Zdravo!

Dobar dan (good day)! Well, we made it! Ana and I have arrived in Sarajevo, and although sometimes a little overwhelmed, things are going well. We were greeted at the airport on Friday afternoon by Hasena (the co-founder of Joy of Life) and her husband, Mensud. They took us to the centre for 5 minutes to say "Zdravo" to a few of the mothers and kids. Many of them had already left for the weekend, so it was a quick tour and hello, then we left. As we drove into the city, Mensud and Hasena explained to us (and by us, I mean, Ana, who translated to me) some of the history and the major buildings around town. We arrived at our apartment, to be thoroughly surprised by how nice it was. Before arriving, all we knew was the price and approximate location. We are in the heart of the old town, and we have an excellent view of the city and the surrounding hills.
We dropped our bags, headed down to old town, and Mensud and Hasena pointed out the necessities in our neighborhood (supermarket, pharmacy, bank, etc). We stopped and had Burek (a traditional pastry that normally is filled with meat, but I opted for the spinach/cheese option), followed by traditional turkish coffee, which is probably the strongest coffee I've had in my life! Hasena and Mensud headed home to their children (they have daughter who is 18, and a son that just turned 4), while Ana and I headed to the grocery store and home to get settled.


The rest of the weekend was filled with watching Fudbal (World Cup) while drinking coffee, wine and beer, and attempting to meet locals or anyone who cared to talk to us. It seems that nobody in Sarajevo speaks English, and although I am picking up on words, here and there, but I'm pretty much lost in translation. I can generally just say "Hello", "How are you?", "Good", "Thank You" and "See ya later". Ana has become my lifeline, but with complete immersion, I'm hoping to be able to survive independently in 5 weeks.

Ana and I went for a run on Saturday afternoon, and we realized that people don't exercise in Sarajevo, so needless to say, we got many strange looks. Also, we are really taking our life into our own hands, and running appears to be an extreme sport here. With the combination of cobblestone, rock, holes in the ground, no sidewalks, steep hills and cars driving 60km/hour in the narrowest streets, it makes for an interesting team sport.

Today (June 28th), Ana and I started at Radost Zivota (Joy of Life) today. It was basically a day of orientation and getting to know some of the people that work at and are apart of Joy of Life. Hasena picked us up at 9:00am, and we rode the tram for about 25 minutes, and walked to Joy of Life. The centre is very small, where the mothers hang out in the kitchen, there is a group therapy room, a bathroom, and an office. Once we arrived, we had a small orientation over coffee, and went over some of the forms with Hasena and Azra (the co-founders of Joy of Life). I sat there, and smiled, while Ana's brain went into overdrive, translating constantly. We then met Hana (a psychologist), Nermin (a speech-language pathologist), Sylvia (a "defectologist"), a music teacher, and the kids. Although, to our surprise, there were very few I would classify as "kids". Majority of the individuals there were aged 20 to 40, all with varying disabilities. We all went around in a circle, introducing ourselves, saying our name, and how old we were. They then sang us some songs, one in English, then the Bosnian version of the Hokey Pokey, and a few various other songs, with actions. They were wonderful. The group then asked Ana and I questions varying from what we were doing there, to where we were from, to who we were cheering for in World Cup. My favourite part of the day was when Ana explained to the group that we would be there everyday for 5 weeks, and that we're excited to become friends with them, and the entire group started to clap and cheer.

It was explained that they often have group therapy daily, to work on socialization, talk about issues they may be having, problem solve as a group, and play games. Today, we played their adapted version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire", which asked a variety of questions related to Bulkan history, pop culture, science and random facts. The centre often gets small projects to work on to earn money. Previously, they have made small bags, but right now, they're making curtains (?) for a fashion show. So after lunch, we gathered and rolled fabric and socialized as a group. At 2:30, Ana, myself, and Hana had coffee with the mothers, and then it was time to go home. They sent me off with a book of children's songs to help me learn the language.

Ana and I left, and on the tram ride home, we discussed ideas for the project. The organization was really keen on the fact that we are there to work with them, not for them. Now, we need to start our needs assessment, and start planning. Overall, it was a good orientation day, but boy do I have a lot of language to learn! It's very difficult being lost in the language barrier, and being totally reliant on another person to communicate on your behalf. But I'll take it one day at a time, and learn as I go. But I'm going to go read children's songs! I'll update again another day. Our internet is inconsistent, but I'll keep in touch as much as I can.