I have lost my groove

No, not my dancing groove. In fact, I dance now more than I used too. The Munchkin likes no LOVES to dance and so we do, Daily! IT is my blogging groove that is missing. I have been back and forth so much between the village and town, then with the PMS from hell and trying to balance my new summer life… I am all out of sorts.

This is a big holiday weekend back home, the kick off of summer and the big working season at the beach where I used to live for the last 20 years. (Enter Cha-ching cash register sound here!) I think that has a lot to do with my mental state.  I miss my job, friends and my old life in general.

At the same time, the work on the farm here has picked up. I have written about most of the work I have done, NOT MUCH.  I go with the intention of working. Millie throws a fit and all agree I should stay with her. 😦 It is frustrating. I am used to working for the family, providing, now I just babysit. though I guess it isn’t babysitting when it is your own child. But it leaves me feeling useless. unproductive. confined. IT Sucks!

People here in Serbia say it is the best job there is. I think I have even heard that at home too. but I would agree to disagree. I want a job that makes money.

On the other hand, people here ask me when I will put her in Preschool. and I think, “WHAT?!” she is only 15 months old and I don’t have a job. Why on Earth would I let someone else raise her?  What a juxtaposition of thoughts, huh?

Furthermore, Consternation in my marriage is dismaying. We had agreed we would work on the farm. My lack of work there is the problem for both of us really. and my desire not to go to the village is also a problem. But as I wrote above, often I end up staying with the munchkin in the cold village house. unable to help. This means more time with the blessed in-laws who I don’t dislike. It is just exhausting.. more than most in-laws because we don’t speak the same language. Even though I am not technically working, it is stressful and I get so tired. (So, why bother even going to the village?)

Compounding the difficulty of going to (not) work in the village, we don’t return home when the work is done, we STAY for dinner. The food is getting repetitive and not what I want, in spite of my mother in law trying her hardest to please me… It is also what the hubby has been missing for years. HE is in hog heaven, literally as most of the food is PORK!. for me it is just more time stuck in the cold village house. I think to myself, “What did I get myself into. How long can I do this?”

The time in the village is nice (imagine the italics is a sarcasm font). but when we have a day “off” in town. it is a day to work for me. laundry, cleaning, fitting in coffee with friends if I don’t just sit in the apt recuperating from over stimulation. I think it is all getting a bit too much. it is affecting my desire to write sadly. The writing is my life therapy. my link home. and I am slacking.

Am I complaining? or am I just a complaining? lol Maybe I just need a kick in the @$$. Mea culpa.  Adjusting to a new life takes so much time! Damn this Culture shock.

These are my consolation prizes (for my living here and your reading this rant). The vistas on the way to the village are pricele$$.

Now that spring has turned the hills all green and flowery, the entire drive is eye candy.

Lush greens, purples, and reds so vibrant you can taste them.

And fields of poppies that are like a painting providing the calm of opium.  (strictly metaphorically speaking obviously or I wouldn’t have had to write this post!)

Hopefully this will work as an enema to work all the crap out of my brain and get on with my life. Bring on the sunshine!

Happier posts to come soon.
Dobar Dan

Easter Monday~ Orthodox Lunch and Colored Eggs

After the family dilemma yesterday, we did finally go for lunch and enjoyed the company of family and the fellow villagers.

Uncle Milosh with the pic that was roasted on a spit the day before Easter.

No time now to post pics of the Easter feast, but will do later this week. For now just a little post on the eggtivities. :0)

Coloring eggs is done here on Good Friday, better known as Big Friday in this part of the world. It is much the same, accept that as it is with almost everything else it takes a lot more time and effort.

Easter egg dye and other paraphernalia.

Back home we start off with white eggs food coloring and vinegar.  Dipping the eggs and coloring them takes a few seconds and you can make one egg a few colors with some careful dipping.

another vender at the market selling Easter decor.

Here they start with Brown eggs ditto on the rest. The dying time is 10 minutes to an hour! Since it is so time intensive, eggs are only one color.!? But darker because the Eggs are brown to begin with. Designs can be created with leaves, or bags. I love that part of the creativity. I certainly appreciate the work put into them!

I can just imaging how shocked my Serbian sister in the U.S. was when we dyed eggs together. The colors were the pastels I am accustomed to. She asked if we could make the colors darker. Now I know why. That is what she was used to seeing. And the difference in color is kind of a let down when you are far from home and want to do something traditional. Definitive Culture Shock! Funny how it pops up at the weirdest moments.

There are no Egg hunts here, but there are serious competitions for egg tapping. The youtube video below shows what I mean. less than a minute in is all you need to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVFWhoDIk30

I have only played this with the husband so far, My egg was the winner. He told me after, pointier eggs are best!

Decorations may be done with the new decals we find in the west, but old fashioned  decorations are my favorite here. This pic is from Wikipedia from the Czech republic… but they use this technique all over Eastern Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg

Learning new traditions is the really good part of being an expat.

Dobar Dan y’all

 

Photography Friday~ Flashback one year (almost)

Today I am missing home just a little. But I am really happy to be here in Serbia and have the wonderful friends that make me feel at home. I was just looking at some pics from last summer.

One of the little munchkin’s first beach trips.

She slept most of the time. That was a relief for me. Getting her ready, loading the car seemed like such a chore! What an adjustment to have a baby.

But it was all worth it.  Just sitting under the pier enjoying the shade, while the waves lapped at the beach was so relaxing.

Last summer was the fist time I ever sat under the pier. It was a must to block the sun and it was easier than getting an umbrella that would have to be lugged around. Today her and I took a walk in the sun. Well, she was shaded by the canopy on the stroller. Look how big she has gotten over the last year. and still, just as cute. 🙂

Whatever Wednesday~ Munchkin fun

The Munchkin is getting into everything. She is climbing ALL over the place. Stairs are her new friends.

This is her last night climbing on the console above our bed. She is already doing the Duckface and she isn’t even a teenager yet!

I can’t get over how smart she is getting. It is shocking really. She knows that farts are funny, as of yesterday. She let a big one rip and then laughed hysterically. If that doesn’t make you laugh when you watch it, your dead.

Then she was just being her silly little self, sitting beside me on the couch watching TV. She looked at my “mommy milk pillow” and smacked it then kissed it.

She is still only a three tooth wonder at this point. Maybe I should be concerned at 14 months and only 3 teeth, but Have ever heard of someone not getting their teeth? I haven’t.

She is knows about going outside now like never before. She brings me her shoes and coat…as if to ask to go out to play. She loves the park, the slide or toboggan and the swings. The weather is so nice we have both been meeting new friends in the park.

Off for another family adventure day! I am sure there will be something new to write home about by nightfall.

Dobar dan!

Whatever Wednesday~

The little munchkin is getting to know all our village pets well right now. Animals are here favorite things in the world right now, beside Mom (Me). She gets so excited to see, touch and play with them.

We have been in the village often lately. Slowly the leaves are sprouting, green is spreading like wildfire!

The farm work has been keeping the man of the house pretty busy. He has been replanting seedlings that were dug up from the orchards. This was a few days ago,  now the field is filled with these little buggers. In the fall, once they have developed larger roots, they will be replanted in the orchards.

Here, Papa is trimming the roots so they will easily drink up the water and nutrients provided by the drop by drop system. Little munchkin is busy playing along the little brick wall. She is really enjoying her trips to the village.

And here comes Mama to give Papa a break. He is A LOT slower than she is. LOL He can’t keep up with the demand. But then, Mama trims the roots like she is giving them a buzz cut. Half a dozen of one and six of the other, right?

Dobar Dan Y’all!

Foreigner follies Sunday~ Greece

This is a flashback to another only slightly embarrassing moment in my cross cultural life.

The hubby and I took a bus trip to Greece back in 2010. Crossing the border on a bus seems less harrowing. No international paper work for the car needs to be taken car of a month in advance with all the fees involved, not to mention getting international insurance, etc, etc. Not having to drive, and pay an arm and a leg for gas and a hotel made this trip priceless.

The White Tower in Thesalonika

 

At each border, the patrol officers came onto the bus and collect the passports and took them back to stamp them. This was a Serbian bus tour, my American passport was a bit of a shock to the border patrol guards, after gathering the burgundy Serbian passports, at the last seat collecting my navy blue American one. I can tell you, I got a few surprised looks.

Thesaloniki was the main city we visited as well as touring the mountainous region covered in oranges, lemons, and olive trees. What an awesome getaway!

Birth place of Aristotle, Stagira Greece

After a long bus ride up a mountain with serpentine curves and the look of the pacific Northwest, we arrived at our next destination. At the birthplace of Aristotle, there was a big gate to the ” fresh air museum”. It  was suppose to be closed, but they weren’t trying hard to keep people out, and it was next to impossible to steel anything. The objects were much to large and made of cement.

Everyone began to make their way in. They climbed, scaled, and hopped the fence. But, when I saw how small the fence was, I decided to get a running start and vault over it just placing my hands on top and throwing my legs over. An easy enough task for a person who had been a gymnast in her previous life.

What I didn’t know was the gate was broken and it just fell over bruising the inside of my right thigh. I should say the entire inside of my right leg. It was a monstrous bruise. The sweet darling of a husband wanted to take a picture it was so magnificent. How romantic. What a great memorial of our trip to Greece that could have been if I had let him. 😉

I don’t know how my fellow bus mates kept a straight face. I wouldn’t have been able to keep from laughing. I am sure it was like watching a comedy. Even funnier because it was a middle aged foreign lady. But they only seemed concerned. I would say it was well hidden mirth! The Tom-boy in me lives, and so does the accident prone nerd!

Aristotle and I

As the gate and I fell clumsily together and just after, I felt like I was in a bad travel comedy movie about the ridiculous American… National Lampoons vacation to Greece.

Happy Sunday Y’all

Dobar Dan!

 

Green Thumb Thursday

There is some sort of magic dawn brings. The new day with no mistakes made. (Yet.)  A fresh head after a good sleep. (If I am lucky.) Time to myself. (again, if I am lucky.)

Mother nature’s Green thumb is at work all over the world right now.

One of the many snails I saw this morning. They are everywhere.

The sun cast its beams all over town. Dew shimmered in the early morning light.

Understated homes blossomed with the newness of the day.

I wish I could take these early morning walks more often. They are soo good for the soul, especially when accompanied my such lush greenery brought by so much rain.

Imagine the yummy baked goods some Baba makes in this enchanted yard or what a great Easter egg hunt cold be held just inside the gate. Remember, we are still awaiting the Easter bunny here. It will be glorious. 

More fun spring pics tomorrow.
Dobar Dan!

The path of the righteous is like
the light of dawn, that shines brighter
and brighter until the full day.
Proverbs 4:18

Sunday Comics- Foreigner Follies

I don’t mind making it known how silly I am at times. I am that way naturally, but living cross-culturally intensifies that aspect of my personality. I have no shame. really. The most recent thing I have done that you may find amusing has to do with condo life.

I have never lived in a condo like this before. This one is a walk up but nice. The issue that has caused the folly a.k.a. foolishness is that the doors all look the same, if you forget what floor you are on and don’t look at the number. One could easily mistake one’s own apt for another.

Yes, my friends that is what I have done. Thank God not continually.

Just last week, I was carrying my small heavy bundle of a munchkin up the flights of stairs. I came to “my door” and opened it. Inside everything was different. I had opened my downstairs  neighbors door. DUH!

Now, it may be important to note that they know my husband, and have since he was a child. They have been his neighbors for more than 20 years and their son worked in the states like my muz. Now, they also know me through the family ties.

Continuing with my story… I realized my “crawl under the rug” mistake the split second I opened the door. A balloon of embarrassment swelled to the point of popping within me.  Immediately I shut the door. Then, I reopened it to say “Sorry”. Then, realizing I had said it in English, I opened it again. I said, “izvini”. and shut the door, totally flustered.

Readjusting my bundle of munchkin I started up the stairs. The door opened and of course as soon as the neighbor saw me, he knew what I had done as I pointed to my apt above.

If this was my door, there would be no issue.

I am sure they think I am an utter dolt, but at least they are nice to me. 🙂 That is all that matters to me.

Dobar Dan

Whatever Wednesday~ mailboxes and gates

This morning the snow has come down for hours. The mountain got about a foot and we have about half that. Kind of shocking for the 27th of March.

There was to be a Vasher today. That is sort of a Pijats on a Grand scale and a carnival. But the weather has prevented it. There will be five more vashers this year. and I look forward to sharing them with you.

I have posted pictures before of a few gates. Though, doors and window pictures seem to be my prevailing favorite thing to photograph. As I began to wander down main street, I began to  pay more attention to the gates. Now, I have become more infatuated with them. I realized they are a combination of door and window. A perfect marriage of the two.

I really love this RED mail box! I want one ❤

I am pretty sure this is my favorite.

The average gate below has charm. but not so much beauty.

I love the contrast here. This grand gate belongs to the beautifully painted home and building behind. Just next door there is a barn in the back yard. This is on the main street of town. For real!

Another favorite~

Starts with and “M” and probably ends in a “vic” I bet! 😉 The majority of last names here in Serbia end in V-I-C. It’s like “Mc” in Scotland or “O” in Ireland the begin the names. 

And from my last trip to Greece, 2 years ago… One last mailbox and gate.

These were all phone pics. Grainy, but still worth posting.

Dobar Dan

Munchkin Monday- Learning curve

Shopping at Metro is almost like shopping at Walmart… With out most of the products I know and love. 🙂 Millie was trying out her friend’s birthday gift. A teddy bear chair.

This week has been a busy one for the synapses in lil munchkin’s brain. She has learned  lots of new things. Blowing kisses is a fun new thing. Probably most fun for the parents. She is also learning to love on her toys and kiss them as well. Sweet!

She is dancing a whole lot now. When mommy is working on her fitness, Millie joins in doing squats and tries to do kicks. She only really manages to lift her leg off the ground. Still, it is super cute.

Putting toys in new places like the bathtub is a new one. She is even lifting the toilet seat to put them inside. Yep, that’s one I would have liked to skip. Daddy, found that hidden treasure. Lucky him.

Just now as I am writing, another first. She climbed up on daddy’s chair. Then stood up  with her hand on the back of the chair. Look out world. Nothing is safe!

She will be driving soon. Wait, what is the driving age in Serbia?