It's hard to say what I mean...

I've been home from Serbia for a little more than a week and I still can't shake this feeling that part of me is still there. I'm having a very hard time processing everything that happened and an even harder time putting the events into words so that my friends and family can understand it all.

This is why I haven't posted anything in a very long time.

I guess the best I can do is isolate the common denominators and talk about them for a while. I'll begin with the differences between Serbia and the States.

1. In the States everyone drives with "lawsuit" hovering in the back of their minds. In Serbia, if they hit something, they'll be kilometers away before anyone notices. The pedals in the cars seem to operate by analog. On and off. Go and stop. There is no acceleration and deceleration. There is only moving quickly and stopping abruptly.

2. The food in the States is garbage. Even the healthy stuff has been in a package for six months before it reaches a consumer. In Serbia, if you're eating fried chicken, it was probably still alive while the table was being set. What we call "organic" here in the States, Serbs would call "vegetables." Even the stuff they buy in the market comes from someone's garden. (And if you have information stating otherwise, please keep it to yourself. This is MY fairyland and I'm very happy here.)

One of the AMAZING meals we had while in Serbia. There were vegetables somewhere on the table, too, but I didn't notice them until much, much later.


3. In the States, cheap toilet paper is basically a translucent film which fails to act as a significant barrier and leaves you feeling like you kinda want to cut off your fingers. If you use cheap toilet paper in Serbia you may bleed if you aren't careful. It's dangerous stuff. Very rasp-like.

4. In the States, when you meet someone for the first time with whom you will be staying, they are polite, cordial, usually a little guarded. In Serbia, this is not so. The people are instantly likable. Lovable, even. They love to laugh and sing and dance and eat and they don't waste time beating around the bush. If you're fat, they have no problem pointing it out. The same rule applies for baldness and talkativeness, I've found. But they are also just as quick to point out good qualities.

I must end this post. One of my children needs me. I will post more later about the trip itself and what we did and how we were changed. Stay tuned.

Thank you,
Matt Beers