The Daily Grind

So…here I am, 2 days into my Serbian Adventure. I thought I would share with you a little about my daily routine. It is not glamorous, by any stretch of the imagination, so if you are squeemish, you might not want to read on! ;)

As I said in my last post, the “hotel” we are staying at is very basic. There is running water, and the electricity works, but that is probably the extent of what one would call “amenities”. My roommate has still not arrived, although each night when I go to bed, I half expect my door to open part way through the night, and some strange girl to walk in. Funny thing is….that can’t actually happen because there is only 1 key for the room. Every time I leave the hotel, I must drop my key at the front desk, just incase my roommate arrives because otherwise, she can’t get in. It would almost be a shame if she came now, because I have been slowly spreading out all over the room. When I first got here, I used only half the room, half of the 3 hangers in the closet (I took 2, obviously) and half the counter space in the bathroom. I even put a couple of bags under my bed to conserve space. Now….forget that! I have all the space, used all the hangers, and I have even turned her bed into my drawers. I have a pile for each type of clothing…T’shirts, shorts, long sleeve shirts, etc. It’s working out very nicely.

Let’s talk about my room for a minute. The first time I used the bathroom, I had to run down the hallway to ask Silviu how to flush the toilet. I am not a stupid person, but I have never seen a flusher like this. It looks like a plastic key. I tried to push it in, turn it, pull it out…nope…nothing. Apparently, you have to yank it down hard…ok…that worked! Problem 1 – solved.

Second problem - charging up my computer. There is only 1 plug in my room…I am not kidding you. It is the plug for the TV, the computer, my straightener, my phone (which doesn’t work but I need the alarm clock), my camera, blowdryer…everything. So, I can not watch TV and straighten my hair, or charge my camera…only 1 thing at a time here. Painful. There is a solution though, to this problem...it’s called…suck it up!

Third problem – phone. Like I mentioned, my phone doesn’t work here…so much for an international Blackberry! I have gone to 3 places asking for a phone card, but they don’t actually exist. That’s OK though, because I’m not sure if one would work anyways because I actually have a rotary phone in my room. You remember those ones that your grandparents all have where you stick your finger in the hole and move it around in a circle to dial each number. I’m not sure that a calling card would actually work with one of those phones! I have managed to find the phone number here, but apparently trying to get through is a complete crapshoot because only 1 of the 3 ladies who works downstairs are able to speak English, so when you call, sometimes you will get through, and another times, according to Alain, you will end up waking someone up in whatever room they put you through to. Awesome!

There are also some interesting things about Serbia that I have observed while being here.
1. The doorknobs don’t turn. There are knobs, but they don’t actually turn. In the center of the knob there is a button, and you have to push it to get out.
2. The light switches are level with my knees, ok…not my knees, but definitely my hips. I’m not really sure why that is.
3. The bathtubs are so high. I actually banged my knee the 1st day and now I have a bruise.
4. Everybody smokes, and I mean everybody…and they smoke everywhere. Even in the mall
5. There is no common courtesy regarding cell phones, if you have one, and it rings, answer it – no matter where you are. I got a massage today at the gym and halfway thru, and I am not even kidding you, the lady gets a phone call, and she answers it! I know…not in Canada!
6. The public transit is all free. We were really excited when we got our accreditation and they told us that we could ride for free on the buses and tramps…yeah, great…everyone rides for free.
7. This might be the loudest country I have ever been in. Nobody talks, they yell. When they drive, they honk their horns all the time, and at everything. I can’t sleep at night with my window open because people are yelling all night. It’s crazy!

Well, that’s all I have for now. We are getting our appointments tonight for tomorrow, so that is something to look forward to.