Exchange.

We started the day by heading to Zemun to meet a televangelist, Radovan Bigovic, a prominent member of Serbian Orthodox community. As usual the weather was hot, unfortunately the power was out but the priest welcomed us with open arms, along with juice and coffee. Before he started his presentation he even proposed a toast to our health and future. We learned that Zemun was like our Ellis Island, as people moving from Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian Empire waited in Zemun to be cleared. Since people were very religious, there became a need for churches in the area. The small square where his church is located also is home to countless other churches of multiple faiths. The priest said, “Faith is present in everyday life, one may not always be practicing, but the nation and faith are connected”. This quote helps to prove Samuel Huntington’s theory “Clash of Civilizations”, which we wrote our first paper about. He felt that the recent wars were linked to religious and cultural differences, but he went on to talk about the importance of dialogues between politicians and religious leaders to work towards peace without war.

                              (Fr. Bigovic and Professor Sullivan in the Serbian Orthodox Temple) 

Due to the heat wave we went to the mall to spend the afternoon in the luxurious AC.  Megan, Marissa and I shopped while some of the others went to watch Harry Potter. The three of us talked about the exchange rate, and how it was hard to justify purchasing a pair of shoes for 2000 dinar, but in actuality it is only $30 USD.

In the evening we met up with the majority of our group and enjoyed a boat cruise on the Sava River. The views were breathtaking, especially when we turned around at the meeting point of the Danube and Sava rivers.

After the cruise, we ate a quick dinner, and headed to the club. It was great to spend some free time with people from our trip.

(Above the view from the boat at night, to the right, some fellow students, getting ready to leave port)