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.