poi exhibition at rex cultural center

Let me set the scene.... On the 24th of November on a chilly night somewhere in Belgrade there was a feeling of excitement, anticipation, and a small amount nervousness as the curtains rose to welcome the one and only dzeja furnivala (me *giggles) about 50 people came which was fantastic as a lot of preparation was put into place to make this happen, personally and by the Rex Cultural Center and a amalgamation of both. many people could not come but as you can see it was quite full as it was http://www.rex.b92.net/sr/galerije/mediaSet/115/DOBROVOLJNO+U+BEOGRADU.html. it started with a interview which was very well prepared, then onto the history of Poi and the different types of Poi, with some audience participation, which i must say to get up in front of 50 people and demonstrate was very brave as most people had never tried or heard of it before :-) . the best thing we all went for drinks after but everyone i had time to speak to all said good things about it, so in this way all the time and effort was really worth it. watch this space for a possible cirkus collaboration with me and Cirkusfera and some poi workshops this is the next step into the future, come with down into the rabbit hole!! 

keep your hearts bright and shine

Dzeja Furnivala

(AKA Jay)

On Arrival Training Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

so we got to Bosnia after a English breakfast mmm at 5.30 am, through the Serbian border with ease then to the Bosnian border they we're like your not coming in with the Portuguese mutha....  (joke) but it did take a little longer but all was cool, guns we're aplenty though we drove through the prettiest scenery lakes and little streams and the roads had bends in them like England's country side except they we're bending around the mountains and lakes the trees we're mainly ever greens. i think our driver was a little psychotic he drove like a mad man but he did stop for me to pee which i was so thankful for after nearly 5 and a half hours of driving, we all slept apart from miguel who really was nervous about his driving changing lanes on a single lane road!!! glad he was watching he could of screamed if we we're in a crash to wake us up lol.he was missing other traffic by a few cm's. we did get there safe after 7 hours or so and the hotel was so nice went for a swim straight away in there pool but it did take me a week to find there gym lol, in our time we ate really nice food provided by salto and prepared by the hotel, the burek i am told is better in Bosnia i haven't tried Serbian but it was ok for me i am a little sick of different types of bread for nearly 2 months.. anyway there was a selection of fresh vegetables and fruit made me very happy. got some exercise done, and a lot of partying done every night actually even if it ended up in my room...not like i like to party or anything ;)  was a wild and informative weekend for most i must say it was a little slow going but then English is my first language and i appreciate this is not the case for most EVS-ers but there we're some interesting concepts for me to, plus i got to be superman!!!!!

the week was rounded of with a little party in the hotel which was nice after i personally all week didn't go to bed before 5-6am and missed none of the training. people we're nice and there we're so many of us at the training they split us into 2 groups not being biased but i thing my and miguel's group rocked more and partied harder ;) also i think our trainers drazen and tadej we're better trained, we went to a few hot spots a club called basement, a place called the underground, the eternal flame (a commemoration), and a club slogia (xcinema) where we met some model of bosnia and got invited to a fashion show but it wasn't really our thing, we were the life of the place on the stage and every thing was funny.  the tea is better in Bosnia  and i'm told to coffee too. we also went to a place called the tunnel which was a step back into the early 90's with all the conflict that was going on at that time this "tunnel" was there salvation for almost every thing, food, communication, and freedom even tho people died everyday they decided to stay and fight quite amazing really when i was watching cartoons and in school oblivious to this in England at that time and it wasn't well documented in the UK.

the bad things they didn't like you exchanging dinar to km (not the distance, the Bosnian currency) in fact one bank does it and i could not find it! and it was the most foggy place i have been to and the reception (signal) on my mobile phone was full but only in coming messages we're received it completely messed up my phone for a week needless to say i won't be rushing back to Bosnia unless i want to get lost very quickly and this time of year freeze to death or get eaten by bears or wolfs. the people we're very friendly but i feel my home away from home is in Serbia.

when we got back we we're at home for two hours after some similarly crazy driving back to serbia with more delays at the Bosnian border after Portugal murdered Bosnia at football while we we're there 6-2don't think they we're to happy suprised his food wasn't poisoned lol. after we we're back we showered went out for drinks at the magic garden met up with more people and the went to some night was called i saw the best dj which was the best Serbian dj apparently got stupidly drunk till 6ish in the morning got a taxi home and slept till 12noon then went out to see some people and to explore more of serbia.

On Monday i needed dental treatment must of been a good week and weekend lol ;)

tonight i am replacing the lock on our door with it being cleaned after having my key cut 4 times for a replacement.

My exhibition at the Rex Cultural Centre on performance art of poi tomorrow at 7pm home lots of people come and i hope it is a success and everyone enjoys it.

Jay (tired but feeling alive)  :-D

pre pre arrival training and lots of good stuff

On Monday 7th of November in the evening i went to EMINS office (european movement in serbia)to explain and discuss the EVS experience to them.

Jay (me) a EVS volunteer from england, i went to meet aleksander bogdanovic and his colleagues in the office, we spoke before and after the EVS presentation they we're all very freindly and nice to talk to.

I spoke to around 15 secondary school students, They we're all interested in the  EVS and the personal experiences of mine in Serbia, I spoke with them about some past jobs and what i did before Serbia (i gave a basic history of my professional working career), also some of the differences between cultures. we then spoke about the centre i volunteer in, centre e8, their work, my work within that, and the other volunteers roles etc...


I hope i inspired a few of them (at least) to pursue there dreams, and told them to cap of the presentation that if they want to travel from, a few weeks, up to a year EVS is a great way to do it as well as giving them information on a print out with some leaflets so they can check it out.

 It was a informal environment  that was created for me (or maybe it's always like that?). I thank everyone involved for giving me the opportunity to speak to those students, as i feel especially  in Serbia, the youngsters and youth can really make a difference to the way this countries future will look , and certainly if i or centre e8 or any of the volunteers here, will be here to offer any further support for the youth of this country, i certainaly feel if we facilitate this, it is time well spent.

This was a great experience and a great moment for it in my EVS, a week before, our on arrival training in Sarajevo, which we are all looking forward to. we have also been attending the info room 2 times a week on a rotational basis, which we are advertising more through the center E8's website and by other media's we have available to us, we now have leaflets, posters, and hand outs with links to various websites which help to explain it in a more manageable way for visitors, and links for sending, cooperating and hosting organisations which has been very helpful since the first visit here we had a lot less literature on the subject haha lots better now.

aaaaalso i am still waiting for my permit from Serbia, c'mon foreign office get your ass in gear! Plus extra information on Serbia.. so we know the tea sucks. also buses change route without prior notification (which is nice of them..sarcasm) also there is no real schedule to them. grrr.


getting stuff ready for my exhibition on the 24th November in the Rex cultural centre

I will let everyone know how the on arrival training goes!!


till next time 


Jay

Taxi ride

"So, where do you come from?", asks the taxi driver, taking a sharp right turn while lighting his cigarette. For some reason taxi drivers in Belgrade don't really care as much about traffic rules as other people do, red lights are not always as red as they should be, stop signs are not that important. I think his name is Nešha, that's at least what the nameplate says - right next to the Barça sticker, which looks quite old to me. "I'm from Luxembourg" I tell him, trying to ignore the folk music and the passenger who almost got hit by my new Serbian friend. The yellowish lights shine through the window as we're crossing the the Branko bridge in direction of Zeleni Venac, the city center of Belgrade.

Belgrade, my new home for a couple of weeks by now. Even if I have the feeling of having settled in pretty well, there are still things that strangely amaze me. Just like Nešha, who just doesn't give a damn. I think it's some kind of Balkan mentality not to care too much, which - at least for me - is very impressive and also inspiring. This doesn't mean that people are disrespectful towards each other, it's quite the opposite. People seem to be very kind and helpful, they try to communicate with you even if they're struggling. I appreciate this, as my Serbian is pretty bad, I'm glad if I manage to order something in the bakery. But this will improve during time, I guess.

"We are there, it is 570 Dinar", Nešha tells me in his broken english, looking for change in his pocket as I give him a 1000 Dinar bill. I feel so rich in Belgrade, I always have so many bills, even if they're not worth that much. Atleast I'm spared with coins. Nothing is more bothering than coins. I get out of the taxi, heading towards the republic square, passing at least 1000 exchange offices. Serbians love exchange offices.  If they could, they would all own their own private exchange office. Or a bakery. After a couple of minutes walking - the center of Belgrade is pretty small actually - I've reached the statue of Prince Mihailo on the horse.
Our meeting point...

-Claude