Welcome to Beograd!!

So, we have arrived in Belgrade (or as it is called here, Beograd meaning White City). We left early Friday morning on a bus. The bus ride is 5-6 hours ish, depending on how long stopping at the boarder takes. When we arrived, our program coordinator, Orli, met us at the bus station. We had time to check out the facility where we will be having classes while in Belgrade and walk around the city. We had some Chinese food (!!!) and coffee, and then went to meet our host families. This time, I am staying with a younger, single woman who lives in an apartment on one of the "coolest" streets in Belgrade, that they call Silicone Valley. (Due to the large amount of women "showing off their silicones" at all of the cool cafes and bars along the street.) I then registered with the police again, which was a funny comparison with Zagreb. Instead of waiting in line for 2 hours at the police station, we walked in, talked to one of the many groups of cops just standing around and talking. They took my passport, looked me up and down a few times, and then gave me a little white card I have to carry around all the time.

Yesterday (Saturday), we took a tour of Belgrade and saw a lot of really cool stuff. We saw the fortress that has been attacked/protected in the 40 times Belgrade has been attacked in its history. The fortress looks out over the place where the Danube and Sava rivers meet. This fortress is why Belgrade is called the white city; it is made out of white stone and is the first thing people would see of Belgrade when sailing down the Danube. We saw the grave of Tito and a bunch of buildings that were bombed during the 1999 NATO bombing of Belgrade. Afterwards, we went to a cafe to meet with some young Belgrade people to tell us about clubs and bars we should (and should NOT) go to in Belgrade, as well as point us in the direction of a Mexican restaurant (!!!). The whole turbofolk thing is a much bigger deal here.

So far, this is what I have learned about turbofolk. Basically, it is a Serbian phenomenon that started during the "civil" wars. It was deemed a very nationalistic type of music, and Serbian nationalism is basically the reason for the civil wars. One of the biggest turbofolk "divas" even married one of the biggest Serbian generals (aka rich war criminal). Now, the music and the scene is associated with rich dudes, a lot of whom made their money on the black market during the war, and also the young women (golddiggers) who want to get with them. A lot of people have told me it is kind of like "redneck, white trash" music that makes people act primitavely. Or something like that. It is really hard to explain, but it is just an aspect of the culture that is associated with money and gangs, and is especially volatile right now because of the political situation in Serbia.

This upcoming week we will have class, and then on Friday we take a trip to a town called Sandzak. I do not know what Sandzak is, but I am sure I will find out soon enough.