Dushan makes one more plea for Dushan-Bubba to stay...."I'll let you drive my tractor around town..."
The bon-voyage party shows up to bid farewell....dearest and sweet of sweets Uncle Milan-a hugger, a kisser and an excellent crier. It has been said that we Serbs like to show our emotions.
First stop Maribor, up near the Austrian Border...to visit my cousin Voikan and his family. Voikan holds a special place in our lives and hearts. His mother and I were cousins. She, Miriana, passed away in 2007 and his father (an MD neprhologist) passed away in1979 when Voikan was 8. We are related by my GRANDMOTHER'S side-Lalic- a little change of pace here. Remember ,we met his 2 cousins in Sabac, where Voikan grew up. Voikan visited us in Ft. Lauderdale in 1988, in Boca in 1997 and again in Boca in 2007. After graduating high school in 1990 and serving in the required military service, he attended U of Belgrade receiving an MD in 1999.
As a student during the very turbulent times in Yugoslavia, he knew he had to move on for a better life opportunity. So in 2000 he borrowed some dough (gladly-a good bet!), my Croatian college pal from U of Texas-hello Mihljo-helped him get the proper visa's paperwork etc (no easy task) and his Uncle in Slovenia gave him a place to live to get started...he passed his exams and now onto another residency in his soon to be new country and home. Voikan worked in a village for the state, received his citizenship (again thanks Mihljo), starts a specialization in family practice, and meets the love of his life-Andrea. He completes his specialization and sits for the exam in March 9 2007, 5 days after his beloved mother dies. Tough kid- he passes. In the mix he has 2 beautiful tow head children (Mia, 2005 and Vid, 2008). This brilliant cousin started his PHD for his academic work (oh did I forget to mention he teaches at the medical school too?) and will complete this degree in 2015...."Medical Unexplained Symptoms". Did he get his thesis idea from family visits???
We are soooo proud of this young man who sucked it up and toughed it out to make a new and improved life for himself. Voikan not only is a brainiac but has a heart the size of Texas. Never mind a great sense of humor and big emotions and don't forget he knows how to choose a fabulous wife. If it sounds like Boca is bragging-she is.
My parents (Mitzie and Chris) were very fond of Voikan as well. Here he is with Mitzie in Boca in 2007.
More about him later and I am sure I will learn more....
In the meantime his very own "Martha Stewart"- Slovenian style prepares a fantastic dinner for our arrival...she was happy to see we survived the Movable Meat Fest in Serbia and whipped up a delicious vegie dinner. Who knew vegie could be so scrumptious?
Yes, here's our little Mia.
"Pammy, do you remember we brought you this wine when we visited? This is from Andrea's parents winery. You seemed to like it...well actually you seemed to like all wine. Not to worry, we will go visit them on Sunday. We are hoping we have enough here to hold you over dear cousin." Time will tell dear Voikan.
As in many parts of the world it is the custom to take your shoes off when you enter a home....Bubba Dushan's new yellow wool Serbian socks come in handy already!
Voikan's childhood buddy, from Sabac, comes over for a meet and visit. Another great Mihljo...this fella, along with his wife, worked for Apple in California/headquarters for 5 plus years. Planned his life well (has a home there and here) and now able to take a lengthy sabbatical to Serbia/Slovenia. Must be the water in Sabac making for smart babies....
I mentioned to the boys about all the World Cup sticker madness in Belgrade...aren't they nutty? Grown men with sticker books. Uhhh Pammy, would you like to see mine?
Oooops, I mean Vid's.
And speaking of Vid....our little minnow. Pleep is so happy he has someone to hang with.
Voikan built this house a year or so ago...bought an "old" house in the city center, knocked it down and built a "green house". Oh so modern and very well built. They used to live out in the country and now enjoy the city life and amenities- the kids school is around the corner.
Family affliction of book addiction..."medical unexplained symptoms?"
I believe my parents did get him his first stethoscope at Emory/Atlanta....
We are looking forward to spending time with Voikan and family. You have big shoes to follow as Dush took such good care of us in Kolut. No pressure there.
The bon-voyage party shows up to bid farewell....dearest and sweet of sweets Uncle Milan-a hugger, a kisser and an excellent crier. It has been said that we Serbs like to show our emotions.
One last family so long photo....
And the Serbian Limo shows up to transport Bubs and Boca to Slovenia....hey Bubs, is this a Mommy Van???
First stop Serb Border where Mira's friend, the border guard, said hello and that she heard all about us and our visit. Imagine that, Boca and Bubs the talk of the town. Ha. Next, hello Croatian Border- yep, Dushan-Bubba and Dushanka Boca get asked to pull over and take out all of their suitcases etc. Lovely, here we go. Those are my icons hisses Boca. "Are they old?" Huh? 30 mins later we were on our way through the supposed to be border easy zones....next border Slovenia. Easy Peasy, no problems. Welcome and bring your dough!- works for me.
Slovenia is a small country of 2 million folks of which 83% are Slovenian, 1.98% are Serbs and 1.80 are Croatian and the other 15%- can't figure it out? The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful-a surprise to Boca? Hello, the place is next door to the Alps. She kept waiting for the Von Trap family to break into song somewhere. Lots of meadows, hill sides and forests, covering 1/2 the Slovene territory (which is far above European average). On the drive over (5 hrs from Kolut to Maribor Slovenia) we noticed the landscape/homes/towns became tidier and tidier. Bub enjoyed all of the deer signs and kept his eyes peeled for some of their red and roe deer. Who knew Slovenia was so pretty???
And like many others, they declared their independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. They joined the European Union in 2004 and in 2007 became the first communist country to join the Eurozone and in 2010 joined the OECD- a global association of high-income developed countries. Although Boca has heard they had a little spending and over borrowing during 2005-2008, causing a little heartburn. But hey who didn't spend like a drunken sailor during that time? Slovenia benefits from a well-educated labor force, well developed infrastructure, and its location at the crossroads of major trade routes. Although taxes are relatively high and the labor market is seen by many business interests as being inflexible- hello India and China.
First stop Maribor, up near the Austrian Border...to visit my cousin Voikan and his family. Voikan holds a special place in our lives and hearts. His mother and I were cousins. She, Miriana, passed away in 2007 and his father (an MD neprhologist) passed away in1979 when Voikan was 8. We are related by my GRANDMOTHER'S side-Lalic- a little change of pace here. Remember ,we met his 2 cousins in Sabac, where Voikan grew up. Voikan visited us in Ft. Lauderdale in 1988, in Boca in 1997 and again in Boca in 2007. After graduating high school in 1990 and serving in the required military service, he attended U of Belgrade receiving an MD in 1999.
As a student during the very turbulent times in Yugoslavia, he knew he had to move on for a better life opportunity. So in 2000 he borrowed some dough (gladly-a good bet!), my Croatian college pal from U of Texas-hello Mihljo-helped him get the proper visa's paperwork etc (no easy task) and his Uncle in Slovenia gave him a place to live to get started...he passed his exams and now onto another residency in his soon to be new country and home. Voikan worked in a village for the state, received his citizenship (again thanks Mihljo), starts a specialization in family practice, and meets the love of his life-Andrea. He completes his specialization and sits for the exam in March 9 2007, 5 days after his beloved mother dies. Tough kid- he passes. In the mix he has 2 beautiful tow head children (Mia, 2005 and Vid, 2008). This brilliant cousin started his PHD for his academic work (oh did I forget to mention he teaches at the medical school too?) and will complete this degree in 2015...."Medical Unexplained Symptoms". Did he get his thesis idea from family visits???
We are soooo proud of this young man who sucked it up and toughed it out to make a new and improved life for himself. Voikan not only is a brainiac but has a heart the size of Texas. Never mind a great sense of humor and big emotions and don't forget he knows how to choose a fabulous wife. If it sounds like Boca is bragging-she is.
My parents (Mitzie and Chris) were very fond of Voikan as well. Here he is with Mitzie in Boca in 2007.
In the meantime his very own "Martha Stewart"- Slovenian style prepares a fantastic dinner for our arrival...she was happy to see we survived the Movable Meat Fest in Serbia and whipped up a delicious vegie dinner. Who knew vegie could be so scrumptious?
Yes, here's our little Mia.
"Pammy, do you remember we brought you this wine when we visited? This is from Andrea's parents winery. You seemed to like it...well actually you seemed to like all wine. Not to worry, we will go visit them on Sunday. We are hoping we have enough here to hold you over dear cousin." Time will tell dear Voikan.
Family affliction of book addiction..."medical unexplained symptoms?"
I believe my parents did get him his first stethoscope at Emory/Atlanta....
We are looking forward to spending time with Voikan and family. You have big shoes to follow as Dush took such good care of us in Kolut. No pressure there.
