Not the best week

The weather here has taken a drastic change from the way it was the first few weeks here. I have not seen the sun in about 5 or 6 days, it has been cold and rainy. Had to cancel baseball practices, and spend a lot of time inside where there is not much to do. The rain has also caused severe flooding in Northern Bosnia, we saw that over 150 land mines have gone off because the rain moved them. People are also worried because there are about 600,000 land mines left in Bosnia, and the government used to have a general idea of where they were, but now that the rain is picking them up and moving them it will make life more complicated.
I got to watch the USA play Ghana in the World Cup, I really liked our chances before the game, but Ghana played well. I was happy though that the game did not end as soon as they scored in the extra time like overtime in hockey. When I saw Ghana score their second goal, I was ready to go home, but then we got to watch another 20 minutes, haha but it didn't matter. During the game a car outside the place I was watching it ran up on to a curb and hit a fence, very minor accident, but the buildings downtown emptied into the streets. People were lining up everywhere to watch the cop give the guy a ticket, I felt bad for him, not much happens around here so a small car accident is big news.
I got back from Sarajevo today, I went there with my roommate to drop off his friend that was here for the last two weeks. I am going to miss him, he was a cool guy, we got to play a lot of ping-pong with him because of the weather. There is a group of people from Georgia coming this weekend to help us out with English Camp that starts Monday. We did the registration for it this Saturday and it was quite the experience, I was outside the center playing the role of "body guard" with another guy. The posters we put up said that it would start at 10:00 am, but since the people who have come in the past years know it is "first come, first serve" many showed up early. We are only allowed to take 160 students, and we handed out 160 cards before 9:30 am, so you can imagine the parents who showed up at 10:00 am -when we told them we had no room left. Lets just say I was glad I don't speak Bosnian. I felt bad for the kids though, we had them sign a waiting list in case some don't show up, but I am hoping we can find a way to fit them in even if everyone shows up.
I will be a team captain for English camp, it is 5 nights a week for the next two weeks, and the ages range from 6 to 13. As part of being a captain, I will visit the kids in my group during the day before camp. I am excited to get to know them and meet there parents, since most of the relationships I have built so far have been with the high school age crowd. This is the last week of adventure camp, we are planning a photo scavenger hunt for tomorrow night, so hopefully it doesn't rain, and Thursday we are planning a day trip to a cave about 2 hours from here. We never did get to go kayaking because of the rain and cold weather.
Today was my last day of Bosnian class, some of us took the teacher out to lunch before, she just graduated high school and is going to study mechanical engineering in the fall. Very smart girl.
Still not used to the customs here yet, haha had two funny experiences with ice cream this week. One was last night, I tried to order some and the man said he did not recommend it, I was confused - thinking he meant that it was not good, but I was really in the mood for it anyway, so I persisted to order it. Come to find out, they believe if you eat cold food like ice cream while it is cold outside you will get sick. And they don't even sell ice cream during the winter. But I ate it, it was good, and I am still alive. The ice cream here is really good, and I usually get 2 scoops, but they are small and it takes about a minute to eat, so I tried to order 5 scoops ( which is less than the amount of ice cream in a small blizzard at Dairy queen) and the guy completely ignored me. He thought I used the wrong word, so he said "2 scoops", and corrected him and said "pet" (5), he had a confused look on his face. So I held up 5 fingers to let him know I knew what I was saying, he eventually gave it over. Needless to say, it still was enough, took about 2 minutes to eat, haha but I am afraid he will have a heart attack if I try asking for more than 5. They tell me that no one ever orders more than 3. Speaking of food, I timed the guy at the pizza shop yesterday, from the time I placed my order, it took 4 minutes and 23 seconds to have the pizza sitting in front of me. I watched him take the dough out of the fridge and make it, the pizza is thin but it is still amazing how fast they cook it.
Sorry I don't update this more regularly, the internet here is very confusing, I have not been able to get on the past couple of days, and it seems to always not be working when I want to post a blog.

Halfway

It is hard to believe our four week adventure camp is already half way done. We were afraid the hike was going to be canceled yesterday because it was raining here, but the trail was about a half hour away and it was dry there. A couple allowed us to park at there cottage out there, they actually came with us and their grandson did the hike. After we sat in their yard around a camp fire and made "stick bread". Basically just dough wrapped around a stick and held over the fire until its cooked. The best part is putting the chocolate on it after. One of the main regrets while hiking was the idea to play basketball the night before until I got blisters. I did not think the hike would be too demanding since we were taking all the kids on it, but it was more difficult than I thought. The kids seemed more occupied with eating the berries along the way to feel tired. Some parts were really steep and on the way down one hill, a girl in our group actually fell and rolled to the bottom, we were lucky it was the grass part of the trail. She laughed about it after. Hiking is more stressful when you have to keep an eye on every kid to make sure they stay on the path, especially when most want to be out ahead of the group. Even though the internet says all the landmines in Bosnia have been found, the fact that I heard one go off Thursday while at the center and saw the smoke assures me that no one should walk anywhere but on the trail. The hike itself took about 2 hours, we had the kids split up into groups of about 20, and we made it more interesting by hiding a treasure box filled with candy bars at the end. They had to find some clues along the way which led them to the key that opened the box. This week we are planning on taking them kayaking down the river, I am really excited for that because I have never been kayaking down the river, but the water is really cold so I hope I don't fall in.
We have had 2 new kids join our baseball practice, which is encouraging, I hope the team continues to grow, our practice Saturday was cut short when it started pouring down rain. The people here do not like rain at all, they think if you are outside and you are wet, then you will get sick. So if was funny to see the whole park make a desperate run for shelter while myself and some of the coaches took our time. I thought the rain felt good, it had been really hot out. The new haircut has helped with the heat though haha. One last thing about that, I am starting to get used to it, but I also cannot be too upset about it because I have had many haircuts in America where the person cutting my hair spoke perfect English and I still did not get what I wanted. For example when the lady cut off my bangs completely then asked after if I wanted her to fix anything. There are some pictures up on facebook now if anyone is curious about what it looks like.

First Haircut , haha.

So I met my friend today downtown and he took me to the place where he gets his hair cut. On the way there I explained to him what I wanted, and he asked a lot of questions to make sure he understood what I was saying. So I was confident we had a good game plan, when we got inside he told the guy what I wanted done. They talked for a while, the hair cutter was looking intently at my hair, even touching it to make sure he was understanding what my friend was saying. The hair cut is a relatively simple one so I was confused as to how there could be so much dialogue. Then my friend had to leave, but he said the guy knew what I wanted. There was a guy in there already getting his hair cut so I had to wait about 10 minutes. Then it was my turn, I got in the chair, no words spoken, ...and he shaved my entire head. Hahaha it is definitely not what I wanted but I'm not too upset, it will grow back. It is just really funny how much time the guy spent talking to my friend about what I wanted, I was sure he understood. Good thing I brought a hat to Bosnia.

Landmine?

This morning a landmine went off on the mountain across from my apartment. It did not wake me up but it woke up my roommate, I'm sure it was loud enough to wake up most people, I have just been sleeping really good here - thanks to my new fan. He said he looked outside and could see the smoke from the explosion. We are not sure if anyone was hurt but it was a good reminder for all of us going on the hike this Saturday to be careful. Two of the guys here went to the trail today and walked it to make sure it was safe, the kids are really excited for it. We are going to do it in the evening so that it will not be as hot and also because camp fires are cooler in the evening.
The past few days have been pretty busy, Saturday was our first baseball game with the team, we actually played three, the event was from about 9 in the morning to 5 at night. In this type of heat we thought the kids were going to get sick of baseball but it was the opposite, they were asking to stay longer. That was very encouraging because it would have been easy for them to want to quit. We were the oldest team there, having kids 15 and older, but since they are all new to the sport (one of our guys had only practiced once before this) we lost all 3 games. The one team was made up of 11 and 12 year olds, but they sure knew how to hit the ball haha. Most of our guys are still not familiar with the rules yet either, which made it tough, one team stole a base on us, and you should have seen the look on our team's face, none of them had any clue what the person just did. The ironic thing though is that everyone there was intimidated to play us, some of the other coaches said their kids were scared because of how big we were. The ride there was about 2 and a half hours which was fine on the way, but after a long day of sweating in the sun, it felt a just a little longer on the way home. Before leaving we played one more game, but the coaches played with their teams, it was a lot of fun and we beat the other team, so although it may have not been an official game, our kids left on a high note. We had practice today and they were all there but one, and it went really well. They improve in their hitting each week.
Monday I went with a group of people here to Sarajevo, we hung out there for most of the day before picking up a friend of my roommate who is here for the next two weeks. It was the first time I got to walk around the city, it was fun, we also went to the grocery store there because they carry a lot more stuff than the grocery store here, including the smallest box of frosted flakes. We got stopped by the police twice on the ride home, once for speeding and the other time because they are trying to catch people involved with human trafficking. We didn't get a ticket for speeding though because our driver pretended that he didn't speak Bosnian. The cops do not drive up behind you and put on their lights to make you stop, they stand on the side of the rode with a little sign, and if they hold out the red side of it, then it means stop. I wonder how many people just keep driving when they see that?
With the recent trips, I have noticed that a lot of people here get car sick. And I still don't know if it is because they are used to walking everywhere or because the roads are very curvy. Either way I am glad I do not get car sick. And on another high note, I am starting to like the milk here. It is different from the milk I used to drink in America because when you buy it, it is not refrigerated, and has a shelf life of over 3 months. When I first got here I had trouble with it but now I think it tastes good. Hopefully going to get my haircut for the first time since being here tomorrow, and mail some post-cards if I can find the post-office. Hope everyone who reads this is doing good.

Basketball and First Night of Adventure Camp

I had the opportunity this week to play basketball with a group of guys at the local park. I was really excited to play because I have not played basketball in a while, but after just a few minutes I realized that basketball in Bosnia is quite different from what I am used to. For example, not many people play defense because the person with the ball will call a foul on you for pretty much anything just so that they don't have to play defense. Haha one guy called a foul on me because I put my hand in front of his face while he was shooting, I was confused because I did not touch him or anything, I did not understand how he could call a foul. It was frustrating. They were good at shooting the ball though, but it is easy to shoot when no one is playing defense. Although I was annoyed at how they play the game, it was good to meet new people and spend time with older guys who will not come to the camps that we are running this summer.
Our first night of "adventure camp" was Tuesday night and it went very well. We had about 20 kids register at the start of it, but while we were playing the games outside we had more kids who were watching join in. We set up and obstacle course for the kids to do, but the tricky part was they had to do it while holding a plastic cup filled with water in their mouth. At the end of the course they had to pour the water out into their team's bucket. There typically was not much water left by the time they finished it though. We also played games like "3-legged" soccer where they each picked a partner and tied their ankles together, and games similar to tag but with different objectives and rules. After all the running around we had them come inside the center just to relax before going home. Me and a group of guys played ping-pong, they were better at it than I expected. Some of the kids were playing card games or just talking, it was good to actually talk with them while sitting down as opposed to talking with them while chasing them around outside. Some of the girls who came wanted to get their picture with me before they left, which did not seem too weird but then the one asked me to marry her haha, I tried to be polite and say I was too old but they did not really care. It will be interesting to see what they say tonight. I ran into 3 of the guys I played ping-pong with last night while walking downtown and they were really happy to see me. They shook my hand and talked to me for a while, they also said they were going to be here tonight. I was glad to see that they enjoyed themselves. A lot of the games and challenges we have them do are very foreign to their culture, but it seems to interest them.
We have baseball practice today at 3, and it is going to be really hot. The game that we have been getting them ready for is this Saturday, in a town about 3 hours from here. So hopefully they all show up today, although most have been busy with school work and other things. Last practice we focused mostly on hitting, I put on the catcher's equipment, it was a good thing a drank a lot of water before that because it was super hot. One of the boys had to leave early because the heat was getting to him. 90 degrees in Bosnia is hotter than 90 degrees in America because you have to walk everywhere and no one has air conditioning. I bought a fan yesterday from the grocery store, I wanted a small one but they only sell one style. When I opened it up and saw all the different pieces and instruction booklet with no English, I was not sure I would be able to get it working but I managed. Although there are definitely some pieces still sitting on my table that should have been put on the fan somewhere, I just didn't know where. But it is working.

Back From Croatia

We got back Saturday from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. I don't even know where to begin on describing that place, we went there because it is close and inexpensive. But I was hesitant to upload pictures from it because it was the most beautiful place I had ever been, I don't want people thinking I am in Europe on vacation. The few days away were very beneficial, without any internet or t.v. we really got to know each other. Especially on the rainy days when we could not go to the beach. We met each day to learn more about Islam and living in a Muslim country. We also had some night sessions to get a better idea about how Adventure Camp and English Camp will be run this summer. Jo and Amanda designated positions for each of us. I will be in charge of Adventure Camp on some nights and also be a "team captain" for English Camp. Adventure Camp starts tomorrow and I am excited to see how many kids show up. Tim and I are in charge tomorrow so we spent time yesterday and today planning games and activities that we think will be fun. The kids here do not get out of school for another two weeks though so we will be doing it in the evening. I think we will have more kids when summer officially starts. The weather in Bosnia is starting to get very hot, I hope the kids don't mind getting sweaty.
I heard an interesting comment this week about Islam, the person mentioned that the religion itself was only 1,400 years old and then went on to explain what Christianity was doing when it was 1,400 years old. It was about to start its first crusade, which would eventually lead to the murder of thousands of innocent people in the name of Christ. Pope Urban's speech before the first crusade stated that anyone who died while fighting would be granted access into Heaven. A message that sounds extremely similar to that of the terrorists who crashed the planes on September 11th. So while it is easy for me to say now all the things that are wrong with Islam, it is humbling to think that Christianity was not much different when it was 1,400 years old.
In Bosnia I notice mosques in most towns, for example I can see two from bedroom window. And I have yet to see any buildings that look like churches. But as soon as we crossed over into Croatia I did not see any mosques but rather noticed Orthodox and Catholic churches everywhere. The house we stayed in had one in front of it across the street and two more behind it in walking distance. Then when we went into the city of Dubrovnik, inside the wall, they were everywhere. Some were extremely old like the one from the 11th century, but most were newer because the old one were destroyed by fire, earthquake, or war. While admiring all the history in Croatia it was somewhat sad to think that Bosnia has had almost all of theirs destroyed.
I have language class today at 3:30, it is only my third class but I already know I am going to have trouble pronouncing some words. They have some letters that make noises I have never made before. I am also trying to remember that just because the letter looks like English, does not mean it is said the same way. For example "c" is a "ts" sound, and "j" is a "y" sound. What is helpful though is that each letter only makes one sound, it doesn't change from word to word. After class I am going over to the park to play basketball with Michal and some of the locals.
I have been having an amazing time here so far and am truly blessed that I have not gotten sick or had any serious problems. I am also loving the food and finding something new each week. For example today I ate Burek, it is a pastry stuffed with what tastes like hamburger meat, very good. The bread here that they use for sandwiches and pizza is extremely fresh, and that will be one thing I will miss when I get back to the states. I also noticed here that all the restaurants serve pizza, and it is all really good. America has all the pizza places like Dominoes and Pizza Hut, but if you went to a restaurant like TGI Fridays or Applebee's, you could not get a pizza. There are few places here that serve only pizza. I also noticed the intersections here are different, they have red - yellow - and green lights, but the light turns yellow right before it turns green, as opposed to turning yellow before red. With gas prices at a little over 6 dollars per gallon, many people resort to walking or taking public transportation.