Am I Here or There Part II

Wow, 5 years fly by like debris in the wind of a drastic storm, the internal scars I wear are proof of my time served in NY. Well, it's not that bad :), but I'm desperately seeking my way out and am anticipating my arrival to Belgrade with G Man. We have been carving out a plan to move to Serbia in the next year and I am still in my "I'm so excited and get me there already" phase. This plan has been growing into reality in the past 6 months and is now peaking at a point of crossroads in my life. To get bogged down by the daily grind, mundane corporate schedule, the droning office atmosphere with it's hypnotic white noise, I need an outlet into a new perspective and a refreshed sense of lifestyle, where I can free my mind to imagine, become inspired and strengthen my senses to create...invent...intrigue...entertain.

I would like to detour back to my initial post and complete my Serbian experience here in NY before moving on to the present. I met G Man in NY about 2 1/2 years after living here and after already being acquainted with the Serbian culture outside of Manhattan. Well once I met him, my perspective of Serbians drastically changed as he showed me a completely different Serbian community, an urban crowd..no apartment parties here. This community spent more time at sampling new, exotic cuisine at recently opened restaurants, loved Manhattan's nightlife and pumping house/techno beats. No beer, we were talking scotch, cigars, and sushi. This could just be purely a Manhattan lifestyle that sucks anyone into it's luring fingers regardless of their cultural background. Needless to say, I began to make friends with metropolitan Serbians, many of who came straight from Belgrade or Novi Sad. They did take me to one great Serbian restaurant in NY called Kafana, on the lower east side in Alphabet City. This restaurant is said to have the closest ambiance, food and liquor to what Belgrade's cafes offer. I was pleasantly pleased and surprised to find a huge community of Serbs from NY and the boroughs that frequent this place. Also, I discovered that 2 of NY's bustling bars, Employees Only and Macao, are co-owned by a famous Serbian bartender who has written books on adventurous, crafty cocktail creations. Shish, masterminds of food, drink and nightlife...can it get any better?!

Oh, and since I cannot forget my 2 years living in Astoria where I tasted my first Serbian food, I have to give a shout out to Djerdan on 31st Avenue between 34th and 35th streets (I think). They have the best burek and baklava this side of the Atlantic! Talk about comfort food, oh, and the cevapi is a perfect late night tamer!