Sveti Nikola~ Saints on Sunday

Photo and Text credit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

Taken directly from Wikipedia….He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day―St Nicholas Day (6 December, Gregorian calendar, in Western Christianity and 19 December, Julian calendar, in Eastern Christianity) ;^[7] and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of “Saint Nikolaos”. (End copy paste from Wiki.

It is celebrated twice a year. All of them maybe. I am unsure.In December this is a fasting slava. It is also celebrated in May. This is not a fasting slava. Much better food is served in my opinion. 🙂

This is our patron saint. Every family has one in Serbia. When it is your Saints day, it is the custom in Serbia and only Serbia, that you have a dinner and invite your friends.  They come at an appointed time. Most likely that you will be serving loads of people over two or three days.

I love this Saint and how he became one. Everyone should strive to be a secret giver.  Random or non-random acts of kindness are a great way to make life better. Giving is so much better than receiving.

Happy Sunday!

Dobar Dan Y’all!

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Crkva na Sunday (Church on Sunday)~Manastir Lešje

A while back, we visited one of the coolest Monasteries EVER! Lesje is the eighth wonder of the world. I am in love with that place. No, really, I am.

An Orthodox Monastery with a great reverence for the Creator. You can feel it. This place is so beautiful and ethereal, if there were a church in The Lord of the Rings, this would be it!

If you are planning to visit south-eastern Serbia, this place should be on your radar.  You won’t regret it.

Like every monastery, it has gardens and massive green houses for growing food. Lesje also has a wonderful fish hatchery! They raise their own trout! The fresh flowing water add a feeling of calm. Watching the fish swim about is also cathartic!

This place is a visual poem,a work of art. Lesje is place set apart from the world. Please enjoy the rest of the pics that prove how extraordinary it is.

The entrance to the sanctuary John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

I would love to hear these bells chime!

There are some really amazing monasteries and ancient churches here in Serbia. You could learn so much from visiting them! No doubt, you will leave refreshed, ready for your next adventure. Dobar Dan y’all!

Old Serbian Car

Visiting Belgrade, Serbia is always fun. Everything is different from in my little town.  One thing remains the same. I can always find an old car to take a picture of and in this case the great Austro Hungarian door behind it provides a lovely backdrop!

Halloween Obstacles in Serbia

Planning for an English Club Halloween party is proving harder than expected. It will largely end up being just a costume party. That is enough, and most of the fun anyway, right?  Keeping it simple is key.

Let me share the challenges I am up against. The decorations are the main issue.

I found that orange pumpkins aren’t so common. They are grown for feeding pigs. There are so many other options, that is really irrelevant. It is just shocking as massive fields are dedicated to these orange pumpkins in the U.S. for fall decoration and picture-taking purposes only!

The decorative brooms we use to decorate and symbolize a witches broom, is as common as sliced bread here. Here is a bit of irony: sliced bread isn’t so common. LOL Brooms are so different here, I could do a post on them alone!  I guess that will be my blog.

foto credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/10796396@N05/987338538

Costume ideas are often culturally different… for instance. In the U.S. twice I have gone as Gypsy because no one knows they exist. To us they are like unicorns. A.k.a. mythical story book creatures. It is a little like this M&M commercial.

 

Yet, the word in Serbian for Gypsy in Serbian is like saying the “N” word in the U.S. Roma is the proper word for these people.

The irony continues… The “N” word in Serbia is common. There are almost no black people here… only in cities. And the kids here that listen to American rap here the word and don’t understand how bad it is.  Who is gonna tell them? Maybe me? in this post. 🙂

Other costume issues are that things that are common costumes are possibly cultural reference that the kids here may not recognize. DIY (do it yourself) or home-made costumes don’t seem so common. But then again, maybe I am wrong. I am kinda new at this.

The food and drinks we would use back home aren’t even sold here. I doubt anyone here knows what candy corn are! In case you don’t, they are a super sweet chewy candy.

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/candy-corn.htm

In the words of Wayne’s world, “Party on!”

or in the more recent and very popular…

 

Do you have any experience in putting on a Halloween party? Tell me about it!

 

 

 

 

Easy! Munckin Monday

“Easy”, says the munchkin, waking from a dead sleep.Daddy was struggling kindly to wake up and use the nasha (potty). Of course the Hubby and I burst out laughing at her word choice at 2AM! Out of no where she comes up with the most adult yet comical things to say.

Today, while watching an Xgame worthy wheel chair bound stunt guy speed down a ramp and then flip, she shocked me! She blurts out, “Mommy, That’s awesome!” We proceed to watch it over and over as Munchkin also loves to dance to the music in the video.

In case you are interested here is that same video. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152559293686083&set=vb.215052536082&type=2&theater

Her verbal expressions aren’t limited to English. This summer as Baba was going on and on and on…..To infinite, Munch had clearly gotten sick of listening and let Baba know. She said in Serbian, “Dosta!” That means, enough. She is one smart cookie!

She is already teaching me new words. I am so proud of her!

She demonstrates language discernment as well. She will be speaking to Daddy in Serbian, turn to me and speak in English. I just don’t have enough words to describe how happy that makes me.

I can’t believe only three months have passed by, she has grown years worth of Monday writings. Language is the biggest growth spurt she has had, although the mark on the wall had jumped up more than an inch.

She is still taking afternoon naps and cuddles like its her job. I love that the most.

Her coordination and dancing has improved. She jumps and spins like a top. One of the cafes pipes music onto the walkway. She dances and puts on a show every time we walk past.

Potty training was completed at the beginning of the summer. Now, Daddy has her trained to go and fetch her nasha when she needs to use it. He is no dummy. 😉

This is my favorite stage so far! What an amazing little ball of energy! My little Dancing Queen!