are interested in sending students on SIT programs. The SIT admissions director, an SIT recruiter, and the SIT European region director came with them. It was great to see new American faces! They sat in on our classes and had lunch with us today. They wanted to pick our brains about the program - so we ran with it. I'm not sure if it was the best week for them to visit, because by this afternoon, we'd all sort of had it with SIT, which might have been reflected in our comments. I definitely emphasized our need to be flexible! It's so easy to get caught up in all kinds of negativity towards the program, get stressed out, and lose sight of the big picture and all the opportunities here.
What have I done this week???
- city tour of Belgrade with a very dramatic tour guide named Srđan.
- tried to go a kafana (traditional cafe) with Rachel and Stef but left after realizing we were the only females in a very masculine space. Oops.
- found what has to be the only non-smoking cafe on this side of the Atlantic!
- lost a few pounds after not having to eat greasy Croatian food all the time.
- got "controlled" by the secret [transit] police - luckily I had validated by ticket!!!!
- went to the main post offce next to the Parliament (watch your mail)
- learned to read Serbian Cyrillic efficiently. Whether or not I know what it means in English is up for debate...
- saw the American diplomatic residence and the American embassy (Ahhh, Motherland!) as well as Tito's old crib.
- ate a palaćinku (crepe) with Nutella that broke all records.
- mangaged NOT to get lost even once. But when I eventually do, I'm sure it will be epic.
... it's not an exhaustive list, but most definitely not the end of my experiences either. Tonight, we're taking on the Belgrade nightlife by storm.
Срећан петак!!
Srećan petak!!
Happy Friday!!
Ok. So. My week. Belgrade is awesome. Two weeks is not enough. A blog post can't describe. Come visit.
We spent a TON of time in class and everyone is getting burned out and sick. I have a sore throat, but I've been loading up on my fizzy vitamins and fruit juice (they have the best juices here!!). We're presenting some constructive criticism about our schedule to our coordinators... we need a student's Bill of Rights!! Some days are just awful - we'll have class schedule from 10-6 with 2 hours of lunch, but class runs late and then we have announcements, so then we have an hour for lunch, which means booking it up to the square to get some carry-out and then running back for afternoon seminars. Those seminars inevitably run over (and I mean, run over as in, one hour over).
I'm thinking about walking out the next time classes run that late (which is what would happen in the States!). In a program where the philosophy is "just as much learning goes on outside of the classroom as inside," we sure spend enough time within four walls. That, plus balancing a commute, completing homework and assignments, integrating with a host family, experiencing Belgrade and taking a few minutes for yourself is A LOT.
We had American faculty visit our program this week. They were professors and study abroad coordinators who are interested in sending students on SIT programs. The SIT admissions director, an SIT recruiter, and the SIT European region director came with them. It was great to see new American faces! They sat in on our classes and had lunch with us today. They wanted to pick our brains about the program - so we ran with it. I'm not sure if it was the best week for them to visit, because by this afternoon, we'd all sort of had it with SIT, which might have been reflected in our comments. I definitely emphasized our need to be flexible! It's so easy to get caught up in all kinds of negativity towards the program, get stressed out, and lose sight of the big picture and all the opportunities here.
What have I done this week???
- city tour of Belgrade with a very dramatic tour guide named Srđan.
- tried to go a kafana (traditional cafe) with Rachel and Stef but left after realizing we were the only females in a very masculine space. Oops.
- found what has to be the only non-smoking cafe on this side of the Atlantic!
- lost a few pounds after not having to eat greasy Croatian food all the time.
- got "controlled" by the secret [transit] police - luckily I had validated by ticket!!!!
- went to the main post offce next to the Parliament (watch your mail)
- learned to read Serbian Cyrillic efficiently. Whether or not I know what it means in English is up for debate...
- saw the American diplomatic residence and the American embassy (Ahhh, Motherland!) as well as Tito's old crib.
- ate a palaćinku (crepe) with Nutella that broke all records.
- mangaged NOT to get lost even once. But when I eventually do, I'm sure it will be epic.
... it's not an exhaustive list, but most definitely not the end of my experiences either. Tonight, we're taking on the Belgrade nightlife by storm.
Срећан петак!!
Srećan petak!!
Happy Friday!!
My Pretty Dyana
"Pretty Dyana: A Gypsy Recycling Saga - An intimate look at Gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroen's classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad Max-like recycling vehicles, with which they collect cardboard, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficient than the cart-pushing competition, but even more important - they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch TV and recharge mobiles! Almost an alchemist's dream come true! But the police doesn't always find these strange vehicles funny...." (Dribbling Pictures)
***
This is a great documentary. It shows the great igenuity of the people... they remodel these cars with hacksaws and hammers... I see these Dyanes all over Belgrade. Watch the film if you have time, it's available in 5 parts on YouTube.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
"Cardboard City"
Introduction to the documentary "Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71."
There are mahalas (Roma settlements... or "slums") all over the city. One of my first views of Belgrade was of Gazela, one of the central settlements in the city and one that attracts a lot of attention. Read more here.
I spend last Sunday walking around the outskirts of Gazela with my host family. It's right on the bank of the Sava river, where a walking/bike path is crowded with Belgraders. I'm appalled at how people can walk, bike, skate right past the settlement or sit on the benches overlooking the river and turn their backs on it...
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
And you thought the U.S. economy is bad...
I found a 500 billion dinar note today at a street vendor.
500 billion = 5 with 11 zeros = 500,000,000,000.
It is the largest banknote ever printed, I think, except for Zimbabwe’s currency, which is currently being issued in the trillions.
The 500 billion note was issued in December 23, 1993. That morning, it was worth about $6. By that evening, the value had dropped to nearly $3. Yugoslavia was suffering from astronomical hyperinflation – the inflation rate was something like 313 million percent per month at its peak (roughly 3% per hour). The dinar had been already revalued 4 times and on January 1, 1994, it was revalued at one billion dinars to one. I can only understand economics with extreme examples and this makes sense to me, so I hope you can all understand it.
I paid the guy 380 dinars (about $6.50) for it – the most the note has ever been worth.
500 billion = 5 with 11 zeros = 500,000,000,000.
It is the largest banknote ever printed, I think, except for Zimbabwe’s currency, which is currently being issued in the trillions.
The 500 billion note was issued in December 23, 1993. That morning, it was worth about $6. By that evening, the value had dropped to nearly $3. Yugoslavia was suffering from astronomical hyperinflation – the inflation rate was something like 313 million percent per month at its peak (roughly 3% per hour). The dinar had been already revalued 4 times and on January 1, 1994, it was revalued at one billion dinars to one. I can only understand economics with extreme examples and this makes sense to me, so I hope you can all understand it.
I paid the guy 380 dinars (about $6.50) for it – the most the note has ever been worth.
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