A scene in a crowded train

Today I went to register with the Belgrade Police. If you are a foreigner within Belgrade you are required by law to register with the police within 72 hours of arrival in Serbia. Therefore, I spent the morning going with the husband of a Women in Black activist. He had to bring the deed to his house (you have to register with a Serbian citizen who owns property) and sign several documents that he would be held responsible for me if I got in trouble. They wrote down my name, passport number, and Serbian address in a large book. So now I have a small white card that I am to carry around with me at all times (along with my passport) saying that I live at his house (which I don't -- but I can't register through my landlord for reasons unknown to me). I also have to unregister before I leave the country. I will be here on a 3 month tourist visa and will have to leave the country every 90 days (or before). I will have to register again after I return from each trip outside of Serbia. This is my second encounter with the police state atmosphere of the government (the first being when I entered the country). Neither encounter has been negative. I will copy and paste my newly written script about my experience entering into Serbia on the border at the bottom of the this post (It was written for an email to a fellow BVSer who inquired about my border crossing. It is my pathetic attempt at humor and excitement within a boring email written in a small office filled with activity, chaos, and lots of conversations in Serbian). I was a little nervous to go through the border due to being warned not to openly offer my connection to Women in Black.


SCENE: Crowded train with many young teenagers sitting around speaking in another language (assumed to be Serbian by the innocent bystander) and playing very loud, very annoying songs from their cell phones (some of which were in English).

Intimidating Official: Is this your first time in Serbia?
A cowering, me: Yes.
Intimidating Official: Where are you going?
A sweating, nervous me: I'm going to visit my friend (insert the correct spelling of the name that I pronounce similar to the Spanish Liliana here) and to learn the language.
Intimidating Official who is quickly becoming the Annoyed Official: Where are you going to be staying in Serbia?
A confused, overwhelmed, near some sort of stress seizure Katie: Oh,...um....with my friend........(long pause)....in Belgrade.
Annoyed Official: Okay.

CLOSE SCENE.

BELGRADE....home sweet home...

I have arrived in Belgrade this evening after an exciting overnight train ride from Geneva. The first day we arrived in Geneva consisted of a walk around the lake, a coffee break, some of the historic sights of Geneva, and an early dinner followed by an early bedtime. We were then able to sleep in each day to help us better accommodate to the new time zone. We watched lots of BBC documentaries (2 separate series) based on the Bosnian and Kosovo wars. We also watched a Women in Black video. It made me even more excited to arrive. We then left on Friday evening on a train to Zurich where we transferred to a night train to Zagreb. Tory and Katie (the other two Balkan BVSers) then transferred to a bus from Zagreb. I stayed on the train (I moved from the cozy sleeping cars to the cozy sitting cars) all the way to Belgrade. Rachel met me at the station and helped me lug my stuff up a steep hill. I will be staying in a bedroom/storage room in the office for a few weeks. I don't think I will meet everyone until Monday, but they left me some flowers and some welcoming signs. It was a nice surprise.

Here is a quick update on my life. I am volunteering with the Brethren Volunteer Service for two years. I just returned from the three week orientation and have received my project site placement. I will be working with Women in Black in Belgrade, Serbia. I leave Monday, October 22 for Geneva for a brief orientation and then will be arriving at my project on October 27th.