Hello my name is Lelabari Giwa and I‘m from Los Angeles. I am an African-American, upcoming Princeton University student living in Serbia for 9months.

Now, you may be wondering, as many others I’ve met in Serbia, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN SERBIA. Well, I’m currently apart of the 1st year of a new volunteer and language based student exchange program conductedby Princeton University through local student exchange organization, WorldLearning, Where There Be Dragons and ProWorld Service Corps.

The program sends 20 students out to 4 countries, India, Ghana,Peru, and Serbia to learn and explore the local language and culture, volunteer at local NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and live with home say families.

Now, you might be thinking INDIA, GHANA, PERU!!! Why Serbia?

I chose Serbia because I was drawn to the programs focus on human rights, youth and social issues, specifically HIV/AIDS and Roma integration, as well as the opportunity and challenge of living within a society and part ofthe world I and many of my peers had little experience with and was in acritical part of its development stage.

My stay has in Serbia has certainly lived up to and moved beyond my expectations in extraordinary ways. Despite my family and peers worries, I have been met with a sometimes overwhelming amount of welcome and hospitalitysince I walked out of the Belgrade airport.

Before leaving the States, I had several trainings about how to be sensitive and open when living in another country or another culture and workshops where I tried to imagine what it would like to be me: American, African-American,19 yr. old female etc., within Serbia. From the minute I walked into the Belgrade all those abstract thoughts and exercises immediately became relevant as I stepped into a state of unfamiliarity, often insecurity, excitement and appreciation.

I have had to adapt and accept many cultural differences.Transitioning from living in a vibrant multi-cultural city to living withinSerbia’s relatively homogenous and mostly White population was a huge ordeal and often a point of insecurity and discomfort when I first arrived in Serbia and even till the latter part of my stay. While the United States has it’s oncomplex and often conflicted racial situation of it’s own, understanding and being comfortable with what it means to be an African-American minority withinSerbian society was a challenge.

Additionally, I had to adjust to the closer and more important family and community culture and different perceptions of personal space and time. In the States, I live within a two person family, my mother and I. Most of my relatives or close family friends live in other parts of the country or in Nigeria or England. Living in Novi Sad and Nis I was immediately adopted in a closely connected extended family with aunts, uncles, grandmas, sisters and kum; all who were very interested in getting to meet me, having coffee and spending time with me. I remember being emotionally exhausted after the first week from the process of constantly meeting people, trying to remember names which I didn’t know how to spell and constantly being surrounded by a language which I first heard only a few months before.

At home it is generally thought that by the time a child is 18 they should be able to live on their own with limited financial and parent support. Living within my new host family and suddenly not being allowed to wash dishes, clean the house, do family laundry, cook my own or family meals,or pay for drinks when I went out to coffee and having my bed occasionally made, was strange experience which took me a long time to appreciate.

My host mom in Nis loves to prepare sandwiches for me whenever I travel or go on an excursion, at first I viewed this kind and considerate gesture as unnecessary and puzzling as my mother stopped packing me lunches in elementary school and if someone my age still had their lunch packed for the min the States it would be a symbol that they were spoiled.

While some other cultural differences like the constant smoking, more lax attitude towards time and being on time, and fear of being barefoot,sitting on the floor and drafts from an open window I still haven’t quite gotten used to. I still able to look at them with a smile and willingly comply or restrain my objections even I don’t truly understand.

During the time I spent living in the beautiful Novi Sad and volunteering within Omladina JAZAS-a Novi Sad, a youth HIV/AIDS education and prevention network, as well as in Nis and working within KOM 018, provided me with an innumerable amount of experience, happiness and strong and lasting friendships.

In KOM 018 I was happy to be able to participate in many different projects in which I interacted directly with youth. As KOM 018 is connected with several high schools in Niš, I was able to visit high schools and interact with students both inside and out of my service placement. While I have visited a gymnasium in Belgrade to attend an English class, I really enjoyed the time to interact with the students on a deeper and more personal level. I remember being nervous when I entered the first high school, not know knowing what to expect and if the kids would talk to me or if it was going to be awkward. But I slowly began to relax a little as the students’ excitement and smiles helped the meetings pass with ease. I remember being whisked away after one meeting at the School of Beauty and Fashion to an imprompt tour of the practice salons and then to smoky and crowded café where I got to learn more about the students and enjoyed a cup of espresso.

Later I would have fun talking with the students in English discussion groups where we played the game “Celebrity” where we were all secretly assigned different celebrities, from Beyonce to Chuck Norris to LadyGaga, and we had to guess who we were by asking our peers questions. I remember walking into the Children Help Center with my Bridge Year Program peer, Mariam,only to be met by close to 30 students and feeling slightly overwhelmed but as I got to know the youth more I soon learned that I had nothing to feel. Later I would surprise the group with some Ghirardelli Brownies (from a box, of course,the true American way :p). I remember thinking that the students didn’t like them because no one asked for more brownies after the first one, and then was really surprised when their shyness dissipated and everyone rushed back for more at the end of the session. These large groups would slowly dwindle to more one-on-one groups where I met with students, Neša, Sara, Jelena, Dragiša, Pera and others within the office of KOM 018. At each meeting I was impressed by some of the youth’s English proficiency as well as others eagerness and readiness to learn. One moment that made me smile is when Neša, a male hairdresser from the School of Beauty and Fashion, surprised me and facebook chatted me a couple of the English phrases he has learned earlier that week.

While in Niš I also got to participate in the international “Know me. . .” project where I got to meet youth from Dupnica, Bulgaria and BelaPalanka and Niš, Serbia. This project was one of the highlights of my stay in Niš I got to see the wealth and variety of those three different youth communities. Some memorable moments from the project are interviewing my friend’s British indie-inspired band and watching them play in a packed clubwithin the Law faculty. It was great seeing another side of Serbian youth culture and seeing the “scene,” indie,” and “rocker” kids who rebelliously stray from the Serbian turbo-folk dominated mainstream. Another great moment was ending a day of visiting project partners in Bulgaria with Sanja and Salin, by watching a 4 hour Latino dance practice led by an energetic and amazingly talented Afro-Cuban, Alfredo, who led an amazing 10 person dance group through a dance routine which they were preparing for an upcoming performance.

Volunteering within KOM 018 provided me with a great community and way of cultural exploring which was essential to my Niš experience. I’ve enjoyed several delicious meals and relaxing afternoons at Salin’s house. Aftera round table concerning youth governmental policy I enjoyed a warm Spring afternoon with Sanja and Salin at Pleasure Café eating pesto pasta and sipping Schweppes. Both of them were always welcome to answering any of my questions about Serbian culture or history, really worked hard to integrate me into current projects and were awesome bus buddies on out long rides to and from Bulgaria.

For future volunteers, KOM 018 is a place where you will be able to meet and interact with motivated and talented youth from all walks of life and sides of Serbian society. Projects, often focused on diversity, human rights and empowerment, encourage you to think “outside the box,” be creative and independent. Working here you will learn how to develop your teamwork skills as well as manage your time and focus your creativity. Thought young,KOM 018 impressively takes on challenging projects which you will not want to miss out on.