It’s just after 4am at home making it just after 10 here and with no morning planned activities most people are taking advantage and sleeping in. I however, have given up on sleep seeing as I’ve been awake since just after 6 and it’s just too hot so I decided to update all you guys. After I last posted the rest of the night was spent ‘finishing’ my paper. I got it almost done sitting outside the hotel with some of my classmates. The sky was all lit up from thunder and lightning and then finally, the rain came so the three of us sat as far back in our little overhang, enjoying the rain on our feet as we typed away. The next morning did dawn cooler but that is a highly relative term at this point. Yesterday we had our first lecture on the EU from Yannis and it was really interesting. Although the EU is something that comes up a lot in IAF, it’s inner workings had never really been laid before and it was fun to look into it. After lecture we had our first of 2 afternoon meeting (busy day!) so after a quick bakery stop for lunch we headed over to Parliament to meet with two MPs from the Democratic Party in the National Assembly (the ruling party). It was interesting to note that many of the issues the US is dealing with, unemployment, systematic reform, education, and debt and budget control, Serbia is dealing with too. Given the hostile political climate in the US, it’s refreshing to hear the issues come at from a totally different perspective and the steps they are taking to fix their country. Before our meeting we’d gotten to quick look at what was essentially the press room as we walked by but after, we got to look at it up close and personal. Turns out when you’re with an MP, you can pretty much go wherever you want, reminds me of Capitol Hill a little! So ‘our’ MPs, Dejan Nikolic and Milan Vuckovic, got us in to see the chamber where Parliament meets. I pretty much geeked out at this point J and it was really cool to see how their system of speaking works (put your id in a slot on your mic, then press a button, a bit more high tech than ours) and they pointed out where they sit since everyone has assigned seats. Unfortunately we had to get back to Belgrade Lady for our next meeting, this one with Canvas. This group works with movements around the world to promote and share techniques for non-violent social change. It’s an offshoot of the Otpor movement that helped get rid of Milosevic in 2000 and they look to share the success they’ve had with other movements. They’ve done workshops for groups around the world in both successful and non-successful conflicts.
Finally done with official business for the day, we hurried back to the hotel to finish our papers. My room was all done or nearly done so within an hour we were free for the night! Gathering the fellow non-procrastinators we started our night of fun. After a yummy dinner in Tasmaidan Park we headed back to the hotel to gather the troops and walk down to Kalamegeda; somehow the walk never seems as long when there’s good people and good drinks. There, MTV was hosting a ‘concert’ as part of International Student Week in Belgrade. So with the Fort all lit up under the stars and the tunes blasting, we danced the night away. Definitely not a bad end to the day.
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| "Press Room" |
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| Where the National Assembly meets |
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| The MPs we talked to sit right behind these gentlemen |
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