The weather here has been beautiful. Highs in the upper fifties or mid sixties most days. Some rain late at night, or in early morning, but sunny with clean fresh air by midmorning.
Most people I speak with worry about "climate change". They say it is warmer than usual and tell me of heavy snows in years past. I don't know what I think of this. In America, some places such as Chicago, Denver and New York City have experienced very heavy snows and lower than normal temperatures.
This weekend we are off to visit my love's sister at her weekend home on the Danube. Saturday's weather is supposed to be clear and very nice.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Wonderfully Romantic Day
Valentines Day was really special for me this year, here in Novi Sad. My love came home from work with a single red rose for me. It touched my heart that he would be so thoughtful and kind and that he wanted so much to please me.
That night we went to the Radio Novi Sad Auditorium for a concert to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their Tamburitza Orchestra. The show lasted about 2 hours and had beautiful Tamburitza music, singing and a packed house. So many people were there, and many had to be turned away as no seats were available for them.
My love was able to get seats for us on the front row in the center.
The show was broadcast live on TV Novi Sad.
After the show we walked home, slowly and just talked. Relaxed, happy and in love....that pretty much sums up my feelings right now.
That night we went to the Radio Novi Sad Auditorium for a concert to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their Tamburitza Orchestra. The show lasted about 2 hours and had beautiful Tamburitza music, singing and a packed house. So many people were there, and many had to be turned away as no seats were available for them.
My love was able to get seats for us on the front row in the center.
The show was broadcast live on TV Novi Sad.
After the show we walked home, slowly and just talked. Relaxed, happy and in love....that pretty much sums up my feelings right now.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Funeral in Novi Sad
I went to a funeral the other day. It was my first here. In many ways, it was like funerals in the South(in the US, where I am from), but it was also very different.
The woman who died was a very nice lady that I had met before I went back to the US and that I had seen again just a week or so ago. She died suddenly and at a relatively young age.
The night before the funeral, we went to visit her family...to pay a condolence call. I was able to meet her husband, her two daughters and a son-in-law. All of them were warm and friendly people.
It is traditional to drink a little rakija (brandy) with the family "for the soul" of the departed. I think this is a lovely tradition. Everyone spoke quietly of the one who was missing from the table. I think my companion brought comfort to the husband and family, and hopefully I did not detract.
Like so many of the young people here, one of the daughters spoke English and seemed to enjoy my being there. We spoke of her children and mine and looked at photographs. She spoke of her interests and aspirations. I think I have made a new friend.
The next day, we all rode on a chartered bus to the very large cemetary here. This woman was employed at a school, so the bus was arranged for by the school. Many teachers and staff attended the funeral.
Once we arrived at the cemetary, we viewed the body and then waited a little while and were ushered in to a large room where the casket and a large flower cart holding all of the flowers people brought was wheeled in.
Members of her family spoke about her and her life. A recording of what we would call "Taps" began to play and we all filed slowly out. As we processed down to where the grave site was, silently and slowly, this music expanded into a beautiful anthem of some sort. I am assuming that this is played traditionally at funerals.
As we walked, the flower cart was first, followed by a man carrying a wooden marker with her name on it and the year of her birth and her death. Then several men carried the casket. The immediate family came next and then everyone else...friends and other relatives.
At the grave site, the daughter chose a floral arrangement provided by the family and it was buried on top of the casket itself. A few family members stepped forward and put in a handful of dirt. Then, very solemly, the dirt was filled back in.
As we left the grave site a small table was set up with a container of water for washing hands and a towel, a very large loaf of bread and small paper cups of rakija. My companion told me that this was a tradition as well. I was to take a little bread and eat it and then take a small cup of rakija. I was told to pour just a drop out on the ground...an offering for her soul, as before and then drink the rest. Then, we continued on to the bus.
The bus took us back to the school where a reception was set up with food and drink. The family and those who wanted to were welcomed by school staff and we spent some time there, speaking quietly.
This whole experience was touching to me. It reinforced what I have already come to know...life is so short and can change so quickly. All we really have in the end is love. This woman's husband loved her very much as did the rest of her family and friends.
There must have been about 100 people at this funeral. Where I am from, that is alot of people for a funeral of someone who is not in the public eye.
The woman who died was a very nice lady that I had met before I went back to the US and that I had seen again just a week or so ago. She died suddenly and at a relatively young age.
The night before the funeral, we went to visit her family...to pay a condolence call. I was able to meet her husband, her two daughters and a son-in-law. All of them were warm and friendly people.
It is traditional to drink a little rakija (brandy) with the family "for the soul" of the departed. I think this is a lovely tradition. Everyone spoke quietly of the one who was missing from the table. I think my companion brought comfort to the husband and family, and hopefully I did not detract.
Like so many of the young people here, one of the daughters spoke English and seemed to enjoy my being there. We spoke of her children and mine and looked at photographs. She spoke of her interests and aspirations. I think I have made a new friend.
The next day, we all rode on a chartered bus to the very large cemetary here. This woman was employed at a school, so the bus was arranged for by the school. Many teachers and staff attended the funeral.
Once we arrived at the cemetary, we viewed the body and then waited a little while and were ushered in to a large room where the casket and a large flower cart holding all of the flowers people brought was wheeled in.
Members of her family spoke about her and her life. A recording of what we would call "Taps" began to play and we all filed slowly out. As we processed down to where the grave site was, silently and slowly, this music expanded into a beautiful anthem of some sort. I am assuming that this is played traditionally at funerals.
As we walked, the flower cart was first, followed by a man carrying a wooden marker with her name on it and the year of her birth and her death. Then several men carried the casket. The immediate family came next and then everyone else...friends and other relatives.
At the grave site, the daughter chose a floral arrangement provided by the family and it was buried on top of the casket itself. A few family members stepped forward and put in a handful of dirt. Then, very solemly, the dirt was filled back in.
As we left the grave site a small table was set up with a container of water for washing hands and a towel, a very large loaf of bread and small paper cups of rakija. My companion told me that this was a tradition as well. I was to take a little bread and eat it and then take a small cup of rakija. I was told to pour just a drop out on the ground...an offering for her soul, as before and then drink the rest. Then, we continued on to the bus.
The bus took us back to the school where a reception was set up with food and drink. The family and those who wanted to were welcomed by school staff and we spent some time there, speaking quietly.
This whole experience was touching to me. It reinforced what I have already come to know...life is so short and can change so quickly. All we really have in the end is love. This woman's husband loved her very much as did the rest of her family and friends.
There must have been about 100 people at this funeral. Where I am from, that is alot of people for a funeral of someone who is not in the public eye.
Friday, February 9, 2007
I Have Returned!
I have returned from a two month trip back to the US. I had some loose ends to tie up there and my departure was sudden.
While I was in the US, eating junk food as well as just regular high calorie home cooked meals, I really packed on some pounds. Altogether about 15 pounds. Of course, it was during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, so I'm sure I am not the only American who put on a few pounds...hahaha.
I was also very unhappy to be away from here and food becomes solace sometimes....not a good thing, I know.
I am so happy to be back here, where food is healthy and where I can walk off this weight. We have been walking everyday, visiting friends, running errands, holding hands and just enjoying the peacefulness of this place and celebrating our love for each other.
When I got back, I was greeted by everyone as if they had looked for me everyday. It made me feel so good. My love has done everything he can do to make sure I am comfortable, even though my return was also fairly sudden and he had little time to prepare.
It has been unseasonably warm here. A week or so before I came back, they had a little bit of snow fall. And the day I flew in, it had snowed a bit in Belgrade.
I am from the South, so naturally the thought of a beautiful snowfall appeals to me. I am hoping it will snow soon. Not a dramatic snowfall, just a few inches would be fine.
This weekend, we will take a train up to the North to visit family. I am looking forward to seeing what that part of Serbia looks like. I think Novi Sad is the most beautiful part, but of course I am prejudiced and partial towards green grass, dark farmland and seeing mountains in the distance on a beautiful, clear day. (They call them hills, but for a flatlander from Louisiana, they are mountains.)
If anyone else is reading this, please take a moment to celebrate with me my return to this special place with such special people.
While I was in the US, eating junk food as well as just regular high calorie home cooked meals, I really packed on some pounds. Altogether about 15 pounds. Of course, it was during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, so I'm sure I am not the only American who put on a few pounds...hahaha.
I was also very unhappy to be away from here and food becomes solace sometimes....not a good thing, I know.
I am so happy to be back here, where food is healthy and where I can walk off this weight. We have been walking everyday, visiting friends, running errands, holding hands and just enjoying the peacefulness of this place and celebrating our love for each other.
When I got back, I was greeted by everyone as if they had looked for me everyday. It made me feel so good. My love has done everything he can do to make sure I am comfortable, even though my return was also fairly sudden and he had little time to prepare.
It has been unseasonably warm here. A week or so before I came back, they had a little bit of snow fall. And the day I flew in, it had snowed a bit in Belgrade.
I am from the South, so naturally the thought of a beautiful snowfall appeals to me. I am hoping it will snow soon. Not a dramatic snowfall, just a few inches would be fine.
This weekend, we will take a train up to the North to visit family. I am looking forward to seeing what that part of Serbia looks like. I think Novi Sad is the most beautiful part, but of course I am prejudiced and partial towards green grass, dark farmland and seeing mountains in the distance on a beautiful, clear day. (They call them hills, but for a flatlander from Louisiana, they are mountains.)
If anyone else is reading this, please take a moment to celebrate with me my return to this special place with such special people.
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