These pictures show the variety of different experiences that studying Serbian/Croatian at Nottingham has given me. The images on the left were taken on my first ever trip to Belgrade in April 2008, when I took part in the language school run by the University of Belgrade, whilst the pictures on the right are taken from my time as a PhD student in 2012 and 2013. In 2008, there were very few British tourists in Belgrade so I remember feeling like we had discovered a hidden gem! We stayed in the student halls of residence (Rifat in Zvezdara) and studied Serbian as a foreign language with other students from across Europe during the day.
In the pictures with me are other students who were studying Serbian in different years. In the top left corner, I'm sitting at the drinking fountain on Knez Mihailova (the central street in old Belgrade) with Fiona, Luke and Simon, who studied Serbian 1 with me at the time, and Ben and Tasha, who were on their Year Abroad (third year). The bottom left shows Fiona, Simon and I drinking coffee just off Trg Republike (Republic Square) in front of the Belgrade Cultural Centre.
On the right hand side, I've included some pictures that epitomise the experiences that learning Serbian has given me. In the top right hand corner, you can see me in front of the Narodna Biblioteka Srbije (The National Library of Serbia). When I first went to Belgrade in 2008, the NBS was a very long way from being finished, as it was still under construction - we had to the use the University Library, which also has a great collection of books and documents. Fortunately, by the time I started my PhD in 2011, the NBS was nearly finished and I was able to conduct research there between 2012-14, becoming like a second home for me in Belgrade. The building is located next door to the Cathedral of Saint Sava so is in a beautiful location.
On the bottom right hand side, I thought I'd include one of the less work intensive pictures from my PhD! In 2012, I went on the Seminar of Serbian Language, an intensive month-long course on Serbian language and culture, which involved a huge number of extra-curricular trips and activities. The picture of me is taken from a weekend trip we went on to Tršic, the birthplace of Serbian language reformer, Vuk Karadžic, one of the more important historical figures in Serbia. Amongst other things, I got to try my hand at weaving traditional Serbian fabric, which is what I'm doing in the picture. Apparently, I was quite good at it! So, if anyone suggests a PhD in Serbian is boring, they haven't had the chance to study at Nottingham!
These are just a few moments from the eleven trips I've made to Belgrade since 2008, and the city is now one of my favourite places. Not only did I have the chance to learn Serbian (and weaving), but I've also had the chance to make amazing friends.