Belgrade, Republic of Serbia eob@eyesonbelgrade.com

Inti from Italy

We've met with Inti, half Italian, half Bolivian, a really extraordinary person. He told us a little bit about his travels and adventures, and gave us some thoughts about Belgrade.

Inti is a quechua name. His dad is Italian, and his mom is Bolivian. He says that he is an optimistic person who loves to discover the beauty of everyday life by creating positive connections with people around him. He believes that he is open minded, and he enjoys good company. Currently, he is working in the Social Inclusion Institution in Bologna, Italy, on the projects aiming to fight poverty and social exclusion.

His main interests include yoga, meditation and exercices for balancing inner energy and share. Apart from this, he loves nature, architecture, cinema, art, theatre, music, hiking and outdoor sports. He plays piano, dance argentine tango, studies Russian language and loves cooking!

He has seen some pretty amazing things, he told us, like the huge and empty spaces in Siberia, the midnight sun in Norway, the geysers in Iceland, the rocks in Scotland islands, and the Amazon rainforest. And he did some really crazy stuff, such as crossing all Balkans by train, jumping from couch to couch, and crossing Russia alone, taking the transiberian train, without speaking a word of Russian.

Great guy and an impressive character!

So, we asked him some of our usual questions about Belgrade...

EoB: Did you know something about Belgrade before you came here?

Inti: No, I came with a friend without any prepration.

EoB: What did you expect to find here?

Inti: I knew something from the stories of my friend, related to music and people. I expected to find a geniune and open human environment.

EoB: What is the first thing you've noticed in Belgrade?

Inti: The first thing I noticed, with few exceptions, is the absence of a central square, a recognizable place with historical architecture, according to the traditional image in my mind, but a sense of beauty in the air, difficult to describe, a matter of „atmosphere“.

EoB: Describe Belgrade in one emotion (describe the emotion, if Belgrade was a feeling, what it would be?).

Inti: Emotion… I guess sense of trust in human relationships, it is easy to talk and make friends, lack of judge or simply curiosity…but in two words "good vibe".

EoB: What you dislike about Belgrade?

Inti: A lack of care or attention for the public spaces, a sense of urban decay.

EoB: Compare Belgrade to your native city. What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Inti: The advantages are the space for invention and creativity, the hope of change, the lively transformation, of which you feel to be part of…the space, many things are yet to be defined, there isn’t resignation. Disadvantage could be a sense of chaos and many contradictions and contrasts, potentialities are not always recongnizable…but there is energy.

EoB: What do you think about people in Belgrade?

Inti: People are great, curious, open minded, warm-hearted, as far as I could experience.

EoB: Could you live in Belgrade?

Inti: Definitely, yes.

EoB: Name one city anywhere in the world you think is similar to Belgrade (no matter if you have visited it or not, give us your impression).

Inti: Maybe some parts of Berlin, some years ago…

EoB: What was your most memorable moment in Belgrade?

Inti: Not one but many small memories, perceptions, emotions, sights, often related to water (Sava and Danube).

EoB: Would you return to Belgrade (express that probability on a scale from 1 to 10).

Inti: Of course, 10!

 

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