Belgrade is the ugliest city…I arrived in Belgrade with no map and plan, so I left it up to this Serbian friend whom I met accidentally in Andorra. How many people travel to Andorra for just one day and rush back for their flights on the next day? How many of them end up staying with the same host? How many will return to Spain on the same bus? How many will then flight at the same airport? How many will fly on the same morning requiring an overnight sleeping on the same bench? And how many are the exact people you are trying to meet? That was how I met Jelena.
This article was submitted by ISA BELLE, a Dutch student studying in Herzegovina.
A student’s life is not the most active. Thus I like to go for a run once or twice a week. Running keeps me fit and makes me feel healthier and stronger, but most of all after the exercise I feel an incredible surge of energy. Running gives me the opportunity to empty my mind and to listen to the rhythm of my steps and the beating of my heart.
Belgrade is an ugly city…Jelena dragged me here and there which I had not the slightest idea where in Belgrade, which I found to be big, ugly, dirty, gray and polluted. I stealthily looked at almost every Serb who crossed my path to find something, something to explain the reason for my disdain.
No matter how hard I looked, I could not discover anything new, and yet I kept recalling old memories. Hearing the familiar Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Serbo-Croatian language made me deliriously happy. The Croats, Bosniaks, and the Serbs speak as if they are singing. When I hear them talk, I feel I can see a river flow. Everybody from old to young, from the capital to the countryside speak loud and clear as how a language should be spoken, especially for a foreigner because you are assured that if you try hard enough, someday you will understand. I looked at men, women, at the way they looked and dressed and turned to Jelena. “You are no different from the Bosniaks in Sarajevo.” “No, we don’t.” She replied.
“Life is what happens when you are making other plans.” – John Lennon
Do you plan your life to the minute details of how it should be? Most Americans will tell you yes, thanks to all those bargain-on-the-shelf, flying-off-the-chart pop psychology, self-development books like how to organizing your life in 30 minutes, life skills for dummies, etc. and etc. Your school counselors grill you about your life plan: how do you imagine your life five or ten years from now? Heck! Job interviewers interrogate you about your professional outlook to know what you see yourself doing before letting you dig into their 401K. A former boyfriend of my high-school friend told her the age marks when he would buy his first car, mortgage his first house, get a wife.
This article was submitted by ISA BELLE, a Dutch student studying in Mostar, Herzegovina.
For a school assignment, I interviewed an ex-Dutch batter who served in Srebrenica during its fall. The interview was interesting, so I decided to translate and post it here. I encourage you all to read it; however, it’s best if you do a bit of research beforehand so you can understand it better.
This article was submitted by ISA BELLE, a Dutch student studying in Mostar, Herzegovina.
The Initiative of the United World Colleges (UWC) and International Baccalaureate (IB) in Bosnia and Herzegovina aims to support the peace process in the country and the region by implementing a recognized model of post-conflict education.
This article was submitted by ISA BELLE, a Dutch student studying in Mostar, Herzegovina.
Are there still people who do not know there was a war in Bosnia from 1992 until 1995? Are there still people who haven’t heard of terrible things that happened during that war? No, there is no need to tell those stories again since they have been retold countless times. However, who knows what that war was like? Who knows how war looks like? In Mostar, signs of war are still seen everywhere, especially along the former front lines with the remains of more destroyed houses than standing ones. Unless you have been living in a wonderland or are unaware of the invention of television, you can guess that a war happened here.
A blog reader asked me to find the all the music played in the movie Grbavica, a film about “the life of a single mother in contemporary Sarajevo in the aftermath of systematic rapes of Bosniak women by Chetniks’ troops during the war.” “I hope that you will add this to your website because it is a great help for people who are looking for the titles from the music of GRBAVICA….I LOVE BOSNIA I HERZOGOWINA. [sic]”
This article was submitted by ISA BELLE, a Dutch student studying in Mostar, Herzegovina.
“Do you want to go for a coffee with me next week” is what people in Holland like to say. In Bosnia, no one will ever say this to you. Going for a coffee here is not something you plan to do. You go for a coffee when you meet a friend, acquaintance or someone you have not seen for years on the street. Furthermore, according to Bosnian culture, going for a coffee means so much more than just going for a cup of coffee.
Finally finally….
I was searching the net, preparing for my trips to Berlin when Honza skyped me “Karadzic was arrested. I’m watching it on CNN.” “No, I can’t be. I’ve just surfed that site.” I objected and refreshing CNN home page, still nothing. I googled around but came up empty. Then there it was, the familiar breaking news yellow banner with the large text “War crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic has been arrested, AP reports quoting the office of Serbian President.”
My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
