I would like to begin this report by letting you know that the Serbian people, despite all the armed attacks, the fears and the politic pressure, contrary to the general opinion, kept an alive, hospitable and especially joyful spirit. While spending a full week in Belgrade, I had the chance to discover the beauty of one of the eldest Easter-European cities, grown near the confluence of River Save and Danube. There, in the old part of Belgrade, the traditions are strongly kept, and you can still see people painting wooden vases, or selling clothes laid on their own cars, out in the street; or small boutiques where you can find colorful wooden beadworks, and there are still restaurants where they serve traditional meals, like kajmak. Despite all this, the city is still too little cosmopolite (not as cosmopolite as the other neighboring capitals), and I suppose that this is because of the big shadow left by the years of war. But I would like to point out that exactly this is the reason why everybody is more than pleased to talk to any kind of foreigner, even close neighbors, like we were.
The week spent studying at the Faculty of Dentistry from Belgrade confirmed the label attached to the school’s profile: “the best Dentistry School in the Balkans region”. Although not present through the UE members, and having a real bureaucratic difficulty by receiving a visa for abroad, almost each one of the teachers has at least one specialization or a competency acquired in the United States, Canada or Western-Europe. Seeing the close relationship between students and their competent teachers, the correct, but relaxed development of the laboratory and of the work with the patients, I forgot all about the war issues that made me worry about coming to Serbia. Also, I appreciated that the medical staff kept a very high level of professionalism. They have expanding careers, a great experience in medicine field, and above all in working with the students. In this context I would like to thank and mention:          
 Dr. Brkovic(Oral Surgery), Dr. Radovic(Pediatric Dentistry), Dr. Scepanovic(Prosthodontics), Dr. Medojevic(Conservative Dentistry), Dr. Stefanovic (Orthondontics) – our Neda..:)), Dr. Aleksic (Periodontology).
The program prepared by our Serbian colleagues was very well organized, as we were able to take part to their practical laboratories (workshops and seminars) and study with them. We also got to know their way of living, of spending their free time and of having fun. I believe there is no better way of knowing a nation but living with its people, and doing exactly what they are doing each day. And our colleagues offered us this opportunity: we were allowed to enter the operator area (OR – operating room) in the oral surgery department and assist to an apical resection (we thank Dr .Brkovic), we have consulted the little patients in the pediatric dentistry clinic (we thank dr. Radovic), we have been presented all the technical details of obtaining a fixed restoration in their clinic, as each technician is doing a different stage of the process. We also took part to labs of Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology and Orthodontics. We admired the way the faculty is organized, as a small campus in which clinics corresponding to different departments are spread. There are high level conditions assured to the doctors, students and also to the patients. A big difference that I noticed, comparing to our school in Bucharest, is that the Serbian students aren’t allowed to wear any other type of white-coat, but a white, long, long-sleeved one, so that their protection would be as high as possible. As for the curricula, the school is still made of five years, which seem insufficient in order to pass the big amount of exams.
Considering the sightseeing part, we were extremely busy, as Belgrade is a fascinating city, full of history and culture. The first day we had the chance to take a walk tour and discover: St. Marco Church, The City and The National Parliament, The Terazije Square, The Nikola Pasic Square, The National Theatre, The Moscow Hotel (which seemed of great emotional value for all the Serbians :P ), The Sava River, and our walk ended in a traditional restaurant were we tasted, of course, some of the famous (and delicious) Serbian meals. So, each day, between our labs, we had visiting program (free or organized) and our objectives were: The Kalemegdan Fortress, The St. Save Cathedral, Zemun, parks, squares, and the New Belgrade (which we’ve visited by car).
In the last day, our Serbian colleagues, who did not stop for a minute to overwhelm us with attention and friendship, attended us to a local Dentistry Congress for Doctors, where we visited the books (important English editions) and materials exposition.
Also, the fun part reached the peak of expectation, each night getting to discover a more beautiful and warm part of the Serbian people. We spent our evenings drinking fancy cocktails at The Federal Association of globe-trotters, or singing live Serbian songs at karaoke shows (of course, we didn’t understand a word), or eating at famous pontoon-restaurants.
In the end, I have to admit that this was an eye opener- experience for me, as I got to know the high level of medical education in Serbia, but also the native’s joyful and friendly spirit, kept unchanged by the blurry times and the political influences. Also, I would like to thank all our Serbian friends for the warm welcoming but mostly to our special friends Marija, Dina and Jelena, who assured us an unforgettable week.

HVALA!!  

Madalina Trofin
4th year dental student
Faculty of Dentistry
Bucharest, Romania

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