This is Balkan

Dear diary,

I still haven't decided wherever I like or not the song "Ovo je Balkan", "This is Balkan", which will represent Serbia on the Eurovision song contest in Oslo this year, but I can not be that bad girl so I will support Milan Stanković, the singer, although I am afraid we will not reach high positions..Hm.. Who knows...I mean, I don't hate him neither like him, but the song is awful, with due respect to Goran Bregović. Let say that sound is quite ok, typical for him anyway, but lyrics is horrible. However, on the final evening, 27th March, I will be there to scream: "Go, Serbia, go!" and I will probably be considered crazy by my Italian neighbours. They also shout:"Forza Italia!", in occasion of all those football matches, or other sport events, and that's somehow normal. My "Forza Serbia!" will be probably considered inappropriate, taking into consideration that Italy is no longer member of this music competition, but luckily my first neighbours are from Albania, meaning that I will be able to support my country at the ESC exactly like I did when I was a child, no matter that my country has changed its name several times since then.

Yes, I admit. I am a big fan of Eurosong. It was a tradition in our family which doesn't exist anymore. Things change after a while, unfortunately. Maybe that's because for some time, during the war, we coud not partecipate, so my parents lost that enthusiasm I still try to keep. The other day, when I watched the show in which Serbia chose Milan's song, they told me I was crazy. "Who cares about the Eurovision song contest?" My dad asked. I do! I still remember those long nights when I was a kid, at the time my parents would send me to bed early, but I used to hide behing the daining room door and watch the voting part of the show. I would get thrilled when the speaker would have pronounced that: "Yugoslavia, 12 points!" Sometimes my parents discovered my hidding place, when usually was late to convince me to go back to bed. Then they would have invited me to sit with them on a big couch and to root for our song together. Those were great times, and songs were different. I won't say better or worse because a lot of things changed since then, especially music styles. Just different times, and happier maybe.

What else say... as a big fan... I will watch it this year too. And I will give all my support to Serbia, as always. Am I bit homesick tonight? Maybe. Or maybe I just got used to this a bit weird song. However, it's our and that's enough. Forza Serbia!

"Ne jednom, ne dvaput, tri puta..po naški je."