Fun fact: What we call Polish sausage in the states, Montenegrins call Chinese sausage (and, when I was in Lesotho, they called it Russian sausage).
Speaking of food, my host mom in Danilovgrad served a cabbage dish one night that I not just endured, but actually liked! A first! I told her so and asked what it was and how it was made. She said it was called sour cabbage and you start by putting a whole, large head of cabbage in a special barrel, cover it in brine, and let it ferment for 2-3 months. Then....and I just stopped her right there coz I will never have a cabbage barrel, nor will I have the patience to "brine" something for multiple months. Too bad, coz it was some good shit! I did get her muesli mix recipe, tho, which was the best, and I WILL be making that!
While there's nothing I can find that says they occur here disproprotinately, I came across a lot of twins in Montenegro, Like, a lot. It was kind of odd. Also a lot of "half orphans" - kids who've lost either their mother or father at a young age. For a variety of reasons. Very sad.
Speaking of kids, one of the boys in one of my classes - I wanna say 6th grade - asked me once, "Is it true there are a lot of 'Karens' in America?" And I had to reply, "Yes, Filip, sadly, it's true - there are way too many Karens in America."
The kids here get to take awesome "field trips" - the 4th & 5th graders spend 3-4 days in "nature school" at a historic/beach town called Sutomore. In 7th grade, they get to spend 3 or so days in Cetinje, the old royal capital; and in 9th grade, the last of primary school, they get to trek up to Belgrade for 4-5 days! Amazing.
When school ends, all the kids wear white t-shirts the last 2-3 days for their friends and teachers to sign with sharpies. They don't have yearbooks. They also bring squirt guns the last couple of days and douse each other during every break - and sometimes in the halls between classes if they can keep from getting busted.
One thing I will miss is the "old school" thunderstorms in Danilovgrad. Because it's ringed by mountains, the thunder would echo LOUDLY - I mean, multiple times I experienced window-rattling thunder. Cool! And to make me homesick for SF, we even had a couple of earthquakes while I was here - the first was the largest at 5.3 and it took me a good beat or two to realize/recall what has happening. And then I was very excited. Lol.
Altho a small city, Danilovgrad does have the requisite local crazy. Tall, older guy, probably a bit of a drinker, too, who wanders around town, mumbling who knows what. He actually stopped me one day and let loose a barrage of Montenegrin (possibly Serbian), prompting me to say, in Montengrin, "Sorry, I don't speak Montenegrin" ("Izvini što ne govorim Crnogorski."). He stopped short, drew back, narrowed his eyes at me, and then started waving his hands and shouting, "But you just said that in Montenegrin!" and stomped off, ranting.
While I always have "fun" miscues when texting on my phone using dictation, the different names here make for even more fun malapropisms! Podgorica (Montenegro's capital city), for example, becomes Puerto Rico. And the first time I texted my host family to say I would be home from school late because my coutnerpart, Radmilla, had just informed me of a teacher's meeting, I didn't double check before I sent, causing host mom & dad to reply, "Who is Brad Miller?" Lol So, of course, Radmilla then became Brad Miller - but she was a good sport about it.
Probably my biggest accomplishment here during my brief stay was showing the locals to not just take it when corporations try to screw you. One day, the one ATM machine in town from my bank was down so I had to use one from a different bank and of course they charged me FIVE EURO for the privelege! No chump change when you're a volunteer. So I was telling my host dad about it and that I had e-mailed my bank to ask that they credit my account for that since it was their fault I had to go out of network. He shook his head and said, "Good luck with THAT!" Well, surprise, surprise, they did - abd fairly graciously, too. When I reported back to host dad he was shocked. "Wow, we would never think to question that."
Some months later, the same ATM actually ATE my card. THAT was a whole other nightmare requiring multiple trips to the bank and a wait of nearly a month for a new card. When a PC driver took me to the main bank to get a new one, they said they'd charge me 10 Euro for it. And I was like, "The hell you say!" And I asked the PC driver to politely ask why I should have to pay 10 euro for THEIR machine eating my card. He was a bit nervous questioning her, but he did, and she laughed, and waived it. My driver was agog. These poor Slavs just aren't down for pusning back/questioning authority. But a few of them are now! Thus, my work here is done. lol
Disclaimer: Any thoughts, observations, opinions, etc. are of course mine and not necessarily the views of Peace Corps.
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