Ski Week

The kids can hardly contain their excitement--skis on IN the parking lot!

Mr. Foss taking a break with a first grade kiddo.

We are in the midst of a 5 day ski trip to one of the local ski mountains, Igman. This sounds like a huge job perk! Skiing, fresh air, 5 days away from work. But, it's not so peachy. We spend the entire day picking 5 and 6 year olds up off the snow, carrying their skis, and then them, up the mountain, just to do it all over again.

I'm always amazed that Sarajevo could have hosted the Olympics, because while we have gotten some snow this year, there never seems to be enough to maintain a months worth of ski competitions. I guess it's another argument for global warming. The mountain desperately needs snow and a boost from tourist economy. There is 1 chair lift, a now defunct Olympic ski jump, and trash around the hill. Pazi--Mine! signs litter the drive up the mountain, posted on every 3rd tree. This area was heavily mined during the war. While it is a sharp contrast to the glitzy, shiny ski resorts of America, Igman has it's own charming quaintness. The kids have a great time and couldn't be more thrilled to be skiing over rocks on antiquated rental skis. The smiles on their faces are the true job perk that we enjoy.

Plastic Bags

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0721-04.htm

Sretan Nova Godina (Happy New Year)

Fireworks over the canal

James's rogaine is working!

Always on the hunt for a great cinnamon roll!

Brendan and Cory and Jesse at Katwijk on the North Sea

Brendan, Cory and James at Katwijk

After 10 plane rides in 3 weeks, it's nice to be home. Being home for the holidays was worth all the flying...food, family, food, friends, food. It was great.

We spent the last week of our break in The Netherlands. We were delighted to find out that the Dutch love their fireworks! They don't have a state sponsored New Year fireworks display, but every Dutch man, woman, and child has a least one US-deemed illegal, personal explosive ordinance. These they light off around midnight all around the canals. They seem to wait for their turn, more or less, so maybe one or two large ones will go off in opposite directions, while many single blasts happen 360 degrees around you. What we would call a "grand finale" went uninterrupted for thirty minutes while church bells rang for twenty minutes. The sound of the bells was hardly audible, but it was fun to know that someone was enthusiastically pounding on them---at least we like to believe in human-powered bell ringers. A few torpedo-like fireworks exploded in front of the bridge we shared with a hand full of Lieden residents. If you haven't already, and you get a chance, it is well worth it to go to any medium sized town in Holland for a New Years celebration!

Of course, you can't leave Bosnia without a bit of hassle. The fog has set in again and we haven't seen the sun since arriving back into the "heart shaped country" last Sunday. People say the fog has been here for 4 solid weeks. Our plane circled the Sarajevo for about 40 minutes before deciding that visibility was too low and we turned around to land in Zagreb instead. So, we spent another 8 hours on another bus from Croatia to Sarajevo. I've flown in/out of Sarajevo a total of 5 times and on 3 of those trips, I have had to bus to Zagreb.

Random Ramblings

The QSI Sarajevo bus fleet! VW's are the most popular, and most stolen, vehicles in Sarajevo.
I would guess 2 out of every 3 cars in Bosnia is a VW.

I think there are some sick birds in Sarajevo tonight. We must have had at least 16 runny hits on the Buba while it was parked under a tree. Really, I thought someone had egged the car, it was so bad.

We made our decision. We have to go for the dream and try for jobs in The Netherlands. If it doesn't work out, so be it, and we may end up somewhere really else. But, the dream of riding our bikes to work everyday is too enticing.

People should always look at a place with the perspective that they will be leaving it soon. Even though we still have almost 7 months left in Sarajevo, we are beginning to view the city with "rose colored glasses." Here are just a few of the things we will miss: cherry rakija at Trattorio Uno, our friend Edita, the peaceful nights, somun pita bread, our incredible apartments on the hill, the uneven cobblestone staircases, and cheap, bubbly water.

The first street dancer we have ever seen.
Proof that a little sunshine will change everyone's perspective! Bags of bread are often left hanging on the trash cans for people in need.

Today, I like Sarajevo. The sun is shining. The change in weather put a skip in almost everyone's step and a few of the dour looking faces even turned into smiles. We had a Bosnian morning downtown--picked up a few black market DVDs, watched the parade of Sarajevans dressed to the nines to see and be seen, had a mini-Zeljanica (spinach pie) and a cappuccino among the smoke and locals.

We have to make a decision soon. Our dream has been to live and teach in The Netherlands for a lot of reasons, mostly because it's such a friendly bike culture. But to go for 2 of the 5 jobs available next year, we have to quit our jobs in Sarajevo because of timing issues. We are generally happy here, despite the fog and coal burning, and don't want to have to take just any job. Do we take the risk and go after the dream? Or do we stay in relative job security and spend another year in Bosnia, trying to enjoy the small things in life and raising our chances of dying at the fender of a '72 VW Golf or a smog induced respiratory infection? Choices...

Thanksgiving in Leiden

Last Thanksgiving I visited James in Sarajevo and got fogged in for 4 extra days. After 5 straight clear days, we thought this year might be different, but, just our luck, the fog rolled in and our flight was canceled the night before. Determined to make a break for Western Europe, we took an 8 hour overnight bus to Zagreb to catch our other connection. It was a brutal, smelly night, but well worth it. Our visit to The Netherlands was everything we needed to refresh. We rode our bikes, ate Thai food, shopped, and just enjoyed the ambiance of a quiet, friendly town. Leiden is the city from which the Pilgrims left for America--the perfect place for a Thanksgiving feast made by Cory and friends. These are just a few funny pictures from the weekend. Below, we are at the 4 story bike parking in Amsterdam.

A clothing store in Leiden pulled us in to try on clothing and do a "street casting photo shoot." Cory and I put on some funky clothes and posed in hopes of winnig a trip to Barcelona. The girls in the picture below remind me of Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat.Leiden

Sinterklaas arrived! On December 5th, Dutch children place their shoes by the fireplace to be filled with candy by Sinterklaas and his helper, Black Piet. If you are bad, Sinterklaas will put you in his bag and carry you away.Swarms of Black Piets were all over The Netherlands this weekend--we saw them dancing, singing, playing instruments and even rappelling off a church. Black Piet was originally a term for the devil, then thought to be an African slave and more recently his black face and hands are told to be from chimney soot. To be politically correct, a move was recently made to change Black Piet to have a blue, red, or green face with the explanation that he rowed his boat through a rainbow. We didn't see any of these rainbow Piets.

Warming Shwarming

Just like spicy food, global warming has yet to hit Sarajevo.

2 days of snow

It's been snowing for the last 4 days, non-stop.

The Chinese embassy behind my house.

Balkan Basketball

Two of the fathers of my students are in Bosnia to play for the Bosnia national basketball team. We were given a pair of free tickets to watch the game at Zetra on Tuesday night. It was a fun game and they killed the British team. The high school dance team, I thought, was a tad too provocative, but the overzealous cheering section next to us seemed to really enjoy them. I think we found a new pastime in Sarajevo.

US Marine Corps Ball at the Holiday Inn

John and Claudia invited us to the US Marine Ball on Saturday night. Every country holds a ball in honor of the Marine's November birthday. The Sarajevo ball was held at the Holiday Inn, built in 1983 to welcome guests for the '84 Winter Olympics. During the war it was the home of foreign journalists. Today, it looks the same as it did in 1984, brown and green walls with hints of burnt orange accents. We dined on plates bearing the Olympic insignia...amazing they have lasted almost 25 years. "Informer" and "Macarena" blared over the speakers as women wearing recycled bridesmaid dresses danced as if we were all back at a high school prom. Ever Oregon proud. Go Ducks!

Yes, this is our boss. Yes, he asked for this.

Our hosts, James's brother, John, and his wife Claudia.