Do and Don’t

First day inSarajevo: done.  There are 14 of us here from The University of Denver (all doing different internships), and today we took a walking tour of the city.  It was beautiful!  Last night when we got in on the train (an hour later than expected – apparently this is normal) it was too dark to see anything.  This morning we could see beautiful hills surrounding the city.  I think I’m going to likeSarajevo.

And now starts a new series: Do and Don’t

Do: Ride the train if you have the time. I was worried that it was going to be completely sketch and the train would fall apart along the way.  It was actually really nice – not too crowded – air conditioned (except when we stopped – then we melted) – beautiful countryside – plus, 4 stamps in my passport in one day! (leavingHungary, entering and leavingCroatia, and then enteringBosnia)

Don’t: Forget to bring food for the entire day. We made the mistake of believing there would be a food car.  Apparently that was left inHungarywhen we crossed the border intoCroatia.  We survived on peanuts, juice, cheese puffs, and apples – we were starving when we finally arrived inSarajevo.

Do: Hang out with friends at the bar across the street from the hostel as soon as you arrive – and get a massive pizza all for yourself.  Chat – catch up on travel stories – lament over lost luggage – brag about how amazingBudapestwas – generally have a fantastic time with amazing people you get to spend the entire summer with.

Don’t: Go to Bosnia and eat at McDonalds. They most definitely had signs pointing the direction to the McDonalds (which has to be the most amazing looking McD’s that I have ever seen in my life, btw) 

 Do: Watch the men play chess in the city center. It’s most definitely entertaining.

Don’t: Take pictures in a church that you are not allowed to take pictures in – or go inside without your shoulders covered – the nun will chastise you and make you feel like a fool.

Do: Travel around the city and look at the “Bosnian Roses” – they are from mortar shells that caused casualties, and are a reminder of the lives lost and injuries sustained during the horrific war and siege.

Don’t: Climb around in an abandoned bombed out building from the war just because it looks amazing and you think you will get some awesome shots – it likely will collapse on you if you traverse its depths.

Don’t: Wear inappropriate clothing while going to visit a beautiful Mosque – they will not even let you inside the courtyard.

Do: Look at the architecture. It’s an amazing blend of Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, and Modern influences. It is also apparent how significant the damage from the war is upon the old buildings vs. the new ones.

Do: Make friends with the local wildlife (aka random cats and dogs that are all over the city). The people inSarajevo are extremely nice to them – therefore, they are extremely cuddly and cute. I feel as though there will be many friends made this summer.

Don’t: Travel behind your tour group to take pictures – because you will miss all of the important things said regarding the history of Sarajevo.

Do: Visit the place where Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated – because it’s a major piece of world history.

Don’t: Eat solely at places that serve “American” food.  Bosnian food is delicious, and every opportunity to try new, wonderful dishes should be taken.

Do: Eat the delicious gelato after every meal. For 1 KM (about 70 cents), you really can’t go wrong.

Do: Finish the night with friends, food, and drinks at a local restaurant/pub. In this case, the local Sarajevo Brewery.

Don’t: upload a bajillion pictures using slow internet access ever again. You will be up half of the night waiting for the pictures to finish loading onto the blog…

Do: Go to bed and come back to the blog post the next day in favor of sleep. No one likes a grumpy, sleep-deprived person.

Back in America

It is Tuesday June 26, and I have a hard time re-adjusting and processing the many experiences I have had in Bosnia.  I have always appreciated my country, my family and my privilege, but feel it even more now that I am back.  I cannot say enough to Anne and Michelle and GSSW for the opportunity to take this journey.  I would say that I learned more than I can ever put into words both in a historical, political and personal context.

This class cannot be described as a course in a curriculum but much more profound than anything I have ever experienced.  As an older student the opportunity to have such an experience for my first trip to Europe was amazing.  I am compiling my many notes, and names of all the people I have met while in Bosnia and will be sharing more as I organize my thoughts and joy of meeting such wonderful native Bosnian’s.  Despite the tremendous conflict they went through, their hearts are forever backing the city of Sarajevo….

More to come!

Heidi Vendegna

Round two

The students from the “Social Work Response in Post-War Bosnia” course have all left Sarajevo. A few of them may still post on the blog once they return home.  What is certain is that the new group of students arriving today for the Project Bosnia internships will begin posting this week.  Some of them have been traveling in Europe and others are coming directly from the U.S.  today.  We will be meeting them all throughout the day at the airport, bus station and train station. It will be interesting to introduce a new group of students to Bosnia so soon after saying Dovidjenja (goodbye) to the first group.

The Social Work Response in Post-War Bosnia class went so well. What an honor to be able to teach students about this very important place and then have the issues come to life while they are here.  They all left with an appreciation of the culture and history as well as an intense reaction to the reality of a genocide in Europe in the 90s.  They all had the privilege of getting to know the Bosnian people and their personal experiences with all that has happened here. They also gained a greater understanding of the possible dangerous outcome of power and oppression. And, of equal importance, they had the experience of appreciating the resilience, grace, capacity for forgiveness and hospitality of these amazing people who are somehow managing to move forward in a political system that is so crazy that even those “in the know” have to keep a “cheat sheet”  to sort it all out.

I leave you with some pictures of our experiences.

Beautiful waterfalls at Kravica

Enjoying a lamb dinner in Herzegovina on the way back from Mostar. The river in the background is really that color!

A sobering and haunting day at Srebrenica

Lectures at the University of Sarajevo

Learning about work being done at a family therapy agency

 Service day at a residential school for children who are blind

Day 5 (June 15, 2012) – Visit to the US Embassy

Today we walked to the US Embassy, which was like no other embassy I’ve ever seen! It was this huge eye sore in the middle of Sarajevo! I’m not really sure why the US Embassy is as large as it is but I’m sure there’s a reason for it.

 

We met with Ambassador Moon who took lots of time to welcome us to the Embassy and answer our many questions about the work that the Embassy is doing in Sarajevo. He acknowledged that there is a human-trafficking problem in Bosnia and that although the police and political parties have become more involved in it, there are no formal laws against human-trafficking. He also said that this past year was the worst in regards to arrests and added that they had no prosecutions for human-trafficking.

 

Like Judge Wiener, he acknowledged the challenges faced within the politics of the country and challenges with collaborating between multiple ethnic groups. His assistant, whose name I can online remember as Sunshine (which IS her real name), was able to speak more freely (and less politically) than the Ambassador and was able to say that not much can be done about change until the people are more invested in it and that many people are afraid of another war, which may be one of the reasons why they are reluctant to do or say anything.

 

Kristy and I walked back towards the hotel but found ourselves stopping and walking into random buildings. We found ourselves walking towards the most beautiful building and then realized is the University building for Fine Art. It sits right along the river and we were able to walk around the building and look at some of the student art and peer into an art class. Then we walked a little closer towards our hotel and saw this HUGE church. When walked in we noticed that it was an Orthodox church that was in the middle of reconstruction in the inside. You could tell where parts of the old church had been destroyed by the war. It was so beautiful with the tall stone pillars and the stained glass windows.

 

Then back to our hotel where we had some time to relax before we went out to meet some of the Social Work students from the University of Sarajevo. What a great time we had! It was so interesting to talk to people who are in the same profession and around the same age as us about what graduate school is like for them. They said that they have 2 social work professors in a school of 5,000 students! They spoke about how many students will pay for good grades and that they have heard that trading sex for grades has happened too but that they don’t know anyone who has done it. They also spoke about how they hate the politics in Bosnia and are frustrated with the system but feel that they have no power to enforce change.

 

We then went to a hookah bar where I smoke entirely WAY too much hookah but it was so fun to sit around and talk with everyone and participate in something that is typical for that age and culture. Grape hookah might be my favorite!

 

To give you an idea of what else we are doing here, at the end of each day we all gather as a group to process the things that we have seen and talked about our reactions to the things we have seen. Tomorrow we are going to Srebenica, which is the site of mass genocide that brought the Bosnian War to the attention of the media and thus began the efforts to end it. I’m thinking that it will be a very emotional day for everyone and maybe even myself. Although I saw concentration camps during school trips, when I lived in Belgium, I don’t think that will prepare me or desensitize me from what tomorrow brings.

 

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Day 4 (June 14th, 2012) – Mostar and Kravice

Today was a long and winding road-trip to Mostar. Anne, Michelle, and I sat in the front of the bus and kept mostly quiet and still to avoid looming car-sickness. We stopped at a coffee shop at our halfway point where a bought a large package of speculoos biscuits and a REAL Fanta! I think it made up for the hilly bus-ride.

 The city of Mostar is built along the Neretva river, which is the most amazing turquoise color. It looks like it’s been dyed with food coloring because it’s so hard to believe that a river could be that color so naturally! My photos don’t do it any justice!

 Mostar can best be described as a village/city that came out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel mixed with an M.C Escher drawing. There are white-washed stone buildings that still stand from medieval times with bridges leading to other levels of the city. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Mostar is more historically known for the old bridge, which was built by the Ottoman’s in the late 16^th century. It’s 90 feet long and 64ft high.

 During the Bosnian war, the city of Mostar was subject to an 18-month siege. Unfortunately the 427-year old bridge was destroyed during the war, which really exemplified how destructive the war was. Prior to this trip our class watched video footage of the multiple attempts by troops to destroy the bridge until it collapsed. In 2004 funds from multiple countries and organizations enabled the reconstruction of the bridge and interestingly enough they had the original plans for the bridge down to the type of stone to use! It’s a really impressive bridge and we were lucky enough to witness a local jump off the bridge and into the water, which is done very frequently for tourists but unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

 We didn’t spend much time in Mostar but I did get some time to buy some local art which I’m really excited about!

 Then we drove a few miles further into the mountains to Kravice which is a series of waterfalls from the Neretva river with the same turquoise color). This was the moment when I realized that Bosnia has so many hidden treasures. History, natural beauty, great food, and beautiful people! The weather was so hot and seeing the waterfalls was like seeing Shangri-la in the middle of the desert!

 As we drove down through the mountains and back down to Sarajevo we shared some hysterical stories and silly laughs. We stopped by the river and had the best lamb I’ve ever had in my life (sorry mom)! More laughs down the mountains and then straight to bed!

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Dovidjenja Sarajevo

This is the day to say good bye to the beautiful city of Sarajevo.  Today I leave with mixed emotions, feeling the need to come home to America, yet have left a big part of my heart.  My thirst has been quenched by the beautiful spring water which is a sure sign of returning to this very spiritual and friendly space in my heart.  There will be no words to lay down the sadness, resilience and cheerfulness of this country and the many people I have met, Bisem, Adidan, Heda, Vinan, the names are special to me and I have many stories for each, which will extend in a more complete story in future blogs.

  There has been no better education than to experience such history, and such crime without leaving with a heavy heart.  I was able to meet with the caller last evening of the prayer at the mosque.  His energy and his time were priceless components of the wonderful last evening here.  He gave me the gift of a Quran with which to understand the Islam religion after I was able to experience the service after the call to prayer. My hope is that in learning this religion I can understand their spirituality and the affirmation that without faith and the ability unite, this world cannot go on in peace.  May we all have peace within our heart and for this world.  Dovidjenja Sarajevo, 

Heidi Vendegna

Goodbye Bosnia!

I can’t believe we are ending our trip today and leaving Bosnia! Although it feels like we’ve been here for longer than 2 weeks because of all of the things we accomplished, I still don’t feel like I’ve been here long enough. I’ve fallen in love with Bosnia and the people and their culture. Before I came here I couldn’t really understand how a group of people would stay and defend their country even if it meant putting their lives in danger.  After experiencing everything here and really learning about the culture, I can start to understand why they would risk their lives for this. I wish everyone could experience what we did and see what an amazing place Bosnia is. I will miss it so much and our group too and  I already can’t wait to come back and visit again!

My final post.

Last night we had our final dinner as a group in Sarajevo. Ann and Michelle gave everyone unique awards and we spent some time enjoying each others company. I came here traveling with Mackenzie, one of my best friends and was able to connect with many others on the trip here along the way. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity, to get to know others in the GSSW community, and to become more familiar with the Bosnian way of life. 

I found myself feeling many emotions throughout dinner, from being really excited to be going to Croatia,nervous to be traveling alone, and sad to leave but also sad because I miss my friends and family back at home. Yesterday, a few of us found ourselves asking how this experience will impact us as social workers, and it will be interesting to see how I have changed just from being here. This has been a wonderful experience, one I will certainly never forget. Thank you to everyone who was here with me- I have learned from each of you and I look forward to our many future conversations about our trip. 

Thats it for me, off to Croatia and Italy!

-Kelly