WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.110 align:middle line:90% 00:00:01.110 --> 00:00:04.890 align:middle line:84% In Musafirhana, A.H. flexed his muscles 00:00:04.890 --> 00:00:08.430 align:middle line:84% and lifted a pig, a pink and stinky thing. 00:00:08.430 --> 00:00:12.510 align:middle line:84% Joseph edged alongside and Olivia snapped the picture. 00:00:12.510 --> 00:00:16.860 align:middle line:84% To his parents' strange delight, the market was much worse here, 00:00:16.860 --> 00:00:19.950 align:middle line:84% littered and smelling of rot, aisles 00:00:19.950 --> 00:00:22.050 align:middle line:84% packed with country people swathed 00:00:22.050 --> 00:00:25.950 align:middle line:84% in odorous wool, shit smeared pigs and lambs 00:00:25.950 --> 00:00:28.830 align:middle line:84% bleeding from the beds of rusty trucks. 00:00:28.830 --> 00:00:33.390 align:middle line:84% Joseph felt annihilated and begged to return to the hotel. 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:34.830 align:middle line:90% His parents agreed. 00:00:34.830 --> 00:00:37.290 align:middle line:84% They bought a prayer rug they loved. 00:00:37.290 --> 00:00:39.600 align:middle line:90% And now they were hungry. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:42.630 align:middle line:84% After lunch, the Robinsons climbed the streets 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:47.550 align:middle line:84% of the old quarter to a cool museum of icons, 00:00:47.550 --> 00:00:50.970 align:middle line:84% painted Saints with jewels stuck to the canvas 00:00:50.970 --> 00:00:56.700 align:middle line:84% for their eyes and one that made Joseph look away, 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.460 align:middle line:90% Mary, the mother of Jesus. 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:01.575 align:middle line:90% Her divine nipples were pearls. 00:01:01.575 --> 00:01:04.620 align:middle line:90% 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:07.020 align:middle line:84% Boarding the bus to Ropotovo, 00:01:07.020 --> 00:01:09.720 align:middle line:84% the Robinsons were patted for weapons. 00:01:09.720 --> 00:01:11.760 align:middle line:84% When two soldiers with machine guns 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.790 align:middle line:84% took seats behind the driver, Olivia quickly 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:17.910 align:middle line:84% rose and led the family to the back. 00:01:17.910 --> 00:01:20.460 align:middle line:84% Turbid with tobacco smoke, the bus 00:01:20.460 --> 00:01:22.920 align:middle line:84% bounced through countryside until Joseph 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.290 align:middle line:90% began to think of vomiting. 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:29.280 align:middle line:84% But he was able not to when he saw how sick his father seemed, 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:32.130 align:middle line:84% leaning forward and grimacing, checking his watch 00:01:32.130 --> 00:01:34.440 align:middle line:90% every minute. 00:01:34.440 --> 00:01:40.500 align:middle line:84% In their hotel at last, A.H. said it was agony to piss. 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:43.890 align:middle line:84% As he lay groaning on a bed, knees drawn up, 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:46.770 align:middle line:84% clutching his crotch, he explained to Joseph 00:01:46.770 --> 00:01:52.770 align:middle line:84% that his urinary tract felt like the bore of a flamethrower. 00:01:52.770 --> 00:01:56.640 align:middle line:84% Joseph turned away to align his guys on the windowsill, 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.780 align:middle line:84% secretly touching himself to see if he hurt, too, 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:03.720 align:middle line:84% while Olivia searched through her envelope labeled 00:02:03.720 --> 00:02:06.570 align:middle line:90% Emergencies. 00:02:06.570 --> 00:02:09.630 align:middle line:84% Ropotovo had an American Center. 00:02:09.630 --> 00:02:12.690 align:middle line:84% She got the administrator on the phone. 00:02:12.690 --> 00:02:17.730 align:middle line:84% Then A.H. stopped groaning and took the receiver with, 00:02:17.730 --> 00:02:20.820 align:middle line:84% to Joseph's amazement, a chuckle, 00:02:20.820 --> 00:02:24.960 align:middle line:84% that which all men must, he said in a jocular new voice, 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:28.200 align:middle line:84% he found himself disabled from doing. 00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:30.540 align:middle line:84% The administrator said to walk right over. 00:02:30.540 --> 00:02:33.240 align:middle line:84% The American Center was near the hotel, 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:37.860 align:middle line:84% so the Robinsons slowly did, stopping for A.H. 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:42.720 align:middle line:84% to lean against buildings and grin at the sky. 00:02:42.720 --> 00:02:45.570 align:middle line:84% When they entered the administrator's office, 00:02:45.570 --> 00:02:49.380 align:middle line:84% a sudden proud American flag and then the president's 00:02:49.380 --> 00:02:53.460 align:middle line:84% signed photo made Joseph feel safe. 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:57.930 align:middle line:84% The administrator's easy American voice, 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:02.070 align:middle line:84% how well he spoke English, seemed miraculous. 00:03:02.070 --> 00:03:06.150 align:middle line:84% His smiling secretary brought cold cans of Coca-Cola 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.700 align:middle line:90% and a bowl of popcorn. 00:03:08.700 --> 00:03:11.610 align:middle line:84% On the basis of Professor Robinson's symptoms, 00:03:11.610 --> 00:03:15.420 align:middle line:84% the administrator had already sent down for a broad spectrum 00:03:15.420 --> 00:03:17.490 align:middle line:90% antibiotic. 00:03:17.490 --> 00:03:23.190 align:middle line:84% He handed a vial across his desk and A.H. washed a capsule down 00:03:23.190 --> 00:03:26.190 align:middle line:90% with Coke. 00:03:26.190 --> 00:03:28.020 align:middle line:84% "Things are starting to happen quickly," 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:29.850 align:middle line:90% the administrator said. 00:03:29.850 --> 00:03:32.400 align:middle line:84% "You left Most Begova when? 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:34.440 align:middle line:84% They have just closed the airport. 00:03:34.440 --> 00:03:38.400 align:middle line:84% You three were on my list this morning." 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:41.160 align:middle line:84% He flourished a pen and whirled an oval, 00:03:41.160 --> 00:03:43.350 align:middle line:90% sectioning a column of names. 00:03:43.350 --> 00:03:46.800 align:middle line:84% "The state department wants you out." 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.320 align:middle line:90% Then he turned to Joseph. 00:03:49.320 --> 00:03:51.480 align:middle line:84% "You never learned this in school. 00:03:51.480 --> 00:03:56.460 align:middle line:84% A country can die, just the same as a person." 00:03:56.460 --> 00:04:00.000 align:middle line:84% Joseph thought of them all trapped in Great Slavia's 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.130 align:middle line:90% huge, dead body. 00:04:02.130 --> 00:04:04.140 align:middle line:84% But Olivia explained that they were 00:04:04.140 --> 00:04:08.160 align:middle line:84% traveling with the greatest care and had only a week to go. 00:04:08.160 --> 00:04:10.470 align:middle line:84% Then they'd fly home from Kalemegdan 00:04:10.470 --> 00:04:12.480 align:middle line:90% which was still secure. 00:04:12.480 --> 00:04:17.100 align:middle line:84% This would be a trip that their son would remember always. 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:21.089 align:middle line:84% And AH said, "It's a story he needs to know. 00:04:21.089 --> 00:04:24.120 align:middle line:84% He'll remember it when all of this is gone. 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:27.360 align:middle line:84% As long as he remembers, it happened. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:30.870 align:middle line:84% That's why people have children." 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:32.880 align:middle line:84% It sounded like one of his father's jokes, 00:04:32.880 --> 00:04:34.530 align:middle line:90% but Joseph wasn't sure. 00:04:34.530 --> 00:04:36.600 align:middle line:84% He'd often wondered why his parents had him. 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:39.330 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:04:39.330 --> 00:04:42.165 align:middle line:84% "Be inconspicuous," the administrator said. 00:04:42.165 --> 00:04:43.320 align:middle line:90% 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:45.966 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:04:45.966 --> 00:04:46.850 align:middle line:90% 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:49.640 align:middle line:84% At the seaside resort of Pag, 00:04:49.640 --> 00:04:51.170 align:middle line:90% Joseph's bed shook. 00:04:51.170 --> 00:04:53.330 align:middle line:90% Something glass fell and broke. 00:04:53.330 --> 00:04:56.690 align:middle line:84% When he opened his eyes, both his parents were at the window, 00:04:56.690 --> 00:04:58.560 align:middle line:90% dark against the moonlight. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:01.220 align:middle line:84% "Joseph, this is fantastic," said his mother. 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:02.817 align:middle line:90% "We're having an earthquake." 00:05:02.817 --> 00:05:04.010 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:05:04.010 --> 00:05:06.080 align:middle line:90% It seemed to be over. 00:05:06.080 --> 00:05:10.700 align:middle line:84% Olivia asked whether he'd felt it, what he'd felt exactly, 00:05:10.700 --> 00:05:14.900 align:middle line:84% and suggested he write the entire experience down. 00:05:14.900 --> 00:05:17.450 align:middle line:84% But it was A.H. who swung his arms and said 00:05:17.450 --> 00:05:19.640 align:middle line:90% he planned to work all night. 00:05:19.640 --> 00:05:22.550 align:middle line:84% The next morning, he was still propped up, 00:05:22.550 --> 00:05:26.240 align:middle line:84% his bedside lamp enfeebled by daylight, his lap 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.500 align:middle line:84% cradling his notebook and pen like elderly pets. 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:35.330 align:middle line:84% "A trap, a trick," he said, "a hoax, a whore." 00:05:35.330 --> 00:05:36.980 align:middle line:90% Earthquakes were nugatory. 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.950 align:middle line:90% Disaster was profoundly silly. 00:05:39.950 --> 00:05:42.170 align:middle line:84% There had been nothing to write about at all. 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:45.130 align:middle line:90% 00:05:45.130 --> 00:05:48.160 align:middle line:84% After breakfast, Joseph's parents 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:52.240 align:middle line:84% sprang a surprise like a punch in the chest. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.060 align:middle line:84% The day was gorgeous, great for the beach, 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.010 align:middle line:90% they both insisted heartily. 00:05:57.010 --> 00:05:59.020 align:middle line:90% Joseph loved the beach. 00:05:59.020 --> 00:06:01.570 align:middle line:84% And when they told him this was a nudist beach, 00:06:01.570 --> 00:06:03.130 align:middle line:90% he felt sickened and betrayed. 00:06:03.130 --> 00:06:05.440 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:06:05.440 --> 00:06:08.440 align:middle line:84% Olivia said he could wear his suit. 00:06:08.440 --> 00:06:10.960 align:middle line:90% "Bring a book," A.H. advised. 00:06:10.960 --> 00:06:14.710 align:middle line:90% "The secret is, it's boring." 00:06:14.710 --> 00:06:19.360 align:middle line:84% Where you paid to get in, there were signs, cameras with X's 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.160 align:middle line:90% drawn through. 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.890 align:middle line:84% The path followed a rocky shoreline in and out 00:06:23.890 --> 00:06:25.690 align:middle line:90% of clumps of trees. 00:06:25.690 --> 00:06:29.860 align:middle line:84% Bodies lay on the blankets, but Joseph couldn't see much. 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:34.570 align:middle line:84% Then, two men and two women, as though by some plan, 00:06:34.570 --> 00:06:38.740 align:middle line:84% all were fat, passed them walking the other way, 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:43.510 align:middle line:84% in sandals and sun hats, the men's pricks bobbing benignly, 00:06:43.510 --> 00:06:45.700 align:middle line:84% all of them talking and gesturing 00:06:45.700 --> 00:06:48.220 align:middle line:84% as if, like Joseph himself in dreams, 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:49.870 align:middle line:84% they didn't realize they were naked. 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:52.090 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:06:52.090 --> 00:06:56.590 align:middle line:84% Just looking at the women felt like taking photographs. 00:06:56.590 --> 00:06:59.650 align:middle line:84% Their black tangles patched with pink 00:06:59.650 --> 00:07:03.970 align:middle line:84% looked like aerial shots of undeveloped land. 00:07:03.970 --> 00:07:06.460 align:middle line:90% Soon, more people were passing. 00:07:06.460 --> 00:07:10.120 align:middle line:84% Joseph saw three girls his own age talking together 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:12.820 align:middle line:90% in what might be German. 00:07:12.820 --> 00:07:14.980 align:middle line:90% These weren't as bad. 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:19.750 align:middle line:84% Their hairless bodies looked reassuringly simple. 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:22.630 align:middle line:84% Just beyond a restaurant with naked patrons 00:07:22.630 --> 00:07:27.850 align:middle line:84% at outdoor tables, the Robinsons came to the main beach. 00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:32.380 align:middle line:84% People lay on towels and blankets, on shed clothing. 00:07:32.380 --> 00:07:34.970 align:middle line:90% Some stood in the water. 00:07:34.970 --> 00:07:38.080 align:middle line:84% Others had waited or swum to an island, 00:07:38.080 --> 00:07:41.350 align:middle line:84% whose rocks Joseph had to squint, 00:07:41.350 --> 00:07:45.010 align:middle line:90% were a rookery of sunbathers. 00:07:45.010 --> 00:07:48.040 align:middle line:84% They spread their towels, and Joseph's parents 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:51.040 align:middle line:90% started to undress. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:54.520 align:middle line:90% A.H. folded his clothes carefully. 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:56.330 align:middle line:90% "Is something wrong?" 00:07:56.330 --> 00:08:00.010 align:middle line:84% Maybe it was the sunlight or the fleshy Great Slavians 00:08:00.010 --> 00:08:04.600 align:middle line:84% and Germans, but AH seemed inhumanly thin and pale, 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:07.600 align:middle line:84% as though he'd been stripped by a mugger. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.850 align:middle line:84% Last of all, he removed his glasses 00:08:09.850 --> 00:08:13.090 align:middle line:90% and slid them into a shoe. 00:08:13.090 --> 00:08:15.910 align:middle line:84% Olivia had turned to undress and now 00:08:15.910 --> 00:08:19.630 align:middle line:84% faced Joseph with an embarrassed smile. 00:08:19.630 --> 00:08:23.620 align:middle line:84% He was shocked by her breasts, no longer round, 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:26.932 align:middle line:84% but hanging half depleted, like birthday balloons 00:08:26.932 --> 00:08:27.640 align:middle line:90% the next morning. 00:08:27.640 --> 00:08:29.802 align:middle line:90% [LAUGHTER] 00:08:29.802 --> 00:08:30.750 align:middle line:90% 00:08:30.750 --> 00:08:34.500 align:middle line:84% Her vagina, if that was what it was, 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:36.539 align:middle line:84% looked weird to him, like something 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:39.900 align:middle line:84% from space that you saw in a movie. 00:08:39.900 --> 00:08:40.770 align:middle line:90% "Are you coming?" 00:08:40.770 --> 00:08:41.640 align:middle line:90% she asked. 00:08:41.640 --> 00:08:43.260 align:middle line:90% Joseph shook his head. 00:08:43.260 --> 00:08:47.010 align:middle line:84% He watched his tender footed parents, leaning on each other, 00:08:47.010 --> 00:08:50.340 align:middle line:84% wobble down the pebbly beach to the water. 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:53.670 align:middle line:84% Where the foam broke, they dipped their toes. 00:08:53.670 --> 00:08:57.480 align:middle line:84% They walked in knee deep, waist deep, 00:08:57.480 --> 00:08:59.730 align:middle line:84% and then he lost them in the distance 00:08:59.730 --> 00:09:03.210 align:middle line:90% and the crowd of bathers. 00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:05.310 align:middle line:84% Joseph lay on his stomach, thinking 00:09:05.310 --> 00:09:08.970 align:middle line:90% how clothes showed it was you. 00:09:08.970 --> 00:09:11.200 align:middle line:90% He took guys out of his pockets. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.520 align:middle line:84% It was their armor and weapons that distinguished them. 00:09:14.520 --> 00:09:19.260 align:middle line:84% Otherwise, they were identical, pale pieces of plastic. 00:09:19.260 --> 00:09:21.960 align:middle line:84% They had no faces, just indentations 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:24.570 align:middle line:90% to suggest the shapes of heads. 00:09:24.570 --> 00:09:27.090 align:middle line:90% Joseph felt his own face. 00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:29.280 align:middle line:90% He was like a plastic guy. 00:09:29.280 --> 00:09:31.470 align:middle line:84% The only things that made him Joseph 00:09:31.470 --> 00:09:34.230 align:middle line:84% were things that could change at any time, things 00:09:34.230 --> 00:09:38.070 align:middle line:84% that could easily be removed, shoes and socks, 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:40.980 align:middle line:90% a pair of pants. 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.980 align:middle line:84% There was a roar, and three jets hurtled from seaward, 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:46.020 align:middle line:90% passing low over the beach. 00:09:46.020 --> 00:09:48.150 align:middle line:84% An old lady quickly covered herself 00:09:48.150 --> 00:09:52.170 align:middle line:84% with a fold of her blanket, and a young man leaped to his feet, 00:09:52.170 --> 00:09:56.160 align:middle line:84% shouting and throwing seaweed at the sky. 00:09:56.160 --> 00:09:57.870 align:middle line:84% Then Joseph's parents were standing 00:09:57.870 --> 00:10:02.640 align:middle line:84% above him, hair matted to their heads, wet flesh glistening. 00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:04.290 align:middle line:90% "Can we please leave?" 00:10:04.290 --> 00:10:05.490 align:middle line:90% Joseph asked. 00:10:05.490 --> 00:10:07.500 align:middle line:84% For a minute, he thought he might cry. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:10.740 align:middle line:84% He imagined them running, bullets stitching the sand 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:12.150 align:middle line:90% all around. 00:10:12.150 --> 00:10:14.280 align:middle line:84% But he didn't know whether either of his parents 00:10:14.280 --> 00:10:17.850 align:middle line:90% was actually able to run. 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:21.660 align:middle line:84% "It's an attempt to frighten," Olivia said, toweling herself. 00:10:21.660 --> 00:10:23.880 align:middle line:84% "The local people aren't leaving. 00:10:23.880 --> 00:10:25.920 align:middle line:90% And Joseph, you must go in. 00:10:25.920 --> 00:10:28.550 align:middle line:90% The water is fantastic!" 00:10:28.550 --> 00:10:31.590 align:middle line:84% A.H. was already over his open notebook, 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:36.690 align:middle line:84% head tilted back, as though he still had his bifocals on. 00:10:36.690 --> 00:10:38.250 align:middle line:90% His mother was right. 00:10:38.250 --> 00:10:39.780 align:middle line:90% No one was leaving. 00:10:39.780 --> 00:10:43.590 align:middle line:84% In fact, more naked people were arriving. 00:10:43.590 --> 00:10:45.810 align:middle line:90% The beach wasn't being attacked. 00:10:45.810 --> 00:10:48.840 align:middle line:84% Joseph, who was wearing his bathing suit underneath, 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.120 align:middle line:90% removed his outer clothes. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:53.430 align:middle line:90% "Can I swim to the island?" 00:10:53.430 --> 00:10:57.210 align:middle line:84% "You may," Olivia told him, then said to be careful, 00:10:57.210 --> 00:10:59.120 align:middle line:90% it got deep.