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Winter Retreat 2019 - Religious
During winter break of the last school year, I went to a Serbian Orthodox Winter Retreat at one of our most beautiful churches. It consisted of spiritual and awakening activities like going to church before sunrise, fasting, getting to knows stories and history about our past ancestors, and so much more! I would definitely recommend it to all of my Orthodox friends! -
Happy New Years! - Festive
New Years Eve going into 2020 was the first year I have ever spent a holiday without my family. I returned from the Winter Retreat the 30th, and I had a invite to a concert on the 31st to hear three fimilar Serbian artists. I convinced my parents for several hours, however, with a little persistence I had received my wanted outcome. -
Seminar Season! -Productive
Every year for the four years, my folklore ensemble and I have attended a seminar at one of our local churches/hall in Milwaukee. We're usually accompanied by two if not more choreographers coming from places like Vienna, Kraljevo, and many other European countries and cities. They teach us numerous dances, techniques, songs, and much more! -
Welcome to Detroit!
A few weeks after seminar weekend, my ensemble and I had taken on Detroit for a few days. We went there for a performance at a church we've never been invited too before, so we had the opportunity of meeting new people, seeing a bit more of Detroit then the last time we visited, and ended up having a quite eventful weekend. -
Two week Spring Break?
This was when Covid-19 first started to spread to countries like Italy, progressed greatly in China and other Asian countries. So, the United States decided to give everyone a little over two weeks just to be sure we don't add to the issue. However, we can all agree that we've been stuck in this "two week break" for months now! -
Quarantine? - Boring
At this point in time, we've been out of school for about a week and a half. I've avoided contact with as many people as possible, meaning I kept myself inside for most of the day. My dad started to nag to my mother and me how we're only weakening our immune systems even more by not getting a certain amount of fresh air or exercise each and everyday. So, believe it or not, my dad got my mother and me to go to a park with him for a family detox day! -
First Covid-19 Birthday of the Year?
My friend Andjelina's birthday was on April 11th, and school's have still not opened up at this point. My friends and I had to visit Djina on her special day, the only question was how. Djina's mom was scared that we would be exposed, therefore we came up with the perfect plan. Thankfully, Mother Nature was on our side for this one. We all wore face masks, gloves, brought paper plates and cups to have a miniature party in her backyard. I must say that it was quite the experience. -
First Real Covid-19 Outing
My friend Grace, Nevena, Andjelina and I decided to treat our deficiency in good times with a nature walk. We decided to explore the beauties of Catherine Chevalier Woods. It was an eventful day, until we all fell into the mud by accident! However, that made the day unforgettable and we still laugh about it to this day. -
Travel Ban? Who's That?
It's been two months since the pandemic begun, and honestly I was getting quite tired of the repetitive routine I had going on. So, I did what needed to be done. I went to Florida to visit my family and take a little break from school and everything else going on. -
Saying Goodbye to Bestie for the Restie
My bestfriend Andjela was lucky enough to escape to Serbia for our usual three month getaway. With the travel ban being cut-off on May 30th, whoever had dual citizenship in America as well as the country he/she is visiting is allowed to go. Given the fact that Andjelina and he brother and mother all had Serbian citizenship, it was time to say our yearly temporary goodbyes. -
Welcome to Tennessee! -Exploration
After repeating the same routine everyday, my parents, family from Florida and I decided to take a family road trip to Gatlinburg Tennessee. We rented a huge cabin in the woods and had bears as neighbors. We got to meet so many new people and I even experienced my first Fourth of July in the United States. -
Reunited With an Old Friend! - Interesting
Mia and I have known each other for multiple years before my parents and I even moved to Chicago. Once I moved here, I found a group of friends and didn't hangout with people outside of that group. However, with my best friend Andjelina being gone for almost a month now, I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to start branching out more. Mia lives in Morton Grove, and ever since summer started we've been hanging out almost everyday. -
Family Time!
Given the fact that my aunt works as the main Pharmacist at her local CVS, she's been exposed to multiple Covid-19 cases. Luckily, she herself hasn't had it, however, she didn't want to put our family at risk. Now that the Covid-19 isn't as bad as it used to be, my family and I decided to get together for a family BBQ! -
Saying Goodbye to My Musketeers
With Covid-19 coming to a pause, my mother and I decided it was the right time to leave for the home country, Serbia. With the travel ban being lifted for over two months, we decided to take the opportunity to visit friends/family and take care of business. This meant that it was time to say the yearly goodbye to my girls, Grace, Mia and Nevena. We went out for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and hungout at Mia's house after talking about memories and laughing at inside jokes. -
Adios from O'Hare! - Exciting
The day has finally come! My mom and I are both packed and ready to go. Luckily, the flight had very cheap upgrades from Chicago to Switzerland, so we ended up flying business class. Since my mother's birthday was the day before, we used that as the perfect birthday present. The flight was quite enjoyable, and thankfully we got to our destination safely and soundly. -
Reunited with My LBF! - Genuine
On this day, I got to reunite and break the distance between me and my best friend Teodora from my dads village, Izbiste. I was beyond happy to see her and the rest of my homeland crew. We were all very excited to spend the next month-ish with each other. -
Mother Daughter Day
My mother and I have been in Serbia for about a month almost, however, she was in Belgrade (the capital city) and I was staying with my grandparents in Izbiste. Considering it takes quite a while t o get to Belgrade from Izbiste, my mother and I haven't spent any 1 on 1 time with each other. So, we took a girls trip to a hotel and spa in Vrsac. We went swimming, took advantage of the spa, ate dinner next to the sunset, went out to live acoustic music, and so much more! -
First Outing of the Year - Cheerful
No matter the fact that I have been in Serbia for over a month now, I still wanted to be extra careful with Covid-19 and everything else going on. I didn't want to put any of my family especially not my grandparents at risk. With that said, I made sure to limit my everyday activities in the city. Usually, I would kick back and relax at home with a friend or two until the sun went down, and then we'd head over to the local café. However, with the end of my trip approaching, I had to go all out. -
One Year Anniversary - Sorrowful
Today marks (well, amost) a year since my grandpa passed away. It's been a rough year without him around, but we've all learned to adapt to the loss. My mother went to Serbia the week that he passed away, in order to bury him properly and in peace. Along with that, the person and or family who is responsible for the body is expected to give a One Year Anniversary marking, which is when the monument is put onto the grave itself. This was a very emotional yet beyond beautiful day for most of us. -
Starting School in a Different Country
Who would have known that starting your first week of junior year in a completely different country could be so overwhelming. Not to mention that school is fully remote this year, but I have also enrolled into the IBCP program. Serbia is 7 hours ahead of Chicago, meaning I started school at 2:45 in the afternoon and I ended school at 10 o'clock p.m. Now that I have returned from Serbia, I will have to (yet again) adjust to a change in time zone and figure out how to work with online classes.