A day in the life

Vesna, one of our friends from the National Democratic Institute, took pity on my solitary state and invited me to her house for the afternoon. I had a great time. Having spent the morning in the pool (the temp yesterday and today was over 100), I was excited to have something to do. Vesna lives with her son and her parents, in what she described as a suburb of BL. When we arrived, her mother had prepared an amazing meal. My favorite part was a traditional food that literally translates to "pinch". It is basically a 'pinch' of dough deep fried. It seemed like a new year's cookie without sugar or raisins. You eat these with a spread somewhere between cheese and butter. Dee, Sandy, and I have often seen it at the market and could never decide what it was: cheese or butter. Now I know - it's neither. Either way, spread on these dough balls it is very tasty. My other favorite part was the beverage I was served. It was one Vesna's father's specailities: a 50/50 combo of red wine and coca cola. It took me a little time to rap my head around this mixture, but it didn't taste at all how I expected. Her father is convinced that mixing wine with coke diminishes the effect of the alcohol - to the point that cops won't be able to tell how much you drank. I don't think I'm going to test that. We also had amazingly tasty stuffed bell peppers.

Vesna's family was incredibly hospitable (something I have come to experience as the norm here). We had a very relaxing time after the meal, where I again went swimming in a small pool they have. When I left her mom gave me a basil cutting from their garden to dry and take home to America. The plant has religious value and was a very generous and appreciated gift.

Cultural Revelation for the day: The game of "MASH" is universal. Vesna's son (soon to be entering the 4th grade) predicted my future with an almost exact version of the game I played as a child (not to mention a couple of weeks ago with Dee). For the record, I will be marrying Tobey Maguire, living in Paris, driving the batmobile, and will have 5 kids. Can't wait.