The third week commences...

So, it’s Sunday night and I’m exhausted. I get so tired here, I just don’t understand it. I don’t know how I function when I’m at the CU of A, with 5 classes, innumerable jobs, and, you know, livin’ the good life.

I think my exhaustion has a lot to do with the fact that I haven’t really seen the sun in two weeks and I have hence been dying a slow, painful death due to vitamin D deficiency. This is similar to Kaitlyn’s affliction of having the immune system of an AIDS patient, but not quite. Pardon my dark humor.

Today, I went to the KIC (the cultural information center, which is, ironically, not a tourist information center, but rather a coffee/internet bar) for a smidge and downloaded all of my emails and everyone’s blogs… I just finished reading everything and it was great. I frown on the 6-hour time difference between the East Coast and me. (Shout out: Global Jeannie, you-mad-baller-you, YOU are epic!).

As I was able to quickly post on my blog at KIC, I did indeed eat octopus today. I’m not sure how appropriate the term “delicacy” is… The texture of the suckers freaked me out – I’ve never chewed something so fast in my life. I just needed to reiterate that experience! For a snack later, Branka made me warm polenta with sour cream, one of the best comfort foods ever (and the first thing that has sat well in my stomach since getting here – thank God).

I also wrote my first two assignments this weekend – one was an analysis of one of our required readings, the other, an essay reflecting on one particular experience we have had since arriving in Zagreb. I wrote about how Slavan told me he was going to give me a knife before I went to Serbia so I could "kill some Serbs" and how I was concerned about how parents relayed their memories of the recent past to the next generation, as these kids will inevitably have to deal with questions of enduring peace. I'm still not sure if he was seriously being hostile or was just being cynical... it's stunning/disturbing.

Kika just came over, so I should go… will post this tomorrow before class.