So I just realized that I wrote this two weeks ago and never posted it. I still want to share it with everyone.
The Better Tomorrow center has had many visitors in the past week. On Friday, a traveling circus of children stopped by the center. There were from Paris and all very young, less than 28 probably. Before arriving in Tuzla, they had spent several days in Kladanj and after their time in BiH they will be heading to Kosovo for two weeks.
All of them wore clown like make up, which was weird for the children. The children didn’t know what to do with the person on stilts or the “old man” clown who hid behind things, peak out, and then tumble around. Some of the performers were very talented at gymnastics while others were good at juggling.
After performing their acts for 20 or 30 minutes, the members of the circus invited the children to join in. Soon it was truely a three ring circus. There was a group learning juggling, another learning dance with ribbons, more balancing on a large ball, some giving a try to the unicycle, while others balanced spinning plates. Even parents and the animators were joining in on the action. It was a wonderful activity for the whole neighborhood. When the traveling band of performers left, they gave the center many of the props needed to juggle, balance plates, and ribbon dance. It was a wonderful experience that then children won’t forget anytime soon. They have been drawing pictures already this week of their experience at the circus.
On Saturday a couple from Central France arrived to provide some much needed information on dental hygiene. They distributed tooth brushes, children’s tooth paste, and sun screen. Fabrice and Delphine also explained why to brush, when to brush, and how to brush your teeth. The children were a little timid to brush their teeth. I think that it isn’t something that they are used to doing very often, but in the end they enjoyed brushing their teeth with their friends and showing off their pearly whites after they were finished. In addition to the oral hygiene, they explained the importance of putting sun screen on birth marks and instructed the children on ways to identify changes in their birth marks that could be dangerous.
Fabrice and Delphine were very interesting and wonderful people. They have been traveling for the past 6 months in Morocco, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and BiH. They are a dentist and a technical dentist by training. All their supplies had been donated to them by various companies to be distributed to children in need. http://culturetube.top-depart.com/
Their little mobile home with suicide doors was great. With the vintage 1970’s convey, they said they attracted attention everywhere they travelled. Apparently groups of people just stop and watch as they travel through neighborhoods. They enjoy the freedom such a way of traveling provides, and I agree. Anywhere they are able to find a place to park, they have a place to sleep. That could be in a city center, on the beach, in the mountains, or in their friend’s drive way.
Fabrice and I had a great deal in common. We were able to share many of our experiences over the course of the afternoon since we went to Binasa’s home for a “Rošti”- Bosnian for BBQ. Both of us enjoyed meeting new people and learning about their way of life. He wanted to use his skills as a serviceable way to meet others and see the world. One thing I really liked about this couple was that they were trying to get their own sense of the history in the Balkans region based on conversations with people throughout the region, not just by reading a few authors’ accounts or basing it off of conversations in one city or country. From talking with them, it seems like they had a very broad concept of the conflict and knew details that are not talked about in other places. They were very sad to hear about the events of July 11, 1995. They knew of the tragedy in Srebrenica but didn’t know that it fell on Delphine’s birthday.
They were also surprised to learn that I was working for free. Apparently volunteers do not work for long periods of time without compensation in France. The concept of volunteerism which we have in the US is very different and foriegn to those in other parts of the world. Further, he was stunned when I told him about the Peace Corps program and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have served around the globe for the past 40 years. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to meet Fabrice and Delphine and learn about their service as well.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Mostar and Herzegovina
Alison and I arrived in Mostar around 10pm on Friday after 6+ hours of bus travel from Tuzla. They really don't have any straight roads in this country to make traveling easy. Miran, the hostel owner, was waiting for us at the bus station upon our arrival. After a short ride to the hostel, we were settled in our room. Miran's girlfriend mentioned to us that the beginning of the Bridge Jumping Festival started that night at 11 or 12. Alison and I quickly made our way to the Stari Most to a glimpse of the festivities.
There was definitely a street party going on in Mostar. There were a group of drummers playing Latin dance beats. Further down the street there was a brass band playing in the street. After watching the people dancing in the street for a bit we headed down to the river where there was a large stage set up. We arrived just in time.
Above, on the bridge, were many men holding torches and flares. At the pinnacle was one man in his speedo preparing for his decent into the water below. Soon before he was to jump, someone gave him a pair of flares. The large crowd below anxiously anticipated his next action.
In one smooth movement, the diver brought the flares together above his head from the swan position and jumped from the reconstructed stone bridge. During his 80ft decent the crowd cheered rowdily. As he splashed into the waters of the Neretva River, the fire raged above on the bridge. Then the fireworks began. During the 10 minute firwork show, the house beats began pumping, much to the delight of the young revelers. For the rest of the night, a dance party raged on on the bank of the river directly below the Stari Most.
I'm not sure the Ottoman Turks, who began this festival 441 years prior, would have ever expected the changes that have transpired. Alison and I left while the party was still alive and well sometime after 3am.
The next morning we began looking for a rental car to visit some near by wineries. No cars were to be found. Instead, we boarded city bus #48 headed for Međugorje with the intention of getting off in the village of Čitluk. The wine route map showed many wineries with in walking distance of the town center. As we approached the village, our feelings soured somewhat. The sign for the village was many kilometers before the town center. When we did get to the town center, we were leary of not finding any nearby vineyards. As soon as the bus left the town bus stop, we passed 3 more vineyards. Oh well. We had then decided to explore the wine situation of Međugorje.
We found one tasting room a 15 minute walk from the central Church. The winery was called Stankela. The white wine was good but different from many American whites with mineral flavors rather than fruit and flower flavors. The "crno vino" (black wine) was the same, a lot of earthy and mineral notes. I really enjoy it a lot. The varietal was called "Blatina", which has been under cultivation in the area for over 2,000 years. This particular family has been opperating their vineyard for over 400 years.
I noticed that the region of Southern Herzegovina strongly identifies to their Croatian Heritage, with evidence of Croatian flags flying over the streets in the villages and fairly strong nationalistic over tones in conversations with those we encountered. This was a striking change from the interactions both Alison and I have had in areas of Muslim majority.
Following the wine tasting we wanted to visit the waterfall of Kravice. When asking people how to get there, people suggested flagging down a taxi rather than finding one at the taxi stand. There was a posted price of 40 euro for the round trip price to the falls. That was too much for our budget. We found a taxi driver who was next to his car at the end of the line of 15 cabs who had not moved all day. After trying to negotiate the price lower, the driver suggested that try the post office since some times they have lower prices. I was about to suggest that he continue to sit there all day an not earn any money when he said, "35 euro in 5 minutes" in Bosnian.
Understanding now that he wanted to drop the price but not wanting to upset the other drivers by cutting in line, I said "60 KM", which is a little less that 30 euro, and he agreed. When we arrived at the post office Jure, the taxi driver, was waiting for us.
The 20 minute drive to the falls was fairly barren, but then we began to descend into a canyon. There it was, Kravice Falls. The water fall was like a scene out of a fantasy movie. Falling over 100ft and more than 400 ft. wide, the falls were breath taking. The water temperature was a little cool, which made for a refreshing swim over to the base of the falls. Amongst the pools, where the water thunderously crashed, were grass and fig trees. This is absolutely paradise. The beauty and solitude of swimming in these small pools under the falls is un matched.
Alison didn't bring a bathing suit so we enjoyed a coffee and people watching from the cafe at the pools edge. Our taxi was waiting for us at our pre arranged time and we had a quick ride back to town. I spent a little time in the church, but it is difficult to visit a religious pilgrimage site without being mental prepared. And I certainly was not since I had wound up there by happenstance.
Later that evening, after dinner, we took the city bus back to Mostar. After retiring to the hostel early because of our event filled day, we were up early raring to go. Because the bridge jumping and swims were going on later in the day, we decided it was best to head back towards Sarajevo where I would begin the next leg of my adventure for the week.
Here is the link to my gallery of photos
More to come about my time in the mountains shortly.
There was definitely a street party going on in Mostar. There were a group of drummers playing Latin dance beats. Further down the street there was a brass band playing in the street. After watching the people dancing in the street for a bit we headed down to the river where there was a large stage set up. We arrived just in time.
Above, on the bridge, were many men holding torches and flares. At the pinnacle was one man in his speedo preparing for his decent into the water below. Soon before he was to jump, someone gave him a pair of flares. The large crowd below anxiously anticipated his next action.
In one smooth movement, the diver brought the flares together above his head from the swan position and jumped from the reconstructed stone bridge. During his 80ft decent the crowd cheered rowdily. As he splashed into the waters of the Neretva River, the fire raged above on the bridge. Then the fireworks began. During the 10 minute firwork show, the house beats began pumping, much to the delight of the young revelers. For the rest of the night, a dance party raged on on the bank of the river directly below the Stari Most.
I'm not sure the Ottoman Turks, who began this festival 441 years prior, would have ever expected the changes that have transpired. Alison and I left while the party was still alive and well sometime after 3am.
The next morning we began looking for a rental car to visit some near by wineries. No cars were to be found. Instead, we boarded city bus #48 headed for Međugorje with the intention of getting off in the village of Čitluk. The wine route map showed many wineries with in walking distance of the town center. As we approached the village, our feelings soured somewhat. The sign for the village was many kilometers before the town center. When we did get to the town center, we were leary of not finding any nearby vineyards. As soon as the bus left the town bus stop, we passed 3 more vineyards. Oh well. We had then decided to explore the wine situation of Međugorje.
We found one tasting room a 15 minute walk from the central Church. The winery was called Stankela. The white wine was good but different from many American whites with mineral flavors rather than fruit and flower flavors. The "crno vino" (black wine) was the same, a lot of earthy and mineral notes. I really enjoy it a lot. The varietal was called "Blatina", which has been under cultivation in the area for over 2,000 years. This particular family has been opperating their vineyard for over 400 years.
I noticed that the region of Southern Herzegovina strongly identifies to their Croatian Heritage, with evidence of Croatian flags flying over the streets in the villages and fairly strong nationalistic over tones in conversations with those we encountered. This was a striking change from the interactions both Alison and I have had in areas of Muslim majority.
Following the wine tasting we wanted to visit the waterfall of Kravice. When asking people how to get there, people suggested flagging down a taxi rather than finding one at the taxi stand. There was a posted price of 40 euro for the round trip price to the falls. That was too much for our budget. We found a taxi driver who was next to his car at the end of the line of 15 cabs who had not moved all day. After trying to negotiate the price lower, the driver suggested that try the post office since some times they have lower prices. I was about to suggest that he continue to sit there all day an not earn any money when he said, "35 euro in 5 minutes" in Bosnian.
Understanding now that he wanted to drop the price but not wanting to upset the other drivers by cutting in line, I said "60 KM", which is a little less that 30 euro, and he agreed. When we arrived at the post office Jure, the taxi driver, was waiting for us.
The 20 minute drive to the falls was fairly barren, but then we began to descend into a canyon. There it was, Kravice Falls. The water fall was like a scene out of a fantasy movie. Falling over 100ft and more than 400 ft. wide, the falls were breath taking. The water temperature was a little cool, which made for a refreshing swim over to the base of the falls. Amongst the pools, where the water thunderously crashed, were grass and fig trees. This is absolutely paradise. The beauty and solitude of swimming in these small pools under the falls is un matched.
Alison didn't bring a bathing suit so we enjoyed a coffee and people watching from the cafe at the pools edge. Our taxi was waiting for us at our pre arranged time and we had a quick ride back to town. I spent a little time in the church, but it is difficult to visit a religious pilgrimage site without being mental prepared. And I certainly was not since I had wound up there by happenstance.
Later that evening, after dinner, we took the city bus back to Mostar. After retiring to the hostel early because of our event filled day, we were up early raring to go. Because the bridge jumping and swims were going on later in the day, we decided it was best to head back towards Sarajevo where I would begin the next leg of my adventure for the week.
Here is the link to my gallery of photos
More to come about my time in the mountains shortly.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A busy week
7/15/2007
Past week has been very busy for me. I’m in full swing of all my activities here in Tuzla. Classes are going very well here. This past week I have taught the students parts of the body along with “Simon Says.” The kids love that game. It is fun to watch them play. The first few days, they were not very confident giving commands to the other students in English, but in the past couple of days they have become excited when they win the game and get to be Simon.
I have been trying to get a feel for the roles of NGO’s here in Bosnia so I have been asking a lot of questions from people I meet about their organizations. I had been in contact with people at World Vision before I came to Tuzla, so I was finally able to meet up with them and learn more about their programs in the community. Like many organizations, World Vision came to BiH in 1995, the year the war ended. They have worked on my projects with refugee communities and now returnees. In addition to building houses for people, they have worked to encourage economic development through the creation of EKI Micro credit institution. Currently they are working on an area development project where they focus on the development of the entire community in one specific area. They work on everything from youth organizations, schools, improving employment opportunities, health programs, and other activities that help all members of the community become economically and educationally sound.
-*- Warning-*- The following two paragraphs may be viewed as graphic in nature. Please skip this paragraph if details about scientific tests on human remains found throughout Bosnia may be sensitive in nature.
Last Thursday I had a very unique experience. I went to drop something off for my friend Stephanie at her work, the Missing Persons Institute (MPI), and while I was there I was given a tour of the facility. The MPI does work to identify thousands of missing persons from the war in 1992-95. They do this by taking DNA samples from human remains that were found in mass graves. Some of the remains were found in “primary graves” but others were found in “secondary graves”. The fact that remains have been moved to secondary graves with front-end loaders and other heavy machinery makes the task of identification very difficult. Remains from the same person have been found in 3 different burial sites.
The MPI center takes the remains found and sorts them based on which bones provide a sample for DNA tests. The MPI does so many DNA tests they have developed a way to perform the test cheaper than any other place in the world running about $125 a sample. The fact that the remains are so mangled together means that the MPI must take samples from every bone large enough to collect a DNA sample from- in most cases this is 5 to insure that all individuals are accurately and appropriately accounted for. Once test results come back from the lab, they are uploaded into the database and compared with DNA samples collected from survivors’ family members both in BiH and other places where Bosnians live around the world. Often times this is just female family members because large numbers of men in many communities are those who are missing. Once a match is made, the families are contacted, and they can come to collect their family member and their belongings and have a proper burial. This is fascinating work when you think about it from a scientific standpoint, but then when you think about the real nature of the daunting task ahead ofo identifying thousands more cases you become sick. There are certain jobs in this world that people shouldn’t need to do, and I’m a firm believer that this is one of them.
On a lighter note, Friday I was interviewed by a journalist from “Tuzlanski List”, one of the daily papers in Tuzla. The interview view was long and drawn out, as most things are in Bosnia, lasting about 2 hours. We talked about many things from what was my educational background, to the work I was doing with the children, to what I thought of Bosnian coffee, to what I had learned in Bosnia. I was flattered that the journalist was interested in the work that I was doing and she said, “Bosnia needs many more people doing what you are doing.” When the paper came out today, my neighbor came to me and showed me my picture and tried to tell me that now she knows what I’m working on here. Don’t worry Mom, I’ve saved a copy for you.
Saturday was a great day for me. I received the box of books that I sent to myself via USPS Media Mail. In case you are wondering how long it takes to send a package via media mail to Bosnia, the answer is 3 months. I had written this box off as gone and it finally arrives with plenty of English reading material. As a side note, it only takes 7 days for a letter to get here; I don’t know what took the box so long. In addition to the joy of receiving a package, I also went to the lake so find refugee from the heat with my two friends from Bolivia, Stephanie, and Luis from Spain. Who would have thought that I would have met so many people from South America in my work in Bosnia?
Past week has been very busy for me. I’m in full swing of all my activities here in Tuzla. Classes are going very well here. This past week I have taught the students parts of the body along with “Simon Says.” The kids love that game. It is fun to watch them play. The first few days, they were not very confident giving commands to the other students in English, but in the past couple of days they have become excited when they win the game and get to be Simon.
I have been trying to get a feel for the roles of NGO’s here in Bosnia so I have been asking a lot of questions from people I meet about their organizations. I had been in contact with people at World Vision before I came to Tuzla, so I was finally able to meet up with them and learn more about their programs in the community. Like many organizations, World Vision came to BiH in 1995, the year the war ended. They have worked on my projects with refugee communities and now returnees. In addition to building houses for people, they have worked to encourage economic development through the creation of EKI Micro credit institution. Currently they are working on an area development project where they focus on the development of the entire community in one specific area. They work on everything from youth organizations, schools, improving employment opportunities, health programs, and other activities that help all members of the community become economically and educationally sound.
-*- Warning-*- The following two paragraphs may be viewed as graphic in nature. Please skip this paragraph if details about scientific tests on human remains found throughout Bosnia may be sensitive in nature.
Last Thursday I had a very unique experience. I went to drop something off for my friend Stephanie at her work, the Missing Persons Institute (MPI), and while I was there I was given a tour of the facility. The MPI does work to identify thousands of missing persons from the war in 1992-95. They do this by taking DNA samples from human remains that were found in mass graves. Some of the remains were found in “primary graves” but others were found in “secondary graves”. The fact that remains have been moved to secondary graves with front-end loaders and other heavy machinery makes the task of identification very difficult. Remains from the same person have been found in 3 different burial sites.
The MPI center takes the remains found and sorts them based on which bones provide a sample for DNA tests. The MPI does so many DNA tests they have developed a way to perform the test cheaper than any other place in the world running about $125 a sample. The fact that the remains are so mangled together means that the MPI must take samples from every bone large enough to collect a DNA sample from- in most cases this is 5 to insure that all individuals are accurately and appropriately accounted for. Once test results come back from the lab, they are uploaded into the database and compared with DNA samples collected from survivors’ family members both in BiH and other places where Bosnians live around the world. Often times this is just female family members because large numbers of men in many communities are those who are missing. Once a match is made, the families are contacted, and they can come to collect their family member and their belongings and have a proper burial. This is fascinating work when you think about it from a scientific standpoint, but then when you think about the real nature of the daunting task ahead ofo identifying thousands more cases you become sick. There are certain jobs in this world that people shouldn’t need to do, and I’m a firm believer that this is one of them.
On a lighter note, Friday I was interviewed by a journalist from “Tuzlanski List”, one of the daily papers in Tuzla. The interview view was long and drawn out, as most things are in Bosnia, lasting about 2 hours. We talked about many things from what was my educational background, to the work I was doing with the children, to what I thought of Bosnian coffee, to what I had learned in Bosnia. I was flattered that the journalist was interested in the work that I was doing and she said, “Bosnia needs many more people doing what you are doing.” When the paper came out today, my neighbor came to me and showed me my picture and tried to tell me that now she knows what I’m working on here. Don’t worry Mom, I’ve saved a copy for you.
Saturday was a great day for me. I received the box of books that I sent to myself via USPS Media Mail. In case you are wondering how long it takes to send a package via media mail to Bosnia, the answer is 3 months. I had written this box off as gone and it finally arrives with plenty of English reading material. As a side note, it only takes 7 days for a letter to get here; I don’t know what took the box so long. In addition to the joy of receiving a package, I also went to the lake so find refugee from the heat with my two friends from Bolivia, Stephanie, and Luis from Spain. Who would have thought that I would have met so many people from South America in my work in Bosnia?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Water Polo
Water polo is a big deal hear in Bosnia as it is in all of the former Yugoslavia. The other day, I was at my friends house flipping channels and came across an afternoon of water polo games. This was like ESPN classic for water-polo. I was absolutely amazed. I wish we had something like this in the states.
I suppose I'm just lusting for the water polo goal that I saw in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro a few weeks ago. When I saw this, I was blown away. I had to pull the car over immediately. What could be better than playing water polo? 
After playing two years of competitive water-polo in my life (senior year of high school and senior year of college), I really wanted to play on a team while I was here. Since both of my previous teams were in their infant stages of their development, I've never played very structured polo. I was really eager for the opportunity here. I asked a few friends if they knew of any leagues for adults. They said that they did, but none in Tuzla. We may be the 2nd largest 
city in the country, but without a swimming pool in town a water polo team is not possible. There is a pool similar to the one in Howard Hall on the University of Portland campus, but the water polo aficionados of the region have deemed this pool un acceptable to play the sport in.
city in the country, but without a swimming pool in town a water polo team is not possible. There is a pool similar to the one in Howard Hall on the University of Portland campus, but the water polo aficionados of the region have deemed this pool un acceptable to play the sport in.So I have resigned myself to playing catch with some of the kids in the small, salt water lake in
town. It is also very shallow, but you can tread water in it. The problem here is the huge numbers of people here. I guess it isn't a problem that everyone is trying to stay cool, it just makes it difficult to play water polo. I'm affraid that I'll hit one of the old ladies who is cooling themselves near the shore.
town. It is also very shallow, but you can tread water in it. The problem here is the huge numbers of people here. I guess it isn't a problem that everyone is trying to stay cool, it just makes it difficult to play water polo. I'm affraid that I'll hit one of the old ladies who is cooling themselves near the shore.
I suppose I'm just lusting for the water polo goal that I saw in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro a few weeks ago. When I saw this, I was blown away. I had to pull the car over immediately. What could be better than playing water polo? 
Try playing water polo in the Adriatic Sea where 3,000 ft. high fjords drive into the bay in a 1,000 year old walled city. Why am I not volunteering in this town? When become rich and a donor to the University of Portland Water Polo Team, we will come here for pre-season training. Gibbs, you can be the coach for the training camp. Riley, Clay and Peter, we can play a little "Fatties vs. Skinnys" basketball too.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Finally, last week it cooled down and the kids have been allowed to leave their homes. The heat wave of two weeks ago kept many children inside and their parents would not let them go out. Not even to come to the center. Come to think of it, there weren’t many people outside at all during the day. The highs we certainly into the upper 90’s which made it difficult to function during the heat of the day. Now I know why someone invented air conditioning. I also may have an idea of why people in Europe take month long vacations during the summer. It is too hot to actually get any work done.
Last weekend, as I was beginning to prepare lesson plans for last week, I decided I wanted to work in a little bit of Independence Day flare into the class. Originally my plan was to have the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence translated into Bosnian so the children would know why I wanted to celebrate on the 4th of July. I certainly didn’t want to be seen as an Imperialistic instructor who wants to shove U.S. History and culture down their throats, but the more I read the document, the more I realize that the Declaration of Independence was an important document for human rights inspired by the English Humanist writers.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These are certainly words that people all around the world can understand and appreciate.
Then I began looking at the timeline from when the Declaration of Independence was passed to when the Constitution of the United States was ratified. It took 12 years for the Constitution to be ratified. During that time there were significant victories and failures for the new government. We fought and won the War of Independence, signed the treaty of Paris, wrote and implemented the Articles of Confederacy, made the 3/5th’s compromise, decided the governing laws of the Articles of Confederacy were too weak so convened to write the Constitution of the United States. There could be some parallels drawn between this period of American history and the past 12 years in Bosnian history.
I guess what I’m tried to convey to the students, and I suppose all my Bosnian friends, is that it took a long time for United States government to begin functioning effectively. 12 years. It did not happen over night. It took many people, long hours of debating and compromise to establish a framework of government which would be representative to all people. I’m certainly thankful that those men, so long ago, took the their time and due diligence to work through conflicts and be precise enough to create a durable legal document giving it’s citizens rights based on their “unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
So with this in mind the past week was very busy for me here in Tuzla. In addition to my normal activities of teaching a few English classes, I was preparing for a few Independence Day parties. At the center, I decided that we would play games that many families and communities have as part of the barbecues and other celebrations. We played tag, had a water balloon toss which inevitably became a water fight. One thing is always true- there are never enough water balloons. I had made a little timeline about some of the events in early US history and shared them with the students and the animators. 
They were surprised to hear that it took so long for the US to become settled. I figured it would also be fun to have a water melon seed spitting contest.
The kids loved all the games. Arnell and I were the wettest ones after the water fight. We had put the watermelon in the refrigerator on Tuesday, so it was very cold. The kids were so excited to have the cold treat, but many had spit out a majority of their seeds before I could explain to them what we were going to be doing with the water melon and the seeds. Soon enough the kids found out what we were up to and were practicing the spitting for distance. Some of the parents who were there, watched on in disbelief as I taught their children how to spit the seeds. But sometimes kids have to be kids.
Some of the kids were really good in both accuracy and in distance.
Later that evening I had some of my co-workers over for a BBQ along with some American girls who are doing internships in Tuzla for the summer. We had potato salad, cole-slaw, chips, tomato and cheese salad, ice cream sundaes and of course, hot dogs. Bosnia doesn’t have any hot dog buns, or if they do, I couldn’t find any. So I went to 4 different bakeries in order to buy 40
kifle. Kifle are pieces of bread, like a bun that has a little bit of curvature in them. One thing I am thankful of this 4th of July is pre-sliced hot dog buns.
We had a great time at the BBQ. At the beginning we listened to some American rock and hip hop
music but as the night progressed, we put in the Bosnian music. One of the guests was also nice enough to share his home made Rakija (40% plum brandy) with the guests. This just added to the merry making and soon people were singing along with all the songs. It was quite a festive evening.
I have also been conducting surveys with staff members and talking with Binasa regarding opportunities to improve services that Better Tomorrow offers the children. It is nice to work on the organizational development side of the program since I’m very interested in ways to improve service, evaluate programs, and identify best practices. I have been amazed at some of the insight the staff members have about the children.
I hope you all stay cool until next time,
Patrick
Last weekend, as I was beginning to prepare lesson plans for last week, I decided I wanted to work in a little bit of Independence Day flare into the class. Originally my plan was to have the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence translated into Bosnian so the children would know why I wanted to celebrate on the 4th of July. I certainly didn’t want to be seen as an Imperialistic instructor who wants to shove U.S. History and culture down their throats, but the more I read the document, the more I realize that the Declaration of Independence was an important document for human rights inspired by the English Humanist writers.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These are certainly words that people all around the world can understand and appreciate.
Then I began looking at the timeline from when the Declaration of Independence was passed to when the Constitution of the United States was ratified. It took 12 years for the Constitution to be ratified. During that time there were significant victories and failures for the new government. We fought and won the War of Independence, signed the treaty of Paris, wrote and implemented the Articles of Confederacy, made the 3/5th’s compromise, decided the governing laws of the Articles of Confederacy were too weak so convened to write the Constitution of the United States. There could be some parallels drawn between this period of American history and the past 12 years in Bosnian history.
I guess what I’m tried to convey to the students, and I suppose all my Bosnian friends, is that it took a long time for United States government to begin functioning effectively. 12 years. It did not happen over night. It took many people, long hours of debating and compromise to establish a framework of government which would be representative to all people. I’m certainly thankful that those men, so long ago, took the their time and due diligence to work through conflicts and be precise enough to create a durable legal document giving it’s citizens rights based on their “unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
So with this in mind the past week was very busy for me here in Tuzla. In addition to my normal activities of teaching a few English classes, I was preparing for a few Independence Day parties. At the center, I decided that we would play games that many families and communities have as part of the barbecues and other celebrations. We played tag, had a water balloon toss which inevitably became a water fight. One thing is always true- there are never enough water balloons. I had made a little timeline about some of the events in early US history and shared them with the students and the animators. 
They were surprised to hear that it took so long for the US to become settled. I figured it would also be fun to have a water melon seed spitting contest.The kids loved all the games. Arnell and I were the wettest ones after the water fight. We had put the watermelon in the refrigerator on Tuesday, so it was very cold. The kids were so excited to have the cold treat, but many had spit out a majority of their seeds before I could explain to them what we were going to be doing with the water melon and the seeds. Soon enough the kids found out what we were up to and were practicing the spitting for distance. Some of the parents who were there, watched on in disbelief as I taught their children how to spit the seeds. But sometimes kids have to be kids.
Some of the kids were really good in both accuracy and in distance.
Later that evening I had some of my co-workers over for a BBQ along with some American girls who are doing internships in Tuzla for the summer. We had potato salad, cole-slaw, chips, tomato and cheese salad, ice cream sundaes and of course, hot dogs. Bosnia doesn’t have any hot dog buns, or if they do, I couldn’t find any. So I went to 4 different bakeries in order to buy 40
kifle. Kifle are pieces of bread, like a bun that has a little bit of curvature in them. One thing I am thankful of this 4th of July is pre-sliced hot dog buns.We had a great time at the BBQ. At the beginning we listened to some American rock and hip hop
music but as the night progressed, we put in the Bosnian music. One of the guests was also nice enough to share his home made Rakija (40% plum brandy) with the guests. This just added to the merry making and soon people were singing along with all the songs. It was quite a festive evening. I have also been conducting surveys with staff members and talking with Binasa regarding opportunities to improve services that Better Tomorrow offers the children. It is nice to work on the organizational development side of the program since I’m very interested in ways to improve service, evaluate programs, and identify best practices. I have been amazed at some of the insight the staff members have about the children.
I hope you all stay cool until next time,
Patrick
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Bosnian Coffee
Congratulations Bosnia.
You win. I have successfully fought off coffee addiction for the past 23 years and 10 months of my life without much trouble. But after one month in this small nation known as “the heart of Europe”, I have an addiction to the dark warm beverage.
The early years were easy to avoid coffee. My parents aren’t coffee drinkers. I remember thinking it was weird when family members would come and visit our house and Mom would dig out the coffee pot from the garage. I recall a discussion about the quality of coffee my parents had. I didn’t understand why people were upset with the same coffee in the freezer they had had on their last visit to our home.
Then there was the early latte, mocha and frappe phase in Redmond, Oregon. Come to think of this, I don’t know how “early” this actually was since Redmond, as you may know is not on the cutting edge of trends. To this day their only Starbucks that I know of is in the Safeway. Anywho, in 8th grade and into high school, I remember going to the drive up coffee stand and ordering Snickers drinks and other fancy milkshakes and coffees. Even then I liked them more for the sweet factor than the actual coffee and I don’t even really crave sweets or desserts.
Then there was college in Portland. At this juncture in my life, my friends were definitely beginning to indulge their daily coffee craving. They said they needed it to get through the day and stay focused. I could see their point. College was draining. The late nights of studying and goofing around with your friends, the occasional long boring lecture, and short rainy days made Univ. of Portland a prime place for sipping coffee.
But I found my refresher during this portion in my life to be cat naps rather than the coffee drug. My favorite way to nap was to turn on PBS and listen to Bob Ross as he lulled me to a short little nap. Those were the days. I thought, Bob Ross is definitely better than coffee.
My junior year of college was the first time coffee was an expected part of culture. At the pensioni where I lived, coffee was served every morning. The staff didn’t like making hot chocolate for us non-coffee drinkers and there was always a little hesitation. Coffee seemed like it would be a useful substance since the weekend travels, studying, exploring the city and partying with friends left little time for sleep. I was still able to avoid drinking coffee on a basis of necessity. Every now and again I would have a cappuccino when meeting up with a friend. But I consider this coffee consumption casual rather than anything else.
Following college, I moved to Seattle- the US mecca of coffee. While Starbucks locations outnumbered fans in attendance to Mariners games during this period 2x1, I still did not find it difficult to function without coffee. I was able to get sufficient sleep and I didn’t feel the social pressure to have a coffee, espresso, or even a venti, non-fat, soy, peppermint mocha, room for cream during our bi-weekly team meetings at Starbucks.
Coffee is surely the national beverage of Bosnia. It is consumed morning, noon, and night by everyone 18 or and older. In the mornings you’ll see people sitting at café’s. At most offices people take coffee breaks just an hour or two into the work day to enjoy a cup of joe. They call these breaks staff meetings since everyone gathers together to talk, drink coffee and smoke. The same is true in the afternoons. Many people have a cup in the early evening before dinner with their friends, family, and neighbors back on their porch at home. On people’s after dinner
stroll through the center of the city many people can be seen sipping the dark beverage.
Bosnian coffee is fairly similar to Turkish coffee I’m told. This makes sense since Bosnia was a territory of the Ottoman Empire for several hundred years and many of the cultural traditions from that era are still preserved in this region. The coffee is roasted and then ground into a fine powder. Then the powder is added to boiling water, often times while it is still on the stove. The pot the water is boiling in, traditionally was made out of copper with a long handle, but now they are made of all sorts of materials. The coffee then churns several times with the boiling water and then the pot is removed from heat.
The coffee is consumed out of small cups somewhere between espresso and tea cups. Many people take sugar with their coffee, but they don’t add it to the drink- they dip it in the coffee,
take a little nibble off the sugar cube and then take a sip of coffee. The grounds have never been filtered out and their particles suspended in the rest the water for little while, so as you approach the bottom of the cup you’ll notice a thick layer of sludge that was once the grounds which flavored your drink. I avoid the last sip since it is a little bit too strong for me.
Drinking coffee is truly a social experience. It is for that reason alone that I began drinking the stuff. Wanting to adapt to the social situation here, I would accept a cup that was offered to me during one of our daily “staff meetings”, usually the afternoon one. I could get by with saying I had drank coffee at home in the morning before I came into work. After a week or two of enjoying a little Doncafe, the most popular brand of prepackaged coffee, in the afternoon I began noticing the benefits. Maybe it was because trying to keep up with so many children is challenging, maybe I was being mentally drained by trying to function in a language I don’t really know. But the fact is I enjoyed having the pick me up from the coffee in the afternoon to get me through the rest of the day.
So there you have it, I now need coffee to get myself through the day. I’m addicted. Congratulations Bosnia, you win. You’ve been able to convert me, something that Howard Schultz has never been able to accomplish.
You win. I have successfully fought off coffee addiction for the past 23 years and 10 months of my life without much trouble. But after one month in this small nation known as “the heart of Europe”, I have an addiction to the dark warm beverage.
The early years were easy to avoid coffee. My parents aren’t coffee drinkers. I remember thinking it was weird when family members would come and visit our house and Mom would dig out the coffee pot from the garage. I recall a discussion about the quality of coffee my parents had. I didn’t understand why people were upset with the same coffee in the freezer they had had on their last visit to our home.Then there was the early latte, mocha and frappe phase in Redmond, Oregon. Come to think of this, I don’t know how “early” this actually was since Redmond, as you may know is not on the cutting edge of trends. To this day their only Starbucks that I know of is in the Safeway. Anywho, in 8th grade and into high school, I remember going to the drive up coffee stand and ordering Snickers drinks and other fancy milkshakes and coffees. Even then I liked them more for the sweet factor than the actual coffee and I don’t even really crave sweets or desserts.
Then there was college in Portland. At this juncture in my life, my friends were definitely beginning to indulge their daily coffee craving. They said they needed it to get through the day and stay focused. I could see their point. College was draining. The late nights of studying and goofing around with your friends, the occasional long boring lecture, and short rainy days made Univ. of Portland a prime place for sipping coffee.
But I found my refresher during this portion in my life to be cat naps rather than the coffee drug. My favorite way to nap was to turn on PBS and listen to Bob Ross as he lulled me to a short little nap. Those were the days. I thought, Bob Ross is definitely better than coffee.
My junior year of college was the first time coffee was an expected part of culture. At the pensioni where I lived, coffee was served every morning. The staff didn’t like making hot chocolate for us non-coffee drinkers and there was always a little hesitation. Coffee seemed like it would be a useful substance since the weekend travels, studying, exploring the city and partying with friends left little time for sleep. I was still able to avoid drinking coffee on a basis of necessity. Every now and again I would have a cappuccino when meeting up with a friend. But I consider this coffee consumption casual rather than anything else.
Following college, I moved to Seattle- the US mecca of coffee. While Starbucks locations outnumbered fans in attendance to Mariners games during this period 2x1, I still did not find it difficult to function without coffee. I was able to get sufficient sleep and I didn’t feel the social pressure to have a coffee, espresso, or even a venti, non-fat, soy, peppermint mocha, room for cream during our bi-weekly team meetings at Starbucks.
Coffee is surely the national beverage of Bosnia. It is consumed morning, noon, and night by everyone 18 or and older. In the mornings you’ll see people sitting at café’s. At most offices people take coffee breaks just an hour or two into the work day to enjoy a cup of joe. They call these breaks staff meetings since everyone gathers together to talk, drink coffee and smoke. The same is true in the afternoons. Many people have a cup in the early evening before dinner with their friends, family, and neighbors back on their porch at home. On people’s after dinner
stroll through the center of the city many people can be seen sipping the dark beverage.Bosnian coffee is fairly similar to Turkish coffee I’m told. This makes sense since Bosnia was a territory of the Ottoman Empire for several hundred years and many of the cultural traditions from that era are still preserved in this region. The coffee is roasted and then ground into a fine powder. Then the powder is added to boiling water, often times while it is still on the stove. The pot the water is boiling in, traditionally was made out of copper with a long handle, but now they are made of all sorts of materials. The coffee then churns several times with the boiling water and then the pot is removed from heat.
The coffee is consumed out of small cups somewhere between espresso and tea cups. Many people take sugar with their coffee, but they don’t add it to the drink- they dip it in the coffee,
take a little nibble off the sugar cube and then take a sip of coffee. The grounds have never been filtered out and their particles suspended in the rest the water for little while, so as you approach the bottom of the cup you’ll notice a thick layer of sludge that was once the grounds which flavored your drink. I avoid the last sip since it is a little bit too strong for me.Drinking coffee is truly a social experience. It is for that reason alone that I began drinking the stuff. Wanting to adapt to the social situation here, I would accept a cup that was offered to me during one of our daily “staff meetings”, usually the afternoon one. I could get by with saying I had drank coffee at home in the morning before I came into work. After a week or two of enjoying a little Doncafe, the most popular brand of prepackaged coffee, in the afternoon I began noticing the benefits. Maybe it was because trying to keep up with so many children is challenging, maybe I was being mentally drained by trying to function in a language I don’t really know. But the fact is I enjoyed having the pick me up from the coffee in the afternoon to get me through the rest of the day.
So there you have it, I now need coffee to get myself through the day. I’m addicted. Congratulations Bosnia, you win. You’ve been able to convert me, something that Howard Schultz has never been able to accomplish.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
It's so hot.
The first few weeks of teaching has certainly a learning experience for both me and the students. As I have mentioned before, I am working with four different groups of students- 3 groups of children and one for parents. Each group presents its own set of difficulties for me. I am very happy that all of the students have been patient with me as I learn how to best help them learn.
Here is a description of each of my classes:
Group one is 1st-3rd grade students. They arrive each morning eager to get started. Some take diligent notes of what I’m writing on the white board while others try and repeat everything that I say. It is fun to watch each style of learner do what they do best whether that is listen, repeat, write, or simply read. All of the children that I work with during the day, have had or will have English in school. This group has not yet started their formal English education so I’m trying to provide a base for them to be successful once they begin more structured classes in the elementary school.
Group one is 1st-3rd grade students. They arrive each morning eager to get started. Some take diligent notes of what I’m writing on the white board while others try and repeat everything that I say. It is fun to watch each style of learner do what they do best whether that is listen, repeat, write, or simply read. All of the children that I work with during the day, have had or will have English in school. This group has not yet started their formal English education so I’m trying to provide a base for them to be successful once they begin more structured classes in the elementary school.
The second group in 4th-6th graders. These students have begun to learn English in their classes but are at different levels of comprehension and ability to communicate orally. This is one of the difficulties of having such wide age groups- some students not only are more advanced or further behind than their peers; the students in my class span three grade levels. Since this is the case, I have decided that the best thing I can provide these children is speaking in a native voice and with correct grammar and encouraging them to engage in conversation. I’ll try and help with the actual mechanics of the language, but I think that I am best able to help the students become comfortable with speaking in English.
The third group of students are 7th and 8th graders. They have had formal English instruction in school for the past 5 or 6 years. Some of these students are very good at English already. Others are intimidated by their peers’ success. I am struggling to have those who are not as comfortable to speak up and join our conversation. This is a very fun class to have. The students would like to practice their speaking skills and don’t want much written work. Who can blame them, it is summer time and they are coming in for extra help.
We have decided to make this class a conversation session focusing on using various verb tenses. It is fun to talk about what everyone likes to do. One difficultly I am having with this class is overcoming what Americans like to talk about and what Bosnians talk about. I know what Americans like to talk about, especially in language classes- where they have been, what they have done, what their hobbies are and those sorts of things. These conversations are particularly short with these Bosnian students. Many of them have not traveled much. They don’t have many hobbies beyond playing soccer or volleyball and talking to their friends.
When I hear all of this, I realize how much we take for granted the many activities that Americans partake in to fill their free and idle time- for better or worse. I’m amazed and inspired by what makes these students happy and I wish many people in the states would be content with the many gifts that they have.
I have had several obstacles in addition to the language barrier. First of all, since this is a drop in center, the same group of kids don't show up everyday. This is understandable since it is the summer and kids enjoy having their free and definitely need to play. But on the other hand, it is very difficult to prepare a lesson plan and I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing previous days vocabulary.
Another major obstacle is the heat. It has been really bad the past week, seriously it has been terrible. It has been so hot that parents won't let their children go outside or even to our center. This makes the days at the center go by very slowly. Air Conditioning would be nice. Luckily, I have been getting some research done for grant preparation and helping the Center for Balkan Development begin their initial assessment on kicking off the "Youth Initiative" for all of Bosnia. So at least I have felt productive.
I also enjoyed a little R&R last weekend with some friends from college in Croatia and Montenegro. Thanks Pottsy, Diana, Angela, and Ashley for a little Croatian Vacation.
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