When you examine the buildings surrounding and throughout Sarajevo, you'll see bullet holes and/or damage from granades or shells exploding. Some buildings are barely a standing frame of rubble. Many abandonned houses and buildings have signs warning people that they're unsafe to go inside. Sylva explained to Ana and I this morning that she's lucky to be alive, because she was in her apartment when a granade landed, and the explosion caused so much debris that it could have killed her. She then showed us her scars on her shoulder from that explosion. It's scary to think this was only a few years ago. In Canada, we seem so removed from war. We hear about it on TV, read about it in books, study about it for a history exam, and of course, remember those who have fought for our country. But it's a different reality here. It is eye opening to talk to people in their 20's who have lived through a war. Or individuals who's parents snuck them out of the country to live with distant relatives until the country became safe again. Or people that have lost one or more parent or loved ones during the war. But people still walk with a bounce in their step, a cheer in their voice, love in their hearts, with promise for a better tomorrow. This is Sylva to a "T". She is fantastic, and has so much love that she shares with the kids, Ana, I, Hana, Nermin and the Mothers. She is non-stop talk, and non-stop love. I sometimes wish she'd slow down so I could try to understand!
An observation Ana and I have made is that Bosnian's have a general concern for one another's sleep. Every morning, whenever you see someone (a friend, the kids, a stranger on the tram, a person in the street, or a Mother at the centre), you always exchange "Dobro Jutro" (Good Morning), "Kako si?" (How are you?) immediately followed by "Kako ste spavali?" (How did you sleep?). I've never, in my life, been asked so many times "How did you sleep?". It's awesome.
So back to the day...we left the centre around 9:15, and we took the tram to the last stop. We then walked for about 20 minutes and we met with some of the other Mothers and Kids who live on that side of town. The Mothers left the kids with us, and they stayed at the cafe. We walked for another 30 minutes or so to get into this park. It was beautiful though, and it was nice to be nestled in with nature again. There are tons of meandoring streams, with waterfalls, and bridges built over. We stopped for lunch at they small huts, and then carried on exploring the park. Again, it was fun getting to know the kids outside of the centre, talking about past experiences and their likes/dislikes. It was also wonderful to be out of the cramped centre, having space to explore and it didn't feel like everyone was yelling. We still shared lots of laughter, and stories in any combination of languages. The weather managed to cooperate, and the sun was shining throughout most of the day. Needless to say, we were all happy-go-lucky.
The group of us from Radost Zivota enjoying the park!
It was so beautiful! The water was crystal clear, and their were tons of mini waterfalls with bridges over the waterways.
Talk about accessible washrooms! Toilet transfer anyone? Ha ha. (Welcome to Eastern Europe)
The girls taking it easy in the shade!
Group shot of us just hanging out!When Ana and I arrived home from the excursion, we were quite exhausted. We had a quick nap, then continued to work and brain storm regarding our needs assessment. We're starting the interviews with the kids tomorrow, and I think we're now prepared. I feel like even though we prepare everything, nothing really goes according to plan. We'll run all of our questions by Hasena when we arrive at the centre in the morning, and hopefully get going.
I'm happy to announce that SPAIN BEAT GERMANY!!! Woo hoo!!! For all you world cup fans (and those who aren't), Spain is in the finals versus the Netherlands. Tonights game was super exciting and fun (even though Spain dominated the field), and the atmosphere in the streets of Sarajevo was wonderful. I love Europeans love for football. Ana and I are headed to Belgrade this weekend to visit her family, so we will be intently watching from there. I hope they have as good of an environment as they do here in Sarajevo.
I'd like to give a bit of intro into the Balkanika song of the day. It's called "6" by our good friend, Tony Storaro. Whenever Tony's videos make an appearance on Balkanika, Ana and I get excited. Not only for his Balkan beats, but also his dance moves, fist pumps, and lack of facial expression. We have fallen in love with "6" for the mere fact that the video is so horrible, it's awesome. It goes against all of my values about exploiting women as objects, but it's Tony. In Canada, generally when you see a good looking guy or girl, some people would rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. Here in the Balkans, the scale is out of 5. Tony gives the fish looking girl with fake everything, a 6. It really is love at first sight. I hope you enjoy it for all that it is. If you can't, feel free to laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLXkTlc0ml0
I hope you all sleep well. xoxo
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