On the way to the retreat on Saturday, we stopped in Belgrade for about an hour. Daniel and his fiance Elana took me to the fortress that sits along the Danube and Sava rivers. I had seen pictures of it before, but it really exceeded my expectations. It was huge! The fort and its walls never seemed to end. There was plenty of greenspace making it the perfect place for picnics or for families to spend time together. Of all the capital cities I have ever been in, Belgrade definitely ranks #1 for having a beautiful, family friendly park that just happens to have a really cool fort and overlook two rivers. Daniel is very knowledgeable about the history of Serbia and Belgrade so it was like having my own personal tour guide. The park contains military vehicles from the two World Wars so those were really neat to see. Enjoy the slide show below. I cannot wait to see more of Belgrade!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Weekend Retreat
This past weekend I went to a three day retreat for Methodist youth in Serbia along with the Pastor's son and his fiance. It was an OK weekend, not the most exciting time but certainly not terrible. This weekend was set up to be a relaxing weekend for the youth, mainly teens. There is a more formal Bible camp over the summer. For me the weekend was like one of those "alone in a crowded room" type of things. I don't speak any Serbian, so unless there was a translator, I didn't really know what was going on. I intentionally did not sit with English speakers during some of the services because I feel like a burden when people feel like they need to translate everything for me.
The best part about the weekend was meeting other people. I just assumed those that wanted to practice their English would find me and they did. I was really impressed with some of the teens and their English skills. The school system must not be as good here in Padina because none of my kids could speak at the level of some of these teens. One girl was 14 and talked so fast in English that it was hard to keep up with her! It's wonderful that these kids could speak English so well, but it is also a little sad that some of them speak better English and have better grammar than kids their age in the US. My favorite conversation was with a shyer girl. She came over an sat next to me and didn't say anything at first. I asked her simple questions and then she eventually got comfortable with her English. I asked her what her favorite animal is. She responded by saying that she doesn't have a favorite because each animal has their own special beauty. I could have hugged her! It was so sweet and exactly how I feel!
There were a few downsides to the retreat other than not really understanding what was going on. I have never really enjoyed retreats. Most of the teens seemed to get so much energy from being around other teens from the Church. I am not the type that gets energy or motivation from being around other people - I find it more exhausting. Other than Sunday Church service and a walk through the small town, there were no planned activities. The main activity throughout the weekend was singing. It was an excellent chance for those that played instruments to come together and make music and for the rest of the group to sing. I have never enjoyed singing, I'm not really sure why but it is just not for me. I am also not the outwardly emotional type and a number of times many of the people started to cry during the songs. (This could have had something to do with the majority of the people there being emotional teenage girls). So it was a bit awkward for me at time being the only one that didn't know the words to the songs and that wasn't teary eyed. Oh well.
The important thing was that all the teens there seemed to have an amazing time. This was such a great chance for all the youth from the Church to come together, get to know each other, worship together, and sing. This retreat was meant for them so as long as they all had a great time, that's all that matters.
The best part about the weekend was meeting other people. I just assumed those that wanted to practice their English would find me and they did. I was really impressed with some of the teens and their English skills. The school system must not be as good here in Padina because none of my kids could speak at the level of some of these teens. One girl was 14 and talked so fast in English that it was hard to keep up with her! It's wonderful that these kids could speak English so well, but it is also a little sad that some of them speak better English and have better grammar than kids their age in the US. My favorite conversation was with a shyer girl. She came over an sat next to me and didn't say anything at first. I asked her simple questions and then she eventually got comfortable with her English. I asked her what her favorite animal is. She responded by saying that she doesn't have a favorite because each animal has their own special beauty. I could have hugged her! It was so sweet and exactly how I feel!
There were a few downsides to the retreat other than not really understanding what was going on. I have never really enjoyed retreats. Most of the teens seemed to get so much energy from being around other teens from the Church. I am not the type that gets energy or motivation from being around other people - I find it more exhausting. Other than Sunday Church service and a walk through the small town, there were no planned activities. The main activity throughout the weekend was singing. It was an excellent chance for those that played instruments to come together and make music and for the rest of the group to sing. I have never enjoyed singing, I'm not really sure why but it is just not for me. I am also not the outwardly emotional type and a number of times many of the people started to cry during the songs. (This could have had something to do with the majority of the people there being emotional teenage girls). So it was a bit awkward for me at time being the only one that didn't know the words to the songs and that wasn't teary eyed. Oh well.
The important thing was that all the teens there seemed to have an amazing time. This was such a great chance for all the youth from the Church to come together, get to know each other, worship together, and sing. This retreat was meant for them so as long as they all had a great time, that's all that matters.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Kitten Pictures!
The darling little kittens are almost two weeks old. They are growing so fast. They have almost doubled in size in just this short amount of time. I cannot wait for them to get a little bit older so I can start to play with them. Enjoy!
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Bread Pitt :)
Although I love both of my adult classes, the newest class is especially fun. It is a group of women and they are always laughing about something. We started to learn the names of common food items. I held up a picture of bread and said "bread." To which one of the ladies responded excitedly, "Bread Pitt!" I couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of the class. I had to write, "Bread, not Brad Pitt" on the board. The next class, the same woman said "I cook soap" instead of "I cook soup." She may get her words mixed up, but at least she tries!
I will be going to some retreat/meeting for Methodist youth in Serbia this weekend. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. There could be anywhere from 40 to 70 other people from age 12 to 30 there. It is in a city near Croatia called Sid (pronounced kind of like Sheet).
More kitten pictures coming soon!
I will be going to some retreat/meeting for Methodist youth in Serbia this weekend. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. There could be anywhere from 40 to 70 other people from age 12 to 30 there. It is in a city near Croatia called Sid (pronounced kind of like Sheet).
More kitten pictures coming soon!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Boys have too much energy!
I have now been in Serbia for one month! Wow! Time went by so fast. The good part about the time going so fast is that I will be home before I know it. The bad part, there is so much more I need to teach the adults!
My most challenging class as far as what material to cover and classroom management is the class with the older kids. I don’t know what happened to the girls, but for the past two weeks, only 9-10 year old boys have been coming. I have no idea where they get their energy from! When we have a really small group, which is not that uncommon, they like to have class outside. I really enjoy being out in the sun so I don’t mind too much. However, being in the grass gives them every opportunity to throw things at each other, sit on each other, and wrestle. Sometimes they are even crawling on top of each other trying to get the marker to write the answer on the board – but at least they are learning! Two of the boys are really bright and pick up things really quickly. The others are usually their friends that just tag along and don’t really put forth any effort.
Yesterday, one incident really annoyed me. There was a new student – a friend of one of the boys. Instead of attempting the handout I made for him, he was writing something on a piece of paper and would cover it up whenever I walked by. I said, you don’t have to cover it up, I can’t read Slovak to which he replied “it's in English.”
I eventually saw that the boy was writing “He is gay -->” in bubble letters. The note was attended for his friend behind him. I took the paper from him and said do you know what gay means. He said yes. I said is this something nice to joke about? He said no. Then, I ripped the note up in front of the kids and said if you want to write stupid things stay at home. The kid couldn’t identify a simple past tense verb yet he can write comments like that in English.
This bothered me for two reasons. First, I’m actually trying to teach these kids something. I didn’t fly halfway around the world to babysit them after school. Second, why has calling someone gay become an insult? I believe in love. If you love someone, you should be together. Isn’t it a shame how society will turn a blind eye to a young woman marrying an old man for his money yet they won’t accept it when two men or two women that truly love each other want to be together? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
My most challenging class as far as what material to cover and classroom management is the class with the older kids. I don’t know what happened to the girls, but for the past two weeks, only 9-10 year old boys have been coming. I have no idea where they get their energy from! When we have a really small group, which is not that uncommon, they like to have class outside. I really enjoy being out in the sun so I don’t mind too much. However, being in the grass gives them every opportunity to throw things at each other, sit on each other, and wrestle. Sometimes they are even crawling on top of each other trying to get the marker to write the answer on the board – but at least they are learning! Two of the boys are really bright and pick up things really quickly. The others are usually their friends that just tag along and don’t really put forth any effort.
Yesterday, one incident really annoyed me. There was a new student – a friend of one of the boys. Instead of attempting the handout I made for him, he was writing something on a piece of paper and would cover it up whenever I walked by. I said, you don’t have to cover it up, I can’t read Slovak to which he replied “it's in English.”
I eventually saw that the boy was writing “He is gay -->” in bubble letters. The note was attended for his friend behind him. I took the paper from him and said do you know what gay means. He said yes. I said is this something nice to joke about? He said no. Then, I ripped the note up in front of the kids and said if you want to write stupid things stay at home. The kid couldn’t identify a simple past tense verb yet he can write comments like that in English.
This bothered me for two reasons. First, I’m actually trying to teach these kids something. I didn’t fly halfway around the world to babysit them after school. Second, why has calling someone gay become an insult? I believe in love. If you love someone, you should be together. Isn’t it a shame how society will turn a blind eye to a young woman marrying an old man for his money yet they won’t accept it when two men or two women that truly love each other want to be together? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
My new home
Although I am still getting used to being in the house alone at night, it has been nice to have a place of my own. I cooked my first meal for myself yesterday - pasta of course. Basil and oregano never smelled so good! The food here isn't bad, but I sure do miss fresh herbs, mozzarella,and Parmesan! For now, dried herbs will have to do. I'm just lucky there is a shop here in Padina that sells dried herbs.
The first two pictures below were taken from inside the gate. The last picture is a view of the house from the street.
The first two pictures below were taken from inside the gate. The last picture is a view of the house from the street.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Serbia in the news
BBC recently posted two articles about Serbia. It's weird to read these articles and actually be here in Serbia. I feel so separated from everything that is happening in Kosovo, which I guess is a good thing. I'm on the opposite side of the country in a place where people identify themselves as Slovak before Serbian.
Outspoken Schoolboy Exposes Serbia's Deep Divisions
Serbian Cell Phone Companies kicked out of Kosovo
Outspoken Schoolboy Exposes Serbia's Deep Divisions
Serbian Cell Phone Companies kicked out of Kosovo
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