Makedonija Part 10

Saturday 2 October. Skopje – Beograd. 6 hours. 4 cars. 1 truck.

Just as I think life can’t get much better. Things take a turn for the worse. Let’s just say that last night didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought it would be. So this morning I’m on the road by 9 am. Hmm…what to do, the ride back to Beograd isn’t until 4 pm. Do I want to wait all those hours for a sure thing. Or do I want to take a chance and start hitching now and perhaps get back home earlier?

I decide to risk it.

I catch two fairly short rides with old men. The first one drops me off at the local gas station. The second one at the exit to the airport. Then a truck drops me off a few km further. And another car takes me a few more km. But I’ve still not left Skopje. And the road towards Beograd looks empty. It's eerily quiet. First car passes. Doesn’t stop. 5 minutes later I see another car. This one stops. A man. Late 30s early 40s I’d say. Says he’s going far. I ask if he’s going to Serbia. Niš. Or Beograd perhaps. He says yes. He’s going to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yeah baby, I got a ride all the way back home.

This dude speaks fluent English. At the border he wants me to get out of the car and walk across the border. Says he had some real bad experiences with hitchhikers in the past. Hmm…I’m curious how bad. But I don’t dare to ask. So I get out of the car and walk across both borders and then get back on the car. We pretty much drive non stop to Beograd. Fine with me. The less we stop, the quicker I get home. We talk about his work. He’s in buying and selling business. In Dubai. Before that he was in Afghanistan. I spent a good 5 hours in that car, so we, I mean I, talk about all kinds of topics. This dude likes to listen, doesn’t want to talk much himself. Every time I stop talking for a few minutes. You know, just to catch my breath. He taps me on my knee to tell me to keep talking. Hmm…I’m tired, since I didn’t sleep much the night before, but then again, I want to keep talking to keep him satisfied. And I’d rather talk, then have him touch me again. Cause the last time he touched me, it was a few seconds longer than appropriate. So I talk about anything and everything that crosses my mind. You see this is the bad thing about drivers who do speak and understand English. In this instance, I feel kinda obligated to talk, since I speak the language. When I’m in a car with Macedonian/Serbian speakers I can just pretend I don’t speak the language. Well, I don’t really have to pretend. But then it’s OK to be quiet.

Then we start talking about movies. I name some of my all time favourite movies. I ask him to name some of his. He says: American Pie. Hmm…this dude is in his 40s and that is his favourite movie?! Anyways, I ask what else. Then he asks me how to call 'types' of movies. I say: genre. He then asks: is erotica a genre? I’m like, uhm… He’s like, I really want to watch some erotica movies...

...

I’m thinking are we there yet. This ride has been taking way too long.

Then when we finally reach Beograd, I couldn’t be more relieved. I can't wait to get out of this car. I mean, this guy was nice, we had some good conversation, but I guess if you spend a lot of time alone in the car with another man, no matter how decent they appeared to be in the beginning, no matter whether they are married or not, their mind just goes places. And they will try. They will always try. It’s sad, but I guess that’s just what men think who pick up female hitchhikers.

When I’m out of the car, I think to myself what it would have been like had I waited for the ride at 4 pm with the guys from yesterday. Would that have been a better ride? Would they have kept their hands to themselves? Would their favourite movie be American Pie as well? Well, I will never know. And I guess this is the nature of hitching. You never know who you end up in the car with. I ended up meeting some amazing people through this. And some that were not so amazing. It’s intimidating. It’s risky.

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”

-Leo F. Buscaglia

I totally agree. Can't wait to stick my thumb out again :)

Makedonija Part 9

Friday 1 October. Struga - Skopje. 5 hours. 3 cars.

I say goodbye to A. and walk to my HH spot. There, an old man walks up to me. Asks me where I'm going. I say Skop...Before he let's me finish, he asks for sex. Come on. Give me a break. But this freak doesn't want to leave me alone. The thing is I don't want to leave this spot, since it's a great HH spot. But this guy is blocking the path. He clearly isn't planning on going anywhere either. So, I get on the first car that stops, which takes me to Ohrid. Not really my way, but anything to get away from this creep.

The nice couple drops me off at the exit to Ohrid and I walk towards the road to Skopje. I stick my thumb out and first car stops. Two men. Going to Kicevo. Hey, that's my way. So I get on. They don't speak English though. But the driver calls a friend of his and gives the phone to me. Nacko, the guy on the phone, assures me that the guys are good people and that it's safe to get in their car. That I don't have to worry blabla...I tell him I already got on the car.

Silence on the other side of the line.

Oh, he says.

I guess he didn't expect that.

He tells me he wants to meet me in Kicevo. I tell him, I don't have much time since I've got to get to Skopje. He tells me to stay in the car with these two guys and just meet him in Kicevo. So pushy. Of course I stay in the car. So we get to Kicevo. Sit at some bar and we wait for Nacko to show up. Then he appears. First thing he says is: "I have to tell you that you are really brave". Uhm. I thought you said your friends are good people. So what's the big deal? But he is like there are so many bad people out there. Yeah, I know. Why do people keep reminding me of that? It’s not helping me at this point, you know. I still have to make my way to Skopje. And all the way to Belgrade. So stop saying these things and just let me be.

Anyways, we talk some. Actually I talk. Cause this Nacko guy is firing all kinds of questions at me. I know we don’t have much time, but there’s no need to interview me like I'm applying for some competitive job, y'know. But I like Nacko. His English is excellent (studies English Literature by the way). And he tells me his two friends are actually driving to Slovenia the next day. And if I want, I can catch a ride with them to Belgrade…Hmm…sounds like a pretty good deal. That means I don’t have to hitch. No hitching means less chance of running into more creeps. I know these guys already and they seem to be decent. So, he tells me that if I want to get that ride, to be at Continental Hotel at 4 pm the next day. They drop me off at a good HH spot and all get out of the car to wave me off. Ahh…they are really sweet. Good people.

At this time it’s late afternoon and I’m getting a little worried, since there isn’t that much traffic on that road and I still have a good few hours to go. But the second car stops. Small red car with two men. They are going to Skopje. Yippie. I get in. I meet Murat and his buddy, whose name I didn’t catch. They are army officers. Based in Ohrid and heading home for the weekend. Murat speaks fluent German (he lived there for a few years) Before that he was in Croatia for one year. And now he’s been working in Ohrid for the past 5 years. Before I get out of the car, he gives me his number. If I ever come back to Ohrid, he says, he can show me around all the nice places in and around the lake. I thank him.

WOW, I’m blown away by the generosity I experienced today. People were so incredibly considerate. Nice. Decent. Normal. That's so refreshing for a change. People really seemed to want to help me. And not want anything back in return. Today was a good day. And I even scored myself a ride back to Beograd the next day. Things don’t get much better than this. I'm loving life.

Makedonija Part 8

Struga

The next day is my last morning in Lagadin. I spent 4 wonderful days there, but as much as I want to stay in this lovely house with all these like minded people, I know it's time to move on.

So I hitch a ride with a couple back to Struga. Yes, Sruga again. Because I want to see A. and J. again (fellow EVS volunteers).

Speaking of the latter, I just happen to bump into him while I was walking the streets of Struga. I didn't tell him I was arriving that day. But I guess it's a small world. Speaking of a small world, J. tells me R. from Bitola is apparently in Struga as well. So that evening I tell J. to not tell R. I'm in town, so I could surprise him. But J. just couldn't keep it to himself and ruins the surprise. But it was still great to see R. and all the other volunteers together in Struga. We reminisce over Smokies and Rakija...

Makedonija Part 3

Saturday 25 September. Skopje - Bitola. 4 hours. 2 cars. 1 van. 2 trucks.

First ride drops me off at a gas station in Skopje from where I catch my second ride, which gets me to the pay toll close to Veles. There I hop on a truck with a young dude. He is snacking away on Smokies as I get in. Throws me a pack as well. Asks for sex. I say no. He shuts up. That was easy. If only all pervs would accept my answer so easily. Drops me off at the exit to Kavadarci. There I catch a ride with a mini van. Really comfi ride. Finally a man who doesn't feel the need to talk. Or ask for sex. What a nice surprise for a change. Asking for sex thing was getting kinda old. Near Prilep I catch a ride with a trucker. Nice man. Doesn't talk much either. I like them this way. Gotta catch more of these rides.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 6

Saturday 18 September. Ulcinj-Beograd. 14 hours. 4 cars. 2 buses.

But of course I still had to make my way back to Beograd. So, I got up early, started hitching. Got a ride with two security guards who were totally cool and dropped me off in Bar. Car number two brings me a few kms further. 3rd car brings me some kms further from that point. And 4th car brings me to Podgorica. From where I catch the bus back to Beograd . I thought I’d give myself a break after all the hitching I did. And get a comfortable and relaxed ride home. Boy was I wrong. It was the most stupid decision I could have ever made. I mean, if I had taken the train, it would have left later. Given me some extra hours to roam around the capital. AND still got me home earlier. But no, I chose the longest and most uncomfortable ride home. Going through all kinds of villages and towns I didn’t need to see. And talk about winding roads. But then again, they call it Crna Gora for a reason.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 3

Friday 10 September. Zadar-Split. 1,5 hour. 1 car. 1 boat. 1 Yugo.

I wake up early this morning and hike the 8kms from Puntamika to the hh spot. The long walk along the marina was totally worth it. It was just gorgeous. Got to the bus stop. And put my sign out. 40 minutes goes by and no car stops. This is unusual. This never happened to me before. I never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a ride. At this bus stop there’s a bunch of kids sitting and laughing. Probably thinking I’ll never get a ride. I want to prove them wrong. But then their bus comes. 5 minutes later a car stops. A guy. Engineer. Works in Zadar. Lives in Split. Speaks English. Totally nice dude. Even gives me his number, in case I need some help. Drops me off at the bus station. Spent that first day in Split walking around the ‘maze’ that’s Old Town.

Then next day I had just moved to my next CS host, when I get this message from another CSer that his friend, who is a skipper, has to transfer this boat from Dubrovnik to Primosten (a town 80km north of Split). He asks if I want to join. Hell yeah, do I want to join! I mean, how often do I get an offer to sail along the beautiful coast of Croatia? So, next day I meet these 3 guys and we take the ferry to Korcula. That night we party, drink and sleep on the boat. I felt just slightly claustrophobic. Next day we wake up late. And then we finally hit the road. I mean water. It was my first time sailing. And I totally loved it. Didn’t feel seasick at all. Sunny day. Beautiful clear waters. Swam a bit. And I even steered the wheel for about 1 hour. Totally loved it. And then we got to Hvar. Gorgeous island. But one night was really all I could afford. Next day we leave for the Blue Cave. Magical. After that the rough part starts. Wild seas, winds and a lot of rocking of the boat was going on. And definitely my stomach was turning and rocking. Couldn’t wait to get to land. And when we did, their buddy from Split drove up to drive us back. So there we were. 6 people. 1 car. A Yugo. Need I say more? Just getting out of the marina was challenging. You see there was this tiny hill. But we just couldn’t seem to get pass it. Two times we tried. And failed. So we drove back 50 meters and then hit the gas pedal. Hallelujah. This time we made it. That 1,5 hour ride felt more claustrophobic than two nights sleeping in a bunk. I was a sardine. In a Yugo.

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 2

Thursday 9 September. Zagreb-Zadar. 4 hours. 2 cars. 0 pervs.

Well, that thought didn’t last long. After a few wonderful days in grey and rainy Zagreb, where I stayed with 3 totally different, but all very interesting and special in their own way Couchsurfers, exploring their city, hanging out, talking, drinking and eating, I felt much better about that first hh day. So, I thought I’d give hh another go. Took the bus out of town and walked to the toll station. Made myself a sign and stood there for like 10 minutes, when someone tapped me on my shoulders. A lady asking me if I was going to Zadar. I’m like, yeah, that’s what is says on my sign. OK, I didn’t say it in that way. Anyways, she’s like you can come with us, we’re going pass Zadar. I’m like, hell yeah, that’s a first, someone offering me a ride! So I get in this minivan with this couple. They seem decent. And even spoke some English. They tell me about their daughter who is roughly my age. Time flies by. We make a stop near Plitvice National Park, have a drink and continue. We go through a 5km long tunnel. I am tired. I want to sleep. But I can’t. I need to stay awake. Even though this couple is totally decent up until this point, I’m still a bit paranoid after that first hh experience. I want to stay awake and be aware. I hear some strange noises beside me, but I don’t dare to look. I don’t want to know what they are doing there. I just pretend I’m sleeping. I will never know whether it was my mind playing tricks on me or if something indecent was going on next to me. They drop me off just outside the city of Zadar. And I get a ride from a nice man who drops me off in Zadar center.

In Zadar I couldn’t find a couch. So, I walk into Old Town hostel and ask for availability. They say they’re fully booked. But that I should try this other hostel on the other side of town. I’m like, I will see, I’m not quite sure if I want to pay 15-20 Euros for a dorm room. So I go around and explore Zadar. Go to the ‘white steps that sing’. But it’s super crowded. So I sit somewhere else for a while. Watch people. Look at the ‘greeting to the sun’ and then when most people have left the place. I finally take my turn and make my way to the white steps. I take my shoes off, walk down the steps and as I place my foot on the last step that’s covered in water, I slip. And fall hard. On my ass. Completely drenched I stand up. Look back. People staring and laughing. I’m like, argh what the hell, I might as well go all in, which I did. Then I walk through Old Town and I find 30 Kunas lying on the ground, just waiting for me to pick it up. Which of course I did. I’m like, maybe something ‘bad’ had to happen to me first (unintentionally entertaining tourists with my not so gracious fall) and now I’m getting something good back :)

Around 22.30 I’m thinking, hmm…maybe I should think about a place to sleep. So I go to the bus stop, but decide to hitch a ride to Puntamika where this other hostel is. I haven’t even stuck my thumb out or a car stops immediately. I’m like, hey I’m getting good at this. I walk over. Turns out he was waiting for his daughter. Oh. I walk away to the next bus stop to try and hitch from there. But then the same car pulls over and says: just jump in. Which I did. Drops me off at the hostel, but on the way there I saw many houses offering rooms, so I decide to give it a try there first, hoping that I could get it cheaper there. The first two houses I go to ask 25 Euros. I’m like, maybe the hostel aint that bad after all. But I want to try another house. This one is completely dark. Either they’re sleeping or not at home. I’m not sure if I should ring the bell. But I do. An old lady in her PJs steps out. I ask if she has any room available. She says yes. 25 Euros a night. I’m like, I don’t have 25 Euros. I only have 50 Kunas (7 Euros). She starts laughing. She’s like, that’s nothing. And at this point I remember that instance with the couple that said they didn’t have space in their car for me. So I put my best puppy face on. I start begging and…it works! She lets me in. I sleep very comfortably that night :)

Hrvatska and Crna Gora Part 1

Monday 6 September. Beograd-Zagreb. 4 hours. 6 cars. 3 pervs.

Yesterday I was talking to my guy housemate who is a hitchhiker himself. I told him about my plans to hitchhike to Zagreb. He was like, yeah cool, go for it, it’s easy to hitch in the Balkans. Then I speak to my girl housemate who was like, NO DON’T DO IT, it’s dangerous, there are so many creeps out there. Hmm…who do I listen to? I am torn, but go to bed thinking I will know what to do in the morning. This morning I wake up. Late. I remember my guy housemate telling me that you should start early when hitching. So, I was like, well, I guess the train it is then. I get ready and go to the station and ask for a one way ticket to Zagreb. With student discount. 33 freaking Euros! I’m like, no way I’m paying that! It was 10.30. So, at this point I was like, should I go for it or not? Will I dare to go out there. Alone. A girl. Hitching for the first time? I was like, f* it, I’m gonna try. It takes me another two buses and 1,5 hour later I arrive at my hh point. Well, actually I got off one stop too late. In stead of getting off at the highway, I end up in the middle of the next village. To get back to the highway, I stick my thumb out for the first time that day (for the first time in my life for that matter). A car stops almost immediately. An old man. I get in. Of course he spoke no English. And I still don’t speak much Serbian. But with the little I know, we have some small talk, before I know it we’re back at the highway (it was only a 1 minute ride). Wow, that wasn’t too bad. That went quite well actually. So, I’m pumped up for the next ride. I stick my thumb out and first car stops. A red car. Another old man. And again no English. He says he can take me to the toll station. I get in. we have some chit chat. Then he starts to look and get real excited telling me how he’s never met an Asian in his life. Let alone sit so close to one. In fact, the dude is so excited, he starts making me some ludicrous offers. Asking me for my hourly rate and shit. I’m like, WTF? I pretend I don’t understand him and try to direct his hands back on the wheel and eyes back on the road. But this creep doesn’t give up. No he pulls the car over to SHOW me what he means. I’m like f* it, I’m getting outta here. So there I was in the middle of the highway, toll station still a few kilometers away. Do I go back to Beograd? Or do I continue? I mean I’m pretty shaken up by all this. But I’m like I’m not letting this weirdo ruin this for me. So I stick my thumb out again. Car number 3 stops almost instantly, but about 100 meters away. I walk towards it. An old man gets out, leans against the car. He asks: so, do you want to work for me? I’m like, no not again. Why am I getting all these sickos? I don’t even stop and walk on. Thumb out. Car 4 stops. It has a Ljubljana license plate. Yeah, I think, this dude will go far, passing Zagreb probably. And yes. He says he will go to Zagreb. I get in. Again old man. No English. But he seems decent enough. We talk some. We stop at a gas station to get some gas and he buys me a juice. We continue. We talk some more. But then I’m pretty much talked out. I mean with my limited Serbian, I can only talk that much. So an awkward silence follows. And then Mr. Decent turns into my 3rd freak for the day. Getting all touchy feely and wanting more than just my sweet smile. No, this dude wants company. I’m like NE DIRAJ ME. NE JE NE. But this a*hole apparantly forgot all his Serbian. He is quite persistent. Then I get my phone out. Pretending to dial the cops and talk on the phone (you have to know that I don’t even know the number for the cops. Let alone where I was at that point. So it wouldn’t have made much of a difference if I knew either of the above). Anyways, this pretending to be on the phone keeps him quiet. And his hands to himself. For the next half an hour or so I keep ‘talking’ on the phone. Then he slows down. He goes to the exit, I’m like, now he’s either gonna take me into the bushes and kill me there and then, or he’s gonna kick me out. Clearly it was the latter, else I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you this story. He’s like, I’m not longer going to Zagreb, since you don’t want ‘to put out’. I’m like f* you, I can’t wait to get out of this car. So there I was halfway to Zagreb in the most abandoned of gas stations. But I didn’t care at that point if and how I was going to make it to Zagreb. I was too shocked. Come on’ 3 out of 4 cars were total pervs. The kind of people my lovely girl housemate warned me about. So, I take a few minutes to myself and freshen up. I get out of the toilet and I see there’s a car parked in front. An older couple. I ask where they’re headed. They say they will pass Zagreb. I’m like, can I please get a ride. They’re like, no, we have no space. I look at the backseat and there’s indeed a huge suitcase there. But I also see some space beside it. I’m like, I don’t care, I can squeeze my bit larger than average size ass in there. They’re still like, no, no space. Then I start to look desperate with puppy eyes and all (and I was really quite desperate at this point, knowing that not many cars stopped there) and start to beg to the lady. She starts to feel sorry for me. She looks at her husband with questioning eyes. Then they say yes, jump in! Yeah! This puppy eyes thing works! The next two hours were totally awesome and comfortable. We talked some. And before I knew it, we were at the exit for Zagreb. I get off. And thumb out. 6th car stops immediately. 2 guys. Thirties. Bold. Wearing sunglasses (and it wasn’t sunny in Zagreb ). Black leather jackets and pants. They ask if I’m alone. I’m like, do you see anyone standing beside me/hiding in the bushes? They’re like, if you’re alone, then get in. I’m like, should I..? I was like, f* it, I mean after those 3 creeps this morning, these guys can’t be all that bad. A few minutes into the ride, I’m starting to think I might be wrong, as they take a sharp left turn. “I just need to drop my friend here off at this warehouse, cause his car is parked here”, says the driver. I’m like, OK… Then we return to the main road. A few minutes later he takes another sharp turn to the right. He’s like, “actually I have to drop this car we’re driving in off, cause it’s a company car. But no worries, we’ll go to my car and I’ll drop you off in the center.” I’m like, OK…So we walk to his car and I’m like, I have a choice now. I can thank him for the ride and just leave. Or I can walk with him to his car and get in. As we approach his car, I look at his backseat. There’s a baby seat. I’m like, this dude has a kid. He can’t be all that bad. And he wasn’t. He was totally cool. Spoke English and delivered me in one piece at Zagreb’s main square. There, I sit down. And for the next half an hour or so all I do is just sit. Breathe. Look at the sky. The people. And basically just appreciating being here. Being alive. Having made it to Zagreb. Despite the many rides and a perv or two/three, I managed to get here quite quickly. It only took me a bit over 4 hours. Not bad at all for a first timer. But I say to myself: I’ll never hh again ;)

What are the odds?

So, I was on my way back from Peja, Kosovo and I get stopped at the border. Turned out I was reaching my max of 90 day stay in Serbia. Next day, out of all the places I could go to (Timisoara and Osijek were some of the options) I get sent to Vukovar, Croatia because, well, why not?

In the bus to Osijek, I am starting to get nervous once we approach the border... Just give me a stamp already! But Serbia doesn't stamp me... Luckily Croatia does. But the stamp is so vague - nobody else could read it except for the guard who stamped it ("You see, you just have to flip your pasoš upside down and there you go"). I asked some fellow passenger if he could read the date and he looked puzzled. That's not a good sign. But the guard assures me that on the way back, his colleague will stamp it again, so I shouldn't have any problems... I get back on the bus, not feeling too sure, but well, the guard didn't want to stamp it a second time, even though I practically begged him, so what else could I do?

Back in the bus I start a conversation with this fellow passenger who helped me translate (because yeah, my Serbian still sucks). Conversation was good. So good so, that when we reach Vukovar I had to literally jump out of the bus, because we were so into it. As the bus drives away and I look up, I see it's gonna start to rain any second. I reach for my umbrella. Too bad I left it on the bus.

I check the return times of the bus and there's one at 14.00 and another one at 18.00. I decide to take the latter one, since well, I'm already here, why not explore this exciting town. I walk along the river and I hike up the hill to the church. Then I get a text message from this couchsurfer I contacted the night before. I didn't expect to hear back from this person, since well, my request was very last minute, but I gave it a try anyways and I only had enough time to contact this one couchsurfer.

So, the couchsurfer meets me at this church and the moment he walks up I'm thinking, this dude looks familiar... But I figured it was just because I recognize his face from the profile picture. We start walking and talking... And then we realize we were in the same city, in the same hotel, attending a similar training the week before! He remembered seeing me and I get an "Aha!" moment - this is why he looked so familiar. But we didn't talk then, no, first I had to get stopped at the Kosovo-Serbia border, then I had to travel to this random place on a whim, contact the first couchsurfer that showed up on the search - then we talked. And it turns out to be somebody I should have met a week ago! If that wasn't enough, we run into some of his friends on the streets (because well, Vukovar ain't that big, in case you didn't know) and turns out his friend and I have some common friends in Croatia, Serbia and Belgium! Don't tell me that this ain't a small world after all! I don't normally believe in coincidences, but this was one hell of a coincidence.

So, just before six this couchsurfer walks me back to the bus and we have some small talk in front of the bus, I look back at the bus and recognize the driver - same dude from this morning and he obviously remembers me as well as he makes this frantic 'stamping' hand movements. Yeah, I am that silly girl who begged for the guard to stamp me again.

I say my goodbyes to the couchsurfer and get back on the bus thinking, hmm...the driver is the same, so maybe the bus is the same. I look for my umbrella, but didn't find it. Then the driver walks up to me... with my umbrella :)

As soon as I sit down two dudes start talking to me, turns out they just came back from Osijek from some tennis tournament. One is a tennis player (he says he is the next Djokovic) and the other one is his personal trainer... We have some chit chat - they try to convince me they are twin brothers (one is tall, blond and blue eyes, and the other, well, let's just say the exact opposite ;)) and insist on taking me out for a drink. I guess you can say these are players alright ;)

Back in Belgrade, I sneek out of the bus before the players wake up from their beauty sleep and I think to myself: what a random day this turned out to be.

PS. Oh on the way back at the Croatian border - same guard from the morning.
PPS. And yeah, the stamp was really vague again.
PPPS. But this time he stamped me twice.
PPPPS. And I didn't even have to beg for it ;)

Californian Menu

Not so long ago MEC participated in the workshop "Animate It!" in Peja, Kosovo. It was part of the Anibar 2010 festival. The city was lovely - the mountain views were to die for. I could wake up admiring that view every single day. But there was something else that was to die for: the menu at restaurant California.

You see, you never got what you ordered, so you never knew what you would get. After a little while though, Vid, Maciek, Elena and I figured out the 'code':

Parmesan cheese = red chili sauce
Grilled salmon = poached white fish
Spaghetti Bolona = spaghetti Carbonara
Eurokrem = strawberry marmelade
Ice tea = hot tea

Unfortunately we never figured out what to order to get the things we wanted... And that was only the food we ordered. Imagine what other surprises the menu has in store :)

Goodbye Bosnia and Herzegovina...

The past three weeks I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina. First I was 8 days in Kljuc for a Partner Building Activity, then I spent 10 days in Mostar for a youth exchange. Both places will always have a special place in my heart.

In Kljuc there were participants from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia among others. The group bonded almost immediately. Over music. We had a musician amongst us and we would grab any free moment to sing our hearts out. "Zombie" from The Cranberries became our signature tune. Oh, and besides all the singing, we also tried to do some partner building :)

The NGO from Bosnia liked me so much that they invited me to join the youth exchange on "One Europe but Different Families" in Mostar. So, I did. I have no words to describe Mostar, but I'll give it a go. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

- I felt like I walked into a fairytale. The Old Bridge and the smaragd green river...simply magical.

The method used in this exchange was theatre and the play central to this exchange was Antigone. All week, we discussed about the differences in families in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Germany, Montenegro and Serbia. Although I am far from an actor (heck, the thought of being on stage in front of people, scares me more than spiders do and believe me spiders scare me A WHOLE LOT) I decided to give it my all. We actually performed our final play outside. IN PUBLIC! Near the Old Bridge...The passers by looked confused. Who were all these strangely dressed people speaking in English running around, dancing, jumping, falling down and yelling all over Mostar? But, hey I had the time of my life. I forgot about all my inhibitions and just let it go...But thank god, there is no video footage of it - even though I am not ashamed of what I did, I think some things better remain unseen.

- What happened in Mostar, stays in Mostar ;)

Creating Creative European Citizens

That's the name of the training I attended in Becej this past week. As the name suggests - the goal was to come out of this training a (more) creative European citizen.

- Being an European Citizen means being active and aware of the issues and think and behave like an European rather than a Dutch or Fin for example.

There were 21 of us from Serbia, Macedonia, Finland, Turkey, Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Scotland and The Netherlands.
It was a mixed group - varying from age and background, but despite the differences (or because of it) we all got along well. The days were filled with playing team building games and discussions. Playing these games was an integral part of the training, since it's a huge part of becoming a more creative person. The ones I'll remember and take with me?

- "Maffia"...and "Woosh"

In the evenings we would continue to bond over drinks and music.

As it always happens on a free day - the weather sucked! All week the weather was great - sunny and comfortable. But on our day trip to Novi Sad - WHAM it started snowing...and then there was this really chilly wind...So, our day in the city was basically spent inside a coffee bar...where the waiter kept topping up my topla cokolada :)

The last two days were spent creating innovating projects. I worked together with participants from Serbia, Italy and Spain. We had many ideas and it was actually quite hard to choose one to work on for now. In the end we decided to develop a project on social networking sites.

I don't know if I came out of the course a creative European citizen.

- But I guess the fact that we had so many ideas, says enough.

Other than the project ideas a few other things were created: partnerships and friendships. All by all, not bad for a week's hard work in Becej :)

Smitten with Sarajevo :)

Yes I am guilty - guilty for having completely fallen in love with Sarajevo.

Having spent nearly two weeks in the city, I have gotten a pretty good feel of the place and its people. I had a tour of the city with a local, who told me about his experiences during the war. I met his family, who despite all the hardship seems happier than ever. They have been married for 30 years and still seem very much in love. It made me happy to see these two so happy with eachother. And it was actually something I saw all around me - people seemed content and just wanted to live and enjoy their life. Besides the people, I fell in love with the scenery. Yes, the evidence of the war was still clearly visible and admittedly rather confronting, but when I looked past that, I saw beauty in each and every corner of the city.

The On Arrival Training for EVS volunteers was an opportunity to meet other volunteers dealing with similar questions and going through the same emotions. It was reassuring to hear their experiences - it aint that bad after all at the MEC ;)

I expected a week filled with icebreakers, games, sharing experiences, lots of heartfelt confessions and...that's exactly what I got :)

From now on, every time someone says 'toaster' I will think of Maciek jumping up and down rather than that electrical equipment for toasting bread :) And 'washing machine' brings images of Lael moving around in rather strange circular motions ;)

The training provided a lot of food for thought, but that's what I expected from the beginning. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with the city, but I guess it was inevitable. I couldn't resist Sarajevo's allure :)

Creative in Croatia

To all my loyal readers out there ( yeah all 3 of you ;) ) It’s time for an update again! Make a note on your agenda to always check this blog on Sundays – cause that’s my day :)

Andrea and I have just returned from a very interesting, but intensive training course: “IYI – Improving Quality of International Youth Projects” funded by EACEA, a Youth in Action programme. It took place in Osijek Croatia from 10 -18 January. The trainer was the lovely Danijela Lovric – a strong woman with a ‘can do’ and ‘no bullshit’ attitude. She knows what she wants and how to get it – I truly admire that in a person. Danijela is the founder of youth centre for non-formal education CnC – which stands for Creators not Consumers. The organization is run by a group of just as inspiring people: Sonja, Kristina, Goran and Nemanja. All of them welcomed me with open arms to their city and youth club. And what a youth club it is!

I don’t think I have ever seen a youth club with such a cool chill out area: several couches, home cinema ( well a projector with space for playing movies :) ) pool table, football table, board games etc. Next to that there is a bar/kitchen area where people can refuel. Moving on to the computer room, where I could count at least 10 computers for the youngsters to use. On top of that there is the office, where all the magic happens :) And I haven’t even started to talk about the location yet: just a few minutes away from the river – what more can the kids ask for? This place is so incredibly inviting, it just makes you want to go there. In fact, if I were one of the kids, CnC would have trouble kicking me out ;) as I would be hanging out there everyday ( actually, I think they do ;) )

The training course itself was held at Hotel Mursa, 10 minutes away from the bus and train stations. It was a 2** hotel, and although the rating might suggest otherwise – it was actually a really nice hotel with friendly staff. Andrea and I shared a room on the 6th floor with a view to kill ( well, it may have been a view to kill – we just wouldn’t know, since it was foggy most times ;) )

The participants at the training came from a variety of countries including Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Latvia and from Croatia itself. We were not the only Serbians at the training – there was another group, ‘In Stage’, who is based in Belgrade as well. And there were a few people from Kosovo. Miomir told Andrea he really wanted to find a partner in Kosovo – well, I think I may have just found him one: Ellen, who is from an environmental organization. She showed a lot of interest in the project that I am currently writing and has said that she would love to collaborate with me.

The week started with icebreakers so we could get to know eachother a bit better. It included name and storytelling games. The latter meant we had to find a creative way to fill out the missing information in an unfinished story and perform it to the rest. This resulted in very imaginative performances. Good thing they didn’t tape it ;)

Day 2 was filled with presentations from ’special guests’ and other important people. The media was even there and Andrea and I got our 5 minutes of fame thanks to our appearance on TV (though we didn’t see it) and picture in the news paper (which reminds me that I forgot to bring a copy. Sorry). Later on in the day we played ‘Mission Impossible’ where we had to write a project from scratch in 60 minutes. The title of this game was appropriate, since it was indeed impossible to achieve such a huge undertaking. We all learnt this lesson and that was the point of the game. In the evening we had an ‘Intercultural Evening’ where all the participants represented their countries with food and alcohol – and there was definitely A LOT of the latter. In fact, that’s all what the Macedonians brought ;) But you didn’t hear me complaining ;) We ate, drank, talked and danced the night away…

Day 3’s programme consisted of Public Relations and Marketing workshops. The first activity we had to do was to create a poster for our organizations. There were a few groups whose posters resembled….well something a 4 year old child could have done better ;) I think the feedback read: ‘Nice job…for a child’. These were obviously the people who had a little bit too much fun the night before ;)

Since energy was low Danijela improvised and gave us a role play activity where we became superheroes! The instructions included having to travel through time at least three times in order to prevent some ‘bad’ thing from happening. However, by traveling back in time and changing something each time, this had consequences for the future in a negative way, so then the superheroes would have to travel back in time again to……you still following me? Well, I don’t blame you – they lost me at ‘Instructions:’ ;) But credits to Danijela for the quick thinking and improvisation – cause we all needed it and it boosted the overall morale :)

Day 4 started serious (we had to do SWOT analysis’ of our organizations) and ended in a gigantic role playing game where we represented Media, Disadvantaged Youth, Elderly, EVS, Parents, Street Youth, Business, Municipality and NGO. The goal was to have a positive chain reaction. And I think we managed to do that – since this will probably be the one activity we all will remember :)

Day 5 gave us the chance to discover Osijek. Besides visiting CnC’s youth centre (as mentioned above), we visited a nature park and a vineyard, where we tasted a wine…or two ;)

The last few days were dedicated for project writing. My project is called ILE* *I Love Earth and it combines the themes of Media and Environment. The goal was to start writing the project at the training, but finish it when we returned home and submit it for the February 1st deadline…

And that brings me back to the here and now. Housemates: you probably won’t see much of me the coming week, since I will be pulling all-nighters trying to finish writing my first project ;) Just kidding, but I am taking this very seriously, since the training course – and Danijela in particular – really inspired me to write my own project. Without her encouragement I probably wouldn’t have started it – so thank you Danijela for a very rewarding week :)