Yesterday I had lunch (and coffee and another coffee - this lasted a while because it was so much fun) with Tanja and her husband Doug. Regulars here probably recognize the commenter who goes by the handle "tanjasova" - that's her.
They just bought a nice house in Winston-Salem and will completely move to North Carolina next month, so we'll get to meet each other and indulge ourselves in Serbian cuisine often in the future. They have three teenage boys (from their respective first marriages) and they live on his salary as she is still looking for a job. Now that she will be here, she can easily go and interview in person which should be helpful. If you are looking for a person with experience in several biological disciplines from biochemistry and immunology to ecology, take a look at her CV.
She gave me an update on the state of Serbian science (and the academic politics) and the recent rise of Creationists (mostly Adventists). One fortunate side-effect of the place being small, i.e., there being only one really large university (University of Belgrade) is that the "debates" and panels about evolution and creationism will inevitably bring people who know each other REALLY well. Tanja recalled one such debate she attended (in 1995 I believe). After the Creationist panelist finished his rant, the other guy, a professor of evolutionary biology (who was temporarily ousted from the University during the Milosevic regime due to his outspoken opposition), turned to him and said "And to think, my eesteemed colleague, that you got an A on my exam!". Pwned.
Tanja and Doug also brought with them an album full of pictures just as amazing as this one - Doug is a passionate nature photographer. I hope all those pics end up somewhere online where everyone can see them.
I forgot my camera, but once they get back to their computer and send me the pictures they took yesterday, I'll be sure to post them here. Thank you for a great afternoon!
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