On The Black Mountain.

I am on a time scedule, so I did not have time to see much of Montenegro. What I did see impressed me. Through bus windows I gazesd at pristine coastline and crystal clear lakes, dramatically set between towering canyons. I stayed in the captital, Podgorica. The city formally named "Titograd" has a distinctly communist-era feel, but also is replete with good cafe culture, I enjoyed what time I had there. Although I only spent a day in Montenegro what I did see made me hungry for more. I would like to return there, and see more of this strikingly beautiful country.

Thoughts over a Bosnian Breakfast

I was somewhat disappointed in the breakfast at my hotel in Sarajevo untill I noticed that the honey they served was beginning to crystalize, denoting it's high quality. After I started to enjoy the product, which had been imported from Croatia. I started to think about how I had come to be able to decern the various qualities and types of honey.
My my first experience with honey was one of teaching. It was in Panama during my freshman year of college. I was working as a translator on an expedition organized by the non-profit Global Business Brigades. We were consulting a group of honey farmers in the rual community of El Bale, who were attempting to form a co-op. It was here that the farmers taught me about the different types of honey, and the basics of its production. It was amazing for me to translate the business workshops we presented for them. Explaining concepts which people in the developed world take for granted, such as bookkeeping and credit systems, is an experience I will never forget.
My second experience was one of learning. While taking my Polish to the next level I twice visited my friends' families in Nowa Sarzyna, a small town in southeastern Poland. The grandfather of one of my friends runs a honey farm. He has been producing honey for many years. He took the time to teach me some of the finer points of honey farming . For instance, while it is common to see honey advertised as being from the pollen of a certain kind of plant, it is generally impossible to control what kind of flower the bees will pollenate, or whether they will choose to at all. He also told me how he remedies various hive-oriented parasitic infections, which the Panamanian farmers had struggled to solve.
The Polish grandfather also gave me business advice. He told me how he grew not only honey, but also raspberries and other fruits as well. He spoke of these matters as if it were easy for him to navigate the complicated agricultural regulations regarding the commercial sale of farm products. In this way, he was able to diversify in a makeshift rual economy, something which the Panamanians have also struggled with.
While eating my Bosnian breakfast, it occurred to me that it would be good to get these two groups together. The experence of an Polish honey farmer and businessman would be more valuable than any advice from some city-dwelling college students. The Panamanians could bring to the table their own experiences with growing a business in the modern day.
While translating across cultures I have learned much more than what to eat at breakfast; I have gained an understanding of the challenges businesses face across the world.

Two Dictators of the Western Balkans

As I have mentioned earlier, while I was in Serbia I had the opportunity to learn something about how Tito not only kept the various ethnic groups of that country together, but also did so while following a breakaway policy from the USSR. More recently, on a visit to Albania, I saw firsthand how the policies of the western Balkans' "other" despot, Envir Hoxha, have been truly detrimental to the country.

In many ways the policies of both dectators bear striking similarities. Both of them broke with Stalinist Russia, and followed independent socialist policies. However, Tito seemed to realize that going it alone came along with the need to from alliances with many other countries throughout the world. For this reason, much of his duties revolved around state visits to world leaders. This also had the function of keeping the people in his own country focused on him, whether they really liked him or not, rather than making war on other Yugoslav ethnic groups. The aggressive diplomatic foreign policy of Yugoslavia, considered to be one of the most "liberal" communist regimes, allowed the country to keep in step with the rest of the world as it modernized over the course of the 20th century.

On the other hand, while Hoxha also quickly broke with Russia, he took Albania down a path of isolation. After a short-lived alliance with China, the country found it self alone, without infrastructure, municipal funds or a viable economy. The country was even forced to resort to bulding a number of concrete bunkers as its only means of defense. After the dictator's death the situation went further downhill. Even after the communist regime fell, the economy collapsed multiple times in the 90's as it struggled to change its outdated ways overnight.

On my trip to Albania, the consequences of this isolation were apparent. Even finding transportation to or from the country is difficult. Both coming and going I had to resort to asking people on the street how to cross the border.

The country itself is the least "European" country I have visited in Europe so far. It reminds me more of the poorer parts of Peru. Even transportation within the country is difficult, as the road system has seemingly not been changed to reflect the movement of the country's capital from Dures to Tirana more than 80 years ago. The railway system is practically non-existent, and the tracks do not match up with any of those in the neighboring countires.

It's not that the Albanians don't want to modernize. Most Albanians are great admirers of the West, and of America. When President Bush visited the country in 2007, the Albanians named a rather large street in the capital after him.

When I stopped in to a local barber shop, the proprietor was very polite. When he finished cutting my hair he shook my hand and sincerely thanked me in heavily accented English. I think he was honored to have a customer from the West in his shop.

When leaving the country I was left with no recourse but to pay an elderly Albanian to drive me across the border in his ailing 1980's mercedes. I asked him in Spanish why the border police did not bother to stamp my passport. "You're an American," he informed me in Italian. "You don't need a visa or anything in Albania."

Coexistence

My train was 3 hours late, so I was rather ready to get out of my second- hand Slovenian sleeper compartment as the train finally neared the Capital of Macedonia. I had read a lot about the country, and heard it constantly spoken of as the birthplace of Old Church Slavonic by Slavic linguistics majors who I knew. As the train crested the hill, and the skyline of Skopje came into view I was shocked to count 2 short church steeples and 8 towering minarets.
While I have been to both heavily Muslim and Christian countries around the globe, no city so effectly blurs the lines between the two like Skopje. While the two populations live distinctly in different neighborhoods overlap occurs throughout the city. Women in burkhas, and men in prayer caps walk in front of the site where Mother Teresa was born. Bars and advertisements for the local beer abound in the Christian section of the city, but are conspicuously absent in the Albanian-Turkish neighborhood on the hill across the river, where it is common to see restaurants with Arabic names. It was a surreal feeling to hear the ringing of the church bells join with the call to prayer.
In many other Balkan countries , Orthodox and Muslim groups have turned to violence.

Although I have heard that there is some tension beneath the surface in Macedonia the two groups, while largely segregated, seem to live in relative peace. I simply point out that the city of Skopje stands as an example that such piece is possible in the Balkans and elsewhere..

A new perspective on Serbia

With a stomach full of French toast, a traditional Slovak dish, and home-made brandy, I bid farewell to my friend’s family, and set out for Serbia uncertain of what I would find. All my life I had heard stories of two different Serbias. I had heard stories of a beautiful country that was worth seeing, as well as of a country full of embittered, amoral and dishonest people. Both versions were wrong. I arrived in Belgrade late at night and checked into the hotel. The next morning I set out to see the city. I was excited to see the city which is famous for its ambiance. In short, Belgrade is the least continental city I have been to in Europe thus far. At many points if it were not for the Cyrillic signage I would have felt as if I were somewhere in the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles. The nicest parts of the city reminded me of old town Pasadena. That said, while I was only there for a short time I found the city to be very liveable.
It was intresting to see how the decade-old Kosovo conflict affected Belgrade. There are still a few buildings that lie in ruins from the NATO bombings. However there does not seem to be much municipal remorse regarding the ethnic cleansing in that province. In fact the only mention of that time period which I came across was a memorial to the children killed during the NATO bombings.
The only sight worth going out of your way for is Tito’s grave and museum. While the grave itself is unremarkable, the museum itself is fascinating. One really gets a feel for how Tito kept the various ethnic groups of Yugoslavia together.
While I was somewhat underwhelmed by the sights, the unexpected bright spot of Serbia turned out to be the people. Everyone I met in Serbia was polite and helpful. When I was confused regarding the train reservation system, one lady stepped in, told me how much a reservation was, and helped explain my situation to the conductor. After speaking to him in Serbian, she told me to follow him, and that he would find me a private sleeping compartment.
Sometimes the things we hear are not always accurate. My experience in Serbia would appear to illustrate this point. It is best not to judge based only on what you hear. In order to truly understand a situation you must see for yourself.

It's Not Greek

Starting from Middle School world history, American youth are taught about how Alexander the Great forged the Greek empire. Ironically, many Americans have never heard of the country which actually formed this territory.
The main square of Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia features a large statue of Alexander the Great, who built his empire after his father, Phillip II of Macedonia essentially conquered Hellenistic Greece.
While forging one of the largest empires in history isn’t a bad track record, the size and influence of Macedonia has had nowhere to go but down since that time. In the late 19th century Greece annexed the southern section of Macedonia and summarily decided that their section of Macedonia was the only legitimate one. Since Macedonia declared independence, this has lead to some disputes between the two countries. First of all Greece strenuously objects to the face that the Macedonians actually dare to call their country Macedonia. Even though the Macedonians agreed to adopt the official name ‘"the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia," the Greeks still demand that the Macedonians cease continuing to describe themselves as such.

The original flag of Macedonia was a 16 pointed sun, of the type used by the ainchant empire. The Greek reaction was so strong (Greece actually levied a trade embargo against Macedonia over this) that the Macedonians eventually changed their flag and money.
In practice none of greece’s complaints have deterred the Macedonians. The old flag is still widely flown from homes kiosks and private boats, and the country is refered to simply as “ the republic of Macedonia, even on the money.
While the amount of arguing over something as simple as a name may seem out of proportion. Given the history of the two countries it make complete since. By demanding to be recognized simply as Macedonia, the people of that republic demand that their territory and role in history be recognize. However, in recognizing this fact Greece would be forced to publically admit that greek Macedonia is not originally Greek. This would also imply that Greece’s role in aiinchant history was somewhat more minor than they currently claim.

Before coming to the country of Macedonia I was somewhat aware of this situation. When my Classiscs professor gave a lecture about the Greek empire, I raised the question of the nationality of it’s King. After a few seconds of science my professor began to respond. His answer to my question was a long explanation which essentially amounted to “Alexander was Greek. Well, not really Greek, but close enough.” This confused response illustrates how the fact of Macedonian identity has yet to be widely recognized in the Western world.

The Power of Faith

When thinking of the world’s largest statue of Jesus Christ, images quickly come to mind of Rio De Janeiro’s Christ The Redeemer poised majestically over the city. However, the largest statue of the son of God is actually situated on the outskirts of Świebodzin, Poland. It is in a field across from the local Tesco. The Statue, entitled Christ the King, was completed last winter and was the dream of a local priest. Many Poles actually have expressed dislike for it complaining that it is tacky. There is still some argument as to which statue is actually bigger, as Brazil’s statue would still be larger if one doesn’t include the Man-made mound on which Christ the King sits. While in Poznań, I made the trip to this small town in western Poland to decide for myself.
Despite its size, the statue's out of the way location makes it hard to find. It seems an incongruous image to see such a large statue in a dusty agricultural field. The statue is never going to get many points for majesty of setting, or for quality of artwork and craftsmanship. It is clearly what could be built where it could be built. On the other hand, the fact that one town parish could build the largest statue of Jesus in the world, or even the mound it sits on, with nothing more than personal donations, makes quite a strong statement about the faith of the people who made this dream a reality. This statue stands, not only as a memorial to Christ’s life, but also as a testament to the power of belief in the present day. It reminds us that faith, no matter what god you belive in, is still important and powerful, even when not placed above our heads for all to see. While the debate about which statue is physically larger will most likely continue to rage, I can say with certainty that Christ the King, makes a powerful statement, not only through its size, but also through its story.