So I am still absolutely LOVING it here. I have this terrible sense that the Balkans are going to keep pulling me back for the rest of my life. At least if the rest is anything like Zagreb. Classes are going alright. Hopefully this clears up when we get into more tangible topics like the events that led to the fall of Yugoslavia and peace and reconstruction efforts since. We watched a 4 hour BBC documentary that was pretty good on the Fall of YU, and then this WONDERFUL movie called Tito i Ja- or tito and I. I heavily suggest everyone rents it. It is so funny.

I am going to watch a nagomet (soccer) game tonight. Dinamo- the Zagreb team (also called the Bad Blue Boys) are playing in the national league. It should be fun, all over the city is Dinamo graffiti. Graffiti is a national art here, yet somehow it manages to not look awful. My favorite is that on the corner of a building near me is Dinamo written in blue spray paint, but they made the D a lower case a. ainamo. Croatians get pretty intense about their soccer- Radno (host father) and I were watching Manchester United and Manchester City play. I asked him who he was cheering for. Anybody but Manchester United he said.

Yesterday afternoon Ankice and Radno took me to Samobor, this neighboring town that is a weekend retreat for Zagreb-ites. It was AMAZING. its this nicely preserved old town with a big church, and lots of walking paths and parks and happy families and running dogs. Idyllic is an understatement. People apparently go there all the time to get married and to eat this traditional cake. Its like a custard cake with a flaky crust. Everyone loves it. I think it looks terrifying. Food should not jiggle like that. Then again things with dairy are not my favorite, so my opinions may be tainted.

On a sad note- this weekend was a pride parade in Belgrade. Gay rights is a huge isssue here- apparently 50% of openly gay people in Zagreb have been attacked either verbally (the lucky few) or more tragically physically. And Zagreb is progressive! This parade in Belgrade was last attempted 3 years ago and only 15 people went. This time they were expecting more, but the police (who as a collective whole are generally homophobic) couldn't guarantee the safety of those marching. There were tons of rumors of violent plots, and even people pretending to be in the parade to get access to those who really are marching. A couple of people from the group were going to go (Goga and Orli highly highly highly suggested not going but obviously cannot tell us NOT to do something, just suggested that we don't and we would have to sign out of the program to leave the country) but decided it wasn't safe enough- especially since they don't speak the language and Serbia uses Cyrillic unlike Croatia, which uses latin letters. Its still a shock sometimes that something i take so for granted at home is still such a danger to people here. There are youtube videos of people at the last attempted pride parade being beaten by mobs. I haven't heard anything, so I hope this one was more successful and peaceful.

But that was a very negative note to end on- sorry folks! And don't worry- Zagreb is an incredibly safe city. It feels a billion times safer (and is as well) than Washington DC, it rivals MDI I think in safety. It is also beyond beautiful, and Ankice is feeding me so much I may have to be rolled home. She says i don't eat enough, but its really not true. She works at night- taking care of this little girl, Katje (who made me a drawing in her first grade class i might add- i am working on a thank you note) so when I get home from class- usually around 6 or 7 with the tram ride, i am often the only one here. Radno plays ping pong and i think as a part time job/hobby (depending on who you ask) is a rented car. Ankice has always made dinner, and leaves me the best notes ever. One said" Boiled, vegetables cabbage and beans and meat (next line) warm ap then the croatian translations, and at the very bottom: Greeting, Ankice" with a flower drawing. They are adorable and so sweet. i have a whole notebook full of them- Plum Noodles (knedle od sljiva) bon aperit Ankica (with a heart). Everynight I eat past full. These plum dumpling were just AMAZING. I lay on the floor for half an hour to digest, but they were well worth it. And stuffed peppers with mushrooms and rice and suasage filling, and pastas and weinerschnitzle and apple struddel. She makes this sauce called Ajvar (j's sound like ye in croatian- ayvar) that is a pepper and tomatoe paste. Its incredible. And since the lactose problem is hard to describe she thinks i can't eat ANY dairy- so is making me dairy free cakes, and uses only margarine and oil. Its very accomodating of her.

I think that is enough for now- More later and love to all!!!