Reports from the Field I: And Budva would be where???

So, a little bit of background as to why I'm in Montenegro right now. On April 22nd, I sent a dispatch home to friends and family which gave something of an explanation, and also my first impressions of things here...


D A T E L I N E : 22 April 2007; Budva, Montenegro

By now, over 2 weeks into my 6-month stint overseas (I love the way that sounds: I'm living overseas...), you're probably wondering what I'm up to. At least, those of you on the distribution list who knew that I was moving to Montenegro for 6 months. I'm sorry I've been so silent for the past 18 days. But, it's been an odyssey just to get here, get my bearings, get to work at the hostel, get around town while the main road is under heavy construction, get simple little necessities like hair conditioner and apples...

So, after a 45-hour period of travel that was made that hideous by a missed connection in Paris, I arrived in Budva, Montenegro on April 5th to a bustling hostel and my good friends, David and Nadya. I'm here to help them run a 2-story, 5 bedroom hostel that sleeps 24. And, when the summer tourist season begins, I'll begin my stint as the English-language radio producer/host of Ponta Planet. The show will run in English bi-weekly on Ponta Radio. With enough sponsorship, it'll also run in French, German, Italian, and Russian once a week each. But, those aren't my gigs, so let's get back to talking about me, shall we?

There's not much to report in the way of wacky anecdotes that fill you with delight and wonder at the exoticness of my new world. Yes, the Adriatic Sea is amazingly blue and beautiful. Yes, I'm meeting scores of worldly travelers (more than 50 so far this month!) coming through the hostel. And, yes, my days off are split between lying about on the beach soaking in the cool sea air and taking day trips to nearby towns which sell things like home-made prosciutto or which have city ruins that go back further than the Magna Carta. I've seen LOTS of incredible beaches, and walked through the narrow, stone-paved streets of LOTS of old towns (here, they're exotically called Stari Grads).

So now, in no particular order, here are some first impressions I've gathered in the past few weeks that I thought noteworthy:

Women here are absolutely stunning. They're well put together and extremely fashionable, even when they're just running out to pick up a carton of milk. Despite this, Montenegrin men stare at both me (for being Asian) and Nadya (for having shapely legs that go on forever) whenever we walk down the street. It's really unnerving how they never smile at you when you make eye contact and smile at them, though.

Construction zones in Montenegro (of which there are lots in Budva right now; they're expected to be completed before the official tourist season begins on June 1st) aren't off-limits to random passersby. You're welcome to walk under the moving boom of a backhoe to get across the street, no hard hat required. Just try not to get run over by the tractor that's sidling up to the backhoe so that the drivers can swap cigarettes.

There are no supermarket chains in this town. There is one Mega Market (tm) in the town center, and countless mini markets on every single residential street, where you can buy everything from a head of lettuce to freshly made Burek to toothpaste. We have 2 such mini markets right across the street from the hostel, one of which sells half-liter bottles of beer for 40¢ each.

Lots of Brits travel. They come to the hostel in droves and I'm starting to say things like "David and I went to uni together." and "Well, you'll find loads of ruins all over this bloody coast, now won't you?" because of them.

Feeling like you're half on vacation and half living a new life makes the days go by quickly, but makes your time away seem a lot longer than it really is. I'm 18 days in and it feels more like 80. I miss home a little bit. I miss my peeps a lot more.