Eastern Europe at a glance

Location: Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary
Dates: January 7-13, 2010

After leaving my friends in Kosovo, I made my way up to Budapest, Hungary, and stopped along the way in Skopje (Macedonia) and Belgrade (Serbia) so I could get more of a taste of Eastern Europe.


Upon arrival in Skopje, I was so beat that I really have the desire to cook a giant meal for myself, so I decided to fix some top Ramen and eat peas out of a can :) Believe it or not, it was delicious! I retired to my room early and met my fantastic hostelmate, Anurag, who gave me some tips for my pending journey to India (I recently decided to take a detour to India before I head to SE Asia, since it has always been a dream of mine).

In the morning, I took a 6 (but turned out to be 12) hour bus to Belgrade, Serbia. After spending so much time in Kosovo, a country that Serbia does not recognize as an independent nation, I was a bit nervous about how the Serbians would react to my visit. Since America bombed Serbia during the war in 1999 to help Kosovo, I felt that my presence may not be desirable. It turned out that in some instances, I was right- when I would walk up to someone with an open map in order to ask a question, the person would just put up her hands and walk away. The reason for this may have also been that the person was not an English-speaker, but I do think in some cases, my sneakers and backpack may have given my nationality away. However, in other cases, I was received with open arms and the response, "It's ok... I don't hate you even though you bombed Serbia..." I was able to speak to some of the Serbians about the war and it was so interesting hearing the opinions of the people who were fighting on the other side (against Kosovo). When I mentioned that I had been in Kosovo, the people would shrug and tell me that they don't go there, and I could feel the tension that still exists between the two nations.

I went to go visit the Kalemegdan, which is a huge beautiful fortress in the middle of Belgrade. Going from a Muslim country to a Christian country was interesting- many external things that I had gotten accostumed to changed- and instead of mosques I saw many churches.

More of Kalemegdan:

Inside of the fortress is a park, where many of the locals meet to play chess or just get together.

hehe...

After Belgrade, I took a 9 hour train to Budapest. At this point, I was a little tired of land transportation. For the first 2 hours I was entertained by the conductor, who came to sit with me and give me the history of the land we were passing. After a while, he asked me to marry him, and our conversation stopped there...

I arrived in Budapest, Hungary late at night, and the first thing I noticed was how friendly and helpful everyone was. I spent the next day exploring the city and the fortress that sits on the top of the hill.

Budapest is separated by the Danube river, which divides the city in "Buda" and "Pest." The city is huge, and I wish I had more time to explore.

Not my most exciting post, I know. I do wish I could have spent more time in more places in Eastern Europe, but I did get the chance to meet some kind and wonderful new people. The people of Eastern Europe continually impressed me with their hospitality and I hope to go back soon to explore new places. Next stop: Istanbul!

Rainbows and Mountains

Date: January 5, 2010
Location: Peja and the Rugova Valley, Kosovo


On the way to the village of Istog, we happened upon the most beautiful rainbow...

Although we got close, we didn't make it to the other side of the rainbow. Maybe this was a good thing- apparently in Albanian tradition, if a person cross to the other side of the rainbow, they change sex, a man becomes a woman and vice versa...so, luckily I stayed just on the one side!

I got to go up to the mountains and stay in Fatos' cabin in Pepay, a beautiful tiny little village in the Rugova mountains. We got there by jeep, mostly offroading. It was quite the adventurous trip. There are many little villages in the mountains, and the people classify themselves by where they are from. People from the mountains are called, "Highlanders," and this is how they identify themselves when asked about their place of origin.

In the pretty mountains with my friends Skender and Chakrey.

So happy for the snow!

The mountains at night with the snow and clouds.

Fatos' cabin

Part of the village of Pepaj...as you can see, this is a tiny village. Most families do not live here year round, most come up for the summer or during parts of the year, but since Pepay is the highest village in Rugova (around 2500m), the roads shut down so getting food, firewood and anything from Peja is impossible and the people move into town for the cold season. All of the houses were built by the people who live in them, and it is usually a family home, so all members of the family are welcome there. Unfortunately, this area has also become a heavily logged forest, like many others in the world. People are illegally logging the area, and the locals are extremely angry about this.

A Shari dog, which is a dog that can only be found in this area of the Balkans. As Skender tells me, "this dog will never attack an old person or a baby. If you are in the middle, be careful. And never come between this dog and its sheep!" Luckily, this young pup didn't have any sheep to herd, so she let me pet her. They are beautiful creatures, and it was nice to be close to a dog again!

Sadly, my adventures in Kosovo are coming quickly to a close. I hope to travel to the old city of Prizren tomorrow, before I do a week of traveling up through Eastern Europe. I have had such an incredible time here and have met so many new friends. Life is Kosovo is definitely different than the other places I have experienced. Before arriving, I made the decision to stay in the town for awhile- 3 weeks or so- so that I could get the feel of Peja and the people in it. Although I would normally just continue my travels when things started to move slowly or when I got restless, I made the decision to stay in Peja, which allowed me to really absorb what goes on here. After 3 weeks, I feel as though I belong to a part of community, and my friend Vellnut told me today, "You are like a Pejan!" Everything from the students in the schools to the snow on the mountains enchants me here, and I already feel as if I will be drawn back soon to this mystical place so that it can unfold some more of its mystery to me. My expectations of Norwegian soldiers and guns was clearly wrong- Kosovo is a place of tolerance, acceptance, and beauty, and for those of you who are curious, I encourage you to take the trip here.

On Thursday I will be forced to experience the hardest part- saying goodbye. I must say goodbye to all of my new friends here- from my host and her boyfriend to the ladies in the gym. But I know a new adventure awaits, so to begin that one, I have to release this one...

Natën e mirë

Ali

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Frizzle muffles with cream....yum....

Delicious selection from a menu at one of the local restaurants...If I wasn't a vegetarian, I would have to order the Frizzle Meat Muffles...

Location: Peja, Kosovo

Date: January 1, 2010!

Some beautiful pictures of Peja...

Spending the holidays in Kosovo has been quite an experience. 95% of the population of Kosovo is Muslim, but the hoiday of Christmas is honored and respected, and believe it or not, the church on Christmas mass was packed! I went to see what it was like, along with my Muslim and Christian friends (I believe I was probably the only person in the church raised Jewish), but it was facsinating to see everyone lined up in the aisles, simply out of respect for the Christian religion. This tradition started after the war ended in 1999, when the Albanians were freed. Although the Albanian people always respected various religions, this type of open support became tradition after the people got their freedom.

With Naime, one of the teachers at the schools, we made Oblanda and Bombica, two traditional Albanian treats, so that we could host a little Christmas party. Here, Naime's neice is ready to eat the Oblanda!

The streets of Peja were filled with Christmas lights and decorations. The Santas stood outside every night dancing to Albanian music, ready to have their pictures taken with the children of the community.
A picture taken inside of the church during Christmas mass. At the end of the ceremony, only a few people stood in line to receive Holy Communion, which means that about 99% of the people who came to the church were Muslim. The respect for religion here is incredible! When we left the church, people were setting off fireworks outside (which is a huge winter/holiday tradition here- fireworks are seen at all times of the day and night, and you can just be walking down the street and hear a giant crack, which is inevitably a child setting off a firework).

Bringing firewood into town from the mountain villages.

Here are a few pictures from the small Christmas gathering my friend Ellen hosted. Here I am with Fatos, a co-founder of ERA, an organization in Kosovo that promotes environmental awareness.

Skender and Haki. Haki runs an organization called Marimangat, which is a youth program that helps kids learn how to rock climb and enjoy the outdoors. Their organization is the first in all of Kosovo that teaches kids to rock climbing. They even have a small rock wall in Peja, and I went to go visit the kids there.
My new friend Ana, who has shown me around town and given me all the advice about everything Kosovo...in Kosovo, Ana is the "modern woman." Her style of haircut and dress represent an unknown fashion n Kosovo, and Ana really turns heads in town. In general, the women in Kosovo still reside under the patriarchal traditions. For example, many 20 year old women only dream of having husbands who can provide them with a nice house and car, and to get married as soon as possible so they can begin to have kids. These patriarchal issues are not necessarily seen on the surface, but I have been lucky enough to befriend strong women who live in Kosovo who unveil these hidden issues to me. Whereas, Ana dreams of going to university in America, becoming a famous singer, and coming back to Kosovo as Kosovo's first business woman. It is so interesting to see this kind of change in progress. You go, Ana! Due to the large number of American missionaries living in Peja, many youth are given the opportunity to study in America, given the condition that they convert from Islam to Christianity and pass the TOEFL test.

Last Saturday, I went with ERA to take the kids on a field trip to Rugova, the mountains surrounding Peja. Ellen, Haki and Syzana ran the program, and I got to go along as a volunteer. We had to step through some major mud to continue our hike, but many of the students did not want to get their only pair of shoes wet, so some turned back and didn't continue the hike. For those of us who muscled through, we got to take a pretty walk through the mountains and nearby waterfalls.

Some of the local youth that accompanied us on our trip.

I had to visit the doctor last week because I thought I was getting an ear infection. He was really kind and told me I had nothing to worry about. He agreed to pose with me in a picture.

Some mini-Santas in Peja's square...the Christmas tradition lives on, even in this predominately Muslim country!

New Year's Eve....so scared of the fireworks popping!

I celebrated New Year's Eve with Skender's family at his house. We watched the fireworks from the balcony, and tried to stay away from the chaos that was occurring in the middle of town. As I left Skender's house, his brother turned to me and said, "Thank you for coming. Thank you, America, for all of your help." He was referring to America's intervention that led to the end of Serbian oppression. Wowm, that was a hearty thanks.

Skender and Ellen's niece, Kaltrina! (Her name means blue!)

My NEW YEAR'S KISS!