Go Pack!!

Happy New Year!!

Well I am back in Serbia after three weeks in the States for the holidays. I was sick for two of them, but I would do it again because I had a lot of fun. I am one week into three weeks of exams. I haven't left my apartment because I am grading written exams and dictations. I have a long list of things to get done in the next two weeks so hopefully, if I stay focused, I will get a lot done.

You will never believe what I found on TV...The Pack vs Giants game! It has an all-Serbian commentary, but who listens to the announcers anyway? It looks freezing there but at least it isn't snowing. I hope they win! I know everyone in WI is watching now.

I just wanted to let you know I am back and around, but extremely busy. I am going to have to cut back on something next year if I am going to survive. Talk to you all later.

Peace out!

My apartment

A lot of people have been asking about my apartment. Not having seen a lot of other people's places, I have been told that mine is rather large for one person. It should be for as much as I am paying for it (thanks weak dollar!). Here are some pictures of my flat. It is rather on the bright side with a ton of furniture from Indonesia and other countries around the world. My landlady and her husband travel a lot for his job. There are definitely a lot of places to sit. And there is extra sleeping space for three if anyone makes it over here.

I'm not sure how long I will be in this place. It is great and I love the location, but I can't see spending the money when I could be saving around $200 more a month with a smaller place. That's all for now. I am trapped in my lovely apartment this weekend correcting essays and working on a power point presentation.

Take care,
Jaime

Thanksgiving Party

Thanksgiving Day came and went in the traditional ex-pat fashion...working. One of the downfalls to working in foreign countries is that I don't get to celebrate American holidays. But I do get to experience new local holidays. That in itself is always a great experience.

This thanksgiving, or the Saturday after it, I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner. As nervous as I was (mainly about the turkey) everything went over smoothly. There were 18 people total representing America, Serbia, France, Portugal, China, Spain and Slovakia. If I couldn't spend Thanksgiving with my family, this is how I would want to spend it.

For 80% of the people there, this was the first time to see such a feast. They oohed and aahed at the bird in and out of the oven, they drooled over the stuffing and demanded recipes for the pumpkin pie. After the dinner I heard comments like, "My belly feels like it is going to explode" "You guys will have to roll me home" "I've never eaten so much food before". This was music to my ears. I informed them that these feelings meant that they have experienced a true American Thanksgiving.

And no one got sick or died, so I am very thankful!

Here are some pictures of my apartment and from the dinner party. Enjoy!

"...during the bombing..."

The other day, some of my students invited me to join them at a cafe for a coffee. I had a ton to do, but I needed the escape from my daily routine. It's always nice to see what my students are up too and what their thoughts on current events and school life are.

At one point in the conversation, my students were telling me about strange eating habits that they had at one point in their lives. As natural as breathing, one students said, "...during the bombing, I used to eat..." and I don't remember the rest. I just stayed on that phrase. He said it so casually. I had a moment of clarity on how lucky my life has been this far. Can you imagine what your life would have been like if you could honestly use that phrase? I can't even imagine. My students were 10-15 years old and had nothing to do with the politics involved that brought on the bombing. Think of all the children today that have to suffer because of the decisions adults make. Imagine if it was your child, your students, or someone you love.

I don't mean to turn negative and philosophical, but it started me thinking. I had no idea what to say to my students. They weren't looking for a response to that quote, but at times, I feel that when they discuss the part of their lives that had war and bombs, they are silently asking me for some explanation. Those are the times when I feel guilty for something I didn't do, guilty that it happened to them, sorry that I can't fully understand what it was like, and sorry for not knowing what to say to them.

I have a lot more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

My 20lb Turkey Baby

Thanksgiving is on this year thanks to a local butcher shop that just happened to have the largest, fresh, raw turkey that I've ever seen. Let me go back a bit in this story.

Because I have no American friends here who always put on the annual American holiday, I felt it was my civic duty to carry on the tradition. I have lots of Serbian and other foreign friends here whom have never experienced it, so I thought, "Why not?" I went to the US Embassy to see what they had that could help me create the authentic meal. Low and behold, they had a freezer filled with 16pound turkeys and hams all for a reasonable price. After selecting my stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie mix (I'm not crazy enough to make it all from scratch) I asked the checkout man when I should buy my turkey. He said, "We don't have any turkeys. You had to order them in September. All those turkeys are spoken for." I almost died. Where was I going to get a turkey? They don't have them in every store like they do in the States. My Serbian friend assured me that we could find a turkey somewhere in Belgrade. I had my doubts, but the tradition must go on. At the very least, we were going to have a turkey shaped meatloaf.

So after chatting with an American friend at a cafe today, she told me that the large butcher close by sometimes has turkey, or at least turkey pieces, so maybe we could order one. There in the glass case, right next to the pig's feet, sat a beautiful, big, naked turkey with my name on it. Thanks to the weak dollar, my bird cost me around $44, but it was a small price to pay for the happiness I felt at the time. Hopefully I don't ruin it.

It still had its neck on, so I asked the guy if he could cut it off. He said, "Of course, but you will have to take it home with you." We stared at him and asked if he could just throw it away. Nope. I had to take it home with me. Okay. I was confused, but it was rather funny. So he put it in two plastic bags and I had to carry it 1.5 miles to my apartment. It was squishy and very heavy. We joked that if we were attacked, we could whip out the neck and threaten to beat off our attacker with it. Imagine his surprise!

So I carried my raw turkey across town in a loving manner that only a woman who has carried 20+ pounds of matter in front of her must feel. (ps...Not having kids. I walked for 30 minutes with that weight. I don't think I could do that for several months.) I checked to see if it would fit in my oven and the roasting pan (just barely) and then showed it to its new home in my freezer. Thank goodness I still lead a college cuisine lifestyle (there is plenty of room in my fridge/freezer). I can't wait to bring it out to thaw.

I'll post pictures of my party on this site. If anyone is in town on the 24th of November, you are welcomed to the feast. Oh, and if any of my Weiler relatives know the recipe for that broccoli, grape, walnut salad that Aunt Doreen makes, I would love to get my hands on it.

Serbian Kiss

I had my first Serbian kiss the other day. Don't get too excited. This is G rated. I was walking to school the other day when I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw a professor that I conducted interviews with when I first arrived. I was so excited to see her, that I ran over to her intending to give her a hug. We ended up doing the three cheek Serbian kiss, which was totally fun! I think Americans need to do more cheek kissing, at the very least. I was so focused on the cheek kiss that I missed the first couple of sentences that she said. Ending result: she is going to come and sit-in on some of my classes this week.

On a different note, Serbian class is still dragging along. Some of the students have started to discuss the lack of value in some of the teachers' methods. I find it tasteless for a teacher to skip over students just because they are at a lower skill level. This is very common here and people are trying to change it. In a way, it is great that I am taking this course. I know what my students are going/went through, I know what needs to change and I am inspired to write an article about it. I thought I had nothing to offer, but now I see there is so much that I can do. An announcement for a large Language Teacher's Conference just went out, so I am looking at what idea to submit and present on at the end of May. Got any ideas?

If anybody over there is paying attention, I would like the dollar to get a little stronger please. It is killing me over here. My rent has gone up $100 without ever increasing in price. I know it will get stronger the day before I officially pack my bags and leave this country. So is my life and how it is influenced by the economy. And I thought I wouldn't ever use those ECON classes that I took at UWEC.

The weather has been nice lately, I guess. I don't know what the norm is here. One student told me that this year they only had two seasons, winter and summer. We kind of skipped over the fall and went right to winter for a while. We are in the high 50's and sometimes get in the low 60's. The wind and rain combo don't help anything. Today I woke up with sun coming in my window and I felt like I was in a parallel universe.


I have decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at my place this year. All are welcome! I am expecting around 20 people from my Serbian class as well as from the American Corner. Of all 20 people, only 2 will be Americans, so I am looking forward to teaching them about the holiday as well as just siting around eating good food and having a good time. I can get most of the ingredients at the Embassy, praise be. We will have all the traditional Weiler fixings, minus the homemade stuffing and gravy. If you saw the size of my kitchen and all 2 pots that I have to cook with, you would understand why. And since they don't know what it should taste like, Stove Top will be good enough...for now. Maybe next year I will venture into that dangerous area. One of my friends, Ana, asked what time they should come over to hang the turkey. Bless her heart! I think I will tell her to come over the day before to help me string it up and then give her the honors of plucking and de-beaking it. I'll take pictures. (For all you who are wondering, I am cooking a frozen bird.)

Lastly, I thought you should all know that the Packers have twice made international news, thanks to the fantastic workings of one Brett Favre. Way to go Pack!

Happy Halloween tomorrow! I hope you all get some healthy candy, brush your teeth and be responsible. Talk to you soon. Slang class on Thursday. Should be interesting.

Idioms and Slang

Well my Idioms and Slang class at the American Corner was a hit. 30 people showed up. I was shocked. The class wasn't even advertised. It was a lively group of adults who worked off of my list of terms and asked a lot of questions about other terms that related to that list or just terms that they heard somewhere. There were too many people to have them use the slang in their own way, but they didn't seem to care. It bothered me as an English teacher, but they seemed to enjoy it. I hope the class doesn't get any bigger. They will have to sit on the floor or in the rafters.

My last two days of classes went exceptionally well. I always feel bad for my Wednesday classes. They are like my run-through. By Friday, everything runs like clockwork. It's unfair, but there is nothing to do about it. And my class size is growing. There were about 6 extra people signed in for each class. How the heck am I suppose to teach all of them? And in a room that stifles any sort of creative thinking/movement. A definite godsend is the class website I made. They use it, they have too. And everything is on it. It's the fastest way to communicate with 180 people.

This weekend is suppose to be rainy and cold, so it is cleaning and lesson planning for me. Haven't done much site seeing yet, but hopefully soon. I went to the movies with two of my students. That was a nice break from my normal routine. I also went to the Embassy to check out their "store" of American food. I almost died because I was in heaven. They didn't have anything extraordinary, but they had a lot of things that I can't get here. Cereal, cookie dough, Tombstone pizza, Ben & Jerry's, spices, maple syrup (but not like dad's) and much much more. I can make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Could make a turkey, but who else would eat it? Then there is always the fear that I would give someone food poisoning from under cooking it. Maybe I'll wait and see if anyone will invite me to their party. Either way, I'll have to work that day.

Must send off some emails. Catch ya later.