If you’re not on the Medill alumni listserv, you missed out on a pretty ferocious debate last week over whether or not Medill 2020 is good for the school, including tangents on why Midwesterners are unsophisticated and why corporate PR is sophisticated. There were some other points in there, too, but that was the gist.

Anyway, for all our ranting, no one knew anything about Dean Lavine’s curriculum, so the intrepid Stephanie made a couple calls and got a copy of the thing, which you can read in all its four pages of glory right here.

Oh, and it’s only the undergrad curriculum. Stephanie was told the graduate curriculum doesn’t exist. At all. Good thing they’re already making changes to the grad school classes, then.

Greetings from Serbia. It’s been really hot here the past week. Temperatures today were around 100 degrees fahrenheit. It’s humid, too, so it feels a lot hotter than that.

I found out something interesting about the weather. When temperatures are forecast to be 40 degrees Celsius (about 104 degrees fahrenheit), all institutions must shut down. Since that’s such a big deal, forecasters never predict 40 degree days. The temperature is always forecast to be a couple degrees below that, even though thermometers around the city show the actual temperature.

A cab driver today told me that summers keep getting warmer. With global warming, this trend will probably continue. That could be disastrous for Vojvodina. This is Serbia’s breadbasket. We took the train to Subotica (near the Hungarian border) yesterday, and really the area is nothing but corn, wheat, fruit, and sunflowers. Ever wonder where they grow all those sunflowers for sunflower seeds? My guess is here. I’d never seen sunflower fields before, so I thought that was pretty neat.

My language program, as predicted, is keeping me pretty busy. Last Tuesday, we went to Petrovaradin, the large fortress across the river. Apparently it was built in the 16th or 17th century, but the Austrians. The Turks tried to sack it and destroy it, but the fortress’ defenses held tight. So tight, in fact, that the Turks couldn’t get close — the Austrians surprised them and defeated them! The fortress has a bunch of gun holes, so people can hide inside and shoot out. It also has a couple of places where it is possible for barricades to fall and trap invading armies. Today, the fortress is a big park, full of art galleries. It’s the site of the EXIT music festival (which I am going to in July), a 4-day extravaganza. The Beastie Boys and the Wu-Tang Clan will be performing, along with Lauryn Hill, Basement Jaxx, and Groove Armada. It’s kinda funny to me that I’m in Serbia, and I will be going to a festival of American music.

Other than the occasional excursion, I’ve been staying pretty local. The afternoons here are blisteringly hot, so that’s usually my nap time. I just can’t function when it’s 100 degrees outside.

Last Saturday, we went to the tamburica festival in Salas. It was pretty much a local affair. We were the only foreigners. At the dinner afterwards, one of the waiters kept bringing us rakija (strong Serbian brandy), while we listened to an impromptu concert. All of the performers from the festival had brought their instruments with them, and led us in a chorus of rousing Serbian drinking songs. It was really fun. A word to the wise — don’t have more than two shots of rakija. And don’t mix the colors of the drink. You’ll end up with a bad hangover the next day if you do.

On Sunday, we went to Subotica, a community near the Hungarian border. It’s a pretty city, full of trees and gorgeous buildings described in my guidebook as being “art nouveau” or “secessionist.” Nearly everything in town was closed, and, typical of some Eastern European establishments, the restaurant at which we ate lunch was out of almost everything on the menu. We just wandered around, looked at the buildings, and then took a taxi out to Lake Palic for the afternoon. I swam in the water (which was green with algae), but got a little weirded out by my inability to see the bottom, so came back to shore pretty quickly.

As I was on the trip with two beginning Serbian speakers, my job was to translate. And boy, did I get some practice! I’ve gotten pretty good at conversing with taxi drivers. I can talk about the weather, where I’m from, where I need to go, how long (and why) I’m studying Serbian, etc. Taxi drivers love to talk, so it’s been great practice for me. Taxis are inexpensive here — usually they’re about 100 dinars. (For those of you back home, this is equivalent to $1.50. Yes, that’s right. $1.50) Since taxis are so cheap, I’ve been taking them everywhere. Beats sitting on the hot bus crammed nose to armpit with people.

Coming back from Subotica, we took the train again, as we missed the last bus. And boy, did we end up on a “Balkan Express!” For the first hour, the train stopped at random little villages — sometimes even at what looked like people’s houses. After the larger town of Backa Topola, the conductor started to book it. I don’t know (nor do I want to know) how fast we were going — but we were going so fast that the carraige behind us was bouncing up and down wildly. The electrical connections between the carriages were pretty bad, so the lights kept going on and off. One of the guys in front was chain smoking. If trains are that bad, it’s no wonder people smoke so much here! We got back okay (a little bit later than expected). When I go to Belgrade for that portion of the program, I will be going by bus. No more trains while in Serbia.

Well, that’s about it for now. This upcoming weekend is “Etno Vikend.” We’re going out to a village nearby to see how people live, and possibly join in the tasks. I’m not entirely sure what that means — I think I may end up milking animals next weekend, though. Hope everything is well with all of you!

I spent my last day in Budapest, visiting museums and churches. I first went to the Parliament building, but could not take a tour, as the 10 AM tour had been cancelled. Instead, I walked around the outside of the building, which is pretty in that Austro-Hungarian “look at my empire” kind of way.

Following a tip from Mariners blogger Geoff Baker (check out his blog over on the Seattle Times website), I took the subway to St. Istvan’s Church. In one of the chapels is the mummified hand of St. Istvan. Unfortunately, that chapel was closed for a funeral service. (Is it just me, or is having a funeral in the same room as a mummified saint’s hand a little creepy?) The church itself was absolutely breathtaking — large, lofty, with distinctive Hungarian art.

Then, it was off to the House of Terror to take a look at the exhibits there. The House of Terror is a museum memorializing the victims of the Nazis and Hungary’s Communist regime. I didn’t know that Stalin and Russia had essentially controlled Hungary until the fall of Communism. The last Russian troops didn’t leave until 2000 (I think). The museum dealt more with the Communist regime than it did with the Nazis. The Communists were definitely brutal — people were taken away in the middle of the night for “suspicious activities” and tortured in the basement of the House of Terror (which used to be the headquarters of the Hungarian Secret Police). The House even has a replica of the cells people used to be held in. Pretty sobering stuff, but definitely worth a visit if any of you decide to visit Budapest.

Afterwards, you guessed it, I was off to relax in another Turkish bath. I grew quite fond of those while in Budapest.

Later that night, I went to the Opera House to catch the performance of Don Pasquale. While I was standing in line for tickets, this American woman offered me two of hers! Apparently two members of her party had dropped out at the last minute, and she couldn’t use the tickets. (Yes, Mom, this does mean that I owe somebody free opera tickets, in addition to the four sets of baseball tickets I now owe folks. It’s my karma, I guess.) These were great seats — up in a private box. I gave my second ticket to a young woman on the street. She and I watched the opera together, while her friends sat in the box next door. As it turned out, she had just finished her MA in Sociology! During the breaks, we had fun discussing sociological theory and marvelling at the Opera House’s architecture. We talked a lot about nationalism, the Balkans, and Hungary.

I arrived here in Novi Sad on Saturday, after a six hour train ride. It’s hot here, too — just like it was in Budapest. I am staying with an elderly woman named Jelena and her middle aged daughter. Jelena lives in a flat in Novi Sad, just a short bus ride from the city center. She speaks no English, and my Serbian is definitely improving as a result. We spent Saturday night watching the Serbian version of American Idol. Jelena told me that the singers often sing old socialist songs, which I found pretty interesting. From what I could catch of the judge’s comments (they even have a Simon-like character), the highest compliment is for a singer to be told “you make Serbia proud.”

Yesterday was Jelena’s daughter’s birthday, and people were in and out all day long. I think this is pretty normal in The Balkans — people just drop by for coffee at any time. (By the way, I love the coffee here. It’s so much better than in Seattle.) One of Jelena’s friends ventured out with me. She took me to the market at the end of the street, and helped me find a map of Novi Sad. As long as I have a map, I am set in a new place! On our walk, I told her that I am studying Bosnian Serbian and Croatian, and said “Bosnian is not a language. It used to be Serbo-Croatian, and now it is Serbian and Croatian. Bosnian and Montenegrin are not languages.” I think I will tell people now that I am studying “your language,” rather than actually name it.

As I left the flat, another of Ms. Jelena’s friends called after me in English “Don’t lose you!” I know he meant “don’t get lost,” but I like the way he said it better.

Later on Saturday, yet another of Ms. Jelena’s friends said he was going to be “my dad for the day,” and took me to the police station to register. Everyone has to carry ID cards here, especially foreigners. I think it’s just in case I get picked up by the police. I’m not planning on it. We rode the bus through town to the police station, and he was able to get me a registration card in two minutes. Awesome.

I registered for classes last night, and met a couple of my classmates, Jeff and Craig. Craig is a grad student at NYU, and Jeff is a grad student at UNC (I think). With a guide, we wandered around Old City (Stari Grad) Novi Sad. Stari Grad reminded me a little of the Austro-Hungarian part of Sarajevo, and even more so of Ljubljana. The buildings are pastel, with Victorian architecture. There are two large churches in the center of town — one Catholic and the other Serbian Orthodox. We had dinner in the Old City, and listened to a concert. I was surprised at how late people were out on a Sunday night.

One thing that I have noticed about people in Novi Sad is that they are very proud of the city’s diversity. Ms. Jelena’s friend (the one who took me to the market), said that “All types of people live in Novi Sad — Serbs, Croats, Hungarians). Jelena has expressed similar things to me. Interesting.

I did spot one piece of Kosovo graffiti in town. It said “Sve za Kosovo,” which I am interpreting as “All for Kosovo.” My language school’s professors offered to let us read some stuff in Serbian about Kosovo, and I plan on taking up that opportunity.

Well, that’s all for now. I will try to update as frequently as I can. My language program will be keeping me pretty busy. Tonight we’re going to a party in this garden cafe on top of one of the buildings downtown. I will definitely take some pictures of that. Tomorrow, we’re off to Petrovaradin, the fortress on the other side of the Danube River. I will get to see quite a few places in Serbia on this trip, which is great!

Considering that it’s currently raining, and that tomorrow night I may try to catch an opera, I figured I’d update tonight. I’m in my hostel, enjoying the internet and listening to the Mariners game online. It was an 11:20 AM start tonight, which makes it an 8:20 PM start Budapest time. Since I won’t be able to listen to many M’s games (most of them start at 4 AM my time), I figured I’d take advantage of this opportunity.

I arrived yesterday morning, about an hour later than scheduled. I had to fly through New York City, and bad weather on the East Coast almost diverted my flight. As it happened, I ran to catch my connecting flight to Budapest, and ended up sitting on the tarmac for another hour while we waited for air traffic control to clear us. I didn’t mind so much. I had a row to myself, so I just stretched out and slept.

I was pretty beat yesterday, so I decided to take advantage of Budapest’s famous thermal baths. I took the subway to Kalvin ter (”Calvin’s Square” — named for the Protestant Church on the square), and walked across Szabadsag hid (Freedom Bridge) to the Gellert Baths. Budapest was once two cities — Buda and Pest — separated by the Danube River. In 1872, the cities were joined, creating Budapest. I don’t quite remember my Austro-Hungarian Empire history (but I should), but I think Budapest was considered capital #2 (along with Vienna) of the A-H Empire. The city is filled with grand Victorian “marvel at the might of my empire” buildings.

Back to the baths. Apparently Budapest is the site of my favorite kind of thermal activity — hot springs! The Gellert Baths are in the basement of the Gellert Hotel. The ceiling tiles in the baths look like frescos. There are two baths there — one warm (36 Celsius) and one hot (38 Celsius). I was amazed at the difference two degrees makes — and then I realized that Celsius degrees are bigger than Fahrenheit. Those baths took most of my jet lag away. I highly recommend a visit to the baths, should you visit Budapest. They’re all over the city.

Today, I wandered over to Vargehy (Castle Hill) to take a look at, well, the castle. Another bridge, more beautiful views. I didn’t go inside the castle itself. There are museums inside, but I’d heard that they weren’t worth it. Instead, I visited the Castle Labyrinths. There is a really cool network of caves underneath Castle Hill. They’re full of mostly interesting, but kinda cheesy, exhibits. There was a room where wine poured out of an ornate faucet in the central. It smelled kinda funny, so I didn’t try it. Also, the idea of drinking wine out of a fountain seemed gross. After the labyrinths, I walked over to the Matthias Church which is, of course, undergoing renovations. Last summer, most of the churches I visited were undergoing renovation. I guess it’s that time. Inside, the church is filled with really cool “East meets West” art. Budapest’s style is all its own — a funky mix of Austrian ornateness and Turkish artistry.

As it was hot today, and my feet were tired, I decided to sample another set of baths. When in Rome, right? This time, I took a series of light rail and busses out to Margaret Island, to the Polonius Strand aquatic complex. A brief note is in order here regarding Budapest’s public transit. The city is light years ahead of Seattle, or really any other US city. There are three subway lines, many trams, a light rail system, and busses that run unbelievably frequently. And they’re all pretty full — not as full as the busses in Belgrade (where you hoped you were smelling your friend’s armpits), but fuller than Seattle’s metro busses.

Back to the Polonius Strand baths. These were a weird cross between a communist athletic complex and a water park. There were a ton of different pools (including a couple of “adventure pools,” a water slide, and a thermal bath. These ones were outside, which was nice. The Gellert Baths are still my favorite, though.

I must look a little Hungarian. A couple of times on my travels, older women have walked up to me and said something in Hungarian. I assume they are asking for directions, but I don’t really know for sure. Hungarian (or Magyar) sounds nothing like any language I’ve ever heard. It’s a very pretty language. I can’t understand a word of it, but it’s pretty.

Tomorrow, I think I’m going to go to the House of Terror. It’s a museum that documents the Nazi and Soviet regimes here. I may try to check out the Opera House. I’ll probably just do a tour. I thought about taking in an opera, but all the subtitles will be in Hungarian…so I don’t know if I’d like that so much. There’s a cool Statue Park Museum in Buda, so I may check that out, too. And when in doubt, there’s always a bath complex to visit!

Wow — so we really haven’t posted in quite a while. I survived my second year of graduate school. Phew. Sometimes I don’t understand why I signed up for this madness. These last two weeks have been crazy — I took a final, wrote a 20 page paper, proctored a final, graded 67 blue book finals, and have begun packing up my room for the summer. I leave for Serbia on Tuesday, stopping first in Budapest to see the sights. I’ll be in Eastern Europe for 2 1/2 months, sending in updates from there.

If any of you have any tips on things to bring to Europe or things to leave behind, let me know. Also, if any of you have tips on the best way to follow Major League Baseball while abroad, please let me know that too. My Mariners are still in a pennant race, believe it or not!