July 8th-10th

Entering our first full weekend in Serbia! On Friday, our group had the day off to do explore the city and do some work, i.e. get started on our Belgrade scavenger hunt and begin our first writing assignment.  A group of us went to Tasmajdan Park.  A beautiful green area with cafes and art, the park also is located next to the striking Church of Saint Mark. Then we walked to the Belgrade Zoo and had a kebab lunch.  At the end of the day, we retired to one of our normal locations for free internet in order to work.  We've picked out some pretty nice coffee shops and cafes nearby Slavija Square, but the winner usually ends up being McDonald's, as it has very reliable internet, is a lot nicer than those in the US,  and, most importantly, has air conditioning, something our hotel noticeably lacks in the Southern European summer!

The next day was another hot one, and our group boarded our tour bus to travel to Novi Sad, the hometown of our bus tour guide, Dragan.  Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of Vojvodina, an autonomous province of Serbia.  It is famous for its diversity, boasting a tolerant population of numerous ethnic groups, languages, and religions.  It is a major cultural center for Serbs, with many of their great 18th and 19th century writers and intellectuals emerging from there.  It is also home to the Exit Festival, one of the biggest music festivals in Europe, hosted in its Petrovaradin Fortress, built through the 18th century.  The festival was this weekend, hosting big names such as Jamiroquai, Deadmau5, and MIA.  However, we weren't able to fit it into our schedule.  In Novi Sad, we were able to go to the river beach along the Danube to cool off, along with thousands of other Serbs looking to beat the heat.

That night, a small detachment of us went to a bar along Knez Mihajlova, the commercial pedestrian walkway near the Kalemegdan.  Among our group was a Serb-Egyptian student named Aly (pronounced Ali).  We have been very lucky to have him on the trip as he has lived in Belgrade for a while, knows the good spots for recreation, and speaks the language.  At the bar, our other friend started up a conversation with the Serbs at the table next to us.  He chatted them up for a while in English, then lamented that he didn't speak "Serbo-Croation." Upon hearing that, Aly tensed up, looking for signs of ill will among the locals from the faux pas.  Though basically the same language (BHS) is spoken in the Balkans areas we are visiting, Serbs insist the language is called Serbian, whereas Croats call it Croatian, etc.  Though nothing came of the incident, Aly elaborated for us.  He made clear that when we travel to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, we are not to bring up his Serb nationality, whether to ask him to translate, talk about his ancestry, etc.  He warned also not to do the same with the student on our trip who is Albanian.  It was really a moment that served to drive home the divisions between these cultures that seem so similar to us.

After receiving an extension on our writing assignment (Thanks Professor Sullivan!), on Sunday we were able to plan a beach day to a man-made lake on the Sava river.  After a short bus ride out, we had an excellent time swimming as well as having fun on our rented paddle boat.  The lake was definitely a welcome retreat from the heat of the city, and we returned to our hotel for an added treat: fans for our rooms!