SDLAP 110 Entry #12

[Justin Chew]

Goal for the Week:
Do what I feel like.
Result:
Watched about 45 videos of the “Angry Serbian” on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/itsabrainhumor
Reexamined why I am learning Bosnian and my plans for it.
Method:
This last week, I was tired, slightly burnt out, and decided to take the week off. While I met with my language partner, we were mostly making light-hearted banter. I found the Angry Serbian videos absolutely hilarious for a while. Every culture has its stereotypes, some accurately characterize a large part of the group’s population, and some do not. In any case, I think there were some funny, and true observations made by the youtube author based on my interactions with the people of the Balkans. The guy is a Serbian in his early twenties. He lives in Canada and makes videos that mock typical Serbian habits or mannerisms. What I found most striking was the videos describing interactions with American culture. Some of the most pervasive themes included American ignorance (cultural, geographical, lingual, historical), American exceptionalism, American attitudes about Serbia, and typical Serbian behavior (guys, girls, parents, dress, dating culture, values). The guy mocks Americans for things like mistaking Serbia for Siberia, spending excessive money on Halloween, their conceptions of Serbians post-Bosnian War, and Americans’ seeming inability to learn or empathize with other cultures. He mocks Serbians for their predictable dress, swearing, views on women, etc…
This video, along with my interactions with my language partner, was how American and Serbian culture seems to clash head on with particular disdain from the Serb side. Bosnian Serbs cannot stand Americans’ sense of superiority. This stands out because other cultures I interact with do not share the intensity of disgust. My guess is that Serbia, being a particularly nationalistic and exceptionally proud country itself, is insulted at America’s attitude to them. How could anyone not know where Serbia is? How could anyone not recognize us as great world nation? WE ARE SERBIA (disgusted spit to the side and fist pump). Any how, this is just my personal observation/guess.
I ran into an educational existential crisis earlier in the week. Thoughts of “what if I don’t get the Fulbright” entered into my head. These thoughts always enter at the most opportune times! In a stroke of good luck however, I ended up skyping my uncle in Malaysia for the first time in 7 to 8 years. When I told him that I was hoping to go to Bosnia next year, he said that Malaysians and Bosnians have excellent relations! During the war, Malaysia, a Muslim state, welcomed Bosniaks into the country. Malaysian universities in fact, are quite accommodating to Bosnian students, students who wish to learn Bosnian, and people who could speak fluent English! Plan B!