http://natetabak.com/blog Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:26:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Well, I've finally made it to the fabled Kosovo Institute of Journalism and Communication.  Scooped up by a green and white SUV at the Grand Hotel, I was greeted by "Me KIJAC (pronounced k-eye-jack) driver" and taken several miles to the outskirts of town.  The building, with a great view of the ... http://natetabak.com/blog/uncategorized/kijaced SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Sticking to a rakia-fueled promise to return to the region by year's end, I'm back in the Balkans.  Although not as a permanent thing yet, I am slowly working toward this pipe dream. The business end of this two-week trip is visiting the Kosovo Institute of Journalism and ... http://natetabak.com/blog/balkans/turn-it-on-agai My apologizes for the hiatus. My ailing organism is on the mend in Berkeley. If you've been following my Twitter, you know that I've been fighting a second case of Kosovo-perversion-acquired food poisoning for the past week or so. Yes, this republic has been an abusive lover, but what a ... http://natetabak.com/blog/uncategorized/fighting-my-own-kosovo-battle The devout Muslim buys me a beer. “It’s all about love, man,” Venet, a bartender, says in a thick Albanian accent between sips of Schweppes Bitter Lemon. We’re standing near the back of Depot, where Shpat Deda — Kosovo’s version of James Blunt — is having minimal success at moving a crowd ... http://natetabak.com/blog/uncategorized/venet [caption id="attachment_55" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Albin karaokes in central Pristina. Nate Tabak, 2009."][/caption] Albin picks up. The 20-something Pentecostal Renaissance man (a former or current pastor, depending on the source) who believes that the Rapture is near cannot come to dinner. He’s at church, in the middle of a service, but will join us ... http://natetabak.com/blog/balkans/albin [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Visoki Dečani Monastery, western Kosovo. Nate Tabak, 2009."][/caption] In quick succession, the black-clad monk administered a holy trinity of beverages: water (father), espresso (son) and raki (holy ghost) accompanied by chocolate and poppy seed cookies. A kamilavka hat concealed abundant gray hair that matched his beard whose ... http://natetabak.com/blog/uncategorized/45 Pristina is a small place. While respectable in terms of population and geographic area, it is nearly impossible to walk around without drawing the attention of friends or acquaintances every five or 10 minutes. There is no such thing as a quick, forced "stop and chat" when each encounter is nothing ... http://natetabak.com/blog/kosovo/where-everybody-knows-your-shame 1. Packs of wild dogs roam the streets, but it’s all good. 2. The power goes off a couple times a day, but it’s all good. 3. Toilet paper, soap and clean water are privileges, but it’s all good. 4. Pavement is optional, but it’s all good.   Lying awake in bed last night, I ... http://natetabak.com/blog/balkans/the-infants-teething Only in Pristina: Drinking and dinner included a former KLA fighter turned venture capitalist who thinks I should invest with him, two hired Roma musicians, a 27-year-old Vermont state representative, a Kosovar born-again Christian rocker and other assorted folk.  We're still recovering from this productive evening and a little encounter with Kosovo police. But ... http://natetabak.com/blog/balkans/12-hour-pristina-night It was a long road of crazy Albanians, but we've finally made it to Kosovo after an epic drive through progressively backward Balkan backwaters. (This helps explain the lack of Internet chatter on my part, since widespread Internet access isn't exactly a cornerstone of second- and third-world Europe.) Surprisingly little trouble, except two Albanian customs agents at the ... http://natetabak.com/blog/balkans/kosovo