Going Back

As I said two posts earlier, I am trying to fill in the many gaps of my story of life here in Sarajevo by going backwards. I've found that going back and looking at my photos helps jog my memory. Here's one that stands out to me:

You may be able to tell from this photo that I am standing in a room that has been transformed into a forest of toilet paper due to the ingenuity of my colleagues and me. I don't recall the reason for the idiotic look of wonder on my face (please compare with the confused-but-cool look of the picture below), but I do recall what was going on in my life at this moment.

The moment was towards the end of my first year in Sarajevo. We had just returned from a time of relaxation and reflection in Split, Croatia (see picture below) and were in a bittersweet stage of goodbyes and anticipation. My colleagues and I chose to say goodbye to our team leader by decorating his room in the aforementioned manner after a round of strangely-hilarious prank calls back to friends in the US. Laughter is the best elixir.

This moment was also a time of me looking ahead to a second year of work in Sarajevo that promised new challenges. I was excited about being asked to lead the team in my second year, looking forward to being with friends and family back in Atlanta for a couple of months, and confident in God's provision.

Split, Croatia

Split has become a city of beginnings and endings for me. I began my time working overseas in Split in 2009 and ended my year there this past Summer in 2010. Runs in the early-morning heat and walks along the "Riva" in the evening were my favorite times.

Karneval!

Me on one of those rides that spin you around so that you are smashed into the seat because of the g-forces and all need to hang on is quickly forgotten.

My family used to go to the Georgia State Fair in Perry, GA (the geographical center of the state) every once in a while. The rides were great because they were cheaper than say Six Flags and they had the added thrill of not quite being sure if the good ole' boys who assembled the ride really new what they were doing or when one of the bolts would pop out and you would be hurled out over the noisy crowds into a pop-the-balloons-with-darts stand only to receive the grand prize of the life-size plush purple gorilla.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I saw that Sarajevo had a carnival complete with swings, pony rides, wheelie-esque rides, scramblers, and lest I forget, bumper cars. After some convincing of my team to leave the comfort of the apartment we had congregated at that evening for dinner, we arrived as giddy as school kids (well, maybe just me) at Sarajevo's "Karneval" (no translation needed). We were there till the last ride turned off its lights and the ponies were loaded into their trailers. I left barely able to speak from screaming my lungs out.

My team at the Karneval.

Me hanging ten on a stone bulls' nose outside of a casino in Croatia. (We were in Croatia for a few days for a conference, not gambling.)

Picking Up Where I Left Off...

Here, I will try to fill in the 8-month silence that represents my inability to stay committed to blogging and relative preoccupation with the chaotic life I lead abroad.

Let's start with now and go back.

When I wrote at the beginning of my time in Sarajevo, I described my neighborhood, Grbavica-- a nice suburb of quiet streets and parks along the Miljacka River. A lot has changed since then. I now call the neighborhood of Bjelave my home. I now live near the Italian, Slovenian, Austrian, and French embassies, above Veliki Park (Big Park), and about 15 minutes from everywhere I need to be. There's one catch, it's up a very steep hill. I suppose God wanted me to have exercise built-in to the end of every day.

Here are some pictures:

The Street Bjelave. (When it's a clear day you can see the snow-covered mountains in the distance.)

Our pink/beige house that I share with my roommate who shares my name. Yes, that's a garage there on the right and a porch above it. (Next items to purchase: Scooter and Grill)

Nathan II enjoying our newly-acquired internet access on the infamous "Green Couch."

My bedroom in an unusual state of order. (The jury's still out on whether or not that's the correct way to hang the flag.)

So, this new home is an answer to prayer and has been a huge blessing. Immediately when I arrived back in the US for my Summer break and after moving out of Apt. #1 that I spent all last year in into Apt. #2 nearby, I found out that I had been kicked out of Apt. #2 by my landlord. My colleagues who were still in Sarajevo quickly found an Apt. #3 that to this day I have never seen, because four days before I returned to Sarajevo from the US, I found out that I (and all my stuff and the stuff that has been accumulated by my colleagues over the 10 years of my organization's work in this city, i.e. an enormous amount) had been kicked out again. So now, after staying in a local church for a few nights and meeting an extremely helpful local realtor, I live in Apt. #4 and hope to remain here till I move back to the US next Summer.

Barcelona, Spain January 2010

Escaping from the sleet and cold of Sarajevo, my team and I traveled to sunny Spain for a conference. We explored the beautiful city of Barcelona where we soaked in the care-free and colorful atmosphere of the city. The highlight of the brief visit for me was the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família or the Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, AKA Sagrada Familia. The building was commissioned in 1874 and handed over to the infamous architect Antoni Gaudi in 1883. The building still wasn't complete when he died in 1926 and nearly 136 years after it was begun, it still isn't finished. Entry fees and donations from around the world fund its construction predicted to be complete in 2026.


Blowing bubbles for Euro in a park outside the entrance to the church.


Spires at the entrance featuring sculptures telling the story of Christ's death.


"Muscular" angled columns.


Interior "mountain range" walls.


Fantastic.


Stone masons at work.


View from a spire.


I think the white domes will be skylights of sorts.


The color from this stained glass made beautiful patterns on the floor and columns inside.

Casa Batlló was the other Gaudi work we were able to see. It somehow reminds me of Bony-Legs.


Calatrava definitely got some influence from this guy.


Big stone bones and colored tile.

The whimsy of Gaudi encapsulated the feeling Barcelona gave me. More words next time.

Catching Up and Fudbal

Snowy day at the Sebilj Fountain in Bascarsija ("main market") of Sarajevo

Despite all my determination to keep up with my blog and keep everyone informed on my Bosnian adventures, life happens and here it is nearly 4 months into my year and I have only a little to show for it. I hope to remedy this in the new year, but I am not making any commitments that will certainly be broken, so please enjoy the occasional posts as they come. Here is one. I hope you enjoy.


At the Bosnia v. Spain football game

Like the rest of Europe, football is huge in Bosnia. Some friends and I were able to get tickets at the last minute to see Bosnia play Spain. We drove to Zenica, a city about an hour away from Sarajevo to the stadium there that was packed out to see this big game. It wasn't too much different from my sporting event experiences in the States. They even had some sausages in bread that looked almost like hot dogs.

This was my first European football experience. Before that, all I had seen were Clemson soccer games. I had heard about the rioting that sometimes goes on at games like these and about "hooligans" and all that, so I didn't know what to expect, but it really wasn't bad at all. The fans were intense, but well-behaved. Everyone was very respectful during the Spain National Anthem and at one point in the game, Spain was cheering for Bosnia and Bosnia was cheering for Spain in a half-mocking cheering battle.

I'm no football expert, so I can't tell you all about the game, but it was amazing to see the Bosnian and Spanish players' athletic abilities. Spain as the number one team at that time was especially impressive. The highlight of the game was when, as my friends and I ascended the stadium steps to leave and with only about a minute or two on the clock, Bosnia scored two goals to lose the game honorably.

The Bosnian Football cheer:

"Hajmo Bosno, Bosno, Bosno. Hajmo Hercegovino!"

The Sarajevo City Hall

City Hall, 1992

One of the most beautiful buildings in Sarajevo, in my opinion, second to the Art Faculty, is the City Hall. A shell hit the building in 1992 at the beginning of the war, destroying the ancient documents it contained.

Well, 14 years after the war, this building is currently being renovated and is fenced-off and locked-up to tourists. That is, unless you just walk in through the open gate.

I had been spending the afternoon with my friend who had been showing me around the city's historical buildings-- the Franciscan Church, Sarajevska Pivara (the city brewery), Zestra (the olympic stadium), and other great spots around town.

I followed him through the gate and into the magnificent rotunda of the city hall. We noticed a couple of people talking in an adjacent room, so we quickly took the makeshift construction stairs up to the upper floors of the city hall. Most of the plaster was chipped off the walls revealing the brick and mortar construction underneath, but there were small patches of the original plaster that showed the ornate paintings of this Austro-Hungarian relic. To an architecture enthusiast this was an adventure.

We explored the floors, ducking underneath low-hanging wooden beams, carefully ascending the precarious wooden stairs, and entering the dark attic with our cell phones as flashlights.

After a while, we remembered the two people downstairs and how we could get caught for trespassing. (If anyone is reading this who is with Sarajevo police or government, please forgive us.) We hurried downstairs just in time to see the man and woman who were the only other people in the building exit through the only exit, the front door. We ran to the door to avoid being locked in and were greeted by a friendly man in his 40s taking a smoke break on the porch of the city hall.

My friend greets him in Bosnian and begins a conversation with him. My Bosnian at that point was limited to only a few phrases, so I didn't understand any of it, other than it appeared very cordial. My friend introduced himself and shook the man's hand and then introduced me. I shook his hand as I heard Mirza say something that sounded like "architect" in Bosnian. The handshake was firm and longer than normal and the guy had a big smile on his face as we were introduced. I thought it was a little strange at how friendly this guy was being, but I am in Bosnia and people are very friendly here.

After we said our goodbyes and walked away from the city hall, I was relieved that we weren't reprimanded for trespassing, but I was also curious. I asked my friend, "What did you say to that man?" He responded, "Oh, I told him that we were both architects and were inspecting the building before the next phase of construction begins. He was the head of construction on the project. I told him you were an architect from America who specialized in Austro-Hungarian art restoration."

Sister in Sarajevo

Elizabeth, the long lost sister from Berlin, visited me in Sarajevo on 10/31. It was a great break from the norm and of course great to see my older sister who I hadn't seen in over a year.

Our Halloween began with a walk through the city. What else? Bosnia is a walking city and it's very hard to get lost. The city is built along a river. See here:



After soaking in the city from the streets and a view of the city at sundown from a lookout, we soaked in hooka or "shisha" smoke in a Turkish style cafe where we sipped Bosnian Kahva. This is coffee that is made in a small pot with very finely ground coffee. It is served on a bronze tray with sugar cubes and is drunk from small ceramic cups with bronze bases.


Our dinner nook at Inat Kuca

We dined (yes, dined) at Inat Kuca, or "House of Spite" where we were the only customers in an authentic, old Bosnian-style home that served great lamb, stuffed grape leaved, Bosnian gulash, bread, and salad. "Inat" is a Turkish word that means stubbornness or spite. The original owner of the home bargained with city officials way back when to have his home rebuilt, brick for brick on the other side of the river so that the city could build its City Hall on his home's land.


The Spread

Our evening came to a close with cheesecake and a beverage amidst costumed Sarajevans.

During the three full days that Elizabeth was here, we explored the National Museum, hunted down the Sarajevo avant-garde art scene, and walked the beautiful countryside outside Sarajevo at Vrelo Bosna.


Slightly awkward pic of Elizabeth and me in a horse-drawn carriage at Vrelo Bosna.