This weekend Michelle and I went to Belgrade, it was a shorter way than what we thought and 4 hour later we were there. The man at the border was strange with me and my passport but he finally stamped it.
Once there we met with Amber and Renee that came by surprise (for Michelle and me).
Belgrade is a huge city, so many people and sooo many things to do that coming from Tuzla we were very overwhelmed.
Amber B-day was another surprise, she became one year older this Saturday, and I made sure to remind it to her every hour.
It was very nice to be there for four days but, I should also say that I realized how biased I am with the discourse I heart about the war in Bosnia, it was really hard to try to remain neutral.
Anyway, I also wanted to say here that on Wednesday I leave Tuzla so today I made all my laundry and tomorrow is packing day.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
And now???!!!
First of all sorry that I either write once every 1000 days or 3 times on one day... is just that I have a lot to say today.
My plans for the next month ish are as follow:
This weekend Michelle and I are going to Belgrade, Serbia, to meet with Amber and see the city... tell you on Monday how it went.
Wednesday is my last day at "work" and after saying goodbye, Michelle and I are going to Sarajevo.
On Friday early morning Scott and I are going to Budapest and after expending a night there we will head up to Satu Mare, the town were my grandma was born.
Once we have taken 10000 pics we will go to Praga for a couple of days and hopefully meeting with Julie jolie.
On the 10th I am planning on going to Italy to see my cousin Ada and her family.
Around the 15th I will head up to Spain to visit Fer.
So far this are my plans, however I am waiting on some people (yes, Ada and Fer) to tell me some details. I will keep you all posted on the news.
My plans for the next month ish are as follow:
This weekend Michelle and I are going to Belgrade, Serbia, to meet with Amber and see the city... tell you on Monday how it went.
Wednesday is my last day at "work" and after saying goodbye, Michelle and I are going to Sarajevo.
On Friday early morning Scott and I are going to Budapest and after expending a night there we will head up to Satu Mare, the town were my grandma was born.
Once we have taken 10000 pics we will go to Praga for a couple of days and hopefully meeting with Julie jolie.
On the 10th I am planning on going to Italy to see my cousin Ada and her family.
Around the 15th I will head up to Spain to visit Fer.
So far this are my plans, however I am waiting on some people (yes, Ada and Fer) to tell me some details. I will keep you all posted on the news.
Wraping up
Hard to believe that I have been here for almost 2 months. Now that I am leaving in a week, I look back and I remember asif it would have been yesterday when I came.
I realized that I haven wrote on my blog things about the Tuzla, so here I go.
First let me tell you that Tuzla is a pretty and pretty small town, even if is considered that third biggest town in Bosnia.
People here, I think, are nicer than on any other place in Bosnia. Even when the language is a barrier, they really do their best to make the communication possible.
At my field placement people are really nice, always saying hi and asking how am I doing and what I have been up to.
By now I now a couple of random words and aproximately 10 useful sentences and everytime I use them they are sooooo happy I can speak Bosnian... if they would know that I am using all my "repertorio", all what I know.
My neighborhood is really nice too. Neighbours are friendlyand we say hi everythinme we see each other; aside from the rousters that sing at any time in the day, and the dogs that have thir conversations all along the night is a great place to be.
I know I should have wrote this at the biginning but I left it for later and later and now that I just have a couple of days more here I decided is time to let you know how the people have been with me here.
I realized that I haven wrote on my blog things about the Tuzla, so here I go.
First let me tell you that Tuzla is a pretty and pretty small town, even if is considered that third biggest town in Bosnia.
People here, I think, are nicer than on any other place in Bosnia. Even when the language is a barrier, they really do their best to make the communication possible.
At my field placement people are really nice, always saying hi and asking how am I doing and what I have been up to.
By now I now a couple of random words and aproximately 10 useful sentences and everytime I use them they are sooooo happy I can speak Bosnian... if they would know that I am using all my "repertorio", all what I know.
My neighborhood is really nice too. Neighbours are friendlyand we say hi everythinme we see each other; aside from the rousters that sing at any time in the day, and the dogs that have thir conversations all along the night is a great place to be.
I know I should have wrote this at the biginning but I left it for later and later and now that I just have a couple of days more here I decided is time to let you know how the people have been with me here.
We survive
The heat wave finally left us an we survive, or I am in heaven??? It doesn't matter what it is because is cooler.
Scott came to visit last weekend and we barely did something. Good thing Tuzla is small and we could do all the sightseeing very fast.
We expent all weekend taking showers and lying on our couches, I hope he didnt got too bored... He said he wanted a quiet weekend and I couldn't imagine a more quiet weekend than that. Sorry boy...
Scott came to visit last weekend and we barely did something. Good thing Tuzla is small and we could do all the sightseeing very fast.
We expent all weekend taking showers and lying on our couches, I hope he didnt got too bored... He said he wanted a quiet weekend and I couldn't imagine a more quiet weekend than that. Sorry boy...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Heat??!!!
How high the temperature needs to be in order to be hot??!!!
Come to Bosnia and you will find out that saunas are not necessary...
This week has been hell, and not only for for my horrible day at Vive Žene (from which I should say, I feel much better now), but also from the 45 C /104 F that have accompany us almos 24 hours a day... shall I mention that we don't have air conditioned?.
My roommate is melting and I am almost there but the 4 year in Puerto Rico trainned me welland I think I will survive.
By Wednesday is suposed to be better, wish uis luck!
Come to Bosnia and you will find out that saunas are not necessary...
This week has been hell, and not only for for my horrible day at Vive Žene (from which I should say, I feel much better now), but also from the 45 C /104 F that have accompany us almos 24 hours a day... shall I mention that we don't have air conditioned?.
My roommate is melting and I am almost there but the 4 year in Puerto Rico trainned me welland I think I will survive.
By Wednesday is suposed to be better, wish uis luck!
Feliz Dia!
I couldn't write yesterday and that's way I am writing a day late to say:
For all my dear friends around the world... Happy Friend Day!!!... Feliz Día del Amigo!!!!
Los quiero mucho y los extrano un montón.
For all my dear friends around the world... Happy Friend Day!!!... Feliz Día del Amigo!!!!
Los quiero mucho y los extrano un montón.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
La verdad de la milanesa
Ok, I will try to write this as clear as possible eventhough I am totally pissed, frustrated, ungry, upset and other thigs that I cant put in words right now.
My internship sucks!
Today I got back and I found that my supervissor has desapair, out in vacations, I have literally nothing to do and my mentor is trying to find me something to do. She comes up with the idea that I can entretain a 13 year ald that is bored as is the only kid in the safehouse. So now I have just two things to do for the next three weeks: baby-sit a kid and go one day to a refugee camp. The worst is that I have been putting up with this from week one, hoping that by week 5 it will get better but it hasnt, if something is getting worst.
I dont want to say anything bad about my mentor as she is doing her best. Is the people in charge, Challenges World Wide, DU and my supervisor at Viva Žene the ones that should have though this better from tha biginning.
Is sad to say, however, that I am not the only one going through this. I am one of the many thatthis summer have had nothing to do.
I know that we are limited for not speacking the language and for our level of experience but from that to work 3 hours a week, I think there is a difference that ismore than a lose intranslation.
Anyway, thank you for reading me, I already feel better.
PS: Tuzla is still beautiful and I still like this country
My internship sucks!
Today I got back and I found that my supervissor has desapair, out in vacations, I have literally nothing to do and my mentor is trying to find me something to do. She comes up with the idea that I can entretain a 13 year ald that is bored as is the only kid in the safehouse. So now I have just two things to do for the next three weeks: baby-sit a kid and go one day to a refugee camp. The worst is that I have been putting up with this from week one, hoping that by week 5 it will get better but it hasnt, if something is getting worst.
I dont want to say anything bad about my mentor as she is doing her best. Is the people in charge, Challenges World Wide, DU and my supervisor at Viva Žene the ones that should have though this better from tha biginning.
Is sad to say, however, that I am not the only one going through this. I am one of the many thatthis summer have had nothing to do.
I know that we are limited for not speacking the language and for our level of experience but from that to work 3 hours a week, I think there is a difference that ismore than a lose intranslation.
Anyway, thank you for reading me, I already feel better.
PS: Tuzla is still beautiful and I still like this country
Adventuring in Montenegro
Julie, Hannah, Michelle and I went to Montenegro for Thursday, Fraday, Saturday and Sunday. Julie and Hannah rented a car and let us share it with them. It was a great trip. I was pissed of traveling by bus and the girls saved me offering this great idea.
We got the opportunity to go from the sea to the mountains in a day. Amaizing experience must be to be in the beach and six hours later be able to ski, must come back in winter. We went through dirt and wavie roads to get to the most amaizing sceneries.
We got stopped twise by the police for random reasons, fill our car with gas instead of diesel and in all of our adventures always got saved by nice persons and our own skills.
It was a fun and beautiful trip, I will give more details in person as if I write everything this will look more like a novel.
On Monday, after Hannah, Julie and Starmy finish working we went to Mostar, a small town (smaller than Tuzla), with a famous bridge. This bridge devides the Muslim from the Catholics parts of the city and during the war it was broken. Two or three years ago the bridge was rebuilded symbolizing also how the relationship between this two comunities is improving. This part of the trip was a "Yapa" (I dont know this in English) and was equally great, the only boomer was that we couldnt meet with Maria, our dear classmate, who works there.
We got the opportunity to go from the sea to the mountains in a day. Amaizing experience must be to be in the beach and six hours later be able to ski, must come back in winter. We went through dirt and wavie roads to get to the most amaizing sceneries.
We got stopped twise by the police for random reasons, fill our car with gas instead of diesel and in all of our adventures always got saved by nice persons and our own skills.
It was a fun and beautiful trip, I will give more details in person as if I write everything this will look more like a novel.
On Monday, after Hannah, Julie and Starmy finish working we went to Mostar, a small town (smaller than Tuzla), with a famous bridge. This bridge devides the Muslim from the Catholics parts of the city and during the war it was broken. Two or three years ago the bridge was rebuilded symbolizing also how the relationship between this two comunities is improving. This part of the trip was a "Yapa" (I dont know this in English) and was equally great, the only boomer was that we couldnt meet with Maria, our dear classmate, who works there.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Emotions from one extreme to the other
It was a great weekend! The bad new is that Stormy forgot to bring her passport so when Michelle and I got there, we just found Scott.
We had a failure attempt to rent our first sobe (apartment) but the second one went great and the view was awsome.
We stayed at the beach almost the hole day and when we finished there we ate mussles.
At the end of the trip Scott and Michelle were tan (red tan) but I am still as white as when I left Tuzla.
We left the Montenegro trip for later as the bus we wanted to take was full. We came to Sarajevo a day earlier. On Monday the Genocide Convention started and so far it has been very interesting. Amber came for it so I got to see her = )
On Wednesday, as part of the conference program we went to Srebernica. It was a gray day, just as the part of the history we were commemorating. During the week of July 11th 1995, a masacre ocurred where thousands were killed. After this, they have been finding their bodies in mass graves and each year and after identifying the bodies through DNA test they give a proper burial to them. It was a really powerfull and sad experience. Thousands of people were present to bury their love ones or support their community.
We had a failure attempt to rent our first sobe (apartment) but the second one went great and the view was awsome.
We stayed at the beach almost the hole day and when we finished there we ate mussles.
At the end of the trip Scott and Michelle were tan (red tan) but I am still as white as when I left Tuzla.
We left the Montenegro trip for later as the bus we wanted to take was full. We came to Sarajevo a day earlier. On Monday the Genocide Convention started and so far it has been very interesting. Amber came for it so I got to see her = )
On Wednesday, as part of the conference program we went to Srebernica. It was a gray day, just as the part of the history we were commemorating. During the week of July 11th 1995, a masacre ocurred where thousands were killed. After this, they have been finding their bodies in mass graves and each year and after identifying the bodies through DNA test they give a proper burial to them. It was a really powerfull and sad experience. Thousands of people were present to bury their love ones or support their community.
Friday, July 6, 2007
4th of July
Let me tell you about my 4th of July first experience. Patrick from Portland threw great party; Michelle made me wear my read shirt to be on USers colors; there was great food, drinks and dessert, and to mke it perfect we met great people. Thanks Portland for the great evening!
I just check Michelle's blog and she is writing more than me. Go and check hers and you will know all what I am up to... she is my roommy
Half Way
This week was an interesting one. I finished my internship at Horizonti. This week there was acctually the only one that I did something. Sarah and I gave two workshops on Domestic Violence and Gender Equality. It was ok but I think we could have done more and more meaningful things there.
Today I went to Špionica again for a women group therapy. This was the session before the last one after 8 years of the therapy. Even though this seems to be a long time is nothing compared with the time they have been living in the refugee camp when, after 12 years that the war finished they are still there. Really sad.
Now I need to leave because as part of my selfcare plan, Michelle, Stormy, Scott and I are going to Dobrouvnik for the weekend, see you on my way back!
PS: I am not posting pics because the connection is too slow and it times out.
Today I went to Špionica again for a women group therapy. This was the session before the last one after 8 years of the therapy. Even though this seems to be a long time is nothing compared with the time they have been living in the refugee camp when, after 12 years that the war finished they are still there. Really sad.
Now I need to leave because as part of my selfcare plan, Michelle, Stormy, Scott and I are going to Dobrouvnik for the weekend, see you on my way back!
PS: I am not posting pics because the connection is too slow and it times out.
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