First week in BiH

I don’t even know where to begin! The experience thus far has already been a roller coaster ride, but one I would never take back!

The plane ride was good. My Baka, mom and dad came to the airport with me where I met Chelsea (another volunteer going to BiH) and an Intercordia representative. The last couple of days before leaving Canada were jam packed with getting preparations done. Thus, I did not have time to worry about the unknown. However, it really hit me that I was leaving familiar faces and heading across the pond for a WHOLE SUMMER when I was saying goodbye to my Canadian family.

The plane ride was excellent. It was my first time going on a plane in a few years so it was a great treat to be able to get REALLY good food and unlimited movie access! In Munich Chels and I met the rest of the Intercordia volunteers heading to BiH: Jillian, Ryan and Bridgette. Joe from Intercordia and Selma from the Centar met us at the Sarajevo airport. Before leaving the airport we sat at our first cafe and conversed for a short while. Then we headed to Gornji Vakuf- Uskoplji.

The car ride was LONG but the landscape was like nothing I have ever seen! We were surrounded by mountains and a mixture of buildings ranging from new, colourful, stecko homes with red rooftops to run down, vacant buildings. That experience alone was indescribable. Vacationing and living in North America never allowed me to be exposed to anything like what I saw; it was unforgettable.

The town is small. I live a two minute walk from the Centar on the Croatian side. Walking from one side of the town to the other side takes barely any time and we were told by the Teen Group (who will be assisting us during the summer and translating for us) that there are about 10,000 people in town.

The past few days have been SO eventful. It honestly feels like midterm time in university; there’s so much I want to do but not enough time.

I’m not very good at the language which was a huge struggle for me during my first couple of days here. I felt inadequate and felt like I should be more fluent. However, the people have been very encouraging and are very kind. Also, Ryan, who has dealt with language barriers in the past, has put me at ease today by describing his experience to myself and the rest of the volunteers. He explained that learning the language is like a snowball where initially it will seem like we cannot retain any words but after a while we’ll start picking up things very fast.

It has been hard because I was not able to bring a dictionary or adequate workbook. However, conversing with the children and my family on a daily basis and reading my family’s workbook has helped.

Initally I did not feel 100% comfortable with rest of the volunteers. I just did not feel like we clicked 100%. However, while writing in my journal I was reflecting on what I want to get out of my time in BiH. Although it would be nice to have a lasting friendship with my peers, I am here for the children, to learn the language and the history of the country and grow as a person. At that moment I felt at ease and I was able to refocus. (NOTE: I am now feeling a lot closer with the rest of the Intercordia volunteers; our bonding sessions, both individually and as a group, have really helped.)

My host family and the neighbourhood children, or my ˝entourage˝ as Chelsea said today, as well as encouraging e-mails from my family and friends back home have helped me with the transition.

I am SO grateful for my host family. I am finally able to experience life in a large family. I have two parents, a sestra (sister) & three brata (brothers). Since the very beginning they have welcomed me with open arms. Their values are very inspiring. They are a very tight knit family who value family time and relationships between each other. Moreover, they are very open to visitors and always have their doors open to guests. It is a nice change to always have neighbours at the house.

It is just after eight o’clock in BiH so I must wrap up this blog because I’m sure dinner will be served shortly, and it is starting to get dark outside.

In my next blog I will be discussing the family kittens/cat that I want to take home with me, the amazing Hrvaski food, family conversations/similarities, yesterday’s four-hour potato planting session with my family, church & cafe experiences, the locals, plans for our youth program, and more.

I hope all is well with my family and friends. Safe travels everyone!

~G.