Culture Shock -- Phase II

Katie, Tory, and I have all decided we are in phase two of culture shock. As Katie, pointed out this means we have been here (the Balkans) long enough to be in phase two. She said it was something to be celebrated. This is the phase where the rose-colored glasses come off and you see all the negative things in a culture and your own culture becomes idealized (or at least that is my slant on the definition I got from Wikipedia). It is nice to know that these emotions are common enough to have made it to Wikipedia and I am not alone in my struggles to adjust to a new culture. It's weird to be in this phase. I realized that this is about the time you head home if you are doing a study abroad program in a different culture.

My feelings toward the culture here are so ambivalent. I don't hate it here. In fact, most days I think I like it. I can even admit that on days like today when there have been massive demonstrations in the streets and I have to take precautions to avoid being noticed as a foreigner (or even worse as an American). Even with all of that there are things here that I already appreciate. Today after my language class I went out for a drink with my classmates. Most of them sat and moaned about how much they hate it here. It was frustrating. I’m wondering if they are all in phase two. Some of them have been here for the same amount of time as me and others for longer periods of time. It made me think – is it possible to get stuck in phase two? I feel like it could be, especially for people such as me who are prone to a healthy dose of realism (which some of my friends choose to label as cynicism). This made me a little nervous. I don’t want to be one of those people who can is sits and thinks about the superiority of my own culture while sitting in another country. Although I think it would be difficult for me to bask in the superiority of US culture since I personally dislike so many things about that culture (lifestyle and governmental policies), I do see where it would be possible for me to find a sense of superiority within my own personal culture and beliefs. I think it would be very easy for me to just uproot myself from my little bubble in the US only to recreate that bubble within Serbia and never have to truly open myself up to the new ideas and new culture here. In my panic of being the person who gets stuck in phase two, I was wondering if there was some way I could skip over it – if there was some way I was guaranteed to do it right so I don’t get stuck here (here being phase two, not Serbia). I realize that is probably a lame idea since phase two of culture shock is an important step to making it to the next stage(s) of culture shock. I am waiting for that stage where I feel at home in the new culture and have a sense of belonging. I’m not sure if that is the third phase, the fourth phase, or a non-existent phase. Everyone’s definition of culture shock seems to vary after the first two stages. I take that to mean that stage one and two are classifiable and inevitable, but anything after that is what you make of it (my conclusion here could be completely wrong, but it seems to work for now).

So, here I am grappling with letting myself be really open to this new culture and let the good things sink in without letting the bad things overwhelm me. I’m not sure what that means and how that looks, but I am determined not to get stuck in phase two.

Sarajevo Museums

Just a quick word about Sarajevo museums. I will post another entry soon to share more about my Sarajevo weekend.

Tory, Katie, and I decided we wanted to go to a Sarajevo museum on Saturday (since Belgrade museums were largely unsuccessful -- refer to February 6 entry Museums in Belgrade). We first decided to go to the bridge museum; the museum that is placed by the corner where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assasinated in 1914 (leading to World War I). We were hoping it would still be open since we were getting a late start. We arrived at the museum to find it closed. It wasn't closed due to the time, but for unspecified reasons it was closed for the day. There was a sign saying it would be closed on Saturday and would resume normal working hours on Monday. I guess we picked the wrong day to come (although it was the only day we could come).

We then headed to the art museum. This was a much more successful venture. It was free. We spent our time looking around. There were many hidden nooks and crannies which actually contained whole rooms (small rooms, but whole rooms) of art. It was fun to have to search for the art. It was nice game of sorts.

Overall, we had more success with museums in Sarajevo than in Belgrade. I'm not sure if this is some sort of reflection on the two cities or if it is just random luck. I'm sure I could try to find some greater meaning in this as a reflection of the current political situation, variances in culture, or something else of that sort. However, I'm also not sure it would be an accurate reflection.

My New Orange Coat.

Here's another one of those older entries that never made its way to the blog.

An important fashion update from Belgrade: I now have my own Serbian coat. It is long, warm, and looks like a bright orange sleeping bag with faux fur on the hood. I’m not particularly a fan. The benefits of this coat include: it was cheap (around $12 dollars) and it gets people (the activists at WiB) to quit nagging me about my need for a new coat.

I had no real desire to buy the coat, but everyone at WiB kept insisiting I needed a warmer coat. I thought my coat was doing just fine. After all, it gets cold in Indiana. Well, I was overruled.

One of the activists, S, found me the perfect coat at a little shop close to the train station. The day after Christmas (while Tory and Katie were still here) I went with S to go and purchase it. Katie and Tory were out having some nice, warm beverages while I was at the office finishing up some last minute tasks -- and purchasing a coat. It was orange. They had a creamy, mustard yellow, but there was only one left and it wasn't in my size. So I was stuck with orange. I returned to the office wearing it and everything loved it.

I still don't particularly love the coat, but I concede that the coat is very warm and it was very cold here for a while. In fact, the coat is so warm I only wear it when it is really cold or I start sweating while I stand waiting for the bus.

That's all I have to say about that. I just thought everyone should know that I have made my first step towards a Serbian fashion sense. Let's hope it doesn't go much further. (I don't consider a transformation to a Serbian fashion sense a good thing. Although not everyone has a weird sense of fashion here, I have already seen some odd looks and have heard that sumer will be an interesting fashion show.)

A post without a purpose

I don't have any antecdotes or stories for today's post. I just felt like posting a general update.

My Serbian language class continues to grow. We started out as three then became five. Then six. Then seven. Then nine. Then eight. Then nine. People keep rotating in and out of the class. We've been averaging eight students, but the faces change. We seem to have a faithful core of six with some guest appearances by the same 3 students. (There was also another student who dropped by for a week. He will be back in May for another month's lessons.)

Many of our mid-class breaks consist of somebody sharing their latest Belgrade adventure or complaint. I try not to join in on many of these conversations since they seem to turn negative quickly. Of course none of us are from Serbia and for the most part (with one or two exceptions) we have all moved here within the last 6 months. The reasons we come range from volunteering (me), diplomacy (two students are here with a family member who is working at their country's embassy), adventure, and love (this is definitely the majority of the students). Interestingly enough, the persons here for love seem the most distraught at being here. In fact, one of the students just returned last week from visiting her family and friends (in Holland) and happily announced to us that she would be moving back to Holland permanently this summer. Her husband could stay here or come with her, but she was going.

Another student is here from Ireland with her Serbian boyfriend. Every class (she isn't the most faithful attender so this is about 3 times a week) she talks about the things she hates in Serbia, the things she misses about Ireland, and the many ways Serbia doesn't measure up to Ireland. Yesterday she mentioned that she thinks it might be worse for her to come to class since she is then with other internationals who all complain together about their lives in Belgrade. I thought this was ironic since she seems to be leading the mini therapy sessions.

This past weekend we had an activist from Guatemala come and share her personal story and lead us in activities. It was very interesting. It was nice for me since she spoke in Spanish (which was then translated into Serbian) so I actually understood what was going on (most of the time -- there were still times when nobody remembered to translate for her and so we just smiled at each other in confusion). I found that my answers to anyone started coming out in Englospanbian (some new hybrid of English, Spanish, and Serbian). I couldn't get my mind and my tongue to work together to use the right language (Spanish with the speaker, Serbian with the non-English speaking activists, and English with the English speaking activists).

Cooking is fun with my stove. I seem to only be able to get the burners to go on medium high or high. There is no low heat (or at least not as I can tell). I'm also trying my hand at being inventive in using my kitchen utensils. For instance, when you are making rice and don't have pot with a lid a plate can be substituted for the lid. But take care not to keep the plate on too long or it will crack. Also, be open to the possibility that your rice may not turn out perfectly.

This weekend I am going to Sarajevo to visit Tory. I am very excited about this since it will be a nice getaway. I had to leave the country anyway since my 3 month tourist visa is getting ready to expire so I thought it might be nice to make it into a fun thing rather than just another task to complete.

Museums in Belgrade

As stated earlier, for the next few times I post I will be posting one old entry/adventure and one new one. Here's the old one.

While Katie and Tory were visiting we thought it would be a great idea to see some of the many museums in Belgrade. Unfortunately, these original plans were often waylaid since I spent a lot of the time they were visiting trying to accomplish small tasks, working, and being lost. So, several times the new plan was for them to go to a museum by themselves or for me to meet them at the museum a few hours later.

Well, we learned the hard way that although the Serbian and Eastern European guidebooks boast of the many museums in Belgrade, there is a huge difference between there being a lot of museums and those museums actually being open for viewing to the random tourist.

The first example of this the National Museum situated on the Trg Republika. Tourists might be interested in viewing this museum, but good luck. This museum has been closed for renovations for the last 2 and ½ years (At least – it was closed when Rachel arrived and never reopened during her two year term here). Belgrade visitors: don’t expect to see this one.

A second example of the maze of museums in Belgrade lies in the fact that museums inexplicably close early for the upcoming holidays. For instance, one might go to a museum that is in specifically non-Protestant and find the museum closing early for the day due to the upcoming holidays (as to whether or it was the upcoming Orthodox holidays or Protestant holidays is unclear). Belgrade visitors: beware that hours posted outside the museum can be changed at will.

Our third example lies in the Museum of Modern Art of Belgrade. We had heard rumors that the museum wasn’t that great, but we figured we would give it a try. Tory and Katie did not want to leave Belgrade without having ventured into a Belgrade museum. Unfortunately, I had to do some last minute tasks at work. So, it was agreed I would finish up and then meet them there. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a cell phone that worked in Serbia. Our only possible method of communication was for me to text message them with updates on my status. However, this was not a two-way flow of communication – they couldn’t text message me back. Therefore, when yet another museum is closed for renovation and said museum is your meeting place you find yourself in a pickle. Especially, when your friend text messages you to say, “I’m stuck at work for longer than planned. I will text message you as soon as I am finished and on the way. That way if you are finished you can go to a café and then come back when I text message you that I’m on my way.” Belgrade visitors: I’m not really sure what lesson was gained from this one. Perhaps, expect the unexpected?