This is how we would like to get to the beach...or it was until our friend Kirk "rented" a donkey. Basically he took his donkey driving test, got yelled at by a british woman, the donkey bucked and his ride was over. We have seen camel's at the beach and would really like to ride them, but the locals aren't really feeling it. What can you do?
We have spent the last few days on the beach. On Sunday we got started late and didn't want to hike it to the Shaila beach that is 45 minutes away. We walked to what we now refer to as "Surprise Beach." This beach acquired it's name after various objects floated past us, including: a plank, a shoe, and a water bottle. Surprise! We did have a really good time throwing around the frisbee and made sure to take showers as soon as we got back to our tree house.
The next day, Kirk and Brian went on a fishing trip while the 5 Nebraskan's went to Shaila beach. It was a 45 minute walk, but so worth it. This is why people love it here. Warm sand, cool water, and men that walk by with water and Samosas. The boys sailed by us on their way back to land and picked us up. I captained the sails and we made it back to the city where we cleaned the fish. Well, I didn't clean the fish...I made sure that I was not anywhere near that. Later that night we enjoyed fresh fish and chips. It was really good until stray cats invited themselves in. That was interesting. So far we have done a good job of keeping them out of the house...though every once in while we find little lizards hanging out.
Yesterday was very similar. We went shopping in the morning and a few of us got shirts made and found lots of great fabric. Kirk went on his donkey adventure, and then a few of us found a motor boat to drive us to Shaila beach. When we got to the beach, we found Kirk 4 Bloody Mary's deep and being very classy. We enjoyed a cocktail and then hit up the beach. After a while we found a boat to sail us back to town where we showered and ate some local food at Olympic Restaurant, Lonely Plant's pick for the best Lamu food. I wasn't impressed with the food but had coconut juice that I think might be my new favorite...right behind the passion fruit and mango juice.
The sun rises before 6 and we wake up shortly after. This morning we walked around the quiet streets and took pictures, tried some donuts and then had breakfast. It was a very classy meal and so far it has been my favorite. A few people are back at the house (which is also recommended by Lonely Planet as the "coolest place to stay in Lamu") cleaning prawns for dinner. I think we will spend the afternoon at the beach again.
Today we were planning on going on a dhow trip. This used to consist of a sail boat, fishing, snorkeling, and a beach barbecue all for about $15 a person. Lamu sailors have since formed a union and these cheap prices no longer exist....nor do many of these trips. I was really looking forward to snorkeling, but I think I can handle some more time on the beach. We leave the day after tomorrow for Nairobi and will be the Nyahururu village on the 12th, this is Kenya's independence day. I don't think they celebrate it with fireworks, but we hear it's really neat and I am looking forward to experiencing it.
It's getting a little hot for my liking in this internet cafe. I think I'm going to head back to our tree house. Sorry for all the Nebraska snow. I don't envy you at all.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Island Life
After about 16 hours in two different busses and a boat ride, we made it to Lamu! I'll get to the island in a bit, but I want to give a play by play account of our last few days.
We loaded onto a bus Nairobi at 10 pm on Thursday night. This 10 pm bus left at 11. After driving for about 5 minutes we were stopped by Kenyan Police and told to evacuate the bus with all of our belongs, put into lines and scanned with hand held metal detectors. What a way to start an evening! The bus ride lasted through the evening with one bathroom stop (which I don't want to think about) and dropped us off in Mombasa at 6:30 am. We were picked up by William, a Tuk Tuk driver (which is a interesting open air taxi) and taken to buy bus tickets. Once we had our 8 am departure time, we were joined by the rest of our travelers. Austin and Sarah! and their Peace Corps friends, Bryan and Kirk...all serving the PC in Malawi.
After about 20 minutes of arguing with bus officials about being able to sit together, we left Mombasa. The 6 hour bus ride lasted 8 and was packed. Standing room only. It was hot and a few of us have burns on our arms from sitting in the window seats. The bus stopped every few hour to pick more people up. When the bus would make stops, villagers would come up to the windows and sell water and different foods. I passed on the homemade Samosas but did enjoy being called "Madame."
The first 4 hours of the ride were on a semi-paved road, the last 3 were on a road that was not paved at all. Imagine riding a school bus on the bumpiest road you've ever been on...now imagine riding that HOT bus for 3 hours. Needless to say, it was a long, sweaty day.
The landscape on the ride was incredible. So lush and green. Many, many hut villages were passed the way. Even when it was hot and we were tired, I smiled and thought, "I'm in Africa." The smile dissapeared when we drove past refugee camps. These people were displaced during the Kenyan election of 2007.
We got off the bus and hopped on the island shuttle and after 30 minutes, arrived at our final destination. This is Jill's 5th time on the island and let me tell you....she's kind of a big deal, people know her. She sent a text to a friend and there were 3 people awaiting our arrival. They took our bags and led us to this amazing house. After a quick tour, we decided that we had to stay there. It's kind of like a really funky tree house. There is sleeping room for 8, a kitchen, dining room, two showers, and an amazing view of the ocean...all for less than $10 a day. It's incredible. We gave our host some money and went to the market to buy us beer and water...because, really, when you're on an island, do you need anything else?
After showering and feeling like "a million Kenyan Shillings" we went to Jill's favorite restuarant called Hapa Hapa. In Swahili this means, Here! Here! We had a great dinner. With all the traveling, the girls from NE had only had 1 meal and our 2nd meal was much overdue.
We spent our night watching the moon come up over the water (we're right on the equator and even though we get 12 hours of sunlight, the sun sets around 6 pm), and enjoying some breeze in our home's Penthouse. Not really a penthouse, but it's an openair bedroom with a nice breeze and ocean view. Actually our entire place is open air. It's safe, amazing, comfortable and I can't believe we can stay somewhere for so cheap.
We haven't seen much of Lamu yet. A few things about Lamu: There are no cars, donkeys do all the hauling/transporting and we will defintely ride one at some point. Most of the people here are Muslim and we have already experienced waking up before 5 am to hear their prayer. People are very nice and kind here and it's really relaxed. They call it "African Time" because there really isn't a schedule.
It's so great to see Austin and Sarah....or as the people in their Malawi village call them, Austella! Their PC friends are also a lot of fun and this made the bus ride a little more bearable. Our plans are pretty loose right now. We have an idea of what we want to do, but after all that traveling, all we want to do is relax in our house.
The weather here is really hot and humid. It's hard to adjust coming from an Omaha winter. We are getting used to being shiny and and sticky. I'll take this any day over snow.
I think I'm going to join the team back at the house. They are a few Tusker's ahead of me (that's Kenya's brew) and I better catch up.
We loaded onto a bus Nairobi at 10 pm on Thursday night. This 10 pm bus left at 11. After driving for about 5 minutes we were stopped by Kenyan Police and told to evacuate the bus with all of our belongs, put into lines and scanned with hand held metal detectors. What a way to start an evening! The bus ride lasted through the evening with one bathroom stop (which I don't want to think about) and dropped us off in Mombasa at 6:30 am. We were picked up by William, a Tuk Tuk driver (which is a interesting open air taxi) and taken to buy bus tickets. Once we had our 8 am departure time, we were joined by the rest of our travelers. Austin and Sarah! and their Peace Corps friends, Bryan and Kirk...all serving the PC in Malawi.
After about 20 minutes of arguing with bus officials about being able to sit together, we left Mombasa. The 6 hour bus ride lasted 8 and was packed. Standing room only. It was hot and a few of us have burns on our arms from sitting in the window seats. The bus stopped every few hour to pick more people up. When the bus would make stops, villagers would come up to the windows and sell water and different foods. I passed on the homemade Samosas but did enjoy being called "Madame."
The first 4 hours of the ride were on a semi-paved road, the last 3 were on a road that was not paved at all. Imagine riding a school bus on the bumpiest road you've ever been on...now imagine riding that HOT bus for 3 hours. Needless to say, it was a long, sweaty day.
The landscape on the ride was incredible. So lush and green. Many, many hut villages were passed the way. Even when it was hot and we were tired, I smiled and thought, "I'm in Africa." The smile dissapeared when we drove past refugee camps. These people were displaced during the Kenyan election of 2007.
We got off the bus and hopped on the island shuttle and after 30 minutes, arrived at our final destination. This is Jill's 5th time on the island and let me tell you....she's kind of a big deal, people know her. She sent a text to a friend and there were 3 people awaiting our arrival. They took our bags and led us to this amazing house. After a quick tour, we decided that we had to stay there. It's kind of like a really funky tree house. There is sleeping room for 8, a kitchen, dining room, two showers, and an amazing view of the ocean...all for less than $10 a day. It's incredible. We gave our host some money and went to the market to buy us beer and water...because, really, when you're on an island, do you need anything else?
After showering and feeling like "a million Kenyan Shillings" we went to Jill's favorite restuarant called Hapa Hapa. In Swahili this means, Here! Here! We had a great dinner. With all the traveling, the girls from NE had only had 1 meal and our 2nd meal was much overdue.
We spent our night watching the moon come up over the water (we're right on the equator and even though we get 12 hours of sunlight, the sun sets around 6 pm), and enjoying some breeze in our home's Penthouse. Not really a penthouse, but it's an openair bedroom with a nice breeze and ocean view. Actually our entire place is open air. It's safe, amazing, comfortable and I can't believe we can stay somewhere for so cheap.
We haven't seen much of Lamu yet. A few things about Lamu: There are no cars, donkeys do all the hauling/transporting and we will defintely ride one at some point. Most of the people here are Muslim and we have already experienced waking up before 5 am to hear their prayer. People are very nice and kind here and it's really relaxed. They call it "African Time" because there really isn't a schedule.
It's so great to see Austin and Sarah....or as the people in their Malawi village call them, Austella! Their PC friends are also a lot of fun and this made the bus ride a little more bearable. Our plans are pretty loose right now. We have an idea of what we want to do, but after all that traveling, all we want to do is relax in our house.
The weather here is really hot and humid. It's hard to adjust coming from an Omaha winter. We are getting used to being shiny and and sticky. I'll take this any day over snow.
I think I'm going to join the team back at the house. They are a few Tusker's ahead of me (that's Kenya's brew) and I better catch up.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Go Team!
Three tired ladies made it to Nairobi last night at 8:30. An hour later we had our luggage and made it out of Nairobi's airport...which felt more like a zoo. Issac picked us up and we had a very comfortable ride to our hostel where, on the way, we saw a lot, including ladies of the night, and Kibiri, one of the world's largest slums. That was a first for me.
One of our themes for the trip is figuring out our Team name for the day. This is after we ran into Team Family and Team Super Family. Two families (one a family of 4 and one a family of 9!). These families are packing up and moving to Kenya...not sure why, but we were happy that we were traveling solo and not with babies. Yesterday were Team One More Time, Team No, We're Not Having Children, and right now we are Team Damp...it's pouring here.
It was a big day of firsts: first hostel experience, first time in Africa/Southern Hemisphere, and the first time of many that we will be sleeping with mostquito netting. Not too bad so far, we are just having a hard time to adjusting to the time. It's 9 hours earlier here.
I took some Tylenol PM, put my earplugs in, grabbed my eye mask and slept for 8 hours and it felt awesome. After a shower and checking out of the hostel, Issac picked us up and took us to his Safari office where we will hang out today. Another first...we saw a man get accosted with a shoe for trying to steal from someone's car. That was interesting way to start the day.
Tonight we take an overnight bus to Mombasa where we will meet up with Austin and Sarah and then make our way to Lamu. It's a 10 hour overnight bus ride and then another bus ride, and then a ferry to Lamu Island. After all this traveling, I'm ready for the beach.
Even though it's raining and we had what Kenyan's call a FREE SHOWER, we are not feeling as clean as we did this morning after our hostel showers. We better get used to being dirty.
Well, it's Jill's turn to update her blog. Check it out at: www.mzungujill.blogspot.com She is going to talk about Kristal's rabit/cat ...crabbit experience.
Kwaheri (goodbye in Swahili)
One of our themes for the trip is figuring out our Team name for the day. This is after we ran into Team Family and Team Super Family. Two families (one a family of 4 and one a family of 9!). These families are packing up and moving to Kenya...not sure why, but we were happy that we were traveling solo and not with babies. Yesterday were Team One More Time, Team No, We're Not Having Children, and right now we are Team Damp...it's pouring here.
It was a big day of firsts: first hostel experience, first time in Africa/Southern Hemisphere, and the first time of many that we will be sleeping with mostquito netting. Not too bad so far, we are just having a hard time to adjusting to the time. It's 9 hours earlier here.
I took some Tylenol PM, put my earplugs in, grabbed my eye mask and slept for 8 hours and it felt awesome. After a shower and checking out of the hostel, Issac picked us up and took us to his Safari office where we will hang out today. Another first...we saw a man get accosted with a shoe for trying to steal from someone's car. That was interesting way to start the day.
Tonight we take an overnight bus to Mombasa where we will meet up with Austin and Sarah and then make our way to Lamu. It's a 10 hour overnight bus ride and then another bus ride, and then a ferry to Lamu Island. After all this traveling, I'm ready for the beach.
Even though it's raining and we had what Kenyan's call a FREE SHOWER, we are not feeling as clean as we did this morning after our hostel showers. We better get used to being dirty.
Well, it's Jill's turn to update her blog. Check it out at: www.mzungujill.blogspot.com She is going to talk about Kristal's rabit/cat ...crabbit experience.
Kwaheri (goodbye in Swahili)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Jambo!
My next trip is taking me to Kenya and "Jambo" is how you say "Hello" in Swahili. My 4 week adventure starts tomorrow, December 1st, and will bring me back home on the 29th.
People are curious as to why I'm going and who I am going with; most people assume it's some kind of mission trip. It's more of an African Holiday on a budget, but I'll explain: I'm traveling with Jill Francke and Kristal Flaming. This will be Jill's 4th visit to Africa, and Kristal's and my first. This past june, I overheard Jill and Kristal discussing their Kenya plans, I then asked if they needed a third person. Lucky for me, these girls are awesome. And that is how this trip got started. At least that's how it got started on my end.
Jill has developed a strong relationship with members of a community in Ol'Nagura that is outside of Nyahururu. (she and our friend Jake have also started their own nonprofit there, but that's for another blog post). We will be staying with Jill's friends, Iassac and Joyce. We will be spending the majority of our time in the village hanging out and helping out as we are needed. We also have good friends, Austin and Sarah Pedersen that are volunteering with the Peace Corps in Malawi and they will be traveling north to spend the entire 4 weeks with us.
We will fly into Nairobi on Wednesday night, hopefully not being too jet lagged and then falling right asleep in our hostel. After a day or two, we will take an overnight bus to Mombassa (on the coast), and then one more bus to Lamu (an island) where we will meet with Austin and Sarah and spend 10 days hanging out in a rental house and enjoying the beach. I'm hoping we will put our frisbee to good use on the sand. After we have our fill of Lamu we are going to go back to Nairobi and then to the village to stay with Iassac and Joyce for the remainder of the trip. At some point, we will be going on a safari. Iassac owns his own safari company and I'm so excited to see all the animals that an American can only find in a zoo.
My Kenyan visa came and I've gotten all the recommended vaccines, and even a few extra, just in case. As long as I remember to take my malaria pills everyday, then I should be fine. Mosquitos aren't too bothersome at this time of year. It's Kenya's summer and it's hot and dry right now. I've done my best to pack as light as I can and only taking the necessary items. I'm sure that I have overpacked a bit, but I'm feeling very prepared for whatever Kenya throws at me.
I've had great resources to talk to when it came to trip preparations. Three of my friends went this past summer on a trip with a similar itinerary, their advice has been invaluable and I want to give a shout out to Miss Megan Hershiser for being awesome and answering all my questions.
Oh, and I packed 4 days in advance for this trip and it has made such a difference. Usually, I pack the day before and stress and overpack. I'm definitely doing this more often.
I'm so excited about this trip. I don't know what to expect, but I know good things are going to come of this visit.
Well, there are last minute things I must attend to. Like making sure all my liquids are in ziploc bags.
I'm happy to say that the next time I post, I will be in Nairobi!
Lala Salama! (goodnight)
People are curious as to why I'm going and who I am going with; most people assume it's some kind of mission trip. It's more of an African Holiday on a budget, but I'll explain: I'm traveling with Jill Francke and Kristal Flaming. This will be Jill's 4th visit to Africa, and Kristal's and my first. This past june, I overheard Jill and Kristal discussing their Kenya plans, I then asked if they needed a third person. Lucky for me, these girls are awesome. And that is how this trip got started. At least that's how it got started on my end.
Jill has developed a strong relationship with members of a community in Ol'Nagura that is outside of Nyahururu. (she and our friend Jake have also started their own nonprofit there, but that's for another blog post). We will be staying with Jill's friends, Iassac and Joyce. We will be spending the majority of our time in the village hanging out and helping out as we are needed. We also have good friends, Austin and Sarah Pedersen that are volunteering with the Peace Corps in Malawi and they will be traveling north to spend the entire 4 weeks with us.
We will fly into Nairobi on Wednesday night, hopefully not being too jet lagged and then falling right asleep in our hostel. After a day or two, we will take an overnight bus to Mombassa (on the coast), and then one more bus to Lamu (an island) where we will meet with Austin and Sarah and spend 10 days hanging out in a rental house and enjoying the beach. I'm hoping we will put our frisbee to good use on the sand. After we have our fill of Lamu we are going to go back to Nairobi and then to the village to stay with Iassac and Joyce for the remainder of the trip. At some point, we will be going on a safari. Iassac owns his own safari company and I'm so excited to see all the animals that an American can only find in a zoo.
My Kenyan visa came and I've gotten all the recommended vaccines, and even a few extra, just in case. As long as I remember to take my malaria pills everyday, then I should be fine. Mosquitos aren't too bothersome at this time of year. It's Kenya's summer and it's hot and dry right now. I've done my best to pack as light as I can and only taking the necessary items. I'm sure that I have overpacked a bit, but I'm feeling very prepared for whatever Kenya throws at me.
I've had great resources to talk to when it came to trip preparations. Three of my friends went this past summer on a trip with a similar itinerary, their advice has been invaluable and I want to give a shout out to Miss Megan Hershiser for being awesome and answering all my questions.
Oh, and I packed 4 days in advance for this trip and it has made such a difference. Usually, I pack the day before and stress and overpack. I'm definitely doing this more often.
I'm so excited about this trip. I don't know what to expect, but I know good things are going to come of this visit.
Well, there are last minute things I must attend to. Like making sure all my liquids are in ziploc bags.
I'm happy to say that the next time I post, I will be in Nairobi!
Lala Salama! (goodnight)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Dovidenja!
That is "goodbye" in Serbian. This will be my last post from Beograd. My baka and I leave on Tuesday afternoon and I'm not looking forward to it. I have been crossing my fingers that she changes her mind and extends the trip, but I don't think that is going to happen.
The last two days have been really busy. I met with Ana yesterday (saturday) and she took me to some of Serbia's markets. While I did find some great things, I was hoping that the markets would be similar to others that I have been to in the US with hand made crafts and unique gifts.
After the open market, we went to the Chinese market. I don't think it will be on my list for my next visit, but I was glad to have went. Ana wears a pair of pants that I adore and she told me that I could buy whatever colors I wanted in the market. Turns out that particular style of pants is so popular that they are all sold out. Oh well, it was definately an experience that I won't soon forget.
We made it home just in time to get ready for dinner. Boshko was playing at a nice restaurant downtown and we were going to spend the evening there. We all got dressed up and ventured downtown, Yovanna and Bojan joined us shortly after along with two other family friends. I started the night drinking a few shots of slivovitca while everyone drank rakije. One of the family friends kept ordering bottles of wine so we never went thirsty.
While I was inpressed with the appetizers and the ambiance of the place, the main course left a lot to be disired; I was glad that I shared my meal with baka. Boshko and his two friends played all night and we all had a great time. Boshko even played a song for my mom, Tamo Dileko. Boshko comes off as pretty tough, but at one point he struggled to keep the beat with the rest of the musicians as a very polite gentleman introduced himself to me and paid me one of the best compliments I've ever recieved. It was nice to know that Boshko was looking out for me.
We got to bed late and then awoke a few hours later to get ready for our day in Novi Sad. Ana and I left the house and drove to Novi Beograd (new Beograd) to pick up her sister and then we drove 1.5 hours to Novi Sad. Well, we made a quick stop at a monastery near Novi Sad first. I can't remember the name, but it was beautiful. Ana told one of the monks that my deda was a Priest along with the fact that some of my cousins were baptized there. This was enough to warrent a private tour of a small church that is only used in the winter. It was beautifully painted and I really appreciated getting to go "behind the scenes."
We then got back in the car and drove to Novi Sad. It is a small city, about 250,000 and hosts the EXIT music festival every summer. My Lonely Planet book describes it as "Beograd on Valium," because it is so relaxed. I agree. The city was so beautiful and no one was in a hurry. Ana took us around the City Center and we walked along pedestrian streets, into different cafe's and into churches where I saw the first of 3 weddings for the day (no kidding). The second wedding was taking pictures in a local park and the third one was in the next city we visited.
After having 2 iced Nescafes we continuted walking for a bit, had some lunch and, according to Ana, had "Novi Sad's best ice cream. We then got in the car and headed to Sremski Karlovici.
Sremski Karlovici is a very small city but has both the oldest Orthodox Thological School and the oldest high school in Serbia. We visited the City Center and walked around. We were lucky enough to see a third wedding just ending. The best man was throwing coin money around and Ana had us each pick up a coin as it is a symbol of good luck in Serbia. We also picked up a few Hungarian pastries at a local market and then headed to a cafe that overlooked the Danube. Once the sun started setting, we decided to head back to Beograd. It was such a wonderful day. The two cities looked so European to me; Beograd is great, but I don't notice the pre-communist buildings like I notice the large, concrete structures that were buit after world war II. I'm so happy Ana took me out today.
Tomorrow is our last full day here. My baka and I are going to do some shopping. She hasn't gotten to go out as much as I have and we are going to spend some time together before having lunch with Draga. We will probably spend tomorrow evening at the house getting all packed up.
I really wish this trip didn't have to come to an end. I've finally gotten able to form a few sentences in Serbian and I am well aquainted with Beograd. I've already started a list of things I want to do for the next visit, hopefully it's soon.
Lakunoch from Serbia (sweet dreams).
Ciao,
Anna
The last two days have been really busy. I met with Ana yesterday (saturday) and she took me to some of Serbia's markets. While I did find some great things, I was hoping that the markets would be similar to others that I have been to in the US with hand made crafts and unique gifts.
After the open market, we went to the Chinese market. I don't think it will be on my list for my next visit, but I was glad to have went. Ana wears a pair of pants that I adore and she told me that I could buy whatever colors I wanted in the market. Turns out that particular style of pants is so popular that they are all sold out. Oh well, it was definately an experience that I won't soon forget.
We made it home just in time to get ready for dinner. Boshko was playing at a nice restaurant downtown and we were going to spend the evening there. We all got dressed up and ventured downtown, Yovanna and Bojan joined us shortly after along with two other family friends. I started the night drinking a few shots of slivovitca while everyone drank rakije. One of the family friends kept ordering bottles of wine so we never went thirsty.
While I was inpressed with the appetizers and the ambiance of the place, the main course left a lot to be disired; I was glad that I shared my meal with baka. Boshko and his two friends played all night and we all had a great time. Boshko even played a song for my mom, Tamo Dileko. Boshko comes off as pretty tough, but at one point he struggled to keep the beat with the rest of the musicians as a very polite gentleman introduced himself to me and paid me one of the best compliments I've ever recieved. It was nice to know that Boshko was looking out for me.
We got to bed late and then awoke a few hours later to get ready for our day in Novi Sad. Ana and I left the house and drove to Novi Beograd (new Beograd) to pick up her sister and then we drove 1.5 hours to Novi Sad. Well, we made a quick stop at a monastery near Novi Sad first. I can't remember the name, but it was beautiful. Ana told one of the monks that my deda was a Priest along with the fact that some of my cousins were baptized there. This was enough to warrent a private tour of a small church that is only used in the winter. It was beautifully painted and I really appreciated getting to go "behind the scenes."
We then got back in the car and drove to Novi Sad. It is a small city, about 250,000 and hosts the EXIT music festival every summer. My Lonely Planet book describes it as "Beograd on Valium," because it is so relaxed. I agree. The city was so beautiful and no one was in a hurry. Ana took us around the City Center and we walked along pedestrian streets, into different cafe's and into churches where I saw the first of 3 weddings for the day (no kidding). The second wedding was taking pictures in a local park and the third one was in the next city we visited.
After having 2 iced Nescafes we continuted walking for a bit, had some lunch and, according to Ana, had "Novi Sad's best ice cream. We then got in the car and headed to Sremski Karlovici.
Sremski Karlovici is a very small city but has both the oldest Orthodox Thological School and the oldest high school in Serbia. We visited the City Center and walked around. We were lucky enough to see a third wedding just ending. The best man was throwing coin money around and Ana had us each pick up a coin as it is a symbol of good luck in Serbia. We also picked up a few Hungarian pastries at a local market and then headed to a cafe that overlooked the Danube. Once the sun started setting, we decided to head back to Beograd. It was such a wonderful day. The two cities looked so European to me; Beograd is great, but I don't notice the pre-communist buildings like I notice the large, concrete structures that were buit after world war II. I'm so happy Ana took me out today.
Tomorrow is our last full day here. My baka and I are going to do some shopping. She hasn't gotten to go out as much as I have and we are going to spend some time together before having lunch with Draga. We will probably spend tomorrow evening at the house getting all packed up.
I really wish this trip didn't have to come to an end. I've finally gotten able to form a few sentences in Serbian and I am well aquainted with Beograd. I've already started a list of things I want to do for the next visit, hopefully it's soon.
Lakunoch from Serbia (sweet dreams).
Ciao,
Anna
Friday, October 2, 2009
Rakije
So I may or may not have had 6 shots of Rakije last night. (Hear that Tony? Be ready when i get home...oh and they also say Nostrovia sometimes (that's what Tony's polish family says instead of Cheers)).
I went out with my baka, Boshko and Ana to a restaurant last night named, It Is What It Is (translated). What it was, was fantastic. I think I had one of the greatest, if not the best meal of my life. The evening was planned because Boshko's friend was in town from France and wanted a night of drinking, eating, and listening to Boshko and his friends play music. The evening started with Rakije and ended with Rakije. There was so much food. Fresh bread, spinach pita, salad with a cheese that melted in your mouth and soup. Then the main course came out, it was lamb and potatoes and it had been cooking all day long on hot coals. I haven't had lamb in about 6 years and it tasted even better than I remembered. (Don't think that I'll be eating all this meat when I come home. I plan on going back to my vegetarian ways). After we were finished eating, Boshko and his friends started playing and played till well after midnight. Even though I didn't know the words, most of the songs were familiar to me and I really enjoyed listening to them.
Last night, our table consisted of two Americans, three Serbians, and one Russian. It was very multicultural, and frustrating. The Russian didn't understand much Serbian, I don't understand either language, and one of the Serbs didn't understand english. There was a lot of translating going on.
Boshko was surprised that I didn't have an hangover from all that Rakije. I told him that I drink a lot of water and that seems to help. I also haven't had the chance to go out and drink more than a beer or two, so I figured that night was as good as any to really enjoy myself. Also, it makes it a lot easier to pass time when not everyone at the table speaks english.
I was hoping to go with Vukasin to Skedarlia tonight. It's a long street full of restaurants and musicians. It's still nice enought to be outside at night and I wanted to eat and listen to music. Though, I think I got the best show last night and don't want to spoil it with hearing music that isn't up to Boshko's quality. That, and we will be going out tomorrow night to hear Boshko sing again. So now I have to think of something else to do tonight that is very authentic and Serbian.
Yesterday, I met some people from Utah. They were asking a street vendor how much 100 dinars is in US Dollars. I was more than happy to chime in and help them out and tell them what I knew about the city.
This afternoon, I'm going with Ana to check out a chain for my brother. I've spent so much engergy getting this kid nice things from Serbia. I can't wait to see what he gets me for Christmas...hint, hint.
Ciao!
Anna
I went out with my baka, Boshko and Ana to a restaurant last night named, It Is What It Is (translated). What it was, was fantastic. I think I had one of the greatest, if not the best meal of my life. The evening was planned because Boshko's friend was in town from France and wanted a night of drinking, eating, and listening to Boshko and his friends play music. The evening started with Rakije and ended with Rakije. There was so much food. Fresh bread, spinach pita, salad with a cheese that melted in your mouth and soup. Then the main course came out, it was lamb and potatoes and it had been cooking all day long on hot coals. I haven't had lamb in about 6 years and it tasted even better than I remembered. (Don't think that I'll be eating all this meat when I come home. I plan on going back to my vegetarian ways). After we were finished eating, Boshko and his friends started playing and played till well after midnight. Even though I didn't know the words, most of the songs were familiar to me and I really enjoyed listening to them.
Last night, our table consisted of two Americans, three Serbians, and one Russian. It was very multicultural, and frustrating. The Russian didn't understand much Serbian, I don't understand either language, and one of the Serbs didn't understand english. There was a lot of translating going on.
Boshko was surprised that I didn't have an hangover from all that Rakije. I told him that I drink a lot of water and that seems to help. I also haven't had the chance to go out and drink more than a beer or two, so I figured that night was as good as any to really enjoy myself. Also, it makes it a lot easier to pass time when not everyone at the table speaks english.
I was hoping to go with Vukasin to Skedarlia tonight. It's a long street full of restaurants and musicians. It's still nice enought to be outside at night and I wanted to eat and listen to music. Though, I think I got the best show last night and don't want to spoil it with hearing music that isn't up to Boshko's quality. That, and we will be going out tomorrow night to hear Boshko sing again. So now I have to think of something else to do tonight that is very authentic and Serbian.
Yesterday, I met some people from Utah. They were asking a street vendor how much 100 dinars is in US Dollars. I was more than happy to chime in and help them out and tell them what I knew about the city.
This afternoon, I'm going with Ana to check out a chain for my brother. I've spent so much engergy getting this kid nice things from Serbia. I can't wait to see what he gets me for Christmas...hint, hint.
Ciao!
Anna
Thursday, October 1, 2009
It's October Already?
That came quick.
The past two days have been really fun and the weather has been amazing. I would LOVE to sleep with the window open at night but my baka and I share a room and she is always cold. I'll just have to wait till I get home.
I spent Tuseday afternoon in Serbia's Ethnographic museum. The museum was a collection of traditional Serbian costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries. It also included old tools, rugs, and agricultural equipment. Matije took me there and then he had me try Yelen Pivo (deer beer). This is Serbia's brew. We bought a few cans and then headed to Kalemegdan and drank them with some of his friends. Now I can check that off my list.
I spent yesterday with Vukasin. After some miscommunication that involved me finding a police officer, asking where I could buy a phone card, and getting in touch with my cousin, we finally met up. We usually meet at the TRG Republik, it's a section in the middle of the city where my bus takes me.
I don't know if this has been in the US news, but a French student was beaten to death after attending a football game in Beograd. A french football team was playing against Beograd's team. After the game, a few serbian fans beat up a few French fans. This man ended up in the hospital for over a week and then passed away on Tuesday. There was a large memorial for him in the TRG Republik where people waited in line for hours to put candles and flowers at the base of a statue. It was really moving to see the hundreds of people that came by to pay their respects.
Yesterday was the day that I got to plan and it started by taking Vukasin to a vegetarian restuarant. He was a bit uncomfortable but I think he enjoyed it. He had vegetable Samosa and a Falafel for the first time ever. It was great to have my pick of the menu and know what I was getting on my plate, rather than crossing my fingers and hoping that I don't end up with a big piece of meat.
After the very satisfying lunch, we took a bus to a park (I should remember the name, since it's one of the biggest parks in the city, but I can't). Anyway, the city of Beograd made a large lake by diverting some of the water from the Sava river and it's a very popular place. The other part of my plan was to rent bikes. Vukasin hadn't been on a bike in years so I was more than happy to rent us both bikes for an hour. I wasn't so happy when I saw what bikes we got to ride. Let's just say, they needed some work...well, a lot of work. But it ended up being $5.00 for the both of us for an hour, so I guess you get what you pay for. We had a really good time, even though Vukasin thought I pedaled too slowly. He was in it to win it and I just wanted to take everything in. Good thing we didn't rent a tandem.
Today is Vukasin's first day of school and we aren't able to hang out. (he's starting school all over again for a degree in Economics).
After lunch, I'm thinking about taking a bus into town and walking around for a bit. I've read all my books that I have brought and am afraid to buy new ones since books aren't the lightest things to pack. Tonight, we are having dinner at a really nice restaurant downtown. I don't know much, but I do know that we are having dinner with Boshko and Ana's friend from France. It's a dinner in her honor and she wants everyone to be there and lots of music to be played. I'm really looking forward to it.
I figured out that I've had Turkish coffee. I was hoping that it would be awesome, but i wasn't all that impressed. My cousin Rada made it for us every morning, I just thought it was instant coffee but I was wrong. I don't think that I will be bringing that home with me. Oh, well. I guess that means I have more room for Rakije!
Ciao!
The past two days have been really fun and the weather has been amazing. I would LOVE to sleep with the window open at night but my baka and I share a room and she is always cold. I'll just have to wait till I get home.
I spent Tuseday afternoon in Serbia's Ethnographic museum. The museum was a collection of traditional Serbian costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries. It also included old tools, rugs, and agricultural equipment. Matije took me there and then he had me try Yelen Pivo (deer beer). This is Serbia's brew. We bought a few cans and then headed to Kalemegdan and drank them with some of his friends. Now I can check that off my list.
I spent yesterday with Vukasin. After some miscommunication that involved me finding a police officer, asking where I could buy a phone card, and getting in touch with my cousin, we finally met up. We usually meet at the TRG Republik, it's a section in the middle of the city where my bus takes me.
I don't know if this has been in the US news, but a French student was beaten to death after attending a football game in Beograd. A french football team was playing against Beograd's team. After the game, a few serbian fans beat up a few French fans. This man ended up in the hospital for over a week and then passed away on Tuesday. There was a large memorial for him in the TRG Republik where people waited in line for hours to put candles and flowers at the base of a statue. It was really moving to see the hundreds of people that came by to pay their respects.
Yesterday was the day that I got to plan and it started by taking Vukasin to a vegetarian restuarant. He was a bit uncomfortable but I think he enjoyed it. He had vegetable Samosa and a Falafel for the first time ever. It was great to have my pick of the menu and know what I was getting on my plate, rather than crossing my fingers and hoping that I don't end up with a big piece of meat.
After the very satisfying lunch, we took a bus to a park (I should remember the name, since it's one of the biggest parks in the city, but I can't). Anyway, the city of Beograd made a large lake by diverting some of the water from the Sava river and it's a very popular place. The other part of my plan was to rent bikes. Vukasin hadn't been on a bike in years so I was more than happy to rent us both bikes for an hour. I wasn't so happy when I saw what bikes we got to ride. Let's just say, they needed some work...well, a lot of work. But it ended up being $5.00 for the both of us for an hour, so I guess you get what you pay for. We had a really good time, even though Vukasin thought I pedaled too slowly. He was in it to win it and I just wanted to take everything in. Good thing we didn't rent a tandem.
Today is Vukasin's first day of school and we aren't able to hang out. (he's starting school all over again for a degree in Economics).
After lunch, I'm thinking about taking a bus into town and walking around for a bit. I've read all my books that I have brought and am afraid to buy new ones since books aren't the lightest things to pack. Tonight, we are having dinner at a really nice restaurant downtown. I don't know much, but I do know that we are having dinner with Boshko and Ana's friend from France. It's a dinner in her honor and she wants everyone to be there and lots of music to be played. I'm really looking forward to it.
I figured out that I've had Turkish coffee. I was hoping that it would be awesome, but i wasn't all that impressed. My cousin Rada made it for us every morning, I just thought it was instant coffee but I was wrong. I don't think that I will be bringing that home with me. Oh, well. I guess that means I have more room for Rakije!
Ciao!
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