Presidential Elections

The results of the first round of Serbia's presidential election are in and Serbian Radical Party candidate Tomislav Nikolic won. He received 39.6% of the vote, while Democratic Party candidate Boris Tadic, who is currently the Serbian president, received 35.5%.

Tomislav Nikolic

I personally would not like to see the Radical Party in power. They are against the European Union and would most likely end up isolating Serbia again. I doubt things would get as bad as back in the 90s, but it would certainly not be a step forward.

On 3 February, the second round of the presidential election will take place, with Tadic and Nikolic facing against each other. I'm pretty sure that we will see Tadic come out top here. What we are seeing here is essentially a mirror-image of the 2004 election.

I haven't really been following the run up to the first round of the election and haven't really given the whole affair much thought; it's been a busy time with friends coming to visit from their various newly-adopted countries. I shall try to follow the campaigning leading up the second round and post my thoughts.

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The Festive Season

Just thought I should wish all my Orthodox friends a Merry Christmas! Srecan Bozic! I've just got back from a very filling meal at a classic Serbian kafana (restaurant), Toplica in the Hotel Royale in Belgrade (for those in the know), with some friends. It was packed as one of the very few places open today.

So, it's been 2008 for eight days now, and I have begun working on my New Year resolution - update this blog more regularly! I've been so busy working these last weeks I've really just not had the time or energy. Hopefully, I will actually stick to this resolution!

I haven't moaned much about Belgrade or Serbia yet, but I really must complain at how dangerous it gets outside when its minus 3 and the streets completely freeze over. Belgrade, quite literally, turns into one giant ice skating rink. It's absolutely deadly and there's been hundreds of people turning up at the Accident & Emergency with broken arms, feet and for some poor unfortunate souls, skulls. I avoid this by just not going out unless it's absolutely necessary!

Have a good holiday everyone, and if you're not on holiday - have fun at work!

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Thumper

Well, I went out and bought myself a rabbit. Yes, a baby rabbit. She or he is called Klupko, which means 'Fluffy' in Serbian. She (or he) is not particularly fluffy but the name seems to go quite well. I should explain the 'she or he' bit - I don't know if little Klupko is a female or a male, the guy in the shop didn't explain. After some reading on the net, I found out that in order to determine the sex of a rabbit, you have to pick it up and turn it over on to its back and push with your finger just above the genitals - if a circle pops out it's a guy; if a slit appears then, well, it's a girl. It's enough trouble trying to pick up Klupko anyway, and even if I could, I don't particularly fancy prodding around in his/hers nether regions.

I got Klupko about three weeks ago. I went to Belgrade Zoo to the little pet shop there. It was kind of annoying having to pay the 250 dinar enterance fee to get in the zoo, solely to go the pet shop. For the first week Klupko was very timid, shy, every time I went to stroke her she'd run like the wind. I suppose she though I was going to eat her. Now, three weeks later, Klupko is pretty much tame. She likes to get petted and at times she goes completely mental. It's quite amusing to watch, especially considering I have a wooden floor, which is slippery! At full speed she'll dart around the room, jumping and twisting in the air, shaking her head. It almost looks like some sort of spasm or fit. Klupko is also a nightmare at times, biting expensive laptop power cables and being very disobedient.

I love animals and have always had some sort of pet while growing up as a child. Hamsters, budgerigars, guinea pigs, and now a cat back home in Edinburgh - I even had a tarantula for a few weeks, but promptly got rid of it as I was terrified. In fact, I also had a rabbit, a huge white New Zealand rabbit from when I was 1 year old until I was 12. She really was like a member of the family.

You're probably thinking a rabbit is a bit of an odd pet, well, they are just like cats and dogs, if not more troublesome to look after! I allow Klupko to run around the flat freely, like a cat or dog, it doesn't seem right to keep her in a cage constantly! Her freedom comes with a price however, lots of tiny little presents all over the flat, I counted 30 such 'presents' in the space of 2 minutes once.

I had originally wanted to get a cat or dog, but when you want one, you just can't seem to find a stray one on the street - so I opted for Klupko and I think it was the right decision. She brings back nice memories from my childhood when I had Hazel (the white New Zealand rabbit) and I'm an animal person and it's great to have this little thing running around, keeping me company - even if she can really piss me off sometimes.

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Update soon

I've been really busy these last weeks so I've not had much time to blog. Update coming in the next few days!

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