Community Care Day

One of the other CAS's I'm in, besides my core CAS is Environmental Council (an ecology group). the leader, Hilary (my second year from Oregon) organized, with the help of the rest of the team, Community Care Day. This was a day when everyone came together and cleaned up trash from the city. It was advertised around the city that we would meet in certain areas of the city that especially needed cleaning and pick up trash for several hours. When the students arived in one of the areas, it was already completely clean already. Another oginazation had seen the posters and orginized themselves! Another area where we were working at is a huge memorial park for the soldiers who fought in the 2nd world war, called the Partisan's Memorial, which hadn't been maintained in a really long time and is mostly a party place, or so it seemed by the number of beer bottles we picked up (literally thousands). This place was so covered in trash, at one point I stood in one place and filled up a garbage bag within arm's reach. We worked in two parts of the park, the area you see in the photo, and then a reflecting pool that was full of floating bottles and plastic bags. Once I started cleaning it was so hard to stop, and even though at some points it seemed like there was just way too much to even make a difference, in this memorial, or this city, or this world, all the trash we are creating is just overwhelming! But after looking

back at an area I had cleaned it felt so good. now that small place is a better place in this world.

In total about 12 of us collected over 130 bags of trash just from this memorial park alone... here you can see them and the dupster behind which used to be empty. Here are some shots of one of the areas we cleaned

BEFORE & AFTER

CAS

Part of the UWC curriculum is CAS which is like co-curricular activities. CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service, so every week we do activities that fit into one of these groups. We have our core CASs which we are required to attend and then you can also go to any to any other ones that fit into your schedule and you have time for. My core CASs are Refugee camp, Hiking and cycling and Fashion.
I didn't sing up for fashion, fashion is is the last thing I think about, especially since I came here and where whatever is most comfortable. When I herd I was in Fashion I just laughed and was like what the heck, I might as well go and just see. So I went and found out that it is more like sewing which was more interesting to we so I'm just going with it and seeing what happens, I'm hopping we can make ridiculous costumes out of recycled materials to promote recycling so that's a bright side :).

here's what we made last week! haha ... I wish

Refugee camp is a refugee camp about an hour out of Mostar with people still without homes because of war 18 years ago. What we do is go to the camp every Saturday and play with the children there for a couple of hours, teaching them games and a bit of English, and they help us with our local language. We are also working on getting hot water heaters for them for when winter comes, and also cleaning up a room where the kids can all play inside. The kids are all really helpful and fun, it's nice to play with some younger kids, since at school I'm only with kids my age. I'm also really enjoying trying to learn the local language and communicate better with the kids.

Here is a shot of the kids tackling one of the other UWC students.

Hiking and Cycling is incredible ... every couple weeks we will be going on hikes, we've only gone on one but it was amazing because I missed the wilderness, I missed being blown away my the size of the mountains and lying in complete silence, only listening to the wind in the leaves. I do not mind this city, but I miss the out of control peace of the wilderness.

(Photo by Jess)

so theres a bit of what I've been up to, not quite like xc skiing and playing base in the orchestra, but I'm happy with the changes and I'm enjoying trying new things (even fashion :P )



above: before and after pics of an epic ruby match (also a CAS)

Praying

Last week my room mate Merve from Turkey and a volunteer teacher who is also Muslim took my second year Hilary from Organ and I to the Mosque for the last prayer of the day. Since Barium when I fasted for a day with Merve I had been wanting to go to the mosque and check it out.
I was doing my homework when Merve reminded me we where going in 15 minuets and so we rushed upstairs and she taught me how to clean myself before praying. washing hands, face, ears, mouth, nose,feet and arms three time in a specific order and always using the right hand. After being cleaned we put on our head dresses that covered our hair and neck and put on lose fitting covering clothing.
We then walked about 4 blocks to one of the closer mosques. On the way there my room mate said to me, "I know you may not believe in 'God' but when you are in the mosque just think about a higher power and feel them."
"I belive in God" I responded "I'm just not religious"
We entered the mosque with our right foot first and then removed our shoes for the prayers. the men where in the front, and we lined up in the back. With the prayers in Arabic the leader spoke we moved from standing to pressing our foreheads to the carpeted floor and then back up again. I did not know what these movements or words meant, but moving in synracy with so many people in a place of worship felt very powerful. I prayed to God or a higher power that people of all religions could try to understand each other, and find there similarities and respect their differences.
At the end of each prayer we faced our right shoulder, and then our left shoulder saying peace to the spirit that writes down all of our good deeds on our right and the spirit that writes down all the bad deeds on our left.
On the walk home Hilary who is Christan and Lela (the volunteer teacher)talked about how although they reached their god in different ways they prayed to the same god. They spoke about how any Christan who wishes death upon Muslims is not a true Christan and any Muslim who wished death upon a Cristan is not a true Muslim. And how the war here in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not abide to any of the religions participating.
Living my whole life with out belonging to a religion the whole experience was very opening for me, to participate in the Muslim prayers and to debrief about how going to the mosque made us feel with people of different religions, I was able to understand better the importance of spirituality and of being open to the ideas and beliefs of others.

A day without vision

From 9:00 to 4:30 I spent wearing a blind fold. Today in our school it was a kind of blind awarness day and the biggest challenge was to spend the whole day with out vision. I perticipated thinking it would be somthing fun and intresting to do. It wasn't very fun, not knowing where I was, bumping into people, asking for help to do the simplist tasks and sitting in class feeling helpless as the teacher kept refering to somthing written on the board.
But it made me realize what so many people with diabilities go through every day! And when I took of the bandna I felt so lucky that I could take it off, that I could see, hear, walk, speak. I have now an even more hightened respect for all the people who can not do these thing we take for granted everyday. I want to write more... but I hve to catch up on the homework I got behind on when I couldn't see. :P

Rafting on the Neretva

On sunday a group of us meet at the school at 8:00 to go on a rafting trip. Besides the fact that we where rafting and that meals where includid I had no idea what was going on. We waited for the van eating paistries from the bakery looking at the sky. Big grey clouds where rolling in and the bits of blue sky wher becomming less and less.
After a hour or so bus ride in winding narrow mountain roads we arrived in a beautiful tiny village on the side of the river. It was so nice to be in the country with green trees and bushes and little stone houses I felt like I was in a fairy tail. BUt the best part was that there was fuit growing on the trees and littering the ground around us; plums and apples and a red berry that tasted like beats that we latter drank the juice of. We walked a few minuets from where the van dropped us off to the house of the guide where we where outfitted in halarious wet suits, fed coffie and juice and instructed not to fall in love with the "skippers" that would be guiding each of the rafts.

On the drive up to where we started rafting it started to rain, and then pour, sheets of water where sliding off the van and we joked that we could just raft down the road. Thunder and lightning greeted us as we got out of the van and sprinted to a lodge where they fed us grilled fish, fanta and bread for lunch. I couldn't resist the plums outside just sitting there so Hilary and I had to go outside and pick a whole bunch share with everyine.


It was still pouring down rain when we got into the rafts and launched into the river. There where 5 to 6 of us in each raft with the sexy skipper in the back steering. In the clam areas we spashed the other rafts with more water and in the rapids we paddeled hard and held on tight with our feet. the trip was two hours long and we floated though amazing canyons that had underground rivers comming out of the sides of them, and beautiful vallys full of almost Dr. Suis looking vegetation. the pouring rain, and claps of thunder added to the adventure and the mist added another demention to the seanery.


when it was over a few of us went for a final swim (we just couldn't get enough of the water ) then we walked back up to the guids house and his wife had perpared a an amazing meal, thanksgiving stats, of traditional food. There where onions and bell peppers stuffed with gound meat, spinich burak pies, cooked vegtibles, rice, potatos, and chicken. we where also given a tast of rakija, a traditional drink that our host had made himself from the plums.
After we where stuffed full of food we where each given a bottle of syrup to make in to the juice that tasted like beats, and we got back on the bus and snuggled up fo the ride home :)

Simple Things

As I start to settle in to a routine and I no longer feel as though I am in a whirlwind of new faces, places and expectations I am able to find the simple things that make me better and bring them into my life: Tape to hang the pictures of home around my room, mountain roads to run on, an extension cord so I can plug in my computer and work on my desk, granola to eat with yogurt for breakfast instead of bakery foods. These things remind me of home and make me fell healthier and stronger and more like who I am. I never thought A roll of tape could do that, but it's amazing how proud you can be to buy a roll of tape when first you have to find a store that sells it, and then you ask for it in a forgein language and then you understand the amount the clerk asks for. And even more amazing how happy it makes you feel to be able to use it to put up pictures.
Running is also been a been a big part of my life in the last week. Getting away from the busy groups of people and doing something independent is one of my biggest motivations. After that is my ability to explore the streets. Mostar is a big enough city that at some points I wonder where exactly I am, but it is small enough that you can never actually get lost. the city is surrounded my small mountains on all sides, so if I just start running up into a neighborhood, soon I am able to look over the city. Looking down over the city gives me a sense of accomplishment and independence.
It is the simple things that are making the life here...my life.

Photos!!!

Here are pictures of My trip to Dubrovnik. The one of the bridge is actually in Mostar it is a very famous, beautiful and old bridge :)... Uploading pictures finaly worked! enjoy.