Hey Folks,

So we have been in Belgrade for about 2 weeks now. We learned quickly not to take taxis; they charge double the cost for foreigners. Otherwise, everyone has been incredibly nice and very accommodating. The city is beautiful and I am told that going for coffee is an essential social aspect of culture.

Our hosts were slow to confirm our responsibilities. That may have been because they were in a bit of a transition period with a new Resident Coordinator having arrived just a week or so before the two of us. We found out quickly that we would be on board for a few projects, these include:

1. Free Legal Aid Fund
2. Legal Empowerment Initiatives (Access to Justice, Property Rights, Labour Rights and Business Rights)
3. Judicial Training Software

We are in charge of different tasks for each project and working on them concurrently. The Legal Aid Fund was a very small task that just required some comparative information about Ontario's Legal Aid system. We actually completed that before we even arrived in Belgrade.


As interns we were assigned the other two projects as a team and are asked to consolidate all our information. This avoids duplication of reports and ensures that our work is more complete since both people have a hand in creating the final product.

One important observation thus far is that although Kosovo has officially declared independence the people here are very much still living in the moment. The destruction of buildings has remained untouched as a reminder of what was. Political graffiti commonly reads "Kosovo is Serbia". We also accidentally walked into a demonstation in the old Republic Square that called on people to mobilize against NATO. Lastly, our ILP fellows from Kosovo were able to meet up with us this past weekend. As a team we attended the Serbia-Austria World cup quailfier game. The fans confidently chanted "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia". The war is over for the rest of the world, but the sentiment lives on for the people of Serbia.

The experience has just begun and I very much look forward to the road that lies ahead.