Bill's Blog

Boys’ Basketball Team Arrives in Finland

March 26, 2009March 26, 2009billkralovec

ISB Cheerleaders Send off Hoop Team, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The ISB cheerleaders gave the team an enthusiastic farewell before the boys embarked on their journey. The cheerleaders have been incredibly supportive this year. This is the best cheerleading squad perhaps in the history of the school. They attended all of our regular season games. On behalf of the team, THANK YOU!!! You can see them in action by clicking on the video above.

We bussed to the Budapest, Hungary airport and flew from there to Helsinki. The International School of Helsinki (ISH)is hosting the annual Boys’ Basketball Championship of the Central and Eastern European Athletic Association. Eight teams from all over the region are competing for the title. All visiting student-athletes are billeted with ISH families.

I wil try to post regularly during the competion which begins today. We have been placed in Pool B with the Kiev International School (Ukraine), Quality Schools International of Bratislava (Slovakia) and Soumalainen Yhteiskoulu (Finland). We play those three teams today with games at 10:45 AM, 12:45 PM, and 3:45 PM. It will be a grueling day indeed.

This is the farthest away I’ve been from the equater. Helsinki is at 60 degrees north latitude, a mere 6 degrees (400 miles) from the arctic circle. There is still snow on the ground and temperatures are below freezing. This is a special trip for me as my mother’s ancestry is Finnish. It will be great to learn more about Finnish culture and coaching a lot of basketball the next three days.

Sad Anniversary in Belgrade Today

March 24, 2009April 24, 2009billkralovec

UPDATE: The Serbian government asked everyone to observe a minute of silence at 12:00 noon yesterday. At the school, we paused before starting our afternoon classes and listened to the air raid sirens throughout the city. In Senjak, where the school was located, we heard at least three different sirens, although they were not that loud.

I also want to note that the Serbs separate governments from citizens and I have never felt any animosity towards me or my family. They are extremely kind towards foreigners and we feel very much at home in Belgrade!

Several long time expatriate teachers and Serb colleagues were meeting last night to commemorate the anniversary. They lived through the 78 days of the bombing and wanted to share their memories of that time. I might interview one of them to get their story of the school during the bombing.

Serbians will be recognizing the 1o year anniversary of the 1999 NATO bombing today. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) began a bombing campaign of 38,000 missions in Serbia in the spring of 1999, from March 24th to June 11th. The bombing campaign was in response to the Serbian government’s involvement in the then Serbian province of Kosovo.

The Former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense (B. Woodruff Photo December 2008)

Reminders of the bombing are present still today in Belgrade. On one of its busiest streets, the Knez Miloševa are two buildings that have not been repaired or replaced since the bombing. It is quite a shock to newcomers to the city. I remember seeing these on my first taxi ride downtown upon my arrival to Belgrade. It is a sad and tragic reminder of the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990’s. I am not sure why nothing has been done to these buildings. Perhaps it is lack of money, or perhaps Belgraders don’t want to forget. If any of my blog readers can enlighten me on this, please do so. The photo above was taken by a friend visiting us over the Christmas holidays. I took the photo below in April of 2009.

Different View of the Building - B. Kralovec Photo April 2009

The building above is the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense which was bombed on May 7th, 1999. It was built in 1963 and it was designed by Serbian architect, Nikola Dobrovic. The building is divided by Nemajina Street and the design of the building is meant to resemble a canyon with the street as a river divided the two sides. There is an excellent blog by a Swiss architect married to a Serb which discusses many of the buildings in Belgrade and it also has an indepth description of the NATO bombing campaign.

The Yugoslav Ministry of Defense Building In Its Prime

The anniversary will be marked by air raid sirens, church bells, and ceremonial gatherings. Around 500 civilians were killed in the bombings and many Belgraders are resentful at the NATO bombing. The BBC has an article about the anniversary here.

Family Journal: Sunday March 22, 2009

March 23, 2009March 23, 2009billkralovec

We had a well deserved family day on Sunday. With basketball, one acts, and oral exams on Saturday, it was a busy week of work.

There were sunny skies and cool temperatures and it was a nice day to head to Ada Ciganlija for a family exercise session. We like to go there because I can rent a bicycle with a rickshaw to carry Oliver and Ocean, Nadia can run, and Owen can ride his bike. Nadia ran her usual 7 km loop around the lake while I took the kids around the island. We stopped at the obstacle course and ran around in the woods for quite a while.

After enjoying Ada, we went home and did some chores. Nadia cooked a delicious meal of fajitas, we cleaned the car seats, took the car to Mopex, a car cleaning company down the street that cleans cars inside and out, organized a book shelf, etc. In the late afternoon, we had a fire under the gazebo and the boys painted some cardboard animals they made while Ocean played on the swings. Nadia came out and we enjoyed a bottle of Hungarian Tokai wine. She made a Risotto dinner and we put the kids to bed.

Sunday morning was really nice too. Ocean is so different to the boys. She woke up and gave her brother a kiss and sat on his lap while I was preparing breakfast. She is much more cautious, affectionate, and calm compared to her brothers.

International School of Belgrade Presents One Act Plays

March 22, 2009March 22, 2009billkralovec

Last night I attended the One Act Plays presented by the International School of Belgrade’s Thespian Society and the high school performing arts department. The scene above is a comedy sketch on the assassination of Russian historical figure Leon Trotsky. One Acts are the performing equivalent to the literary short story. The students performed to full houses both Friday and Saturday evenings.

In the scene above, Teodora and Luka do one of the six variations on the violent death of Trotsky. it was hilarious!!!! Whenever I watch our students performing, I forget they are students and I just enjoy the play. There was a variety of one acts, ranging from Pan and Doron’s take on Rowan Atkinson, to Mina’s interpretation of Medea and Greek tragedy. The evening was enjoyed by all and I would like to compliment Mrs. Sands and the students for their efforts. The PTA lead by Manon and Jeanette provided refreshments for the audience during intermission which was appreciated by all.

Mina and William Are Featured in this Greek Tradegy

All of the props and costumes were designed by our stagecraft class. Student directors from the IB Theater Arts class were involved as well as many students not enrolled in our performing arts classes. I uploaded some short exceprts of video from some of the plays, feel free to view them on my flickr.com account.

As I said in my welcome message to the audience, we have wonderful students and last night they were showing their best. At ISB, we pride ourselves in everything we do, we do at the highest level! The performing arts department is a shining example of this. I can’t wait for the Shakespeare Festival coming in May!

Oliver’s Parent – Teacher Conference March 2009

March 21, 2009March 21, 2009billkralovec

Oliver Writing His Name, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

My final post this morning is of a video of my son Oliver in his Parent-Teacher Conference last week. The little guy is in Ms. Mira’s Early Years class at ISB. The Lower School conferences were set up in a different format. The parents and student worked together on activities the students do during a normal school day. Nadia and I attended Oliver and Owen’s conferences. Above, Oliver writes his name. He is so cute and quite a little character. He also showed us how he mixes primary colors to make new colors, recognizes patterns, and can sort items into categories. He also showed us around the room. Way to go Oliver!!! He passed all of his “exams” and we celebrated by taking him out to a Chinese dinner (his favorite). I’ll upload a sample of Owen’s performance later today and hopefully post.

March Madness Hits Belgrade!

March 21, 2009March 21, 2009billkralovec

Coach Kralovec, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It is basketball madness for me as the boys’ high school team is on their final preparations for next week’s CEESA championship in Helsinki, Finland. I am shown above at Tuesday’s game at the FMP Arena in the Belgrade suburb of Zeleznik. It is an industrial area with lots of Communist Era apartments, but in the midst of the run down buildings is the basketball school and this beautiful basketball arena. Our school project manager went along to get ideas for our new gymnasium.

The team lost 37-81 to their sub-15 team. FMP has the best basketball club in Serbia and they compete in international tourneys for elite high schools in Europe. They are one of the best high school teams I have ever seen! Our students got to experience the best in the world and they held their own in the second half. The relentless pressure defense and attacking style of FMP forced our students to bring up their game. It was a great experience and on behalf of ISB, I thank the basketball school for inviting us to play twice this season! The opposition in Helsinki will pale in comparison and our team will be battle tested by the time we get there.

It is also the NCAA tourney and the team joined a pool. The students and coaches filled out their brackets like President Obama. All of the games are on live on ESPN America, My favorite, the Michigan State Spartans, won their opening game against Robert Morris. The University of Michigan also won their first NCAA tourney game in 11 years, upsetting Clemson. And finally, neighboring state Wisconsin also made it to the second round. I hope they make it to next weekend.

To top off the basketball frenzy, Belgrade professional team, Partizan starts their series with CSKA Moscow in the Euro League Quarterfinals. My favorite professional team Red Star, made it to the Final Four of the Adriatic Basketball League. It will be next month at the Belgrade Arena. Three Serbian teams (Red Star, Partizan, Hemofarm) will join Croatian Zibona for the games in the Belgrade Arena.

Nice Day of Learning in the Middle School

March 21, 2009March 21, 2009billkralovec

Bartosz Pi, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The Middle School has its own rhythm and is very different from the High School. I spend about 25% of my time over there and really enjoy my day with teachers and students.

Thursday we had an ISB Time Assembly in Mrs. Medenica’s room. The main part of the assembly was to watch the Public Broadcasting System Frontline program documentary, “Growing Up Online: Just How Radically is the Internet Transforming the Experience of Childhood?” which you can watch on line from the PBS web site. An animated discussion ensued between the students and teachers. The students gave each other advice on staying safe on line. Very good stuff and we’ll continue this topic this semester. The video above shows Bartosz reciting the first 106digits of pi. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is a non-repeating, irrational number. Bartosz is getting ready for the Knowledge Bowl trip and exercised his brain with trying to memorize as many digits of pi as possible. He memorized 160 in practice and during the assembly he did an amazing 106. Classmate Ellis also had a turn and did over 90. It was a fun way to promote the joy of knowledge and the team’s preparation for the CEESA championship. By the way, the world record for memorizing pi is 67,890 by Chao Lu of China.

Sixth Graders Enjoy Lunch on the Terrace

The middle school campus is located down the street from the Lower School. It is the former secret police station of Yugoslavia. It is not an ideal place for a school, which is why a new middle school building is being constructed on the high school campus this spring and summer. But the place does has its charms and the students have made it a cozy place of learning. Above the sixth graders hang out at lunch outside of their homeroom teacher’s terrace. They are a nice group and enjoy their own space overlooking the playground.

Family Journal: Back to Blogging

March 19, 2009March 19, 2009billkralovec

Ocean, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

I haven’t been able to post this week because I needed to pay for the internet bill at my house. Here is a picture of Ocean from last Saturday. We took the family to the boys’ basketball game, which we lost in overtime!

Sunday morning we had the chance to go to Ada Ciganlija and ride bikes before heading off to two parties. While Nadia was grocery shopping, I took the boys and snapped this photo in front of the “western gate” or Genex Towers in New Belgrade. I love the post-apocalypse / space age look and feel to the building.

Ollie looking scared and Owen with even less teeth

Serbian Birthday Parties

March 19, 2009March 19, 2009billkralovec

We get invited to many birthday parties from the classmates of our children. We rarely go because with our hectic schedules, when we get some time away from school, we prefer to be alone as a family.

We made an exception Sunday as you can see above. The Serbs really know how to throw a party! Serbia is a south Slavic nation and has more in common with southern Europe lifestyles, than northern Europe lifestyles. They emphasize good times and family and there is more disorganization like Spain and Italy, than say Austria or Switzerland. That is a big generalization and it is not a comment on the entire population, but that is the trend I have observed.

The party was at a place called “The Jungle” and there are many childrens’ birthday party places in Belgrade. The children above are watching a magician on stage. See if you can spot Owen!

The hosts care as much as the comfort of the adults as children. There were probably 60 adults at the party and about 50 children. As you can see above, there is a nice cafe/banquet style seating for adults behind the children. The hosts had a really nice buffet and an open bar. The building was large, with separate rooms for a disco and play land.

Jungle Employees Entertain the Children in the Disco

The Jungle provided supervision for the children in the playland and did music activities with them in the disco. Quite an operation, that makes it easy for parents to hold a party. The downside I imagine would be cost, as I saw plenty of bottles of wine and food being consumed. Overall we had a nice time. We have a lot in common with the other school families with young children.

Belgrade is known for its night life. This is about as close as I get to the partying scene!