Decisions being made?

It's been a long while since I wrote about the political situation here. To be honest, I got a bit tired of all the talk and nothing really happening. Didn't seem like much worth writing. Crucial dates come and go with not much new to report. That could very likely be changing soon, though , , , maybe.

Yesterday Kosovo held elections for prime minister and parlimentary seats. The opposition party, PDK, has taken the unofficial lead which would mean that a former Kosovar rebel fighter would be Prime Minister. Not surprising, really. Thaci's campaign poster was one of the biggest and most abundant in the city. His along with one of a current war criminal awaiting trial in the Hague and another of a dead guy. December 10 is the newest "deadline" for negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia. If no resolution has been made by then . . . which it of corse won't be . . . Thaci and his people say that they will unilaterally have a declaration of independence. My ticket out of here for the holidays is booked for the 14th. Hope it takes at least 4 days before the shit really hits the fan.

The international community here does a really good job of getting scared. The streets on election day were more dead than normal, mostly because the internationals were locking themselves in until things supposidly settled. But there was nothing to settle. I was out walking and the only unusual site was adults coming out of the school buildings after voting instead of kids playing in the school yard after class. The hype, the talk and the anticipation from the international community always makes one a bit nervous of what might explode in front of them on the street. But so far nothing has. These dates of reconing come and go and all is good.

So the next date is December 10. Theyre already talking about how THAT will be the day to stay inside. I guess we'll see. And of course I have to wonder how it will effect my classes. Will the Serbian students keep showing up? If they do, what sorts of conversations will be had between the Albanian and Serbian students? If there are conversations, how headed will they be? I guess we will see whether something actually comes of any of this or whether it will just be another date come and gone.