Monday, March 30, 2009

Photos from Bosnia

Dubrovnik:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lzkblr/Dubrovnik?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHPmKPYp8ahKA&feat=directlink

Mostar:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lzkblr/Mostar?feat=directlink

Sarajevo:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lzkblr/Sarajevo?feat=directlink

Banja Luka & Sanski Most:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lzkblr/BanjaLukaSanskiMost?feat=directlink

SICK

I am really sick! I came down with something on Friday and had a fever of over 100 degrees until late Saturday. It mostly feels like someone is sitting on my chest - it's hard to breathe and I'm coughing a lot. I spent the entire weekend at home and I'm still not sure if I'll go to all of my classes today. And what a week to miss class -we have our final classes for everything this week, since we begin ISP time on Sunday! I have a final paper due Thursday along with my final ISP proposal... hopefully my AD will sign off on everything. Luckily, I found an advisor for my project on Friday and Rachel confirmed our apartment in Belgrade, so those are 2 things I don't need to worrry about.

Hopefully I'll upload the pictures from Bosnia later today!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Snowy in Sarajevo

Let's see... We got to Sarajevo on Thursday evening. We went straight to the hotel, which is really swanky (even by American standards). Some rooms have lofts and skylights and stuff, which is pretty awesome, but I'm in a normal suite with 2 other girls, Fiona and Emily. .

On Friday morning, we went to the War Crimes Court of BiH. This was a great visit. We learned about the Court's functions and were introduced to various employees - legal aides, spokespeople, etc. Right now, the Court is hearing the trial of two men indicted for war crimes committed at Srebrenica (where a mass killing of 8,000 Bosnjak males occurred in 1995). We watched the testimony and questioning of a witness from Srebrenica over closed circuit TV (they translate everything to English in real time!).

Yesterday, we had a city tour bright and early. We went to some sites that were important during the Siege of Sarajevo. We went to the Sarajevo Tunnel Museum. The tunnel used to get supplies and people in and out of the city during the Siege. It was pretty remarkable, but also scary. The footage we watched showed the entrance to the tunnel during the war - there were shells were falling everywhere, everything was blown apart, and people were running through trenches. We were standing in the same spot today, which looks totally normal, except for some shrapnel marks in the concrete. It was really disturbing for me and makes me think twice when I walk down a seemingly normal street in Sarajevo and think that 14 years ago, it was a war zone. The men we met at the museum also talked about using the tunnel during the war and how the humanitarian aid they received from the U.S. was awful and, in some cases, useless.

It made me feel so helpless - sometimes, all I want to do is apologize for the (in)actions of my country during the 1990s. Americans would be ashamed if they knew the amount of times the U.S., NATO and the UN could have prevented the atrocities here. Don't even get me started on Srebrenica (Hasan Nuhanovic spoke to us today). Of course, that is probably true about intervention during any event in modern history. I'm not saying that the U.S. should intervene in every conflict area, but its wishy-washy policies drive me crazy.

Luckily, Saturday night, we participated in a lively, lighthearted drumming circle with 3 guys from Musicians Without Borders, whose organization here works on peace building through music. They told us about their activities and then we played samba reggae for two hours! And today, I went to noon Mass at the Cathedral, which - surprise, surprise - was in English! There were about 20 people there and the priest asked me to lead the Prayers of the Faithful. It was so great!

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to find the Women for Women office here, since we have most of the day off. I hope I have the right address!

P.S. It's been snowing all weekend, hence the title of my post.

Friday, March 20, 2009

A Walk with an Imam

On Wednesday, I departed Zagreb for Bosnia. We stopped for lunch and a lecture in Banja Luka, which is the capital of the Republika Srpska (RS, the Serb-populated entity of BiH). After that, we got back on the bus and headed on to Sanski Most, where we spent the night.

Non-Serbs were expelled from Sanski Most during the war. Not many have returned, although much of the diaspora comes back to visit their town in the summertime. There wasn't too much there, except for a few cafes (as usual).

We were met by Vahedin, who runs the Center for Peace Building in Sanski Most. He is also an imam (Muslim religious leader). He is a great guy. His work includes creating a dialogue between the different ethnic groups in Sanski Most and in BiH. Every summer, they run peace camps, where people can come together to meet and process their feelings about the past. The Center also does year round club activities for youth, including foreign language classes, sports teams and other activities. They also provide psychological support and other counseling to people.

Vahedin took us to the mosque in the town and then we went up to the Center, which is in an old house (that he purchased for US$125... the annual budget of the center is US$10,000). Along the way, he talked a lot about his past and about Islam. He lived as a refugee in Slovenia for 4 years during the war. He also talked about hate and how it doesn't affect the people you hate, because they don't know you hate them - its a burden that only affects you.

The next morning, Vahedin ran a workshop with us on identity that he usually does at the peace camps. It was really interesting - it was hard for me to finish the exercise and I can only imagine what it would be like for someone who is really conflicted about their identities.

After a lunch of Bosnian stew, we got back on the bus for 5 hours and ended up in Sarajevo (finally! The city I came to see!). We had a long ride through the mountains and saw some pretty depressed (economically and otherwise) little villages. There were a lot of houses that were abandoned and had "Prodajem se" ("I'm selling") and a cell phone number spray-painted on the outside. But, the mountains were really pretty and there is still snow in most places (it was snowing here in Sarajevo today!).

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Info

Here is some information on the government and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). It will help you in understanding my posts about my travels through the different regions here and to know what I'm learning about.

BiH declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. From 1992-1995, the country was wrought with inter-ethnic conflict, including genocide, mass rape and other war crimes. Many towns were ethnically cleansed and the city of Sarajevo was sieged by Serb forces from 1992-1996. Mass killings occurred in Srebrenica in 1995. A lot of numbers get thrown around when casualities are discussed, but I think it's around 100,000 people, over half were civilians. There is no man or woman living in BiH today who was not affected by the wars of the 1990s in some way.

The Dayton Peace Accords signed in 1995 set up a peace agreement, the constitution of BiH and a framework for the government. It's under a lot of criticism here, because essentially, Dayton gives every party a share of power, but it doesn't, in reality, function. BiH currently spends more per capita on the government than any country in Europe. The GDP per capita is $6,600 (in the United States, its $48,000).

BiH consists of 2 states within BiH: the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Bosnian/Croat Federation. Bosnia and Herzegovina are just geographical terms. RS consists of a mainly Bosnian Serb population, divided into municipalities. The Federation is decentralized into 10 cantons (counties), which are either ethnically Muslim, Croat, or mixed. The cantons are further split up into muncipalities. Each level of government has different functions, which are too confusing to explain here. On the map, the gray area represents the RS, while the lighter areas represent the Federation.

Going along with these ethnically divided regions, other things are similarly shared among the groups. For example, the Presidency consists of elected Muslim (or "Bosnjak"), Croat and Serb officials - they rotate through the Presidency every 18 months. Political parties also function based on ethnicity. In the bicameral parliament, legislation is easily rejected if a member feels it could infringe on their ethnic rights.

That is sort of a crash introductory statement to the state of BiH. It probably doesn't make much sense, it's really hard to understand. Just know that reform of the current constitution is necessary. It is predicted that without a change in course, there will be more conflict in BiH.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Venice Photos!

Venice


There are a lot of pictures of bridges and canals, so prepare yourself. Also, I don't have time to caption all of them, so I apologize!!

Bosnia-Herzegovina Itinerary

We leave for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) tomorrow morning! Our itinerary is the following:

Wednesday: Day in Banja Luka, travel to Sanski Most.
Thursday: Day in Sanski Most, travel to Sarajevo.
Friday-Monday: Sarajevo!
Tuesday: Travel to Mostar, day there.
Wednesday: Travel to Dubrovnik and have a few hours free time there.

We fly back to Zagreb from Dubrovnik on Wednesday night. I'll definitely have internet at some point in Sarajevo, so I'll update then! We spent yesterday and today discussing BiH after the Dayton Peace Accords and the current political system there. Hopefully, I'll find the time to write a post explaining all of it to you, dearest readers.

Sretan Irski Dan!
Also, happy birthday Spencer and happy belated birthday Mom!!

Monday, March 16, 2009

VENEZIA!!

Wow. What a beautiful city!! It was altogether peaceful and calm and quiet - so relaxing!

Rachel and I left Friday night. We took an overnight train from Zagreb to Venice. We left Zagreb at 11:30 and arrived around 7:15am. It wasn't direct, plus we stopped for 45 minutes at every border (Slovenia and Italy), so it took awhile. Luckily, we were able to sleep for a few hours.

We arrived in Venice and went straight to our hostel (Absolut Venice). It was located right across the canal from the train station and it was really easy to find! The manager, Franco, was already awake and he made us coffee and gave us some cake for breakfast. The hostel was beautiful - it had chandeliers and moldings and MTV!

After our cake and coffee with Franco, we hit the streets. The city is spread out over a bunch of islands, which have canals and little windy streets running all through them. Everything (at least on the islands connected by bridges) is within close walking distance, so we found most of the major sites by early afternoon. We got to San Marco's Basilica shortly after it opened and walked right it - by the time we came out, there was a line stretching around the square!

Plenty of tourists were out, but probably nothing compared to what it's like during the peak season. Also, there are no cars on the islands, making it really different from Zagreb and Belgrade! It was nice to know that we weren't going to be nearly killed at every corner! The lack of air pollution was very welcome. The weather was warm and sunny (but not too hot that we could smell the canals).

We stopped for pizza at a little trattoria and had excellent, polite service from a few Italian guys who thought we should join them later on that evening for some street dancing. We passed... After some gelato, we eventually made it back to the hostel, where we napped for a few hours since we hadn't gotten the best night's sleep on the train.

After our power snooze, we went to the Venetian Ghetto and ended up at a major grocery store (the selection there was sort of reverse culture shock!). We bought some pasta and such for dinner and went back to the hostel to cook it. I haven't cooked for myself since January! It was so nice to be free in a kitchen without a host mom trying to prepare something for me! We were also able to buy tomatoes, which are a rarity this time of year in Croatia. In the market, only one or two vendors have them and then, they are really expensive.

We went to bed pretty early - there were a few other people at the hostel (2 girls from Canada and a few kids from China), but everyone was pretty quiet/tired. Sunday morning, we woke up and packed up our stuff. Franco said we could leave our backpacks in the closet and invited us back for dinner that night, which was really nice.

We saw some more sights and had cappucinos at an outdoor cafe on one of the squares. I wish I knew more about Italian history, because I think I would have understood the significance of some of things we were seeing better. I wanted to go on a guided tour, but we really weren't up for it and didn't want to shell out the Euros! I have a little guide to the city, so I'll just have to read it as I look at my pictures; hopefully, it will all make sense.

We got kebabs (I know, not Italian, but we needed something flavorful and not the bland meat they serve in Croatia) and ate them on the promenade along the Grand Canal. After more gelato, we went souvenir shopping! Murano glass (a Venetian original) was everywhere. I bought a pair of earrings and a glass pendant for a necklace. I really wanted a Carneval mask, but needed to prioritize/budget!! After that, we bought some drinks (Bellini for me) and went to a park to sit and relax... our feet were killing us! Then, we went to the hostel for dinner and to get our stuff.

We left Venice at 9:30, had some time to read/do homework on the train before we got to the border and then we slept until 4am, when we arrived in Zagreb. We went back to Rachel's apartment and slept for 5 hours before class! It was a fantastic trip!!

My pictures will be up sometime in the next 24 hours.....

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I miss my friends... / Serbia Reflection

...as crazy as they are.

I've got 3 of my very best friends on speakerphone over Skype. I miss them so much! I love listening to them. Even though we're discussing housing for next year (our housing lottery is next week)... it's great. My voice is really hoarse and I'm trying not to talk too loud, because everyone else is asleep, but I'm not hanging up because I haven't had a phone conversation with anyone at CUA for a long time!

We got back from Belgrade safely. It was a good trip. I'm pretty beat now, but that might just be because its 1:15am. I didn't unpack either, because I only took my backpack, some clothing and my senses to Belgrade, so there isn't anything to unpack anyways.

***
I had to deal with some awkward questions when I walked in the door. Branka was home and she was so happy to see me! She made me some tea and we sat in the living room, where the guys were watching soccer (per usual). The kids wanted to know which I liked more, Zagreb or Belgrade? (I lied). I knew in coming back, I'd have to answer a lot of questions about what I thought about Serbia/ns, especially from Slavan. He asked me right away if "I killed some Serbs" (he wanted to give me a knife for that before I left, remember?). He asked me something about the Shiptars (the derogatory term for the Roma). Also, he asked me who I thought was "guilty" for the wars.

I can awkwardly laugh off the question about killing Serbs, that is just silly to me. The question about the Roma I didn't quite understand and all I heard was "Shiptar," so I'm blowing it off. The question about who is "guilty" is another issue all together. I should have just told Slavan it was the Serbs' fault, it would have made things much easier. I tried to say that as an American, as an outsider, it wasn't my place to determine guilt or responsibility. That didn't go over well at all. He started yelling that I was an anthropology major! That I studied these things! That I should realize what the Serbs did to the Croats! Really, Slavan, the wars of the 1990s started because of many reasons, on many different fronts. It isn't reasonable for me to answer that question.

I think that is what I liked so much about Serbians. They didn't try to deny their role in the wars. The people I talked to admitted that Serbia was the bigger power, thus holding a greater responsibility. They pointed out that war crimes were also committed on other sides and reminded me that the entire Serbian system (political, economic, social) collapsed. They are still faced with the consequences today. Economically, they are farther behind Croatia and the global recession is hitting them hard. Politically, everything is corrupt. An interviewee stated to me, "It was better in the '90s, because then you were clear who the opposition was. Today, you just don't know. You can't trust anyone." Serbians still need visas to travel, which limits the people's interaction with the greater global community (I think that this is detrimental, because it prohibits young people from going out into the world to experience other modes of organization and frames of meaning... something that would definitely help Serbia's society to evolve).

I don't really know what the solution is or what I should have answered. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when you're running around telling people that all Serbs are bad (especially your kids - who will eventually pick up the pieces of something they aren't collectively responsible for). Not all Serbs are bad, not all Croats are good.

Next week, I get the Bosnian perspective(s). I guess that I should rest up.

Wind blows on...

I had my last night in Belgrade... it was good. I finally got lost. This is different than getting lost in other cities. There are no maps. No street names. If a street has a name, it's written in Cyrillic. Chances are, the name has also been changed at least three times. It was an epic adventure.

I was trying to get to Jacob's apartment by 8:00 for a little sending off dinner with everyone. I had it in my head that he and I lived on opposite ends of the 26 bus line, so I thought it would be a pretty easy trip. Not so.

I ended up at the end of the 26 line in Dorćol, texting Jacob - "I think I'm lost." This was at 7:50. Apparently, Jacob doesn't live on the 26 bus line, he lives on the 28 - who knew? So, I got back on the 26, went half way back to my house, and got off at the law school. There, I asked some people for directions to the bus stop for 48 or 33, and they directed me to the center median of the cross street. How Belgrade traffic patterns function, I'll never know.

After waiting many minutes for the bus to come, I took it to the "third stop" like I was directed... it was the middle of some random intersection. I called Jacob's apartment so someone could come find me. I waited and waited and waited. Yes, I was at the wrong intersection...

At this point, I was hungry and cold enough to just head home. So, I crossed the street and walk a few blocks to the the bus station heading back to the law school. I called Rachel and said that I was in Cvijićeva and giving up.

When I got back to the law school, Danjiela (Jacob's host mum) calls and said that I absolutely need to come because she had information for me about her Roma projects. Talk about dangling the carrot. I turned around, got back on the 48 bus "headed down the hill" and this time, counted the law school stop as the first of three stops (which is what I messed up the first time)... and get off at Cvijićeva...

I finally made it to Jacob's at 10:00. I was never really lost. I ALWAYS knew where I was, I just had no idea where I was going (which is an analogy for my life in general).

Luckily, it was a beautiful (but cold) night. It was completely clear and there was a full moon. The Koshava wind was blowing up from the south, which, in my opinion, makes the city air feel less polluted.

Today, it's back to Croatia... wind blows on...

Monday, March 9, 2009

Coffee Culture

A word to the wise: in the Balkans, one cup is enough.

It doesn’t hit you right away. The full effects take hours.

As Rachel put it, “The first hour is okay – you feel like you’ve just had any normal coffee. Within the next hour, however, you are flushed and sweating slightly.” Then, your heart begins to palpitate and you wonder if you should phone a friend or the paramedics. Eventually these feelings pass and you feel like you’ve had one of the most intense workouts of your life.

I’m accustomed to drinking my coffee black. But, alas, that is American drip coffee. Here, in cafes, they serve espresso, and at home, Turkish coffee. Bring on the cream and sugar!!

Turkish coffee is an acquired taste for some. It’s made by boiling cold water with fine, powdery grounds. Actually, it’s boiled twice, so that it releases more flavor and caffeine. It’s serve in a small mug, with the grounds. They sink to the bottom – be careful on those last few sips or else you’ll get grounds in your teeth! I add inappropriate amounts of sugar, but overall, I like it. In cafes, I drink the best cappuccinos ever created (and in ceramic mugs too. None of that Starbucks paper cup nonsense for me!!).

I’m posting this at 12:30, because, unfortunately, I had espresso at 8 and I’m still wide awake...

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Balkan Pedaler

Here is a blogpost written by Jacob, the "Balkan Pedaler" (one of the guys on my program):
"Welcome to the Crossroads: Snapshots from the White City."

Written better than I could have ever put it.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Weekend Update

Wow, I've been in Belgrade for 8, 9 days, I guess. I love this city. I'm coming back to do my ISP here in April. If you haven't noticed by my last few posts about the Roma, I really want to come back and work with the community here. It's a pretty radical switch from my previously proposal of working with refugees in Bosnia, but it's something that I decided the minute I saw the Roma settlement coming into Belgrade via the Gazela bridge.

Ok. So. My week. Belgrade is awesome. Two weeks is not enough. A blog post can't describe. Come visit.

We spent a TON of time in class and everyone is getting burned out and sick. I have a sore throat, but I've been loading up on my fizzy vitamins and fruit juice (they have the best juices here!!). We're presenting some constructive criticism about our schedule to our coordinators... we need a student's Bill of Rights!! Some days are just awful - we'll have class schedule from 10-6 with 2 hours of lunch, but class runs late and then we have announcements, so then we have an hour for lunch, which means booking it up to the square to get some carry-out and then running back for afternoon seminars. Those seminars inevitably run over (and I mean, run over as in, one hour over).

I'm thinking about walking out the next time classes run that late (which is what would happen in the States!). In a program where the philosophy is "just as much learning goes on outside of the classroom as inside," we sure spend enough time within four walls. That, plus balancing a commute, completing homework and assignments, integrating with a host family, experiencing Belgrade and taking a few minutes for yourself is A LOT.

We had American faculty visit our program this week. They were professors and study abroad coordinators who are interested in sending students on SIT programs. The SIT admissions director, an SIT recruiter, and the SIT European region director came with them. It was great to see new American faces! They sat in on our classes and had lunch with us today. They wanted to pick our brains about the program - so we ran with it. I'm not sure if it was the best week for them to visit, because by this afternoon, we'd all sort of had it with SIT, which might have been reflected in our comments. I definitely emphasized our need to be flexible! It's so easy to get caught up in all kinds of negativity towards the program, get stressed out, and lose sight of the big picture and all the opportunities here.


What have I done this week???
- city tour of Belgrade with a very dramatic tour guide named Srđan.
- tried to go a kafana (traditional cafe) with Rachel and Stef but left after realizing we were the only females in a very masculine space. Oops.
- found what has to be the only non-smoking cafe on this side of the Atlantic!
- lost a few pounds after not having to eat greasy Croatian food all the time.
- got "controlled" by the secret [transit] police - luckily I had validated by ticket!!!!
- went to the main post offce next to the Parliament (watch your mail)
- learned to read Serbian Cyrillic efficiently. Whether or not I know what it means in English is up for debate...
- saw the American diplomatic residence and the American embassy (Ahhh, Motherland!) as well as Tito's old crib.
- ate a palaćinku (crepe) with Nutella that broke all records.
- mangaged NOT to get lost even once. But when I eventually do, I'm sure it will be epic.

... it's not an exhaustive list, but most definitely not the end of my experiences either. Tonight, we're taking on the Belgrade nightlife by storm.

Срећан петак!!
Srećan petak!!
Happy Friday!!

My Pretty Dyana



"Pretty Dyana: A Gypsy Recycling Saga - An intimate look at Gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroen's classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad Max-like recycling vehicles, with which they collect cardboard, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficient than the cart-pushing competition, but even more important - they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch TV and recharge mobiles! Almost an alchemist's dream come true! But the police doesn't always find these strange vehicles funny...." (Dribbling Pictures)

***
This is a great documentary. It shows the great igenuity of the people... they remodel these cars with hacksaws and hammers... I see these Dyanes all over Belgrade. Watch the film if you have time, it's available in 5 parts on YouTube.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

"Cardboard City"


Introduction to the documentary "Everyday Life of Roma Children from Block 71."

There are mahalas (Roma settlements... or "slums") all over the city. One of my first views of Belgrade was of Gazela, one of the central settlements in the city and one that attracts a lot of attention. Read more here.

I spend last Sunday walking around the outskirts of Gazela with my host family. It's right on the bank of the Sava river, where a walking/bike path is crowded with Belgraders. I'm appalled at how people can walk, bike, skate right past the settlement or sit on the benches overlooking the river and turn their backs on it...

Monday, March 2, 2009

Belgrade Photos!

Belgrade


Back to writing this assignment... I've prolonged it enough already!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

And you thought the U.S. economy is bad...

I found a 500 billion dinar note today at a street vendor.

500 billion = 5 with 11 zeros = 500,000,000,000.

It is the largest banknote ever printed, I think, except for Zimbabwe’s currency, which is currently being issued in the trillions.

The 500 billion note was issued in December 23, 1993. That morning, it was worth about $6. By that evening, the value had dropped to nearly $3. Yugoslavia was suffering from astronomical hyperinflation – the inflation rate was something like 313 million percent per month at its peak (roughly 3% per hour). The dinar had been already revalued 4 times and on January 1, 1994, it was revalued at one billion dinars to one. I can only understand economics with extreme examples and this makes sense to me, so I hope you can all understand it.

I paid the guy 380 dinars (about $6.50) for it – the most the note has ever been worth.