"I was mesmerized by Montenegro" emailed Kellyn G. at the University of Oregon a few days ago before asking how my experience in Montenegro compared with my time in Serbia and Albania.

It's a good question and recent events there--last 12-15 years recent--have offered very different ways for people to react to foreigners generally and Americans in particular.

My contact has generally been good with people in all three countries. My favorite city is Krusevic in Serbia. A wonderful little town...neat and tidy...with friendly people and generally gracious encounters. The timing of my visits has been quite nice--pleasant weather and productive meetings add a nice touch to a visit. Belgrade, like most big cities, can be a bit cold in the encounters. But it's also large enough to walk the streets and blend in...thus giving you a chance to look at the people and events of their daily lives.

I've been on the streets in both cities, speaking English with Serbian colleagues, and have drawn curious looks--some clearly pleasant and others not.

In Montenegro, I've had only good experiences--though I am sure I could find some negative enounters if I put myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Negative encounters are more likely to be because I'm viewed as a rich foreigner...poverty is an issue in Montenegro. I would say I have generally been well treated in Serbia and Montenegro.

My best personal experiences have probably been in Albania. Because of the NATO/US intervention in Kosovo--where the people are ethnic Albanians--visiting in Albania has drawn the warmest responses from people on the street--taxi drivers, clerks, restaurant workers. That may change as time moves along and discussions about Kosovo's future deepen. Some of the Albanians seem to imagine independence first and an eventual union with Albania. I understand their motives but Kosovo has deep historic prominence for the Serbs.

Television in Belgrade can be pretty sophisticated. My favorite TV station is B92 Television. They are respected for their news coverage. Pink TV is simply slick. Lots of nicely produced local programming, usually involving a variety show, with singers--usually young women--in short dresses. I don't like the programming but the production value--investment in sets, camera works, staging, etc....well done.

Albania TV is pretty good as well....at least among the top three stations. Vizion Plus does the best job with balanced and fair news coverage. Top Channel spends excessively on program production--to the point of losing money on probably everything they do.

Monenegro TV is good, considering the situation. Readers should understand that the TV market in ALL of Montenegro consists of 675,000 persons...this includes the rich and poor. The poor outnumber the rich and there isn't much of a middle class. There are 8 TV stations in Podgorica, a city of about 170,000 and the capital city. That's a LOT of competition for not only viewers but advertising dollars. The 8 stations include two that are national/gov't owned. The other six struggle for viewers and advertisers. There are municipal stations in other cities in Montenegro as well.

Just as in the U.S., people watch TV and assume it can't be that hard to own and run a station. Little do they know... I know of a station that has not broke-even in five plus years on-air.

In all three countries, radio is not that important, except for breaking news or for mobile entertainment. Newspapers are important but some of the papers are so clearly partisan in their coverage as to only attract readers who back a particular party or candidate. There are some television stations that fit in this category as well.

Kellyn also mentioned the weathered faces of people seen when making a trip through the region. This is one of my favorite things to do anywhere I travel....to just look at faces, especially the old. Even someone as young as 50 has lived through some extraordinary events. I have also been surprised at how young looking people think I am...usually they guess I am 10 years younger than I am. Most people in the U.S. would say I look my age.... Again, it's a difference on how we live....(I'll also add that I don't participate in some activities that might make me look older....tanned skin, smoking, or other apsects of hard living--other than my travel adventures.)