BiH Bound

An Ending and a Beginning

2010-09-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been about five months since I walked the streets of Mostar. Currently, I'm sitting on a Mac in the campus lounge at NYU Abu Dhabi, listening to classmates sing Jesse McCartney on Rock Band and trying to process the sheer awesomeness of the past week. As could be inferred from the previous post, I had the best intentions of posting pics of graduation, the start of summer, my family's visit, and our last day in Mostar. However, time got away from me again, and by now I think anyone who's interested has pretty much seen those pics and heard those stories. And so, here it is...closure. As much life as I experienced and as much as I learned in BiH, it was time to move on, and I'll say again that I would never have dared to dream of such an unfathomably wonderful place to move on to. My blog for this part of life's journey is located at http://parallellifeabudhabi.blogspot.com. I can't promise that my infrequent posting habits will improve in the future, but if ever there was a place for optimism, it's NYUAD. Thanks for reading.

Welcome to Exam World

2010-05-07T03:39:00.000-07:00

My apologies in advance for neglecting to post during the next few days. The impending exams have made my brain turn my lovely, logical world into this.

Thank you, sanity, for deserting me when I need you the most.

May the Fourth Be With Us

2010-05-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

As any IB student in the world will tell you, today is the first day of May 2010 examinations. Ahm...*coincidentally* it also coincides with International Hug An IB Student Day. We know it'll be over soon, and we know it'll ultimately it's not THAT big a deal. Just bear with us as we grapple with the IB monster one more time. Give us a hug, some positive energy, and a cup of coffee, just for goodness sake don't be the hundred and first person to ask us how the exam went.

Prozor-Rama Jezero

2010-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went with Hilary and Isabelle to a monastery about 80 kilometers from here. A day out of town...$0. A few hours in a springtime paradise...priceless.

A Whole New Written World

2010-04-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

Although it's been temporarily put on hold due to exams, I've officially begun studying Arabic. I don't want to repeat the experience of living in a country without a functional knowledge of its local language, and I know my procrastinating self well enough to force myself not to waste time! In fact, my only purchase during the Candidate Weekend in Abu Dhabi was an instruction book; Doug from Yuma and I spent a few minutes looking at them in the bookshop at Marina Mall and then, very optimistically, bought them in an "I will if you do" kind of agreement. I figured I should make a start now while I'm near some native speakers who can correct me, and it's fun but challenging. I can already glimpse the beauty and subtlety possible in the Arabic language, and its a bit sad to know that I will never be able to grasp the language in all its complexity.

But the boundaries of my knowledge are still light-years away. At this point, the letters still look like smiley faces and my handwriting like a kindergartner's. Several weeks ago, I Stumbled Upon a site giving instructions for writing one's name in Elvish, and in a burst of dorkiness decided to write my sister a whole letter in LOTR language. At least writing the characters is good practice for Arabic, right?

Hilary and I made rice for dinner and somehow started trying to manipulate our chopsticks with our left hands. Call me crazy, but throughout this year I've resorted to taking notes with my left hand in lessons I find boring so that I have to concentrate more...and focus on the long-term goal of becoming ambidextrous. It's said that left-handed people pick up skills such as artistic techniques more easily than their right-handed counterparts due to the fact that the left side of the body is controlled by the right brain, which controls more creative creative functions than the logical left hemisphere. I think there's something to that, because a greater than expected proportion of people in most art classes I've seen as well as in UWC are left-handed. Two tests I've taken have told me that I'm naturally a left-handed person who was just instructed to use the right hand and adapted. That may be true, but I can feel the creativity I had as a child seeping away. The processes of seed germination do not inspire any poetry in me, and lately even my dreams have moved away from mythical towns to very logical, banal sequences of conversations and exams. And by this, I am completely convinced that it's time for IB and even UWC to be over...it can take my sleep, my health, even my sanity, but my subconscious?! That's over the line.

IB Alternatives

2010-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Like many IB students, thoughts of impending exams have made me consider what I might do with my life in the eventuality that...well, that my brain goes flying out the window of the exam room and my diploma with it. Cooking school has been one alternative since after two years in student residences I can make a wicked cake with nearly any ingredients and any cooking contraption known to man. I may have to knock "psychiatrist on the first mission to Mars" off the list, but I'm keeping the childhood fantasies of bookseller and zookeeper just in case. And, today, I had some affirmation that there's one eventual career I seem made for...teaching. Barbara agreed to let me take over first year English for the day so I could give them my perspective and review myself for the exams I'll sit next week. According to my firsties, it was a great success, and according to our two professional professors, I'm destined to end up teaching at some point although I should do it periodically throughout my life so as not to lose the initial enthusiasm. To be honest, I've suspected that for a while and am just trying to avoid academia as long as possible.
It's true, I enjoy being in authoritative positions immensely...maybe too much judging by the memories of playing "school" with Becca as a child but always being the teacher and always giving her real lessons and homework! It could be a good career for me...I get to tell people what to do, be recognized as intelligent, possibly travel if I'd stay with the global IB network and possibility of sabbaticals in the equation...all in all good for my ego and my imagination, if not for my wallet. Oh, yeah, and hopefully practice my patience, be innovative, and contribute something to society. In any case, it's back to the real of lowly unqualified student for now...no more power trips until I pass my math exam!!!

Surreal

2010-04-25T13:30:00.001-07:00

Today was like a Salvador Dali painting...breaks in the routine, strange conversations, dead silence where there's usually chaos, the hint of a storm, and a headache. Last night, Ingrid and I were walking back from a concert at Pink and in a fit of spontaneity walked down 2 streets we'd never explored and sampled 2 new bakeries. My first year has a very elaborate plan for a utopian society, and we spent the better part of an hour tossing it around and thinking about possible pitfalls and eventualities. It was fun, and it makes me wonder what people with much greater intelligence than ours toss about amongst themselves. Since that concert I think everyone's been a bit off somehow. But sometimes you just have to have those days.

Life is "Beautiful"

2010-04-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

May 2009

April 2010

Okay, okay...so some things never change, namely the wackiness of UWC students. And yet, despite the fact that I told Andy something to the contrary, I got a little nostalgic today planning our thank-you desert social for the faculty, studying Biology over drinks at the same cafe where I spent exam time with my second year Georg last April, and watching Shaked celebrate her birthday and be amazed by all that has happened in the past year...Sometimes it seems like enough for a lifetime. For myself, these two years have brought a countless number of experiences for which I am more deeply grateful than my over-worked mind can express in words. I didn't do very many things I regret, but there are too many people I wish I'd spent more time having serious relationships with and some assignments I wish I'd ignored. This evening, Yuly and Niv staged a cozy surprise party in the basement complete with food and a movie projector. Since we've long since worked through all of the comedies we own, we settled on watching La Vita E Bella. I never though I'd see a "comedy" about a concentration camp, but then again, life is often bittersweet. In any case, on days like this it's easy to believe...life is beautiful.

Sustainable Sustainability

2010-04-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

There are lots of names in the news, but this week one has a personal connection to UWCiM. Thuli Makama, the sister of my coyear Mfundi from Swaziland, was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco this week. It's the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in the environmental world, and after several years of work even under personal and political threat she deserves recognition! For several years now, game parks in Swaziland have been responsible for enforcing laws against poaching and have been accused of doing so by brutally executing suspected poachers who may be innocent or be local people hunting only for survival. In an age of growing environmentalism, it's essential to look for comprehensive measures rather than simple or biased solutions. Although her work is not directly environmental, she has encouraged African policymakers to consider the needs and safety of local people when making enforcing environmental laws, and that will hopefully go a long way toward making sustainability efforts more...well, sustainable! Check out BBC's coverage of the award and watch a short video about Thuli's work to learn more.

Sex in THAT City?

2010-04-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you've been to the movies recently, you may have seen the trailer for the Sex and the City sequel to be released next month and noticed that Carrie and the gang are making the Middle East their getaway! An interesting choice considering the reputation the region has for dealing with the raunchy, but then again, it's only Hollywood. Although the fashionistas are supposedly vacationing in Abu Dhabi, from everything I've read the set was located in Morocco. And although I doubt I'll convince any die-hard fans, after seeing the trailer I can tell you NO, Abu Dhabi doesn't look like that...it's way more real and waaay better.

UWCiM Take 5

2010-04-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

Last week, our headmaster formally announced that we will have a fifth, albeit even smaller, generation of UWCiM students. This comes after another long and somewhat hidden debate over what the purpose of the school is, how it should be run, and who does/should benefit from it. As anyone who knows a UWCer can tell you, the program is by its nature demanding in every possible sense of the word, and that makes it difficult to build and maintain connections outside of the UWC "bubble." In more practical terms, although we're located in the middle of a town, it's difficult to learn the language, learn local customs, make an unbiased judgment about that wet-hair superstition, etc. While I'm of course thrilled that my firsties won't be walking the halls alone next year, I also see the perpetual struggles for existence that we seem to face as a challenge to think about what we could be doing better. With a new headteacher (congratulations physics professor Valentina Mindolevic!) and many new teachers as well as students, there will be changes. Here's hoping that they are positive and lead to an even more effective, more purposeful, wiser UWCiM than ever before!

New York University Abu Dhabi

2010-04-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's been in the news and in the making for nearly 5 years...is it a depository for oil money, a government pawn, a trophy for NYU's Manhattan campus, a Middle Eastern travel sponsor targeting unsuspecting students? I was prepared to believe any of the above, so it was a surprise akin to (if you'll allow me to be a bit irreverent) something between religious conversion and falling in love when I went to the March Candidate Weekend and was completely converted to a cause I see as anything but pointless and pretentious.

In astonishing ways, things fell into place. I expected to feel bribed during the elaborate and all-expenses paid selection weekend, but bizarre as it sounds, it was more like a courtship through a series of conversations. But first the basics: NYUAD is created to be a relatively small research university offering the same top-tier liberal arts and sciences degree as their Manhattan campus. More than that, it's toting itself "the world's Honors College," pulling the best students and faculty from many dozens of countries and nearly every continent. And even more than that, it has a vision of examining what the world will look like in the next couple of centuries in the context of various theories of cosmopolitanism, globalization, and cultural identity in hopes that students will be non-traditional leaders carrying civilization into the most ideal and sustainable future possible. And that's just innately exciting. This inaugural class consists of just over 100 students and about 40 faculty on a temporary downtown campus (permanent facilities are scheduled to open on Saadiyat Island in 2014, so you can imagine what a close-knit community it will be. It was glimpses of this network which blew me away, and what impresses me most is the extent to which personal sacrifices have already been made for this project. I didn't expect President John Sexton's legendary charisma and enthusiasm, nor the potential professors' candor in describing why they've decided to leave jobs at the world's top universities for this crazy endeavor, nor that chatting with Dean of Students Jim Larimore and other staff about living in Abu Dhabi would be so cathartic. From what I have seen, they certainly have the means to turn their idealism into reality.

It's also interesting to note that such enthusiasm hasn't always been present. There has been a fascinating evolution of opinion about the project as evidenced articles from several years ago full of cynicism and doubt to applause from organizations like the Human Rights Watch and an academic world which is supposedly calling involvement in this first generation a "less than a once in a lifetime experience." It's true, there is an undeniable aura of possibility pervading Abu Dhabi. For one thing, unlike in Dubai, the government prides itself upon it's long-term plans for economic and environmental sustainability, and with projects like the Cleveland Clinic's new facilities and the zero carbon emissions city of Masdar in the making, the future looks promising. It's an exciting time to be in such a truly cosmopolitan city where something unique is always happening (camel races, concerts on the Corniche, or sandboarding, anyone?), and the people are so diverse that on the beach I saw abayas, bikinis, and everything in between.

I am by nature I person who overanalyzes every aspect of every experience, struggles with decisions, and always second guesses even the ones I'm satisfied with. And yet, here I have no doubts. I have rarely been as sure of anything as I am that becoming part of NYUAD is worthwhile. It was not even on my radar until recently, and the option sort of fell into my arms since I only applied after being nominated here at UWCiM. But it fits on so many levels that I can't deny the connection...not to mention that it gives me a chance to make use of the fact that UWC is such a similar community by drawing upon my experiences here. And then there are the full scholarship, study abroad, research, and other intrinsic benefits of being at a university like NYU! It is a sacrifice in some ways, since I won't be serving with City Year in Cleveland as planned and will be away from my family for much of these four years, but I can't think of a better place to add another dimension to my identity. There are many more aspects of the city, the university, and the decision that promise to keep me on an intellectual and emotional high for quite a while...ask me and you'll have real difficulty getting me to shut up! I figured I'd start with this post in order to fill in those of you back in the States who haven't had more than pieces of the story until now and to hopefully start some conversations about what promises to be historic and, for the vast majority of people involved, life-changing.

By the time I got the offer of admission (and finished leaping around in circles and screaming in the park with Shaked), I was already at peace with the decision. About the only thing that would have changed my mind would have been getting struck by lightening on the way to the post office. I wasn't, so as of today the card is signed, sealed, and sent off. The commitment is made. I'm moving to the Middle East and couldn't be more thrilled...but I'm gonna need a new name for the blog.

A Scrabble FAIL

2010-04-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Mattel has officially announced that proper nouns will be allowed in its new version of Scrabble. As a lover of change, I would say that the game's 60-year sameness streak calls for a little variety, but I would be thinking more of a 21st century color scheme or maybe some fun foam letter tiles. You can call it intellectual arrogance, but I pride myself on the ability to distinguish a common nouns from proper ones and to let Scrabble showcase an understanding of the breadth and nuances of the English language. Letting "Beyonce" and "Shakira" onto the board may boost Mattel's profits and bring a wider range of players onto the Scrabble scene, but I can see it having one of the following personal consequences. 1) It's an embarrassing showcase of my occasional apathy towards pop culture. or 2) It fosters a generational gap in which a competition between my mother and I becomes a contest determined by whether the names of the Monkees or the Backstreet Boys will wrack up more points. Either way, I think I'm gonna have to go with the traditionalists in condemning this one.

Pop Culture Paranoia

2010-04-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Tuš, Mostar's largest supermarket, and as I did my shopping I realized with some consternation that I have every last song they played over the intercom on my iPod. Now I'm not sure whether this indicates that Tuš has an impressively appealing repertoire, or that my tastes have been relegated to the elevator and grocery store variety. I'm hoping for the former, because although the eclectic environment of a UWC provides a great excuse for being slightly out of tune with pop culture, I don't think I'm THAT far out of touch!

Međugorje

2010-04-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the nice weather and Easter holiday, Tobi, Evers, and I decided to take go to Međugorje for the day. The town might have a claim as the most famous in BiH...it certainly is among Catholics, who claim it as a holy site where the Holy Mother has repeatedly appeared. There isn't a great deal to be sign aside from this, the tourists, and the vineyards, but the Herzegovinan countryside is a lovely place to soak in the Spring. In English class, we've been studying Flannery O'Conner's portrayal of the grotesque in her short stories, and although I wouldn't describe this day quite so strongly, it was full of the unexpected.

Evers and I first struck out to catch the bus at the Cathedral, but it turns out we were waiting at the monastery, so after I bought a couple of postcards, the shop-owner in the background of this picture gave us a ride. Tobi had caught the earlier bus, which it turns out made him about 12 hours early for Mass.

Leaving Mostar behind....

...the last signs of winter and the first signs of spring

In Medugorje, we had lunch with our friend Luka's family and to make sure we keep our intellectual skills up during the break we played a little MarioKart. It was Evers' first time playing a video game but I think she still hit me with more mushrooms than I threw. After a walk up to the family vineyard...

...we decided to pay our professor, who lives in a room rented from our librarian's mother, an unannounced visit. He was just arriving home, but in true Bosnian fashion we were still introduced to his neighbors and offered the customary homemade orah rakija, made from walnuts. (As a side note, it was only about 3pm but according to the local timetable, anywhere closer to dinner time than to sunrise seems a perfectly acceptable hour for a drink. When Tobi and I had both had a shot of the whiskey and a bit of white wine, we declined refills and were met with, "Hah. I win, then." And thus, we lost a drinking contest we didn't know we'd entered. How's that for grotesque?) Professor Boulting's neighbors are friendly couple with a sweet dog and a lovely garden! She moved from London two years ago, and he makes rosaries and jewellrey out of stone from the apparition hill. I'm still a bit in awe of these little international connections that keep popping up, but it gives the wide world a much more comfortable feeling. As further evidence, more than one person has already promised to try to put me in touch with former students and friends in Abu Dhabi! After the Mass, he met us at the bus stop to send us on our way. Maybe we're extrapolating too much, but Tobi pointed out that that sort of beyond-the-call of duty hospitality seems to be more characteristic of his generation (the ones that were coming down from Oxford and Cambridge in the early '60s). One of my favorite things about this region is that even towards the foreigners who can't pronounce "hvala" to save their lives, it's still very much a way of life. And that's no April Fool's joke.

Enamored Economics

2010-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and I suppose love is in the air, although not in the typical sense. Milana's and my brains have been a bit under-stimulated as we discuss exchange rates and the current account in our Econ class, so she has turned to creating the following economics-inspired pick up lines:

* You are my asset. (I can't help but ponder the subtle difference between this statement and "You are an asset to me," which she realized is what she meant to say.)

* In my eyes, you're always appreciating.

* My demand for you will never fall.

And last but not least, thanks to the paperwork accompanying final submission of our IB assessments:

*I'd love you even if you were a tax form.

...what has our education come to?

Globalvision

2010-03-27T06:21:00.003-07:00

During the annual Model United Nations conference hosted here at UWCiM, we have a tradition of imitating Eurovision with our own set of performances dubbed "Globalvision." For the Americans in the audience who are unfamiliar with Eurovision, think European Union (plus Israel and Azerbaijan) meets American Idol...each country selects an artist and song to represent it, and then there is a televised competition in the spring in which viewers text to vote for the winner. Our version tends toward the irreverent and comedic, although there have also been some stunning vocal talents. A while back I posted about our Sound of Music girls' night in...well, we decided to mutate our love for the musical into a Globalvision entry, the result of which was a medley of all the favorites interspersed with some yodeling, Jeremih, and Black Eyed Peas...good times.

"Zabranjeni" for a Reason

2010-03-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was the eve of our final Internal Assessment deadlines, and I spent it in Sarajevo on the set of a Bosnian talk show called Zabranjeni (Forbidden) Forum. I can't say it's similar to Oprah or Jerry Springer or any of the others I'm familiar with. The premise is noble enough: to provide experts and the public a forum through which to discuss pressing but taboo subjects in modern society, but I'd have to say it falls short of its aim. Our question was: Are women the only victims of domestic violence, or to men perpetuate it against women as well? An interesting question, but the memories I'm left with are mostly of an egotistic talk show host, an aching back on the bleachers, Simone in the row ahead leaning against my knees and making it that much harder to sit up straight, the guest who insisted all women have a genetic and identical desire to get married as soon as possible and torture their husbands, and a caller who lamented that his life has been hell since his wife hit him in the forehead with a hammer eight years ago and who now claims he is afraid to take a shower or walk in the dark because she will turn out the lights so soap runs into his eyes or will come up behind him and try to kill him...seriously?!

Talking is always a good first step, but as any UWC student can tell you, it's just a pain in the brain unless someone with real knowledge and capability steps up and suggests a reasonable plan of action. When BiH society is ready to really address these taboo topics to raise awareness and find a solution, I'll rejoice. This time, I had to agree with our university counselor in saying that the only thoughts my mind when we left this forum were, "Oi vei, what a waste of an evening," and "I don't even care...just get me OUT!"

Abu Dhabi in Pictures

2010-03-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is one of the most impressive structures I've ever seen and hands down the most stunningly beautiful. These pictures don't do it's size justice. To give you a frame of reference, the prayer room underneath the two largest domes in the first picture will easily hold 10,000 people. The mosque was just recently completed with materials imported from around the world, and it contains the world's largest crystal chandelier and rug, seen above. For those who are wondering, no, it is not required to wear the abaya and head covering everywhere in the UAE, but it is done out of respect when visiting mosques.

A model of Saadiyat Island, located off the coast of Abu Dhabi, on which architectural tributes to the Louvre, and the Guggenheim will be located along with the campus of NYUAD and other cultural attractions.

Evidence of the incredible expansion in the UAE...hopefully at a more sustainable level in Abu Dhabi than in Dubai! On the right is a view of the world's tallest building from Dubai airport. It's even more impressive up close, but since I saw it in the wee hours of the morning the first time, this is as close as I could get with the camera! To the left is a view of construction seen from the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi...we were told construction continues 24-hours a day, but only at night in the hottest months of summer.

And here is the Emirates Palace "hotel" itself, surely one of the most expensive venues in the world. Again, these pictures hardly do it justice, but suffice it to say that the Ferrari's and Lamborghini in its valet parking and the number of dignitaries who have stayed here are probably a good indicator of its opulence. As for the interior, they say everything that looks like gold is. We had a multiple-course dinner in their outdoor gardens on our last night, complete with the sound of the ocean, dancers, and view of the gazebos and fountains which kept me just waiting for a princess Jasmine to appear. It was an unforgettable experience but a bit surreal for this Midwesterner!

Despite the plentiful opulence, Abu Dhabi seems to be a lively and comfortingly less than immaculate city. It's a hub connecting North, South, East, and West in many ways, and an ideal place to make connections...like the one my coyear from UWC in Hong Kong and I made here.

It's a SMALL World After All

2010-03-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a member of the UWC community the world has gotten progressively smaller and I'm getting used to finding random connections between people on opposite sides of the globe. It was pointed out to me by my English professor last year that Americans tend to introduce each other by looking for connections among themselves. (ie - "Where are you from? Tuskeegee? Oh, I have an aunt that lives there!") This weekend, however, is becoming almost unrealistically exceptional...besides the airport and airplane connections mentioned in the previous entry, check out these other inescapable bonds pulling my world together:

-My coyear at Li Po Chun UWC in Hong Kong is here...we haven't seen each other since our interview in Chicago. The NYU people already know us because of the other UWCers who have attended previous selection weekends here in Abu Dhabi.
-There are 2 other UWCers here, and the hosts already know us from others who visited previous candidate weekends.
-The guy I'm sitting next to as I type this is from Plano, Texas, PESH, in fact...which means that 1) we know some of the same people (Margo that's you!) and 2)if I hadn't moved, we would have gone to school together.
-One of the local students from Abu Dhabi met some of the people from UWC Adriatic when they did their project week there.
-Not only are architectural tributes to the Louvre and the Guggenheim being constructed on Saadiyat Island along with the school's new campus, the Cleveland Clinic is also coming to Abu Dhabi!
-In Istanbul, I had a random UWC encounter when I ran into my biology teacher at the airport!
I'm pretty sure there were others I've forgotten to mention but the point is clear...that annoying and never-ending Disney song is coming true!

UAE Part 1

2010-03-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I just have to start by saying...this is, hands down the SINGLE coolest thing I have EVER done in my life!
Life is a series of moments, and in the last two days, these have been some of my moments:

- Having coffee in Sarajevo airport with a German woman who works with the youth theatre in Mostar.
-Drinking Mango Pomegranate Ice Tea from Starbuck's in Istanbul airport while reading Two Lives and waiting for my flight
-On the Istanbul-Dubai flight, sitting next to a guy from Kumanova, Macedonia on his way to Iraq. My friend Iva is from here and her dad works for the same company...and although it's a small town, I've been there! Most of the American responses he gets in Iraq are similar to, "Yeah, man...Madagascar! I know where that is!" so I hope I brought the score up for Americans and their geography.
-Being given VIP airport service at 2:30 in the morning...and getting some stares from people who looked like they were wondering why a girl in jeans and a sweatshirt gets a personal escort.
-Staying up the rest of the night with a Russian, a Chinese, and another American, getting my first views of the desert, a palace, and the tallest building in the world by night!
-Going to bed at sunrise after being brought room service I didn't even ask for...I literally did the throwing myself on the bed and jumping in excitement thing...it's just so freakin' cool! (pics to come)
-Coldstone ice cream on the beach while listening to the Latin Americans talk about what they were doing during the earthquakes
-Visiting the Emirates Palace after our escort made a call to get us inside the gates....by the way, this hotel is one of the most expensive in the world, and definitely one of the most impressive buildings I've ever seen and the fanciest I've ever visited (they style themselves a 7 star hotel)...pictures to come soon! There is also a small museum about Sadiyaat Island, where NYUAD's new campus will be located along with updated replicas of the Louvre and the Guggenheim.
-Swimming at the hotel beach and the world's longest gang of UNO while listening to karaoke so bad the songs were nearly unrecognizable
-BBQ chicken, sushi, hummus, and chocolate mousse all in the same meal...and all delicious
-TOO MANY introductions...like intro week as a firstie at UWC again. :)
....and SO much anticipation of tomorrow.

Going for First at FIRST

2010-03-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

The last week has been a drag...there's no other way to say it. On Monday I was so confused I thought it was Tuesday, tried to go to lunch early, forgot to attend meetings I had been inviting people to all day, and ended up throwing in the towel and going to bed early. Somehow I made it, and now it's Project Week so everyone's in good spirits. The idea is that we travel around the region a bit with the aim of getting to know our "home" a little better and maybe doing some volunteer work to invest in it. The award for furthest travel goes to our Robotics Team, started by my first year Ingrid, who are now in Israel at a FIRST robotics competition.

I'm so incredibly proud of what she has accomplished...when I first heard the idea of making a working, competition robot I admit I was skeptical. Working with people of different nationalities we are familiar with, but add in the inexperience factor, local mentors and students with varied schedules and levels of English, devilish time restraints, and limited materials...well, let's just say, it would be hard to overestimate the significance of what they've accomplished!!! The team has made the news multiple times, and aside from building a wicked robot, they've nearly flawlessly accomplished the integration which is supposed to be our school's main aim.

Spirit of the United Neretva, have fun in the sun. And good luck today!!!

Born in the USA

2010-03-11T02:05:00.000-08:00

This week is the Northern/Western/Southern Europe and North American/Caribbean cultural week. Yeah. The feast kicked off with some awesome sloppy joes, brownies, mac & cheese, and pasta salad contributed by the Americans, Dutch pancakes, Danish rice, and other treats, but they were rivaled by some very interesting country presentations. It's a pretty diverse group of countries being represented here, but one thing we all have in common is our "westernized" heritage and an abundance of stereotypes. So, we capitalized on these for some funny "man-in-the-hallway" interviews, the American segment of which is seen here.
Our response was a montage of American icons (Starbucks, Ronald McDonald, Obama...you know the type) ending with a declaration that although every country has it's contradictions, we are proud to be a country that allows people to be whoever they want to be...like these lovely people.

Gauge the sarcasm as you wish.

Welcome to the Pruture

2010-03-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Upon reflection, I realize that the statement that UWCers don't consider our schools to be a part of the countries they're located in is not entirely true here. One of our main aims is show that integration into the community of Mostar is possible, not in the sense that we try to tell anyone how to live or think we can solve all their problems, but in the sense that we take a genuine interest in building relationships and making this place our home. I'm sorry to say I personally have failed on many levels in that respect, partly due to the the fact that the internal struggles of UWC life are so intense that we get comfortably stuck in our bubble and forget the importance of letting it pop. Now that the future of the school is a little more solid than a question mark, we're looking both back and ahead to define whether we really do have a purpose here, what that is, and what carrying it out will look like in our daily lives. It's a complicated issue, believe me, and is leading to discussions ranging from whether international students should be obligated to learn local to whether our CAS (extracurriculers) are really approached in a way that will have a positive impact, from whether we as students need more pastoral support to whether we have a responsibility to focus on studying now so we can "give back" in the future, or to try to contribute something to Mostar and UWCiM now and to go back to our home countries later...and do we even deserve the scholarships we've been given?

This week is dedicated especially to bringing up these issues with the intention of making a unified mission statement but more importantly of recognizing what we can improve on and putting those realizations into action! This involves looking at the past, present, and future... we dub it the pruture. For us 2nd years, this is a metaphorical passing of the torch onto the firsties. We spend most of last spring fighting for the school to continue, and although it was an exhausting struggle, it drew us together and helped us grow up. Since they don't have to fight that fight, the first years are generally full of energy, optimism, and a will to initiate projects and represent the school with growing commitment integrity. To start off the week, we made this video to illustrate the fact that we have several viewpoints even among ourselves...and definitely areas for thought and improvement.

(I'm afraid the Internet connection's not sufficient for both uploading videos and doing research for lab reports, so...check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tFX-g6gs_8

Shout out to my sista'

2010-03-06T00:28:00.000-08:00

Today was sunny (nice for a meeting on the stage in Spanish Square), productive (no more Geography Internal Assessment), filled with the sounds and aromas of a Balkan cultural feast, and topped off with entertainment provided by my sister. The Austrians had never seen the sound of music, and we figured they're obligated. So the obvious thing to do was...make a girls' night out of it! Thanks for giving up your DVD Rebecca...just be glad you didn't have to hear us sing along.

You Know You Went to a UWC When...

2010-03-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

This Facebook group gave us a good number of smiles this weekend, and reminded me how much of a bubble I do live in. Here's a sampling of the points that I've personally seen in action. I'll leave it to you to decide whether UWCers cross the line from college camaraderie to sect-like status...

1. You have seen Zeitgeist, Life and Debt, Who Killed The Electric Car, An Inconvenient Truth, or most likely all of them.
2. You have to bite your tongue to keep from introducing yourself like you did at UWC: "Hi, I'm [name] from [country]".
3. You can speak multiple languages yet your English gets "worser and worser each day".
4. Normal people DON'T get your jokes.
5. You hate to admit it but you miss mass e-mails.
6. Even if you were the slacker at UWC you study the most out of all of your other friends.
7. It surprises you how much younger the zero years get EVERY year.
8. You have to explain the difference between co-years and co-years, and first, second, and zero years to non-UWCers who always struggle to grasp the concept.
9. You know geography from travel itineraries, not a classroom.
10. You'd never get stranded in a foreign country, you'd just show up at your friend's house.
11. Dorm rooms seem huge now.
12. Anytime someone tells you where they're from you know more about it than they expect you to.
13. Foreign songs you used to hate because people played them all the time at UWC are now in regular rotation on your iTunes.
14. Your Newsfeed on Facebook is populated with articles from BBC, CNN, one random one from Al-Jazeera, and declarations of Skype appointments that will invariably not be met.
15. Shelby Davis paid for all or part of your education.
16. You see people who look exactly like your coyears/friends everywhere and go crazy for a moment before you realize there's no way that's them.
17. You procrastinate like someone is paying you to do it.
18. Anytime you meet another Udubber you automatically know some of the same people. Coincidentally you share an understanding of how crazy those people are.
19. You know that not everyone from Afghanistan is a terrorist but completely understand why someone might think that.
20. You know that Africans make some of the best DJ's.
21. You fast for Ramadan but you're not a Muslim.
22. There's a country that you hate now because of that one person from there.
23. You don't really know how to explain UWC to normal people.
24. You have mini-reunions every time you have a break from school.
25. You wear that dingy UWC Hoodie and/or T-Shirt with pride and anytime someone is going back to your UWC you send them with money to get you more UWC clothing.
26. You don't consider your UWC to be part of the country it's actually in.
27. You forget that the real world has time zones except when you need to call home. All of your UWC friends will definitely be awake when you call them.
28. You wonder why you can't get sick days in college.
29. You still expect there to be that massive plague of sickness at the beginning of every semester like there used to be in UWC.
30. You know that snoring sounds different in every language, as do cows.
31. You remember when one of your coyears/friends spoke absolutely no English at all but still tried to tell jokes...and you laughed.
32. "You respect your second years, you worship your Third Years."
33. You start making politically correct remarks not to be correct but to avoid even longer and more disagreeable meetings.
And last but not least...
34. You have an opinion about American people that somehow hasn't changed regardless of the fact that none of the Americans are anything alike.

PostSecret Therapy

2010-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Last fall, I applied to read English at Oxford on the off-chance it might lead to reading literature in the same hallowed halls as greats like Lewis and Tolkein. I made it as far as having an interview with Balliol College, which I consider in itself a great achievment! But I'm not gonna lie...some part of my pride was slightly hurt at being rejected. I mean, who wouldn't want the selfish pleasure of saying they turned Oxford down. The fact is, if I'd gotten an offer I would have wanted to accept it even though it's financially unfeasible and I'm pretty sure pedantic English literature expert is not the life path I want to pursue. Today I was browsing PostSecret. For those not familiar, PostSecret is a collection of people's secrets sent anonymously in the form of creative postcards and published in books, on their website, and even through a Facebook feed. I saw this postcard on their blog...it made everything better.

Yes Day

2010-02-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

After watching Jim Carrey in Yes Man a few weeks back, Hilary and I decided to introduced to introduce some more spontaneity into our lives by having our own unannounced "yes days" from time to time. For those unfamiliar with the film, this basically involves saying yes to any opportunity that arises...no exceptions! I woke up this morning in an unusually good mood and decided this would be my first one. As I was picking out clothes for church, Hilary came in and turned my yes day into this...

Senior Pictures

2010-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Since neither Hilary nor I got to participate in this tradition during high school in the US, we decided to take advantage of Mostar's beauty and have our own photo shoot! Some of the results are seen below... It was a day of dress-up overall, since it's also the Jewish holiday Purim. Observers are invited to "drink until they don't know themselves," also symbolized by the wearing of costumes. For our college, it was Halloween all over again.

Crossing the Map Again!

2010-02-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

As our English professor Jonathan Boulting said, Spring has betrayed us. But even the rain can't dampen my spirits because early this morning, I found out that my project week will involve traveling to Abu Dhabi in March!!! I applied to the new campus of New York University there nearly on a whim, but a limerick, several essays, and a research proposal later, I've been invited to attend an all-expense paid candidate weekend before the final selection. My head is still spinning, and just the adrenaline of this has been enough to get me through the day. Looks like I'll be adding country #21 and continent #4 to the list even earlier than expected...now I wonder whether I'll have to cover my tattoo?

The Sun

2010-02-25T13:15:00.001-08:00

...it came out again today, a nice way to wake up on the day of my final oral exam! It put everyone in a sort of ecstasy, and I just wanted to start chanting, "the sun, the sun..." like at the end of Ibsen's play. And just in case I was getting too platonic, some of us had a heated argument over the Israeli food Niv made us. Yikes...the result of combining people who don't like to be wrong can be spectacular...but much more interesting than doing my Geography Internal Assessment. :)

The Old Wives Survive

2010-02-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Mostar has had just one sunny day in my recent memory, and since my fifth umbrella was snatched the rain has become increasingly oppressive. Now, I really shouldn't complain since I live about 5 minutes from school, but when a middle-aged woman began yelling in local on my way home from an English exam earlier this week, I was reminded that exposing oneself to the elements has its consequences in this culture.

For one thing, I don't own the high boots and stylish long coat which are an essential part of any Mostar girl's wardrobe, so I've already got one strike against me. Secondly, walking without an umbrella is associated with deadly wet-hair syndrome which inspires so much fear here in BiH. For those not familiar with Bosnian culture, let me explain. It is taken to be absolute fact even by the most intellectual of people that going outside with wet hair can lead to paralysis of the face and even death. Apparently, being exposed to warm water opens up the pores on your head, allowing cold air and wind to wreak havoc on your body. Now I understand that heat is lost through the head and feet, which is why I wear warm socks and hats in the winter. But I don't understand what medical facts support my housemum screaming at me in terror when I go to the canteen without slippers, the canteen ladies making us promise never to come to breakfast with wet hair again, or the most hopelessly rationale of my friends stand up for the lady on the street. My apologies to Bosnian friends who take offense, but I'm not convinced your doctor was correct when he told you the static from underwire bras causes breast cancer, and I'm not too tempted to add massive amounts of meat, salt, and oil to my diet even though you insist it's the healthiest diet and I have seen some impressive longevity within the culture.

My Dutch rommate tells me that I myself am a bit remiss in thinking that being out in the rain is likely to lead to a cold. Apparently, it's common practice in the Netherlands to send children out in the rain to make them stronger and healthier! And I must say, she gets the award for most wet hair and fewest sick days out of anyone I know.

I wanted to end this post by saying that when it comes to these wives' tales turned fact we'll have to agree to disagree, but since Isa and I are both home sick today...you'll have to draw your own conclusions.

The Life of an Extended Essay

2010-02-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

Several months ago, Hilary and I realized that the dreaded IB research paper, while not actually the most daunting of tasks, is such a prolonged and talked up process that its hold on us can actually be equated to that of a human life. I submitted my final draft last week, prompting the following funny but incredibly creepy analogy:

Our EEs were conceived last April after numerous presentations outlining the nature of our impending parenthood. Their genders were soon determined with the selection of subjects, and names were tossed about during the spring and summer in the form of topics and titles. We dealt with all the expected stages of morning sickness, nesting, and pure curiosity and intellectual anticipation, and by November the things had been born as first drafts. The were brought up over the course of the fall and winter in a community of editors, peers, and other supervisors. They spent the holidays with our families, pused the limits of our sanity, and caused many ethical dilemmas and sleepless nights. At times, they were more of a nuisance than a source of fulfillment or pride. And yet. By January, the end was insight. Although never perfect, the things could finally stand on their own, and there were thoughts of empty nests on our minds. Finally, on a rainy Wednesday, MY Session May 2010 English A1 Extended Essay was married to an examiner in a ceremony officiated by my headmaster, Paul Regan. I expect there to be a family reunion sometime in July during which I'll see the results of my fastidious parenting, but for the most part, it's good riddance.

A Possibly Impossible Resolution

2010-02-22T04:03:00.000-08:00

We had one day of sunshine yesterday, and it reminded Hilary and I that spring, and summer, and well...the rest of our lives, are fast approaching. To make sure we stay in touch, we made a pact that we're gonna keep tabs on each other next year and force each other to blog regularly. And then we figured, why not start now? So, Fates, bring on the blog-able experiences. Anyone who's still reading, you can expect at least one sentence every day. It may not make sense, and it may not be much, but it'll be there!

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

2010-01-21T04:52:00.001-08:00

...you never know what you're gonna get. I had a cup of tea with my English teacher the other day and told her that after living in the Balkans for two years, I may never be surprised again in my life, by anything! What I should have told her is that I've firmly come to believe the saying "never say never," because I had to eat my words less than an hour later.

Isabelle and I got home early and were sitting in a quiet house doing homework in our rooms. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a Roma woman walked in asking us in local whether we wanted to buy some pajamas. Now, while this wouldn't have surprised me a bit on the street, we live on the top floor in the farthest corner of the house, so our room is about the least likely place for such an event to transpire! A little bewildered, we replied that no, thanks, we didn't need any pajamas, and the woman shrugged her shoulders and left Isa and I to stare at each other in stunned silence. We thought our encounter was over but a few minutes later, the woman was back speaking in German and then insisting, "Come here!" in local. We heard Hilary talking down the hall and then a couple of our Bosnian classmates explaining to the woman that this is a residence not a hostel and we don't all understand local language. Hilary had the biggest shock of anyone...she came home from school, walked into her room, and saw the Roma woman standing there tapping the shoulder of a friend who was taking a nap!

The woman soon left and no harm was done, but it is a bit of a mystery. All three of us had to open the front door with our keys when we came in, so how the woman entered in the first place is anyone's guess. It's an interesting story to tell...a reminder that the Balkans can seem like a land of anything goes, and good training in shock management for our first years.

Mostar Moves

2010-01-13T08:45:00.001-08:00

A decidedly not-so-positive impact of lots of RAIN! The river turned an uncharacteristic brown and caused damaging flooding on either side of Mostar...at one point it was just below the terrace you see on the right.

As I look for excuses to avoid my ever-present mound of schoolwork, I've spent more time than usual this week catching up on world news and reacquainting myself with Mostar. For a town which constantly bears the brunt of criticism for its bureaucratic fiascoes and slow reconstruction efforts, some things in Mostar sure change fast. In just over 3 weeks time, it managed to see the flooding of the Neretva, the stripping of the Old Bank by scrap-metal seekers, the introduction of a new cafe, restaurant, supermarket complete with Mexican and Italian food imports, shopping center, and possibly other signs of modernization and westernization that I'm unaware of. Now whether such commercial changes have a positive impact is another question. With political frustrations also building and economic and ethnic issues always present, I hope that the next few weeks see changes more in the vein of a new mayor or less corruption. I'm encouraged and confident that some progress is being made...our dance instructor Ashely Fargnoli succeeded for the first time in conducting a joint workshop with Bosniak and Croat girls from Mostar and Sarajevo...that's a bigger deal than you might think! Even some of the ever-present ruins down the street are slowly being cleared out or rebuilt. For better and sometimes for worse, Mostar is moving...I hope and pray it's at least mostly in the right direction.

Europe

2010-01-12T03:07:00.000-08:00

And here's a map just in case anyone wants to get a general picture of the route of this winter Eurotrip. :)

Prague

2010-01-11T12:34:00.001-08:00

Early Christian temple in the oldest part of Prague.

Cafe by the river where the famous artists and writers are known to hang out.

Examples of Prague architecture...there are so many styles EVERYWHERE!

Guards to the castle complex on top of a hill above Prague. This is where the infamous president works, and it's also where Obama made his recent visit. These guards have to stand completely still while they're on duty no matter what the tourists do around them...I couldn't bring myself to taunt them with a ridiculous pose (although it was really tempting), but I did snap a quick pic while someone else was there.

Tribute to author Franz Kafka, in his former neighborhood.

Call me easily amused, but one of my favorite sites in Prague was the clocktower in the main square. It features a 24 hour clock, an astrological clock, and is actually so elaborate that it's hard to get a reading from it! The best part is, it's mechanized so that every hour the figures carved into the sides of the tower start to move!!! The skeleton rings a bell and other figures shake their heads as the images of various saints move past the opened windows...the whole thing is a bit macabre, really, but enchanting! (And I promise, it's a bit more impressive in person!)

The picture's not great, but it's worth visiting the National Museum just for the beauty of the interior!

Admission is free on Mondays, so we took a while to wander around and make some new friends.

Interior views of St. Vitus Cathedral, which was under construction from 1344 to 1929...almost 600 years! It's located inside the castle compound, it's completed mostly in the Gothic style, and it's one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.

A sad indicator of commercial influence...those red panels feature the names of the insurance company that funded the window.

Cathedral from another angle

Front facade of the cathedral

City in the morning, from the hill by the castle!

To bring in 2010, I made a longer stop with my friend Karolina in Prague. Actually, several of us from Mostar met up to celebrate the New Year (also my birthday and Czech Independence Day) with toasting, fireworks, and of course lots of food...pretty unforgetable, but cold! Then, I stayed around for a few days and had a relaxing time seeing the city with Karolina and even escaping the cold at an indoor water park! By then, I was getting exhausted by the European city speed-tour routine, so it was great to chill with a family (and spend my first afternoon in a tearoom!) in a large and peaceful city.

Saxony

2010-01-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

A first view of Dresden's older quarter from afar

A mosaic remainder of socialist timesThe guard of the passage...an example of the ornate decorations on seemingly EVERY building in old town! ...He reminds me of the Muppets.

View from the Bridge...the domed building in the center is an art institute nicknamed, "The Lemon Squeezer"

One of my favorite sites in Dresden...a street with a mosaic depicting all the kings of Saxony, along with their sometimes humorous and curious nicknames (ie-"the one who was bitten")

Probably the most famous church in Dresden. It was destroyed during the war and rebuilt entirely with donations. The darker stones are the original ones which could be recovered.

View from the top of the church.

Old Town's "skyline" from across the river. This river is where the first steamboat's actually sailed...the one's from which the famous Mississippi steamboats of Mark Twain's day were designed.

Courtyard of the old palace, now a museum

The Milchmeyers, my lovely hosts!

A slightly newer block of buildings

It's official...I may be a bad traveler or traveling may just be risky, but either way I don't trust the German train system. Unlike their people, they have a reputation for being late, as my connection to Prague was. Still, I had a great time in Saxony, getting a glimpse of both more rural Hoyerswerda with my second-year Georg and of the more cosmopolitan Dresden with Laura and her family.

Of course, Dresden is famous both a city which was severely bombed during the Second World War but also as the sight of many demonstrations against a divided Germany in the 1980s, during which many protestors saught sanctuary in various churches. Laura's father went to university in Dresden, so it was interesting to hear how much has changed in the past few years! What I found most interesting there was the Church of the Holy Cross, which I unfortunately didn't get any decent pictures of since we visited in the dark. It was damaged during the war, and it's still very plain on the inside partly due to lack of funds and partly due to their belief that a church doesn't have to be ornately decorated to be effective...with which I agree. Instead, they've come up with some creative uses for the space, my favorite of which is a room where children from the congregation have made replicas of famous medeival religious paintings and their interpretations. (For example, a copy of a Madonna scene with the caption, "Joseph went shopping, so Mary and the baby Jesus are waiting for him on a gold chair.") The church also features a Cross of Nails, a tradition started after WWII when English churches took metal from the ruins of churches destroyed by German bombs, fashioned them into crosses, and sent them to German congregations as a sign of reconciliation and unity. Today, German and English churches have spread these crosses to countries around the world to foster the same sense of unity, and last year, one was even brought to the evangelical church in Mostar! I remember this occasion not only because there were Bosniak, Croat, Serb, and Roma ethnicities joined together for worship, but also because the Franciscian brotherhood and leaders of several other denominations in the city sent their representatives or blessings. It was so refreshing to see faith used as a force of unity rather than division, and to see the origins of these small but revolutionary actions in Dresden.

After a day of walking through the city and checking out some traditional German craft and sampling the ever-present Glühwein (mulled wine), I went headed to Hoyerswerda to visit my second-year Georg and his mother. Hoyerswerda is about twice the size of Centralia population-wise, but it has many similarities in its demographics and in that mining used to be a major industry. Despite the snow, we made it to a nearby convent where I saw a prayer service and had a nice view of Saxony's winter countryside. The next day at the supermarket in Hoyerswerda, Georg and I found a surprising reminder of our Balkans home. Apparently Mostar's not the only place increasing its culinary imports!

Berlin

2009-12-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station)...it's huge, and when you're not trying to meet someone or find your way out of it, it's beautiful. It's even fully equipped with a McDonald's, Burger King, Starbuck's, and 24-hour drugstore for those accustomed to convenient travelling. :)

View into one of the Parliament buildings...they have all been recently rebuilt in a modern style with plenty of glass so that proceedings are visible to the public. If you're willing to wait in a queue, there's free access to this dome, which gives a nice view of the city and the main council meeting room.

The Milchmeyer Christmas tree, traditionally adorned with real candles!

Gate which used to be the border between East Berlin and West Berlin in what used to be no-man's land

One of the few remaining sections fo the Berlin Wall - didn't get a picture of Checkpoint Charlie, but I did see it and other wall sections, including the one from which Laura's dad took two pieces!

This must be one of the longest streets in Berlin. It used to be near the wall so I think it was a sort of no-man's land as well. It's runs through what used to be the royal hunting grounds, which are now a public park. On Sylvester, or New Year's Eve, the street is packed with up to a million people celebrating. You can see the preparations already beginning above, as well as the gate from the previous picture in the distance.

For whatever reason, all the traffic lights in Berlin are in the form of this little man with a hat! There are even shops filled with memorabilia bearing his image, and one single female trafficwoman in Dresden.

The statue in front of a little Legoland store...this one's for Jonathan. There was also a Lego statue of Albert Einstein with his tongue out which reminded me of Dad.

The Berlin Wienachtmarkt (Christmas markets) were just closing down, but this one was still offering people a glimpse of true winter and an escape from the rain with this artificial sledding hill!

Bears such as this one were given to various artists a few years ago, decorated, and then auctioned off and placed around the city...they're everywhere!

This is definitely one of the nicest monuments I've seen. Built just 5 years ago, it honors Holocaust victims. At first sight, it just looks like a plaza full of identical rectangular blocks, but when you start walking between them you see how huge the area is, and also that each block is a different size, and that the ground slopes up and down to make them seem even more massive. (See the view below.) It's vast enough for children to lose their way, and grand enough to at least inspire a sense of awe in the rest of us.

View from one of the main squares

View along the river between the parliament buildings and train station. In the summer, there are cafes with artificial beaches along the way!

I had another interesting experience on the train. The older gentleman next to me spoke English, and after he struck up a conversation was absolutely bewildered to hear that I am American, but study in Bosnia, and went from Austria to Belgium alone by train for only a week, and was on my way to Berlin for a day...I have to be honest, in the midst of internationalism I sometimes forget just how strange it is. In return, I was slightly bewildered to hear that when I said I'm from St. Louis, he automatically associated it with Monsanto.

My next stop was a short stay with the family of a coyear, Laura Milchmeyer, in Berlin. It took us a while to find each other in the station, but once we did they got right to showing me their city with a view of the building where Angela Merkel works and a visit to the dome of the parliament building, which has a great 360 view of the city during the day. All this buildings are new in Berlin, and all are intentional constructed in a very modern style with lots of glass to make all the council proceedings visible to the public.

The next day, Laura and I spent hours walking around to try to fit in all the major sights. It was neat to finally see a city with so much recent history, and even cooler to hear her parents' firsthand accounts of it!

Brussels

2009-12-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Since Elodie goes to university in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and administrative center of the European Union, she has an apartment there were we spent one night. The pictures from there are not the best as we were only in the city for a short time, but despite the time limits and ice we managed to visit at least the facades of the tea house (first picture), the music museum (fourth picture from top), the royal palace (fifth picture from top), a statue whose leg is meant to be rubbed for good luck, the exact city center in the courtyard of the city hall (sixth and seventh pics), and Manequin Piss, along with it's chocolate counterpart. Brussels is another city with chocolateries in abundance, along with Belgian waffels slathered in whipped cream and fruit toppings!

The Christmas lights were quite impressive, as was the ever-present Chrismas market! The city hall is situated in the Grand Place, the main square (part of which is in the last pic above), and there is a light show on it's facade every night during the holiday season. In addition, there are a variety of significant buildings. My favorite is the former house of Victor Hugo which now contains the famous Neuhaus confectioner...what better use for a building than literature and chocolate?

On a more modern note, in the evening we went to the cinema...my first visit since the summer! We watched It's Complicated in English, but with a little encouragement I managed to buy my own ticket in French, much to the kind amusement and pleasure of the cashier and the people around me in line. Brussels is definitely a pretty lively and international place. It was a nice soujourn back into Western Europe, and I hope to visit again and see more.

Namur

2009-12-26T03:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I obviously made it to Belgium alright, and the travel experiences even inspired a last-minute college application essay, so I guess I can't complain. Elodie's family lives in Namur, which you can locate along with the other cities I visited here. Since there was a nice layer of snow, we went for a walk on a ravelle, an old train track which has been turned into a walking path. Namur also has an old quarry and iron foundry which have become sort of a park and walking ground. Once a year, the community even comes together to keep it clean. Within the city, Elodie gave me a tour of the city with the traditional Christmas market and decorations. Once the weather cleared up a bit, we went to the citadel for a bit of history and a great view of Namur! There is a perfumerie on the hill and as well as some museums, hotel, restaurants, outdoor theatres, even a small theme park. Most things were closed for the winter or the holidays, but the views were still lovely.

In the European countries I've visited, Christmas is generally celebrated on the 24th, with presents being exchanged and traditional foods eaten with the immediate family. On the 25th, there is usually a big dinner with extended family. Belgians also separate Saint Nicolas from Father Christmas...the figure Americans know as Santa Clause seems to be a combination of the two. SinterKlaas is celbrated in Belgium and the Netherlands on December 5, commemorating the man who was know for giving other people gifts on his own birthday. Traditionally, children get gifts and candies on this day, and in the Netherlands they don't get anything else for Christmas on the 25th! In some countries, such as Austria, it is the Christ child who is said to bring the gifts.

Besides delicious Belgian chocolate, the Boulangers made a deliciously gourmet fondu dinner on the 24th with smoked salmon, roast beef, baked apples stuffed with cranberry sauce, and the traditional French Christmas log cake for dessert the next day! In the evenings, Elodie and I watched one famous Francophone comedie called Le père Noël est une ordure...think Monty Python meets French humor meets Christmas. The other evenings, we decided to be a bit less traditional by watching House of Wax and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. All in all, it was great to catch up with Elodie, see a bit of her city, work on French, and visit with a lovely family. The newest member, Chanel, is pictured here...needless to say, I felt right at home. :)

Brugge/Bruges

2009-12-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

On one day, I went with Elodie and her parents to a town in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. A great deal of this city is contained within its old town, which is still very medeival, if a bit touristic. There are several bridges leading to this sector, and while we were there it was foggy and snowy so the water was just freezing over. We visited a convent on the edge of town which is now the home of Benedtictine sisters, a museum which used to be a refuge treating people with the bubonic plague in past centuries (fourth pic from the bottom above), the Brugge vesrion of Hogwarts (fifth picture above), and a museum about the history of chocolate complete with a demonstration, sample, and chocolate statue of Obama! Indeed, Belgium is famous for it's chocolate and Brugge seems to embrace that tradition...almost every other shop is a chocolaterie, and it's hard to resist! The image of the display above is just a glimpse of the artistic temptations.

Most of the charm of Brugge was in the old-time architecture and decorations, free of cars and complete with horse-drawn carriages. The town seemed relatively quiet despite all the visitors, and it was a pleasant day walking through the past.

The Long Way "Home"

2009-12-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

Since coming to Europe, I have always been told that German trains are efficient and reliable like the people that run them. Then again, I was also told that it doen't snow in Mostar...and that's the irony of life. After leaving Graz, all went smoothly until the train to Munich was late, and consequently, the train from Munich. If someone ever asks you which European train station you'd like to be stuck in, pick Munich. It's huge, and busy enough to keep you occupied eating, shopping, and people-watching all day...or so I'm told. Unfortunately, I only spent about 3 minutes there because I made that connection but missed the next and was stranded in Saarsbrucken, a very cold, very closed station somewhere in western Germany. A policeman was kind enough to tell me I'd have to wait 3 hours for a train and then make 4 more connections in order to get to Namur, my final destination for the day, and I had no way to contact Elodie. After waiting 2 of those hours in a waiting room with some prostitutes, drug dealers, a nice Scandanavian couple and two terrified Asian tourists, I saw the info office open and spoke to a very kind woman who reminded me of my cousin Ranee searched her database 5 times to help me find the fastest connection to Namur. It came down to a choice between more waiting and risky connections with my Interrail ticket or paying 7 Euros for an immediate bus to Luxembourg and a train from there. I went with the bus and it was definitely the right choice as I got a friendly old driver who carried my bag for me, made jokes to make us all forget the fact that we'd been in a creepy, freezing station since the wee hours of the morning, whistled along to German and French songs on the radio, and gave a nice driving tour of little Luxembourg. All in all, I'd say I got more than my money's worth in utility...if nothing else, I can now confirm what I was always told about Luxembourg: it's a pretty boring, very expensive little country. And by little, I mean it has only one discernable city, the capital, which seems itself to be slightly larger than Mount Vernon. Actually, I felt at home...the crop fields look just like someone took a snowy Southern IL and shook it like a blanket so it has a few hills worked in. This is my first soujourn in a Francophone country, and when the first conductor came to ask for my ticket in French; I was absolutely astounded to hear myself respounding in the same language. After a couple more waits, I made it to Namur and managed to find Elodie and her family, who took me to their apartement and revived me with a delicious Sunday dinner and a warm shower. I must say, I've hqd enough adventure for one trip! Now all I'm up for is tackling this French keyboard, braving the improvement of my French pronunciation, and celebrating Christmas in true Belgian fashion!

Beginning a Much Awaited Journey!

2009-12-19T04:53:00.000-08:00

Well, as usual I´ve failed to fulfill my commitment to blog ready, but it´s never too late for another try, and as I won´t be in my usual "home" for the holidays, I thought I´d share a little of what I am doing with you! Global warming is wreaking havoc on Europe´s weather patterns, but we seem to be getting the good end of the deal. After a few days of sleet, we woke up to snow in Mostar for our last day of classes, Winter Gala, and end-of-term concert. To the right are some views from my window.

Now, I´m making a brief stop in Graz, Austria, sharing a lovely day with my English teacher, Barbara Lichtner, and her family. It´s been snowing lightly all day, and we went for a walk downtown, visiting some shops, going up the clocktower hill, and stopping for coffee and the traditional Christmas frankfurters and punch. It was busy but quiet as it´s the snowy last official shopping day, and the end of advent which means pulic trams are free. In a couple of hours I´ll be leaving on an overnight train to Namur, Belgium, where I´ll spend Christmas with Elodie (an exchange student during my sophomore year at CHS) and her family. I should be able to share some pictures there. For now, I´m enjoying some much-needed downtime and hoping for stress-free travels and no cancellations for my friends at Sarajevo airport! Here is me and Barbara in front of the clocktower on a hill, me in front of the ice-scultpure nativity...

On the far left is a hill which contains a huge hollowed-out cave. People hid here during the WWII, and now there are night clubs and lifts to the top, where there is a park for summer concerts as well as picnics and rendezvous. To the left are some...creative, but lovely holiday decorations in Graz.

A view of the traditional European Christmas Market, which always features crafts and culinary holiday specialties, and in Austria includes frankfurters with mustard and horseradish and hot spiced wine...yum!

Some small surprises

2009-10-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Karolina and I were talking today about out perpetual inconsistency in blogging. It seems to be a chronic problem, and i think it may be because life is made of so many little events that it's hard to discern which ones are "blog worthy" or even vaguely interesting. Nevertheless, here are a couple of recent developments:

1. A discovery: Mexican food exists in Mostar! Matt and Rowan tipped me off to the fact that Tus supermarket has started importing the basics. After we participated in the fast for Yom Kippur with our Israeli friends, my first years and I enjoyed a nice fajita dinner! To add the the excitement, we discovered "Little Mexico," a restaurant I've walked by a hundred times without knowing it was there. Aside from being the most authentic attempt at international cuisine I've seen in Mostar, the food was delicious and priced for a students budget. And as far as we could tell, they actually had everything on the menu.
2. For better or for worse, Mostar continues to go international. In the past week, I have spoken to three Americans outside the college and seen several more. One was a teacher visiting friends in Mostar who was just curious about our school and wanted to have a chat! Also, the locale is adopting some fantastic social service ideas. There was a Mostar Walk for Life to raise money for breast cancer, which some students participated in. I, along with some other students, are going to be doing a program in which we work for local companies for a day and donate our salaries to youth designed projects proposed by each participating school around the country! I hope it'll be a great chance to be involved in Mostar life and meet students from other schools when we present our projects in Sarajevo.

Language Learning

2009-09-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend,

Now that we've been reunited once again in Mostar, I'm beginning to notice us once again falling prey to the inevitable confusion which accompanies learning a foreign language. Please don't be offended by what I'm about to say...because it's likely that as long as we know each other your English will be better than my Bosanski/Hrvatski/Srpski/other world language. However, since I'm sure we're all striving for academic excellence (wink wink), I'm sure it can't hurt to address a few of the mistakes which are creeping into my own conversation and frankly, oscillate between annoying the heck out of me and being absolutely hilarious.

1. "Clumsy" and "incompetent" do not have the same meaning. At least not in English. Clumsy is what I am when I walk into your room and trip on your suitcase. Incompetent is what the bus driver is when he arrives two hours late for our Project Week excursion. In his case, I think both labels might apply, but when you call him clumsy I can't stop picturing him fumbling around on the street Three Stooges style.

2. No matter how many times you ask me, I will not "borrow" you my calculator. I will, however, lend you anything you ask for! Just make sure it doesn't fall into the black hole that seems to be sucking up our possessions from somewhere within the house.

3. "To learn" and "to teach" have opposite meanings in English. If they were the same thing, then either we or our teachers would be out of a job.

4. When the proverbial lightbulb over your head switches on, you have an "idea" not an "I.D."

5. Seb, jack and jacket are not the same when you're taking them off. (Now that one was hilarious!)

6. While we all agree that it would have been funny if the school had actually come up with a "shape of the day," what Jordanka really meant was "schedule."

And finally (but not very excitingly):

7. "In" and "on" are not quite the same. Just think of a few instances in which you might use these words and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

This is Why You're Fat

2009-09-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I'm so positive this year is that we've already managed to foster a healthy sense of community. This manifests itself mainly in the fact that we are already experts at helping each other procrastinate and waste time. The other day, I was sitting with Lara and Ela as they discovered www.thisiswhyyourefat.com. It's a conglomeration of photos and descriptions of the most obscenely unhealthy foods you could imagine. Several pages of Bologna fries, multiple pound burgers, and other mutant fast food disasters, and I was feeling a bit better about my own unhealthy students' diet. But then, a tragedy. Around page 6, an entry which I not only recognized, but know and love...fried ravioli! For those who don't know, that particular pasta is a specialty of the St. Louis area and is a popular appetizer served with marinara sauce. Now it's no organic low-calorie wonder, but I never considered fried ravioli a grotesque or even a guilty pleasure. Ah well, we had a good laugh, and I guess it's to each his own...especially when it comes to food!

Don't Knock It Until...

2009-09-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

I suppose today was more significant than your average Monday in that it's the first time I've given becoming a feminist more than a passing thought. It came not as the result of a demonstration or serious philosophical consideration, but as the result of pain, a very effective teacher.
You see, Braun makes these nifty little alternatives to razors which pluck hairs out instead of just shaving them, the idea being that they will grow back much slower and generally be less of a nuisance. I hadn't heard much about them stateside, but a few of my dorm friends have them and tell me on good authority the pain is worst the first time and it's well worth the freedom of two or three razor-free weeks. Being that I'm developing a Pavlovian association between skirts and razors, and seeing as college is a time for experimentation, I decided to give the little device a try. It's far too early to call the trial a failure, but I will say that it was hands down the most painful experience of my life. More intense than taking an exam, more painful than getting a tattoo, and almost as traumatic as leaving home for the first time.
I've always been a fan of shaving as little as possible, but my preference for smooth skin and skirts is stronger. Today though, I couldn't help but dwell on the misguided thought that if ultra-feminism offers the chance for deliberate, razor-free social acceptance, I just might jump at that chance. As much of a stereotype that is, I can the link between throwing off the yoke of male domination and throwing out the need to pursue traditional beauty.
Soon after, my thoughts turned to the confused gender party we hosted this weekend and the very small number of males who were persuaded to shave their legs "to see how we feel." Now as I said, I like smooth legs as much as the next person, but I do wonder what guys would say if they realized what *pains* (uhem, pun INTENDED) for perceived beauty. So Guys, have a heart and don't knock not shaving until you've tried this.

With New Eyes

2009-09-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Our first classes have started, but surprisingly that means I have more time for putting together a post than I have during this whirlwind induction week. I have to say that rather than stress or exhaustion what I feel is hope. It's nice to return to a place that feels something like home rather than a place that might as well be Mars for all you know about it. It's even nicer to see this home through the eyes of someone who's just come, when everything is new and very strange. Our first years are amazing people with a lot of potential, and they've put up with a lot of silly games, (can you believe you did yoga in the park, evacuated the house at 5am, and walked around town dressed like a transvestite?) being told what to do, and not knowing what to do. They're already becoming independent and the days of following us second years blindly are already over, but it's been refreshing for us to realize that we learned enough last year to give advice and that we've appreciated these experiences enough to make them worth sharing. I know we've come back to a slightly different Mostar and a very different UWCiM, but I'm ex cited to discover it together!

The week began with a day trip to the waterfalls at Kravica and a sunrise hike to the cross.

It's Getting Hot Out Here!

2009-08-28T00:37:00.000-07:00

I stuck a battery in my alarm clock yesterday and was alarmed to see that the display read 90 degrees Fahrenheit inside my room. Still, I'm reluctant to complain because I know that for Mostar, this is good summer weather. It could be worse.
I'm pleasantly surprised to see that there have been a few changes in Mostar since I left in May, namely new construction projects and a new clock in Spanski Trg. It's digital temperature display has been hovering around 40 degrees Celsius (about 104 F) each afternoon, but I have yet to see it rise above. I thought nothing of it until my co-year Milana informed me that the city of Mostar is known for lowering the official temperature by several degrees during the summer. The reason: economics. Bosnian law states that a heat advisory must be declared when temperature rise above 40 so people will stay at home, but to keep businesses going the local government feels the need to step in.
Even they, however, could do nothing last week when the new gadget broke and began displaying temperatures of 88 C! Matt and Rowan tell me the press jokingly toted Mostar as "the hottest city in the world." But even with temperature tampering aside, I doubt Mostar comes close to challenging the real record, and that is something to be thankful for.

Before We Enter the Twilight Zone

2009-08-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

To My Dear UWCiM Family:
I'd just like to say that I am loving these few days of bliss...reunions and meetings, shopping and setting up rooms, lots of 'firsts', no real check-in, no real stress at all except that one time Seb told us about the IB deadlines (please DON'T do that again...). I'd also like to note that right now, we seem to be seeing the best side of everyone. The most carefree, most humorous, least complaining, most optimistic, and all around most exceptional "us." It's charming. And lastly, I'd like to say that when IB gets ahold of us, when we temporarily stop sleeping and noticing the sunshine but start coming to the conclusion that we're surrounded by idiots and begin biting each other's heads off, I'd like you to remember the current me. Of course, I will do my best to remember the preferred you as well. And perhaps we can all make it through this thing with our heads intact.

Back to the Balkans

2009-08-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has visited this part of the world can tell you it's pretty different from...well, anything else you're likely to experience. I'm now back in Mostar after spending a day in Zagreb/Banja Luka, and it didn't take long for the essence of the land of unique contrasts. I've seen the ruins and new construction, smelled the frighteningly strong coffee, caught a wiff of those pekarnas (bakeries) my tastebuds love so much, and experienced hospitality to put the rest of us to shame (I couldn't get to bed with less than two cookies, some cheese, bread, and juice and a bag of snacks for the road, and I still felt I was pushing the boundaries of politeness). The Illinoisian in me was even surprised by a pekarna called "Blagojovic." But what sealed the deal, reminding me that I'm not in Kansas anymore, was getting my first receipt for a paid entrance into a public bathroom. Now what am I supposed to do with that?

For anyone who's interested, this video shows the view from my balcony. Yes, balcony. :) It's a good room, and needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

Lending a Sterotype-bustin' Hand

2009-08-24T04:31:00.000-07:00

I hate to come back from my blogging break with another entry comparing Europe to the US, but knowing how many American stereotypes I've come up against in Mostar, I can't help but give my Dutch friends a hand with theirs!

I'm back in Europe after a long summer holiday at home. My first stop is at my rommmate's place in the Netherlands, a small country for which I had big expectations. As Isa says, it's known for featuring both ends of a spectrum: the traditional clogs, windmills, cheese, and cows versus the liberal legalization of euthanasia, marijuana, and prostitution. But I feel obliged to say that in spite of their presumed reputation, the Dutch do not have a noticably absent elderly population,walk around stoned all the time, or consider becoming a hooker a desirable career path for their daughters. In fact, as a whole the Dutch appear to be one of the most wise, healthy, well-informed, and amiably humorous nations I've visited so far. The government seems to be revising policies that don't work, and Isa's family at least seem to see their laws not as a guide to Dutch living but as a way to deal with inevitable issues and treat everyone as fairly as possible.

Obviously one can't always form an accurate impression in only a few days, and I am still ready to look with a critical eye at some of Holland's policies, but the naïvety of being too quick to judge was driven home to me last night while we were watching TV. There was a special on Dutch TV comparing attitudes towards drugs, alchol, and homosexuality in the draconian government of Singapore and...U of Chicago spring breakers in Cancun. I'll leave you to imagine what they had to say (and do!), but my Dutch hosts' disgusted reactions reminded me that while their laws might be more liberal than Americans are comfortable with, my own countrymen might learn a bit from their self-control.

Essential Reading for Americans

2009-04-05T01:40:00.000-07:00

In the Republic of Kosova, you will not easily find stop lights, crosswalks, speed limits, or Serbians. But you will find in Kosovo: English speakers, a statue of Liberty, Chinese food, and bowling. For those of you who don't know, the Republic of Kosova has only been a country since February 2008 and is still considered a possible conflict zone. Since it declared its independence from Serbia it has been recognized by the US, and the population is very grateful. For better or for worse, it seems Western culture has made quite a dent in the society, as Prishtina is full of imports like Doritos and Route 66 as well as European stores like Zara and Terranova, to name a couple of examples.
To be honest, Kosovo is one of those places I thought I'd never get to visit, but I was invited along with Michelle(Hong Kong), Jasmin(Germany), Iva(Macedonia), and Namal(our English prof) to present some research we did at a social issues conference hosted by the American School of Kosova. When we first entered the country I was a little unsure. We came through the newest Serbia-Kosovo border, and of course the Serbian patrol are not too friendly since in their minds we're not leaving their country at all. They were even more suspicious that a Macedonian, a German, and an American were travelling together, and they even said in local, “German, American? You don't understand anything.” But they did let us through, and the guy in front of me in the bus turned around and said, “Don't worry. That was the hard part...we're like a plane that landed from a storm now. The people here are going to love you for being American...but you owe the whole bus a drink for making us late.” He was right; I noticed that everyone started breathing easier once we passed the border, and as soon as we entered Prishtina, I found myself on Bill Clinton Boulevard. There are more than the average amount of Kosovar flags everywhere since they're still quite proud of their independence, but I was surprised to see lots of American flags mixed in. Erwin, a Canadian teacher from ASK, demonstrated to me through our taxi driver that Kosovars refer to him as “Bubba Bill,” and he was quite surprised when I told him that most Americans have no idea we have such fans in the Balkans.
Overall, Kosova is a country between poverty and wealth, west and east, peace and conflict. It's full of energy, has a very young population, and seems quite forcefully alive. I'm going to write more about the conference as soon as I get back to Mostar, but I had to share my shock at finding this strange cultural gem here in the Balkans.

The Ever-present Past

2009-03-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

I guess this blog should come with some sort of disclaimer. You know, like "not for the very faint of heart." As easy as it is to get caught up in the frantic and idealistic world of UWC, from time to time I'm brought back down into the gravity of the situation this country still finds itself in. This weekend was one of those times, as I finally explored some of the infamous ruins around town. It was the first truly warm day, and my last day with Tessa, so we finally went up into the bank near Spanish square, which used to be the tallest building in Mostar but was bombed during the war. I add the disclaimer because I've seen that the bulletholes and bomb craters around town can provoke a variety of reactions. However, for better or for worse, I've gotten used to it. In fact, several students have commented that some of the ruins are quite beautiful, almost like pieces of surrealist art.
After the bank, we went to the Partisan's war memorial commemorating soldiers from WWII. It's a beautifully artistic site, composed of flagstone walls and walkways curving up a hillside, and with water running down into a pool at the lowest level. Unfortunately, however, the Partisans have become unpopular among the local population, and the monument has been almost completely trashed. In fact, it's become a local hangout complete with broken glass, joints, and heroine needles. It's still lovely, but the blatant disrespect for and destruction of such a sacred place seems to negate the presence of any change in the people's minds.
It's hard for me, as a relative "outsider" fully understand the meaning of and stories behind places like this, as often as I see them. So, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, and let you take something from them if you can.

The bank from outside.

The second floor, the only one in which the offices are still "intact." The strange thing is that although some of these papers are clearly from during the war, others are dated 1996 or 1997...and the war ended in 1995. We've speculated that either this one corridor has been left as an unofficial museum, or that perhaps the offices were used as a documentary set and the newer papers were added than. Any way you look at it, it's a very surreal and vaguely disturbing place.

My school from the third floor

A bit of life emerging on the roof

A view of old and new...the shattered window of the bank framing another ruin and the park built just last year.
...And the Partisans' memorial. Notice the graffiti and broken stones.
Remnants of the reflecting pool...full of alcohol and rainwater.
And still lovely, in spite of it all.

Zima u Mostaru (Winter in Mostar!)

2009-02-15T02:51:00.000-08:00

I must admit the past week has been a bit surreal. Partly it's due to the fact that I was out with a flu for several days and my mind was a bit muddled. But mostly it was a somewhat spontaneous trip to Sarajevo and the unexpected treat of seeing snow in Mostar!!

Somehow I've managed to make it a long time without visiting the capital, so some friends and I took advantage of the Sarajevo winter festival to catch a jazz concert as well as explore the city. I feel like I went nearly everywhere, spending loads of time walking around, sampling local specialties, going to historical sights like the famous assassination bridge (Franz Ferdinand, WW1, ring any bells?). The whole time, there were soft, sparkling flakes of snow falling, the nicest I've ever seen. And despite getting lost trying to find our hostel Friday night, the whole trip was amazing and as enjoyable as a proper holiday.

By Monday night, I was paying for my walks in the snow with a nasty cough and cold. In fact, I was silly enough not to wear a scarf to school because I expected Mostar to be "warmer." Imagine my surprise when snow started falling...and didn't stop for a whole day! It was the best experience, even with the cough! The whole afternoon people were shouting and jumping around and making cold-weather food and announcing who was seeing snow for the first time and throwing snow at everything that moved. One thing I'll say about UWCers...we know how to celebrate and will jump at any reason to do it!

All that's left of the snow now are patches of ice left to trip us up, and some lovely memories. My personal best is of a local taxi driver who took pity when he saw Milana and I sliding down the hill, fighting the bura wind, and gave us a free ride right up to the door of the school. Mostarians may not be known for generosity and service, but that makes the incidences of it that do occur that much more special!

When I left home, the only snow was up on the mountains, but Sarajevo was a different story!

Sarajevo!!

view from our hostel in Sarajevo

amazed by the snowfall in Mostar!

Secrets in the Season of Love

2009-02-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

As anyone who's gone into a supermarket or convenience store lately knows, it's almost Valentine's Day! As a single gal, I've never had particular reason to look forward to this holiday, but the candy and cards from friends always make it enjoyable! I have memories from every year of school parties complete with games, Valentines decked out with cartoon characters, and frosted heart-shaped sugar cookies made by dedicated room mothers. And even in high school, there were the "Crush" and flower sales and those of us who clung to the cartoon card tradition.

Here in Europe, however, I've found that this seems a little strange. Apparently, in most of the world February 14 is a day for lovers alone! In this case, I decided to cling to my American roots and shared some homemade Valentines (sans cartoon characters) and chocolate oatmeal cookies with my friends here. The college has also caught the spirit, as we each have a "secret lover" for the week. It's basically like Secret Santa with a Valentine's theme. It's been weird seeing random declarations of love posted around the school and finding candies stashed in secret places, but I never new writing tacky love poems could be so fun!

Say what you will about the commercialization of Valentine's Day, but I'm all for any chance to celebrate each other and share a little love!

An interesting Sweetheart we found in a package from my grandparents. All it said was "URA," and we didn't know what it meant except that it's "clock" in local! Later, we found another similar candy and realized the second part rubbed off. It was supposed to say "URA 10." Not really that much better. :)

What my secret lover sent me today! How sweet!

"Outside in Bosnia"

2009-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

Winter weather in Mostar seems to be a blend of pounding, seemingly endless rain and sunny but cold and windy days. The former are filled with "awkward umbrella confrontations" on the street, as Andy calls them, and with the later comes the unrelenting bura, a wind that's chilling no matter how many layers you wear. Nevertheless, the changing weather has brought some beautiful and otherworldly landscapes, and since Autumn has asked to see more pictures of "outside in Bosnia," I thought I'd share some of them here.

Clouds in the valley during rain

Old town

East Mostar

Not in Kansas Anymore

2009-01-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Lately I seem to be a person with full days and a tired mind, and when a little space frees up in my schedule I often turn to movies to relax.
So, on Monday when Michelle, Milana, Srdjan, and I discovered that our ballroom dance class was cancelled, we headed to the mall to search for a cheap video store Matt and Rowan mentioned. We found the store and were greeted by shelves and boxes of the latest films, music releases, and Playstation games...and I mean the latest. Although I should have expected it, I was a bit surprised to find Twilight, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bedtime Stories, and several other titles I know haven't been released on DVD even in the US. Actually, almost all the DVDs in that store are pirated, and it's completely legal to buy and sell them in this country. Maybe the word "copyright" hasn't been added to the language yet?
However it happens, for about the same price as a new release rental in the US, one can enjoy the newest cinema releases in the comfort of his own home. Never mind that one scene it skipped, the local language subtitles, or the message at the bottom of the screen reading "For awards consideration ONLY." That's the price you pay for taking advantage of being outside the Motion Picture Association of America's jurisdiction.

End of the Beginning, Beginning of the End

2009-01-14T10:22:00.001-08:00

After the first three days of classes, I can't help but reflect on how different this start of term is from the last one. Last time around I couldn't remember my roommates names, I didn't know left from right on the streets of Mostar, I couldn't stand walking to school in the suffocating heat or pouring rain, local language might as well have been an unbreakable code, and IB itself was a total mystery. The first time I handed in a Biology assignment, Mr. Museve looked at it and said, "What is this? You should have done this in pen. Pencil is too messy." I was a little shocked...how was I supposed to know? I was used to teachers who prefer pencil!
I hope and suspect I'm not the only one who had adjustment experiences like that, and it's rather strange to think how far we've come.
My roommate Isabelle just arrived from the Netherlands...lots of people were delayed because of the unpublicized new law that says minors can't travel without parents in BiH. With classes resumed, tests scheduled, and plans for the exams and graduation already in sight, the term promises to fly by.
And with a new umbrella and waterproof hiking boots, I'm ready to face even Mostar weather again!

Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!!

2009-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Mostar after a LONG 2 days of 3 flights, two bus rides, a taxi ride, and a LOT of waiting! Susac house was still pretty empty last night...almost all of those who were here had stayed the whole break. I found my room freezing cold with the window cracked open and the water heater turned off. Mostar doesn't have much central heating, so the city hasn't been directly effected by the situation with Russia. However, that also means that my fairly large room is left to be heated by a small space heater.
I arrived about 7pm yesterday, took a lukewarm shower, bundled up with a towel on my head since I had no hair dryer, and for the first time lamented that I have such a large room and that the internet cable for the house is running through the window above my bed and keeping it cracked open...and I've been lamenting it ever since. Last night wasn't so bad as a bunch of us went for coffee, played cards, and hung out in the second floor rooms where the Middle Eastern and African students have been staying...naturally, since they've had heaters on for a month those rooms are much warmer. The fun continued (quite loudly) until about 5am, but since I was rather jet-lagged I snuck off to the room next door, which was nicely heated and missing it's occupants. I can't say I slept well, but I did sleep and today's been a lovely day of bundling up, trying to warm my fingers enough to do homework, walking around Mostar, and greeting my housemates as they come.
Despite everything, it's still way too cold in here. I've had hot tea, stolen my roommate's blanket, dressed in multiple layers, and I've just resorted to turning on the oven with the door open in hopes that it might warm things up a bit...does that say "desperate" to you?

Still Thankful

2008-12-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

I must admit it's taken a while to feel like the holidays. The trees are still losing their leaves, it's raining instead of snowing, in the mornings it's warm enough to go without a coat, and there is a noticeable lack of holiday decorations. Oh, and of course we have end of term examinations...I've got my Maths in 10 minutes. :) But I've sung a few Christmas songs, eaten a little holiday food, and I must say that this Thanksgiving was my best ever. It began with a very cold hour of working in the greenhouse. The hose is mysteriously broken in about a dozen places, so we had to get creative (and wet) with our watering techniques. As we were warming our hands by the heater inside Velic house, one of our administrators started yelling in the administrative office and said, “Oh my gosh! STAY HERE! Don't go to the gymnasia!” We had no idea what was going on, but within five minutes hundreds of people were pouring out of the gymnasia and onto the street. I leaned out the window and yelled out at Michelle and Isa to find out what was going on...turns out there was a bomb threat, so our classes were canceled for the day. It was mass chaos and we were SO ecstatic!! I never dreamed that I would actually get Thanksgiving off of school!

I called Tessa to tell her the news and then went to Musala to wait for breakfast. It was really amusing to see the ways people reacted to the bomb threat, from some of the Western Europeans being near tears to the Iraqis cracking jokes and trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with the Westerners. Amid the general confusion, the day was declared a holiday...Bomb Day, and I was hugged and kissed many times and wished a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tessa and I were in general high spirits since we had the whole day free, so after breakfast we went for a walk and to the store for last minute supplies. At Susac, we made some peanut butter cookie dough and tried to make craft roses out of maple leaves (I StumbledUpon a website with instructions.) After gathering all the Thanksgiving supplies together, we caught a ride to Musala with the landlord. But from there, we had to carry everything to my English prof Namal's house, where the dinner was to be held. It's only about half a mile, but we must have looked quite a site carrying a turkey, 4 loaves of stuffing, cranberry sauce, cookie dough, 2 pumpkin pies, a bowl of potatoes, a pot of gravy, and various pots and pans through the center of Eastern Mostar! Unfortunately Namal was sick, but I had already done most of the cooking so Tessa and I stuck the turkey in the oven and settled down for a chat. I am convinced that Namal has the most wonderful house in Mostar...standing under the wooden ceiling beams and looking out the panoramic window, you can see a waterfall of the river, the old bridge, the cross on the hill, several mosques, the cathedral bell tower, and a whole assortment of beautiful buildings. It's really stunning, and it was a beautiful afternoon exceeded only by the beautiful evening! In the end there were 17 of us in the “family” including Namal, Tessa, and Jordanka, my maths teacher, as well as us three Americans and 11 other students. The food turned out better than I could have hoped, the conversation was lovely, the company perfect...it was incredible! It was a blast explaining where the holidays and the food come from, as it was most people's first Thanksgiving ever! Namal and Alberto did the honors for us by carving the turkey, Michael made mashed potatoes, and Tanja a lovely salad. We kept the traditions of breaking the wishbone and saying things we're thankful for before eating...it was hard to choose...there's so much!

I warned everyone ahead of time about the sedative effects of a real Thanksgiving dinner, but I don't think they believed me until we all collapsed in a lethargic state as if we had been drugged. :) The evening was finished off with some tea and a walk back to Susac. I really didn't want it to end.

Over the next couple of days our lives got pretty crazy, but for that night at least, we had peace and companionship and life was beautiful. I have so much to be thankful for.

"Hiding" from the bomb during a very chaotic and improvised breakfast in Musala.

Breaking the wishbone and carving the turkey.

The aftermath of the dinner.

Our Thanksgiving family...sorry it turned out dark!

Roma and Reconciliation

2008-11-17T01:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, and happy Monday!
I had every intention of typing out a couple of blog posts this weekend, but in the end I spent a lot of the weekend being lazy and trying to fight off a cold. It worked, but as a result I have even MORE assignments to catch up on, and since it looks like I may not get a proper blog post in until next weekend, I'd like to direct you to the blogs of a couple fellow foreigners here in Mostar. It's been an exciting couple of weeks...last week was Roma Awareness Week, organized by students here in the college. Although I'm a bit useless because of the language barrier, I am a part of the service that works with Roma (gypsy) children each Friday. My co-year Andy has written a bit about the Roma week at at
http://andy-uwc.blogspot.com/
if you're interested. Also, this was an INCREDIBLE weekend at Centar II church! I'll let you read about it on Matt and Rowan's blog. They're a couple from the UK who just moved here to work with an organization called Novi Most, and they've done a great job writing about the weekend's events.
http://wedoadventure.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-does-reconcilation-look-like.html
So, Matt, Rowan, and Andy...forgive me for stealing your words. And to everyone, I want you to hear about the cool things that are happening, and I will really try to get some of my own thoughts together and posted soon!

Vive les week-ends!

2008-11-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the universal truth that weekends rock. Maybe not the most eloquent way of putting it, but we all know we couldn't live without them. Have a look at nearly a month of lovely weekends:
A few weeks ago, I overslept on Saturday morning and missed yoga, but as a result I went to duimovic (supermarket), organized my things, and actually found a free machine to do laundry! And the day got even more exciting when Dzana and I pulled our suitcases down off the wardrobe to put some summer clothes away. I discovered that in the confusion of my first few days here, I didn't manage to unpack everything! To my amazement, I discovered a collapsible laundry basket, four pairs of socks, a pair of shoes, a book, my slippers, and a couple of t shirts. It was almost better than Christmas. In the afternoon, I went to Musala for “the funniest hour of our lives,” organized by some of the second years to relieve the tension that's been building the past couple of weeks. It was incredibly fun to act idiotic and just have fun for a while. After that, some of the girls and I went for coffee by the river...Maria from Spain has made friends with the waiter, and he brought us a bunch of whipped cream, free of charge, which we ate out of our cups. Then, we proceeded to the pancake bar for some more fun and went to abrasevic for a Spanish movie, which I understood about 90% less of than I had hoped. (aka- I need to work on my Spanish!) On Sunday, I finally visited a church with Matt and Rowan! (No worries...there will be a separate entry about this soon!!) All in all, two excellent days.
The next weekend was just as good or better...Saturday was Dzana's birthday, and I tried to make brownies after check-in so they'd be ready at midnight, but I got rushed and did my F to C calculations wrong and burnt them. We sang to Dzana at midnight and ate them anyway. :) I was lazy on Saturday morning then had Chinese lessons and bought the green pumpkin on Saturday night. Sunday, I was an hour early for church because I had no idea the time changed. I was planning to go to a football match with Mirja, Matt, and Rowan, but it turns out the match was Saturday, so we took Novi Most's old van to a really fancy restaurant on the outskirts of town in celebration of Matt's birthday.
Last week, we had a four-day weekend for All Saints, and I went to Nina's house in Bugojno. Here family is excellent, I loved the home cooked food, and the scenery was incredible!! We travelled around to visit her grandparents, walked in the foothills of the mountains, visited her favorite coffee shops, and her mom even showed me how to make sirnica, a delicious traditional Bosnian dish. The ingredients are pretty much available in the States, so you call all try it when I make it at Christmas! :)
And that brings me to this weekend. I felt cold, wet, and sick after a long week, and since it was still raining I skipped the Halloween party. Our housemum Ivana noticed the irony of the American who's been awaiting Halloween for weeks skipping the party, but I had a nice evening watching Evan Almighty with Michelle and Milana. Actually, we were so tired that we stopped and went to bed early...and I got 10 hours of sleep, which has not happened since I came here and I guarentee will never happen again. Today, there was a short international cooking session, meetings in Musala, and an amazing long coffee with Tessa, our lovely Scottish volunteer. Milana, Una, and I just finished Armageddon, and perhaps I'll do some studying now or type some emails. Or maybe I'll just give in to my inherent laziness and go to bed...........
Happy Saturday everyone!

Halloween Comes to Mostar

2008-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have missed seeing the leaves changing colors this year, and I was a little surprised to find that Halloween isn't much of an occasion here in Europe. And yet...at a shop by the bridge to Musala, Michelle, Tessa, and I found a pumpkin! It's green on the outside, which led to some confusion about whether it might be a late watermelon or a bloated squash. In the end, we discovered that it IS a pumpkin, just a different variety. And it's still orange on the inside. It's the only one I've found, and I was prepared to pay pretty exorbitant prices for it, but in the end it was only 2 and a half KM! That's about half what it would cost in the States. At my house, it's been a tradition for as long as I can remember to carve jack-o-lanterns and cook the pumpkin seeds, so I decided to give it a shot. On Wednesday, Lejla and I took some time away from studying for biology exams to scoop the gunk out of the pumpkin and wash the seeds. It generated some interest among my housemates and the housemums...apparently this whole pumpkin thing is a very American tradition! Turns out Lejla is a much more dedicated seed-cleaner than I am! Everyone wanted to know what to do with the fibers...I've always considered them trash, but Michelle from Hong Kong informed me that you can dry them and make them into loofahs! I wasn't ambitious enough to attempt that, but Una was brave enough to taste it.
On Thursday, my second year Michael came from Musala and we carved the pumpkin, along with Ahmed. Without thinking, I drew a funny face one it...turns out Europeans are convinced that EVERYTHING associated with Halloween is suppossed to be scary. It was a fun time, and even though I burned the seeds, it was nice to have a little touch of home.

Donkey and Elephants and Flags...Oh My!

2008-10-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my American friends!
As the elections loom ever nearer, I've been thinking about you guys more than usual. BBC news online is my main source of information since there's no TV in our residence, and the "America's" front page has had only three topics on it for the last few weeks: 1) the economic crisis 2) the war in Iraq 3) the ELECTIONS. I was interested to hear from our headteacher, who is British, that Americans get a lot more access to and information about candidates than Brits do about their politicians. So I guess all this news might be a good thing, but the constant coverage is wearing me out!
Anyway, I wanted to give you something to think about before the polls open. You may be unaware of it, but it's not just US news covering the elections. The whole world is watching, and everyone has an opinion! The most common question I've been asked when people find out I'm American is, "Oh, so who are you supporting?" Even our landlord had Una translate for us so he could ask all about my politics. :) This general interest doesn't surprise me as much as the extent to which people care about the results of the election. As my friend Nina said, "When we vote, things don't change that much. We usually already know who's going to win. But when America elects a new president, it can change the way the world works. You don't know how much you affect us. " Wow...just something to think about. :)
I won't go into all the details of my or others' opinions here...my point is not to offend anybody. If you're really interested to know, shoot me a message. ;) The point is that believe it or not, you are voting for much more than a new leader or a set of policies in the United States. In a way, Nina is right...you're voting for how the world works. That's a pretty big thing, and I would encourage you to inform yourself and remember that even people on the other side of the world are waiting in anticipation, frustration, and maybe even a little fear for the decision. After all, doesn't it make you a little nervous that someone as imperfect as a human being is coming into so much power?
Whether all this means you vote Democrat, Republican, or put your faith somewhere else entirely, may everyone have the wisdom to make the best choice.

My Room

2008-10-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

This is just a short post dedicated to my room in Susac (Sue-shots) house. As I mentioned, we had our monthly house wide cleaning this weekend. I though I'd better take pictures because the room won't look this good again until next month's cleaning.

Here are some views of my corner of the room. Nothing fancy, but it's home. You can see one of our two windows, the door to our tiny little bathroom, and our kitchenette (which by the way, we are not allowed to use for cooking). The table serves as a place to eat, a storage space, and theoretically as a study space for four people.

Ah...this is our lovely little shower. We're one of the few rooms in the house that doesn't at least have some sort of tub. I wouldn't mind except that the water stands on the ground and makes our room SMELL. Girls' rooms aren't supposed to smell!

Ok, these are really bad pictures and the room is not clean, but they show the view from my bed. Lovely, isn't it? :) The first shows the wardrobe where Una and I attempt to fit our clothes, Una's bed in the middle, and Isabelle's bed on the far right. There's our "front door" in the second one, as well as Dzana's bed (pronounced something close to Dj-AH-nuh).Before Bajram, I discovered that the little shops on the streets sell fresh flowers as well as silk ones. One day I brought some home and although I didn't find a vase, Dzana came up with a creative solution. And it's these simple things, that make this crazy, crowded house a home.

Dancing Through Life

2008-10-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ninety-degrees-step, one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three...Ah, if only the rest of my life was as calm and orderly as the steps of the English waltz we learned today in ballroom dance. Alas, the waltz of life is starting to spin out of control! But, as Mr. Museve, my Rwandan Biology professor, says, “We told you it was going to be difficult. Nobody lied to you. So just keep going and keep going and you're going to be alright.” So far so good.
Last Thursday, I went on a little adventure and ended up meeting Matt and Rowan, a couple from the UK who just moved to Mostar! I had seen their blog online (there aren't many blogs about Mostar written in English!) and after emailing them a couple of times, they told me about a youth club called Novi Most where they hang out. I was determined to find it on Thursday, but I got home late, inhaled my supper, and had to find someone to accompany me. The club is about 40 minutes away by foot, and I wasn't too keen on walking it alone and at night. My roommate Isa agreed to come with me, and after 15 minutes of running around the house with Seb and Srdjan (SIR-john) trying to find her a bike, we set out! It wouldn't have been a big deal except that I haven't ridden a bike since I was in grade school, and the traffic is a little scary here in Mostar. We had to stop and ask for directions, but the first woman we asked was a university student who spoke fluent English. She helped us find the club, and we were introduced to more friendly English speakers than I've seen in one place since I came here. :) Matt and Rowan moved to Mostar just a few weeks before I did, and they'll be here for at least three years. They're working with Novi Most, which was started during the war to provide aid and support to children. It's purpose is still to work with youth, and it's “volunteers” are both local and international. It was so great to talk about some of the things we foreigners have to come to terms with upon moving here, and to swap stories about the crazy things we've heard, seen, and done. I love UWCiM, but we can get trapped in the bubble of our own world...it was good for me to break out and meet people who are fully living in Mostar! Matt and Rowan have even found a church, and I can't wait to visit next week! It was a pretty spontaneous and rushed meeting (we had to get back for curfew and homework, of course!), but hopefully it'll be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. If nothing else, I found out I won't kill myself next time I get on a bike...haha!
By the weekend, I was sick of exams and schoolwork and ready to relax. On Saturday I started the day with yoga and then tried the pancake bar with Tanja, Ruth, and Andy...my new favorite place! I got a new scarf, and then spent a couple of hours reading in Spanish square. It's almost impossible to be alone when you live with 120 people, and I needed that time to be introverted and just soak up the sun and the city. On Sunday, I had my third EVER hike, and it was a MUCH better experience than the last one! We actually saw some trees, complete with fall colors, and after about 3 hours we reached a meadow plateau that was just as picturesque as any photo you could imagine! After lunch, the 20 of us somehow got into a hilarious discussion about the different slang terms we have for things in our countries. My favorite is a long Croatian word for toilet that means literally “around-the-butt-crap-swallower.” After that foolishness, we napped in the meadow. We were joined on the hike by some of our teachers as well as Ken, an American who works for an institutional reform organization in Mostar. He was really cool, and even thinks he might be able to get us a turkey for Thanksgiving...how cool would that be? The only catch is that it's handpicked and slaughtered in front of you...that might be fun. :) The scenery was gorgeous, the weather perfect, the company and conversation grand, and we got out of compulsory residence cleaning...a perfect day if you ask me. :)
Now, it's back to the grind, and it was DEFINITELY a Monday. Somehow my brain thought it was still the weekend, so I was terribly disappointed when my alarm clock rang at 7. At least it did go off! In class, we were reminded that we have exams this week as there's a grading session soon, and we had the usual college meetings. Unfortunately, I was locked out of one because I got out of class late and then had to go to the toilet. Half our class didn't make it to the meeting before they shut the doors, and as they took our names down I'm sure there's a lecture coming. Honestly, though, I'm more upset about missing the guest speaker...we're all late sometimes.
On the bright side, I believe I have FINALLY worked my classes out, and they look like this: Higher Level English A1, Economics, and Biology. Standard Level Maths, French ab initio, and Geography. Nina says I must be insane to have changed subjects so many times, but I'll be stuck with them for 2 years so they'd better be ones I enjoy at least a little! With this schedule, my university options are pretty open except that I can't study law or medicine in the UK. But I think I can live with that. :)

Really, it was as close as it gets to a perfect day!

A little glimpse of autumn...the views were so idyllic.

And for your amusement, some random craziness from last week with Ana and Katarina in the Spanish Room. We were "studying."

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

2008-10-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting alone in my room right now...and it feels SO strange! I didn't have a class during the last block today, so after lunch I went to my favorite park with Una. The weather is perfect, so I decided to stay and read my script for "The Investigation," the play I'm doing as an extracurricular. We have our first readthrough later tonight, so I'm at home planning to nap and do some homework before I go to Musala.
The "new" feeling is starting to wear off this experience, and Mostar is beginning to be home. Now that we're staring to settle into some sort of crazy, hectic "normal" I'm beginning to think about who I'll be and what I'll do here. I'm so captivated by some of our second years and the things they have invested themselves in. Watching them makes me want to do and be something more than just another crazy UWC student.
I realize this is all a bit vague, but there are a lot of topics I wanna discuss as new developments come. Now that Bajram is over, our lives have kicked into high gear and there's a lot of new stuff on my plate. Let's see, ballroom dance, college council, theatre, yoga, greenhouse, Chinese, Roma Neretva (a service with with local Roma people), and schoolwork, just to name a few. ;) As my body moves from activity to activity, so does my mind, and hopefully so will my blogs. Can't make any promises...I'm not very consistent. But the plan is to share some little snippets of life, as they come.
Gotta go...Una's sharing some milk and homemade cake from Kosovo! Love to all!

Bajram-yeah!

2008-09-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

We've had some beautiful, sunny days in Mostar, so all the walking is more than bearable. I've just come from a meeting with Paul Reagan, our Headteacher, and I'm feeling a lot more enthusiastic and optimistic about life in general.
Time is passing so fast...there are never enough hours in the day!! Last weekend our room got a thorough cleaning. We moved the furniture and everything, and there were lots of disgusting little souvenirs from last year. We have permanent hot water now, but the plumbing to our toilet I backed up, with is both gross and inconvenient. Ah, well...that's Bosnia! Last Saturday was the first Open Mike party at abrasevic, and my roommate Una did all of our makeup for us. When I got home, there was a visitor in our room...a scorpion, right in the middle of the floor! I didn't think those even existed here!!
I've had my first IB exams this week, and classes have been made more complicated by the fact that so many people are ill. Now, it is Bajram, a Muslim holiday at the end of Ramadan. We have a week off of school, and tomorrow I'm heading here to Italy! I have so much more to share, but for now, I'll just say “ciao,” and I hope you all are well!

More pictures

2008-09-24T14:06:00.001-07:00

And this is one of my favorite pictures. It was taken before we went to the South African/American theatre presentation under the bridge last Friday. Oh, and the people are (going clockwise): me, Amitai from Israel, Dzana (my roommate) from BiH, Karolina from the Czech Republic, Srdjan from BiH, and Kalle from Finland.
This one is for Chris and Jessica...the men in the park are playing bocci! Every day there are tons of elderly men in their old-fashioned suits playing bocci here...usually more than are in the picture. It's so fun to watch how much they enjoy it, and it always makes me think of you guys!
Here is one of the main streets in Mostar...it's one of our favorites because you must cross it on the way to school, and it's full of cafes, bakeries banks, and malls. It's like a very long, narrow version of Walmart.
Some things are the same in every country...the graffiti on this sign says, "You are gay."
Ah, now these are the endless stairs on the way to Susac house. (pronounced Sue-shots) There are 112 of them, and they are deadly after a long day at school, but you can often find someone you know resting at the top. :)

Official Apology

2008-09-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, guys. I obviously have some work to do figuring out how this blog thing works. I'm really not sure why the pictures are looking so awful and not all of the text is showing up. All I can say is that the internet comes and goes so fast that I panic and try to get everything into a post before all the work is lost! So, feel free to play mix and match with the pictures posted and what I wrote...I'll try to get this worked out next time!

Pictures!

2008-09-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, only sometimes will the server let me upload pictures, but I'll try to get some on here. I know they're small, but you can click on them and see a BIG version. Here are the castle ruins we hiked to in Blagaj (pronounced Blah-guy. The castle belonged to a duke and was abandoned when his family fled the Turks.
Here's the river that was such a relief after the hike...
...and the cave it flows from.
I think this is a cool picture of a traditional Bosnian house next to the river.
This park near the school is one of my favorite places in Mostar! It's so peaceful...it's almost like another world.

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249659392860112226" /> As much as Mostar as recovered, I'll never get used to seeing the ruins.

2008-09-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

I'm having some trouble publishing pictures on the blog, so this one's a test run. This is a picture I took on my way to school...I live in the house with the blue roof.

Two weeks down!

2008-09-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the winds and rains have come, and I'm told they'll be around for the rest of the winter. It's a nice change from the heat we did have, and no camera can capture the surreal beauty of the clouds around the mountains. A week ago Sunday was the hottest day we had, and it also happened to be the day of our compulsory hike. The trip was led by Namal, my English teacher, and some other staff. Namal is a Sri Lanka with a British accent; he has a candid manner and was wearing a tshirt with a picture of Native Americans that said, “Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism since 1492.” I liked him immediately. We took a bus to the nearby town of Blagaj and then hiked up the first ridge to the ruins of a castle which belonged to a duke in ages past. That was a real treat for me; I loved eating lunch in the shadow of the walls and imagining the people who used to walk the same paths. This was my first hike, and I was exhausted after the first ridge, but we continued on up a rocky ridge to an old watch tower. By that point, most of us were out of water. Namal was disappointed in us I think, but he let most of us cut the hike short and go down to the town of Blagaj. There is a famous river there that runs out of a cave. It's so cold that people often die from immersing themselves in it too quickly, and it's so blue that tourists have been known to ask what the locals use to color the water. Resting by the cliffs and dipping our feet into the water was an awesome way to end the day!
Our classes started the next day, but we've still managed to have some fun! We broke the ice with a gender confusion party, where they guys dressed up as girls and vice versa. It was pretty crazy, but running around the house finding clothes to borrow was a great way to get to know everyone. The second years also put on a variety show for us, which included skits making fun of every aspect of UWC life from teachers to dating to what it's like to go back home. They also performed Ka Mate, a school tradition. It's a tribal dance from New Zealand that is now a part of most school functions, and it's pretty much the most intimidating thing you can imagine, complete with black clothing and war paint.
Aside from the planned events, I've also enjoyed some time getting to know people and discovering Mostar. Last Saturday I went shopping with Dzana (my roommate) and Maya (my neighbor). We got caught in the rain but still had fun looking at shops. There was a football (aka soccer) game that night, the first big one since I've been here. This one was expecially big because Mostar's “Croatian” team was playing Mostar's “Bosnian” team, and the rivalry between them is really intense. In fact, there is often some violence and chaos as a result of these games, so the city was swarming with 450 extra police officers, and we weren't allowed to go out on the town that night...not that I would want to! Instead, we stayed in and I showed some friends how to make sloppy joes. We had a blast and everyone loved trying the American food.
I've changed my classes about 5 times this week, but I think I've finally settled on Higher Level English A1, Biology, and Economics and Standard Level Maths, French ab initio, and Chemistry. We also started CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) this week. My action is yoga, and I had my first class on Wednesday. It's SO relaxing, and a great workout, but I'm thinking about taking up ballroom dance as well. My service is working in the school greenhouse, which is really new to me, but I love it so far! Still, since one of the main reasons I came to this college was to be able to work with the local people, I'm going to talk with the CAS coordinator and add a second service, possibly at a refugee camp. And if that isn't enough on my schedule, I have several Creativities including Arabic lessons, Chinese lessons, and Links Group where we get in touch with people at other UWCs and talk about issues they've had and how they've resolved problems on their campuses. Oh, and I'm trying to organize a group of international students who want to learn the local language and find a tutor to give us lessons. It promises to be a productive term.
I should probably get some sleep now, so I'll stop. In the future, I'll try to post shorter, more frequent posts rather than these occasional monsters. I think about ya'll A LOT and hope everyone is well, but to prove that I am enjoying myself here, I've stared a new list. So enjoy!
Things I like about BiH
1.The ice cream...it's fresh and at 1 KM a pop, it's irresistable.
2.The taxis...pile 6 or 7 people into one and you can go across town for 1 KM each (by the way, that's less than $1 US.
3.The bread...it's incredibly cheap (about 1 KM for a loaf) and won't be more than a few hours old when you buy it. We even have a building by our house that looks deserted by day, but by night is full of people baking bread which they will sell to you extra cheap!
4.Wild figs and pomegranates picked straight off the tree...I've never tasted anything so sweet. (Are you noticing a theme here?? The food is great, and I think I'm gaining weight despite all the walking. But I don't mind saying my weight in kilograms because the number is half as much as it would be in pounds.) ;)
5.The hospitality...Bosnians are very affectionate, and it's nice to be randomly hugged, touched, or kissed on the head or cheek. It's hard not to feel loved.

A new way to remember

2008-09-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hey.
As all of my American friends know, today is September 11. I got to commemorate the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks in a pretty unique way that I'd like to take a minute to share with you.
Over the past few days, I've made friends from Afghanistan, Iraq, and every corner of Europe, so an outburst of American nationalism hardly seemed appropriate. Instead, my co-year Andy took the initiative and had everyone meet around 9:30 pm at “the Circle,” a sort of stone amphitheater where we like to hang out. Andy spoke about his memories of what happened on that day in 2001, about how we mourned the loss of businesspeople, firefighters, family, and friends, and about how our young minds began to ask questions about hatred, patriotism, and our own safety. He also focused on how much hope it's brought him to come here to a UWC where we can love without borders...if only our countries could do the same! After that, we joined hands and I said a prayer that the families still hurting from that day would be able to go on, that the civilians suffering from war in Afghanistan and Iraq would see peace and an end to the destruction SOON, that politicians from every country would forget their plots and plans and remember their humanity and the people they represent, and that we as students would have hearts of compassion and be willing to do whatever it takes to have peace among ourselves and among our countries. Then, we took a moment to reflect on the tragedies our various countries have suffered while Andy reloaded the batteries in his flashlight. :) He played a revised version of “Sing” by the Dresden Dolls on his guitar. One of the lines of the song is, “There is thing keeping everyone's lungs and lips locked. It is called fear and it's seeing a great renaissance.” But tonight, there was no fear, just hope, hugs and kisses, and maybe a few tears. I have to be honest...in the past few days there have been times I've wanted to give up on this whole UWC thing and head home. It may never be easy, but the unity I had a taste of tonight is worth great sacrifices! It gives me courage to dream about how far we can go with some determination and humility. And I can't think of a better way to pay tribute.

The adventure continues...in Mostar!

2008-09-05T11:04:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm here in Mostar, and it's absolutely a STUNNING city. The mountains around it are much larger and more dominating than you would guess from the pictures; looking up and seeing peaks all around is a new experience for me. You feel like you're cradled in the city because you can see at exactly what point on the mountain the buildings end.
I got to Croatia with no further delays (although I did get chosen for the additional security screening in Washington, and they forgot to give me back my bag of liquids.) I was in Zurich for only a couple of hours, but I'm in love with Switzerland! It's the most healthy, natural, and idyllic looking place you could imagine, and the security people are exceedingly friendly! I was met by a driver in Croatia where my bags were actually rerouted and arrived on time! He didn't speak English, and I was shocked by how different Croatia and Bosnia look. It's like elements of Italy (villas and grapevines everywhere) created in a sandy, scrub environment. The way the buildings and everything are actually reminds me a ton of Ecuador. My experience there is SO helpful...I think I would be REALLY freaked out if I didn't have those memories to draw on.
Anyway, I couldn't sleep at all on the flight to Zurich so I could hardly keep my eyes open in the car to Mostar. I think the driver was laughing at me. When I got here, I had a Coke with a couple of 2nd years while I waited for my roommates to arrive and open the door. My roomies are all blonde-haired and blue-eyed, but Europeans say that means we're smart. :) Isabelle is from Holland, Una is from Kosovo, and Deana (pronounced dj-AH-na) is from BiH. Una is more outgoing than the rest of us, but we get along great. The room is nice with a bathroom (though the shower is just a ceramic spot on the floor with no curtain), wardrobes, tables, and a little kitchen. We are in the process of choosing classes, getting to know the city, and also being initiated by the 2nd years.
Today, I visited the school for the first time. The exterior of the building is being completely renovated, so it's hidden by scaffolding, but the inside is nice. When the gymnasium (the school) was built, it was the most prestigious gymnasium in the Balkans. Today, I chose my classes (English, French, Economics, Visual Arts, Biology, and Math). Some of the courses I wanted aren't offered, but I'm satisfied.
Having to walk so much in this heat has made me realize how out of shape I am. For instance, yesterday, we walked to school in the morning, had 2-hour walking tours of Mostar, walked to lunch, walked around shopping (and got lost, which means more walking), walked back home, walked to school, and walked/ran around the city for 3 ½ hours on a scavenger hunt set up by our 2nd years. And then we walked back home. I've calculated it, and I spent about 7 hours actually, physically walking from place to place. I was away from home for about 10 or 11 hours. I couldn't believe this, so I calculated it again and it's true. I'm understanding the Biblical practice of washing feet in a very real way. :)
I've now been to the famous Stari Most bridge, several mosques, the Turkish house, a cathedral, the tourist markets (there were some US troops shopping there, which was unexpected), and several other historical places. They're even more beautiful and interesting than in the pictures. I've tried the famous coffee here; it's good, but very strong. I mean seriously, it's just coffee, none of that cream and flavoring stuff. I've started to learn the language, but I'm having trouble remembering words (not to mention names!) I just finished dinner, which was a local dish that tastes like hamburger and came with fries and ketchup. Today, I went to a merkator where they have Levi jeans, Dove, Suave, and Pantene conditioner, Pepsi and Mountain Dew, Orbit Gum, Nike and Puma shoes, AIR CONDITIONING, and all sorts of things that make me feel at home. I also had my first gelato today-it's great, but not as good as the “real” thing in Italy, I'm told. We are free tonight, and some students are going to a party at an abrasevic, but I'm staying in to clean my room, watch a movie with some friends, and REST! In the next few days, I will try to put some pictures up so you can see a little of my new life! Please keep my fellow students and me in your thoughts and prayers—we are very happy to be here, but the homesickness is starting to hit and we are realizing that two years is a long time to spend in this unfamiliar place. In closing, here's a short list I've started of things I've learned so far. I love and miss you all!!

1.Sandwiches shouldn't be skimpy. Make them using a whole loaf of bread.
2.Screw speed limits. Just go until there's something to slow down for.
3.That gunshot at night doesn't mean the war's started again. It just means that the Muslims fasting for Ramadan are allowed to eat dinner.
4.Shower curtains are quite unnecessary (maybe this is just in our house; I don't know).
5.As my friend Nina says, Bosnians don't have a lot of taboos. You can talk about anything with anyone, and it's good to make jokes about things. Also, Bosnian culture is very relaxed. Every minute doesn't have to be planned out, and lingering over a hike or a meal is good...more time to enjoy it!
6.In some countries, students are paid to go to school.
7.Too many leaders equals too little accomplished.
8. Arrogance is ridiculous...you always have a lot to learn. :)

PS- I know some of you wondered about a mailing address. The safest thing is to send both letters and packages to the school. Because it is a prominent institution, the mail is more likely to be delivered and not tampered with. The address is:

United World College in Mostar
Gymnazija Mostar
Španjolski trg 1
88000 Mostar
Bosnia and Herzegovina

A Great Adventure (and by great I mean I wish it hadn't happened)

2008-09-02T06:08:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Yesterday was quite a day! The crew didn't show up for my flight out of St. Louis, so the flight was delayed while they found a replacement. Well, because of this I missed my flight to Munich, and now I'm sitting in a hotel in Washington, D.C. It's quite an adventure trying to re-book a plane ticket, and it involves a lot of walking and several hours of waiting. But it's done now! I'm heading to the airport in a few hours and catching a flight to Zurich, and then on to Split, Croatia and Mostar just one day late.

I'm actually kind of glad I got to spend the night in a bed, shower, and rest up a little. I just wish I could have seen a little more of the capital... I had a voucher for the hotel restaurant, where I got the most scrumptious fish and chips ever. I'm enjoying a little quiet time here in my room before heading back to the airport in a couple of hours. Don't know for sure when I'll have an internet connection again, but probably not for a few days. I know I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone I would have liked to, and I apologize for that, and I hope to be in contact soon.

With love,
Leah

What's the "BiH" all about??

2008-08-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Just a quick note to explain the blog title...BiH is an abbreviation for Bosnia-Herzegovina, where I'll be spending the next two years. Thank you, Jessica Rupprecht for inspiring the title. You probably don't remember it, but you said in a voicemail that I was Bosnia-bound. Guess the phrase stuck. :P