I anxiously waited a few minutes hoping I was really at the right spot. A short time later, a girl appeared across the street waving her hand and shouting hello. I walked over to meet her and she greeted me with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. We walked back to her apartment where she immediately offered me something to eat. When she said "you have to try this, it's a Serbian specialty," my heart sank. Anytime I hear "Serbian/Slovak specialty" its usually some type of sausage or other nasty meat. I told her I was vegetarian, and she replied with a surprised face, "So am I!" I can't remember the name, but it was a breakfast cake with cornflour, eggs, cheese, and spinach. After breakfast, I took a nap before we headed into the city. In the meantime, my student had nervously texted Ana to make sure that I had arrived safely. She said she just couldn't relax not knowing if I was ok. She is just the nicest person, I wish you all could meet her!
As we walked to the bus stop, I asked where I could by a ticket. She told me we would be ok and she never buys bus tickets in the city. I was a bit nervous riding the bus without a ticket, but I had no choice so I followed her onto the bus. First, we stopped by her school so that she could talk to a professor. We walked into the school and were greeted by the security guard who checks students' IDs. She said, you can stay here with him and then went up to talk to a professor.
I ended up having a grea
t time with the security guard as well as another man who came over to talk because he had heard us speaking English. Other than at the Pastors' meetings, this is the first time I actually got to talk to Serbians on this trip. (Everyone in Padina identifies themselves as Slovak). Both men were extremely outgoing and friendly - the perfect examples of the warm and open Serbian personality. We talked a little bit about everything before the guard finally asked, "What did you think about Serbians before you came? did you hear that we were all terrorists?" He was afraid the media had ruined the image of the Serbian people. I said I never base my opinions on what the media says about people because the people are not the government. Just because a country may have or have had a bad government, doesn't mean that the people are also bad. Serbians are some of the most wonderful and generous people you will ever meet.Ana came back down and said she was still waiting
for her professor so she suggested that I go on a walk. I walked around the nearby park and then down a street. It actually felt a little liberating to finally be in a city after being in rural Padina for so long. I was able to walk around as a tourist without having to worry about my classes. I'm not a city person, but it was great seeing so many shops, outdoor cafes, and people everywhere. I walked back to the school about 30 seconds before Ana excitedly came walking outside. She had convinced her professor to give her a passing grade!We hopped on another bus and headed into the main part of the city. She showed me the main pedestrian street in the city which has nice shops and of course, souve
nir stands. We passed a really interesting display of about 20 signs showing pollution throughout Belgrade. It was a great display and we can only hope that it helps people understand this serious problem. But unfortunately, there are too many people out there that just do not care about the environment and no matter how hard you try to get them to see the importance of protecting the environment, they will just continue with their selfish ways. So, not only is Ana a vegetarian, she is also passionate about the environment and hates how people use so many plastic bags! It's so crazy how you can meet a complete stranger on the internet and end up having so much in common! (The majority of people on CouchSurfing.com are great, but she is probably one of the nicest!)We hopped on yet another
bus and headed out to the stadium to get the tickets. After picking up the tickets, we headed back to a small lake where we sat for about a half hour and talked about traveling, culture, and her upcoming internship in Baltimore. (I can't believe I met someone here who is coming to Baltimore this summer!). At one point, she told me I wasn't the typical American because I know so much about other cultures and just the fact that I know where Serbia is on a map makes me different. In one way, it's a compliment, but in another way, its sad how Americans have such a bad reputation over seas. While many Americans do know a lot about the world, we unfortunately have many people that are very uneducated about the world around them and the beauty of other cultures.The best part about my day with Ana was being around someone my age with similar interests. Being able to talk with someone about things you are interested in or life in general is a great thing. Only two of my students are my age. The rest are older women or young kids, so I unfortunately do not have any friends my age here in Padina that I can just hang out with. (I am going to a singing again at the Nazarene Church tonight with the girl my age, but it's not the same). It's nice being part of a Church community here because everyone is so wonderful, but it is also a bit isolating. Because I am so busy, my only opportunities to meet people are in Church or during class. There is no one even close to my age at church. Also, here, the church comes first for everything which is great for them, but not ideal for me because I want to experience Padina beyond the walls of the church. I wish I knew when there was going to be a high school soccer match in town, but since soccer isn't important to them, no ones knows when they are. I would love to go to the local pub at night just to see what it is like, but I don't have anyone to go with and I am not sure how that would be viewed. Oh well, this has still been a great expereince so far. I'll write more about my second day in Belgrade later.
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