It's beginning to feel like fall. I have always liked the rain and in Montenegro this is no different. I am in my office, "working" (after I write this, I will do my work)and listening to the rain and itunes radio station-- the discovery of last week that has changed my days at the office. I don't have to bring in my ipod to have great music to listen to at the office because itunes radio does it for me!
The other great discovery of last week was blueberry juice. I am not usually a fan of blueberries or juice (I find fruit juices to be too sweet) but this stuff is great. Not too sweet and filled with all of those great anti-oxidants.
If you read the previous entry to the blog, you know that Podgorica experienced a power outage last Friday. It happened again on Saturday, this time while I was getting a manicure. The girl who was working on my nails calmly went to find a candle (I suppose they had them handy from the night before), and finished my manicure. She told me that it doesn't bother her, she has cigarettes and coffee (they make coffee on a little gas stove) and she is happy. We spent the next hour chatting, waiting for the power to return so she could give me a pedicure. It was more like two hours, but I enjoyed the company. Her English is very good, and because she is from Serbia, she has experienced some of the same things I have in Montenegro. She often feels like an outsider (and she speaks the language!).
My Serbian language skills are slowly improving, but I need to be careful because people think I understand more than I actually do. Case in point: there is a group of elderly women who sit on the benches in front of my building every evening. I always nod and say "Dobro Vece" which is the formal way of saying "good evening". They nod back. Well, on Saturday night one of them motioned for me to come over to the bench. And she started talking about how she was my neighbor upstairs. After that I was a bit lost and they started with the questions (not that I necessarily knew that they were asking me questions, I realized this only when there was a silence and they looked at me as if waiting for a response). A few repeats later, with me saying, "Isvine, isvine, ja goverim malo" (Sorry sorry, I don't know alot), I realized that they were asking me if I have a husband and children. When I said no, they beginning inviting me for coffee-- I am sure that this is their golden opportunity to introduce me to their bachelor sons, nephews, grandsons, etc. Of course this all occurs to me later-- at the time I just nodded and smiled... Oy.