YES WE CAN

Tonight I felt like I was 14, 16 or 18, cheering, screaming or defying discrimination in the streets of Prishtina. Tonight democracy won! And the big question (the President Elect asked) if there was anyone out there still doubting whether America is a land of opportunities, was answered! From the early morning, you could see people on the polling stations waiting in long lines to vote. In the coffee shops and stores, people were wearing I VOTED stickers. The excitement, anxiety, euphoria could be felt in the air. Todd had a yoga class after work, and as soon as we had dinner we hit the town to be with the crowds when the election results were announced. We went to a bar recommended by a friend of Todd. Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted and I forgot my ID home. For those on the other side of the planet, you can not go in a bar or club unless you have any identification card with your birth date on it. Funny enough, it should feel like a compliment, but unfortunately it is just a rule. Anyway, I asked Todd to let me in first as I will try and get in myself without an ID. And so I did. The bouncer let me, after a cute smile and I have a friend inside waiting for me, type of an excuse. We went in just as the groups were cheering. Obama has just won another state.

The bar was full with people, hard to move around, a very diverse group of people, young and old, black, white, yellow, man and women. The level of energy was so high, that you could almost touch it. We quickly sank into the energy of the group and starting cheering every time Obama would win a state, and booing every time when McCain would win. We kept drinking, dancing and talking to people in the meantime. Until in the end as the last polling stations on the west coast were closing, CNN announced that Obama was the new president elect. People were crying, cheering, dancing, screaming and yelling. It was so wonderful to be part of that. An African American woman standing close to me asked us to have a picture together and in mean time she told me: Now I believe that we are an equal part of America, and that democracy won. And she started yelling; Yes We Can. We heard first the McCain speech and then waited for a while until Obama gave his speech.

It was a marvelous, inspiring speech, his words were so powerful. Why Kosovo can not have a leader like that, I keep asking myself. Whoever writes his speeches, or if he does write them himself, when he speaks, you feel like he is speaking from his heart and you do believe him.

After the speech we went out in drenching rain, which funny enough stopped after a minute or two. There were already crowds on the street; there was a band in the corner of U Street. People were celebrating, singing and dancing. It was fabulous. Seriously I felt like being home and fighting for democracy and freedom. We spent an hour just joining the groups of people on the streets. It seemed that people were still in awe of what has happened.

For the first time America has elected its first African American president, if this is not history I do not know what is. And I felt that this is a new America being born. This is a new era for a great country.