Ziveli!

This means "cheers" in Serbian. I have never said this word more times in my life than I did last night. My cousin Sasha and his friends took me out last night. We started at a local bar....the term "bar" is pretty loose here. Most places serve espresso and liqour...and people drink them both at all hours of the day. We drank Nektar, it's a local beer from Banja Luka. It's their Budwieser...and it's not all that bad....and less than $2 a bottle. After listening to Serbian folk music at the first bar, we went to the next place...I would describe it more like a dance club...except that no one danced. Their cheap beer was Heineken...i don't care for this beer all that much when I'm in the states and it was just my luck that people kept ordering us rounds of it. I've never drank so much Heienken in my life. The owner sent us a round and then people kept stopping by and buying us more...it never ended. All in all, it was a really good night. Sasha's friends spoke good english and we got to listen to Serbian pop and some American hip hop. I am definately recovering today, though:)

The first two days in Banja Luka were pretty slow. My baka didn't want me to leave the apartment so I just read a lot and watched american TV and CNN. My cousin Sasha took me out on Tuesday night and it was great to finally be outside. Banja luka has about 250,000 people and is very easy to navigate.

On wednesday we took a drive to Sanski Most. This is where my grandpa (deda) was born. His family's land was all taken away from him with force and all their homes were destroyed. It is truly a beautiful place and it was very sad to see what used to be his and his brother's. We also saw the grave for my deda's mother. There were other people listed on the headstone as well, including his sister, his father, and two of his brothers. Unfortunately, their bodies were never recovered after the war. This is a place for the family to come and visit and pay respect.

After that, we went to a Monestery. It was really neat to visit this church and talk with a Serbian Monk. He gave us bracelets and a keychain.

Then we had lunch in Prijedor...My cousin Vojo lives there and he hosted us. After an amazing lunch...and taking a few shots of their Rakije...serbian whiskey...he pulled out his guitar and played for us. He sang songs to me from The Eagles and Guns and Roses and then he sang traditional serbian music. It was really fun and I hope I get to hear him and his guitar again.

My cousin Rada makes the best Serbian food. For breakfast today she made Cheese Pita. I've never had it so good and it tasted great after a night of drinking Pivo (beer). Last night she whipped up a dessert consisting of sugar, eggs and vanilla. I don't know how she did it, but it was amazing. If you want to taste the best serbian food, then come to my cousin Rada's.

Well, my time has run out again. I better be going. It's lunch time and I can't wait to taste what Rada has cooked up today.

Take care.

Ciao!
Anna