A Living Room in Belgrade, Serbia

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Belgrade, capital of Serbia

Kosta Popovic, Teacher: Welcome to our home. Come in.

This is our living room.

But first, let’s have some coffee and eat something sweet. But this time, without alcohol.

Ana Popovic, Daughter: Welcome. Here’s the coffee.

Kosta Popovic, Teacher: Whenever anyone comes to visit, you have to offer them something. Anything else is considered rude in Serbia.

Welcoming guests with plum brandy used to be standard procedure, even in the morning. Nowadays, it’s more modern to offer just coffee in the morning.

But what stayed the same is that the guests must never turn it down.

Ana Popovic, Daughter: That would insult the host.

Kosta Popovic, Teacher: My son is at school right now, and my wife is at work.

In most Serbian living rooms, it’s important to present the family history. We’ve also hung up lots of photos of our ancestors. What’s

Ana Popovic, Daughter: My great-grandfather means a lot to me. He grew up in Paris. I want to go to France too.

Here are my language diplomas; I love France.

Kosta Popovic, Teacher: These two pictures are by Zan Zenic. He was a well-known Serbian painter; but he was very poor.

When he became ill, my family bought him medicine. And he thanked us with these two pictures.

Thanks so much for visiting us. Come again soon. Goodbye.

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Questions

Serbia. Kosta Popovic, the host, lives in a farmhouse in a village. True or false?

Croatia. Should hosts offer refreshments to guests? If a host does not offer refreshments . . . .

Bosnia. What does Kosta offer his guests? Has it always been like this?

Hungary. Guests should say, “No thank you” when offered coffee and snacks. Is this right or wrong?

Romania. Is Kosta divorced and a single father of one child, a daughter?

Bulgaria. How does his family decorate their living room?

Albania. Ana, Kosta’s daughter, studied Spanish and loves Spain. Is this correct or incorrect?

Macedonia. Was one his family’s members an artist? Was he rich and famous?
 
 
 
Austria. I enjoy visiting my friends’ homes. Yes or no? Do they serve you refreshments? How many different homes do you visit?

Greece. Do your friends visit you? What do you serve them?

Slovenia. What do you and your friends do when you visit each other?

Italy. My friends have interesting things in their houses. True or false?

Slovakia. Have you visited homes in other cities or countries?

Switzerland. What might happen in the future?