Greetings from Belgrad. I am taking an hour to update you fine people during my one day of rest. I have just spent two weeks in the middle of nowhere, Serbia, and tomorrow I am off to Romania to vacation with my family for another two weeks. This month is so different from the rest of the trip I can't even describe it.

The last two weeks were wonderful! I got to meet new beautiful, amazing people. I got to relax in peaceful Grza in a cottage in the forest, where we were often visited by cows and horses. I went there to clean up the forest, and we did work hard for a couple days, but there is a major lack of supplies and organization in Serbia. So I spent most of my time getting to know my new friends, reading in the hammock, hiking in the nearby hills, swimming in the lake, or just horsing around.

It is hard to explain the contrast between these two weeks and the rest of our trip. One major difference was the personal encounters. For most of the last 4 months Scott and I have been getting a general education in each country (we learn a little art and history from museums, and a little culture and language from books and receptionists). But in Grza we only met individuals who were much less and much more than representatives of their countries.

The lack of work allowed for other unexpected activities, like meeting the locals. We visited Laka a few times--he is an old man who lives alone (unless you count his dogs, cats, horses, cows and pigs) in a neglected hut on the top of a secluded hill. He is always complaining that no one visits him, but he is like a local legend, very respected int he community, and he always has company. Each time we visited we were treated to homemade rakia (a deliciously sweet and strong drink) and fresh cheese and bread. We spent an afternoon picking his plums for rakia, and we bought a lot of cheese. Sitting in his cramped sleeping/living/diningroom, next to the huge antlers hung on the wall covered in naked ladies, I always had a good time. The informal laughter that filled the room really made me feel at home.

We also visited Nikolai, the veterinarian who lives down the road. He invited us for a party one night, and gave us a tour of his beautiful house. By candlelight he explained how he built the complicated structure by hand. We heartily enjoyed his rakia, fresh corn, and cheese burek (a delicate pastry that really fills you up). With the help of said rakia and skilled accordion playing, we were soon all singing. At midnight the singing came to a climax as the accordion broke out into Happy Birthday. Only in Serbia have I received a double encore of the song, and by such lively singers!

The next day everyone pretended to forget about my birthday as we toured around the area. We saw three different Orthodox monasteries, an eery cave, a smallwaterfall, and an amazing concert. The a cappella group sang such haunting Russian tunes, we were all deeply moved. On our way home Ksenija (our group leader) said that we had to stop by the main town to do some paper work. After 12 hours on a bus driving through the cold rain I was too exhausted to suspect anything, even as we stepped in to a cozy cafe and Ksenija said we had to wait for the paperwork to print out. I never expected the cake, card and presents until they were right in front of me, as I received another triple Happy Birthday song. Only in Serbia!