This morning as I drank my tea with my colleague we watched a morning talk show. She interpreted some of it for me, but what was really interesting didn’t need interpretation. The program, which is aired daily, is called “Balkannet” and it airs on TV Pink every weekday morning. If you have spent any time in the ex-Yugoslavia, you are likely familiar with TV Pink as it airs in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia (and apparently only on satellite in Croatia but they love it there?). The channel airs mostly soap operas imported from South America and the US, sometimes movies, and at every commercial break music videos of the up and coming artists of their parent company’s record label (including the infamous ultra-Serb nationalist singer Ceca). Many parents will not allow their children to watch TV Pink; in Podgorica you see teenage girls strolling about town in outfits that mimic those seen in TV Pink’s music videos and on their more racy talk shows. The network is so controversial and disliked by some, that Montenegro’s most famous singer Vlado Georgiev refuses to have his videos played on TV Pink.

“Balkannet” is broadcast from Belgrade, Podgorica, Banja Luka (a city located in the RS in Bosnia), and Sarajevo (which is part of the Muslim/Croat Federation in Bosnia) and carry on Regis and Kelly-esque chatter. As my coworker and I watched the program, I began thinking about how the talk show represents the way the Balkans are today, ten years after the end of the war: there is no dialogue but an understanding that different peoples must coexist. The different talk show hosts all speak the same language, but they weren’t talking to each other. The live feed moved from one location to another, but there was no interaction amongst the young talk show hosts, despite the fact that they all speak the same language.

The Balkans are a fascinating place. I find that I can’t read enough about the region. I am working hard at my language lessons so that eventually I can read the newspapers and understand the nightly news (and “Balkannet”!); I know that the only way I will begin to understand is by listening and reading. But the questions that I have people aren’t always willing to talk about. I will keep you abreast of what I learn.

A side note: I have just spent two hours sitting in the dark, thanks to a power outage that struck down all of Podgorica. A text message to a colleague confirmed that things were dark on her side of the city as well. For the first hour of the outage, I sat outside reading in the sunlight, but then it got to be too dark and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. Finally, as I opened the refrigerator to check on my food, the power (magically) came back on. Thank goodness. Unfortunately the satellite is down so I am watching television in Serbian as I write this.