“Is it Real?”
20.08.2009
These were probably the most frequent words that my US-Russian friend used during her visit to Serbia. It first started when she looked at a piece of good old “pečenje”- traditionally made Serbian suckling pig!
The same comment followed for “rakija”- my dad’s traditional brandy made of organic plums raised in our orchard in the village of Ratković, Serbia.
“Well, of course it’s real!” – said I. Go on, try it if you don’t believe!”
So yes, my vegetarian friend Julia DID try “pečenje” with the most smiling face one can envisage. Moreover, she said it’s what she’d been thinking of ever since she came back to New York from Serbia. Can you imagine? Plum brandy and suckling pig! She became vegetarian due to those trade laws that are so sophisticated and sterile that nothing is real any more. Nor tasty, mind you, though one can’t deny its perfect shape.
Jet-lagged after 36h trip NYC-Dublin-Budapest by plane, Budapest- Belgrade by van and Belgrade-Kragujevac by bus, I was astonished when at no more than 6AM Julia duly woke up. With desperately tired eyes but a cheerful and fully awake expression on her face she exclaimed: “wow, you have A REAL kukuriku here!". Delighted by the neighbouring roosters announcing dawn she explained that just like them, she was ready for a new day!
