Making the Best of a Bad Situation

Last weekend I went to Belgrade, Serbia. Arriving at precisely 6:23 AM from Budapest, I immediately went to the hostel, checked in, and started exploring the city. I was out the entire day. I went to Tito’s Tomb outside of the city, witnessed a nationalist rally (it was Constitution Day), tried some cheap and delicious tea and poppy seed pastries, went on a free tour of the city, met some German and Australian tourists, went out to lunch and ate Karađorđeva šnicla (so good, so unhealthy) and Ajvar, went to the Nikola Tesla museum, watched the sunset from the fortress overlooking the Sava and Danube, tasted the local (highly alcoholic) honey rakija and some Burek, visited the remnants of the NATO bombing, and ended the day at about 2 AM watching the city from a rooftop jazz club of a not-so-abandoned apartment building named Bigs. It was an awesome and exhausting day. Back at the hostel, I fall into deep undisturbed sleep only to wake up early Saturday morning to the sound of yelling emanating from the common room.

There was a strange combination of English, French, and Serbian, and even though I could not understand about 90% of what was going on, I could tell that something was wrong. The first thought that passed through my mind was not, “What has happened? I should find out,” but something along the lines of “Go back to sleep. You are in a hostel. They are probably drunk. It is 6 AM. Go back to sleep.” Five minutes later, I heard the word “stolen” and I glanced towards my purse…  which was no longer there. I froze. Everything was in that purse. Least of all, my mp3 player, camera, and train ticket home; most of all, my wallet, credit card, and passport. It was shocking. The room had been locked all night.

For about 30 minutes, I thought I had lost everything, and then a great bellow came from another room of the hostel. An Australian guy who I had met the night before tumbled out of his room in a towel he had slept in the night before and was incapable of speech for a matter of minutes. Long story short, he was the one who had really lost everything, not me. Not even the towel he was wearing was his. He had traveled around Europe for about 17 months and had not lost a thing. Then, his second night in Belgrade, his whole pack is stolen. Everything. I still don’t know how his quest for a passport … or pants for that matter … concluded. He disappeared to the Australian Embassy in a pair of borrowed sweatpants and no shoes about an hour after waking up.

Apparently the Australian Embassy functioned better than the US Embassy. I called immediately after canceling my credit card, and they simply told me that I would have to wait in Belgrade without money or, quite frankly, anything of use until Tuesday when they reopened. They could do absolutely nothing for me. I don’t know where I would be without Valentina, a Serbian national, speaker of three languages, and another victim of theft, and her uninhibited French boyfriend who at one point demonstrated his true feelings towards the hostel by punching the front desk worker in the face. Without Valentina and her boyfriend, the police would not have been called (you need a police report for the US Embassy and replace a stolen passport), and I most certainly would not have been able converse with the police officer and explain the situation. I got quite the window into the police life of Serbia. Something that is not often seen by tourists, I would hope. Without Valentina, the whole situation could have been much, much worse.

So there I was. Stranded. And then, something truly wonderful happened: I got help from the most unusual location. While the US Embassy’s help was lacking and my CIEE program in Budapest was less than helpful, a stroke of genius hit my Father. Through the most tenuous of connections (my Dad worked with a guy who was friends with another guy who had cousins in Belgrade with two daughters my age… I think that is how it went.), I was connected with Maja and Marina.

Let me begin by saying that they are the most wonderful, amazing, great people that I have ever met. Ever. I cannot imagine any person in my life, my age or thereabouts, who is as mature, easygoing, helpful, and completely fun to be around. Not only were they more than happy to help, but gave up a bed for me in their apartment, made me dinner (refused help when I offered), and had the coolest cat ever. This cat, Мачка, had personality, and I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed the company of a feline so much. The cat and these two sisters were the saviors of the weekend. Between their tea collection, excellent healthy cooking skills, and generally buoyant life philosophies, they were staggeringly incredible people. I have no more superlatives; these girls will eclipse them all. You guys have my eternal gratitude. I’m honestly still speechless. I will to the best of my ability return the favor when they visit me in April.

I do not under any circumstances want to frighten people away from traveling. In fact, the goal of this post is to prove that people can persevere through losing everything and find their way home as long as they are willing and able to think out of the box and remain calm. I would go back to Serbia in a second. In fact, I want to go back and improve upon this trip, and now that I have friends there it will be even easier to not fall into the same problem as this time. The country is beautiful, and the people (except for the thief who stole my stuff) are amazingly nice. Serbia definitely does not have a good reputation inernationally. Anyone who has watched Taken, probably thinks I am insane for going there, but I loved it. And, I can say that after losing everything.

Morals of the story:
1) Duct tape your valuables to yourself while you sleep (or at least wear some pants).
2) No weeping, screaming, or hyperventilating is necessary. Keep calm.
3) Things can be replaced, memories can’t. Try to make the best of a bad situation. Don’t sit in your hostel with a chocolate bar having a pity party and ignore the fact that you are in a place that is new, different, and probably awesome. You chose to go there for a reason. Tank advantage of that choice.
4) Don’t be surprised when those who are supposed to help, don’t.
5) Welcome help from unexpected locations. It is perhaps the best kind of help.
6) Please, for the love of God, never go to the Three Black Catz Hostel in Belgrade.

Needless to say, it will be an unforgettable weekend, even though I no longer posses photos from the trip.