Easter morning people trickled out to the living area at their own pace. We were served rakija and Turkish coffee (‘domača kafa’) and eventually had a breakfast of dried meats, cheeses, and a delicious ‘gibanica’ (a savory pastry filled with egg and cheeses) baked by Gligo. Ana works two jobs (language teacher, and at the cultural office at a university), and Gligo takes care of the house, kids, cooking, etc. We all played the egg cracking game (which we also played the previous day).
After having dessert after breakfast (!) Gligo and Ana then drove us to a big park in the small city of Požarevac not too far from the village. Numerous monuments to soldiers in various wars are scattered around the park. The park terrain inclines gradually upward to the highest point where there is another monument. Gligo, a heavy smoker, found the elevation gain challenging but he was a good sport . The center of the park is open and grassy but is bounded on both sides by beautiful forest. On our way down the hill we stopped at what was once a mountain club’s meeting house (built in 1960) but is now empty. For many years it was used for classes and gatherings. Strangely there is a full time security guard stationed at the empty building. He noticed us and asked if we’d like a tour of the inside and we said, sure. This guy, Toše, seemed to be a wannabe photographer because he kept directing us to stand in various spots to take photos of us with Ana’s phone. It’s a shame the building is not used because it is a great space.
From there we went to another park, Ljubičevo, where the state breeds and raises race horses. The vast property was Prince Miloš’s estate in the early 1800’s where his wife managed the breeding of horses. Later their son took over and in 2016 the city took over control of the land and horses. Gligo had planned for us to have coffee there but because it was Easter the cafe was closed so he drove us into town where we had coffee and lemonade on a pedestrian mall, then went back home.
Some of Ana’s cousins were there waiting for her. Jim and I retreated to our rooms for a while. When we emerged the relatives were gone but a couple of Ana’s friends showed up- Milica, a strawberry and pig farmer who lives year around in the village and is a childhood friend of Ana’s, and Lara, a Serb whose family moved to Switzerland a couple generations ago but has a house in the village across from Ana’s (Ana’s grandma sold it to Lara’s grandparents). Lara comes twice a year. She is a waitress in Austria where she lives with her (Serbian) husband who has a cleaning business. Because she looks to be not more than early 40’s we were shocked to learn she has 5 grandchildren.
We all sat around, drinking this and that, chatting and smoking (not us but all the other adults aside from Slavica). Gligo tended the grill where he cooked up enough meats to serve many more people than were in attendance. Eventually we crowded shoulder to shoulder around the outdoor table and feasted on the grilled meats, grilled garlic and herb bread, fresh lettuce and green onions. All was delicious. After dinner we had Ana’s creamy cheesecake-like dessert (or cake that Milica had brought). We got to talking about music and they started singing traditional songs and then Milica and Lara stood up and started doing traditional kolo dancing to Serbian music playing on their phone. Gligo joined them and in his exuberance his pants fell down a bit.
Throughout their visit we had lots of good conversations. Milica told us that she had leukemia in her 20’s and spent nearly a year in the hospital getting surgeries and treatments. In addition to the medical care she received she also credits God with her recovery. Even though she lives across the street from the village church she only goes a few times a year. But she is a strong believer. She also said that she believes her cancer was a result of exposure to depleted uranium from bombs dropped in the 90s war. Cancer rates, especially among people who were young or kids at the time, are very high in Belgrade and other areas where these (many) bombs were used. Milica said she was in a shelter during a bombing and was cold so left the shelter briefly to go get some sox. She was the only one on the street when the bomb exploded. She clearly remembers the sound and sight of the bomb going off. I teared up listening to her. I was reminded of the fact that so many people here walk around each day with traumatic memories and great losses, each coping in their own way.
We talked a lot about politics. Everyone except Ana’s mom hates Vućič as much as Trump haters hate Trump. They believe he is ruining their country. However, some of them, based on the very one sided State controlled news they get, were under the impression that Trump is a great businessman who will be good for America. They were shocked to hear about some of the things he and his people are doing.
They told many stories of how Vućič is ruining lives and livelihoods of the people. For example, Milica, a farmer, cannot sell her pigs because overnight their value was reduced from 3 euros per kilo to 1. And her options for selling strawberries have also been drastically reduced because Vućič made a deal to buy strawberries from Ukraine instead of from his own people. This sort of thing is happening all across the board in the agricultural industry. Farming is being taken over by foreign countries, taking jobs from the local people and raising the price of food at the same time. We have definitely noticed higher food prices on this trip, which for us is still affordable but for Serbs it is tough.
We also talked about the protests in Serbia. Most people we’ve spoken to strongly support the students’ aims but all see the situation as complicated because of the impacts the blockades are having on students who can’t go to school. Ana’s 17 year old son has been unable to attend school for 5 months. He doesn’t care much if he has to repeat the year. But many university kids are less happy with the situation. One guy we spoke with spent 6 years in Dentistry school and all he has left to do is take 3 exams but he cannot do that until the schools open again. So he is in limbo for now. Another person we spoke with said his son, also in Dentistry school, is in limbo, but he is using this time to attend the protest every day. Regardless of perspective, everyone here feels very vulnerable to what the future might hold.
Jim had a very long conversation with Milica about religion and American culture. She is very proud of her collection of 2000 books and lives to read and learn about everything.
I had a nice chat with Slavica about religion and values as well, although Ana was not there to translate everything so some of what Slavica said I didn’t understand. But she talked about the power at Ostrog monastery and how healing is common there. And she stressed the importance of honesty, saying she had colleagues who urged her to fudge the books (she was an accountant) but she could and would never do that.
Eventually everyone left to go home or to a neighbor’s house for someone’s birthday party. We sat, mostly quietly, with Slavica and then went to bed.
Monday morning we went for another walk in the village. Dear Damjon had a long chat with Jim and was especially interested in hearing about Jim’s time in rural Colorado hunting and fishing with his grandfather. Damjon loves the outdoors.
We stopped at a house along the way where a particular mulberry tree grows that is sacred to the Gypsies here (using the word ‘Gypsy’ is acceptable here and not offensive or derogatory). Every May 1st they come to the village to celebrate their saint, St George. They gather around the tree and pray and the priest blesses and anoints with wine the cross carved into the tree trunk. The retired doctor, a Gypsy who lives in this (big) house, told the story (translated by Ana), of how many generations ago, when a number of children were dying, someone had a dream in which they were instructed to go to a particular tree and pray. We didn’t get all the details but somehow many kids were healed and this tree became important. At some point it was pruned back but continues to grow and plays a central role in the Gypsies faith (they are Orthodox here, by the way). After the service there is a big celebration with trumpets and fireworks and a big party. Ana invited us to come back to the village for this event but we will be too far away.
Once home we took photos and were given a huge bag of food to take with us, we said our goodbyes and left for Belgrade. After passing the soccer field Jim noticed in the rear view mirror that Damjon was furiously pedaling his bike. We weren’t sure if he was trying to catch up with us for fun or if we had forgotten something so we drove slowly so he could catch up. Turns out he had done it just for fun. We honked and waved and once he got past us he turned around and headed home. It was a very 12 year old boy thing to do and it made us happy.
We are so grateful to have been invited and so warmly welcomed into the family for the weekend. I have no words to express how touched and nourished we were on so many levels. Ana also invited us to visit them in Krugujevac if our travels take us near there.
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