We're not in Kansas Anymore, Toto

Out of the blue, about a week ago, our oldest son, Wes, said to me "Hey, Mom. You know, it's interesting -- there are so many things here that are different from back in Nashville." That got me thinking -- yes, many things here are very different, but we've been here for long enough now that I think we're starting to take some of the differences for granted. Belgrade (and the quirkiness of Eastern Europe) has become our new "normal," and so it's important, I think, for us to remind ourselves from time to time of the differences. For posterity's sake, therefore, and hopefully as a point of interest to readers of this blog, Wes and I have come up with the following (partial) list of differences between life in Belgrade and in the U.S.:


1. Trash collection (Erin's pick -- semi-positive difference) -- instead of each house having its' own trash cans that get dumped by trash trucks periodically, we have communal neighborhood trash bins. Ours happen to sit about 15 feet to the left of our front gate, so it is really convenient. At first, we thought that this method was really strange and unsanitary, but now, after having lived with this system for 7 months, it seems to make great sense -- there's no hauling of garbage cans to and from the curb, no trying to remember which day you have to take the trash out, and perhaps best of all, the trash bins on our street are huge -- it's like having your very own dumpster right in front of your house. A real bonus, if you ask me!


2. Bakeries, bakeries everywhere (everyone's pick -- awesome difference). Honestly, I'm beginning to stress out about not having access to a real bakery when we return to the states. If I had to guess, I would say that there are several thousand bakeries in Belgrade. During our time in Belgrade, our neighborhood bakery (which is open 24 hours a day!) periodically has provided us with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. In addition to offering a delicious panoply of both savory and sweet baked goods (not just bread), these places are unbelievably cheap (for example, I bought lunch earlier this week for Eli and me for less than $3)!! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bakeries here and will miss them immensely when we return.


3. Toilets. (Wes' pick -- semi-negative difference). The toilets in Serbia are VERY different from the ones in the states. For example, instead of having a lever that you pull to flush, there is a little button on the top of the toilet that, when you press it, flushes the toilet. Also, the toilet bowls are different. Its hard to explain really, but some things I can say about it are it's shape, amount of water inside it, and it seems to be lower to the ground. Third, the way it is designed is different. Instead of the whole toilet being connected, like in the U.S., there is a pipe that connects the bowl from the back part of the toilet. Strange, eh?



4. Time. (Wes' pick -- neutral difference) The way that Serbians (I'm not sure about the rest of Europe) keep track of time is the 24-hour way. Instead of the time being 6 P.M. it would be 18:00. The way that I remember it is by (if it's past noon) subtracting 2 from the 1's digits place and then subtracting ten from the rest. So, 14:00 would be 14:00-2=12:00-10= 2:00 P.M.



5. Foods. (Wes' pick -- positive difference) Mainly fruits and vegetables are the foods with taste differences. They have much more taste than in the U.S. because they don't use preservatives or any chemicals. It's all natural. Also, peanut butter has a big difference. It tastes a lot worse. I can't explain it that well, but it's not very good.



6. Driving (Erin's pick -- distinctly negative difference). See my prior post regarding this aspect of living in Belgrade.


7. Other forms of transportation (Erin's pick -- positive difference). I suppose this difference is driven more by the fact that this is a large, urban city than by the fact that it is in Eastern Europe, but there are just so many transportation options here. In the states, or at least in a city like Nashville, if you want to go somewhere, you basically have two choices -- walk or drive. Here, there are many options, and they each have their pros and cons. You can take a bus anywhere in the city for about 60 cents. The buses run very frequently, are efficient, but can be very crowded and unpleasant, especially at rush hour. Not a good choice if you're out and about with kids. The tram is also an option. Not as many routes as buses, but more fun, in my view, because it feels a little bit like you're riding the train. Taxi cabs are BIG here -- they are a dime a dozen. You can either hail one on the street like in most big cities, or you can call and order one, in which case you receive a 20% discount on the fare. We use cabs fairly frequently, especially if we are going out in the evening and don't want to bother with driving and having to find a parking place, etc. Driving, of course, is an option, as is walking, which seems to be the preferred method of transport for many Belgraders -- the streets are full of walkers, which is a good thing, and part of what contributes, I am guessing, to the slim, attractive population here.


8. Mealtimes. (Erin's pick -- neutral difference). Although this may be changing a bit as Eastern Europe becomes more "western," historically, Serbs have been on a completely different eating schedule from us Americans who tend to rigidly adhere to our "three squares a day" schedule. I haven't quite figured out when the typical Serb eats breakfast, but it does not appear to be first thing in the morning. I think that it tends to be a little later usually, like 9 or 10. Having a later breakfast doesn't interfere with lunch, because many Serbs don't eat lunch until 2 or 3:00 in the afternoon. At this time, they will eat an enormous meal -- more along the lines of what most Americans would eat for dinner. When our dinnertime rolls around, Serbs are still digesting their lunches, and if they do eat dinner, it would be something on the lighter side and a little later. Again, I am wondering if the Serbs aren't on to something by having their biggest meal in the afternoon, rather than in the evening. From the looks of it, most Serbs do NOT have a weight problem, and while it is hard to say exactly what accounts for this, it just stands to reason that eating your large meal earlier in the day has to be better than packing away thousands of calories just before going to bed.

9. Birthday parties. (Erin's pick -- semi-negative difference). I know that I wrote about birthday parties just after we arrived here, but I continue to be blown away by the children's birthday parties that we attend on a fairly regular basis. They are like little cocktail parties with lots of activities for kids. I am not kidding -- even the parties that I think will be low-key often end up feeling more like a wedding reception than a child's birthday party. This is one aspect of living here that I have to say I will not miss.

10. Bathing suits. (Erin's pick -- neutral, but often highly amusing, difference). Can we just say "skimpy?" This description would apply to both women and men -- that's probably the notable difference here -- not unlike in the rest of Europe, Serbian men seem to have a great fondness for speedos and other snug little bathing suits. It makes going to the beach entertaining, to say the least. Of course, the Serbian women aren't bad to look at either, but the only difference between Serbian women and American women, when it comes to the issue of bathing suits, is that far more Serbian women actually look great in their bathing suits than do American women.

So, there you have it -- an entirely frivolous exercise, but one that I hope at least some of you will appreciate.

Erin