So I'm a bad news first type of girl, but I think the good news needs to come first in order to make sense of this. So the other week my supervisor-ish person came up to me at the end of the day and said, "Elizabeth, do you plan on staying in your apartment?" to which I replied wwwwwwhat? Ha no, but I explained that I was under the impression that I was locked into my apartment for the entire 11 months (as it says in my contract that they signed for me -- not bitter, I swear). But he was on the phone with my landlady as we were talking and he informed me that she said that I could leave after my 6 months were up (at the end of February) so I of course started the mad hunt for a new apartment. And I found one! It's great. It's so nice, everything is new and modern and it's only 10 minutes from work. Granted, it's not any closer to the center of the city (my walk will be about the same) but it's no longer up the hill and the easy access to work makes it so much better. Also, wait for it.... it has wireless internet! So I don't have to deal with anything anymore. The rent is about 50km more than what I'm paying plus it has internet, cable and such but really what I'm getting is so worth the money. Also my landlord and his wife both speak English and are really friendly so it's a major bonus! I can't wait to move in at the end of this month -- thank goodness February is a short month! But now comes the bureaucracy. So the most rewarding part of finding this new apartment is getting to cancel my contract with BH Telecom, where I have been trying to get internet for the past I don't know how many months. So I go there to cancel and get my deposit back and the woman says that this account is already canceled. That is ridiculous but I wasn't going to make a scene since that's why I came there anyway, so I said fine, I'd just like my money back. Well, it doesn't work that way. I have to write a letter asking for my money back and then I have to wait ten days. I tried to resist and explain that frankly this company hasn't been very trustworthy from the beginning and I don't believe I will get my money but alas, there's really only so much you can say (especially when you don't want to piss off your only English-speaking contact) so I wrote the letter there and said that I will be back in ten days to pick up my money. We will see. It's Eastern European bureaucracy at its finest and really no wonder there's so much corruption -- things actually get done when you slip someone a 20.
My job has continued to go well and I've been working on various projects and concept notes for grant applications which has been very interesting. Also, I have started my language class again. I've only had two but it's been really good to get back into it and also there are four of us who returned from the last class so it's a nice social element too. I was considering taking private lessons as well to make an intensive language month, but I'm not sure if I can swing the cost. It's pretty expensive.
The weather has been all over the place and last week was bitterly cold and then the weekend was gorgeous. I took a long walk through Sarajevo on Sunday and visited some of the cemeteries. For those of you who don't know, I have a thing for cemeteries and has creepy as that sounds I find that they can be really beautiful and also unique in the sense that everyone goes there to remember. Sarajevo is particularly sad because of the amount of cemeteries throughout the city, it is a normal part of the landscape, but the sun was shining and there was a beauty there too. Many mixed feelings of course but I wanted to share some of the pictures I took. The Muslim (white stones) graves and the Christian (I assume Catholic but not sure if Orthodox is also there) are separated, although in some cases very close to one another. The tower is the Olympic stadium and my current apartment is on the other side (well up the hill on the other side). The roofed statue, I believe, is over the first president of Bosnia's grave and usually there is a soldier guarding it but I guess they get Sunday off.
Not much else to report. I am getting very anxious for my move and the more time I am in my current apartment the more I know I won't miss it. Adnan's mom said something interesting to me when I went to visit last week, she asked if I thought last year that I would be without internet, skype, and other amenities. And I thought about it and I realized that it's not that I don't have it, I think I would be fine if those luxuries weren't available, my current apartment isn't that bad, but when they are available when other people, even most have it and I've been, let's put it frankly, ripped off, that's when I want it. A part of me is frustrated for being taken advantage of and for some situations but at the same time I know that it has to do with Bosnia and I am getting a true experience by having to deal with the bullshit. My new apartment may be nicer than what I really need but I'm looking forward to it and to thinking of it as my home for a while. Plus then I can finally skype! Start emailing me for skype dates....
