In Honor of. . .

I was so sad to miss the weddings of my dear friend Rachael and cousin Bradley last night [tear]. I was sorry not to be able to welcome Matt and Amanda into the fold in person. I wish all of you the best!

For the mod: in honor of this great occasion I did listen to "Rock the Boat" and thought of all of you.

Mystery Meat

Given the language barrier, we have come to accept that we will not know what we are eating a good majority of the time. This includes both restaurants and grocery shopping. Today Dee picked out what she described as "the least scary looking sausage" for our supper. That is not the most encouraging description I've ever received. I tell myself it's all part of the fun.

One week done. . .

Since my last post I have attended my second field placement. This is at the community mental health center. I was surprised to see how community mental health is similar no matter where you are. The basic structure of services they provide as well as methods seemed to have a lot of overlap with what I know of community mental health in the US. Not that there aren't differences, of course. The biggest difference I noticed so far was their number of clients. I met with two providers who only had one client between them for the day. That is almost unimaginable in the US. I haven't really explored why beyond their explanation that everyone goes on vacation in the summer.

Dee, Sandy, and I took in the local pool yesterday afternoon upon a friend's recommendation. We definitely noticed a difference in fashion sense regarding swimming suits, but I'll leave it at that.

The computer in our apartment was broken for the last few days, so I still haven't been able to post more pictures. I am writing from an internet cafe currently, but the smoke is so thick in here I don't think I could even see what I was doing if I tried to add some. In the interest of my health, I will keep this post brief.

Banja Luka!!

I am finally settled in Banja Luka, and have many things to report. So here goes. . .

Apartment: The apartment is nice, but small. The situation has the potential to be very interesting. There is one bedroom, but when we walked in, presumably no beds. We were not prepared for the power of the hide-a-bed, or should I say, three hide-a-beds (we each have one). Dee and I sleep in one room: living room by day, slumber party by night. Sandy sleeps in the other. Every morning Dee and I wake up, fold up our bedding, and roll up our beds. When the beds unfold, they almost touch, leaving our sleeping heads about one foot away from each other - perfect for late night chats. The shower doesn't have a shower curtain. We're not sure how the original tenant worked that one, but it has caused several wet floors in our experience. Dee also managed to break the toilet within the first three days, but it is under control now.

Field Placement: I am going to be working at several places, and although I have met two of them, I have only worked at one so far. The organization is called "Victory" (when translated). They serve and treat drug addicts. It has been very interesting to learn about their program and how it differs from treatment in the US (I will elaborate more later). What I love about Bosnia already is the relaxed attitude and the emphasis on beverages. You cannot do anything without a cup of coffee, tea, water, or juice in your hand. It does no good to refuse, because you will be repeatedly asked until you acquiese and drink something. I have never drank so much coffee in such a short amount of time. My cohorts have been incredibly welcoming and nice, and are so anxious to share with me. I appreciate that greatly.

Food: While still excellent, we have had some great experiences with food here. Dee got a great pizza that included a sunny-side up egg and pickles. The most highly recommended restaurant in town is a mexican restaruant. . . to some degree. Dee, Sandy, and I ate there on our first night together. We began our meal with chips and salsa, a supposedly innocuous item. What we got was habenero doritoes served with tzatzki sauce and marinara sauce. We didn't quite know how to respond to that. In the end, I must highly recommend tzatzki on chicken fajitas.

Well, that's a start for now.

Day two

Feeling much better after having gotten some sleep, my second day here has been a fabulous journey into the coffee and culinary delights of Sarajevo, both of which I have enjoyed. Nette, you would be happy to know that pizza margherita is as big here as it ever was in Germany. More to the point, I am happy to know that. I also think I have spent over three hours just sitting at cafes and drinking coffee. It seems to be the national pastime here, which I am way more excited to partake in than baseball.

Tom Jones. . .

So, what is one of the first songs I hear when landing in Europe? Tom Jone's Sex Bomb. This is a song I heard all of the time when I was in Germany and after that in London (in a great commercial remix). What is the European obsession with this song? I will never understand it.

I have arrived safely in Sarajevo. The trip was long and exhausting but without incident. I am spending the next two nights in a very nice hostel. Hope to have pictures soon.

We the People. . .

So, now that I actually have my passport I can relate the horrendous adventure of getting it. The passport office is so backed up I did not get mine until the day before I left Colorado. It was quite nerve racking. I had called and talked to someone the week before. She told me that they had moved up my departure date and put a rush on it. I was supposed to get it Tuesday or Wednesday in the mail. So when I didn't have it Wednesday and was planning on leaving Friday, I was quite nervous. I went into the office, cried to the security guards, and got in without an appointment. They told me that the main passport office hadn't even started processing my passport, despite my rush and moved departure date. So. . . I had to completely reapply. I had to go get new pictures, fill out a new application, and wait some more. But, finally I got it - complete with a huge bald eagle, flag, and reprinting of the beginning of the constitution. While the entire process seemed completely frustrating and ridiculous, the security guards were very nice and sympathetic and deserve some props.

I spent last night with the generous family of my friend and traveling compainion Maria. We are leaving for the airport in three hours. Given that I just mailed off my final assignment, I don't think my level of preparation could be higher. The weather in Sarajevo were we land is supposed to be about 69 degrees tomorrow.