Transcript
She says of herself that she is a citizen of the whole world. She carries Barcelona in her soul, Niš in her heart. And she says her spirit belongs to all peoples on all meridians. Meri Ilić is the eternally young woman from Niš who has circled the globe twice, and has set out on a third journey around the world.
I always dreamed of going on a trip around the world. When I was six years old and they would ask me what I will do and what I will be in life, I always answered that I will travel the world and teach people to be happy. And what that meant was not clear to me nor to others. And then when I finally arrived in Barcelona and when my children began to stand on their own feet and I had the association, the humanitarian association, Slavic Home, I started warning everyone around me that they had to take over some functions and activities because I would one day leave on a trip around the world. But I thought I would go with my books, since I have three books written, and that I would go from one city to another, hold conferences, workshops in bookstores and sell my books. Because the books talk about how despite everything that happens to you in life, you can be happy. And all the books are in the form of fairy tales, however when you get near the end, you realize that it is a life that has played out.
But in practice, the real departure on the world trip began thanks to my younger son, who worked in Hamburg and worked a lot, and then at one moment he concluded that he did not want to live to work, but that he wanted to reverse that order. And then together we went to Bali and spent four months there, and then we started visiting other countries. So the first trip around the world was with him, and for the second trip I set off alone, and now a third one awaits.
She says she has never doubted people's goodness. That is why she has always been lucky enough to find those who always help, and she herself, in whichever country she finds herself, wants to help.
Well, 99% of people are helpful. Many of them are curious. Young people usually say to me, oh, if only my mother would do that, I would love for her to travel either with me or alone. Others are surprised, most ask me, how much savings do you have, and when they realize you don't need much, I usually say, well, I know how to wash dishes in five world languages. So I am not afraid to set off without money.
Usually, in every country where I stay longer, from seven days I look for something where I can offer my help. Meaning, I do not seek to earn, but to offer help. I find an orphanage, or I find some NGO, or I go to a state institution, to the municipality, or to a state institution for immigrants. Since I ran and still run, for ten years now, Slavic Home in Barcelona, I have a lot of experience working with immigrants, and in working with gender equality. I have my stories and my little plays about domestic violence and I offer all of that, and whoever it serves, they accept. So in Bali I made a little theater for children in an orphanage, about a princess who managed to defeat a dragon. In Peru I participated in an NGO activity, gender equality and so on. Everywhere I find somewhere I can be useful.
When asked what languages she speaks, she says the most important thing is to speak the language of love and nobility, which everyone understands. Emotions are something that is everywhere in the whole world and there is no need to translate them. There, without the same language, we still understand each other.
Do you think that during these journeys, these two journeys, you were lucky? Was luck with you?
Yes. I really consider myself privileged that I can and that I will have another trip around the world. That is something... I think it will be the legend of my family. That my great-granddaughters and great-grandsons will talk about the great-grandmother who did that.
When she talks about her greatest passion, traveling, she is not always understood. However, she has always had the support of those she loves most.
My sons agree, they are my closest family, and to others I am strange. So I do not know what to think, I do not know what to say, but from my sons I have great support, we are in daily contact. Thank God, the internet exists and there are social networks, so whatever problem arises, we are in contact and we hear each other.
For example, it happened that at the border between Peru, Brazil and Bolivia I ran out of money, and my card was not working. Suddenly it was not functioning at all. And I of course immediately called my son who was in Peru and my son who was staying in Bali. The one in Peru bought a ticket from Peru, meaning I only had to cross the border to have a plane. And the other one called the Spanish bank to ask why my card was not working. And they told him that they had also blocked it, because it was not possible that a woman of that age, every other day, in the Amazon, from a different city, was withdrawing money. So they thought the card was stolen and blocked everything.
Was the problem resolved later?
Resolved later. As soon as I entered Peru, it was already unblocked and a plane ticket was waiting for me. So my children are my greatest support. My team.
Did you have any other such anecdote that could be interesting?
Oh, there are many anecdotes. There, on that same trip, when the card was blocked, I went in. It was the last place before entering Peru. It was still 24 hours to go. And when I got what I needed for lunch and tried to pay with the card, because the cash was already gone. The girl swiped the card three times, the card did not work and she said to me in Spanish "daj igual", which means it does not matter. I thought, well, it does not matter, I will not have lunch today, oh my God. I started walking toward the exit, she called out and ran after me. "Daj igual, sit down and eat." So I got lunch, which she gave me as a gift.
And things like that keep happening to me. Very interesting, very magical. I have the feeling that I constantly have some angels in human form who appear exactly at the moment they need to be.
No matter how much we travel, we always eventually return home to our home. However, when Meri says she is coming home, those who know her best are not sure which home she means.
Which country do you call your homeland?
I have two homelands. I cannot get rid of either. In one I grew up, in the other I matured. So both are important to me and to my children. However, we really feel like citizens of the world. I really cannot say, and when someone talks nationalistically, it bothers us immensely. We feel best with people who travel and accept other cultures. Because then you see breadth and you see goodness. We should not choose and look at how we differ. We should always find with other nations what we have in common.
As much as she loves to travel, she also enjoys planning her journeys.
I can spend days looking at Google, researching what they write about that country and entering forums. There are many groups where people talk about their travels. Then I look for opinions of those people who have traveled. And I am also a member of an international organization called InterNations. It is for foreigners residing in that country. We have them in Belgrade too. And what, for example, do I do? I will go to New Delhi in November. I already apply today to be their member and receive notifications about what they will organize. And if I will be those four days in New Delhi, I will get a notification about whether there is any activity in those four days. So I do not go into the unknown at all. Regardless of the fact that I have never seen that city, I know a lot about it and already have contact with people who live in that city.
When you are in a city, do you live like the local population there? How do you behave?
Yes. I really like to do what the local population does. To find their activities, their carnivals, their events, to eat in their restaurants. Real local food. First, it is always cheaper than food for foreigners. Second, you really see the mentality of the people. Whether they eat spicy, whether they eat sour. In Korea they eat both spicy and sour. In other countries they eat only sour. Every country has its own way.
Also, it was very interesting to me in Asia that many people asked to take pictures with me. And children asked to touch my hair. And I did not understand why. And then in Korea a group approached me. First they all took pictures, and then the one who was taking the pictures asked, but can I now too. And then I said to them, well, why are you all taking pictures with me? And they said, well, you bring luck because you are red-haired. And they bowed.
With every journey, the most important thing, she says, is the beginning. And then the memories create themselves.
So I always enjoy three times. I enjoy when I plan the trip, I enjoy while I travel and I enjoy when I look at the pictures. This is the salt lake in Uyuni in Bolivia. It reflects as if the sky has been brought down to earth. And it is such peace and silence that you have the impression you are talking to God or the universe. This is in Thailand. I took a picture in queen's clothing. Wherever I can find traditional clothing. I really like to feel like I am from there. This is Chile, San Cristobal in Santiago de Chile. This is Montevideo, Uruguay, their museum. This is in Korea. It is something beautiful. There is a museum and a village called The Little Prince Village. And everything there is dedicated to the Little Prince and dedicated to the writer who was a pilot. So I took a picture with his airplane. This is Kyoto in Japan. You rent a kimono and you can walk around and imagine you are a geisha. This is Iguazu. It is the most beautiful waterfall in the Americas. It is even more beautiful than Niagara. And it is located in three countries. It is in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. And it is beautiful.
She was not afraid when she was alone in unknown countries. With different rules and laws. She studies every country and the habits of the population well and respects them. And on the road she is cautious and careful.
I am for adventure, but I am not for risk. Risk must have its limits. Everyone must know how old they are. I know that I am a woman traveling alone. So for example, I know exactly what clothes I will wear. When I have gotten to know people and whether I will go to a disco. Only when I know people. I carry with me a nun's robe that I travel with. Until I am sure where I am. So there are risks, but we do not have to seek them out. We can always reduce them.
The worst thing that has happened to me so far is that I was robbed twice in 24 hours in two different countries. I left Buenos Aires and while I was waiting at the bus station, my backpack disappeared. I was in front of a wall, and I thought I was in control of everything in front of me. And when I got on the bus the backpack was missing. I asked the waiter and he showed me children of 5-6 years old who run, bend under the table and take whatever you have without you even seeing. And so, I traveled and arrived in the morning in another city in Chile and there, as I was bending down to pick up my suitcase from the bus, I started to exchange money and a woman approached me saying, check your bag, something was taken from you. I looked and indeed my wallet. Luckily there was only 5-6 euros in their currency and she explained to me that it was a man dressed in a very official suit, who just walked past me and two other people, and just grabbed whatever he came across. And he left. And then I thought, what misfortune I had in 24 hours, however later I realized that it probably meant much more to those people than to me. Those children, what they found in that backpack, there was some food, some documents and those 6 euros probably meant more to them at that moment than to me. So I decided to never worry about such things.
And sometimes it happens that you are tight on time and might miss a plane. Since I always buy tickets cheaper than 200 euros, because I practically rarely have more than 200 euros on me, then it is like, well, in the worst case if you miss it, you will stay longer there and you will make up for it, you will find some job and you will get by. So in fact, that is perhaps my gambling as some see it, I gamble with life, I travel, it will be the fourth year in January, the third trip around the world. However, it is gambling with small stakes, and you have big winnings.
From every country where she stays she creates her own living space. There she holds workshops about past lives, organizes charity performances, writes stories and books. She gets to know different worlds best by living like the local population, she says. She sits in their bistros, pubs and cafés. She eats the food they eat, visits places that are sometimes not on the maps of the most attractive places, but in fact hide the greatest cultural treasure.
What I have experienced, what I have enriched myself with on this journey, money cannot buy. A friend says to me, oh, I was in Seoul and I really liked the Hilton Hotel. And I find it funny, the Hilton Hotel is the same everywhere in the world. Whether in Barcelona, Korea, Australia, there is no difference, you do not need to, you can go to Belgrade and be in the Hilton. Same as when they say, oh, were you in Peru and did you see Machu Picchu? I did see Machu Picchu and it is truly something beautiful. However, Peru has three more such sites that they still cannot officially open because they fear such a massive influx. And they are afraid of large companies that could take them over. Machu Picchu does not benefit Peru. And it is truly terrible that from what brings in the most money, that money does not come to them.
And I ask then, if you went to Peru, did you try Tokosh? And then everyone gets confused, because it is a dish that only people who live with the local population know. And Tokosh is made by putting a root vegetable in a mountain stream and it sits there for six months and rots. From the mixture that forms, a healing dish is made. It solves all stomach and intestinal problems. So whoever has not tried that, for me has not yet gone to Peru. They only went for the local drink.
She no longer counts the countries she has lived in, and she cannot list all the people she has met and who have changed her life in some way. Every life story of those people she met on buses, trains, ships and airplanes engraved itself in her memory and left a strong impression on her. That is why it is not surprising that when asked which country she liked the most, she says.
All countries are beautiful. There really is no country you can say is not worth seeing. The only countries I will avoid are those at war, but I do not want to be in a war. But among poor countries, I like Vietnam and Colombia the most. In Vietnam I was amazed by the people who after that war, where they practically lived in trenches and tunnels and did not see the sun for days. And when they released all those radiations and even today children are born with disabilities as a consequence of all that. They still have the strength to be kind. To welcome tourists and even American tourists. And to work towards their country's progress.
Colombia also experienced, for 20 years if not more, being under the narcotics war. And they too found the strength and now that country is advancing in great strides. China also amazed me with its progress. What I saw at an exhibition — I always go to exhibitions, I go to orphanages. It is not just tourism where I pass through a country and see the Great Wall. I climbed the Great Wall and it was nice, but what left a greater impression on me was that exhibition about computers and robots and what they had achieved in the country in five years. That their six-year-old children learn programming, that amazed me. China will again have its Great Wall. Never mind that it was broken at some point.
Among rich countries and rich regions, I like Sydney in Australia the most and I liked Hawaii. In Hawaii I was saddened that no one speaks their language anymore, they are forgetting it and they are even ashamed to say they speak it. And that is sad. When a nation loses its culture, that is when the nation has truly perished. In Sydney I lived for two months. And I lived by changing the areas where I stayed. I always stay in youth hostels. Those are rooms with 10 beds, 4 to 10. And I changed every 15 days, because Sydney is a huge city and it is very expensive to travel by their metro, bus. So what do I do? I live in that part of the city and explore everything on foot that I can. After 15 days I know it like the back of my hand, I take a taxi to another part of the city and again the same. So now I know Sydney better than Belgrade. A friend joked with me, saying that for her, staying in a city is not a real stay if I have to sleep with ten other people in that place. And I told her, you know, in 3-4 years I will forget that I slept there. But I will never forget that I was a resident of Sydney for two months. I even went to the opera. People usually take pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House. However, I went to the opera and it was a purple opera with the most famous world operas. And even very famous opera singers performed and it was a beautiful experience.
Every time she looks at her photographs, it feels as if she is on a journey again.
This photo is from when I visited an indigenous tribe in the Amazon and there an interesting thing happened: they offered me to stay for a year and live with them. And that was offered to me by the chief's son who was our guide on that trip. This next photo is in Colombia on a coffee farm, where after coffee you feel so relaxed that you just want to sit down and have your moment of nirvana. This is a photo from Malaysia where my son and I visited a national park, and the next one is Bali where I dressed up as a Balinese princess. And then we have another photo of my son with a three-month-old baby elephant, three months old and it decided to play with him, and of course despite being only three months old it managed to knock him over while playing. The next photo is from Bangkok from their tallest building from where you can see the whole city.
And now we arrive back in Europe, so after each trip I visit Barcelona, Serbia, this year I also came to Niš because we had a prom night, the anniversary of our prom night in Vienna. And then we arrive in the present, to my profession. I completed a course for past life therapist with Brian Weiss in Rome and I do that. It was a beautiful experience. 600 therapists from all over the world were present. And the last photo is with my magical cap which I still have on me today and which I usually use when I do workshops.
Meri is now ready for another journey on which, she says, she will find a place to build her nest. She is not sure where she will go and whose paths she will walk in the next year, but one thing is certain. She knows where she will return.
When will we see you again in Niš?
Well, I hope to come in 2020. Now the third trip awaits me and it will be a bit longer, but I will definitely come. Niš is in my heart like Barcelona, so they are in the same place, so both in size and in significance in my heart, they are in the same place and I will always come.