Serbiaaaa

Last week we had Monday through Wednesday off of school, and a few of us took that opportunity to travel around Europe. Our apartment Resident Advisor, Igor, is from Serbia, and he invited us all to his house for the break. We left Thursday evening and got back last Wednesday afternoon. I can't exactly tell you about my expectations for the trip, because I had very few. I didn't know what Serbia would be like, I didn't know anything about the culture, and I wasn't even sure I knew all the people going on the trip. I went into the trip with an open mind.

Our trip started out with a 17 hour train ride from Thessaloniki to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. So, 17 hour train rides are long... I opted to not get a sleeper car because it cost more, which turned out good in the end because our seats completely folded down into beds! I slept a solid 8 hours on the train, then played card games for the rest of it. We passed through Macedonia, or Republic of Macedonia, but also known as FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)... All I know is that I got cool stamps on my passport!

We got to Belgrade around 7:30 AM, got some breakfast then headed out on foot to explore the city a little. We visited the Kalemegdan Fortress, St. Sava Temple, National Assembly and various local street venders. We got a personal tour of the National Assembly, where Parliament is held. That night we hopped on another bus to the city of Petrovac na Mlavi, the little town we stayed in for our fall break.

There were ten of us total that went to Serbia: Bethany, Samantha, Amy, Mike, Nina, Scotty, Igor, Leslie, Alex and I. Igor lives in Petrovac and all of us stayed in his apartment.

We spent one of the mornings talking to a couple of high school english classes, and this was an awesome experience because most of the kids had never met or talked to any Americans. Another morning we had brunch with the mayor, and was formally welcomed to the town of Petrovac na Mlavi. On our third day in Petrovac we were given a government issued mini-bus to tour around the country side and visited the Mlava River Spring, the Monastery of Gornjak, and the Annunciation Monastery.

While we were in Petrovac, we were introduced to some of Igor's friends, Marija and Kacha. They showed Bethany, Samantha, Alex, and me genuine hospitality by welcoming us into their house, feeding us, giving us drinks, and presents on our last day. Our trip to Serbia would not have been the same without them!! They gave us homemade wine, Rakija (homemade fruit brandy), and sweetened figs (spoon fed to us by their mother), along with several other food and beverage options. Thanks Marija and Kacha!!

Some of the outlets didn't work in the apartment so Scotty bought extension cords so we could plug the heaters in from the kitchen and the hallway. I woke up quite hot on night only to find the extension cord smoking and sparking. I screamed, ran and unplugged the extension cord, and essentially saved us all from a house fire. I think I may have found my new calling as a firefighter... :]