66 | Beograd » Belgrade R I TAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CI TY ST R ANGE R I N B E LGR ADE : NA I L A YUSUPH F ROM TANZ AN I A I love Belgrade, but I’malways cold here In my country, when you see someone on the street, you greet them, you say “Mumbo jumbo”. When I came to Belgrade, I said “Ciao” to everyone I met, until Stefan told me not to. Oh, how tough it is for me to stick to that! Naila Yusuph came from tropical Tanzania, where the temperature is constantly around 32 degrees, and she brought to the streets of Belgrade a captivating smile and many interesting anecdotes about the differences between Tanzania and Serbia. She arrived in our country after meeting Stefan while working as a tourist guide in Zanzibar, and he saw that the life of a European in Africa is marked by numerous heat strokes. That’s why they agreed that Naila would be the one to relocate to live and work in Belgrade. “I lived in Zanzibar for four years. Tanzania and Zanzibar are parts of the same country, except that Tanzania is the mainland and Zanzibar is on an island. My then boyfriend and now fiancé, Stefan, came to live with me. However, although he liked lots of things, for example how friendly the people are, he told me that he couldn’t live there because it was too hot and he was constantly getting heatstroke. He often had a fever and headaches, so he would think he’d contracted some tropical disease like malaria or cholera, because the symptoms are similar. Thus, we decided that I would come here for six months,” says Naila (28), beginning her story and recalling how the first thing she encountered were temperatures that were unimaginably low for her. “When I first arrived, it was five degrees outside. I froze as I exited the plane. That very second, I wanted to return home. However, I decided to give life here a chance. Stefan turned on all the heaters in the house, I sat right next to one, but it was still very cold for me. Stefan and his mother were sweating and saying: “Naila, it's too hot!”, but I persistently responded: “No, it's very cold, I'm going to die”. Stefan and I are like a fish and a dog who fell in love with each other. The fish lives in water, and the dog cannot survive in it. Still, I live here now, I love that I’m here, especially during the summer. I also like sarma, roast meat, Serbian prosciutto, I’ve learned to prepare some Serbian dishes and everything is beautiful.” Stefan works in software testing, while Naila, with a degree in tourism, reached the position of the manager of a hotel in her home country. She says that she was helped in that by the skills she acquired as a child – she grew up with three younger sisters and a younger brother, so she learned early on, as the oldest child, to take care of others and supervise them. And it’s a real rarity to see a family with so many children in our country. Stefan's parents also differ from hers. “His parents pampered us, because they aren’t as strict as mine. Parents in Africa rely mostly on discipline and I like how they raised me, because I learned to take care of myself, but with Stefan’s parents I like that they are nice and have an attitude that everything is allowed.” And while her dog, Zuri, runs in front of her, Naila easily and serenely starts chatting with everyone. Those who don’t know English will ask you where she’s from and will comment to you in a whis-
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