New Purchases, Connections, & Pics

Today I finally had a chance to go to Chapters. Unfortunately, they don't carry any books on BiH. Thus, I had to buy Croat phrase books; I bought 2 that are pocket-size. The Croatian and Serbian alphabet look to be the same (they don't mention Bosnian). Here are some useful phrases:

Excuse me (to get attention): Oprostite (aw praw stee te)
Excuse me (to get past): Ispričavam se (ee spree cha vam se)
Sorry: Žao mi je (zha aw mee ye)
I (don't) understand: Ja (ne) razumijem (ra zoo mee yem)
I don't speak Croatian: Ne govorim hrvatski (ne gau-vau-reem hr-vaht-skee)
Leave me allow (lol): Ostavite me na miru! (aust-ah-vee-te me nah mee-roo)
Go away! (lol): Odlazite! (aud-lah-zee-te!)
I'm lost!: Ja sam zalutala (fem) (Ja sahm zah-loo-tah-lah)
Does anyone here speak English? Dali ovdje itko govori engleski? (dah lee auv-dye-eet-koh gau-vau-ree eng-les-kee?)
Can you help me? Možete li mi pomoći? (mau-zhe-tee lee mee pau-moh-chee?)
I speak very little Croatian: Govorim samo malo hrvatskog (gau-vau-ree sah-moh mah-loh hr-vaht-tskog)

I'm going back to Chapters tomorrow to get some Europe travel books. I also need to pre-order Bosian books/CDs. Moreover, I bought some recommended books for my pre-departure, and my stay in Bosnia.

Moreover, I have reached out to past Beyond Borders/ Intercordia students who have gone to BiH. One is meeting me to show pictures of her stay in BiH. The other has sent me his blog site. I've already read 1/4 of his entries and they're making me so excited. The following are some of the points that stood out to me:

• Everyone knows each other and or they recognize foreigners VERY quickly
• “Everything is a memory”: They don’t like visitors taking pictures of things that have been shot at because it is not a fond memory for them to relive
• He got a tick, which I’m worried about (he calls it "an adventure" and recommends that I stay clear of the tall grass)
• Most structures have bullet marks from the war in the 1990s
• Cafés and construction are the main source of employment for citizens; however, according to Mike many people just lounge all day
• 1 side is abandoned and the other side is full of people staying in apartments
• With that said, there seems to be more buildings and cafés than people

• He hid his passport under the rug and feared it getting lost. (I'm glad that I'm not the only one)
  
  Here are pics from Mike (BiH volunteer 2006):
  

Art Academy at the University of Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Memory of the War

Typical Homes in BiH (note the bullet holes on the side of the house)

One of the Homes

Apartments in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje

Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Walking Home from Youth Centre

On the Hill Looking Down on Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje

Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Youth Center

Contruction

(Thanks Mike Little - SJU)

First In-Class Presentation

Today I had my first presentation on my country and placement. The slides I just uploaded onto my blog are the ones I used during my presentation. (I briefly described the location, demographics, transit, currency, purchasing tips, food, and placement (Gornji Vakuf- Uskoplje)in Bosnia Herzegovina. Since I had practiced in front of SJ Union members during our bake sale, in the mirror and in front of my house mate while walking to class, I was fairly prepared. However, I did forget to mention certain things, i.e., that I have websites on my blog that other BB students can go to to find out about VISA requirements and recommended vaccinations. As well, my nerves prevented me from answering a couple of the questions to the best of my knowledge. However, all in all it was fairly successful.

Side note: I'm glad that I didn't devour all of my Baka's "Pita" because it was nice to get to share it with my classmates (bring some of my culture into the classroom).

Afterwards, my friend Jen presented on her country: Ukraine. I absolutely love the creativity she has. It definitely gave me some ideas on how I can improve my Power Point before presenting at my fundraiser in March. Thanks Jen :D

PowerPoint on Bosnia

Bosnia Herzegovina Ppp

View more presentations from sgeorge86.

http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/Bosnia/Index.html
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2868.htm
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationBosniaAndHerzegovina.aspx
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentAvianFluAmericansAbroad.aspx
http://www.cemes.org/current/LGI/172-eng.htm
http://www.ddh.nl/org/gvakuf/project.html
http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/travel-information/sanitary-risks-health-advices-Bosnia-and-Herzegovina_BIH_5.html
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=35000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo
http://www.blurtit.com/q384498.html

Back from a Busy Weekend

The weekend was fairly busy. I went home to pick up the cheque from my Parish, received some donations, gain some more contacts, and discuss a fundraier with my old boss. I still need to raise $1150 (I have received $550 and will be getting another $300 during reading week). After visiting my old job (my home away from home) my boss agreed to hold a fundraiser at his restuarant on the last week of March, which is also the 4th anniversary of his restaurant. Right now we are seeking entertainment. Hopefully by the next week I will be asking local companies for items I can auction off during the event. We are all very excited for the event but it will definitely be time consuming and a lot of work. :D I have also gotten into contact with the two other Intercordia students who are going to BiH. We are all really excited to be going and I'm definitely glad to have the chance to converse with them beofre leaving. Lastly, on Thursday myself and Jen will be giving presentations on our countries, and our class will be discussing a group fundraiser that will likely be on the first Sunday in March. Our last Intercordia seminar, which I'm SO excited for, will also take place during that weekend.

That's it for now,

~G

Fundraising Update

With $1500 left to fundraise I'm getting ready to send out my second batch of letters. It feels so good going home and talking with people who support me wholeheartedly. I am so grateful to my grandparents for helping me out even though they are terrified about me going. I am also going to my old job, and home away from home, tomorrow to discuss a potential fundraising event in the restaurant. I'm hoping that my fellow BB classmates are doing well in their fundraising events and I'm happy for those who have completed their fundraising. Moreover, I'm excited about our group fundraiser on the second Sunday in March and I'm very grateful to those who have helped me brainstorm.

General Info for Traveling

Hey guys,

I've been looking into information about immunizations, healthy water, etc. Below I have included some useful sites:

Creating Healthy Water:

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentWaterTreatment.aspx

Traveler's Health Guide:

(Choose your placement and you will get info on Recommendations or Requirements for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Medicines you might need, Other diseases found in your area, food and water precausions, what to do after returning home, etc.)

wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationList.aspx


Traveler's Report:

This site includes info. on warnings and recommendations, registration recommendations, safety and security, entry and exit requirements (INCLUDING VISA INFO), Canadian government contacts (i.e. Cdn Embassy in host country), health info needed for traveling, laws and customs, currency, travel tips, natural disaster and climate, traveler's checklist, and travel insurance.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp


Info on Main Health Risks, foos safety, immunizations and medications, contacts for health (i.e., hospitals and doctors in host country), emergency contact info and general climate:

http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/infos_pratiques/default.html

The Speak English Cafe

Last night was my first 2 hrs volunteering at TWC. I participated in the “Speaking English Café”. Last night, the SEC consisted of two parts.

The first was a "BINGO" type activity where we were given roughly 25 questions, i.e., Are you afraid of heights? We had to circulate the room finding people who could answer "yes" to the questions. When we found those people, they had to sign their name beside the question. Each person could only sign each page once. The goal was to be the first person to complete the task and receive a high five, and more importantly, to start warming up to each other and practice speaking English. This was a great ice breaker. Personally it helped me meet different people and remember them by word associations (which many of you know is the key way that I remember people's names).

The second part of the evening was working through a verbal activity in our table groups. My group consisted of two gentlemen recently from Columbia, an intelligent and worldly man from India, my friend Sebastian, another person from KW and a woman from India. As a group we decided to discuss each question presented on the paper. An example of a question was: If you could write a book what would it be about (i.e., genre, type of characters, etc). After answering these questions we had to look at some Idioms. After reading them aloud, we allowed the recent immigrants to guess on the different meanings. Then we would help describe any idioms that they had difficulties with. These activities were a fun way of getting to know people as individuals and in a small way we helped their understanding of the English language.

Relating this to Friere, this was much more effective than getting the people to attend a lecture on the English language. We all got to engage in a dialect together and to educate each other on our different views, knowledge and experiences. It was very satisfying.

After leaving TWC, I couldn't help but wonder if Bosnia has a program similar for foreigners, like myself, or locals who are seeking to learn foreign languages. In the weeks prior to overseas adventure, I hope to find out if such a program exists.

Moreover, as most of you know, I aspire to become an elementary teacher. What most of you don't know is that that has been my ideal job since I was a little girl teaching my Croatian grandmother, Baka, English on my weekly visits. Being able to not only be involved in these adult’s journey through improving their language skills, but also learn more about their worldly experiences, is such a blessing to me. It was just amazing to interact with such a diverse and positive group of adults. I am so thrilled to have had this opportunity with TWC and I am looking forward to volunteering there in the weeks leading up to my departure to Bosnia.