Shelby Phelan

I loved going for runs to the park/old fort and shopping down that street with all the clothing shops and such. I bought a canvas painting from the artist who painted it and it’s still my favorite piece of art I own and hangs in my room in Boston. I learned a lot relating to my studies in Belgrade, and I think what stuck with me most was the remnants of the NATO bombings and the street art with stencils of planes and the words “drop it like it’s hot”. That might have been one of the first times where I really thought about what being “American” means to others in less America-focused countries. I never felt unsafe in Belgrade, even on my own running or at night. I would definitely go back someday, and encourage other international affairs or political science students to study there. There is so much to see and learn and I ended up extending my travels to see Croatia with my family. It’s definitely worth checking out the whole region, not just from the vacation perspective but also within the context of studying the fall of the former Yugoslavia. Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia are all so unique and distinctive in so many ways that you really need to see each, separately, and talk to people about that era and the repercussions on life today. I always find that taxi drivers have a LOT to say.
Shelby Phelan, Northeastern University