A Sunny Walk To Work

(I've found out that you can click on the pictures for an enlarged view of it, might be better for some of them especially the ones from the previous post of Prokosko Lake.)

Here are some pictures from my walk to work this morning. It was really sunny which actually made some of the light less than desirable for taking some snapshots. These aren't necessary the prettiest pictures of Sarajevo but rather my typical walk from my apartment to Gariwo. Last night I was walking around Baščaršija (I have to copy/paste that word since I haven't learned where to find the accents on my computer), the old Ottoman part of town, close to sunset and it was just gorgeous. I will definitely need to take tons of pictures of all of the old buildings and streets (there are Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian buildings, it's wonderful to actually see the history of the city) but I didn't have my camera and I think I got enough tourist attention for one day! These pictures are an attempt to show what I see on my daily walk. It's hard because I'm attracted to the old, sometimes run-down/bombed out buildings and I need to remember to portray a fair representation. So in this mind, I tried to take some pictures to show the new, modern buildings in contrast to the other older ones. Also, the Holiday Inn is a good city landmark (the yellow building) so I wanted to show it in perspective to work. Unfortunately some of the pictures won't rotate so I'll have to play around with this blog to get that fixed. Also, excuse the less than perfect picture composition. I didn't want to linger taking each picture...

(Also sorry about the weird formatting, it looked different before I published it, ha)

Prokosko Lake at the top of Vranica Mountain

On Sunday I went to see this lake, Prokosko, with a friend outside of Fojnica. I've heard about it from the other times I was in Fojnica but never got the opportunity to go see it. It was quite a long ride up and I didn't realize that it was at the top of the mountain but once we got up there it was just so beautiful, breathtaking really. I guess it's become more of a tourist destination so the amount of cabins has increased but we were lucky because when we got there there were no other tourists. The haziness is from the clouds that swept over the top of the mountain. Honestly, I just felt so free up there.

Getting Settled and Changing Lifestyles

Ok, so I have learned that I need to change a few things about the way I live my life in order to make a successful transition to living in Bosnia and here are the first three: planning, jaywalking and frizz.

Planning. Apparently Bosnians don't make plans and for those of you who know me, I like to plan. I like to plan even when I know that no one else wants a plan. I like ideas of where we are going, how to get there and most importantly, what time. Now, I haven't really had a situation so far where I have tried to plan and it failed or was rebuffed but I am aware that I need to recognize that this particular character trait may need to fall by the wayside, or rather off of a Bosnian cliff. It will be interesting to see how, or if, I adapt to this new mentality. I will keep you posted.

Jaywalking. If you have visited Boston you know that pedestrians do as they please (much like the cars) and if you have walked with me in Boston you know that I am (apparently) a risky street crosser. But you see, I fit in there, everyone is, or mostly everyone and on top of that, the penalty in Boston for jaywalking is whopping fee of one dollar. A risk I am willing to take if a cop should be so bored as to cite me. Well, things are not the same in Bosnia. While walking to work on Monday I crossed the street at, while it may not have been a designated crosswalk but it was, a reasonable place to make my way across the street. In fact, not only did another man do the same but I have seen many people cross at that point at other times. Well, once I got to the sidewalk on the other side there were two police officers standing there. They motioned to me and the other man who committed the same "crime" and spoke to us individually. I noticed that the other cop had notepad out to write a ticket for my fellow felon. Well, luckily, I couldn't understand the officer who was reprimanding me (well, I knew what he was saying but not the words...) and kept saying sorry and English and to my luck, he not only did not speak English but seemed to get annoyed with me and waved me on. I laughed and continued to work, thinking how ridiculous it was that Bosnia has so many problems yet it can have two policemen waiting to ticket someone for crossing the street at a place that did not have white lines painted on it. Later, I told Adnan about it and he said that the fine is 40 km for jaywalking. 40! But I also think that since the police are so corrupt here, they were looking to either pocket the money or make a deal, an easy 20 km to their benefit to keep them from writing a ticket. Anyway, my first run-in with the law! I will have to remember to use this language barrier trick even after I learn to communicate...

Frizz. Well, this is a purely superficial part but still, I am having trouble maintaining the mane of hair I have. And it's not even humid in Bosnia but nevertheless, my hair is rebellious and I have yet to master the art of keeping it under control in this new environment. Sooner or later I will find the necessary tools to win this war, until then: frizz 1, liz 0.

As per request I will put a link to a map of Sarajevo and explain where my destinations are. Sarajevo is broken into different regions I guess I would say: Centar (Center), Novi Grad (New City), Novo Sarajevo (New Sarajevo) and Stari Grad (Old City). But more importantly than these divisions are the neighborhoods, which are a better indicator of where you live. I of course, don't know them yet but I can point to the ones of interest to me on this map (generously found by my father). My neighborhood is Koševsko Brdo, at the top right. It means Kosevo Hill (I just found that out yesterday!). Gariwo is Kovačići and the Pidros (Adnan's family) live in Hrasno. Just as a reference for where I go in the city. Mostly I find that I walk from my apartment to work, then to the Pidros after I get out and then from there back to my place. It's a long walk but really good for me to get my bearings. I try to walk different routes to get a feel for the area and also try to walk by the river, just for some scenery. Baščaršija (far right) is the old Ottoman part of Sarajevo that, at least to me, seems to be the downtown. It's beautiful and has (slippery) stone streets, cafes, shops, mosques, churches and people are always out. It seems to be the place where everyone ends up and is usually part of my walks around the city. Also, I am aware that I need to put up pictures of Sarajevo and have held out on account of not wanting to appear too touristy, but I know that is unfair of me, so I will make sure to tote my camera along and take some photos of the city and of places in my life. Thanks for being so patient.

Here are some pictures of Fojnica from the window of the car during the parade. Well, more like the countryside outside if Fojnica but still, it's a very pretty landscape. The first one I tried to get the flags and the people hanging out of the cars. The rest are just to show the beauty.

Collen and Mario with Colleen's family

Best man drinking Rakjia

Mario hoisted up by friends, singing and dancing

Croatian decorated Rakjia bottle, passed around

Me with the happy couple after the ceremony

A kiss outside of the church

I'll make sure to post all of the pictures on facebook when I get the opportunity!

Trials, Tribulations and Celebrations

Well, a lot has been going on since I've last written. Let's do the frustrating part first then go into the fun stuff.

So this apartment fiasco has been just that, a fiasco. Basically, I didnt like the apartment that my internship set up for me for numerous reasons (not close to work, expensive, no real bed, etc) and I wanted to get out of the contract that they had signed for me. Well, that didn't go as planned. I had a few bad interactions with different people at Gariwo and then Wednesday was my first day of work where I met Sveltana Broz (the director and Tito's granddaughter). I thought it was going to go well and I could explain myself and the situation but unfortunately it was another bad interaction. I don't really want to go into specifics but basically Gariwo is washing its hands of the apartment situation and since they fronted the money for me, I need to pay them. After talking to Adnan and his family we all decided that really my hands are tied and to just take it. I just want this to be over. It's too much to deal with, especially within the first week of my move here. I want to pay Gariwo so I don't owe them anything and I can move on, at least from them with this ordeal. The sad thing is that I found another apartment that is so much cheaper and 5 minutes from work. It was adorable and I moved in only to have the landlord tell Adnan that I had to move out. He gave a whole bunch of weird excuses that neither Adnan nor his mom could explain but we found out the next day (after I moved out) that he rented it for more money to someone else. Of course...my luck. Anyway, I've moved into the apartment that Gariwo set up for me and really it's not that bad. I mean, there are a few things that I need to figure out (such as how to keep the water hot for more than the first minute of my shower) and I plan on going to the American consulate to get some help looking over the contract and tracking down the landlady (who is in Serbia), so you know, things are getting more settled. Still don't have internet there yet, but one thing at a time...But it's funny because Adnan's family calls me their American gypsy because I move around a lot, it's cute. And I am still going over there almost every day to see them and hang out, so I definitely foresee that keeping up.

Speaking of which, many of you have said that thank god I have them and it's so true. First of all they help me everyday and secondly I feel a part of the family. Yesterday and today is Bajram, the celebration at the end of Ramadan (so I don't have work), and I went to lunch with them and it was so nice because, just the way they interacted reminded me so much of my family. I am excited to have them and I already refer to Amina, Adnan's sister as my sister, so it's just a nice intereaction. I am so lucky to have them!

Bajram is an interesting holiday. I thought that there would be a huge celebration throughout the city since Sarajevo is mostly Muslim and since most places are closed but actually the city was dead yesterday. I went for a long walk around the city to check it out but it was deserted. Amina explained that most people go to see their family, grandparents etc., outside of the city so that makes sense. Although there are little traveling bands that parade the streets, so that's a nice touch. After this I will walk through the city and check out the festivities and see if there's anything going on then go to Adnan's house for a special dinner and meet his uncle from Mostar.

My first day of work went well, except that little bump in the beginning of the day with my boss. I don't really know what is expected of me yet, but the work I did on Wednesday was good, I guess. First I read Sveltana's book, or part of it, which are different testimonies of people in the war who were helped by people of another nationality/religion. It was interesting, although I think it got pretty repetitive but that may be the point, that this is not uncommon and good may outweigh the bad even in the worst of times. The other tasks I was asked to do were find an article about youth and empowerment and then write my own article urging young people to vote in the upcoming election. I haven't gotten any feedback yet so we'll see on Monday what people think.

Ok, now the fun stuff! The wedding in Fojnica was just wonderful. It's funny because when I got to Sarajevo I was excited and nervous but when the bus was pulling into Fojnica I got giddy! When I got there I called my friend Mladen, whom I worked with the past two times I was there, and he picked me up and took me to Mario, the groom's, house. Everyone, besides the bride's family, were there, getting ready, drinking and celebrating. It was really nice to see people and even though I knew only a few people, they were so welcoming and sweet. The best man, Daniel, I knew from other times that I was in Fojnica and he was so surprised to see me! Of course, the rakjia bottle was being passed around and first I gave Mario a hug and then I was given the rakjia to drink. That seemed to be the theme of the night! So a quick run-down of events:
1. We went from Mario's house to our cars, which all had ribbons on them, and some decorated with Croatian flags, because they are Catholic and thus Croatian, and paraded through the town. It was so much fun! People were hanging out of the windows, honking their horns and everyone came out to see and wave at us!
2. Then we went up to the monestary for the wedding. But actually, it was the wedding and Colleen's baptism! I didn't understand much but Mladen translated some of it for me, although I was still late on the "amens" so I eventually gave up, ha. Colleen looked beautiful! Her sister, Nicole, was her maid of honor and everyone was just perfect.
3. From there we went back to our cars to parade around again (after a wait while Mario and Colleen went to sign their officially wedding papers). This time kids waited by the sides of the road while people through candy to them from the cars. We drove way out into the country to Mario's grandparents house and got out of the cars and sang and drank more. The boys were hilarious! It was such a good time and Mario's family did such a good job including Colleen's family in everything. Everyone was having such a good time.
4. Then we went to the Reumal, the spa in Fojnica, for the reception where we ate and danced the night away. Literally. Nicole and I left at 4am. Ha. But seriously, it was so much fun!

The next day, we went over to Mario's family's house and after Colleen's family left, I hung around to walk around Fojnica a bit. It has actually changed so much! They put in this waterpark which has brought in a lot of money. There were new buildings and many in the place where old, run-down buildings used to be. I mean, I could definitely recognize the place, but a lot had changed. I think that it's good for Fojnica, especially because it is so divided, to have more money and people coming into it but selfishly, I was a little sad that it wasn't the same. But again, it is good for Fojnica...

Ok, I'm going to try to post some pictures from the wedding. I'm at an internet cafe now so I'm not sure how well it will work but if it doesn't load then I'll do it when I have better internet.
I'm sorry if lately I have been sounding sad or frustrated but I think I have just been overwhelmed by this whole situation and it's been a tough first week, but I am so happy to be here and although I may have gotten emotional about this whole situation, I am so excited to start this year and adventure. But, I do miss you all a lot.

Getting Ripped off in the BiH

I went shopping with Adnan today, or more like "researching" as Adnan likes to say. I could not believe the prices! Things were so expensive. Granted we were shopping for Adnan and they were mostly American brands but still, some were more expensive than the US! Its just ridiculous. I was baffled that almost have the country is unemployed yet they have insane prices. Of course this is just a select group of stores and hopefully Ill get to check out more while Im here but thank god I brought my extra suitcase because the 50 dollars it cost to check it costs a whole lot less than trying to buy those clothes here, whoo ee! Adnan had no explanation either. He said that everyone is astounded by these prices in their economy, yet somehow these stores survive. One thing he said was that everyone buys on credit but still...

I also got ripped off in my apartment that was set up by my internship. There are some details that Ill go into later but basically it is waaaay too expensive for a very cheap place that just is in bad condition. Luckily, I am still at the Pidros and Adnan and I are going to go back to my work and tell them that I dont want it. Heres hoping that it will work! So Im still in limbo...but Ill be looking for places.

Anyway, day 2 has been beautiful. Its quite cool here. Actually Ive been told that it was really hot the other day but since Ive been here its chilly. I love the city and am excited to learn more about it. Im anxious to learn Bosnian so I can communicate for myself. One step at a time...

Last night Adnan drove me up to the top of a mountain looking down on Sarajevo. It was gorgeous. The mountains themselves are beautiful but looking down on all of the houses with red roofs and the buildings...makes me so happy to be here. Next time Ill take my camera...

Jetlag Tried But Failed

Well, hello, from over here! I am back in Sarajevo, arrived yesterday. Im already having problems trying to type on the Bosnian keyboards (if anyone remembers my first year there were a lot of y and zs that got mixed up, and lack of punctuation which I am still trying to fix). I went to sleep last night around 9, tried to stay up as late as I could only to wake up at 2am. This is after I said, oh no I dont get jetlagged on the way there, only going back to the states. Unfortunately I was up until 6.30 but luckily I went back to sleep for three hours. As I said in my first post, I didnt really wrap my head around coming back and so when the plane landed yesterday I was so excited. (Travels went fine. Had to rush to my last flight but caught it and bags arrived and everything!) Adnan was there to pick me up (also got hugs all around from Colleen and Mario who were there to pick up Colleens family!) which was a lifesaver because I had two huge bags and definitely needed the help. As Adnan and his friend drove me back I craned my head to check out the city as the car zipped by. I had this overwhelming feeling of recognizing my darling Sarajevo yet also not knowing where I was.

That feeling stayed with me for the entire day. I am so happy to be back but almost in disbelief, and then on top of it to remind myself that I am not here for a visit but rather to live is almost incomprehensible. But some of my nerves were calmed after Adnan and I walked around the city, areas that I knew better and eventually led into a wonderful conversation with him and his friend about religion and culture in Bosnia and it eased my mind. Also, this friend mistook me for a Bosnian and said that I looked like I was from there so that definitely made my day! Im a little overwhelmed by the daunting task of learning Bosnian but it will work out, Ill get a teacher and just practice...ha, I know these are all first day worries but they come tumbling in!

As of now I am staying with Adnans family. I love the Pidros and really feel part of the family. They have been wonderful and insistent that I stay with them while Im in Bosnia but Im going today to stop by my internship (which officially starts the 8th) to pick up the keys to my apartment and check it out. I have, however, assured the Pidros that even if I dont end up living with them I will be over a lot because its so nice to have a family here.

Ok, I should get ready to go, finally get to wash this plane dirt off!