Change.

Yiannis started our busy day with his lecture on the European Union. Being a business major we had learned a little about the EU in one of my classes, but to hear it from a political view really intrigued me. Armed with only my prior knowledge, I would have said Serbia should definitely work quickly to join the EU, but now my feelings have changed.

After a quick lunch at a nearby café we headed to the Parliament building. After all that the US had done to Serbia, in regards to the NATO bombings, it felt a little bizarre to be there, as Professor Sullivan put it “We are like Japanese tourists visiting Pearl Harbor”.  We met with two Members of Parliament, both only in their early 30s.  The two talked about how their parliament was setup, and about their party, the Democratic Party. People here vote for the party they feel is most aligned with their views, and then based on amount of votes, they allot seats to each party. The party then selects members from the predetermined list to fill the seats. Therefore, instead of individual campaigning, they spend time focused on the main platforms of each party. Also, in Serbia they spend only one month campaigning, far different than the two years and billions of dollars candidates spend here.  The two Members of Parliament were quick to answer questions, and even quicker to compliment the United States.  We then took pictures and left for our last meeting of the day.

( Marissa and me in one of the rooms at Parliament) 

We returned to the Belgrade Lady, and met with CANVAS. They are a local NGO who used their methods of nonviolent revolt from the 90s, their group was OTPOR, to teach other groups ways to overthrow or challenge authority. It was really interesting to talk with them, because not only were they able to help overthrow Milosevic in the 90s, they also talked about how they helped work with the Egyptian Youth. The two women offered their services, if we were ever in need of overthrowing anyone (including professors, so they said).   

Crime.

After a day of relaxing, we started the week by heading to the Crimes Prosecutor’s offices in the Special Court in Belgrade.  Here we met with the Historian to discuss the war trials that were currently being processed. He discussed how many people were not accepting of the work they did, but how justice needed to be served. He went on to discuss the difficulty they had finding the men to prosecute, because many were from wealth, power, and knew many people; therefore they could escape capture easily. While we were there, they said they only had one more major criminal to prosecute. The office is attempting to collaborate with the other Balkan states, but the communication is lacking, therefore hindering the prosecution of these men who committed heinous war crimes.

We then were given some free time to stroll around, and had our last lecture by Mladen about Yugoslav history from after World War II to present day. This helped me to understand the current conflicts even further. 

Weekend = HOT

The temperature here in Serbia is HOT, and not changing. Saturday we had a planned trip to Novi Sad. We got up and met our tour guide and driver the Dragons to begin our trek to the Vojvodina province of Serbia. We stopped at a small town outside the city and saw the where the Orthodox Patriarch of the region presides. While in the church we also got to see part of a christening. 

Prior to going to Novi Sad we stopped at a church. This is the only one where people practice the Christian, Orthodox, and Muslim religion in one location. If you look closely you can see the cross with the crescent underneath which symbolizes the coming together of the multiple religions.  (left)

We then headed off to Novi Sad, we drove past the site of the famous EXIT Music Festival. Once in Novi Sad a group of us stopped and had lunch. We then walked around the city, but the heat was almost unbearable. Our whole group met up again, half of us stayed in the city, while I along with the other half headed to the Danube River. The beach was packed. There were people from all over crammed on the beach trying to stay cool in the recent heat wave. (Dipping their feet in the Danube River, attempting to stay cool, right.) While waiting for the bathroom Sam and I had a nice conversation with two local Serbian women, they offered their perspective of Serbia entering the EU. After the beach we headed home, everyone was exhausted, but we made plans to go to Ada Lake on Sunday.

 

Sunday the majority of our group woke up early, and headed to the Ada the manmade Lake (right). This was the best way to beat the heat, and it was a great way to relax after a busy first week of an incredible dialogue . 

War.

 Today we had our second lecture. We learned about the history of the region from medieval times through the 19^th century. 

We then separated into groups, grabbed lunch, and walked back to Kalemegdan Fortress. Mladen gave us a guided tour through the Belgrade Military Museum. There were weapons and artifacts from the Celtic times through the recent NATO bombings.  I really enjoyed this, since these weapons helped bring to life the morning’s lecture.

Once our tour was over Mladen took a group of us to “?” a popular café, where we ate traditional Serbian food (including my favorite salad to the right). He then walked us back to the hotel, past the popular market. At night we explored the city with our group. 

Enjoying Belgrade Military Museum.  Above Liz and Sam posing with Tito. Marissa and I taking a casual ride on the military motorcycle.

Sleep.

Fridays are our designated blog, writing, catch up on workday. So to kick off our first Friday the majority of our group slept in, but made up for our sleep by starting the scavenger hunt. I went with a group of 8 others to explore Tasmajdan Park. We quickly found the statue of the leader of a Caucasian Country (to the right). We then took a break in the fountain, and saw the monument erected for the children who were killed in the 1999 NATO Bombings. Lastly we went on a quick walk to St. Mark's Church (below).  Now the last thing to check off was finding the bakery. We spent over an hour asking people if they knew of Sezam Bakery, no one had any idea. Then as we were about to give up we found the bakery, and I am so happy we ate the kukkuruzna poghachitsa (corn flat bread) and lehnya pita od yabukeh (lazy apple pie), which were amazing. Our group split off, half of us ate lunch at a café in the park. Upon returning, we walked to a nearby café to begin catching up on work. Tomorrow, we are off to Novi Sad.

Sunsets, and Beauty Queens.

Today Mladen gave us our second lecture on the history of Yugoslavia we picked up from the 19^th century, and went through World War II. Thankfully we went to the military museum yesterday, because it definitely helped with the general understanding of the new material.

In the afternoon our group met up and we walked to the offices of the Zoran Djindic Foundation. This foundation helps provide Serbian students with opportunities to attend conferences and hold internship positions.  Djindic was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Serbia. His focuses included: a more modern Serbia, joining the EU, and working to overcome the struggles of the past. He was assassinated two years into his term. This foundation keeps his memory alive.

Marissa and I then walked through the local shops as we walked back towards our hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel we prepared for our first “family” dinner. We met up with the group at 8, to take the bus to Zemun. The sun setting over the Sava River was absolutely stunning (left). Dinner was delicious we were given plates upon plates of food to share. After dinner the majority of the group walked by the river towards the discotecas. We passed a boat, which most people from the street were getting on so we wanted to join the celebration. Later, we found out that we were helping Miss Serbian 2011 celebrate her win. (Ben, Marissa, and me helping Miss Serbia celebrate below.)

Onions.

Not only are onions part of a delicious Serbian salad called Šopska. But, at the end of the lecture Professor Sullivan claimed that in order to get to the true meanings behind conflicts we have to pull away its layers like an onion.

Today we had our first lecture in the afternoon. Before the lecture we went to a prominent TV station, B-92. Here we were given a personal tour of the station by the co-founder. We saw the evening news desk, morning news set, media center, and radio station. The co-founder then treated us to a special Question and Answer segment; he discussed how he had to face countless adversities to get the station to its current popularity of second most popular show in Serbia.

After the lecture we spent the rest of our afternoon at a small little café, where a group of us worked on blogs, and caught up on some of the homework. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, from my fellow peers on the dialogues to employees in the shops, I cannot wait to continue exploring the city.

To the right is a picture of the desk in the radio station. When standing in the cramped room, I thought about all the political speakers, celebrities, and local party leaders who sat in those exact chairs and shared their opinions with the people of Serbia. These people helped mold Serbia into the country it is today.