During the period of arraging the meeting in ARTE television I had a serious problem in communication with them. I realized that they do not speak English, just French and German. Then I thought, maybe I can try to call their office in Baden Baden, maybe the Germans want or know to speak English. After I finally explained to the secretary what do I want on my prehistoric Deutsch, she connected my line with anonymous guy. Just see the conversation, I will mark him with X, I will be D.

X: What do you want?
D: Hello. I’m doing a research about mobility in culture for Balkan Fellowship… bla …bla… so it would be for me very interesting to speak with someone from ARTE about how can the media like your company can help in cultural exchange, building tolerance and prevent conflict. Especially because France and Germany had a long history of wars, like we had recently in the ex-Yugoslavia.
X: Ok, but you need to learn German if you go to Germany.
D: I’m so sorry that I do not speak German, maybe I will learn it.
X: Ok, but you need to learn French if you go to France. French and German are our company languages. You can not do much if you don’t speak any of them.
D: But, maybe someone speaks English.
X: Learn German.
D: Ok but do you learn Croatian when you go to our coast during summer?
X: No, I speak English.
D: You see? The same is with me.
X: What do you want?
D: Just if you can give me some contacts in Strasbourg.
X: it is a French rule that we do not give contact from our employees.
D: So what I can do now?
X: Send an e-mail.
D: On what address?
X: And you need to learn French.
D: Come on don’t be so euro - centric.
X: What do you want?!!! You want to say “*uck you” to me?
D: No. But I do think that in CNN they behave more better than you.
X: Go there, go there!!! This Europe man…!!! (he started to scream and I couldn’t understand what he said later)
D: Forget it. Goodbye.

At the end off course I arranged the meeting in ARTE and I will be there on 6th July and the person I communicate now is really kind and helpful. But this kind of talks was, what to say, crazy and stupid. But it could be used for some TV novel, since it can be funny, but it is not, cause it is true. Who knows maybe I spoke with someone from The Balkans

And really, come on Davor, you could learn that German. I tried in high school with Franch, but I was horrible.