The 51st State and the 4th of July

Many people ask me about the culture in Prishtina. While I cannot speak for the greater Kosovo area, I can give you a glimpse into life here:

On any given weekday, you can walk down the main boulevard to see plastic seals, gummy balls, and corn being sold to young mothers in flashy clothing holding finicky two year olds. Young tween girls flock arm in arm in excessive amounts of what looks like Limited Too pink gear. Boys in embroidered jeans and high maintenance hair styles stare at me. Women who look like Ke$ha trip in high heels. Many people sip tasty macchiatos in outdoor cafes, while young professionals from around the world carry backpacks and speak loudly in English. Kosovo is a poor country, judging by the high numbers of brand new Mercedes Benz SUVs, BMWs, and even VWs. Store fronts boast "AMERICAN CLOTHES" and "VICTORY FASHIONS" with flashy made up women as models. Streets are cracking and old buildings in the center of the city still stand. Inserted in the cracks are pieces of American capitalism gone a little haywire.

Despite being a generally poor country, everyone is decked out in many accessories that begs a sort of western acceptance. As one Albanian joked with me, "We albanians are minorities here. Everyone is either a foreigner or wants to be one."

This is accurate. On the 4th of July, I celebrated with hundreds of other Kosovars, listening to local artists on a main stage that had an American flag waving proudly, with the words "Hello America" on a poster with the statue of liberty behind the stage. Everyone stood back as camera crews took up the closest spots to the stage (a good 15ft by 15 foot square). The broadcast was certainly for someone else. I had "Enchiladas ala bil clinton" at the "Route 66" cafe. There were fireworks and celebrations. Even the Canadians, Dutch, and Swedish Ex-pats were celebrating.

On a banner nearby, there flew the Albanian flag, the American flag, the Kosovar flag, the British flag, and the Italian flag. Another building was waving the Swedish flag. Viennese chocolates are sold in grocery stores and Turkish Borek and Doner is everywhere. Don't forget the mosques and the ladies in hijab. Like any good European country, Kosovo too is trying to ban the veil--though protests fueled with 1000s of Muslim veiled women, men in beards, and foreign money take to the streets.

Where is Kosovo? Where is the "culture"? Call it what you will, but in many ways, it is a bit of a mini capitalist Epcot center, where the culture is an amalgamation of cultures, dollars, and music tastes.