Back in Beograd

So we have all returned to Belgrade to begin our independent study projects. Actually, that's not true, because a few people have gone other places to do their ISPs. A few girls are in BiH and one in Zagreb, so I believe that there are 7 of us still in Belgrade.

Before coming back to Belgrade, we spent a week in Zagreb preparing for our ISP. It was nice to go back to our starting point for a bit, but I forgot about the long commute I had from my homestay into the city center! It was still a nice week though. We had our final language exam (ahhhhh!) which I had to study loooong and hard for, but I think that I did decently.

On the 14th we took a bus back to Belgrade, which means that we've been here for a little over a week (and me without a single blog post; whoops). It has been great so far. Our ISP allows us to make our own schedules, with time for researching, interviewing and writing. We each work with an advisor who is knowledgeable about what we've chosen to study. They help us make contacts with people to interview and, of course, advise us.

So far on my ISP, I have done a lot of reading and met with my advisor, and will hopefully be meeting up with some contacts in the upcoming week (before I leave for ROME!!!). A few of the girls here, Marisa and Julie, have rented an apartment in the area of town where all the embassies are and near the place where Tito is buried, called House of Flowers. It's a decently far trek by bus (around an hour from my place) but it is a good neighborhood, and a great apartment. I've spent quite a bit of time hanging out with them there, making dinner, watching TV and drinking wine. It is nice to have a place to go to relax with my friends that isn't necessarily a cafe all the time.

On Friday night, I went on a sort of impromptu "clubbing" adventure. A few girls and I went to a cafe called Insomnia (it is on my street) for drinks. It was a cool atmosphere, and the drinks were kind of expensive, but it was nice. Afterwards, we made our way to a well-known club called Tube, which really is very tube-like on the inside. We danced for a few hours, and it was a good time. I was kind of surprised that not a whole lot of people in the club were actually dancing, but maybe we just went on the wrong night? Regardless, the girls and I had fun.

I have been reading a few tourist guides of Belgrade online that talk about how Belgrade is not really a "pretty" or "tourist-y" city. But as this guide said, it's "a city for people who love cities." I would agree that Belgrade isn't really a tourist destination. There are museums, and beautiful buildings and parks, but I don't know that a tourist in Belgrade would really get the feeling of the city, and how amazing it is. The shops, the cafes, the restaurants, the people. It is a fun and interesting place to live, and I've only been here a few weeks! It is unfortunate that not everyone that comes here can stay here for that period of time, and really see things the way I've been able to. I feel like even the two-ish months I'll be staying here are not enough to see and explore everything that I want to, and I really look forward to coming back someday.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm really excited!!! We have some plans so far, but I will see how everything works about, and perhaps write about it afterwards!