Kosovo is born!

OK, sorry for posting the pics and no explination. My computer died halfway through my story, so here it is.

KOSOVO IS BORN. That seems to be the theme around Pristina. Now, before you all start worrying about me having been in Kosovo, less than a week after them having declared independence, I should tell you there was not a lot to be afraid of. I planned this trip in place of a spring break trip, as I figured I would get much more out of it than being drunk with a bunch of friends. I was not wrong at all. Furthermore, I did have the foresight to go to the US Embassy in Prague (not recommended, they wouldn't let my insulin pump through security) and discuss my plans with them, and I was told what I had in mind would be OK. Furthermore, for a city of nearly a million, only a few dozen ethnical Serbs are left, and the unrest in Belgrade and Mitrovice is being caused by Serbs upset over the split. Therefore, a few dozen, mostly elderly, people were not going to be causing riots that I should be worried about.

Pristina is a war torn city. That is the best way to put it, at least the most non-offensive way of saying it. Years of war are still visible, even after nearly a decade of rebuilding. Gutted shells of buildings remain everywhere downtown. Any older person will point out exactly what damage the Serbs did while occupying Pristina, which is no small amount.

While the city itself is a mess, the people are the exact opposite. They are, quite possibly, the happiest people I have ever met. Children run and play, soccer in the city squares is a guarantee. Teenagers walk arm in arm from cafe to cafe, with no real destination in mind. Elderly guys sit on park benches for hours talking (about what, I have no idea). The best part? Everyone has a smile on their face. Everyone is excited, and certainly very happy about the future.

I must say, though, the food on this trip was amazing. Hands down, the best, and fortunately for me, the cheapest food I have had since I have gotten to Europe. The very traditional meat burek with drinkable yougurt will set you back 70 euro cents. I kid not, $1 for a lunch that filled me up. I had three lunches and desert at an upscale bakeshop near the UN complex, for under $10. Half of that went to the bakeshop, so in reality three lunches of traditional Kosovo cooking for under $5. Dinner was had at a very upscale, yet traditional, restaurant, once again by the UN complex. The clientel was mostly higher ranking US officials, who probably should pay closer attention to how loudly they are projecting some of their seemingly confidential conversations. Lamb in a yougurt sauce, 2 beers, a side order of potatoes (I got 5 baked potatoes), 2 loafs of bread, a glass of moonshine (moonshine is apparenly legal and common in restaurants here), and baklava for desert will set you back about $15 in a expensive restaurant in Pristina. Not bad at all. I should also mention that the only menu I ever seen in the country was writtenon a chalkboard in a few of the little shops. The cheap restaurants you look in a case and tell them what you want, and the expensive restaurants they tell you whats available, and you tell them what you want. Simple as that.

However, the best part of the trip for me, was seeing a completely different culture. The Czech Republic is great, and Poland was too, but in al honesty, they are a very western culture. Change their native language to English, and they are no different to me than the south would be. Kosovo, however, is different. Hearing the mosques broadcast the daily Muslim prayer a few times a day, was something I had never encountered before. Horse drawn carts existed in Poland, but they were tourist attractions, not a means of livelihood for some poor family. Poland and CZ both show some damage from wars of years past, but there aren't chunks of road missing from where a bomb was dropped 10 years ago. St. Nicholas' Serbian Orthodox church is right downtown, construction started in 1995, and it was never finished due to war and the expulsion of Serbs. It sits now as a hollow shell, with no one able to decide to do with it.
However, even through all the poorness and pain of war, the people are happy. That is what I take from this trip, how someone can be so happy with nothing. They are genuinely a nice people, who love what America has done for them. Not once was I treated with any disrespect, it would be inappropriate according to their culture for them to do so.

Finally, the last thing that will always stay with me, is being at the bar saturday night, trying to thank the bartender for the free drinks (they really, really love Americans, especially American tourists), and having him tell me no, thank you for all American has done to help the people of Kosovo. That was one of the most touching moments of my life, and I still have the Kosovo beer bottle with the American flag label to remember it.