My Serbian anniversary
Today marks my one year anniversary since moving to Belgrade. As I walked around downtown, had drinks with a friend at a cafe, watched to make sure that the taxi driver didn't try to overcharge a foreigner (he didn't) and ate a great dinner at my favorite resturant (where the owner even knows my name), I really felt that my life has become quite comfortable and happy here.Sure, I've had my frustrations - especially when trying to communicate. I am actually quite mad at myself not having learned more Serbian during my time here. (Despite my friend's assurances that Serbian is the trigonometry of languages -- I think Chinese must be the calculus and Spanish the basic math). And it will certainly be my resolution to try harder to understand and speak Serbian during my second year (that's a hint to all my friends and co-workers who read this blog - start speaking to me (slowly and clearly) in Serbian so that I can practice!!).
But overall, I feel like I have had many more successes than failures here. I have even had the thought that I should change the description of this blog to read:
"I'm on my first married adventure....to Serbia. At the moment I'm no longer desperate to find a job, a little frustrated by my weak Serbian language skills and so happy to have made so many friends in my current location. This blog will chronicle my adventures in a not-so-foreign-anymore land - as well as give me a place to yabber on so that Mike is not tortured with every opinion that I would like to share - although I will try not to torture my readers either! Let me know what you think!"
I had written the original description of this blog before I came here. And, I have to admit, I really didn't know what to expect. Before I arrived, all I really knew about the Balkans was that there was some war there in the 90's. (Contrary to what many commentors believe, I, nor any of my friends, really had any opinion of Serbs. Rather, most of us had never even heard of Serbia since the TV always referred to it as the "Bosnian war").
But once you live abroad, you begin to realize that people really are generally the same everywhere. There are always super-nice helpful people, there are assholes, there are brilliant leaders and there are corrupt idiots. Luckily, in Serbia, I have run into many more super-nice helpful people than I have any of the others (except when people are behind the wheel, then I have definitely run into more assholes......hey, I gotta be honest). But all in all, I have found Serbs to be a very kind, friendly, helpful, welcoming people, and I just hope that my second year here is as good as the first!
posted by Brooke @ 9:35 AM
8 Comments:
BRAVO BRAVO!! NOONE CAN PUT 'SERBIA' INTO WORDS LIKE YOU DO. I TRULLY THINK THIS. WRITE A BOOK..A YOUTHFUL, INTERESTING BOOK FOR THE TRAVELERS..OR SOMETHING LIKE IT. once again, congrats for survining belgrade and thanks for having patience with us crazy serbs. i am glad you found yourself here and hope even more you will get our sense of humor on the tv/movies etc. this is important part of us.
..and
not to be rude, i just would like to know..do you know when are you leaving belgrade?
..anyway..enjoy the fall and winter that are about to comeee..and of course, Serbian season of SLAVAs.
keep writing, keep writing..all other blogs suck..u re the best.
I hope so too! And I'm looking forward to many more posts to come. I just love how you write about Belgrade and Serbia. Basically, yes to all the anonymous person above my comment said.
Happy Anniversary Brooke!
Great to have you here
BROOKE--od sada komentare pisem na srpskom da mozes polako da se navikavas na jezik i da pamtis reci tako sto ces se pitati sta svaka rec znaci i tako ih uciti. to si htela, zar ne? :-))
Congratulations Brooke!! Hope to read more from you. And because of this anniversary i invite you for a coffee in bar-restaurant Zodiac!
Vase Pelagica 48a, Senjak.
just ask for Frans!
E, anonimac, ako već pišeš srpski, piši ga da može da se čita... namesti bre to šđćčž.
(This was to anonymous, to start writing proper Serbian with the šđćčž so it can be read)
cuti bre! cuti! haha
By the way Brooke, You aren't torturing your readers. It really is a pleasure reading your blog.
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