a walk in a park
Well, happy May Day. I'm not sure if that's why everyone here has a long weekend, or if it's because of Orthodox Easter, but either way, Pristina has been nearly deserted over the past few days. It seems that everyone and their grandmothers opted to spend time outside of the city, outdoors, at Germia, the large park not far from Pristina. I went for a walk in Germia on Saturday with some friends who live near the park's edge, and although it was peaceful and fairly quiet then, I saw a local news report on TV this morning discussing the massive amount of garbage left behind by the huge flocks of people there yesterday... Must have been packed! But the park was lovely, and I am looking forward to spending more time there now that life is green again.
Germia also proved to be a good place to practice throwing the Frisbee around. Apparently, most people here have never seen a disc before! Although they do know of them from movies and television, some of the kids walking by just stopped and stared -- only one little boy ventured to try throwing with us, though :) While everyone else was interested in what we were doing, I could not get over the fact that several groups of people simply strolled leisurely through our game! To be clear, it would not have been difficult to walk around us because there were two major walking paths only a few meters from where we were playing. It is a significant difference of mentality that people do not consider changing (in this situation, going around or even slightly out of their way) to keep from bothering other people. Really, it's a somewhat disturbing attitude, and it's visible in other situations, too.... Like on the roads, where drivers are quite erratic and pushy. Speaking of which, I was nearly run over the other day, but alas, no need to frighten you all.
Anyway, things are going well. It's sometimes chilly and rainy, but life here has mostly returned to sunny days. Happily, the view out of my apartment, which for months was of a grey, muddy, and litter-strewn field, has turned into a nice view of a green, still litter-strewn field :) So, walking around the city still isn't like a walk in a park, but it's not too shabby either, and I have nothing much to complain about...
...but it would be nice to get some comments... are you still there?
Germia also proved to be a good place to practice throwing the Frisbee around. Apparently, most people here have never seen a disc before! Although they do know of them from movies and television, some of the kids walking by just stopped and stared -- only one little boy ventured to try throwing with us, though :) While everyone else was interested in what we were doing, I could not get over the fact that several groups of people simply strolled leisurely through our game! To be clear, it would not have been difficult to walk around us because there were two major walking paths only a few meters from where we were playing. It is a significant difference of mentality that people do not consider changing (in this situation, going around or even slightly out of their way) to keep from bothering other people. Really, it's a somewhat disturbing attitude, and it's visible in other situations, too.... Like on the roads, where drivers are quite erratic and pushy. Speaking of which, I was nearly run over the other day, but alas, no need to frighten you all.
Anyway, things are going well. It's sometimes chilly and rainy, but life here has mostly returned to sunny days. Happily, the view out of my apartment, which for months was of a grey, muddy, and litter-strewn field, has turned into a nice view of a green, still litter-strewn field :) So, walking around the city still isn't like a walk in a park, but it's not too shabby either, and I have nothing much to complain about...
...but it would be nice to get some comments... are you still there?
posted by melissa at 3:11 p.m.
2 Comments:
Hi, Melissa -
We are still reading the blog on an almost daily basis....even if we don't comment! The park you describe today though, reminds me of the one huge park near Hong Kong, which gets amazingly crowded on Sunday afternoons....lots of people and families picnicing.....and an unbelievable amount of garbage left to be cleaned on Monday. Guess that is the norm outside of North America.
Hey Melissa!
I've been reading, but not posting. What can I say; I'm shy and little. Cold rainy weather giving way to sunshine sounds much like Toronto these days. Hmm... Do you want anything from Israel by the way? Let me know. I miss you. Your note from the first time you stayed with us is still on the back of our bathroom door.
Post a Comment
<< Home