"voices hearts and hands..."

so, who can guess where the above quote is from?? GO!

Well, it's my last day here in Tuzla!! I am getting on a bus to Zagreb @ 7am and my flight leaves at 2:40pm!!! whoooo!!!!!!

DENVER HERE I COME!

CAO TUZLA!!

Oh Dubrovnik, how beautiful you are

Well, according to my mom Dubrovnik has been proclaimed to be the place to go for celebrities, and now I know why! If you ever have the chance to go to Dubrovnik, you should take it! It was absolutely beautiful! It’s a very touristy area; however, if you search out the local places you will definitely find the soul of Dubrovnik and of the Dalmatian Coast. The girls and I took a bus at 9pm Thursday night and arrived at 4:30am Friday morning. The bus ride was actually fine because we slept most of the way. Once we arrived and understood where we were (thanks to the bus driver who didn’t speak English pointing us into the direction of a very large map!), we ventured out onto the streets of the city to find our accommodations that I had booked ahead of time. I found this great little place called the Braticevic Rooms. It was a regular house in a residential neighborhood, which was only reached by walking up a flight of 100 stairs! (And yes, I counted!) Anyway, it was a great room with 3 beds and a huge armoire and bed side tables. We shared a full bath with another couple staying there, but it was totally fine. I loved it because it was far away enough from Old Town and all of the touristy stuff that I felt like we were sitting right in the middle of the culture, which was just great. The family who owns the place was so helpful and we were able to go as we pleased, which was nice.

Friday, we didn’t get much sleep, but that didn’t stop us from getting our butts to Old Town and checking out what the beaches looked like! Since we wanted to see Old Town, we followed the map to the very outskirts of Old Town, right outside the wall that marks the perimeter of the Old Town. It wasn’t a beach at all, to our surprise, but a cool swim spot! It was great to see so many different cultures in one place...and very interesting. Needless to say, the girls and I got more than our fair share of seeing adults and children dressing and undressing out of their swim suits….Rude! : ) We putzed around for some time just touring Old Town, seeing all of the tourists shops, jewelry, clothes, all of the good stuff. Then we found a little restaurant in an alley way in Old Town. It was a little pricey and the food wasn’t fantastic. Then after that, we decided to just play it low key and to rest up for what was left of our great weekend, aka drinking wine back at our little hostel.

The following day, we found this great little beach right behind the Belleview Hotel! It was BEAUTIFUL! The water was crystal clear! Blue and green! Ughh it was really wonderful! It was so relaxing to just get the chance to relax and layout with such beautiful views in front of me. Speaking of views in front of me…some of the lady tourists visiting Dubrovnik felt highly comfortable displaying their breastsssss to the entire beach. HAHAHA Don’t worry, I didn’t jump on that European tourist band wagon!!!! So then once we had had enough of the beach and sun, we headed back to our humble abode to relax and then got ready to have dinner. We headed back to Old Town to get some yum yumms and found this great restaurant in between the fortress and the Old Town Wall. Again, we couldn’t escape the prices but it was worth it. So much so that we headed back there the following morning! I was especially more than thrilled that they had bloody mary’s on their menu. I haven’t had one in the longest of times! Needless to say it felt good to have the Americanized style menu. After dinner we strolled the walls of Old Town and we were hoping to be able to stroll the perimeter of the wall, but it was closed by the time we got there! So instead we once again window-shopped; and since I was getting a bit too much sun on my face I decided to buy this adorable little sun hat! Which I put to great use the following day when Bree and I found this great swim spot that actually looked out towards the spot we had been the day before! It was so cool, it was just rocks and cement platforms and it wasn’t overcrowded either, it was perfect! It was great to just get to hang with Bree and get in lots of swimming. All of the beaches and swim areas have sections of the water roped off for the swimmers, so at this little secluded place I got in some laps in the Adriatic Ocean!!

The following morning was when I headed back here to Tuzla… 9 hrs later… UGH god that was a terrible bus ride. However, it was kind of cool because I was pretty much traveling across Bosnia for the last time, so it was great to get to take it all in one last time.

It’s pretty crazy the things I have experienced in these past 8 weeks. Lots of culture, lots of great people who I have made great connections and friendships with; I’m so grateful to have had this experience.

. loads of hope .

Heyy to All!

So I am pretty sure most of you who have ever watched tv have seen these commercials before; you know the ones where Tide is participating in the 'Loads of Hope' campaign where any proceeds that they receive go to families who have been affected by disaster. Well I thought this would be the perfect place to stand on my soap box to promote this campaign and all of the great things that it has done for the many people affected by disaster in our own country. Basically, this campaign travels around with a mobile laundromat and the volunteers wash, dry, and fold the clothes for individuals affected by the disaster the team is responding to. You can support this campaign by purchasing any yellow cap tide product or a vintage tide t-shirt! Which I don't know about you, but those vintage tees look pretty cool! :D So here is the website below. Check it out! I know it's sometimes annoying to put the effort in, but I mean we all do laundry, and just think about how much you could be helping out with a simple purchase.



http://www.tide.com/en-US/loads-of-hope/how-you-can-help.jspx



I love and miss you all!

some pics

The first pic is of Bree and I getting ready to go to the rap concert. The second pic is of Christina and Bree at the concert, the third is the concert itself, and the last one is Tuzla at dusk! Enjoy!

winding down.

Well, it certainly feels like a Tuesday, that's for sure. This week has been pretty good so far and it can only get better! I only have 2 more days of work & then to Dubrovnik I go, to lay on the beach and relax before I head back to USA! This past weekend was pretty eventful, which I wasn't expecting. Friday night, as I mentioned in my last post, the girls and I went with our friend Samira down to the river where there were rappers performing. It was actually a pretty good time and there were a ton of people there! It was pretty crazy.. lots of kids and teens... lots of underage drinking. However, when I asked Samira what the legal age to drink in BiH is, she said it wasn't really enforced. Hmm interesting. It just goes with the statements Alma and Amir have presented to me that under-aged drinking is a serious problem here in BiH... no kidding? However, I think a big part of that is just kids being kids, but that's just me.

Anyway, so the show was great and we got home pretty early. There's only so much rap a person can take... especially when it's in another language. HAHA! I was planning on just laying out at the Salt Lakes, however, Bree's coworker Jennita invited us to her parent's cottage on Saturday! It was adorable! And none of her family members speak any English, so she had to translate, but it was such a great experience and her family were so kind and adorable! Bree and I took a bus (about 30 min outside of Tuzla) and she picked us up from the bus station. Jennita's mom made a ton of food! She had this vegetable soup, these pies with what I think was something similar to a turnip, but it was delicious! And lots of coffee! :D It was so relaxing out there and Bree and I had the greatest and most relaxing time. After we ate, Jennita, her cousin Alma, Bree and I took a walk through the land that they grow all of their crops on. It was such a beautiful walk through nature. And we got to see the area where Jennita's grandmother was born and raised. Now her grandmother lives behind her parent's cottage. She was a great woman. Jennita described her having been 'sick' recently.. which was interesting to me that she used that language, because in first meeting the grandmother you could immediately detect that she had suffered a stroke because she had no control over the right side of her face. She knew we didn't understand the language, but it was funny, she kept talking to us in Bosnian.. that was a bit awkward, haha because Bree and I could only imagine what she was trying to say. But we did get a couple of things, which I was happy about!

We left their home later in the evening and left with a bag full of pears and apples that had been grown on the parents farm! They just kept filling the bag! So thanks to them we have lots of fruit for the rest of the week! :D Then Sunday came and Bree an I just went to the Salt Lakes to relax by the water. I started my 9th book of the summer.. can you believe it?! 9 Books in 8 weeks.. me.. ridiculous. I got a bit sun-burned.. I know, I've already been reprimanded *(hehe love you Frank!)* and I know I should know better. I'm working on it. : ) So all-in-all it was a pretty eventful weekend and very relaxing one too!

Yesterday was my last day working at the hospital. It was a bitter-sweet thing. I am so very glad to have had that experience working there. It was cool, once we were all finished with the groups Dr. Esmina and the rest of the staff took us on a tour of the hospital. It was great to see; kind of sad, but still important. At one point we stopped back in the office for them to show us pictures of a what the psych clinic looked like during the war.. honestly, I would love to see those pictures displayed in a museum.. they were heart-wrenching...The conditions these people had to live in.. was unbelievable. They had taken all of these photos and blown them up, because at the time they used them to petition to get a new building after the war because of the conditions these people were forced to live in. Some of the pictures showed the patients having to eat dinner on the floor because they didn't have proper furniture for them... the walls were water-stained and rusting out.. I wish the rest of the world could see these pictures.

I took this picture in Mostar when I went rafting. I just came upon it when we were walking around Old Town. It means a great deal to me and I wanted to share it with you all.

tgif

Well, it's finally Friday. I wasn't sure if it was ever going to get here. Nothing really new going on over here in Tuzla, except that by 5:30pm I will be home in 13 days! :D This week was pretty slow. The hospital was pretty interesting this past Monday. We were actually able to talk with the clients, via translator of course. But it was great because we were just talking about life things and, I don't know it was just nice to have that opportunity to talk to them in a clinical/therapeutic way. I wish I had gotten to spend more time there...

Throughout the rest of the week I was pretty busy at CRP. I completed all of the workshops I put together for students in secondary school. It ended up coming to 5 workshops total and I put together all of the slides with all of the info related to each topic; 1. Looking at schools in Bosnia Heryegovina, 2.Finding Financial Aid, 3.How to produce an effective and strong resume and cover letter, 4. How to prepare for an interview, & 5. Writing a personal statement. Most of these workshops were designed to make the students more confident in their capabilities when applying to college, but I also wanted to reach the kids who were in that in between, of going to university or working first. I was really happy with the way it all turned out! And it was great, yesterday I met with Alma *(not my sup, a different Alma)* and she really loved all of the work that I did and told me that hopefully in the near future they will be able to put all of the info that I gathered into a booklet to provide for the students, aka, these workshops are really going to be implemented into the school systems here!!!! Even though it may not happen right away, it was just great to feel like I contributed something of significance to the organization and to the community, even if it is on a smaller scale, I am entirely satisfied with that and really happy. I still have one more piece of the project to complete (writing letters to a student and to a politician of why they should go to college, or get involved in the program), but I think this will be a pretty easy piece.

A little later today Christina and I have to present our findings on the other workshop that we have been working on (the CPR and first aid trainings in remote villages). It's my sup's last day, hence why we are presenting today. I think that should go very smoothly and quickly. And it's Friday.. so you know what that means.. relaxxxxx. Tonight my co-worker from the hospital, Samira is taking Bree, Christina and me, down to the river where there is going to be a concert. Apparently, this person is a rapper, and he was born and raised here in Tuzla. He started out here in Tuzla, rapping at the very place we are going tonight, and that's how he got his 'stardom.' So this should be interesting...

My plan for the rest of the weekend is to get sun! I am going to be lounging at the salt lakes all weekend and also in town getting some last minute souvenirs and things. Also just preparing for my trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia! I am really pumped about that! The girls and I are going to be taking a direct bus from here this coming Thursday night. The only reason we are cutting out of work a little early is because everyone is going on holiday in the office. Actually, I think there are only going to be like 2 people here in the office all next week too. But yeah so we leave at 9pm Thursday and we should get to Dubrovnik around 6am Friday morning... I know.. a 9 hr bus ride... I booked a room for us at a hostel, but it's really just someone's house that has apartment type rooms off to the side of it and that's how these people make money, off tourists like us :D Needless to say, next Thursday can't come quick enough! Then back to Denverrrrr! :DDDDDDD

here's a few more rafting pics!

The first pic is the 2nd raft that Bree and I jumped into, going through a rapid. The second pic is of the cliff that I jumped from into the river below! That's me right on the ledge!

what an awesome weekend

Well, one thing is for certain.. I am so glad I listened to everyone else but myself! hahaha! Rafting was so awesome! The experience was truly great! So Bree and I arrived late in Mostar and had a very low -key night with the girls, and probably one of the best pasta dinners I've had in Bosnia yet! With the busy day ahead of us we called it a night to ensure we'd get our butts out the door in time! Which is exactly what we did! Go us! We got to the hostel, which I just have to say is probably one of the most efficiently run hostels I've come across, because they are also a travel agency. Here is the link if you are at all interested in the other things they do: http://www.hostel-miturno.ba/.

So, we packed in to this huge old school van. And seriously it was hilarious... when we stopped for gas, the two guys who came with us who work at the hostel had to get out and push the van to get it to start. It felt like the scene straight out of 'Little Miss Sunshine!' It was rediculous. Needless to say I thought our driver was going to kill us.. these people in Bosnia really like to drive fast. Anyway, we made it to the site in one piece and were served brunch since it was like 11 something. Then we geared up in our wet-suits and water shoes and back in the van we went! We drove about 45 min away to our destination of rafting on the Neretva River, and met the man who was to be our guide... the few words to describe him.. mean & sexist. Apparently he we found out later that he had had a little to much Raqija (which is the local brand of liquor here that everyone drinks) and was a huuuggggeeeee jerk. He apparently felt the need to scream at us when we (and even the two guys from the hostel) weren't doing something correctly. He also felt the need to have the mindset that women are incapable of knowing how to row a boat. Well, FYI, telling 6 women from America who are the liberal, somewhat hippie's (hush Frank), and feminist types, that they are inferior to men at rowing a boat does NOT go over well... at one point he actually stopped the boat and made two of us get out because he wanted 2 more men in the boat... yeah, but excuse my french, he was an asshole. So, Bree and I decided to make life easy on everyone and we hopped out.. which was the best move because our new guide actually spoke English and so did the other two guys in the boat.

I think my absolute favorite part of the trip was when we came up to this one area that was alongside the river that had a ledge about 5 to 6 feet hanging over the river. Since my last trip to Mostar, I had wanted to cliff jump at the waterfalls, but because it had just rained I couldn't.. so here was my chance! I was sooo excited and nervous as all hell! It was hilarious because the second I turned around from Bree and headed up to climb the rocks my adrenaline kicked in and my whole bottom half of my body was shaking! It was so great! When I hit the water a huge rush of cold just hit me! (the water was freezing!.. not long before we hit this point their was a waterfall that flows into the river and that water is only 9 degrees! So it gives you a little perspective, but don't worry it was not that cold!) But the greatest thing about it was when I poked my head up out of the water and saw the rest of the IDP girls had jumped right behind me! I cheered on Bree to jump and in she went! It was such a great moment. We finished our rafting trip on the Neretva and ended up back where we ate Brunch. It was so cool, the staff their cooked us traditional Bosnian meals (which were delicious!) and it was just great!

Needless to say we were all pooped! We headed back to Mostar and just hung around the girls apartment. We called it a night pretty early and slept in on Sunday, which was nice not to have to rush. We got to see even more of Mostar the following day, because Bree and I just decided to take the 3pm bus back to Sarajevo.. which we felt like we were chancing it, but we didn't care. We ended up getting back to Tuzla at 9pm.. it was a really long trip, but it was totally worth it! It makes me want to see what water rafting in Denver is like!! Who knows, this could be my new thing! haha but seriously, it could! : D







So the first picture is the entire group that was in our rickity old bus! The second is a picture of the group on the boat *(please note the guide in the yellow backpack with the cig in his mouth..)* The third, is a picture of Autumn and I in our wet suits! The fourth, is a pic of Abbie and I when all of the groups stopped an hour in to the trip to lounge around on the 'beach.' The last is a pic of the meat that the people cooked for our traditional Bosnian meals!

well... COUNT ME IN!

hahaha! so, I'm sure you can assume from the title of this post that I have decided to travel back down towards Mostar and go rafting! I am really pumped about it! Bree and I are going to be leaving Tuzla around 2:30pm and heading down to Sarajevo, and then catching a bus from there straight to Mostar! Though it is a 6hr trip there and back, I don't even care! I just want to have fun this weekend!

I realized a few things during this whole charade, that even though I was trying to make a gracious and responsible choice in regards to my finances, I feel that I have been doing pretty well at budgeting myself (with the help of Frank and Mom of course, for realizing that). Also, I sort of lost sight of the whole 'this is once in a lifetime' kind of mentality. I think that had to do with the fact that I closely approaching my end date here in Bosnia, and maybe I was just trying to prepare myself for the 'real world' once again. Well, I'll push that task till next weekend! :D Just kidding. But seriously, I think I just need to enjoy the little bit of downtime that I have left in these next coming weekends.

I love you all! I'll update as soon as I can to let you know how the trip went! I'm sure I'll have tons of stories! :D

attempting to be responsible with my $ in a foriegn country

Jessie! (that's another greeting that I've learned)

So.. I'm in a pickle folks. I received an email from one of my fellow IDPer's that a bunch of members of the BiH stationers are going to be taking a rafting trip this Saturday!! My predicament is more internal than anything, but its a frustrating situation nonetheless! The ladies who are organizing these festivities are my lovely Mostar girls, who I visited to ring in the 4th abroad. It looks as though this water rafting trip will be about 90km, which is about $65 in the US, which really is a good deal, because it includes transportation to and from the site from Mostar, breakfast and lunch, the equipment, rafting for 3-4 hrs, and pictures of the days events on a cd! The only thing is that i'm going to be spending a lot of money, just to go rafting (which fyi, I have never done before!) I guess the question I'm asking myself is, is it worth all the money?? One side says, YES IT TOTALLY IS! : You are doing something you have never had the opportunity to do before, you are going to be with your friends, you are getting the hell out of Tuzla, it will be a blast, and the weather is supposed to be relatively good. The other side of me says WELL I'M NOT SO SURRREEE... : you are spending a lot of money in one weekend (nothing I haven't already done though!) what if you get there and the weather turns out to be crappy (well, I guess I save 90km then & I'll get to see more of Mostar!, it's a lot of money that you may need when you get home.. (ok, fine, this is true..)

So, you see?? I can't seem to make a decision!! I have 3 weeks left here and one more trip I am taking to Dubrovnik, Croatia on 7/31 (which is 2 weeks away! but I have $$ put aside for that) I just want to be responsible, but I am about to throw all to the wind and say 'COUNT ME IN!' Well.. we'll see, I have to make my decision in a couple of hours....

& the music plays on...

So it is the beginning of week 6. Only two and a half more to go. And I can't wait. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my time here, but I'm done; I'm ready to go... but since I have nothing else going on at the moment, I will update you on this past week..

Thursday, Alma, Amir, Christina, and I traveled to the municipality of Milići and we got to see some more CRP/ Red Cross trainings being conducted at the local health center there. It was good to see, and there was a completely different dynamic at this one than we had seen in Srebrenica. We interviewed 6 people, getting their perspective on the trainings and what not. It looks like Christina and I will be giving a presentation to the rest of the staff, explaining to them the details of our interviews and what not. I think that may be happening in 2 weeks, since most of the staff will be gone that last week of July because they are all going on holiday.

Then Thursday night Amir's band was playing at Club Privilege at Hotel Tuzla. It was a great time! We got to hang out with a lot of the CRP & Mercy Corps staff and it was nice to see them outside of work. Amir's band was awesome! It was great sounding music, even though I hadn't a clue to what the lyrics meant since it was all in Bosnian (hahaha) but it was a great time. And since we were supposed to be going to Srebrenica on Saturday, Alma decided that we should just take Friday off, because 'it's going to be a very draining experience', she said. So that is percisely what we did. And I took full advantage of the R&R and dragged my tush out of bed early on Friday and went to the salt lakes, solo. I got to work on my tan and enjoyed the time by myself, getting to 'people-watch' everyone in Tuzla who joined me at the salt lakes.

Unfortunately, our trip to Srebrenica on Saturday was canceled. It was pouring rain and my supervisor at the hospital, Dr. Esmina, didn't want to travel in such conditions. Also because we would have had to be walking in the mud and what not. So, needless to say I went back to bed after having gotten up at 6am, and proceeded to have a lazy Saturday. Me and the other girls just hung around for a bit and watch movies on the tv and then Bree and I decided to venture out into the rainy day for some retail therapy (which was very much needed). It was nice, we strolled into the center of town and had pizza for lunch, then we went and had traditional Bosnian coffee, and then treated ourselves to some ice cream for the walk home. All in all it was a pretty good day, aside from the rain.

Sunday strolled around and Bree and I went to the salt lakes to just sit by the lake and enjoy the relaxing sunday, like sunday's are supposed to be. We were invited by some of my coworkers to attend a bbq at another coworker, Sabina's house, so we were really looking forward to that. However, I guess bbq's here don't start at the normal time of 1 or 2pm but instead at like 10:30am! Bree and I had just arrived at the Salt Lakes when we got a call saying that our ride would be coming to get us in 20 minutes! Needless to say we canned that idea and told the group we would just take a cab... which we did... which was 20 KM, but it was totally worth it! I had a great time hanging with all of my coworkers and just sitting on the porch drinking beers and relaxing. Especially, because we got to play some volley ball! haha! And Eddin, one of the guys who works in CRP cooked dinner for us all and it was soo delicious! Bree and I ended up getting back to the apartment a little after 9pm, and we both had work the following day, so we were pretty exhausted.

So, as you can see, I am having a really great time. I think part of 'the debbie-downer' in me is that I am just sort of over it, if that makes sense to anyone. However, I can imagine it doesn't to some, because I can totally sit on the other side of my argument and say 'why the hell are you complaining?' But truth be told, it's all just monotonous a lot of the time and it's getting old. The work I'm doing is interesting, but it doesn't make it feel any less like busy work, sometimes. I mean, yea is having mundane work part of, well, work? Yes. But, I don't know.. I think 8 weeks is just a bit too long...

More pics!

#1 this is the old guy on the bus back from Sarajevo a couple of weeks ago.. yeah you know.. how for the 1st 10 minutes I thought "aww," then the next "eww gross, get off of me..." thank Christina for the documentation...hahahhaha

#2 Some of the girls hangin out in Mostar!

#3 The Stari Most bridge

finally! some visual!

Ok, so the 1st is Bree, Christina, and me, after we just finished having a delicious and authentic Chinese food meal!

2nd- is the front entrance to the health center in Srebrenica..where the hold the re-certification trainings for the volunteers in the surrounding villages. The nearest hospital is 1 hour away....

3rd- That's me sitting on the overlook when we went to see the Kula Grad Castle ruins in Zvornik, Bosnia. The river separates Serbia (on the right) and Bosnia (on the left).

4th- Christina and I posing in the window over looking the landscape and river at the castle.

p.s.

ok, so real quick, this is more for my dad... but I had espresso! Me! I know! And I actually enjoyed it. I didn't just have it once either! I had it 2x throughout the day on Sunday!! hahaha ok

Love you all!!

Stari Most

What a weekend! Seriously.. I think I did more in this entire past weekend than I have in a really long time! Crazyness! So Bree and I caught a bus out of Tuzla this past Friday... holy jesus.. it took us 6 hrs to get to Mostar. And yes, that is the actual travel time. It took 3 hrs to get to Sarajevo, then we hopped on a bus after meeting up with Miss Emily and then it was just under 3 hrs to Mostar from there. But, it was totally worth it! We had such a blast!

As soon as we got there, we all got ready and headed out to this restaurant to have pizza. And I know what you're wondering.. it actually wasn't served with ketchup. However, if I am recalling correctly, I feel as though we were asked if it was wanted. After dinner we headed to the old town of Mostar and went to this bar/club called Ali-Baba. It was IN A CAVE!!!!!!!! How sweet is that!?! We didn't stay very long since it was packed with people, but long enough to have an awesome time! Also we had to get up super early the next morning. The reason, you ask.. well, one of the girls who resides in Mostar that is in my program booked a touristy type of thing for all of us through this local hostel. It was sooo cool! We had to be there by 9am and 3 tour guides took us in separate cars to all of these destinations surrounding the city of Mostar. It was beautiful.

The first place we went to was in a town called Blagaj. It had this fortress right near the river (seriously, the river flowed right outside the house!. A former Duke who once ruled Herzegovina had ordered that a Dervish Monastery be build at the source of the Buna River, which is where we were. Since we were entering a place of worship, all of the girls in the group had to wear head wraps and long skirts. It was so interesting to have to do something like that... it gave me a very very small understanding of the culture. The architecture of the house was beautiful. It had obviously been restored, but apparently was from the 16th century!Can you believe that??! From there we headed towards a famous town called Počitelj, where there were ancient ruins and a huge fortress that stood up a hill. It was quite a work out climbing all of the stairs that were once there. The mosque that sits midway on the hill had been destroyed during the war and recently restored. At the entrance of the mosque and to the side of it, they had some of the original stone work that was salvaged from the wreck. Unfortunately, we (meaning the girls) couldn't enter because we didn't have any head scarves. So we climbed to the top and were walking around the once upon a time fortress and there was such a beautiful view at the top....then... my camera died. what the hell?? ugh such unfortunate luck! anyway, it was somewhat good, because since I no longer had anything to take pictures with it made me realize that walking through neck-high grass may not be the best of ideas. Then the crazy person in me kicked in, and I was convinced I was going to have a tick on me.... I didn't though, so we're 'A-OK' in that department!

From there, we headed to Međigorje, which is somewhere I really wanted to go, and it just so happened that the tour was leading up to that destination. So I first heard of Međigorje through my Bosnia & Herzegovina book that I bought.. the story goes, that back in the 80's a couple of teenagers were up on the hill and the blessed mother appeared and spoke to them. No one at first believed these teens, but a priest did. Since that day, the little town of Međigorje has become the second largest pilgrimage site for Catholics.. apparently.. I had no idea. Nonetheless, it was really neat to see and witness. I went into the church that was there.. there was a mass going on, so I just decided to stay in the vestibule and a listen a bit. then I lit and candle and was on my way. Unfortunately, we weren't able to actually go up on the hill where the apparition was seen (I call it that because that's the actual name of the hill, Apparition Hill) because it is a 3hr hike one way to get up there. But they had the statue of Mary outside the church for those who are unable to trek all the way up. The also had this huge statue of Christ symbolizing his crucifixion, and water came out of his knees and there were a lot of people there collecting the water to bring it into the church to be blessed. There were some people there holding Jesus and praying. It was intense.

While we ate lunch, it unfortunately began to rain.. but it was just like the 4th of July spirit to do such a thing. And I don't care if I was in another country, I was celebrating July 4th damn it. So I continued to enjoy my American inspired meal of a hamburger and french fries, accompanied with a delicious beer. hahahha. Our next stop was supposed to be Kravice Waterfalls... but the tour guides were hoping that if we waited a bit it would the storm clouds would pass. So we stopped at this new Ethno Village, which was sort of weird and yet interesting at the same time. It was basically this resort type of place.. but I kind of felt like I was walking around on a compound, and was expecting to be asked to join some sort of freakish cult at any moment. And our tour guides prompted us to go here because there would be free wine.... they lied.

So we left that joint and headed to the falls. I was determined to jump off a cliff. However, I really didn't feel like breaking my leg, or you know, possibly my neck.. so I opted out of jumping off the slippery rocks and decided that I didn't travel 6hrs one way to just see these waterfalls... I was damn well going to jump in. It's once in a lifetime, right? So I did! IT WAS FREEZING! Neil, Abbie's friend who was visiting her jumped in too & then I talked Abbie in to doing it as well, by telling her I'd jump back in and quickly get out! That was a blast! Really cold, but totally worth it.

We were all pretty freakin tired from the days events so we headed back to the apartment and got ready to go to dinner.... 4 hrs later and we were out the door *(well, what do you expect with 7 girls, 1 guy, and 1 bathroom??)* Dinner was pretty freakin awesome. We had Italian at this little place and then we decided that we wanted to hit the Mostar scene once again... but after a very filling dinner and just from being tired we decided to have one drink and hit the road.

The next morning we woke up early because Bree and I had to catch an 11am bus back to Sarajevo. So we wanted to go have coffee and see more of Mostar and the Old Town. While having coffee, the girls totally talked us into staying until 3pm! Which we were really excited about... however, we decided against it after we found out that the last bus leaving Sarajevo for Tuzla left at 6pm and that only gave us a half hour to play with. Could you imagine if we had missed the last bus out of Sarajevo to come back! That would have sucked.

So to make my extremely already long story short (hush Mom, I have huge blisters on the bottoms of my feet from walking in my sandals but it was totally worth it!

apparently, i'm turning over a new leaf...

Yesterday we headed back to Srebrenica to observe more of the re-certification trainings for the volunteers in the surrounding villages. BBBUTTTT before we got there, we took a little detour to Castle ruins, and the castle was built somewhere near 500 years ago!!! It isn't exactly a touristy site, i.e. there were NOOO people there; so it was just 'Uncle Mira' (as we have now adopted this name for Amir), Alma, Christina, and me. It was really awesome! There were these lookouts that looked over the river that separates Bosnia from Serbia! It was fantastic! And even though the castle was in ruins... we went inside & took pics of it! It was really one of the coolest things I've done! And as most of you already know, I am a huge nerd that loves history stuff like this, so I was truly thrilled!

After that we headed to hammer out our duties. Christina and I met with the director of the local health center in Srebrenica, to talk to her about the program and just get some info from her. So that was pretty interesting. Then after that us ladies were heading towards the room where the trainings were going on.... but I just couldn't go back in there. Seriously... it smelled so terrible, I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. And I was not the only one thinking this. We smelled this same thing the day before, and I just couldn't do it again. It was a cross between the most god-awful B.O you have ever smelt and a sweaty, musty, old sock. >YUCK< So instead of going back in the room to just observe, Christina and I took the opportunity to talk to Alma more about the war. And I have to just say that I am so grateful for having Alma as a supervisor. She has been so willing to teach us about what has happened here and share all of the experiences she has endured. I specifically wanted to talk to her about how the war broke out in Tuzla, because apparently it happened in the intersection right outside our building... and she told us the whole story... me being a very visual person, and with Alma's descriptive discussion, I have many images playing over in my head of what was experienced here...

Once our observation time was completed, we headed in to the center of Srebrenica to go to a local restaurant to meet up with one of their colleagues, whom we had met the day prior. While there, I decided to buck up and try some coffee!!! And this wasn't just any ordinary coffee either... it's authentic Bosnian coffee, but it's authenticity actually comes from Turkey, it being Turkish coffee and all. But there's a whole way that it is made and everything. It came out on this copper plate and there was my little cup that looked like it was for an espresso; and then there was this beautifully designed copper cup that looked like it was the size of a double shot glass,which was holding the coffee, and it had a beautiful handle jetting out from the top of it. There were two sugar cubes in my espresso-like cup. Alma instructed me to do it the 'proper' way, which was to take both of the cubes and one by one put them in the copper coffee holder and stir. Then she told me to just pour it into my little cup and drink... but to be careful not to drink the grinds. But when someone tells me not to do something, I became curious so I did it anyway. It wasn't terrible because I knew to make sure to only have a bit, but I wanted to try it, hahaha. That's the stubbornness in me : ) Needless to say, it was really really really good! Seriously, I think Turkish coffee is like me new favorite thing!! hahaha! But seriously!

Then the rest of my day just tapered off and we got home and relaxed. I did go for a walk into town with Bree and did a little bit of shopping for myself! haha :) I found an adorable top that I have been eye-ing for a week now, and then I found a cute dress too! And seeing as my clothes are still drying from when I had to re-wash them because they didn't dry fast enough the first time and the mildewy smell set in.. the shopping was needed!

Well friends, off to Mostar for me this evening! I am super pumped about it! I will be sure to update the blog asap. And again sorry about the pics... facebook apparently hates me or something. hahaha I love you all!!

Cao Cao

& the work unfolds.

So this week seems to be flying by... week 4 almost completed. Work has been moving at a steady pace as of late. I seem to have gotten all of the details finely tuned within all of my projects, so I am on the grind with those.

As you know, Monday was my interesting experience with the dog pack.. haha, once we actually got to work, however, it seemed to go by quickly. That's probably because I was only there for an hour. After the first small group session, Christina and I were invited to go to one of the staff members(whom we have never met) ceremony where she defended her dissertation for her master's degree. It was very interesting to see how they handle their 'graduation process' from their programs here; even how they defend their dissertations. Though the entire thing was in Bosnian and I hadn't a clue what was really going on, I sill was grateful for the experience. We also had one of the staff from the hospital, Sandra, translate some of what was being said and what the dissertation was on, and all of that jazz.

Tuesday, I seemed to have had a fire lit under my tush because I was getting a lot of stuff complete for my one project. Though it is still in the beginning stages, I feel like I was able to outline a lot of what I want to get accomplish. This project (the motivating high school kids to go to college) has been pretty interesting. I am developing workshops that will hopefully be utilized in the local high schools. These workshops are designed to allow these kids to feel more confident in what they are doing; i.e. how to write a good resume, knowing the ins and outs of the entrance requirements for the universities here, how to write a personal statement, how to conduct a good interview, etc. I'm really hoping that if I get thorough information that these just may really be used.. that would be cool. So that's what I am working on there.

As far as the other project goes (the one regarding returnees to the remote villages, and their volunteering to be the 'first-responders' within their communities etc), Christina and I traveled to Srebrenica yesterday to sit in on a re-certification training that is conducted for the volunteers who started the program back in 2004 and 2006. It's a long drive out there.. about a 2 hour drive.. but it was cool, because before we went to the training, we met up with one of the nurses who trains the volunteers. He used to be in the Yugoslav army and now works and trains the returnees. We were able to interview him and ask him some questions regarding his perspectives and experiences regarding his experiences. I was grateful to get to speak to him, just to get some knowledge first hand. Then we arrived at the local medical center that is in the village.. seriously.. I will post pics when I can, but if you saw this center.. you would be shocked. But, while we were at the center observing the trainings, we were able to interview one of the gentlemen who was receiving the training, and it was great to get his perspective. So when all was said and done, we had two sides to compare. Just to remind you, my objective for this program is to prove its sustainability within the community. So through these very informal interviews, Christina and I have decided to come up with more formal interview questions in order to do just that.. but that is going to have to hashed out within the coming weeks. We are going back to Srebrenica today to bear witness to another group of volunteers receiving their follow-up training. Most likely again, we will be interviewing a couple of them.

As far as the weekend goes, my plans to celebrate the 4th of July in a foreign country are as follows: Bree and I are heading down to Mostar, which is located in the southern region, and actually considered to be a part of Herzegovina. I am really pumped about this, because we are apparently taking a tour around the surrounding villages on Saturday and we are going to get to see waterfalls! I am really excited! I am also just excited to get out of Tuzla again. And it looks like there will be a couple of the girls from the program, so we will all be ringing in the 4th together & with a bang no less!!! I have gotten almost all of my pics up on facebook... so as soon as I do, I will be able to put them up on here. Sorry for the delay.

Cao!

great weekend. great people. great times

Man ohh Man.. If you ever in your life have the opportunity to go to Belgrade, Serbia, DO IT! I HAD SUCH A BLAST!

So I began my Friday just waiting for the day to end. The girls and I caught a bus at 4:25 from here and we got to Belgrade at around 8:20ish.. Arriving in Belgrade was pretty interesting. It actually reminded me somewhat of New York. The only difference: it wasn't as pretty and most of the people didn't speak english. So we walked around a bit trying to locate our hostel: Hostel Belgrade. And let me just tell you, great staff, and a cute little place tucked back off the street, and was surrounded by cats. hahaha. We had to ask for directions twice, lol, but we got there safely and it was really neat. It was somewhat tiny, but it was a hostel, so my hopes really weren't all too high. After being there for about a half hour, we met this guy Rob from Lebanon. He invited us to come with him and couple other people from the hostel, Daniel, and a girl(but for the life of me we cannot remember her name), to grab a bite to eat and hit the Belgrade scene. We ventured out for a night on the town. I had my very first Serbian burger, which was absolutely delicious! Then we went to this little outdoor bar had some drinks and continued to get acquainted with them.

It was a lot of fun and we thought me might call it a night, because Christina, Bree, and I knew we were going to be getting up early to do tons and tons of sightseeing the following day. However, we decided to abandon that plan and experience all we could while we were there! So we headed about 20 minutes away on foot to the bar scene. Let me just inform you all that this little strip was awesome! All of these bars are actually boats on the river that are tied up to the dock! It was so awesome! And though we danced at the expense of MJ's death, it made for an extremely entertaining night! Especially because we met up with a group of Irish guys who were also staying at the hostel and once in particular repeatedly did the robot to any song he could! hahaha! It was quite hilarious! As we are dancing and enjoying ourselves, Christina, Bree, and I realized that 'oh hi, the sun is coming up.. i think we should leave now..' and so we trekked back to the hostel at 6:15AM. I'm sure most of you are thinking, 'ha, right, so much for sightseeing in Belgrade!' Well, I will have you all know that we slept until about 9:30 and were out the door by 10:15 to walk all around town and see some of the most beautiful sights I've seen with my own eyes!

It was honestly terrific. We headed in search of this one restaurant that Christina had done some research on called Tri Sesira translated into '3 Hats' was located in Scladaria, which is the Bohemian quarter of Belgrade. It was in this area of little shops and beautiful buildings with cobblestone streets. We didn't think we were going to find it at first, but we did. And seriously, this place was adorable. It was so quaint, with these old pictures on the wall. It had pretty low ceilings and the whole place looked tiny, but it covered a lot of square feet- it was huge! I would totally like to have a party there one day, hahaha! So we moved on from full bellies and started our venture. We headed first to Kalemegdan Fortress, which was absolutely amazing. It is this huge park that has a beautiful view of the city!(I will post pictures on here if I can later tonight). After that we came across a market fair type of deal and I was able to get some souvenirs there! I got one for myself, because I just had to!- it was a handmade ceramic wall decoration of a scene from one of my favorite books of all time, 'The Little Prince.' I have to translate it fully and make sure to write it on the back so I will remember when I'm 50! :)

From there, we saw a beautiful cathedral and the residence of Princess Ljubica, which was pretty cool. I actually don't know who she is because unfortunately tours were done for the day by the time we got there, but I know she is important! :) hahaha then, we decided since it was about 4:30PM we were exhausted and wanted to rest our feet! So we headed back to the hostel to try to sleep, but we were just so wired from the days events and continued on. We were in search of food. And since Bree is a vegetarian, she has been having a pretty difficult time living in a culture that eats mostly meat.. needless to say, she was looking for a place that had vegetarian options. Since Belgrade is such a huge pit stop of travelers from all around the world, there are tons of options. Which was fine by me, because I've been beginning to miss the good stuff, like Mexican & Chinese food. It just so happened that we found a Chinese restaurant and it was soooo good! Not only that, it was adorable! Really authentic, and really, just overall a perfect place for the three of us to have dinner together.

From there we ventured out once more to see the last thing on our list, which was St. Sava's Temple. It was beautiful. Truly breathtaking. They are reconstructing the inside of the church, but this place was HUGE! And even though it was under construction, there were so many people still coming in to pray to the saints, coming in to admire the work done. It was beautiful.

We then headed back towards our hostel and decided to call it a night. We were able, with the help of the hostel staff, to find out what our bus schedule looked like for the return home. We decided to take a 9AM bus ride back to Tuzla, since we knew it was going to take 4hrs to get back... but, I'm definitely glad we did that because we were able to get back and relax and just rest after a very busy weekend. Even though I knew my Monday was going t be easy, it was still nice.

Speaking of, yesterday was pretty interesting. Christina and I, like our usual Monday set out for our 45 minute walk to work. Tuzla, unfortunately has a ton of stray dogs around the city, so as we are on our way to work, we come across this puppy just sitting at a bus stop. She was adorable! She kept jumping up on Christina as we were walking away and biting at her pant leg, wanting to play with her! So we are trying to tell the dog to stop and leave us be, but she decides she has found some friends and tags along the rest of the way. I know, you must be thinking what we were thinking 'ohh this is too cute,' which it totally was, until it became that every dog in the area wanted to travel as a pack right behind us!!! And mind you, it was all the way up until we reached the hospital entrance. Another little dog, who was pretty mean to the little pup actually tried to follow us in to the building! And it's not like we had any food or anything either! It was tooo funny!

So needless to say, these past couple of day have been very interesting as well as entertaining!

rain, rain go away come back.... when I'm not going on a mini-trip to Serbia!

Seriously, one and a half weeks of pure and delightful sunshine. Now rain, rain, and more rain. And it's not exactly helping me with my mood today. Especially, as you can imagine, my walk to work in this ran was glorious... only glorious though, if you consider that to mean, sopping wet sneakers and socks, a wet back (because apparently my umbrella isn't designed to do what it's supposed to do, wet hair, and getting splashed by the speeding cars as they hit the puddles in the road (yes, I was somewhat that girl). If it were socially acceptable for me to throw a tantrum at the age of 23... I think I would, but then again, wouldn't we all? I'm pretty sure I've been guilty of it once or twice in my 'young adult' years, yet I might seem like a wacko to the bosniak people.

Work is going ok. I have decided which humanitarian project that I am going to be working on (because we were given a ton of options to dabble in). This project focuses its efforts around motivating high school seniors in the Tuzla Canton Region to continue on to higher education. Right now it stands that 40% of young adults in BiH are unemployed and 49% study outside of BiH, and the enrollment rate for students in BiH universities is only 24%. My role in this project is to brainstorm ideas of how to motivate young teens to go to college. And hey, I figured, well I was a high school senior once (though, I never thought about not going to college and I clearly had the means and privilege to attend), however, I was there once, so I can relate. Also, I figured I could pull out some of my 'pep' from my cheerleading days (hahaha I talk about that as if it were even that long ago!). Any-who, I am pretty interested in this project, so I am hoping to get a lot accomplished with it, and even if I don't, I'm hoping to learn as much as I possibly can about this serious issue.

I realize I need to correct my recent post prior to this one. I am not journeying to Mostar as I had thought earlier in the week, but I am however going to Serbia! That's right, SERBIA! I am really pumped about going over there. To be more precise, Bree, Christina, and I will be taking a bus tomorrow afternoon and traveling to Belgrade!!! The bus ride is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours long, same as the bus ride to Sarajevo, for the most part. However, we were told that it will not be as windy as that trip, so that's relieving. We are going to be leaving work just a half hour early to ensure that we make our bus on time.

Also, it looks as though the internet issue has come to a dead end. There is an option for us to get, however, I seriously just don't feel like wasting the money when I have internet here at work and I do sporadically have it in the apartment. But if I really needed it, I have an internet cafe across the street, so it just doesn't make sense because I'd be losing money in the long run. But I'm almost at the half way mark of my stay here, so we'll figure something out.

FYI- I am going to try this coming Monday after my day of work at the mental hospital to take my computer into town and try to load my pictures while hopefully getting a better wifi signal. So then hopefully, you will all get to see some pics via here, as well as facebook for those of you who are on it (sorry that I can't put all of my pics on here, but that's just the way life goes, ha).

Alright. I'm going to stop rambling and go back to this gloom and doom of a day. I miss everyone. I'll update the blog asap after I get back from Serbia, aka Monday.

<3 cao

i should have packed a sweatshirt...

What is this New York or something? It's raining, gloomy, and cooooollllldddd. What the heck?! Seriously, why did I come all the way here and not pack one long sleeved shirt or even a sweatshirt for that matter?? ggeeezzzeeee.

Anyway, as I am keeping my eyes peeled for warmer clothing, I can update you on life in Tuzla. Which, hasn't been overwhelmingly exciting, but will suffice for now. So, the girls and I decided to take an R & R day (haha, I know, shhh, I know what you're thinking) this past Friday to experience what is the Tuzla Salt Lakes. I have to say that this little area was pretty hoppin'. Lots of old people... in bikini's and speed-o's, to be graphic. However, I admired the confidence they exposed, and I can only hope to be that confident when I'm 80 years old and wrinkly. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed laying out in the sun and catchin' some rays...but, of course I got a little sun burn. Surprise, surprise. Then we didn't really do much else that Friday.. I thought we might go out, but we didn't.. and I was really really bored. Then saturday came and went, and we checked out some of the local markets. They have this one that is pretty close to our apartment, and it only has clothing and shoes and what not. We went to that, but I really wasn't overly impressed by anything I saw. We then trekked over to the 'Mercator,' which is one of the local malls. It is pretty small, but it had a couple of nice shops. There was this one, where I was able to get this beautiful scarf. Ahhh it's so colorful and soft! I love it!

That night was another easy-going night. Bree and I took a walk into the center of town to see what the nightlife is like. It is pretty crazy. Since we were just walking through, and I thought we might stop for a beer somewhere, we didn't... why you ask? Because.. we were way under-dressed.. and people were sort of staring at us. It's very interesting how dressed up all of these teens and young adults get when they go out. From the sounds of the music and the chatter of all the people, it really looks like a good time. Maybe this week I'll experience it...

So yesterday, I worked at the mental hosptial. I really like it there. Even though I can't physically hear what the clients are saying, I can see what they say through their body language. It's actually interesting how much you can learn about a person just by watching their every move. I'm now even more intrigued by this type of psychology, and yes Bucky I have you to thank for introducing me to 'Lie to Me.' LOL. But yeah, so we got to discuss everything with our supervisor after each group, which was good to just reflect and re-evaluate what went on in the groups. So, I will definitely be looking forward to my Monday's now.

fyi... I've finished my 4th book. It's week three and I am moving on to book number 5. Yes, I am reading a lot. No, there isn't a ton to do in my apartment other than read and work out. At least I will hit and exceed my New Year's Resolution to read at least 8 books this year. And yes, they will all be read within these 8 weeks. So basically what I am saying, is that I am very much looking forward to my weekends. hahah. But seriously, this weekend the girls and I are going to head down to Mostar. I am pretty pumped about that. Also, not this weekend, but sometime in the coming weeks we are going to travel back down that way to go to this town called Medjugorje. In this town they have a place called 'Apparition Hill,' and here it is said that the Virgin Mary appears to people on a daily basis.

Check this out -
http://www.gospa.com/pages/medjugor.htm

Ok, well that's all for now. I miss everyone. And oh, fyi, sorry I haven't been able to even talk to anyone other than my family. Email is looking like its going to be the best option for me to talk to you, unless we are able to coordinate, which I feel is unlikely. But, we will see. My email is annhud1@gmail.com. Muah!

here's a little bosnian news.

Though this article is based out of Sarajevo, we did experience some protesting here in Tuzla this past Saturday when we were getting to leave for Sarajevo. It's interesting though if you have time to read it, take a gander.

http://balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/20318/

you'll never believe it!

ohhh mannn! Ok, so it's Bree's Birthday! I don't know if I mentioned it... but it is, and Christina and I took Bree out to celebrate her new life in being 23! Since we have been searching for a restaurant that has pizza, we decided today would be the day.. and Bree has really wanted some pizza! hehehe. Anyways, so we get to the restaurant and I ordered a margarita pizza. It was one of the personal pie type of deals. So the waiter brings out some utensils and.... a bottle of..... KETCHUP! My first thought... ummmm what?!?! Yes, indeed the people of Bosnia eat their pizza by dipping it in ketchup! I was astonished, I mean as you can imagine being from New York and all. As Christina put it 'New Yorker's are very particular about their pizza..' You bet they are!! hahaha!¨But, brace yourselves... I tried it... I know, I know.. I know what you all must be thinking, but to be perfectly honest, the pizza tasted like garbage without a little ketchup on it. HAHHAHAHA! Oh! Annnnddd it had MUSHROOMS on it! To all who know my sincere and utter disgust for mushrooms, I tried to eat the pizza... but I just couldn't! JDSLKAJDSA EWWW! I quickly gulped down the one and kindly and neatly picked the rest off. Seriously, they are just not my thing. Unless they are finely chopped into little bits, like when I ate them with Frank at '3 Margaritas'!

well that's all for now!

Cao

and the hunt begins...

Ok, so just an fyi to all involved my chances of getting actual internet are slim to none. I spoke to Amir yesterday about the situation, and he said that getting cable internet in the apartment was honestly too complicated and by the time they could get it installed, we would be leaving Bosnia. However, Amir is on the hunt! *(Which, I, as well as the other girls appreciate very much!). Amir is trying to look into some of the local internet providers in the area to see if they will provide some kind of USB thing, or I don't really know what is involved. However, that is looking pretty bleak.. which really sucks, because this I feel it is highly inconvenient (haha, but it seriously is) and I shouldn't have to pay to use internet when I lugged that damn 10lb computer half way across the world!

As if this internet situation hasn't been annoying enough to us, we also have a daily visitor to our humble abode... unannounced and when we aren't there. I am speaking of my so-called 'landlord.' I totally get the fact that she may feel somewhat uncomfortable over the fact of having three strangers taking residence in her home, however, she chose to participate. I don't want to seem ungrateful... because I really am, I promise. It's just awkward and uncomfortable for us. I feel like I have to live like I'm walking on egg-shells, and I know we can all understand how uncomfortable that could be. I wouldn't mind if she came once a week or something and we knew when she was coming.... but I just feel weird. Not to mention I had my 'un-mentionables' hanging out to dry out on the deck! If I had known she was coming I would have made sure to put them somewhere, or possibly have done my laundry on a different day!

Well my friends, keep your fingers crossed in hopes that our internet situation takes an unexpected turn for the best! As for our old little lady landlord.. there's no hope for remedy there, just 'nod and smile,' as I always say.

my week thus far..

Hey folks! I hope this update finds everyone content and well! So after a relaxing and very fun weekend in Sarajevo, it was back to the so-called grind of work. On Monday, Christina and I were introduced to all of the staff at the local psychiatric hospital that we will be working at. The way my summer has been designed, is that we will be working there one day a week (Mondays, lol). But it was cool, first we just sat in an office and got to chat it up with two of the interns who work at the hospital. It was great hearing their perspectives on education, the war.... yeah, we covered a lot of bases in an hour and a half. But it was cute, when they asked where we were from, I obviously said 'New York,' and the one intern like freaked out and was saying 'oh, god i love new york, i can't wait to go!' She had her hand over her heart and gasped.. the whole sha-bang. It was comical. Then once the other staff members and our boss, Esmina, were done with their groups, we got to meet the rest of the staff. And I got to use my sweet Bosnian language skills to say 'Zdravo, Ja sam zovem Anna.' HAHAHA aka 'Hello, my name is Anna.' But I must have done it pretty well, because they were all sitting around at the table looking at me and doing the 'ahhh' and smiling. So a pat on the back for me hehehe. We were told during that meeting, that we will be sitting in on some of the group therapy sessions, and we will have a translator, but they will only translate when we ask, which I think I might find to be somewhat awkward, but whatevs. And we have to give 2 workshops on the effectiveness of group therapy. So, I have to start on some research next week, or so. Then we got to leave a little early since it was just an intro day, but it looks like I will be getting out every Monday at 1pm local time, which is pretty freakin' sweet. Then we left and Christina and I wanted to time the walk so we knew how much time to leave ourselves. And let me just tell you, if my legs don't look buff as ever when I get home, I will be SHOCKED! The walk one way is 45 minutes, so I will definitely be getting my work out on Mondays doing that!

Yesterday, as I mentioned we traveled to the remote village that CRP has been working with. However, in my previous post I totally misspelled the name, its Srebencia. And let me tell you, what a wonderful experience. It took about 2 and a half hours just to get there. But, in this town, there is a huge cemetery and burial memorial for the mass killings that occurred on July 11, 1995. In short, the Serbs came in and raided the village. There are to this day people still being identified, because when they were killed the remains were placed in mass graves, and then they were also moved as time went on... so the identification process has been very slow paced. Actually, on Monday, Christina and I were invited to go with our Boss and her daughter to the memorial that they are holding, and which they hold every year when remains have been claimed and identified, then they can be buried. They have identified 500 people just in this year. But this memorial.. it was overwhelming.. hundreds upon hundreds of white marble pillars standing in rows, and in a semi-circle they have the names of all of the people that they had identified thus far. All of the families, listed by last name and then first name, and the year they were born. I couldn't help but cry... And looking out over across the street at the abandoned UN base, where they were once there to assist and protect as many as they could fit, but the one's who were too late after there were too many people already inside, were left to fend for themselves, to get to safety on their own. There were 2 survivors there talking to a group of students.. but I obviously couldn't understand what they were saying. I don't think I'll ever forget this experience.

But the trip wasn't all sad, we also traveled further into the village to see what used to be a spa. It was pretty interesting. It was beautiful in the area, and there was this river that ran through the forest. It is said that this river of water flowing has very potent properties and elements within the water that are 'healing.' When we reached the top, we found local people going up to where a the water comes down and cleaning their eyes. Specifically, this water is said to heal eye infections as well as sinus issues. We were told that it was even prescribed by doctors, which I thought was extremely interesting. I was a bit nervous to wash out my eyes in the water, since Amir said that it burned a bit, and also because I had my contacts in, so who knows what could have happened. Nonetheless, I appreciated the experience and the cultural perspective that is held behind this belief and concept. Then we ate at this little restaurant, where I tried Goulash, which is pretty much just a beef stew and you can put mashed potatoes in it or rice. But the real significance of this place was in its bathroom. hahahaha it was freakin hilarious! I had a huge water bottle that I had downed in the car, and understandably so my body was about to burst. So into the bathroom I venture, where I am to find a glorified hole in the ground. That was another experience I will never forget.

Getting home after the long trip, I decided to do my laundry. And let me just tell you, this washer was the size of my kitchen sink in my apartment back home. It just made me realize, I guess, that I really am very appreciative of the privileges I have being an American... we all should be... and I am starting to miss them.

my journey to sarajevo

Well, there is nothing like getting off to a some-what rocky start!.. the cabbie ripped us off because we are American's & we got to experience a strike! Which to be honest was pretty interesting, however, worrisome at best (we found out later, that the Roma women were on strike because they haven't been paid nearly enough to survive through their craft, which is shoe/slipper making. But these things didn't stop us from getting on the spacious bus and traveling 3hrs to Sarajevo. Let me just tell you that the countryside was beautiful! It was a great trip to take, though I could have done without all of the windy & curvy roads!

Sarajevo is a beautiful city..very modernized and touristy...aka nothing like Tuzla...it's totally different. We arrived safely and got to the other girls' apartment, hahahaha which compared to ours back in Tuzla sort of put us to shame. Yeah, none of them had to sleep in the kitchen.. they each had their own room -lame. Their apartment also is direct neighbors to a Mosque, that was interesting waking up to that at 4am-ish. hahaha but anyway, we ventured out on to the streets of Sarajevo and went 'down-town' saw amazing buildings and had dinner at this little restaurant called 'Capricorn.' After that, we needed to find an internet cafe, which we did! and let me just tell you this was not just a typical internet cafe, they served beer there too and had pool! It was pretty freakin sweet! Then from there we decided to explore the bar scene, but not before walking through most of what is considered 'old town,' which is again, beautiful. I mean seriously, it was huge cobble stone streets and little stores and shops surrounding you. We passed a beautiful mosque, and this famous fountain.. but we didn't get too close to it, I just know there is significant importance behind it. Then we got our dance on! I had sooo much fun hanging with all of the girls from the program! We went to this one bar, and (Dad, you would have enjoyed this!) the actual bar, was made out of a BOAT! How crazy is that?!?! The music was hoppin' and we were having a great time, but we decided to end the night, to leave for more stamina for our adventures in the morning...

The next day, you can imagine how bright-eyed and bushy tailed we all were! We ventured to the other side of town.. we walked through what is know as today 'Sniper Alley'... I wish I could post pictures, now... it was unbelievable.. just the terror that these people endured.. it's astonishing. Immediately coming out of sniper alley we saw the Holiday Inn and decided to eat there. Many of you may be saying, 'oh so what you ate at a hotel,' but this hotel was the only building that was left standing in that area from all of the bombing and shooting that had gone on. From there we took an expensive cab ride over to the town of Butmir, which houses the tunnel museum, also known as the tunnel of hope. This was such an excellent exhibit to see... but it was sad. We were dropped off at this little hole in the wall shack, and I had no idea where we were.. until we walked in... Basically, this tunnel was constructed (it was 800 meters long) to ensure the safety of the people as well as the safety of the army, and trying to get food and weapons without being killed. I cried while I was there.. and I got to walk through 20 meters of the tunnel (that's all there is to walk through now) and it was just heart wrenching.

After that, Bree, Christina, and I needed to get our butts back to Tuzla. Oh, if only any of you could have been there.... so we get to the bus station, get our tickets, and are expecting a joyous ride back to Tuzla... so not the case. It was a tiny, smelly, no air conditioning bus ride. And whats even more, some stinky sweaty old guy sat next to me and fell asleep on my shoulder. I thought it was sweet for like the first 10 minutes, than not so much.. hahahaha. Needless to say I whipped that in the butt asap! hahaha! Oh, and once more on work ethic... the bus driver stopped the bus to HAVE DINNER! CAN YOU IMAGINE?!?! It was hilarious!

But we got back safe and sound! I will write more tomorrow and tell you of my experiences today at the mental hospital and the trip I am taking to one of the remote villages!

I love you All!!!

some pics!

so the first is the Salt Lakes! The second is me and the girls walking around town, and the 3rd is my current sleeping quarters :)

tgif!

Hello to all!

So Friday's are a very interesting day around here in Tuzla! We arrived to work as usual for our coffee social hehehe :), and of course, the staffies we work with were all speaking bosnian.. again. hahah leaving Bree, Christina, and I to just plan our weekend events!

So we decided that since Friday is "Market Day" that we wanted to go get some fresh produce. This is where all of the farmers from surrounding villages bring in their crops to sell, which I find it interesting that it's on Friday and not like on Sunday as it is in the US. But that's just another to add to the list of cultural differences. Any-who, we asked our boss if it would be ok to take a longer lunch to be able to check out the market and get what we need. Since our other boss never came in, his response: "well, you know I am a living for the day, how you say, 'personal business,' so you don't have to come back after a lunch.' .... My immediate internal reaction: "Umm, WHAT?" So, needless to say, the Bosnian work ethic is much more lax than it is in the US. Talk about a causual Friday, :).

So the girls and I ventured out into the town with our purses clutched in our hands, preparing for the pick-pockets (which we were so for warned that they will try to nab stuff at the markets from you). There are two big markets in Tuzla, one that is right in the center of town and one that is closer to our apartment. We went to both just to check 'em out. It was really interesting though, and I think that venturing to the market to buy my food has become my new favorite thing. My first items to buy were zuchini and tomatoes, and the lady was SOOO NICE! She actually gave me free apricots! And they are pretty good Dad! :D Then I bought some cabbage to use for lettuce... which they do totally have lettuce out here, but every little booth I went to I couldn't see a price, and I'm not quite capable of arguing prices yet, hehe, so I just stuck to the cabbage, which btw was only .50km.. meaning it was really really cheap!

Then we came back to the apartment, settled down, and took really long naps! hahahaa I guess we were tired! :) Now we are just hanging in the apartment. But, I did get to cook my first "real" meal... pasta! *(Frank :D) Aaaand it came out pretty darn well! I was impressed with myself. I cut up one of my tomatoes, I used so garlic, and some seasoning I found around this apartment... later to find out that the seasoning I added, may have very well been for tea...WHOOPS. But, believe you me, it tasted pretty good. hahahhaha

We are just hanging around as I said, waiting to go to Sarajevo tomorrow to visit with some of the other girls from school! I am soo pumped! I have been reading a bit on Sarajevo and there is sooo much to do there. But I will be careful, I promise ;) Well expect an update late Sunday or Monday!
Muah XOXOXOXO

Dobro Dan! (aka Good Afternoon)

Zdravo!

I hope you are all having a splendid day as I am! So hmm- I realize that this blog has instead of turning into a once in a while up-date has turned into a play-by-play/ 12-yr old diary entry... but ya know, I'm totally cool with it! (once again, insert smiley face).

So yesterday was hot & muggy, and yet the sun was shining brightly. After work, Christina, Bree & I decided we needed to go to the market to get food so we don't have to keep eating salads and stuff. Interestingly enough, their 'supermarkets' are called by the name 'Bingo,' which I just found comical. But really, I was so surprised to find toothpaste, soaps, detergent. They actually had Nutella (which is one of my favs!). So that was an experience in itself...

After a refreshing night's sleep, I got up and went to work. Christina and I found out that we are going to be working on two projects. One of them we learned a whole heck of a lot about. It is a program that was started by CRP (the office under Mercy Corps that I am working for) called 'First-Aid in remote villages of Srebrenica, Vlasenica and Milići,' and it was started in 2004. So basically to give you some background, there are all of these remote villages throughout Bosnia, but CRP is focusing on the Eastern side. The goal of this program is to ensure that the communities throughout these areas are equipped with medical supplies. Some of these villages are over 25 miles away from the nearest medical facility, and when accidents occurr they usually end up dying because no help was able to reach them at all (in regards to bad weather) or have to have extensive medical work done because they were left so long. So CRP not only provided these materials along with the local Red Cross, but has also trained hundreds of volunteers that live within these villages.

Now this is where Christina and I come in! (hahah) So, our job is to take a look at all of the aspects of these projects and see if there is anything that may need to be tweaked and in what way. So essentially, we are doing a program evaluation on what they are currently doing, and what they could be doing in the future to better these communities situations. So I am pretty pumped about that! And I just think this whole program in and of itself is pretty awesome. The other program that we are going to be doing falls under the human rights category, but we are to learn the details of that tomorrow, I believe. ALSO! with the first project I was telling you about, we are going to one of those villages to go check it out and have coffee with the locals to see what its all about! We were suppose to go tomorrow, but we are going to go next Tuesday instead.

The language piece is coming a bit easier for us all. I can only imagine that I will be speaking serbo-croatian very well by the time I get home, hehe. It's pretty cool though, because we like to go to this little cafe, called Česma. The wait staff are all really nice to us. It's interesting though, tipping is sometimes a 'no'no' and that's only because people usally don't have the money to tip. But, we asked our boss Alma, and she said that it depends..'If you asked for a coffee, and the guy brings it to you and he is a A-whole (she actually said the word, but this is a pg blog people, so use your imaginations!) then you don't tip, if he brings it to you with a smile and is nice, then you can tip.' She's been really helpful, hahaha and funny.

So this weekend we are all going to take a trip down to Sarajevo to see all of the other girls who are stationed in Bosnia too! I am pretty pumped about that, but also because we are just going to get out and see more of Bosnia! We are mainly going to celebrate some of the girls' birthdays, so that should be a ton of fun!

Oh, so to update everyone else other than my Mom and Frank, I'm looking in to getting a USB thing that allows me to get wifi in my computer so that we are able to be on the internet a lot in the apartment and skype whenever we want too! So, I'm hoping by the end of this week/ beginning of next that I will have it, because I really want to skype with people. Then I can show you the apartment! hahaha! And I'll also be able to put up pics too!!

Ok, well I think I've written enough of a novel to keep you entertained for a while, hehe. I love you all! Check back soon to get the update of this crazy Bosnian lifestyle!

oye

Heyyy....

Ok, so it's Wednesday. Day 2 of work. Not doing too much yet, but we are going to be learning all about exactly what Christina and I will be doing. Apparently, we are going to get lots of opportunities to go out into the field, so I am pretty excited about that. However, today I am not so chipper. I didn't sleep at all last night... and seriously, no joke, I actually didn't sleep....I don't know if it was on account of having taken a nap earlier in the day (which I'm sure played a role) or the fact that I am sleeping on a bed in the kitchen with a crayz fridge and weird bird sounds out in the treees. Hahaha but I am really just having a pity party (insert smiley face), don't let me fool you because it's not as bad as it seems. But I'm still going to have this pity party (smiley).

It is extremely hot and humid here.... I feel like I'm in New York with this weather. It was a little rainy on our walk to work this morning, so here's hoping that it will perk up a bit. Which as I write this I see the sun is shining out of our office window, so that's good.

Our apartment is right across the street from lots of shops and cafes, which is awesome! So after I wrote my last post, Christina, Bree, and I went to this little restaurant and were the 'odd one's out' because we were ordering salads for dinner. Pretty much, the menu here is meat, meat, and more meat. Which is fine, because I love meat.. however, I don't exactly love each meal of my day to include greasy, fattening meats. hahhaha So salads it is! Some good news though, was I was able to scam some free wifi last night, however, it is really inconsistent, which is highly unfortunate. So to answer your question Er, I'm not exactly sure. My boss, Alma, said that we are allowed to skype here at the office, which is awesome... but, I get into work at 8.. we have a social coffee and chai thing for a half hour, and then we check our emails and what not. So basically it will be 2 30 Am your time. Which is fine but it depends on everyones schedules.. but I will try to figure something out with getting to an internet cafe or something. I just need to figure out their hours.

As you can tell.. this time difference thing is difficult, and not exactly easy to get used to. It's weird just starting my day as you all are ending yours...I've been working somewhat on my language. In fact we went to a bakery this morning, that was recommeded to us by Amir to get breakfast. And I was able to purchase and have the lady understand me.. for the most part..hehe. But, I'm not going to lie, as an exciting time as this all is, I am feeling a bit 'home-sick,' still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I will be here for another 7 weeks, it's weird. Not having traveled before, to a country with a pretty extreme language barrier..nevertheless, it is an experience I will never forget, but I still miss home.


Cao