Belgrade, hip city of the Balkans

My journey began in Belgrade, what must be one of the most lively and hippest cities in the Balkans. Overflowing with life--cafes filled with animated conversation, streets bustling with energy, colorful shops, and busy nightlife--Belgrade is a city I could not tire of visiting and exploring. Even in the pouring rain (and it did pour almost the entire time I was there), the city's spirits were not dampened as I ducked small raindrops to visit the Bohemian area of the city in Skadarska or to enjoy the Belgrade fortress and pedestrian zone.

This time, my visit was conveniently also work-related as I attended the ELTA (English Language Teachers' Association) conference for the region. I was able to re-visit a city I enjoy, meet up with other English Language Fellows in the region, make new contacts with other conference participants, and learn a few new things to develop and share with my students in Tartu.

From ELTA 07

In addition, I also presented a piece of work about a project that has been developing in my work. The biggest surprise of all was that instead of a small discussion or round table, as my abstract mentioned, my contribution to the conference was scheduled in a large auditorium for 400! A podium, microphone, and large see of empty seats awaiting me and my talk about writing and autonomy... Unnerved by the inappropriateness of my preparation for such a large room (I had no PowerPoint and only 30 handouts!), I somehow managed to pull my audience of 80 or so to a smaller pool on one side of the room to talk and we all survived... new lessons learned by presenter and listeners alike!

From ELTA 07

The best moment of my days in Belgrade was after the conference when an eclectic bunch of us went to Zemun, an area on the other side of the river with fish restaurants and quaint cobblestone streets, to a cozy restaurant called Repa. Together with the other English Language Fellows attending the conference, some Peace Corps Volunteers from Albania, a Fulbright exchange teacher from Bulgaria, returned Serbian Fulbrighters, and some from the embassy in Belgrade, we shared a dinner and later musical evening. Live music filled the small room of locals enjoying the atmosphere, rakija, and scrumptious fish dishes... the spirit of Belgrade for me was encapsulated in these moments of loud laughter, dancing, and sharing.

For more pics of my short time in Belgrade, check out my Picasa album:

ELTA 07