Vid

Serbian group: Ksenija, Simona, Marija, Ognjen, Matej, Bogdan, Predrag

Serbian leaders: Dobrivoje, Vid

Interview with Tiffany Ford

Interview with Scott Westley

15-16. 12. 2009.

Our epic journey to the other side of the world started with a late night drive to Budapest. After hours of chatting we arrived to the Ferhegy airport of the Hungarian capital. The experience of having to take care not only of one’s own documents and luggage, but also of the whole crew is completely new for me. I felt like a mom carrying her babies to a faraway land… Faraway indeed, since after stopping to Paris we flew all the way to west coast. The whole trip lasted around 26 hours. Our ‘kids’ were fabulous, excited about the trip and not getting lost. They even didn’t mind my constant ‘positive thinking’ and ‘teamwork’ lessons. Once we landed, all the memories came back (for me, who visited the wonderful LA 4 years ago). We were greeted by James Gleason, one of the teachers of Media Academy, and Sarah Morcos, our fellow Youth Committee member. They took us to the families, and the group started separating so everybody goes to their home. Evelyn Seubert, our Executive Committee member and the person responsible for our arrival, greeted us with warm hugs. I was extremely excited to see Enzaldos, our previous hosts from 2006. visit, again and grown up (more beautiful, of course). Dobrivoje and I were too tired, of course, so we had to go to bed early. We ate a quick pizza and immediately fell asleep.

17. 12. 2009.

The day started with early morning breakfast and a visit to Media Academy of Cleveland Highschool for a local tv show rehearsal. Everybody were happy with their host families, which came as a relief because I was thinking about it all night. The rehersal went well, it was funny as we felt like part of a tv programme. Afterwards we were introduced to other students and animation teacher. The Box which we brought for animation presentation was assembled and ready for work. Afterwards some of our team members went to various classes, including English, Physics or Sports. Our mingling with Cleveland High students gets better every minute. I’m proud of my groups’ fluent use of English, and great understanding of American culture. Dobrivoje and Ognjen went to play football with people who didn’t even speak English (just Spanish, which is also common here), but they understood each other through the language of the game. Meanwhile, our Summit friend Cathy Le took Simona, Bogdan, Matej and me to the cheerleaders class where they greeted us with food, drinks and videos of their class cheering during the games. Ksenija and Ognjen loved the physics class, and even wanted to do the tests. The whole school as well as the rest of the city is amazingly photogenic. We’re negotiating with our hosts to take us to watch Avatar in IMAX3D, or to visit Disneyland, Hollywood, Universal Studios, malls… After the school was over our Enzaldo friends took Dobrivoje and me to the shopping centre where we could search and buy technology, films and even play games. In the evening, having eaten Orange Chicken at the chinese part of food district, we came back home tired and satisfied.

18. 12. 2009.

What a wonderful day! Having eaten cerials for breakfast, we met with all our ‘babies’ at Cleveland High. Then we rehersed one more time our Serbian greeting for local school TV show, and finally shot it. After that we spread out, Dobrivoje and me wentto animation class to meet lovely Tiffany Ford, student at CalArts. She showed us their animations, and spoke about opportunities of studying over there. We had an interview with her, and we felt very lucky to have the pleasure of meeting her. It is important to get to meet people that share your field of interest, and also live in a completely different culture. The afternoon was free since it’s the last day of school, so Dobrivoje and I took the boys Bogdan and Matej to the big shopping Mall where they bought some toys and played games. We even met our other group members Ognjen, Marija and Nikola, who were looking at various clothes. In the evening, back at our Mexican Enzaldo family, we ate delicious food and played ‘Prototype’ on Xbox.

19. 12. 2009.

This day we’re absolutely free to do whatever we want since the school’s over and we only have to be at the party at Evelyn Seubert’s place with the rest of our old and new friends, so it’s a fun-filled experience like the rest of our days. Dobrivoje and I played Xbox games ‘Modern Warfare 2’ and ‘Prototype’ with Crystal, Ruby, Daniel and Jason. Our new ‘mom’, Maria, made delicious tacos, and we ate southern fruits mangoes and papayas. Afterwards was the time for ‘food coma’, some of us relaxed watching the film ‘Eagle Eye’, while the others fell asleep (kinda like siesta). When the time came, we put on party clothes and went to Evelyn’s place which has a beautiful pool in the middle of apartment complex. There we ate various food and talked with everyone from the group. The ‘babies’ are all satisfied and seemed pretty much thrilled to be here, which brings warm feelings to my heart. Our hosts even gave us bags with presents as part of the ecological program they’re involved in. After filling our stomacs the Enzaldos came to take Dobrivoje and me to the mexican party which was wild and fun. We were dancing mexican style with the whole family.

20. 12. 2009.

Today we were free to do whatever we wanted with our families, so after delicious and plentiful breakfast of cereals and encilados, Dobrivoje and I played ‘Modern Warfare 2’ and ‘Prototype’ on Xbox360 for hours. I think today was the day we ate the most. Then the Enzaldos took us to the ‘small’ cinema, which means 20 screening rooms. First we ate burgers at ‘The Habit’ (I love it how you can have unlimited supply of drinks when you order food in American restaurants), and joked about spilling ice cream. At the cinema we ate huge portions of popcorns and watched ‘Planet 59’, first of the many films on our list. In return we stoped by ‘All for 99 cents’ store where we bought interesting stuff like Superman cups and singing toothbrushes. Back at house we played some more games, including ‘Egyptian War’ with cards, a new one Crystal and Jason taught me. We made a challenge of it, and right now it’s a tie for everyone.

21. 12. 2009

So, we found out that some of our ‘babies’ went to Hollywood yesterday, and are planning to go again. In the morning, after eating cereals with plenty of milk, we met with James who took Simona, Ksenija, Dobrivoje and me to the sound design studio. There we talked with employees and their boss about sound business in film and it’s important role. We heard some samples they were working on right now, and it happens they got rewards for doing sound on ‘X-files’ and various other projects. The boss is actually the son of the guy who won Oscar for sound effects on ‘Star Wars’! Tomorrow we decided to visit one of the biggest film masks and makeup industries. While we were returning James was kind to show us the grand Walt Disney Pictures studio (just the front for now, of course, since we weren’t allowed to enter), then the famous Warner Brothers watertower and their studio, as well as Dolby Digital facility and various other famous film buildings. We let the girls go to the Mall, while we went back to Enzaldos and played some more games. I was too tired because the jet lag is still there, then woke up around midnight when everybody was going to go to sleep.

Coming soon, an interview with Scott Westley

22. 12. 2009.

The bright yet slightly cold day started with gathering at Cleveland High parking. Almost everybody (except Bogdan, who stayed home to play PSP) went together with James and Sergio to the MEL - Makeup and Effects Laboratories. Over there we met Eddie Carillo, who guided us through very interesting masks and molds. We saw plenty of famous models, such as casts of Samuel L Jackson’s and Missy Elliott faces, Star Trek Voyager costumes, props for horse and dogs in True Lies (yes, the horse in elevator scene is not real, in case you were wondering) and many others. It looked like one big workshop where they put makeup for celebrities (they did costumes and makeup effects on all Samuel L Jackson’s movies, who is their regular customer by the way, Iron Man, Buddweiser commercials…). We interviewed Eddie who showed us around and shared his knowledge, experience and visit cards with us. In return we stopped by the nice Buddhist temple and took photos.

23. 12. 2009.

A long, interesting, fun-filled day. We started off early in the morning by meeting at the bus station with Chris and our today’s tour guides. We bought all-day tickets for 5 bucks and started our journey to Downtown L.A. Over there we saw beautiful skyscrapers that tower the city centre. We went through Mexican stores, passed by statues of city founders, and even took the elevator to the mayor’s office. We saw a modern cathedral, sat next to water fountains and ate sushi at the Japanese section. I even got compliments from multiple people on the street (they saw my hair)! Next, some of us went ice scating, and we saw the hotel building where the first Oscar night was being presented. We ended the night with drinking Starbucks coffee in front of the huge concert hall where Lady Gaga was performing. In the night we were so tired, but satisfied in our hearts.

24. 12. 2009.

After yesterday’s exhausting but amazing trip to Downtown, we decided to chill out at home a bit, so we played some new games on X-Box. It seems everybody’s spending Christmas with their homestays, in a family atmosphere. Dobrivoje came up with a great idea to prepare beans in the Serbian way for the party, so Maria took us to grocery stores in Northridge to buy food. Later on we visited the Northridge Mall, bought a couple of clothes and some Christmas presents.

25. 12. 2009. Merry Christmas!

26. 12. 2009. After fun fun fun during the Christmas day (we played Twister with Enzaldos!), we took time to relax at our homes with a stop to some sportsware stores and Northridge Mall because of the discounts during in this time of year. Back at home we played ‘Mirrors Edge’ on X-Box, and thought about the past and future activities.

27. 12. 2009.

Today was a very beautiful day. Some of the ‘babies’ went to the beach, others to Downtown, and I got to see my very good friends again – the Morcos sisters, Erene and Sarah. They took me to their lovely home, and I felt nostalgic the moment I stepped on their porch. I met their brother Steve again (I’ve been here 4 years ago during the first Summit), their mom and dad, Fifi the cool cat and Remy the hyper-active dog. Erene is our Youth Committee leader, a Yale student and the most interesting art historian and architect you’ll ever meet. Sarah is Sarah, fellow Youth Committee member and a USC student, future money-making film producer. Steve is the coolest bio-chemist I’ve spoken to and a future pharmaceutist. Their mom holds the first place as the most beautiful singing voice in the world, better than both male and female singers around the globe. Their dad is a wise man who drives very carefully. And Fifi and Remy are Fifi and Remy.

After exchanging gifts, they took me to the beautiful and calming Santa Monica beach where we enjoyed strolling and talking. We went through the pier and found a nice Italian restaurant with seafood. On our way back we teased Erene’s mom to sing since I heard she has amazing voice. They heard I wanted to watch Avatar, and arranged a late night screening at the IMAX-3D cinema. On our way there I met Anna, their cousin who is studying animation, and Sarah’s friends from faraway. Watching a great movie in a great theatre with great friends was truly one-of-a-kind experience!

28. 12. 2009.

29. 12. 2009.

Some of our ‘babies’ watched the new Disney feature ‘Princess and the Frog’ at the Pacific theatres. Afterwards we met with our new friends and organisors to make a wishlist-schedule for the time we have left. It was a good idea so we don’t miss out on things we wish to visit and see. The rest of the day was free time, so Enzaldos took us to pizza place where Crystal and Jason work, and Chucky Cheese arcade playground later on. It was amazingly fun. I heard James is taking us to IMAX-3D to watch ‘Avatar’ tomorrow.

30. 12. 2009. This exciting day started with morning screening of ‘Avatar’ in IMAX-3D theatre. Our friends James and Erene drove us through the misty highway to the grand cinema multiplex where we enjoyed this innovative feature. There went more than half the group, while Marija, Ognjen and Predrag already saw it. I have already seen the movie too, so this was my third viewing. Afterwards Erene took us to Pinkberry’s where we ate a mixture of yoghurt and ice cream with plenty of toppings to choose. In the evening we stayed at home to eat, play games and have some good rest.

31. 12. 2009. Preparing for the New Year! We celebrated at our new friend Jasmine’s house. They threw a party at the garage, so we danced, played ‘Truth Or Dare’, sang karaoke and hugged when the midnight came. It was great to see all the ‘babies’ together again. Anyways, the pictures describe more than words.

01. 12. 2010. After a nice New Year’s party, we had a relaxing free day ahead. Friends of Enzaldos stayed over, so we played games with them. After lunch they took us to Castle Park, a place where we played mini-golf. It was so much fun, since the whole family played, and Daniel won even though it was his first time!

02. 01. 2010. The morning started with a gathering at Cleveland Highschool with almost all the team (except for Predrag, who is at his friend’s house), Evelyn Seubert and James Gleason. They took us on a road trip to Venice beach the long way round, so we could enjoy the pretty landscape and take photos at the Paramount sets in a national park where many western films where shot, as well as X-files. When we arrived at the crowded beach we started strolling along the streets filled with various shops and touristic places. We saw plenty of expensive beach houses where celebrities live. As the sun was setting we ate sandwitches at the ‘Subways’, and went home happily.

03. 01. 2010. Another fun-filled day kicked off with meeting at the Balboa Park, where most of our group spent the morning at the afternoon, playing sports, riding bikes and enjoying themselves. As for the group leaders Dobrivoje and Vid, we were taken by Erene and Steve through the car wash and on to first Erene’s and then Mr Gleason’s house. After picking up May and James all five of us continued to Gamble house (previously owned by Gamble family, thus not a casino) with inspiring and detailed architecture. We took a one hour tour through all the rooms, and found out it’s garage was actually used for ‘Back To The Future’ movies. Next James took us to the place in Pasadena where we could see the former Batman mansion from the first movie in franchise, and also Erene’s favourite bridge. We concluded the trip with lunch and beer at a cafe. Tomorrow: Universal Studios!

04. 01. 2010. Today’s unique experience was visiting Universal Studios, Hollywood! It is a grand theme park with lots of rides from various very famous movies. The ‘babies’ had tons of fun, most memorably during ‘Jurrasic Park’ and ‘Mummy’ rides. There were chills and thrills at the Horror House, Shrek 4D, Terminator 2.5 and The Simpsons’ Krustyland. We even got to see the Animal Actors show, as well as firestarters and creature special effects shows. There were things to be learned during the Tour Bus too, and seeing memorable sets like The Psycho house, shark from Jaws, and the aircrash from War Of The Worlds. In the evening we returned to our homes tired and delighted.

05. 01. 2010. First of our ‘production days’, as they call them here. It means visiting various filmmaking companies and getting a taste of how movie magic comes to life. All the ‘babies’ with most of our American hosts gathered inside ‘Video Symphony’, the Hollywood Institute where the students study post production, effects, image and sound editing. All of them find impressive jobs later on, and truly work on famous projects. It was an inspiring and memorable tour through various post production departments, and helpful to hear insights on programs. We even got neat folders with catalogues and dvd portfolios. This visit was a valuable experience.

06. 01. 2010. Quite an interesting day! We started off with visiting editing, color correction and audio recording facility. There were plenty of interesting information to hear, and various visual examples to see. We even met the guy who put together the theatrical trailer for ‘Avatar’! Second, we visited ‘Rhythm&Hues’, animation and special effects company that had business with plenty of memorable films and games. We saw exclusive work-in-progress material from the upcoming ‘Wolfman’, and even the original drawings from various Disney and Warner Bros animated features. It looks like a dream workplace. In the evening, Dobrivoje, Ognjen and yours truly (Vid) went with the Morcos family to Coptic Church for a Christmas Eve liturgy.

07. 01. 2010. Mir Boziji, Hristos se rodi! Merry Christmas! It was a lovely Orthodox Christmas day in Los Angeles. Our dear friends the Morcos family invited everyone for celebration. The girls from our group spent the day at their house, where they prepared tons of food. In the evening we gathered, ate, talked, laughed and enjoyed ourselves. The little boys played Playstation 3, older ones tried the exercise machine, and some even got to spend quality time with Remy the hyper-active dog. Kudos to the whole Morcos family, who made this adorable night possible!

08. 01. 2010. The longest day, and a journey to the ‘happiest place on Earth’, the magical world of Disneyland! It was one-of-a-kind experience, and a dream fulfillment. Almost everyone came, except for Dobrivoje and Ksenija who visited Downtown instead. As for the rest of us: Adventureland, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean, Finding Nemo, Toy Story Starcommand, Star Tours rides, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, It’s A Small World Afterall, Monorail, Toontown, tons of shops with merchandise from Disney films, and thousands of smily faces. We visited so much, even our guides and friends Erene and Christopher said we’re efficient. The evening was concluded with spectacular fireworks, and we drove home exhausted and very happy.

09. 01. 2010. After such a long, fun-filled day at Disneyland, time came to relax again and spend quality time with our homestays. Most of us just slept through most of the day, with occasional eating and X-Box playing. We need to save energy in order to be fully prepared for tomorrow’s blast - Six Flags and the Magic Mountain rollercoasters!

11. 01. 2010. The amazing day of going to Six Flags and Magic Mountain rollercoasters, the msot exciting and thrilling rides we’ve ever seen! We got dazzled, splashed and dizzy after so many loops and flying around… That was one experience we certainly won’t forget. Batman, Superman, Terminator Salvation, Joker’s Revenge, Scream, Tatsu, Colossus, Goliath… all the rides were insane. In the end, the ‘babies’ even learned the lesson of teamwork. That was fun!

To be continued…

You can also follow this blog in Serbian at RoamingReporters!