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.

Second Week of Classes

It is the second week of classes, third of Serbian, and things are progressing well. As of any course one teaches, things have to be adjusted. And in the case of teaching in Serbia, things have to be adjusted, shifted, re-aligned, moved, shoved and deleted when needed. The education structure at the university level is so different from what I am used to, that it leaves my head spinning, or pounding, when I think about it. The schedule, the requirements, the TESTING, the retesting, the resources (or lack there of), the room set up are all different. I don't know if I can go into detail about it now. Let's just say that this position will keep me on my toes for quite a while.

I also started my classes at the American corner. I have a middle school and high school conversation class. At first, a little 7 year old girl showed up. We looked at some books and worked on her colors and numbers. Then two middle school girls showed up, so I had a two second panic attack, and then figured out a way to involve them into a lesson with the very young, beginning student. They all worked very well together, which was a huge relief for me.

The high school class had three students and the two middle school girls in it. They were very eager to talk about anything and everything. It is always in these situations too, where I feel I am not the best person to talk about America. For while I have seen a lot of the world, I have seen little of my own country. When I explain this, it usually gets me a lot of disappointed looks. I promise them all (and myself) that someday I will see America. All of them said they would come to my Slang & Idiom class tomorrow night. I can't wait. That should be a fun class.

I am immensely proud of myself for starting a class website where i post everything that we talk about in class as well some extra links for English help or information on upcoming events. Most of the students have never had this type of resource before, so I hope they will tell other students/professors so it will be used more in the future. I already have 400 hits on my site and that was in one week. It takes a lot of the responsibility away from me and is put more on the student. They can't say they never got the information or didn't know what was due. As of now, this is the only kind of technology I can use in my class. Other than that, I am super busy studying Serbian (the grammar is the worst), planning lessons, grading papers, updating my class website and trying to put it all here for you.

I enjoy hearing from you. Please write comments on anything you would like to hear more about. I would love to educate you on that subject...well, as best as I can. Peace out!

First Day of School

Much has happened since I last submitted. I started Serbian classes at the university. Talk about a lot of lecture hours, the class is Monday to Thursday from 9.30am until 12pm. I thought it was a great idea. The first day, I pepped myself up the entire walk to school. I was going to try hard and not get discouraged. Then in walks the teacher. Long story short, after 2.5 hours of a lady speaking 99.9% of the time in Serbian, and not letting us have any chance to talk at all, I was on the verge of tears. Is this how my students grew up learning language? Is this how they grew up learning anything?! I was so upset, I went home and couldn't do anything. I lounged on the couch in a mental shock. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the US educational system, but let me tell you, we have some pretty darn good teachers out there.

I'm not saying that Serbia has the worst educational system that I've ever seen. Heck no. They all could use a ton of work. I think since I am now in charge of teaching English to people who want to be English teachers or translators, I need to give them an example of what good teaching/active learning/room for creativity and personal growth can be. They are all good kids. I have high expectations for them, even if they don't for themselves.

The classes are going well, even though it is only week one. They were pretty quiet and I was told they are this way for several reasons: 1. They need time to trust me. They are used to being yelled at and belittled, not trusted. 2. Their peers will make fun of their language if they have poor speaking skills. 3. My teaching style (full of energy and fun) seems to shock and confuse them. I will give it some time. I hope they will come around. They are so focused on the grades that they don't see the learning process or the purpose for learning whatever it is they are working on.

Really, if you do anything today, when you see a teacher, tell them 'thank you' and 'keep up the good work'. We really are lucky. One of my friends who is a librarian at the American Corner, just came back from a 10 day tour of some of America's libraries. She said, "Oh my god, Jaime. Your libraries are unbelievable! You have so many books!" She went to several different states, but it was at a library in Illinois were she said that their children's section alone had more books than our entire library. She was also floored that the budget that library has every month for books in the children's section alone, is the same as the budget that the American Corner has for the whole year to spend on everything, even equipment like computers, copiers and projection screens. She was floored. I'm very proud of our libraries. Taxes can have their up side. Keep up the great work Aunt Debbie and Aunt Kitty!

So thank your teachers for their hard work and go to your local library and check out a book! I have to get up early for the 8am class, so take care and I'll write again soon.

Pictures: (a cute and lovely port-A-potty, Serbian Class, a lecture at the American corner)

Things in motion

Things in motion stay in motion...and boy is the ball rolling. Everything has started moving and I am so excited to see what I am going to be doing over the next eight of months. I've had several meetings with my colleagues as the department of philology, the staff at the American Corner and the Embassy. I now know what I am going to be doing, but I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to be doing it. buildings downtown

I have one course that I will be teaching at the University, Essay and Conversation, which entails teaching writing, conversation and dictation. I have around 190 third year students that are split into six groups. I see each group once a week for a 90 minute class. I sat in on some oral exams today, and it was very inspiring. I will tell you more about it in a later blog.

Then I will also be teaching several courses at the American Corner: conversation for high schoolers, conversation for elementary students, idioms and slang, play acting for kids and story hour. I want to offer something for elementary and secondary English teachers, but I might have to do that in their classroom. The American Corner is just too busy. street signs

Besides the American Corner in Belgrade, there are six others throughout Serbia that I will be going to and speaking at as an additional resource. It will be a great way to see other parts of Serbia and meet more people. I hope to be doing this on Mondays. After all the papers that I think I will be checking, I might have bit off more than I can chew....but I love to be busy so maybe it will be just the right amount.

And from a technological point of view, I have come to terms with my hardware and software. I realized that I have to look at technology like learning a new language; you need to practice it to learn it. I want to do all of these great things for my class and for you guys, but I don't want to actually do it myself because I don't know how to. So after sitting in my wicker lounge chair with my computer on my lap for 6 hours every night this last week, I feel like I am half way to where I want to be. Good thing I have another week to reach my goal. I guess the best motivators for me are time constraints and wanting to make my life and my students' lives better by having some coursework on the Internet. That, and one shouldn't let technology get too far ahead of them, especially in my profession. English is an international language, so I should be familiar with the tools that are available to me to make it more international in my classroom. park

It will be a whirlwind year and I can't wait! I'll keep you all informed, unless I am so busy that I'm too tired to post any information. You might get some one-liners that state, "I'm still alive" just so you don't panic. outdoor cafe

With my new attitude towards technology, here are some pictures that I have taken of downtown Belgrade. I hope you enjoy them. I will take more to post later. Belgrade is a small and lovely European city where people wear what they want, talk on cellphones, window shop, sit at street cafes and live their lives.

Below are some pictures of some downtown architecture that I love to look at when I am walking from here to there. The first picture, the glass building, is the newly remodeled theater which is playing Les Miserables in October. The sign is an example of the street signs that are posted on the sides of buildings....makes it a little hard to navigate around without asking for help.

I'm connected!

Right now, I am lounging in my dining room typing this post. Today my Internet was hooked up. When I was talking to the computer guy on the phone, he asked if it had taken a long time for my service to get hooked up. I of course said "Yes, around 8 days" and he said, "Oh. That isn't long at all. Some people have to wait months." I should count my blessings that I wasn't one of those. We Americans don't really appreciate our customer service. I have been realizing this over the past several years.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the Head of the English Department at the University to go over my schedule. I can hardly wait! After that I have lunch with the public relations officer from the Embassy and then I have a meeting at the American Corner to discuss my classes I will be teaching there. It sounds fancier than it really is. What it basically means is that my work is starting. Finally my creative talents have a focus.

Well I have lots more to say, but not enough time to say it. Working with this new computer set up is driving me crazy. Here are some pictures I took when I was out over the weekend. I hope you enjoy them and there is more to come.

AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhh! I just waited for one hour for these pictures to upload and now they are gone. Sometimes technology is a thorn in my side. I will try again tomorrow. Sorry everyone.

3-on-3

Since Friday, I have been fighting off a small cold which I feel I got because of the change in the weather, the jet lag and pollution in the big city air. I don't think the pollution is that bad compared to some of the cities I have visited, but there are no emissions standards yet in Serbia, so there is lots of room for improvement.

On Saturday, I decided to get out and get some air and exercise. To my surprise, they had shut down one of the major streets in the city. There was a 3-on-3 basketball tournament going on. It was a lot like the Gus Macker that's held in Wausau, but this was more spread out throughout a mile of street. It was nice to just walk down the middle of what is usually a very busy street. Kids were riding bikes, some were roller blading, people had balloons and eating popcorn. It was very pleasant and festive. It was also sponsored by a humanitarian organization, which I also thought was great. They had large speakers at the courts and were blasting R&B or hip hop music during time outs. The weather was perfect for the event. I managed to take some pictures before my battery died, so I am now armed with a recharged battery and hope to set out and take more pictures today.

There is one more week before university courses start. I am preparing as much as I can, but don't have enough information on my courses yet to really dig in. It is frustrating, but I was warned that this may be the case of how things work here. I am flexible and will work with it. At least I have a lot of time to settle in and explore.

Hopefully my Internet will be up and running on Monday. It will be nice to work at home and be able to call people. There isn't much else to say currently. I appreciate all your emails and comments on the site. It is good to see that people are dropping in. Like I said in a previous post, after I get the Internet in my apartment, I will put some of my pictures in the blog.

Stay healthy in the changing season and Happy First Day of Autumn!

Interesting Answer

Today I spent 7 hours interviewing 10 professors and associate professors for a junior development program that the State Department hosts every year. College teachers from all over the world apply and if selected, will get to teach and learn along side professors at US universities. The ultimate goal of the program is to let professors here see how professors in the US write curriculum, assess and evaluate student needs and work/relate with them. Eastern Europe (and a lot of other countries) use the old school method of teaching...teacher speak, student listen. Getting to the point, today I learned several new things:

When asked, 'Why you are applying for this program': "Well, I got my PhD so the next step is to go abroad." ....(just to let you know, not a good answer.)

When asked, 'Do you have an evaluation form for your students to fill out at the end of the semester so the students can give you feedback?': "Why would I do that? They don't have anything positive to say."

And my ULTIMATE favorite....When asked, 'What are the characteristics of a good teacher?": "Well first of all, they have to have children."

Needless to say, today I practiced my neutral political face and the 'smile and nod' move. We all laughed at the whole thing in the end. I look forward to more exciting comments tomorrow when we interview 9 more candidates.

Grocery Shopping

One of the greatest adventures when moving abroad is going to the local store and buying food. Not just chips and soda, but food food. The kind you need to live on and not clog your arteries. I went to the store and thought I bought some milk, salt, butter and some peaches. After pouring a rather heavy creamed milk over my breakfast cereal, this would be the yogurt drink, I realized that what I actuality bought was yogurt drink, baking soda and some type of seasoned spread. The peaches, obviously, were peaches. I just had to laugh and learn from it. It happens in every country I live in.


I want to challenge you, the next time you go to the grocery store, to actually look at the packaging that your food comes in. If you couldn't read the words, how would you know what you are buying. Thankfully most products have pictures.

I have since learned that mleko means milk and voda means water. The first day I was here, I was going to buy a bottle of voda from a street vendor, but I hesitated because I thought it might be vodka. Thankfully one of the other bottle of voda said 'sparkling spring water' on it in English. For a moment, I thought Serbia was a little loose with its drinking laws.

Getting Internet in my apartment in 5-10 days. Hoping to put up pictures at that time. Stay tuned!

All in a first days survival

Again I have positioned myself to be the outsider. After a five hour walking tour while in a jet lagged state, I assured my landlady that I was confident enough to walk to my new apartment on my own. I just kept repeating her words, "Go straight and turn right." I could do this. There was enough light in the sky and I had over 4000 Dinars in my pocket...I had 95% confidence in my navigational skills.

I walked straight for a while. Probably too straight. I realized I was in an area that we hadn't walked through before. My heart rate increased. The sky was a little darker than before. Confidence level: 80%

I retrace my steps. I note stores that I saw earlier. Where was I going wrong? I showed a newspaper kiosk lady my police registration with my address on it. She came out of her booth and spoke in Serbian while gesturing down a road and then at some point turning left. I thanked her and noticed that I still haven't lost my Asian bow. She just looked at me funny...or maybe sympathetically. Confidence level: 50%

I walked in some circles and then ventured down a road. After a block, the area looked like something I had seen before. I continued down the road. Once I saw the market on the corner of my block, I heaved a big sigh, said a small prayer of thanks and gave myself a small pat on the back for making it through the first day. Confidence level: 95%