I somehow suspect I’m going to have a lot less to say about today and fewer pictures because they take forever to upload. After breakfast we had our first hands on experience with Belgrade’s public transportation. There’s no underground metro here but there is a series of buses and trolleys that can get you most anywhere. It costs ~50 dinar a ride which is less than $1 and reminds me a lot of the green line. It’s quite crowded and warm. One major difference is that you are actually supposed to use all the doors and can punch your ticket anywhere you get on; and you actually need to, the doors don’t stay open for very long, no waiting for your turn to pile on. After riding across the rive to another part of Belgrade, new Belgrade, we met with the CEO of B92, a Serbian media station. Originally a radio station, they now do TV and internet as well and are one of the few national broadcasters and the only to be on all forms of media. They like to take the role of government watchdog, and are critical of the government regardless of who is in power. They were shut down several times by Milosevic for this reason. After a crowded bus ride back to ‘our’ part of the city, it was time to explore for lunch. I may be developing a weird focus on food but we were so excited to find a little sandwich shop with AC and fries, it will be returned to. Then it was time for class, during which we talked about post-Cold War theories on the world and specifically critiqued Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations. I’m not sure any of the theorists are ‘right’ so far, it seems far too simplistic. As a general principle I have trouble with all encompassing theories because they assume so much about people. Post class we darted through raindrops to a nearby coffee shop when we typed up blog entries, downloaded readings, uploaded pictures and just generally bummed of regular internet. Like I said, much shorter, but I’m off to the next lecture. Talk to ya’ll soon!
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