Hello.
This blog will be my therapy.
I'm a North American of Serbian roots currently living in Serbia due to a unique employment situation.
I hate it. I think it's the worst place on earth. Since I can't say these things out loud to hyper-sensitive Serbs (nor should I), nor can I post these things on my facebook, I've decided to make this blog.
This is my toxic waste dumping ground.
I single out Serbia, because I happen to live there. I'm sure all the other former yugoslav countries are just as bad. I didn't set this blog up to bash Serbs vis-a-vis the whole ethnic situation there. I set it up because I think most Serbs live in some sort of fantasy-land about the country they live in, and defend these fantasies tooth-and-nail.
So, this is my place to vent.
If you're some kind of loser foreigner english teacher making $400/month in Serbia and have come here to defend your "belgrade is made of awesome" fantasy-construct, welcome.
If you're a Serb, living in Belgrade who's outraged by some foreigner telling it like it is about the squalid, god-forsaken, backwater you live in, welcome.
If you are a Serb who lives abroad and have all sorts of fantasy-notions about how things are in Belgrade or Serbia and might be offended by someone telling it like it is, welcome.
If you hate Serbs because of some kind of ethnic prejudice, this isn't the place for you
What if you are some other kind of loser who is just amused by curious rantings? Welcome or Unwelcom?
ReplyDeleteWe take all comers :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my therapy.
Hilarious therapy, esp, about the bills. I lived in Skopje for more time than I should admit, and much of your blog rings true.
ReplyDeleteI spent some time recently in Skopje and, Skopjans don't nearly have the same "my shit smells like a bed of wild roses", set of core-beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThey do, however, have a kind of "my shit will one day be a flower" kind of charm
So the place is shit, the people corrupt and incompetent and delusional to boot - it sounds like it could be just about anywhere then?
ReplyDeleteno. Serbia is not "just like everywhere else". In terms of corruption, delusionality and incompetence, Serbia is very special indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou are the definition of a drop kick. How can you enjoy your time in Serbia when you don't speak the counties language? Obviously it will be shit but if you took the time to learn the language then you would also be able to see what people and their life styles are really like. Sure it's not the best in the world but people work with what they have (which isn't much). They have a heart of gold considering what they've been through and to have some inconsiderate piece of shit like you posting unnessesary comments like this on your blog is pathetic.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is, I live in Australia and my roots are of Serbian origin and I also don't speak Serbian just like you but I do understand it. If I wanted to speak it I probably could but everytime I go to visit I don't feel as if I need to. People over there are so welcoming, they try so hard to speak English with me to make my time over there as hassle free as possible. That is not only my opinion but hundreds to thousands of others. We are understanding of them. We understand that they don't have much, we understand that they're not as developed as us and we understand their pain. Why try and judge and compare a nation like Serbia with one such as Australia, Canada or USA? You can't and it's just sad that you actually do that.
At the end of the day, you should treat people the way you want to be treated. If you come into work pissed off and arrgant then of course you're not going to get a good respons from people but if you go happy and friendly then everything around you will turn out so much better. Just do not blame the country or even the people. It was your choice to work there. If you hate it so much than just leave and leave your sad low life comments to yourself.
dude, FIRST: ALL foreigners who had been in Serbia long enough would certainly agree with Doot 1000% percent, your country is a dump hole. See, the problem isn't the country itself (thence the place is beautiful and full of wasted natural resources), but the people who are chronically lazy, unorganized and unabashedly prejudiced. SECOND: it is absolutely untrue that all Serbians are welcoming people. Most of us expats would agree that Serbian women are indeed helpful, collaborative and wonderful people, but in the other hand Serbian men are sick abusive bastards, and the whole country is said to be inhabited by animals because of their (men) behavior, and if you don't like to hear the truth as it is, welcome. THIRD: pal, you ARE NOT an English speaking person, based on the behemothic number of outrageous grammatical and spelling mistakes that you possess it is certain that you have never even been to an English speaking country, you're just a bittered little Serb who's feeling offended and affected by the irksome sounds of reality being told by a westerner, civilized human being.
Deleteодговорио би на српском али неби ти разумео. каква срамота! како мозеш да се предствљаш као србин! :P
ReplyDeletebuddy, I speak Serbian just fine.
lol, 0wned :D
DeleteI also speak better now :)
DeleteOdgovorio BIH not bi :)
oh and predstavljas, but that was just a typo
DeleteYou also missed "mozeš" instead of "možeš" ;)
DeleteAlso, to address a certain something:
ReplyDeleteYou go to Serbia for maybe a few weeks at a time maybe once every few years.
I went to Serbia in 2008 for three weeks and had such a wonderful time that I decided to start a business there. (quite successful 3 years later, I might add).
It took me maybe 5 months for the honeymoon to pass the first time.
Point being is that I hate Serbia because I DO know it (much better than you, I'll add), not because I don't somehow understand it.
Get back to me after you've spent a few months here and tried to accomplish something other than a few drinks on a splav.
Hmm i ja sam je mrzeo zbog istih sranja koje opisujes a onda sam otisao.
DeleteSada mrzim ovo nacrtano govno od severne amerike koje niti smrdi niti mirise ali ti se vestacki osmehuje.
A tvoje objasnjenje zasto si u srbiji( izrabljivanje nekompetene radne snage) je dovoljan razlog da te neko ugazi sa iskrenim osmehom.
I ne ne pretim samo se nadam da ti se tako nesto i desilo u ovom rasponu vremena od tvog poslednjeg posta do danas.
So, basically, what you're saying is that no foreign companies should be allowed to employ Serbs at wages higher than they would be able to get for a local company?
DeleteStrange little man, you hate Serbs!
Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm alive and well
Serbia do not need enemy - they have you!
ReplyDeleteyes, well, for some Serbs, the forthright truth does seem to be an enemy for them. yet another strange thing :)
DeleteBudy, you are discrace to your own kind. You have yugoslawien origins and you hate it? I am German and I am sure I would beat the shit out of you if you would speak something similar about Germany, in case you have a German origins.
ReplyDeleteYou can't get laid? I had a serbian girl in classroom in my highschool, she was the best girl in school.. Maybe you are just a fagget, those girls there like manly men.
I'm not allowed to have a contrary opinion just because my grandparents came from here? ok, buddy :) Glad that I don't operate with such absurd strictures.
DeleteBTW, I don't see any traffic coming from German, only Serbia, so chances are you're a Serbian(ized) person with ethnic roots in German.
That would explain your silly ontology :)
oh sorry. my mistake. Yours was an older comment I responded to. You may well be posting from Germany
DeleteI'm rereading this first post and I realize how much Serbia has declined economically since I first posted this.
ReplyDeleteThere are no more foreign English teachers here anymore since I stared this.
hey dude
ReplyDeleteim in the same situation as u and hate serbia too.. but live here as well..just found your blog.. will be a blast to read i bet :)
Hi Doot,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your troubles. Something is bugging me though. How come you don't move if you don't like it?
Another thing- I am from Serbia, and I know a lots of things are bad (poor economy mostly), but I compensate that dissatisfaction with another activities: hanging out with my good friends, going out... As a person born and raised in BGD I am familiar with its pros and cons.
Last thing, if you run home to whine on the Internet every time when you get short by change, coned by cab driver or similar stuff, man, there is something wrong with you. Grab a beer, get laid you will feel much better. If you are in BGD and you are not able to find a person that suits you (among almost 2M people) for a beer, there is something wrong with you.
Vast majority of us natives are pissed off at system, but we manage to keep our spirit.
Regards,
Vuk
Don't worry. I have a decent social life here
Deleteas for your question:
http://serbia-sucks.blogspot.com/2013/08/if-you-dont-like-it-get-out.html
It's totally understandable for someone born and raised outside his country of origin to despise his country and hate it. I have a similar experience. I was raised in New Zealand and my parents are Arabs. You have no idea what kind of shit-hole my country is in. It's absolutely disgusting, would describe it as a huge trash can. Nothing is decent out there for god sake. Not health care, not transportation, not individual freedoms, not even electricity or pure bathing water! People are very depressing, envious and sick-minded. When I visit them I hardly wait to rush to the airport and end the nightmare.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, you're originally from Serbia. Essentially a European country, I think it is far far better than any Arab country, take my word for it. Serbia is a democratic country with relatively acceptable life style. I mean, come on, the only thing they lack is a good economy (low wages, unemployment). At least they've got clean streets, a fairly good transportation system (not the train network maybe), ambitious young people who love their country, politicians which are trying hard to please the people, glamorous athletes known and admired across the globe, beautiful nature and climate (as opposed to desert and drought), rich architecture and history.
Yes people may be more narrow-minded in Serbia than in the west, BUT, logic says they have a promising future. Take the former eastern bloc countries for example, those countries have transformed 360 degrees. A country like Slovakia feels just as western as the Netherlands now.
I'll sum up with a suggestion; leave Serbia then visit it back after 10 years and make a new blog about the new Serbia.
I am not "originally from Serbia"
DeleteHow the hell can someone be "born outside their country of origin"? The country you're born in and grew up in is "your country of origin"
DeleteI'm talking race man.
Deletewell,
Delete1) living in New Zeeland, you should know how meaningless such a concept is.
2) Serbian is not a "race"
Why do you pick up on one small idea and brush away the main point ? You are the definition of a pessimist man.
DeleteCan you name positive things in Serbia?!
DeleteSorry :)
DeleteIt's not "a small point", however. It's a key ontological difference for the 21st century.
I suggest: http://www.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home.html
So, ya. leave and come back in 10 years. Maybe you have a point.
However, Yugoslavia was way ahead of all those countries you mentioned and now it's way behind where it was itself 20 years ago. Yes war, bombing and all that. However, that ended 14 years ago and Serbia has only gone backwards and is still going backwards.
I hope Serbia gets it together, but I have serious doubts. Too much cultural baggage to even recognize their position, let alone do much positive about it in any reasonable amount of time
So how did you end up in Serbia?
Deletemisadventure
DeleteWhy do you think that Serbia cannot go forward? Because people are lazy and stupide? No man, it is because there is no place left in the "global economy" for the newcomers. The concurrence is tough and those who are already in advance have no intention to leave any profit to those small nations. Yes Yugoslavia was much better cause there was a sort of complimentarity, equilibrum.
DeleteAll that you love in your fucking country, that I hope you rejoin as soon as possible, is thanks to its RICHESS. The same goes for all the occidental world. You search for what you have in a country with 50 000 dollar GDP pc, in a country which has almost 10 times less! It is the poverty that you hate, man. Not any cultural trait.
So the plumber comes on time in Switzerland because he's already rich and the Serb is late and proud because he's poor?
DeleteBeing a teacher in Serbia how would you asses it's educational system? Is it efficient?
ReplyDeleteWhat is your comment on the Serbian language too, as a language teacher, how do you view it? Do you think it's a good thing that the language has 2 alphabets or do you think one alphabet should be abolished (at least in the educational system). Some would believer that people should be taught sciences in the Latin alphabet while Cyrillic should just be taught in Serbian Language lessons. Will you please give us your feedback on this?
some believe*
ReplyDeleteI'm not a teacher in Serbia. Wherever do you get that idea?
DeleteI enjoy learning the Serbian language.
No need to "abolish" Cyrillic. Kids posting their facebook status updates 99% in latinic is Cyrillic's death knell. Cyrillic is already on life support. As soon as you need the government to order that official documents be in Cyrillic, it's already past the point of no return.
90% of my junk-mail is in latinic. Why? because there are more latinic fonts installed in a computer by default.
So, there you have it. Facebook and the pizza flyer are the canaries in the mine.
I think I read on your blog that you are an English teacher in Belgrade who gets paid €400 a month as a recall it.
Deleteheavens no.
Deletefirstly, english teachers don't make that much here. maybe $400.
Secondly, what kind of loser would hang around a place he hates for $400/month? Christ!
Why are you too lazy to post your story?! You have mystified us!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest, but that's not really what this blog is about.
DeleteIf you dig around, you'll find what you're looking for in the comments somewhere.
So what is it exactly that you hate about Serbia? People's attitudes?
ReplyDeleteread the blog, dude.
DeleteI did and that's the impression I got!
DeleteTotally agree Serbia is a sh*t hole.
ReplyDeleteHow do you compare Croatia to Serbia? Croatia is more beautiful and developed right?
ReplyDeleteWho cares? It's like asking "which piece of shit has more undigested corn in it?" or "which is the tallest midget?"
DeleteIf you have to eat shit, every bit of corn counts. An old Balkan saying.
DeleteWhat is your comment on the American guy, Charles Cather, who came to visit Serbia a few years a go then "fell in love with it" and decided to stay? You can check out his videos on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think he'd love the country (despite being an American and having so been to so many others like Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, Spain..?
I think it's worth asking you this question.
I also fell in love with it at first.
DeleteMost foreigners here are hiding from something back home. I go into it in detail in a post.
What are your views on the banning or the gay pride in Belgrade? Do you think it adds to the "shittyness" of the country?!
ReplyDeleteit doesn't "add", Serbia was the same on Friday as it was on Sunday. The fact that 500 people can't peacefully walk around 1 block without the state being afraid of hooligans killing people says everything about what kind of place this is.
DeleteWhy is your blog not attracting much attention? Maybe because Serbia isn't that bad?
ReplyDeletemore likely that no one gives a shit about Serbia
DeleteWhere did you live before you moved to Serbia?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you move to another quitter city in Vojvodina? Vojvodina's cities are more beautiful, less polluted, more demographically diverse. Maybe your life would be better out there?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of a person you must be to write and devote a whole blog in such a negative manner?! Serbia is a unique country in Europe, with a unique culture and collective mentality. As a Serbian, I've been able to travel and visit many countries of central and western part of Europe. Economically and infrastructurally Serbia can't compete with those countries, which are by far superior, but on the other hand, all the westeners can't compete with any of the people from Balkans socially. The amount of emotion and it's deepness a person can feel in a group of Serbians is extraordinary, because we have this cultural sense of collectivity which is embracing for an individual. Only an emotionally and psychologically unstable person, someone who's a stranger to himself, can't empathize with an honest and naive soul of my people. I guess you have those frustrations because you haven't been accepted in any community you've been in, and while I've read your posts, I understand why it is like that. "Check yourself before you wreck yourself."
ReplyDeletelol@ "and collective mentality"
DeleteYes we are lazy, our country and people are having big problems that are lasting over 20 yrs... but only someone who have been here trough these rough times have right to express his opinion in manner that you are doing..
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the fact that you have shared your experience with us...but you know...nobody gives shit...because we like positive attitude...and you are just one among so many millions of retarded who are believing that we need them to broaden our horizons... This blog wont help you with problem that you have...I suggest you to take advantage of Serbian affordable medical care and to find good psychotherapist while you are here...Best regards...Maja
You give enough of a shit to tell me you don't give a shit :)
DeleteAs for your suggestion that only Serbs can comment on Serbia being shitty because they suffered is comical. I can comment because I have eyes and fingers to type.
Anyway. Thanks for enjoying my blog!
LOL @ a Serbian psychotherapist. I'd sooner go to a Klingon psychotherapist.
DeleteDear bloger what I wrote it is only because I feel entitled to. Although used to live in North America for approx. 6 yrs I don't feel entitled to make any comments about country, or the state where I was living. It always interesting reading how other people are perceiving reality, but also what is their soul condition.. For me this is just good material for something else...have a good evening...
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I don't feel I need to ask strangers' permission to express an opinion.
DeleteAn irrelevant view of someone who's obviously lacking objectivity. I'd suggest you, like many other people in here, to get help of a specialist, because you're showing signs of deep depression and anxiety that transforms you into an bloodthirsty narcissistic misanthrope, that is about to explode. Or, just go back to the place that made you like that, and take down those people that you grew up with, don't terrorize my people here on the net.
ReplyDeleteha ha ya. because you'd have to e CRAZY to think Serbia's a dump :)
DeleteThe only "dump" that I'm aware of is the one in your scull. There's a part of me that says that you've never even been to Serbia, but there's also another more logical explanation of your behavior, and it would be that you're a Kosovo Albanian. I know that there's thousands of you jobless lowlifes that are constantly spamming the shit out of the net, just to alienate the Serbs from the rest of the world, and to convince the people that are interested in Serbia not to go there with some idiotic wannabe arguments. You have your own country now, aren't you supposed to be happy about that? Your behavior equals a teenage child, so I'm absolutely sure that nobody takes your fuss seriously.
Deleteyes yes, that must be it. Serbia's a paradise and I'm paid by the Kosovar government to disseminate untrue propaganda.
Deletegood one :)
Are you in Serbia or are you some American-born guy who comes to Serbia a few days every few years?
Being paid for something means to have a job.
DeleteI've said that you're a lowlife jobless prick who might be a teenager or just thinks as one.
Anyone who'd like to come to Serbia, and expect to see something like Las Vegas would be an idiot anyways. Everyone who craves for "par exelance" tourist destinations would rather go to Dubai, or other similar places, why bother with Serbia, but what places like these lack is history, its monuments, and unique culture.
City like Belgrade has still to offer a lot, even to those ones with deep pockets. There are hotels, restaurants, etc. on the highest European standards.
It's true. Belgrade is an interesting place for a short visit.
DeleteI am a Serb living in Serbia, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest wish is to move out of this ruined country.
I don't hate my country, but with each and every day my wish to get out of here gets a little bit stronger.
One day I will move out of here, and never look back. That's a promise.
well, you're truly a wise man. Ain't saying that all serbians are bad, of course Serbia has a lot of good people, but all of those serbian 'good hearted people' are wise enough to understand that their country is a true fu** hole and therefore you're either in the process of leaving the country or left it already. Serbia is one of only two countries in the world with half of its population living inside of its boundaries and the other half living abroad (the only other country like that it's 'Cuba' which is also another fu** hole and wherefore more than its half have moved out permanently to the farthest corners of the earth).
DeleteDuring my stay in Serbia I found clearly 2 kinds of people:
1) the ones that are proud of their crap (they believe that Serbia is the center of the universe and that they're smarter and prettier than anybody else in the universe, usually each and every single of them are potentially aggressive and mentally and socially unstable), and;
2) the ones that are ashamed of their accidental association with their country of birth and are therefore ashamed of its shameful history as well as of its lack of culture, education and human manners whatsoever.
Now, the primates from the first group are likely to remain within the country's boundaries and due to their bitter ignorance and prejudices they have no interest in going to live like humans in the western hemisphere (thanks heavens!!!!!!!!), and the ones from the second group (the good charactered souls) have either left the country forever or are in the process of leaving it permanently, so once again, I salute you man whereas you're within the second group and wherefore you're surely in the right path of wisdom.
Sad but true, John. Although I refuse to be ashamed of something I didn't myself choose (country of birth) and have no control over (behavior and actions of other Serbs). I prefer to be seen as an individual responsible for my own life rather than a part of the "herd".
DeleteKako pametan Srbin zove glupog?
DeleteTelefonom iz inostranstva :)
That's one of the first jokes I heard when I came to Serbia :)
How does a smart Serb call a stupid one?
With a telephone from abroad
My dear friends, and owner of this blog,
ReplyDeleteall of you must have reasons for your feelings... and because of that all of you are right!! But i read to much the word HATE... hate is not good... and there is more feelings to feel you know?
Live your life in a different way... dont hate too much, mix with other feelings... do different things... go to other places... meet other people... see other realities... life is too short...
Be in peace... leave HATE for others, take higher feelings for yourselfs... if you really like of yourselfs of course...
This is my 2 cents, respectfully...
http://hartinart.blogspot.com
идем себи да лупим шамар што сам ово уопште и читао...
Deleteја се опет сетим Патријарха Павла, који на хаговорање да не треба да користи јавни превоз јер се девојке облаче поприлично слободно одговорио једноставно: "Свако види оно што жели да види."
ReplyDeleteне бих ништа више додавао, и замолио бих браћу и сестре да не падају у ватру провокација или просто нечијег мишљења, већ да остану достојанствени и својим хришчанским вредностима и особеностима прикажу ту прави слику о нама, а ко буде ђелео то да види и осети, видеће, ко не жели не можеш га натерати.
помаже Бог браћо добри људи!
Hey Dooty buddy,
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon your blog yesterday and went through all the postings. You made my day - your wisecrack commentaries put into place some overinflated egoes, surely overabundant in these parts. As a Serbian national I find it highly instructional in undermining false self-perceptions. It's a shame though you're forced to resort to these lonesome anonimous rants while keeping a happy-go-lucky attitude over day. It's a ketman mindset innate to America since Thomas Jefferson wrote political poetry on human rights in time-outs of black slaves' whipping sessions. So you”ve been dumping your toxic waste inwardly ever since. That's lots of shit accumulated man. No wonder a country of obese couch potatoes, filthy street gangs and copycat schoolchildren killers slowly declines in global terms.
I've just discovered your blog by accident, motivated by an article analyzing nationality-based auto-suggest Google searches. Since I'm Serbian, I figured why not look into my own yard.
ReplyDeleteJust started reading your blog and friend you are spot on!
This country is beyond saving, dying a slow but inevitable death. Ravish by ignorance, stupidity, illiteracy, misogyny, selfishness, corruption.
The people who amount the something have long emigrated (and by that I don't think Serbs, but citizens of Serbia - I'm sick of this ethnic segregation in this day and age) and very few left are planning to go!
Just a couple of days ago I've read that 38000 people leaves the country yearly and the you can imagine the demography: young people in their 20s and 30s some in their 40s mosty educated.
It's game over here, but most refuse to see it.
I'm very saddened by all this, make no mistake - but I ain't the kind guy the bullshit myself. If you're willing to turn a blind eye, you don't care, not the either way round.
Ok, my fellow Serbs, strike me down for the "traitor" that I am.
You want proof that I'm Serbian, no problem: Само Слога Србина Спасава, Шешељ, Аркан, Коштуница, Тома, Нож & Жица, Косово је Срце Србије, Пизде Материје.
Хвала на пажњи.
Its sad that your therapy rotates around feeling of hate. U probb. age faster and have problems with physiological functions bound with psychological feelings. And if nothing else it would be better for u to start standing behind your opinions and words, like this u will not make any effort in this therapy and as an anon. person that is. There is always other option, u donˇt need to be a servant of the money u r making here, escape! even if it means that youˇll earn less and have bigger problem finding the object of your hate. My sincere advise for u is to move on to another chapter of your life, you are obviously not happy here. Or not happy as in general... Anyways these r only words left in an ether... Hope youˇll get better and overcome the things that burden u.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the health and wellness tips, along with the concern for my well-being and physical appearance.
DeleteI'm curious about something that I've been curious about since I got here, though, and since you seem to have some insight about how states of mind affect people's appearances, maybe you can tell me why Serbs, after they hit about 35, fall off some kind of cliff and all of a sudden look 10 years older than they are.
Any insight? Hate in their hearts or is it just from smoking?
Doot, i am Serbian from Belgrade, and i'm probably sharing 80% of bad impression's with you.
ReplyDeleteBut you must understand that this suffered and mutated people do not have time for understanding your anger and pain....
Move on, you live once,
Bunch of people here will gave their asses for your passport...
Sorry for my english..
Oh, Doot, I had a laugh reading your blog, especially about the fork :)) This was what my poor dad said to my English husband when he came to meet the family for the first time. There seams to be a mutual unofficial script for every Serb that meets a foreigner. I bored people to tears when I moved to England, with my 'poor me, poor Serbs' story. There was a reason to it, as under media influence people in Serbia think that the entire world just talks about them (in a bad way, of course). When in fact, nobody cares or knows where Serbia is. Well, I learned my lesson soon after. I still have pangs of nostalgia and think of going back, but I'll postpone it for a while after reading your blog. You just reminded me why I left.
ReplyDelete:*
DeleteYou have the fork story wrong, but so do a lot of Serbs. It's not an inconsequential story, however, but it takes a little curiosity and research to find out what it is. You just like to moan. You seem to lack the sensibility to understand your own people, so leave already! Nobody has tied you to a chair in Serbia, have they? Whiner.
ReplyDeletehttp://serbia-sucks.blogspot.ca/2013/08/if-you-dont-like-it-get-out.html
Delete