far from home

by tracy ann tavares (Serbia)

I didn't expect to find Serbia

So after five years of marriage, a loving almost perfect husband and two beautiful children,and yes i did say almost, you'd think i must have found my comfort zone by now. wrong. Forget what you thought you new about Europe , you know, the old world architecture, statuesque figures with a pout who doesn't say hello, and venture to a little land locked country not as famous as its counterparts but should be centrally located in eastern Europe and you'll find Serbia. with a rich historic past and tarnished by many wars , a part of the former communist regime Jougoslavija newly independent with its most recent war in 2002 the country is truly making a name for itself. With a growing economy, new infrastructure great education system foreign investors and tech companies you will find people from all walks of life here. with that being said it somewhat differs from my own personal experience in a lot of ways. My very first and lasing impression was that it is surprisingly green, i have been traveling for a number of years for work as seafarer so iv'e been to a allot of European countries many time and it really was captivating to see one so green for the first time and that i find to be refreshing to this very day. The other thing that struct me was how lost i felt, it was as foreign as foreign can be for me from the language to the food to the culture and everything in between, but as i got closer to the people i was kind of pleased to realize how similar they were to my people and of course by my people i'm talking about Jamaicans. the likeness in mentality is both refreshing and strange to find out that literally half way around the world people can be so different but also the same. The people are so warm and friendly, they take things slow live life in the moment ,smile and great each other on the street,they don't take themselves too seriously and get offended easily and their is always time for coffee. they have great music even though i don't understand it but as a Jamaican i can appreciate good music, food is quite simple but savory ,speaking of food people are always eating something especially pastry so i have no idea how they manage to stay in shape there is at least two bakeries on every block maybe more i kid you not. Well i guess you can say that they do have allot in common with the typical stereotypical Europe you may have already know rich culture and even richer food always on the edge of another war, but the resilience of the people and their optimistic nature is admirable and contagious. with an acute sense of national pride they are the kind you would want on your team. Now, as a black woman living in a small town in the middle of central eastern Europe especially being from the western world there are a tone of thing that i am uncomfortable with and do not think i will ever get used to, the number one being the stairs, every time i go out pairs of eye burn wholes through my garments and no it does not get better with time i swear to you the same people stop every time no matter how frequent the "sightings", there is no getting used to seeing a black person walk around in a small farming village in east Europe and the old people are the worst they actually appear frightened, i have had to become a master of the smile and nod technique. But i must say that i have never had a bad experience, i have never been told so many times in my life how beautiful i am and how everyone wish they had my hair, on the contrary i cannot find a hairdresser to save my life so beauty routines are nonexistent because with two small children who has the time right. food is very different but not terrible and if you are a health conscious eater like myself its not a bad place to be.