This being one of those times when Sass is not in Serbia

A brief update on the past few days which have been hectic. First there was the Eurovision semi-final, which was a total blast! I had a great time enjoying (some of) the music, watching the fans (Sweden and Georgia have the most enthusiastic fans) and partying with friends old and new. I was surprised and disappointed when some of the fans chose to boo some contestants from countries with, um, different political agendas than Serbia, but I learned that it is not unheard of at Eurovision. The Danes (who are in fact great) snuck us into the OFFICIAL after-party. Tons of fans, all of the finalists and those who didn't make it (big hello to Morena from Malta- a very positive young woman!). The best part is that most reviews of the organization and hospitality of my adopted brethren have been very positive!

At this point, I could spend a lot of time telling you how awful the winner is... and contemplating how he beat this and this and this and this (one of my favorites). But you can't beat a dead horse.

Then I got up very, very early and flew to Frankfurt, and then to Washington, DC, and then I sat around for five hours, and then I flew to Chicago and then finally to Kansas City. Luckily I made it at the same time as my bags, and with the everything that I had packed in them. It was a Christmas miracle*, except in June. After that, it was a 1.5 hour drive to Topeka at which point I passed out on my uncle's couch and slept like the dead. Not surprisingly, I seem to have brought the rain with me, even across the pond. But unlike the rest of my recent travels, these are powerful Kansas thunderstorms, with lightening and thunder that doesn't seem to end.

Since then, I have been chillin' with the family and tonight I am going to hang out with even older friends. I miss my home and privacy and even work (well, I am getting enough of that) but am looking forward to the other parts of my trip- Maine, Baltimore, DC, and Nashville. And then I will need a vacation.

* In the last six months, I have had bags go missing for several days (thanks United airlines!), had $400 stolen from me on the way to Mexico, and of course the heart rate monitor and panties. It was with great trepidation that I approached the baggage claim area at the Kansas City International Airport. You can imagine my relief to find my belongings unmolested.

I also love Eurovision, Icelanders, and my new Danish friends

On Monday, my friend Oli gave me the lowdown on an Icelandic Eurovision party at a club near my house. I wanted to go, but you need to be "the list"... well, it turns out that you can find any Icelandic mobile phone number online. So, he sends me the number of one member of the group, Hera. So I sent her the following:

"Hi Hera! I am an American living in Belgrade, and I love Iceland and your music! I would love to come meet you tonight... can I come to the party?"

I waited nervously for her reply... which was "Of course!!! See you there!"

How friendly! So my friend and I headed out. It was a total blast, and different from most night's out in Belgrade as the majority of the crowd was a) foreign and b) of the gay persuasion. After the contestants from Iceland and Denmark performed, the party seemed to be wrapping up. We started talking to the guys at the table next to us, who were all from Denmark and travel to Eurovision every year. They were also very friendly! We went with them to a club that was featuring karaoke of previous song contest winners and lots of dancing. It was a total blast! My feet where killing me when I hobbled home at 3:00 but it was totally worth it.

Then we found out that there were still tickets available for the semi-final tonight. So we are going- and we are going to get to see some of the most highly-anticipated performances including Ukraine, Sweden and Denmark. And Iceland- they may not be tipped to win, but they sure are sweet.

I love Belgrade

It is never boring here- and I am always happy to get back home when I have been on the road. I love the people and there is always something going on (and often many somethings at the same time).

This weekend I was at a press conference which was being held at the same place as the events leading up to Eurovision 2008 (the official site does not illustrate what an amazing cheese fest this is, for better info check out what the guys at Belgrade 2.0 have on it)!! I have been bummed for months that I wasn't able to score tickets to this exciting event. It was fun to see half-naked people and men in make-up and news crews from around the world (well, Europe and Israel anyway).

This weekend was also the 5th annual Belgrade Museum night. I visited several interesting museums and exhibits (along with seemingly the entire population of Belgrade). While I didn't get to see everything on my agenda, I did have a good time. Last year, Museum Night was one of the first events I took part in in Belgrade, and Sanja won second place in the photo contest! She hasn't decided if she has anything to enter this year...

I also visited the town of Topola yesterday. About an hour from Belgrade, and the location of Oplenac (which houses the church and graves of the Serbian royal family), it makes for a lovely day trip especially when the weather is nice (more on that later). The church has amazing mozaics made from an estimated 6 bajillion pieces of tile (ok, I can't remember the exact number quoted, but there was a six and many zeros). There was also a very beautiful crypt which we were told one of the 10 most beautiful in the world (who decides this things?). I have only seen three crypts, and I can say it was the most beautiful (but not necessarily the most impressive) of those (seen here and here).

We got back into town moments after a freak hail storm. I dozed off in the car (don't worry, I wasn't driving) and woke up as we were approaching downtown Belgrade. There was water pouring over the bridges and overpasses and parts of trees were down all over the place. A decent amount of damage was done in less than half an hour. See? Never boring!

I do not fear the promaja

I got out of bed yesterday and heard a great CRACK from the vicinity of my neck. At first it didn't hurt much, unless I moved, but as the day wore on it got worse. A little massage, and lot of hot compress and still pretty painful, but that is not what this is about.

Upon learning about my ailment, my Serbian friends (almost without fail) ask when and where I was exposed to a draft (not a military draft, or even draft beer, we are talking about a current of air type draft). I have encountered this fear of air before, in Ukraine and Russia. I recall traveling by bus through Crimea in August, and nearly coming to blows with my neighbor about opening the bus window. My point was that I needed air to BREATHE, and she was afraid that the "skvoznyak" would make her sick.

I am more inclined to think that my neck issue is a result of stress, and the fact that over the last week I have been spending 12 hours a day hunched over my computer.

I am not discounting that the promaja causes pain and illness to Serbs, but I don't think it affects me. I have also been told throughout my years of living outside of the US that I would get sick from air conditioning, ice, cold water, and air currents. And I'm still here.

Ridiculous happenings on a recent trip to Montenegro

So, this week I had a very short trip to Podgorica, Montenegro. I flew down early Tuesday morning for a few meetings, including one meeting with the US ambassador (who is quite attractive BTW). I checked a small bag at the airport since I was carrying some books for work.

When I got checked into the hotel, I discovered that someone had helped themselves to a couple of items from my suitcase. What, you ask? The watch part of my heart rate monitor and the ONLY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR that I packed for my overnight trip. Thanks!

It gets better... Wednesday morning, as I getting dressed for my big important meeting (with the attractive ambassador) the zipper on my pants breaks. And I am not wearing underwear. Fortunately, my shirt is long enough that as long as I do not move my arms AT ALL no one will see my business. No easy task, as I am very animated. Luckily, and with great restraint I was successful in keeping my privates, well, private (unlike this poor guy).

UPDATE- Group shot of me trying to cover my business from the embassy site!

What am I doing here?

No, not here as in Serbia. Here as in bloggerville. When I moved back to the US after several years in Ukraine there were a few words in the American lexicon that were completely foreign to me- BLOG being one of them (I also had no idea what American Idol was, I'm still a little fuzzy on that one).

Now that everybody and their monkey can have their own blog (even those of us with no technical skills! Thanks, Google!) I thought I would give it a try. Will it be interesting? Hard to say. A lot of crazy stuff happens to me though, so I hope that someone out there will enjoy reading about my life.