RITAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CITY
STRANGER IN BELGRADE: NAILA YUSUPH FROM TANZANIA
I love Belgrade, but I’m always cold here In my country, when you see someone on the street, you greet them, you say “Mumbo jumbo”. When I came to Belgrade, I said “Ciao” to everyone I met, until Stefan told me not to. Oh, how tough it is for me to stick to that! N aila Yusuph came from tropical Tan- zania, where the temperature is con- stantly around 32 degrees, and she brought to the streets of Belgrade a captivating smile and many interest- ing anecdotes about the differences between Tan- zania and Serbia. She arrived in our country after meeting Stefan while working as a tourist guide in Zanzibar, and he saw that the life of a European in Africa is marked by numerous heat strokes. That’s why they agreed that Naila would be the one to re- locate to live and work in Belgrade. “I lived in Zanzibar for four years. Tanzania and Zanzibar are parts of the same country, except that Tanzania is the mainland and Zanzibar is on an is- land. My then boyfriend and now fiancé, Stefan, came to live with me. However, although he liked lots of things, for example how friendly the people are, he told me that he couldn’t live there because it was too hot and he was constantly getting heat- stroke. He often had a fever and headaches, so he would think he’d contracted some tropical disease like malaria or cholera, because the symptoms are similar. Thus, we decided that I would come here for six months,” says Naila (28), beginning her story and recalling how the first thing she encountered were temperatures that were unimaginably low for her. “When I first arrived, it was five degrees out- side. I froze as I exited the plane. That very sec- ond, I wanted to return home. However, I decided to give life here a chance. Stefan turned on all the heaters in the house, I sat right next to one, but it was still very cold for me. Stefan and his moth- er were sweating and saying: “Naila, it's too hot!”, but I persistently responded: “No, it's very cold,
I'm going to die”. Stefan and I are like a fish and a dog who fell in love with each other. The fish lives in water, and the dog cannot survive in it. Still, I live here now, I love that I’m here, especially dur- ing the summer. I also like sarma, roast meat, Ser- bian prosciutto, I’ve learned to prepare some Ser- bian dishes and everything is beautiful.” Stefan works in software testing, while Naila, with a degree in tourism, reached the position of the manager of a hotel in her home country. She says that she was helped in that by the skills she ac- quired as a child – she grew up with three younger sisters and a younger brother, so she learned early on, as the oldest child, to take care of others and supervise them. And it’s a real rarity to see a fam- ily with so many children in our country. Stefan's parents also differ from hers. “His parents pampered us, because they aren’t as strict as mine. Parents in Africa rely mostly on discipline and I like how they raised me, because I learned to take care of myself, but with Stefan’s parents I like that they are nice and have an atti- tude that everything is allowed.” And while her dog, Zuri, runs in front of her, Naila easily and serenely starts chatting with every- one. Those who don’t know English will ask you where she’s from and will comment to you in a whis-
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