editor’s note: I wrote this piece early on in Serbia and wrote it after hearing these “facts” from one guy. Come to find out you can’t believe everything you hear. I was told that a few of these facts are very wrong and that I should edit it. I thought about it and then re-read it several times and decided against it. I explicitly stated that these were observations not fact. I still stand by this entire list. But know that these are only observations, not facts.
1. A lot of teens and college aged kids are unemployed and make no money but always have more than enough time and money to party and drink. These kids spend a lot of their day watching American movies, playing video games, and sleeping off the previous night’s escapades. They think it’s funny how our bars only stay open till 2 am when theirs stays open till 5 or 6 am.
2. If someone is lucky enough to have a job I was told they make the equivalent of about $250 to $350 a month. Because of this a surprising amount of people miss the Communist days when they made more money, had more jobs, and supposedly better healthcare despite having less freedoms.
3. The police are incredibly corrupt. They make very little money so if you get pulled over you can hand them 2 or 3 dinar and they’ll let you go. I was told that a vast majority of cops are also heavily involved in drug dealings and human trafficking. Even the doctors are corrupt and will accept bribes to see patients first who are already on a multiple month waiting list. And who was it who said universal healthcare works?
4. Girls love the bad boys. In Serbia, if you are bad then you most likely have money. I was told that girls would much rather have a man who has money and is a drug dealer than an honest, hard working man. This encourages crime among the men because not only does crime pay here but it also means getting the girl.
5. Always wear shoes in Serbia. I had a very worried Serbian man tell me that I would get sick if I didn’t. He was very distraught, thus, I now wear shoes indoors.
6. Men don’t usually clean or do dishes. Much to the chagrin of the girls on my team they’ve been told by men to do dishes, or make coffee, or clean. This is their culture, so Cabe and I just laugh. But seeing as how there are exceptions to the rule Cabe and I have joined in on helping because we are such amazing, awesome men.
7. Serbians hate Albanians. There has been a huge conflict over Kosovo’s newfound independence which has caused this division even though all were part of former Yugoslavia. This isn’t just a dislike either, it’s a hatred. Any time we mention previously being in Albania they will groan or glare or roll their eyes. But that’s them being nice.
8. Apparently President Clinton bombed Serbia in 1999 for 79 days at the height of the war over Kosovo. I never learned this in school and am rather peeved at America for not owning the crap it’s done to others. American textbooks have been horribly miswritten. You would think that there would be some animosity towards Americans after this but it is surprisingly low. We are treated with great respect and love here. Talk about forgiving your enemies.
9. The church in Serbia is choosy about who they let in. For example, the Roma community (formally referred to as gypsies) are looked upon as scum and have separate churches just for them. I was told that if a Roma was allowed to come to a “regular” church that the other people would stop coming. This is so sad. Jesus calls us to love the least of these and to take care of them but the Serbian church is turning their back on them. How will they understand and know God’s love if God’s people won’t even love them? We found the same problem in Albania as well but there it also included homosexuals and people with tattoos.
10. Every Serbian I’ve met has a bizarre or cool story. One guy traveled across North and South America as a drug dealer and was arrested in Detroit. Another is a musical genius who could play Mozart by ear at 3 years old. Another has written a book about psychoanalysis which he says he can’t publish yet because the public is not ready for the contents and he’s also one of the top video gamers in Serbia and gets payed to play. I could go on and on. They are the most interesting people I’ve met so far on the Race.
11. They have the best pizza and burgers I’ve ever had. And it’s street food. I would try describing them to you but I just can’t, I wouldn’t do it justice. I’m pretty sure my words would fail so bad that the pizza-burger god would haunt me forevermore.
I hope this doesn’t come across like Serbia is a bad place. Yes, it has it’s faults like anywhere else but it’s also so very beautiful and the people are incredibly kind and hospitable. I tell you these things so that you can get a global perspective and know more specifically what to pray for and against. If it’s one thing Serbia needs, it’s prayer and a whole lotta love.
