M oje putovanje do Beogra- da počelo je analizira- njem mape. Imao sam 19 godina, studirao na ko- ledžu u Severnoj Karolini i želeo da otkrijem svet van Sje- dinjenih Američkih Država. Učio sam o istočnoj Evropi, živeo jed- no vreme u Češkoj i Litvaniji, pa mi se činilo da je logično da moj prvi korak u otkrivanju bivših ko- munističkih zemalja počne negde na Balkanu. Nisam više imao dile- mu nakon što sam pronašao stu- dijski program o politici i istoriji Balkana u jednoj internacionalnoj zagrebačkoj školi. Mada nisam imao predstavu o tome koliko će ove teme biti teške za mene, pun snova, pomalo naivno, krenuo sam put Hrvatske... Kako nijedna studija o Balka- nu ne bi bila potpuna bez pose- te prestonici bivše Jugoslavije, sa nekoliko kolega sam u mar- tu 2006. godine došao u Beograd. Nisam znao šta da očekujem, imao sam samo sopstvene imagi- My journey to Belgrade start- ed with me scanning a map. I was 19 years old, in college in North Carolina, and wanted to spend as much time as I could outside of the U.S. As I was studying Eastern Europe and had lived in Lithuania and the Czech Republic, Southeast Europe seemed like the remaining area to discover from the ex-Com- munist countries. I found a study programme about Balkan poli- tics and history with the World Learning/School for International Training (SIT), based in Zagreb. I had no idea how complicated both of those topics would be, but I set off for Croatia. No study about the Balkans would be complete without a vis- it to the ex-capital of Yugoslavia, so my fellow students and I came to visit Belgrade in March of 2006. I came here not knowing what to expect, with only my imagination to paint a picture of what this “in- famous” land would hold. My first day in Serbia became the first day of what is now a 10-year love affair and I can no longer think of any- where else to call home. Much like a long-term relationship (perhaps the only one I’ve had), I have come
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