Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Otes Bunch


            Sometimes, I feel like my life in Otes would make a great sitcom.  I’ve got neighbors popping in for a drink, funny lost in translation moments, cute animals, friends with developing love interests….  What more do you need?
            Sunday was one of those days that especially felt like a sitcom episode.  The day began quietly and calmly, as Sara and I took a long walk in the park in Ilidza.  However, on the way home, Sara stopped by the market and arranged a date with the fruit vendor!  There is one stand in the market with a very nice, attractive young guy, who speaks excellent English.  (It turns out he is in law school.  A very educated fruit vendor.)  He always is talking to Sara and giving her free fruit, so she worked up the nerve to ask him out for coffee.  It sounds like the date was a little awkward (aren’t all first dates awkward?) but went pretty well.
            Meanwhile, (a good sitcom episode has to have multiple story lines) Matt and Tim have taken in an adorable puppy.  The little female mutt was so sweet!  She was very tired, and little bit clumsy, which made her extra cute.  Sadly, Matt and Tim cannot keep her, and there is nowhere to take her.  Matt tried in vain to find some sort of shelter for the poor thing, but alas!  So they fed her, gave her a bath and a warm place to sleep for a night, and then had to turn her back out onto the street.  She is so cute that I am hoping maybe someone else will find her and start taking care of her.
            On top of all of this, our crazy neighbor from the 7th floor, Vaita, had a party, and convinced all of the Sarajevo Philharmonic people in our building to join him and his family.  You may remember me writing about this neighbor before—he is the same guy who crashed Ingrid’s birthday party in September.  He sure likes to drink, dance, and have a good time! Sara and I figure that we need as many friends as we can get in our building, after the whole mess with our other neighbor accusing us of throwing a bottle at his car.  So, I definitely wanted to meet Vaita’s family.  His wife was an excellent host, serving an odd combination of alcohol, Bosnian coffee, chips, and cookies.  She did not drink, but seemed quite tolerant of Vaita’s craziness…haha.  I had a beer, and then had to try a bit of Slivovic, which is liquor made out of plums.  It is powerful stuff, so just a little bit is plenty.  I switched over to coffee after that.  Bosnian coffee is really growing on me.   I realized that I still have not taken a picture of a traditional Bosnian coffee service!  Next time I have it, I will have to photograph the extravagant, handmade silver serving pieces and write an entry about the coffee-drinking culture of Sarajevo.

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