Goodbye Yugoslavia
A few days ago I stumbled upon The VICE Guide to the Balkans, a series of 10-minute video clips on the region and its history. In Part 1…
Hello Prishtina!
Tung! Falemnderit. Më fal. Lutëm. I really hate phrasebooks; they’re for nerdy foreigners. But regardless, this little yellow book worked to diminish my unbearable anticipation on the hour-long flight from…
How the World Turned in 2011
I am currently in Guadalajara, Mexico, waiting for my Vancouver-bound flight to board.
Corruption and Human Nature
The American writer John Steinbeck once said:
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
How to Date a Balkan Man
I’ve done a few blogs on Balkan stereotypes, and I feel that it’s time to progress into some more useful information: how to date a Balkan man.
Angelina Jolie peddles mockery in Bosnian war romance film
Just more than a year ago, word started getting around that one of Hollywood’s A-class actresses wanted to make her director’s debut, and the little Balkan peninsula was lucky enough…
Occupied with the blame game, protesters fail to look in the mirror
If you’ve been keeping up with the news, the Occupy Wall Street protests aren’t new to you. In fact, chances are you’ve heard so much about it that it’s brought…
Writing on the wall: Graffiti not as a problem but a symptom
A few days ago, I had a long conversation with my 90-something-year-old grandmother. She’s an interesting character: a confusing compilation of a yoga-practicing health enthusiast, the matriarch of a large…
When religion clashes with personal values, identity
I have always thought of an identity as a hierarchical mosaic of elements. Asymmetrical components with jagged edges, ranging from biological pieces (such as gender and ethnicity), to chosen bits…
The Fight of Fanatics
Have you ever been in a situation that you thought was horrible, not knowing that things were about to get much worse? Before you realize it, you’re wishing that the…
Stuff People from the Balkans Don’t Like
The following is a sequel to “Stuff People from the Balkans Like.” As previously stated, please keep in mind that this is written in good nature and is…
Flawed Society
The following is a journal entry that I wrote after a very significant experience a few months ago. It’s modified to eliminate traces of identity.
And then there were none...
I’m taking a class called “Political Futures”. Hence its name, it entails the deciphering of important moments of history as a means of predicting the political events to come in…
Politics, Principles and the Prishtina Parley
Last week marked the end of a historic series of talks between officials from Belgrade and from Prishtina the first since Kosovo’s declaration of long-awaited independence in 2008. Beginning in…
Riots of the Ingrates
June 15, 2011, was an interesting day.
The Blog of Awesome
There’s a book in my nightstand called “The Book of Awesome” http://1000awesomethings.com/, and I read it every time I go to bed unhappy with something.…
A Kudos to the Serbian Government
Chances are that if you’re old enough to be interested in this website, you’re old enough to remember the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. 8000 Bosnian (Muslim) men and boys were…
Divided in Unity
I’ve been putting off writing this blog for a while in hopes that time would neutralize my take on the issue. It didn’t, but I’m going to write it anyway.…
My Near Death Experience(s) in the Balkans
I’ve almost completed my trip, and I thought I should say a few words. I’ve spent my amazing vacation walking along the beautiful streets of Zagreb, drinking Turkish coffee out…
Més que un Club
It’s judgment week for the teams of La Liga (the Spanish football league), and the competition is getting intense.
Evolution of the F-word
The f-word is a term that has become increasingly popular among the last few generations. To us, it has become a word that is thrown around rather loosely, as we…
Defending the Defenders
For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about the concept of biases-- the phenomenon that entails being influenced by personal experiences when expressing thoughts, reflections and ideas. It is…
America’s Perfect Storm (Part 2)
America’s Perfect Storm
“Stuff People From the Balkans Like”
A Sunday in February
It’s 7 a.m. on Sunday, and I just got to work. I work in the heart of downtown Vancouver at a department store. I’m hungover from last night, feeling anything…
A Selfish Exchange
A couple days ago, I booked a trip. Although it was supposed to be a brief one-week visit to Toronto at the end of April, I was defeated by temptation…
Confessions of a closet Nationalist
Yes — I said it: Nationalism, the newly declared evil of the 21st century. My last two blogs were kind of safe, so here’s a little controversy.
Resolutions for the World
A Bulldozer’s Eulogy
It brings me great sorrow to conclude the year with the death of one of my greatest heroes. At the age of 69, the American Special Envoy to Afghanistan and…
Bosnia’s Future
My Imagined Community
Silvia Valencia
Honest words and a disregard for what others think are the common characteristics of my favorite people. Opinions exist to be expressed, passion is always a good thing, and humor is the key to a happy life.
I was raised in Vancouver and will forever believe that rain is better than sun and that puddles are more fun than sandcastles. Being in the Balkans really makes me miss my beloved drip coffee, but red rooftops melt my heart.
Share your thoughts with me at:
silvia@kosovotwopointzero.eu
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