It's been a long, long time comin'

So I had this great long thing written to fill everyone in on what has been going on. I saved it to my flash-drive and now I can't open it! Anyway, here are some pictures to look at until we get everything figured out over here. Btw, I am healthy again and we miss everyone terribly...

--David

What a striking young couple!

Danny and his dog

Baba Kosa (it means Grandma Hair)


Vesna and Suzi


Roby

Boris, looking criminal

Nikola and Ana

Sasa and Ina

Ana, Nata and Dijana at Beerfest

The cool cultural center in the woods, whose name I forgot and wouldn't be able to pronounce anyway. It was beautiful there!!!

Beograd Beerfest!!! Imagine Austin City Limits, except "no parents, no rules" and extremely cheap beer from a lot of really good brands.... Yeah!

This is a really famous monument in the center of Beograd where lots of people meet up at and drink before going out.

Skadalija is the name of this street where there is nothing but cafes and really cool vendors and everything is really old and historic and a flash photograph seems really invasive because it is so intimate. There is a band like this one playing at almost every restaurant. They play Serbian classic songs that EVEYONE knows the words to... There are literally dozens of these type songs and spontaneous singing is common place.




Vesna's (Nata's Mom's) beautiful garden that yields delicious food for us to eat.


Plum (sljiva) tree.

So, the last month has been good to us. Things have been busy and chaotic and wild, and we have learned to function with a lot less sleep than what is normal and/or healthy. To anyone who sheltered, fed, or otherwise helpd us this month (like say, throwing a party on our behalf...) you are a fantastic and beautiful human being, your aura looks like a DayGlo swirl of compassion, and small, magical woodland creatures will sing your praises, etc. Special thanks to Kris for enthusiastically putting up with us all this time.... (We promise to buy you a life-time supply of Q-Tips one day!!)

We leave early, early Friday morning. Our itinerary looks something like this: Wake up, drive to Houston in a one-way rental car, while avoiding rush hour traffic. Fly from Houston to Newark; Newark to Rome; Rome to Belgrade, with layovers at every stop. All in all, we estimate at least 20-24 hours of traveling... Hooray!!! We'll be back in touch sometime after we get there. Love love love, everybody!

Yeah!

It's Over and Done With!!!

My year at SAILL Charter School is officially DONE!!!!

I am finally done waiting!

After waiting and wading through the days,
Days that stack up like paper
pulled from a copier & discarded
only to be recycled into more days

Days like mumurs bouncing off screams
that feel more like threats
of more days

Days that drip like applesauce
down walls of half truths

Or days that draw adult obligations
improbably close to the indiscretions of youth

Days full of hope & sincerity & caring
that were good enough to keep us wading
through days & days & more days.

180 days I've waded & waited through
to be patted on the back and
curtly dismissed
to return to my life.

In all its glory...

Our fearless leader, Christina Blair. This woman is stronger than anyone I've ever met in my life. That's all I need to say.


I don't know if I can explain how much I have been looking forward to this day....

Step Two: In which Nata and David forsake their abode.

It was just too empty!!

The brutal reality of the situation soon set in....

We are officially tramps for the month of July.

This is the first significant step we have taken toward Serbia since buying our tickets a few months ago. We will be bummin' around from here to there until departure. If you see us on the street, be kind. Give us some change or a smoke. At the very least, a nod and a wave.

Testing:1,2...

More to come soon. All set to leave on July 30th!!!!! Stay tuned...