It's been awhile … I have to admit that spending extra time on my computer has not been at the top of my fun list as of late. I literally spend 90% of my time at work on the computer and as much as I like surfing the web and checking up what is going on else where in the world - including catching up on north american television - the 'screen-time' gets to you. When you get home from work, and an hour later you are trying to look at a computer screen and your eyes are glazing over I take this as a sign that I shouldn't be on here. On the flip side I like keeping, those of you who are interested, up to date so I battle through haha ….
Top Highlights:
1. Went and watched the Davis Cup (Tennis) world semi-final between Serbia and Czech Republic. I have always enjoyed a good tennis match on TV but I was a little sceptical on how much I would like seeing it live. What made me commit 100% in going was the fact that Djokovic was going to be playing. (We were making fun of my Dad when he first started working in Serbia, that they didn't even have that many good sports to watch. Which he proceeded to argue and list off all the world-ranked players of various sports. Because if my Dad was going to take the time to learn anything about Serbia it would be the details of the sports world! And since than I started to take note of Serbian athletes). Djokovic has become one of my favourite European athletes to watch. He has typical European flare, but is classy and seems like he handles his job seriously and with gratitude - at the same time he isn't afraid to show personality to the public. So naturally his country loves him haha …. A few pictures from the tournament, I watched the first two singles matches and the double match. After not a great showing in the doubles match, Serbia had to win both single matches on the Sunday to win the semi-final. I was a bit of a sports nerd, I really enjoyed seeing these elite athletes in a totally different world of sport (for me) and how they performed in a unique event that sees athletes compete as a team when they normally compete as individuals. It was an exciting finish for a stadium packed with passionate fans - Serbia won so no riots ensued haha just kidding (kind of).
(I found an option for an even greater digital zoom
on my camera - makes me feel like a stalker haha
... pictures are great but I can say I saw them)
2. I officially learned how to take the public transit system here. Once the novelty of my walking radius wore off I took the plunge. I decided to test out my North-American personal space bubble and jam pack myself into one of those buses. Well it did take a couple of rounds to work up my courage. My inexperience saw me pass-by the first two #17 buses to try and get a less packed bus - which I figured out doesn't exist. So I got out my old subtle-elbow-pushing skills and forced my way in. I won't get on the subject of how my bubble burst about two stops short of my destination because that's the not the point. The point is I did it! (This also help me conclude that I really like walking in fresh air and with elbow space haha).
3. I did another 'only-in-Serbia deal' and got myself some tickets to the Euro-league football game for the Partizans. After mentioning to a guy down the hall at the office that I was a little disappointed that the games where sold out he returned the next day with some contact information of where I could get some. Knowing I was happy about the opportunity to get tickets but I couldn't talk my way through getting them, one of my co-workers took over. After getting the details, we go pick up tickets at a random computer store (yeah you read right!) down town, with cash haha. We couldn't just buy one ticket, you had to buy one for all three games. So I have completed 1 of 3 Partizans experiences - again the sports nerd came out and I loved the atmosphere that was in the stadium. The ability for the athletes, coaches, even referees to function effectively in a space with so many people cheering and making noise is amazing in itself. And on top of that, despite the fact that the home team lost, the crowd cheered from 20mins before the game until 20mins after, with (mostly) positive encouragement. My favourite cheer was at the end, translated to "even though you are the worst, we still love you" haha. Definitely a cool experience.
4. My mom has arrived after settling into her no-school routine. She took a sabbatical this year to get a break from school and to be with my Dad. I have to be honest its a weird experience going from only getting to see them ever few months, to sharing a 900 square foot apartment with them. It's natural reaction to what to go back to relying on them like you did when you were a kid, only now there is a small guilty feeling knowing that you really shouldn't. But at the end of the day I feel really grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with them and know that they are the ones that have really given me the tools to get whatever I want out of this adventure. And besides I needed a travel partner at some point so looks like Mom is the lucky winner, she may not know it yet but hey there was a long line-up of people wanting the spot so she is pretty lucky if I don't say so myself …. haha. Don't get me wrong the comments of "so when are you going back to school?" are never to far away but for now I get to be the kid that won't leave 'home' - my mom should just stop cooking with cheese.
Still getting use to the time change.
5. I finally got to cross off another Serbian tourist attraction off my list. We went to Avala tower this past weekend. It is a telecommunication tower siting on top of Avala hill just outside of Belgrade and was bombed during the NATO bombing in 1999; but was rebuilt and reopened this year. It is one of the tallest buildings in the Balkan and now stands as more of a historic piece rather than for telecommunication use. Basically it reminded of a mini CN tower. The architecture of the base is different in that it supported by three arched columns that join to make the tower - so the wide range of architecture continues (Sam I think it would give you enough to look at haha).
Than just further up the hill was the Monument to the Unknown Hero. Again a unique mix of old and new architecture and great cultural significance. As it is meant to represent more than just Serbian soliders, but rather women from all countries that were involved or a part of the former Yugoslav during WWI and Balkan wars.
On the way up the hill, we stopped at the Soviet Veterans World War Memorial. Cool structure that over looks the west of Belgrade's surrounding valley. It was a little cloudy so we didn't have a great view but the location was really nice (I kept taking deep breaths of the fresh air - I'd forgotten what it felt like to fill my lunges which oxygen fresh from the forest haha).
That's it for now …Talk soon :)
"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life." M&S
Mich
