The rain around Kragujevac

  

On Thursday the 21st I finally arrived in Serbia after a very sad departure from Chicago, two blissfully uneventful flights, and about 18 hours of travel, .  Customs and baggage claim was fast and easy, and I was ecstatic to find my aunt Ljilja, cousin Neša, and some other Serbian friends of the family waiting for me.  Also present were Dida, my contact at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade; Andrea, another Fulbright ETA who will be teaching in a city in the south of Serbia; and an embassy driver who would take me to Kragujevac.

Enjoying my infinite legroom on the plane to Amsterdam.

The happy reunion with Tetka Ljilja.

Thanks to Andrea for the nice pictures!

After saying goodbye to my family, we departed in the embassy car (a Dodge mini van filled to bursting with all our luggage).  After dropping Andrea off at a hotel and Dida at the embassy, the driver and I pressed on through the gray, rainy afternoon.  Kragujevac is a very quick 140 km or so from Belgrade, and we made good time passing trucks and buses on the highway.  My driver was very friendly and filled with lots of stories and anecdotes about Serbia and Kragujevac.  

Apparently there is a saying in Serbian which translates to "the rain around Kragujevac."  If I understood correctly, this is used in a similar situation to when we might stay "stop beating around the bush."  Often, he explained, it will be raining heavily all around Kragujevac but not in the city itself.  Thus to go on and on without getting to the point is to be like the rain around Kragujevac.  

In June, when I first heard that I would be posted in Kragujevac, I naturally turned first to Wikipedia.  The article here describes a little bit about the city's history: its location as the first capital of modern Serbia in the 19th century, home to the first Serbian university, grammar school, professional theater, printworks, and military academy.  It was a city of firsts, but has suffered hard times since the 19th century.  In more modern history, it is primarily known for being the site of a tragic massacre committed by the Nazis during WWII, and then for the production of Yugos until their production virtually stopped after the NATO bombing of the factory in 1999.  Now, Fiat has purchased the factory and begun production here.

Indeed, as we approached the exit for Kragujevac, just past a factory belching smoke into the air, we could see a break in the clouds and the sun just barely peeking through.  Once we entered the city limits, passing first a large cross and then a huge modern sculpture with Fiat emblazoned across the top, the weather seemed to break.  It didn't quite stop raining, but it slowed to a drizzle and was much less gloomy.  

We pulled up to the student dormitory building where I will be living.  It's a very pretty building, modern but elegant with lots of windows and a pleasing design.  I bid farewell to the embassy driver and turned to Andjelka, who had come to meet me and help me settle in.  We carried my heavy bags up two flights of stairs to my small but sunny and clean room and I began to unpack.  Later that night, I met with another professor at the university for coffee.  By the time we were done, the rain had stopped entirely and it was a clear, crisp night in Kragujevac.