I am headed back to the states tomorrow morning, and I am so sad to leave Belgrade. It seems like I just got here, and I feel like I could stay a lot longer. It is so good to be living with my sister, to see her in her element. I am so impressed with her steady improvement with the language, and I would love to be here when she really starts to hit her stride.
I am sad to leave our new family friends, and the many kind people who have welcomed us here over the past three weeks, but I am content that any previous biases and stereotypes I held about this area of the world are now firmly in check, and truly look forward to coming back someday.
I would definitely recommend Serbia as an incredible place to visit- there is so much history here, and while not every physical element has been perfectly preserved, most of the people we met were really interested in and knowledgable about their nation's past, and were always willing to tell us about it. I think that the warmth that we recieved as foreigners is a part of the culture as well, people seemed to be as kind and open with each other as they were with us.
I am off on the next adventure now, first to Nashville for a wedding, then to Mexico. I can hardly believe I planned all this...
I hope all is well, friends! If anyone needs a break and wants to come along with me...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Visiting Villages
Lucy and I spent the weekend out in the country, looking for the scenes from the tourist books we have of farmers plowing their fields with horses, traditional houses flanked by vineyards, and sweeping vistas of sheep-dotted hillsides.
Instead, we ended up staying in the suburbs, walking around on a mountain completely shrouded in fog, and hanging out with football hooligans on the train. While it wasn't the weekend we had anticipated, it was good to get away, mostly because we have spent the past three weeks in a very loud, busy city. Even though we were hoping for pastoral scenes, what we needed the most was fresh air, and we got our fair share of that.
We set out from Belgrade on a very cloudy Friday morning, headed south to a city called Valjevo. We sat with five Serbians in our train car, and when we got off the train, Lucy told me that from listening to their conversation, they didn't know each other at all. Watching them without understanding what they were saying made me think that they were two couples: one young and one old, heading out on a trip together, since they all talked non-stop, at top volume, for the entire two hour trip!
When we arrived in Valjevo, we searched for the tourist office (which was not simple to find) and ended up speaking to the two women who worked there for over 45 minutes. We had spoken with someone at a guest house the night before, and we thought that we had arranged to stay with them for one night. All we needed to know from the tourist office was how to get there. We were in for quite the go 'round when the woman from the tourist office called the guest house, who said there was some confusion and they couldn't host us that night, there was going to be a party there the next day and things were just too crazy. So despite Lucy's best efforts at arguing our point, we were set up at a new house, which we assumed from the woman's refusal to offer us any other options, must've belonged to her uncle. Everything worked out fine, as we ended up with a very nice grandmother who took good care of us, including escorting us caringly to the bus stop in the morning when we set off for more exploration.
I will let the photos tell the rest of the story, except for the ride back, which was our first real negative experience here. We ended up in a train car that was packed with people, and we ended up sitting on the floor between two cars. We were surrounded by young men who were traveling home from a soccer game. They seemed to be relatively harmless as we chatted with them about where we were from, their soccer team, and what we were doing in Serbia. When their sexist commentary and mocking of some Muslim passengers made Lucy and I uncomfortable so that we stopped talking to them, a few of them became upset and made some really violent anti-American comments, including something about how we had bombed them. Though I knew these guys were not exactly model citizens (nor do they in any way represent the reception we have received here), their words brought up a lot of complicated emotions for me. I felt afraid to speak English, and ashamed that our government had done something so terrible to their people. I also felt angry that they couldn't separate the people from the government- the Serbian government has also done some terrible things, and these young men are no more responsible for those atrocities than I was for America's bombing of Belgrade when I was a junior in high school. The main difference is that our country is incredibly powerful and wealthy, while theirs is not. As a priviledged person in the U.S., I have more opportunities to travel, to work, and to choose my path than the vast majority of the world's people. I do not gain these opportunities without a loss on someone else's part, and I am no more deserving than the next person, American or otherwise. I think about this often- about my responsibilities with this type of priviledge, how we can spread the wealth (yikes! socialism!) and while I haven't come to any great conclusions, there are a couple of things I take away from this interaction. The first is the importance of talking to people wherever you go; we met a really nice girl on the train who spoke English, and we had a great conversation with her about work and traveling. She really wants to go to Mexico, so I got her address to send her a postcard when I get there. I also have to hope that the next presidential administration will work hard to mend fences with the many people of the world who have been frightened and offended by the U.S. over the past 8 years.
So that is my social/political commentary for this part of the trip!
The weekend was also brightened by a hike near the beautiful city of Novi Sad, on a small mountain called Fruska Gora. We hiked in the woods for a few hours, and then returned to have a cup of hot rakija (a Serbian drink made from plums, quince, and pears) in the cool evening. We asked the very kind waiter (first of all, he spoke perfect English, second of all he knew where Maine was and asked us about the lobsters there!) at the cafe about the buses going back to the city. In the open, friendly manner of the vast majority of people we have met here, he told us not to worry, that if no bus came by, he or his mother would give us a ride to the next bus stop. After waiting for half an hour, we climbed out of the chilly evening onto a warm bus and made our way back to Belgrade.
Overall, it was a great weekend and just a tease to be able to go into the Serbian countryside for only a few days- I feel like there is so much more still to see and learn about. Enjoy the photos!
Instead, we ended up staying in the suburbs, walking around on a mountain completely shrouded in fog, and hanging out with football hooligans on the train. While it wasn't the weekend we had anticipated, it was good to get away, mostly because we have spent the past three weeks in a very loud, busy city. Even though we were hoping for pastoral scenes, what we needed the most was fresh air, and we got our fair share of that.
We set out from Belgrade on a very cloudy Friday morning, headed south to a city called Valjevo. We sat with five Serbians in our train car, and when we got off the train, Lucy told me that from listening to their conversation, they didn't know each other at all. Watching them without understanding what they were saying made me think that they were two couples: one young and one old, heading out on a trip together, since they all talked non-stop, at top volume, for the entire two hour trip!
When we arrived in Valjevo, we searched for the tourist office (which was not simple to find) and ended up speaking to the two women who worked there for over 45 minutes. We had spoken with someone at a guest house the night before, and we thought that we had arranged to stay with them for one night. All we needed to know from the tourist office was how to get there. We were in for quite the go 'round when the woman from the tourist office called the guest house, who said there was some confusion and they couldn't host us that night, there was going to be a party there the next day and things were just too crazy. So despite Lucy's best efforts at arguing our point, we were set up at a new house, which we assumed from the woman's refusal to offer us any other options, must've belonged to her uncle. Everything worked out fine, as we ended up with a very nice grandmother who took good care of us, including escorting us caringly to the bus stop in the morning when we set off for more exploration.
I will let the photos tell the rest of the story, except for the ride back, which was our first real negative experience here. We ended up in a train car that was packed with people, and we ended up sitting on the floor between two cars. We were surrounded by young men who were traveling home from a soccer game. They seemed to be relatively harmless as we chatted with them about where we were from, their soccer team, and what we were doing in Serbia. When their sexist commentary and mocking of some Muslim passengers made Lucy and I uncomfortable so that we stopped talking to them, a few of them became upset and made some really violent anti-American comments, including something about how we had bombed them. Though I knew these guys were not exactly model citizens (nor do they in any way represent the reception we have received here), their words brought up a lot of complicated emotions for me. I felt afraid to speak English, and ashamed that our government had done something so terrible to their people. I also felt angry that they couldn't separate the people from the government- the Serbian government has also done some terrible things, and these young men are no more responsible for those atrocities than I was for America's bombing of Belgrade when I was a junior in high school. The main difference is that our country is incredibly powerful and wealthy, while theirs is not. As a priviledged person in the U.S., I have more opportunities to travel, to work, and to choose my path than the vast majority of the world's people. I do not gain these opportunities without a loss on someone else's part, and I am no more deserving than the next person, American or otherwise. I think about this often- about my responsibilities with this type of priviledge, how we can spread the wealth (yikes! socialism!) and while I haven't come to any great conclusions, there are a couple of things I take away from this interaction. The first is the importance of talking to people wherever you go; we met a really nice girl on the train who spoke English, and we had a great conversation with her about work and traveling. She really wants to go to Mexico, so I got her address to send her a postcard when I get there. I also have to hope that the next presidential administration will work hard to mend fences with the many people of the world who have been frightened and offended by the U.S. over the past 8 years.
So that is my social/political commentary for this part of the trip!
The weekend was also brightened by a hike near the beautiful city of Novi Sad, on a small mountain called Fruska Gora. We hiked in the woods for a few hours, and then returned to have a cup of hot rakija (a Serbian drink made from plums, quince, and pears) in the cool evening. We asked the very kind waiter (first of all, he spoke perfect English, second of all he knew where Maine was and asked us about the lobsters there!) at the cafe about the buses going back to the city. In the open, friendly manner of the vast majority of people we have met here, he told us not to worry, that if no bus came by, he or his mother would give us a ride to the next bus stop. After waiting for half an hour, we climbed out of the chilly evening onto a warm bus and made our way back to Belgrade.
Overall, it was a great weekend and just a tease to be able to go into the Serbian countryside for only a few days- I feel like there is so much more still to see and learn about. Enjoy the photos!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Beograd
Now that I have been here in Belgrade for a little over two weeks, I am feeling pretty comfortable. I've been learning some Serbian words, and getting up the courage to ask prices and directions. And people here are incredibly kind, patient, and eager to engage foreigners. Just today we had a number of really memorable conversations or interactions. First, we went to the market to buy some produce. In other places I have visited, people are often unhappy (and sometimes rightfully so) when strangers try to photograph them. This morning, each person I asked to photograph at the market smiled and posed for me. I had one person ask me to bring them a copy of the picture, which I am happy to do.
After our trip to the market, we went to visit our surrogate family here, the Matijevics. Though we do have a prior connection with them (they are the parents and sister of Lucy's friend Tijana, whom she met studying in Italy) they are the people who have made us feel most at home here. Not only did they meet us directly off the train, they call to make sure we are ok on a regular basis, they made us a traditional Serbian welcome dinner, they tell us how much things cost at the market so we don't get taken for a ride...and they welcome us each time we stop by. Tijana does not live in Serbia right now, but her sister Ivana lives with her parents and speaks excellent English. She has been our guide around town many times, and helped us to register with the police and navigate the bus station! Today Ivana was on her way out the door to go to work, and Lucy was on her way to Serbian language class, so I stayed and hung out with Dragana and Ljubsa, who are both retired and speak a *tiny* bit of English. But it was great to be in their house, just sitting on the couch while they read and cooked and went about their daily business. It made me feel like a little kid in a way- I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing, if anything, and it was almost impossible to ask, so we talked about the couple of things we could with our limited overlapping languages (their main concerns for us are: did we eat breakfast? do we have enough warm clothes? do we have food at home and do we know how to cook it?) I watched TV for awhile and then we had lunch. It is amazing to have that comfortable feeling of being taken care of from people who we have known for such a short time, and who we can only have four word conversations with. Perhaps when we go home (or maybe right in front of me, since I wouldn't know the difference!) they discuss the crazy Americans, but I don't think so.
After lunch I met Lucy at the University and we went to some sort of honey market, where beekeepers come from all over Serbia to sell every bee-related product possible: straight honey from different types of flowers, liquid pollen and powdered pollen, propolis, honeycomb, beeswax lotions and honey-based liquor. We walked around and sampled many delicious things, and ended up talking (well, Lucy mostly talked while I nodded and smiled) to a very friendly couple about the complicated apiary certification process (he showed us the lab results from an inspection he had undergone!), where were from, who our boyfriends were, what we were studying, where our ancestors were from...They spoke mostly in Serbian, throwing in a few German words from time to time, and throwing in some really complicated Serbian jokes as well.
The last great example of the day of Serbian kindness happened on our way home from the 59th Annual Book Fair, which is held in a huge hall just outside the city. There were thousands of people there looking at hundreds of thousands of books from numerous Serbian and foreign publishers. Since the books were mostly in Cyrillic, it eliminated the vast majority of them from my comprehension, and actually made it a little less overwhelming. I have to admit that the highlight of the event was a celebrity sighting: Boris Tadic, the president of Serbia! He wasn't there to have a press conference, he didn't have a line of cameras behind him or anything more than his five body guards silently flanking him. The president of the country was there to talk to publishers and look at books! It was amazing, especially since I cannot imagine George Bush going to anything vaguely intellectual without making it a press stunt.
So our way home Lucy and I were packed onto a crowded bus (all the buses here are packed, and although you are supposed to validate your ticket on the bus, it is often impossible because you simply can't move, although that also means that people checking your tickets can't get through either!) discussing how to get back to the apartment. An older woman leaned over to us and asked us in English if we needed any help. We said yes, and she told us to follow her when she got off the bus and she would show us where to go. When we got off, she proceeded to walk us ten minutes out of her way (we knew where we were at that point) to the streetcar stop we needed. We chatted along the way and she told us that her son lives in Brockton, Massachusetts. She was very pleased to hear that where we are from is not too far from Boston, and she asked us all the usual questions: why we are there, what we are studying, how do we like it so far. I was so touched by her willingness and desire to speak to us in English, which was clearly a challenge for her. It must've taken a lot of courage to reach out to us in her second language. When she left us at the streetcar stop and we told her thank you, she said, "Thank you! I am so happy to meet girl from Boston!"
It was a great day. This weekend we are headed out into the country to do some hiking, maybe biking too. Hopefully we'll also see some monasteries.
More stories when we return!
After our trip to the market, we went to visit our surrogate family here, the Matijevics. Though we do have a prior connection with them (they are the parents and sister of Lucy's friend Tijana, whom she met studying in Italy) they are the people who have made us feel most at home here. Not only did they meet us directly off the train, they call to make sure we are ok on a regular basis, they made us a traditional Serbian welcome dinner, they tell us how much things cost at the market so we don't get taken for a ride...and they welcome us each time we stop by. Tijana does not live in Serbia right now, but her sister Ivana lives with her parents and speaks excellent English. She has been our guide around town many times, and helped us to register with the police and navigate the bus station! Today Ivana was on her way out the door to go to work, and Lucy was on her way to Serbian language class, so I stayed and hung out with Dragana and Ljubsa, who are both retired and speak a *tiny* bit of English. But it was great to be in their house, just sitting on the couch while they read and cooked and went about their daily business. It made me feel like a little kid in a way- I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing, if anything, and it was almost impossible to ask, so we talked about the couple of things we could with our limited overlapping languages (their main concerns for us are: did we eat breakfast? do we have enough warm clothes? do we have food at home and do we know how to cook it?) I watched TV for awhile and then we had lunch. It is amazing to have that comfortable feeling of being taken care of from people who we have known for such a short time, and who we can only have four word conversations with. Perhaps when we go home (or maybe right in front of me, since I wouldn't know the difference!) they discuss the crazy Americans, but I don't think so.
After lunch I met Lucy at the University and we went to some sort of honey market, where beekeepers come from all over Serbia to sell every bee-related product possible: straight honey from different types of flowers, liquid pollen and powdered pollen, propolis, honeycomb, beeswax lotions and honey-based liquor. We walked around and sampled many delicious things, and ended up talking (well, Lucy mostly talked while I nodded and smiled) to a very friendly couple about the complicated apiary certification process (he showed us the lab results from an inspection he had undergone!), where were from, who our boyfriends were, what we were studying, where our ancestors were from...They spoke mostly in Serbian, throwing in a few German words from time to time, and throwing in some really complicated Serbian jokes as well.
The last great example of the day of Serbian kindness happened on our way home from the 59th Annual Book Fair, which is held in a huge hall just outside the city. There were thousands of people there looking at hundreds of thousands of books from numerous Serbian and foreign publishers. Since the books were mostly in Cyrillic, it eliminated the vast majority of them from my comprehension, and actually made it a little less overwhelming. I have to admit that the highlight of the event was a celebrity sighting: Boris Tadic, the president of Serbia! He wasn't there to have a press conference, he didn't have a line of cameras behind him or anything more than his five body guards silently flanking him. The president of the country was there to talk to publishers and look at books! It was amazing, especially since I cannot imagine George Bush going to anything vaguely intellectual without making it a press stunt.
So our way home Lucy and I were packed onto a crowded bus (all the buses here are packed, and although you are supposed to validate your ticket on the bus, it is often impossible because you simply can't move, although that also means that people checking your tickets can't get through either!) discussing how to get back to the apartment. An older woman leaned over to us and asked us in English if we needed any help. We said yes, and she told us to follow her when she got off the bus and she would show us where to go. When we got off, she proceeded to walk us ten minutes out of her way (we knew where we were at that point) to the streetcar stop we needed. We chatted along the way and she told us that her son lives in Brockton, Massachusetts. She was very pleased to hear that where we are from is not too far from Boston, and she asked us all the usual questions: why we are there, what we are studying, how do we like it so far. I was so touched by her willingness and desire to speak to us in English, which was clearly a challenge for her. It must've taken a lot of courage to reach out to us in her second language. When she left us at the streetcar stop and we told her thank you, she said, "Thank you! I am so happy to meet girl from Boston!"
It was a great day. This weekend we are headed out into the country to do some hiking, maybe biking too. Hopefully we'll also see some monasteries.
More stories when we return!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Getting Started
After moving away from California and very sadly letting go of a great school and home community, I decided to take advantage of not having a job (and avoid looking for a new one) by doing some traveling, first on a bike across the country, and now by plane, train, bus and foot in Europe and then Mexico.
There are many reasons why I am very lucky to be able to travel to these places, one of which is that I have two very worldly sisters, who both have serious ties to foreign countries. My younger sister Lucy is currently in a Master's degree program that began in Italy and continues now in Belgrade, Serbia. Her significant other, Jean, is French. My older sister Elizabeth's main squeeze is located in Coyuca, Mexico, where I will be going to visit in a few weeks.
So the main goals of the trips (aside from avoiding work!) are to hang out with my amazing sisters, meet and see these people and places that are so important to them, and practice my language skills. I am also hoping to pursue some grand ideas like cross-cultural understanding, examining and eliminating stereotypes and sharing some of my new found insights through this blog. Since I'm actually starting this in the middle of the trip, I am going to start in the present and work backwards, filling in the past few weeks as I have time. Right now, on Friday, October 17th, I am sitting in the apartment in Belgrade. It is raining out today, though it has been beautiful, warm fall weather here since we got here the Wednesday before last. Lucy and I have been exploring the city each day, figuring out how to get from place to place on the tram, discovering beautiful parks and learning about the many times the city has been destroyed and rebuilt. People here have been incredibly kind to us- there are a limited amount of tourists, but lots of Serbians speak English. The lack of bitterness towards the USA also impresses us, as the bombing of this country by the American military happened less than ten years ago, and the US involvement in Kosovo is hardly history. There are still bomb craters visible in some buildings. It seems nearly everywhere we go people ask us first why we are here in Belgrade and then welcome us heartily and comment on how happy they are that Lucy speaks some Serbian! Here are some photos of the warm weeks in Belgrade. If you would like to see more, check out http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/asommo_album/, look on the left hand side for the latest albums.
There are many reasons why I am very lucky to be able to travel to these places, one of which is that I have two very worldly sisters, who both have serious ties to foreign countries. My younger sister Lucy is currently in a Master's degree program that began in Italy and continues now in Belgrade, Serbia. Her significant other, Jean, is French. My older sister Elizabeth's main squeeze is located in Coyuca, Mexico, where I will be going to visit in a few weeks.
So the main goals of the trips (aside from avoiding work!) are to hang out with my amazing sisters, meet and see these people and places that are so important to them, and practice my language skills. I am also hoping to pursue some grand ideas like cross-cultural understanding, examining and eliminating stereotypes and sharing some of my new found insights through this blog. Since I'm actually starting this in the middle of the trip, I am going to start in the present and work backwards, filling in the past few weeks as I have time. Right now, on Friday, October 17th, I am sitting in the apartment in Belgrade. It is raining out today, though it has been beautiful, warm fall weather here since we got here the Wednesday before last. Lucy and I have been exploring the city each day, figuring out how to get from place to place on the tram, discovering beautiful parks and learning about the many times the city has been destroyed and rebuilt. People here have been incredibly kind to us- there are a limited amount of tourists, but lots of Serbians speak English. The lack of bitterness towards the USA also impresses us, as the bombing of this country by the American military happened less than ten years ago, and the US involvement in Kosovo is hardly history. There are still bomb craters visible in some buildings. It seems nearly everywhere we go people ask us first why we are here in Belgrade and then welcome us heartily and comment on how happy they are that Lucy speaks some Serbian! Here are some photos of the warm weeks in Belgrade. If you would like to see more, check out http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/asommo_album/, look on the left hand side for the latest albums.
A segue from Pedal for Produce blog, if you followed that one...
Sorry for keeping everyone in suspense about the whereabouts of Matt and Anna: Fearless Bicyclists in Search of Fruits and Vegetables! We finished the trip on a great high, feeling so blessed to have been taken care of by wonderful people all across the country, with lots of support from friends and family along the way. Many thanks to everyone who helped us and encouraged us and cooked delicious food for us and let us sleep in their guest room or family room or backyard. We hope to be able to extend the same open door we were greeted with nearly everywhere we went... as soon as we have one!
As of the end of September, Matt is back in Portland, OR, looking for work, and (as you can see below) Anna is traveling again, this time to visit sisters in France and Serbia, and in Mexico. She is starting another blog of her own so she won't have to share the credit for eloquent writing and perceptive insights with Matt.
Thanks again, friends, and keep in touch!
email:
annasommo@gmail.com and matthewcrampton@gmail.com
snailmail: 257 Peabody Rd Appleton, ME 04862
As of the end of September, Matt is back in Portland, OR, looking for work, and (as you can see below) Anna is traveling again, this time to visit sisters in France and Serbia, and in Mexico. She is starting another blog of her own so she won't have to share the credit for eloquent writing and perceptive insights with Matt.
Thanks again, friends, and keep in touch!
email:
annasommo@gmail.com and matthewcrampton@gmail.com
snailmail: 257 Peabody Rd Appleton, ME 04862
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