By JohnPaul
Day 50? Could it really be day 50? Good gravy, has it really been 34 days since I’ve last written. Okay, I’ll stop acting surprise… yeah, I know… I’m sorry… I’ve been a little distracted ever since Flag Day. Go Serbia! And then, of course, Grayson and Serena finally got here. Go Grayson and Serena! And finally the Cyrillic alphabet… Go “Д”!
To be honest, I started writing a post on day 38… but I haven’t gotten around to finishing it until now. I will try to be more forthcoming with our life in the days, months, years to come. But then again… I am sure you are all coming to this site for the Grayson goggle montage more than my meandering words.
Anyway, we’ve had a lot to adjust to… which is a bit annoying… but something we are used to… things never seem to stay the same for long when it comes to us. Much like our stay in Washington, DC. Some of you have been asking when we will be leaving… and if you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said September 18th. But, that has changed. Apparently, they, the Foreign Service, were looking over their files and realized that they had called me by mistake. They were really looking for a Juan Pablo Schlutz. Anyway… we’re packing our bags and we’ll be back in Atlanta by the end of the week.
No… not really. The position I am taking in Serbia is not what they call a “language designated” position. What does that mean? Well, it means that I am not expected to speak Serbian in order to perform my day to day job duties. But, as you can probably imagine, whether or not your position in “language designated” it helps to know as much of the language as possible… just to function. Most people in Serbia, young people that is, speak English. But street signs are still in the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet… some in the Serbian Latin alphabet (not as common). That is correct… two alphabets… I don’t have time to explain… maybe I will try to explain it over a “ПИВО” when I come for a visit.
Anyway, because of this functional need for the language, on a whim, I requested the Serbian Fast course (8 weeks). And I got it. It’s pretty cool. Now, we leave on November 14th. I have never studied a language in this way before. .. Learning it is my job… and my only job responsibility. Frankly it rocks. One cool thing in that about half of the other people in my class are also going to Belgrade, 38 weeks after I arrive, but they are coming to Belgrade just the same. (They are in the year long “Basic” course). That’s right folks… the year long course is called “basic” and the 8 week course is called “fast”. But it makes sense if you think about it… I’m sure you can’t call the course, “We really only have time to teach you enough to get into trouble”, I’m sure it wouldn’t have fit on the book cover.
My days in class seem to be cycling from absorbing, to deer in the headlights, to total frustration, to breakthroughs… since I finally have the Cyrillic alphabet down… which I have discovered may be something to be proud of… but not exactly a great party trick… I am hoping for more breakthrough days... fast!
ЛАКУ НОЋ,
-JohnPaul
