Author: billkralovec

Weekend Journal: August 2-3, 2008

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We had a nice weekend, our first in Belgrade without jet lag. On Saturday we went to Ada Ciganlija which is a long, flat island in the middle of the Sava River. It is a few kilometers from our house and has an artificial 4 kilometer lake in the middle. As you can see, on a hot Saturday in August, it is quite popular with Belgraders! The island is great, with bike trails going for miles all around. 
Despite the hordes of people, we had a really good time. The boys enjoyed all of ice cream vendors and swimming. Ocean loves the water and she was laughing and playing and would have stayed in there as long as I did. Nadia and I enjoyed the people watching. Old folks doing the European sleeping under a tree in the shade and women in bikinis sauntering down the path with purses and high heels. 
We then went to the Delta City mall and Nadia and the boys watched a movie. I strolled around with Ocean and she fell asleep. 
On Sunday we relaxed around the house. I did some yard work, took the kids to the park and went for a long walk with Ocean. We had a big lunch outside and ordered pizza for dinner. I will be back at work all day today. 

 

Learning Serbian

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I am in lesson #4 of my Serbian language book and I have a few observations about the language.

  • I was surprised at many foreigners in Belgrade don’t bother to learn the language. I can see there point that many Serbs, especially younger people, speak English. Also, world wide, Serb-Croat speakers probably number 20 million, max (I just looked on wikipedia and they have the figure of 12 million.)  There are more people in California than that.
  • It is my goal to get through the book and have working vocabulary. I know I’ll never be totally fluent, but it would be nice to be able to follow a conversation. I believe it will be worth the effort to put into to study. As with any language, it offers insight into a different perspective into seeing the world. 
  • Being a slavic language, it feels like I am getting back in touch with my roots and speaking the language (or similar) of my ancestors. 
  • The dual alphabet of the Cyrillic / Latin is interesting. I don’t know of how many languages that have alternative alphabets. Of course the Latin is easier for a westerner and that is the one I am focusing on in picking up new vocabulary. But with so many signs in cyrillic, one can’t help but try to learn them. It is like a puzzle, and we are always trying to sound out the signs we see. 
  • The cyrillic differentiates Serbs from Croats and Serbs take pride in this. It is a remnant of the Byzantine Empire influence over Serbia. Serbia has always been a frontier between east and west, mostly being inside the eastern influence rather than the western side. 
  • I now understand why people who have learned one language can learn another easier than someone with only one language. 
  • Serb is similar to Spanish regarding verb conjugation. So far I have only learned the I ending -m, the you (informal “ti”) -š and the you (formal “vi”) -te The infinitive ending of the verbs is iti, for example govoriti means to speak. 
  • Nouns have three genders (Spanish only has two). Masculine nouns end in consonants, feminine is “a” and neutral in “o”. The is no articles in Serb so no confusion over the “el” or “la” of Spanish. The difficult part, and I am bitter about this, is that the ENDING OF NOUNS CHANGE DEPENDING UPON THEIR USAGE. For example, the word for coffee is kafa. In the nominative or basic form, one can easily see that it is a feminine noun. But when you are ordering a coffee, the ending changes to kafu because it is the direct object of the sentence. For example, Ja bih jednu kafu. (I would like a coffee.) Jednu is the number one, and this also changes depending on the noun it describes. 
  • Serbs get a big kick out of a foreigner speaking Serb. They have been very patient with me and my accent must sound funny to them. My Serb always illicit a smile and a laugh.
  • I am at the point in my learning that I am memorizing and using short phrases for common things. Below is a list of the phrases I have mastered:

Kako se zovete?  (What is your name?)

Zovem se Bill. (My name is Bill)

Molim bac (please and welcome)

Hvala (thank you)

Drago mi je. (nice to meet you)

Ya sam (I am) / ti si (you are) / vi ste (you are)

When you ask a question, throw a “Da li” in front of it. For example, Da li govorite Engleski? Do you speak English?

Ne razumen. (I don’t understand.)

New Phrases I want to learn this week

Izvolite – Can I help you?

Živolite!  – Cheers

Ja bih (kafu) molim bac?  – I would like a coffee please.

Dajte mi (kafu) molim bac? – Give me a coffee please. 

U redu – okay / all right

Sava River (Reka Sava)

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Our children are pictured above on the jogging trail that goes along the banks of the Sava River. After buying a table cloth at Home Center, we took a stroll along the river. The river is just down the hill from our home in Senjak (Belgrade). I discovered the trail on a run I went with Ocean yesterday morning. It goes north towards the city center for at least 7 kilometers and south for another 5 from our entry point. The trail is paved and perfect for biking or jogging. I am sure we’ll be cruising it a few times as it will become one of my running loops around the city.

The Sava is over 600 miles long and runs through four countries of the former Yugoslavia. It connects three capital city. The Sava originates in Slovenia and ends here in Belgrade, when it connects with the Danube. It is the second biggest tributary of the Danube.

It is one of the few rivers that still has flood plains as it is not regulated. It flooded the lower parts of Belgrade in 1981 and 2006. The name Sava is not Slavic – it has Celtic and Roman origins.

I see many people fishing on the river and lots of bikes and runners in the late afternoon. There are plenty of boats, many of the old and rusty boats that look like they are permanently anchored near the banks. There is also some algae buildup and plenty of refuse, so I question the water quality. It would be a lot better if it was better taken care of, but I am do not know the strength of environmental agencies and groups here in Serbia. It is still nice and our neighbor Radko swims in it all the time. He says there is a clean spot between the bridge supports pictured behind. I enjoy the fresh water air coming off of the river and the large number of birds along the shoreline. The bike trail is great too! The Serbian word for river is reka.

 

Refuse and Algae on the River Sava
Refuse and Algae on the River Sava

 

 

It was my last day of summer holidays as I report to work tomorrow (August 1). In the morning I took the kids with their bikes to the park. In the afternoon we organized the shelves in our house and the computer and camera equipment. I went to the airport with Eric, Goran, Jasmina, and Dominik to pick up the new elementary principal, Tim, but his flight was delayed with Lufthansa. After I came back, we went to the river. We wrapped up the night with watching Spiderman with the boys under our gazebo outside and Nadia and I had a nice glass of Macedonian white wine.

Aftermath of the Karadžic Arrest

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Riots in Belgrade, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Above is a screen shot from the B 92 television channel here in Belgrade. Nadia and I watched a small group of protestors clash with the riot police on Tuesday evening. The radical socialist party held a rally downtown attended by about 15,000 people. The protestors were throwing rocks and flares at police while they were responding with tear gas. There were some injuries and arrests, and the windows got smashed on the McDonald’s, but that is about it. It is funny that the center of the protests has been on Makedonska Street, the first place Nadia wanted to go to when we arrived because of the Pizza Hut being located there. On our side of the river in Senjak, all was quiet. We did see the riot police on Monday preparing near the Kalemegdan Park downtown. (photo below)

In my very unofficial poll of Serbians, most seem unconcerned about the arrest. Two said that Karadžic had ties to organized crime and they were happy he was finally arrested. A taxi driver wanted to forget about the past and have Serbia concentrate on improving its economy.

I need to read more about the break up of Yugoslavia before I can have an opinion. It was a very difficult and chaotic time for a nation to break up as well as the Communist form of government. I would like to see all sides articulate their actions. I also think the trial should take place here in the Balkans and not in the Hague. An clear documentation of what happened needs to completed so the people of the ex-Yugoslavia can reflect and learn from what happened.

Karadžic flew to the Hague yesterday, so we will surely be hearing more about his years of being a fugitive. It is very unclear as to who arrested him and who supported him during his time on the run.

The New York Times has three interviews with journalists about the arrest. All three have met the ex-Bosnian Serb president and have authored books about that breakup of Yugoslavia.

Summer Construction Underway

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This is my first post about my new school. 

I toured the high school campus yesterday with the school director and the construction project manager. The project is doubling the size of the high school building with an additional section on one side of the building and two floors added. The older part of the building is also getting a face lift, inside and out.

On the ground floor a new computer lab and storage areas were added for the IT department. The former computer lab was converted to a library, thus doubling the size of it. My office was moved from the first floor to a more spacious room on the ground floor. It will be better to be in the center of the action as a principal should be. There is also a larger reception area and the science laboratory was improved.

The first floor is the core area for student learning. New mathematics, humanities, and languages classrooms were added. The hallway and stairwell were enlarged, giving the students more space for lockers and to shuttle between classes. Below is a photo of the mathematics room. 

The second floor has a spectacular new art studio. The students will be inspired by the expansive views of the southern forests and valleys of Belgrade. The large room will also serve as a place for student assemblies and teacher meetings. 

The building is estimated to be done on the 5th of August. The changes will definitely improve student learning!

27 Улица Козјачка

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Gazebo, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The title of this post is the address of our home in Serb Cyrillic script. In English, is 27 Kozjаčka Street. Kozjačka is the name of a mountain range near the Serbian and Macedonian border.

I took some photos of the house and our yard so my family back home can see where we are living. The school provides our housing and we are very happy at how nice it is. The yard is nice for the kids and the gazebo above is spectacular. Pity I am not much of a griller because we have a beautiful stone BBQ.

Our house is actually and apartment. They call these old buildings here “villas” and they are usually rented out each floor or section. The ground floor is our basement and two car garage. The second floor is our home, and the third floor are two apartments. We also have exclusive access to the yard so it feels like a home. Nadia has made the house her own and worked hard at arranging the furniture and buying lamps and carpets to make it look to her taste.

For more views, just go to our flickr account to see the rest of the house. 

The neighborhood (suburb) of Senjak is located in the south part of the city, near the Sava River. It definitely has a European feel, it is similar to Mediterranean style of architecture and narrow streets of my summers in Mallorca, Spain. It is contrast with New Belgrade across the river, that feels more American with its wide streets. We are a 10-15 minute walk to school that is mostly through parks and the shops are just down the block. The river has a nice bike path and there are many parks and embassies just south us.

Family Journal: July 27, 2008

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It was a very nice Sunday we had together as a family yesterday. In the morning, we went to Home Market to buy some lamps for the house. We looked at some area rugs, but didn’t like anything we saw. In the afternoon we went to Topcider park and Nadia took some great photos. You can see all of them on our flickr.com account. We played whiffle ball and wrestled in the grass. It is a large park and on a late Sunday afternoon, it was filled with families. Prince Milos had a good idea in setting up a park there. The park is a 5 minute drive from our house and the bucolic setting makes you feel like we are not in Belgrade.

We then ventured downtown again and had a late dinner at Pizza Hut. After that we strolled along the Knez Mihailova Street (Prince Mihailova – one of Milos’ sons). A taxi ride from our house to the downtown is about 5 dollars.

Family Journal: July 26, 2008

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Ocean in New Stroller, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

I went for a run this morning in our new jogging stroller. Actually the frame is the same, but I bought a new canvas seat for it. I have put on so many miles on the old one, that the fabric was getting worn out and the velcro straps no longer worked. The new seat will give me several more years of morning running. I highly recommend to any running parents to invest in one of these. The key is to find one with the large bicycle tires. I can go anywhere in the thing.

I checked out Topcider Park, just south of my neighborhood of Senjak, here in Belgrade. Belgrade has the most parks of any city in continental Europe! I have been exploring several near my home and it is great. I feel like I am in the country, although Belgrade metro area probably has around 2 million people. Ocean is shown above in the new stroller.

The park is huge and fabulous. The name of the park means “Valley of the Cannons” in Turkish. It dates back to the 1521 when the Ottoman Turks set up makeshift foundries to produce cannons to attack the city. In 1831 Prince Milos Obrenovic set aside the area for a park and his mansion, which is now a museum. The park has lots of monuments, trails, fountains, and trees. I only explored a portion of it and it is the perfect place for a picnic. There is a nice restaurant there also. Another view to the park is below. Thank you to Laurence Mitchell and his Bradt pocket guide to Belgrade for the background on the park. We’ll try to take the kids down there tomorrow.

We finished unpacking finally. We took care of the Venezuelan boxes and the last two suitcases. In the afternoon I took the boys over to the school and they rode their bikes and we played soccer. Then we took the whole family to Home Center and Nadia bought some stuff for our house. We are getting settled in and making it our home. Nadia then cooked a delicious chicken and prepared a salad and we ate outside. The rain came again and we had to move the table under the gazebo. Home Center was very nice and had everything we were looking for. The boneless whole chicken was stuffed with ham and cheese and it was absolutely delicious. The food here has been fantastic.

It has been lots of work getting everything unpacked and into place. We are very happy with our home and the kids really like it too.

Bon Apetit! Escargot Anyone?

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With all the yard work we have been doing, we have come across many of these snails like the one above. It rained all week and there were probably 20 snails in my back yard along the wall and in the wood pile.

After a bit of research I discovered that it was the famous, Roman Snail, or as the French refer to it as Escargot. This is the common edible snail native to limestone areas of central and south-eastern Europe. The parks and yards of Belgrade are full of them. This morning on my run with Ocean (a later post), I saw two old men collecting them in the park. This afternoon I saw a woman also collecting them down the block.

They are called the Roman Snail because the Romans used to eat them too. The scientific names is Helix pomatia and it is also known as the Burgundy Snail, from the Burgundy region of France. They can do damage to trees and garden plants.

I have to try these, perhaps if the wet weather persists, we’ll collect a bunch. From ehow.com website I copied the recipe on how to prepare them:

Preparing Live Snails
Step1
Put the snails in a container without any food for 2 days. Wash them frequently to rid the snails of any toxins and empty their intestines.
Step 2
Remove the snails from the container and again wash them thoroughly. Either boil them for a short period of time or put them in the freezer to kill them.
Step3
Remove the snails from their shells using tweezers or a hook.
Step4
Remove the intestines and the body of the snail. You only want to eat the foot. The internal organs are not tasty.
Step5
Take off the shell door (the operculum) of each snail. If you want to reuse the snail shell to prepare an appetizer, sterilize them by washing them thoroughly with baking soda, rinsing them repeatedly and boiling them.

I wonder what the Serbs call them? Any Serb readers know?

Nadia and Owen Venture Out: Family Journal July 23, 2008

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Nadia and Owen Venture Out, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Our first day in Belgrade was a busy one. I spent most of the morning cutting the lawn and doing yard work. The house has been vacant for about a month and lots needs to be done. We also moved furniture and continued to unpack our 11 suitcases. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful our home and our neighborhood of Senjak are!

Nadia and Owen are shown above at the end of our street. The name of our street (ulica in Serbian) is Kozjacka number 27. We took a cab downtown but due to the protest we headed back close to our house. We had a delicious dinner at the Zodiac Restaurant and did some grocery shopping. It is now 4:00 AM and the boys and I are up because our internal clocks are still on Central Daylight Savings time in the US. We’ll finish the unpacking and organizing of the house today. I hope the cool and rainy weather continues.

Below is a photo of us at the Zodiac.