Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Belgrade Days

Being the son of a diplomat, I spent my childhood in a lot of schools, in various different countries across the world. In Belgrade, I was in ISB in Grade 5 and Grade 6, from 1983 to 1985. Without a moment's hesitation, I can easily say that those two years were the happiest years of my school years. Back then, ISB was a very small school, going up to Grade 8 and with a total strength of just 165 students. It has subsequently grown quite a bit, but from what I hear, the values that made ISB what it was are still intact.


My happiest memories of ISB include the truly international community with students from all over the world; a strong culture where there was no semblance of bias or prejudice against any community; extremely friendly and effective faculty that took personal interest in the students; a focus on not just academics but also extra curricular activities like sports, music, an annual Spelling Bee competition and an annual Book Writing competition; a unique sport called Four Square which was a craze back then and a sport that I have not come across anywhere else.

I would like to make special mention of Principal Miller and his wife, and teachers like Mr Donesky, Mrs Jovovic, Mrs Miletic and Mrs Obradovic who made ISB very memorable for me. I have also managed to stay in touch with a few friends I made all those years ago (thanks in no small measure to Facebook!). I was lucky enough to get a chance to visit ISB again in 2009, after a gap of 24 years. It was a wonderful experience, and Mrs Andjelkovic was kind enough to take me around the school. A special word of thanks to her!



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