After what feels like a very long day I'm finally in Belgrade, sitting in a park on my laptop typing away with my new roommates. Yesterday, or earlier today depending on how you look at it, got to Logan with no problem, just over 3 hours ahead of the flight, after a day of putzing around ready to go. Luckily, I met a fellow dialoguer in line to check my bag and not long through security found a few more. Over the next few hours our little group grew from 2 to 3 to 19 of us all anxiously waiting to get on the plane and few knowing what to expect once we landed. Since you're supposed to get to the airport an ungodly 3 hours before an international flight, there was plenty of time to people watch and get to know the others. Finally, time to fly over, via Lufthansa which was definitely one of the nicest airlines I’ve been on; lots of food (it was even mostly edible!), complimentary drinks, and entertainment but definitely light on sleep. Also, sitting in a block with the other students was probably for the best – nothing breaks the ice like a 7+ hour flight! After a brief layover in Munich where everyone was glad to stretch their legs for a bit we took a bus through the airport to our next flight to Belgrade. Of course it was cold and started sprinkling while we were outside getting onto the plane, always does for me, but soon we were off. An hour and a half later we touched down in Serbia, finally here. All 19 of us navigated through baggage claim and customs where I got my first stamp in my ‘adult’ passport before heading out into the mass of people waiting for arrivals to our tour bus, our home on wheels for the next 5 weeks. After a mini tour of new & old Belgrade on our way to the hotel we got settled into our home for the next 2 weeks. For the first time we got a better idea of what we’d be doing during our time here and it’s easier now to picture how my days will be spent. Wandering around our little neighborhood, we found a nice little coffee shop next to a park with outdoor seating. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time there, sitting in the shade just observing and writing during our down time. Hell, I even got a coffee (granted it was mocha but still) so maybe I’ll come back to the states a coffee drinker? Who knows, it does seem to be a big thing here. Between that and ordering a Turkish kebab for dinner, I was feeling a bit better about not being able to speak any of the language and being able to try new foods. I’m sure it’ll get easier and easier to communicate as I pick up little phrases here and there. There wasn’t a whole lot to see today as most of the stores, banks, etc were already closed since it was Sunday afternoon but tomorrow we’ll be exploring more. It was kind of cool to see people so invested in Wimbledon; it’s not something I usually see in the US because we haven’t had anyone worth having a vested interest in for quite some time and I forget how exciting it can be instead of just a snippet in the sports section of the paper. The city is different than what I expected but I’m not sure exactly what I expected or if it’s a good or a bad thing, only time will tell but I expect it’ll have its ups and downs just like any city. I think it’s rougher around the edges than I expected but I also know looks can be deceiving. I’m excited to get to know it, there’s a market we’re checking out tomorrow and just generally looking at things when they’re open. Can't wait! :)
 |
| Where I'll be spending lots of free time |
 |
| Park next to the hotel with wi-fi |
No comments:
Post a Comment