Hello! I got back to CC about 24 hours ago and now that I’ve recovered a bit from the epic plane journey, I figure it’s time to share some more stories with you while they’re fresh!
1. We did a workshop with Dah in which we envisioned the floor as a map of the world, and did a series of exercises in which we all traveled on the “map” to the place we were born, the first place abroad that we went to, the place we’d like to be, the place of our greatest sorrow, the place where we plan to spend our lives, and to Belgrade. It was a really cool lesson in how to give meaning to space and/or how to give space to meaning.
2. We met the only out gay politician in Serbia, and one of the co-founders of the activist group Women in Black (two separate people).
3. On one of our first days there, I got turned around on my way to Dah Teatar. I stopped and asked an old woman who was sitting in the park for directions (in my very limited Serbian). She gave them to me, and I followed them. A few blocks later, I was starting to get lost again, and someone pulled on my arm. I turned around, and it was the same old woman! I don’t know how she found me—had she been walking behind me the whole time on her way somewhere? Had she been following me to make sure I followed her directions? Did she just happen to run into me again?
She then led me practically all the way to the theater. I tried to communicate with her that she didn’t need to lead me, she just needed to tell me verbally where to go and I would take it from there, but either it didn’t get through or she wasn’t having it. She didn’t speak a word of English, and I speak about fifteen words of Serbian, on a good day. On that morning, I experienced what it is like to have a fairy godmother. If only I had her around to help me when I get lost in Colorado Springs (which is often)!
4. On another occasion, I had a different old lady stop me on the street and start talking to me in rapid-fire Serbian. I kept telling her that I didn’t speak Serbian, but she was persistent. I eventually realized that her walker was stuck on the curb a few feet away, and I lifted it out for her. She then started thanking me profusely, which I did understand. Apparently old Serbian women and I just have a great connection. It’s probably because I am an old Serbian woman at heart.
In all seriousness, these two events, along with a few others, have left me amazed at the amount that can be communicated nonverbally.
5. I was talking with Dijana (the director of Dah) and found out that her partner’s ex-wife is Marina Abramović, the world-famous performance artist (who I incidentally happen to be mildly obsessed with). And apparently the three of them hang out all the time! Also, since Marina has worked with Lady Gaga, that means I’m two degrees of separation away from Lady Gaga. Shit just got surreal.
6. I experienced a really classy jazz bar.
7. Dah gave us a second tour around the city and told us about their site-specific performances in the places where they did them. It is crazy how many historically important sites Belgrade has. For me, it was an important reminder how much history every place has. Even if it wasn’t the site of bombing, renaming, etc., every place has stuff that happened at it that is important to someone.
That’s why I decided to do an alternative history of Colorado College for my final project. Right now I’m collecting stories of things that happened to people at CC. I’m still undecided as to what format I’m going to present these stories in, although I have a lot of ideas.
I should be working on that, actually! Thanks for reading my stories. I’m planning to post some pictures soon.
Ana
