Time is flying. We have been over here for nearly a week. I have so much to write about. I will continue with the most recent.
We have had 3 Serbian language teachers in recent years. Our 3rd teacher, Ana, told us soon after we started lessons with her last summer that she would like us to be her guest at her mom’s house in the small old village of Dragovac east of Belgrade. Her mom rents the house sometimes via AirBNB and said they would give us a reduced price (and later said we could stay 2-3 extra nights for free if we wanted). When we told her this winter that we had bought tickets for this spring she again insisted we must stay with them even when I said Easter weekend was best for us. She said that would be no problem and they would be happy for us to celebrate with them. I was happy because one reason I wanted to travel in April was to experience Easter in Serbia, ideally with a local family. It is the most important holiday for them.
The drive from Zora’s west of Belgrade to Dragovac east of Belgrade was easy on a fast flat toll road, but once we exited and turned onto a gravel road it was like driving back in time. This village, unlike Zora’s much newer village, is old. I don’t know when the Serbs first settled there but people have lived there, near the Morava river, for many generations, and Romans and pre-historic people also lived in areas nearby.
We passed a well kept soccer field, game in progress, on the edge of the village (population is about 800 but it feels smaller). Google maps took us to the wrong house but we called Ana and realized we had gone just a couple houses too far.
Ana was inside finishing up an online lesson so we were greeted by her two sons, Damjon who is 12, and Jovan who is 17, Ana’s mom, Slavica (later 70s), and Ana’s husband, Gligo. The boys speak rudimentary English (the more Damjon spoke with us the better we realized he is), but their Grandma speaks only Serbian. She started chattering at us as if we could understand her (we could pick out many words but couldn’t follow everything) as she guided us immediately to the outdoor table set underneath a deep overhang along the length of the house that I think one could call a veranda. She offered us ‘domači’ (homemade) rakija which we accepted. She also brought over bottles of the usual assortment of drinks served here- spring water, carbonated mineral water, and various types of pop and juice. Ana soon emerged from the house and took on the role of translator. The boys understood much of our English as did Gligo but he does not speak as well as the boys.
Soon we were served early dinner consisting of bread made by a neighbor, chicken soup, a platter of chicken cooked with potatoes, a big bowl of delicious fresh lettuce, sarma, pork, domači cheese, and a plate of fresh green onions from the garden. Here it is common to serve these at any and all meals. People eat the whole thing. If I could be assured that the green onions I buy at the store in Seattle would taste this sweet rather than bitter I would adopt this as a new custom. After dinner we moved to a different part of the veranda to have more drinks and a layered chocolate cake that Ana made.
Ana’s sweet, direct, and polite daughter, Helena, stopped by a few times, but mostly spent the weekend with her friend. She spoke English very confidently and well. Ana noticed last year that Helena had naturally picked up English informally so enrolled her in lessons. We suspect Helena is on the spectrum although nobody made any mention of that.
After allowing for a bit of digestion we went on a walk around the village with Ana, Gligo and Damjon. The early evening light beautifully cast long shadows and lit everything up. We strolled passed old homes, traditional family compounds, and occasionally came across newer homes that are mostly owned by foreigners or gypsies that only stay in the village a few weeks a year. We walked through cultivated fields and several times Ana pointed to patches of land owned by her family that they pay others to cultivate. Eventually we reached the Morava river which they said is not very clean in this stretch so it’s not great for swimming although people fish there. They also only drink bottled water back at the house because the well water quality is not monitored. Some people drink it and seem ok, but Ana’s family does not risk it. I commented on the lack of mosquitos in town and asked if the area gets sprayed. They said yes, by airplane. When I asked what chemicals were used they did not know. Aside from the aerial spraying most people use no chemicals in their gardens and fields and are very proud of this fact. The village also has a small Orthodox Church. There are a few unobtrusive small businesses in the village but I’m not sure how often they are open. They also have a ‘cultural center’ that all towns had during the Yugoslavia years.
Back at the house we again sat under the covered ‘living room’ and drank various beverages and had pleasant conversation. We exchanged gifts (Ana gave us a bottle of rakija and a traditional ‘torba’, a colorful woven wool bag). Slavica was perpetually working in the background, washing dishes in the outdoor sink and tidying up. All cooking is done in the covered outdoor kitchen next to the outdoor ‘living room’. When Slavica leaves for winter she leaves everything in the kitchen and living areas where it is. She has faith that God will protect everything from thieves. Nobody has taken anything yet.
Slavica lives in the village from March to November. The rest of the year she lives in the city of Krugujavac where Ana and her family live. In the village she lives in a large room (walls covered with family photos and art work) that the whole family slept in during our stay while we stayed in a 3 bedroom section of the house complete with large living area, bathroom, and kitchen (not set up for cooking). We felt bad that the 6 of them were crammed into that one room while we had much more space than we needed. The first night the eldest son did sleep in one of the bedrooms and they kept apologizing for that. We of course said we did not mind at all and invited them to use the extra rooms but they refused. Their 8 year old daughter spent both nights at a friend’s house, and one night Ana slept at her friend’s.
In addition to the charming old house and large covered outdoor living areas there is a very old garage with posts made from trees that still look like tree trunks, a barn in need of repair that is so lovingly made it looks like a house for humans, and many brick or wood outbuildings where animals and crops were stored. When Slavica’s grandparents built the house they also made their own bricks. In addition to the buildings on the property there is a large orchard, large vegetable garden, and many flowers gardens that are not yet in their prime. Wisteria was blooming.
The house and bed were comfortable but once again I slept far too little.
eating area, living area, kitchen, barn, old stalls, house, garage, Ana’s family minus Helena, on our walk…
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