Off the beaten (goat) path

And we're back! After a very busy day involving disassembling the entire office, reassembling the entire office, and then having to repair the phone lines for ADSL, we have both A/C *and* Internet at the office! Living the life of luxury, that's me. Also, a warm welcome to all of those visiting from blogwatch; the fridge is to your left, so help yourself.

So now that the internet has returned, I figured I should update with what is going on. The party in Pristina was fun, met many internationals there, swapped stories and songs, talked about free trade (yeah, I've become an Econ-Geek..) and generally had a good time. Monday was a trip to Skopje where I met with my supervisor over lunch, discussed my moving there for a few days in July as I finish my paper. Tuesday began the great exodus from the old office to the new office as we made a giant fort of binders that I could barely see my coworkers over. After bombarding Davor with balled up bits of paper for a few minutes, we started to take down the furniture, losing most of the cam shafts in the process. Started making small trips in Davor's car with the basic items, which only took two trips due to the fact we were waiting on the Land Cruiser to bring the desk and table parts.

Land Cruisers in a town where everyone drives compact cars is a hilarious site. I know what a Monster Truck Driver must feel like. took the parts of the 3 desks, 2 tables, enclosed shelves, 5 chairs and the filing draws all in one trip.

And looked very cool doing it, thank you very much.

Set up a meeting with a student of Public Health from John Hopkins for this upcoming week - he's doing work on crisis preparedness, so we're helping him connect with NGOs and municipality people. Cuz we're nice people.

After an intense week like this, we decided we needed to take a break. So Davor invited me to go on a picnic in celebration of a feast day with his family. So me, Davor, his wife and kids loaded up in the car and met up with Davor's brother-in-law and family for a fun picnic lunch next to a really nice stream.

Highlights included breaking the language barrier with his 4 year old son using sign language (thumbs up, high-five, and the Rina famous 'pound') and the hat game (which was basically him throwing his hat to me, me throwing it back.

Davor's daughter tried to teach me some Serbian words and I taught her the English equivalent, with some help from Davor.

Played football with his 14 year old nephew (which turned into 1 on 1... I scored one goal though!)

His 5 year old niece asked if I would bring her and her grandmother to America with me, then scratched my beard and kissed me on the cheek, to the amusement and "awws" of everyone there.

Kicked a bee's arse, which also means I got stung on the toe. Still aches.

Waded in the stream to keep said bee-sting cold.

Tried a new beverage that's pronounced "bamboo", and entails mixing wine with either water with gas (if the wine is white) or with cola (if the wine is red). It was very refreshing.

Ate food cooked over a fire for the first time in ages, and remembered how much I missed cooking chicken on a spit back at camp.

But perhaps nothing so impacted me as yet another lil old lady story. Different lil old lady, this one dressed like she stepped out of a fairy tale storybook. Our campsite was next to a path that was mainly traversed by goats. Sheep and cows sometimes also used it, but mainly we saw goats. Then this lil old lady comes over and asks if she could join us. So we give her some juice and some bread, and the 5 year old sits on her lap and talks to her, and generally just share some company with her. After she goes on her way about a half hour later, I ask Davor about it, and if it is customary to let lil old ladies join you for food. He thought about it for a moment and said that it was, a long time ago. But now people sometimes forget about the elderly. This lil old lady in particular probably had children living in the suburbs of Vranje, too far for her to walk to an visit, and without income she probably can't get on a bus and travel. They might visit her once a month or so, but even then that's doubtful. So it made me feel really good that we got to share some of our bounty with the lil old lady. Keep earning my karma, thats what I say.

So that's all for now. Keep it tuned here for more misadventures, and feel free to check out the blogs of some of my classmates through the various comments left around. Comments on this post, as all posts before, are very welcomed.

It's been a long day, visiting Pristina

All bad Tom Petty references aside, my weekend stay in Pristina has been pretty cool so far. Woke up at the AC of dawn Friday so that we could be in Gjilan at 8 and Pristina by 9. Ate a Bosnia pastry at the aptly named "Bosnia 2" restaurant, then sat in on the conference on NGOs working in this conflict environment. After that, had a bit of a staff meeting, planned out my last couple weeks(!) here in the Balkans pertaining to my report (Draft finished on Thursday, two days ahead of schedule), and made plans to live in Skopje for a few days towards the end of July. They are giving me a week off for good behaviour ;), so I am taking the time to explore Europe, particularly Italy. Since I fly out of Skopje (then back, then out again 36 hours later), it looks as if I'll just crash at my supervisor's spare room in Skopje for a few days before and after trips.

So anyway, after exploring a bit of the city and journaling, I gave Todd a call, as he invited me to chill at his place for the weekend. Wandered around for a bit looking for the alley he lives in down, then get a call to meet him on the main road, as he needed to get supplies ASAP, because his work doesn't want him on the streets really during the protest.

"Protest?" you ask. Yeah, there were protests. I didn't go near them due to the fact I doubt my job, my school, my parents, my sister, my girlfriend or basically anyone who is already worried about me would want me to go near them. Did see lots of cops, though. Anyway, so I got my first glimpse at a hypermarket here in the Balkans... (supermarket for those playing the "at home in the US" game) It makes my lil Simpomarket in Vranje seem.. well, Simple... Got back to his place, unloaded the food and bevereages and coolers, backed down the alleyway (99% successfully), rented "300" from the burned DVD place for ,50Euro, and had some pasta and cheese at the flat.

And what a nice flat it is. Probably about 3x the size of mine, it is increadibly serene. Great views of the city, 3 balconeys, and 2 bathrooms that have yet to smell like ham. Currently we have inflatable swimming pool and pool toys for the beach party tonight, which should be pretty rocking.

Went to the green market early this morning, which was an interesting experience. Bought a T-shirt to replace the one that is nearly worn out (I have a feeling nearly all my clothes are being sacrificed to keep the washermachine gods happy). Did some more exploring, came back, helped set up a bit more for the party including trying to find out where one buys fluid for tiki torches in Kosovo), then ate some various meat-steak sandwhich (I thought i was just ordering meat to cook here until he started putting it on the grill!) . Now just kicking back and waiting until Beach Party:Kosovo begins. I'll be heading back to Vranje tomorrow afternoon, then to Macedonia for an econ event, then moving offices with Davor on Tuesday - the mail will still come to us, as the NGO we share office space with currently will still be there - plus, Davor's sister works for them, so she will make sure it gets to us. Will do the photo thing later on, when my compy is back on the net. Keep the comments coming, and hope everyone is staying safe!

Thoughts Upon Death, Resurrection, and the Lil Old Lady in the Stairwell

Note: If you are someone who is overly sensitive about death, you might want to skip this one.

Still here? Great. Now, some of you may recall me writing about the little old lady (and by little I mean she rests her head on the railing) that stands in the stairwell here in my flat building. Not everyday, but at least 5 times a week, I'd see her there. Just standing. Sometimes she would try to speak to me, once she just poked her head out of her doorway like the Serbian version of "Laugh-in" or "You Can't Do That on Television." Most of the time she just stood there quietly until I was two steps from the landing, which startled me a bit. I used to joke that, just as every troll has its bridge and dragon has its cave, so too does this little old lady have her stairwell.

At least, she did.

You see, I hadn't seen her for a few days. Then I walk up the stairs and, instead of seeing her, I see a coffin and a cross with the dates 1928-2007.

After getting over my shock of "There's a coffin. In my stairwell. Ok...", I started thinking "Oh gods, what if, by talking about this little old lady, I've killed her?!?" And we had just started getting along so well, me saying random English greetings to her, her saying something back in Serbian. And now she was gone. For days people would be standing in the stairwell, talking, crying. Then they slowly stopped showing up, and the hallways were empty again.

Until yesterday, the day I realised the little old lady was no longer dead.

Like every other night after work, I ran up the stairs to my room. I was just about to turn the corner when suddenly I saw her in her old spot, looking over the railing in a very "Snoopy" way.
Now, having thought she was dead for the last 4 days, I was a bit surprised. I would have thought "Zombie!" except that typically zombies say things like "Brains!" (which brings up an interesting point - what happens when you have a room full of zombies that all speak different languages? do they just assume that they are all saying brains, do they have to translate it, or do they just ignore it... I know what thought is going to keep me up all night now...)

The little old lady did not say "Brains." She didn't say anything at all. She just looked really sad. Then I noticed that the death pamphlet (which is how they announce deaths here, apparently) was stuck on the door opposite of hers. So there is a good chance that the woman who died was a friend of the lil old lady in the stairwell. And even better chance that the woman who died was not, in fact, the little old lady. So she probably wasn't resurrected either. Unless you count the fact that in my mind she was dead, and now she was clearly not.

I wanted to say I was sorry for her loss. I wanted to tell her it would be ok. I wanted to tell her something to make her feel better.

Unfortunately my phrasebook doesn't cover "What to say to comfort the lil old lady in your building when she looks so incredibly sad and lost because someone her neighbor just died."

I think I might have to write a letter to the publisher about this... How can they call it "Lonely Planet" and not have a section like that?

VETERANS THREATEN THEY WILL STOP “CAR LAZAR GUARD’

In other news, I'll be heading back to Pristina this weekend for a Round Table and also to meet up with Todd, who's been working there for the last half year or so. Most likely will stick away from the Protest scheduled for Saturday, though.

VETERANS THREATEN THEY WILL STOP “CAR LAZAR GUARD’

(Most dailies, Koha Ditore, p. 6)

Koha Ditore reports that Abdyl Mushkolaj, the head of the war veterans in Dukagjini region, stated on Tuesday that Kosovo institutions will bear a part of responsibility in case a uniform or sign of ‘Car Lazar Guard’ appears in Kosovo on 28 June. Mushkolaj conveyed this message to PM Agim Ceku personally in a meeting.

PM’s spokesperson Ulpiana Lama confirmed holding of a meeting between Ceku and Mushkolaj. “Mushkolaj presented the concerns he has announced publicly to the PM. The PM will bring his worries up in the meeting between the Government, UNMIK, and KFOR,” she said.

According to Lama, individuals of ‘Car Lazar Guard’ may infiltrate amongst the group who will be in Gazimestan. “Citizens should not be worried about this as security structures will deal with this issue,” Lama added.

UCK veterans considered the announcement of ‘Car Lazar Guard’ as a serious provocation. They requested from KFOR and UNMIK to not allow ‘Car Lazar Guard’ enter Kosovo otherwise they will take measures.

“This is a serious provocation. Criminals of Serb terrorist units, who massacred, burned, and destroyed Kosovo, are returning now as members of car Lazar Guard,” read a press release issued by UCK Veterans in Dukagjin region. They believe that KFOR, KPS, and other security structures will not allow them to come to Kosovo. “If that does not happen, we will be forced to take measures as we know and can,” read the press release.

Additionally, under the title “Dangerous Holiday”, Express writes that AKSH (National Albanian Army) will wait ‘Car Lazar Guard’, probably not with flowers, but with bullets. If one believes in the statements of the Serb leaders of this guard and the posters of AKSH, then Serb holiday in Gazimestan on 28 June will be a real battle.

The newspaper writes that AKSH posters are not a joke. Gafurr Adili, the spokesperson of the FBKSH, said, “We disseminated the posters. We are behind them.”

But while citizens read AKSH posters in Skenderaj, Vushtrri, Mitrovica, Kacanik, and other municipalities, four Serb youth from Gjilan and Ferizaj were taking pictures before the Gazimestan monument. “We identify ourselves with Gazimestan, Ljubomir Sojevic told Express.

Sojevic and his friends are ready to join ‘Car Lazar Guard’ believing them to be a group of people who want to unite Serbs.

Famous Faces

So I went to Pristina on Friday, where I got to see many interesting sights, though none quite as interesting as this:



And yes, that's "Welcome to Bill Clinton Blvd." in Albanian. One day, Flat Stanley hopes to have a 3 story banner dedicated to his wave...

I wonder if they'd let me in...

Former US President Bill Clinton Might Visit Albania

18 06 2007 Tirana_ After the “rock star” welcome granted to American president George Bush a week ago, former president Bill Clinton has accepted an invitation from Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha to visit Tirana, said a statement from the prime minister`s cabinet.

Berisha held a meeting with the former president of the United States during a visit at the United Nations in New York where he also met the Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.


At the meeting, Clinton accepted Berisha`s invitation to visit Albania, the Prime Minister’s cabinet said. It remains unclear when Clinton might visit Albania.


The Albanian leader expressed his gratitude to the former US president for his role in pushing for the 1999 NATO intervention against the forces of former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, in Kosovo.


“President Clinton started the NATO intervention, while Bush would be the one remembered as granting Kosovo its independence, so in a certain way a historical circle is closed by both of them,” Enkel Demi, editor of Albania’s private broadcaster TV Klan, said on Monday.


“Though Clinton has not officially confirmed it yet, it would be meaningful if he came on the day when the independence of Kosovo was announced,” he added.


Clinton thanked the Prime Minister for the warm welcome granted to Bush in Albania and gave his support for Albania’s planned integration into NATO and the European Union.



President Bush, received a very warm welcome in Albania, during his eight-hour stopover on June 10, which became the high point of his European tour, marred by protest and rioting elsewhere.



The pictures of the 43rd president of the United States, engulfed in an enthusiastic crowd in the small town of Fushë Kruja, created an echo around the world, creating a much-needed public relations boost for Tirana, which has been struggling to make an arduous transition to democracy since its Stalinist communist regime collapsed 15 years ago.

Source: http://www.birn.eu.com/en/87/15/3330/

Slowly Recovering

So I'm about 60% back to health. Slept most of Wednesday, then went to Kosovo on Thursday and visited some caves with the GPKT kids. Came home, slept, woke up, and came here to Skopje, where we started planning the next coming weeks. Now just waiting for the other parts of our meetings to happen, and hopefully will get back sometime around 17:00 or 19:00 at the latest. This weekend's big plans? Sleep.

In other news, went to the Rt. 66 Diner in Gjilan, where they had this on the menu....