sweet, sweet summer

It's only August and summer is already over for us.  I'm writing this from the airport while I wait to go to Seattle, then on to Tokyo.  It's a 10 hour flight that gets us there tomorrow.  It's our first flight over the Pacific and our first time in Asia.  We'll add more to this blog and change it around, but for now, here are a few pictures of our summer that was oh so short. 

Oregon is probably the best place on earth.

James in Portland

Shawn met the band Rehab on the streets of Bend

Grandma Ginny and I went to the Yamhill County Fair & Rodeo in McMinnville

Cousin Opal goofing around in McMinnville

the automatic strawberry machine we found in the middle of nowhere on our Holland bike trip

reaching the North Sea near Leiden after 2 weeks of biking and camping

eating heavenly ribs on the Jersey Shore with good friends

niece Avery and Mr. Potato Head in Levittown, New York

hiking with the girls along the North Umpqua River

school's out, boxes are packed

Kids left today. I feel a mixture of excitement about a summer of play and a deep sadness for saying goodbye. One of my little girls cried when she left--for a 6 year old to understand the meaning of goodbye is pretty advanced. People have been exceptionally kind here. Leaving today I am loaded down with Bosnian souvenirs, beautiful handmade scarves, flowers and chocolate.

The boxes are sent to Japan, the apartments are clean, and we have just a few things to do at school before we head to The Netherlands and Belgium for 2 weeks of bicycle riding and camping. Oh, please let it be sunny.

We had a ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS tournament between our classes during the last few minutes of the day. The girl won.

Store owner in Bascarcija wrapping up our copper souvenirs.

Edita likes to call this Bosnian Hot. We were on hunt for the best Bosnian Hot outfits. Do you think they coordinated it?

If my Bosnian is as good as I think it is after a few drinks, I believe the sign on the right is promoting another go at hosting the Olympics in Sarajevo.

accidents, tour busses, and mines OH MY!

Last weekend we tried to get out of town. It was our last full weekend in Bosnia and we wanted to spend it with Edita, doing something out of the ordinary. Saturday morning we loaded up Buba to drive out to Mt. Maglich, the tallest mountain in Bosnia. The weather was conspiring against us. About 1 hour out of Sarajevo we were the first car to come upon a 2 car accident. We still have no idea how it happened---the road was only slightly curved and there was excellent visibility. One car was severely damaged. While Edita and I freaked out a bit, James gallantly pulled a man out of the damaged car. He will probably be ok, some broken ribs at worst, we hope. The worst part was the tour bus that pulled up behind us. They unloaded, children in tow, to walk up and check out the scene.

We left as soon as we realized we were of no more help and the ambulance was on its way. Not wanting to give up on an adventure, but our road to Maglich being closed, we turned back toward Bjelascnica mountain. The fog was thick and we had trouble seeing in front of us. Along the road was an expedition of de-miners.

It was so eerie to see big men in protective de-mining clothing coming out of the fog at us, with yellow tape all over the side of the road.

We finally had tea at a nice little mountain house called Bijele Vode (White Water). Nevertheless, we went home feeling slightly defeated.

TASIS Paradise

One more video...
This was made by a current teacher at The American School in Switzerland (where I worked last year). Shows some funny scenes and truths about life in a boarding school. Needless to say, it's a totally different world than here in Sarajevo.

Coolest Bike Storage Ever

This is pretty amazing.

springtime pictures

sarah wasn't enjoying this game as much as the smelly football fans in the hot, hot stadium

spring in sarajevo

looking through a window in a mosque courtyard

Friday night: chips, chocolate, and drinking on ciglane steps

Vranduk Fortress Field Trip

Vranduk fortress and mosque

the six year old classes together

typical Bosnian woman selling souvenirs near the fortress

A few pictures from our field trip to Vranduk Fortress near Zenica. The kids were pumped to ride the bus, eat different food and, oh yeah, see a medieval castle. The drive north, on the major Bosnian thoroughfare, was much less littered this time. What I did notice was how reliant Bosnians are on the land for their survival. Every home we passed had a garden patch. Every person was out tending the crops, no matter the size. Some people squat on small patches of land near the highway or next to parking lots, just to have a little piece of property to grow green onions, lettuce, radishes, corn. The largest park in Sarajevo has lots of these squatter garden patches hidden among the hills. The high unemployment rate forces many people to subsist as farmers.

thoughts on leaving, part dva

It's easy to wax poetic when you are leaving a place. You begin to see the beauty in everything without regard for reality. "Wow, look at the way that trash spilled over in an artistic way!" or "I love how that VW Golf is blowing exhaust in my face. It's just so retro." But, as the temperature scales 90 degrees in my classroom and I have 9 kids who want to do anything but what I am trying to get them to do , I'm instantly brought back to reality.

Here are some things I won't miss about living here:

• Monthly water outages in Vogosca. 95 degree days, with nary an air conditioner in sight, and the water goes out. For 3 hours. No bathrooms, no drinking water, 150 students. Wouldn't school be canceled at home? And, this is a monthly or so occurrence.
  
• Exhaust smoke. Every third car spits copious amounts of exhaust. I'm sure it is a contributing factor to this cough I have had for weeks.
  
• Silly Bosnian wives tales. This can be the most humorous and frustrating at times. Just a sampling of the things that many Bosnians still practice (and their doctors are still telling them): 1) Having 2 windows open in a room creates a cross breeze that is unhealthy and will get you sick. This causes many arguments at school and on the buses. 2) Going outside on the day that you wash your hair will get you sick. 3) Wearing shoes that expose the top of your foot before it reaches 90 degrees will get you sick (I've noticed most women wear nylons under their jeans & with heels to prevent this from happening). 4) Immediately after birth, a baby must stay in the house for 40 days. No one should visit and it should not leave for fear of getting sick. Once you do leave the house, the baby must be bundled in double hats, gloves, pants and socks. This will prevent sickness. 5) Pregnancy is to be treated like a disease. Lay down, eat what makes you feel good. 6) Feed your children A LOT of food--skinniness is not good.
  

I wonder if that last one is a hold over from the war, when food was scarce? On an ironic point, Bosnians smoke like chimneys with all windows up. Children, even babies, flail around cars without seatbelts in the front and back seats. Of course this list is biased by my American viewpoints, but that's half the fun.

If I had compiled this list in the thick of the winter fog, I probably would have found many more things that I dislike, but the sun is shining today and there are good things to be had in Sarajevo.

thoughts on leaving

Yogi Gnomovic--Part Bosnian/Part Japanese, his solar powered mushroom lights the way.

Leaving Sarajevo in July will be one of the toughest moves I've done yet. When I left Oregon, I knew the connection would always be there--it's my home. When I left TASIS, I said goodbye to many dear friends and the most beautiful setting on earth, but, everyone was leaving at the same time. We were all transients and somehow that made it easier. Now, facing leaving Sarajevo in a month is more difficult.

I'm much more attached to the ins and outs of Sarajevo daily life. I'll miss the incredible changing view from my apartment. The easy walk to my pilates classes. A lazy weekend involving no more plans than what I'll cook for dinner. The morning buba commute to Vogosca. Flat bread and Trattoria Uno. The sound of the call to prayer waking me up in the morning. I've even become somewhat of a celebrity in my apartment building. People I've never seen before say hello in English and the children go out of their way to practice their English with me. I guess everyone knows about the American woman living in their building. Just now, a doctor came to my apartment to prescribe medicine for my cough--only 50KM for a house visit? Unheard of anywhere else.

Of course, I'll miss my friends and students, too. I think the difficulty in saying goodbye to Bosnian friends is compounded by the fact that they aren't able to travel as easily as we can. For the local people who work in international settings, people come and go out of their lives. They remain the same. Change in scenery or work isn't an option. Our friends here have taken us in and made us welcome. They have fed us, made us appointments, translated and interpreted the Bosnian way. Would we be so helpful to a stranger at home? When I told my students this week that I'll be moving to Japan, one of the most heartfelt responses was, "ok, just please don't die in an earthquake over there." Children are so honest. I will be very sad to say goodbye to everyone. It's not as easy this time to just say, "you are always welcome to visit," and leave it at that.

I've learned that you can be happy anywhere, you just have to make your happiness. For now, when I think of Japan, all that comes to mind is this video from youtube.

I know that I will make my happiness in Japan, too. It just won't be from riding the trains...

babysitting

Saturday night in Sarajevo with a 9 year old and 7 year old means a movie, funny pictures and oggling the pastries. check out that roof!

Edita kept us company. Sarah is hiding behind me.

"pekara" means bakery