Christmas in Bosnia

As a Jewish, American these were definitely the 4 most interesting days of my semester.

Lets start from the beginning. My flight out of Dubrovnik was scheduled for December 26^th. About 2 months ago I was having coffee with a fellow classmate and now my current roommate, Monika. This was the first time Monika and I really had the chance to hangout and get to know each other. We were chatting and I mentioned when I was leaving Dubrovnik and she asked me what I was doing for the holidays. I never really thought about it. Monika immediately asked me if I would be interested in joining her family in Bosnia for Christmas. Of course I said yes, but I wasn’t sure if she was asking just to be nice or if she was serious. The next day Monika told me she talked to her mom and they are so excited for me to come to their house and that her mom already told her entire family. I was very surprised, but also very excited and a little nervous. Don’t get me wrong, I am very good at meeting parents, but most of her extended family does not speak English and Novi Travnik (the city she lives in) does not have many American visitors. I knew this was going to be a very different experience.

Do not feel bad if you have never heard of Bosnia & Herzegovina, I hadn’t either until I came to Croatia. It is a country that lies directly east of Croatia. It has a very interesting and complicated history. It is made up of Serbs (Protestants), Croatians (Catholics), and Bosnians (Muslims). They each have separate communities and schools. While they each technically have their own language, it was explained to me that it is comparison to American English, British English, and Australian. Even though they are all Bosnian citizens, the Croatians fly Croatian flags and the Serbs fly Serbian flags. 

           

I’m sure Monika and her sisters were tired of all my questions, but it was hard for me to understand dynamics between the different groups and the separation between them. Monika’s family lived in America for 5 years and they recently moved back to Bosnia this year, so they’ve experienced both worlds. I kept reminding myself that Bosnia was in the midst of war 20 years ago and there is no way I would be able to relate to their mindset no matter how much I tried to understand the current situation.

           

My 4 days in Bosnia can be described mostly by eating. I already told my mom that I thought I lost weight in Dubrovnik, but after leaving Bosnia that is not the case anymore. Our bus from Dubrovnik arrived in Travnik at 2:00 AM andwe arrived home to warm soup, fresh bread, and delicious chicken in white sauce on the table. Keep in mind this is the first home-cooked meal I’ve eaten in 4 months. We woke up to a huge stack of pancakes and 3 hours later we were eating homemade chicken-meatballs and mashed potatoes. Even though we were constantly full we just kept eating.

Our first day was spent exploring the city in the freezing cold. Monika and her sister Iva showed me their high school and again answered all my questions about the different schools in Bosnia. Monika was the photographer for the day mostly because everyone stared at us walking through the streets. Since they are not used to tourists they are also not used to people walking down the streets taking pictures and speaking English. We must have looked very funny. We stumbled upon the house that the only Bosnian Nobel Peace Prize winner used to live in. We ended our tour around the city at Hari, “the best Ćevapi restaurant in town.” Not only was it warm, it was delicious! Ćevapi is a grilled dish of minced meat that is traditionally found in southeastern Europe. It is considered the national dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.  

Later that night I went to church with Monika, her mom, and her 2 younger sisters. I have been to church a couple times before, but this experience was much different. Since the entire mass in Croatian and I couldn’t understand anything, it gave me time to sit and think about everything around me.  The major difference I noticed about the church in Bosnia compared to churches I have been to in America was the people who attended it. In America we always talk about the loss of religious beliefs amongst the younger generations and how nowadays when we think of churchgoers we tend to think of elderly people. It seemed to be the complete opposite in Bosnia. The church was filled with young adults and children. I also noticed that religious beliefs are an important aspect in their families. After church we went to a local pub and sipped on kuhano vino, which is delicious cooked wine. 

The next day was Christmas Eve, which meant a day without eating meat. In Bosnia, and many other countries, it is a tradition to roast pigs to eat on Christmas. Literally everywhere we drove we saw families outside roasting their pigs; some roasted 1 some roasted 5. It kind of reminded me of the pig I once saw at a luau in Hawaii. We spent the day trying to explore but it was too cloudy to really see anything, we could barley see 10 feet in front of us. Today was Monika’s Grandma’s birthday so we all took a trip to Grandma’s house to wish her a happy birthday. She didn’t speak English, but words were not necessary. We smiled at each other and hugged. She was the most curious out of Monika’s family members as to why an American has come to Bosnia. After visiting Grandma, the girls all went to midnight mass. We went to a different church that was much warmer, but also much longer and way more crowded. We stood in the back along with about 150 other people. Monika’s mom explained to me that typically if people have to stand then the women stand on the right and the men stand on the left. We happened to be standing on the left with all of the men, because that’s where there was room. No one even noticed us. After church we arrived home around 1:30 AM to a feast of roasted pig and fresh bread on the table.

                     

Christmas day was the day I was anticipating. It was the day I got to meet the ENTIRE family. I’m not going to lie…I was a little nervous. When we arrived the table was filled with food and we started eating immediately. We all share the common bond of enjoying delicious food; so I think eating is always a good way to start off when meeting new people. A couple of Monika’s younger cousins were there whom I met a couple days previous so that was nice already knowing them. 2 of her cousins spoke English but still let Monika and her sisters translate for them. We taught them what an “awkward situation” is so that was funny because basically our entire interaction was awkward. Monika’s little cousin, who is 7 years old, just started learning English so his parents tried to get him to talk to me but he was too nervous. That’s okay because we were still friends whether we spoke each other’s language or not.

In Bosnia it is a tradition that all the “young adults” go out on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. I say “young adults” because they can go out when they are 16 and not have to worry about having an ID. As I mentioned in the beginning, all the Croatians go to Croatian bars, so once again I was the only American in the bar and we were the only group of people speaking English. We were sitting at a table speaking English and Monika’s sister could hear the guys next to us speaking in Croatian about how there was an American there and that they should all practice their English. It was kind of like I was a celebrity. We had a lot of fun and we met Monika’s cousins out, so at least I knew about 5 people. Oh, I forgot to mention Croatians are tall and Monika and her 2 sisters are very tall, so picture a short American walking into a bar and people trying to talk to her and she just shakes her head and dances away. Yeah, that is exactly how I looked. We made it home in time for me to go to the bus station at 2:00 AM to head back to Dubrovnik to catch my flight to London.

Mom, if you are reading this, I am sorry I didn’t tell you about this part of the adventure. You would have been mad at me for not listening to you about going back to Dubrovnik earlier. Love you!

As you should know by now there is usually some adventure that goes on, and while Bosnia was an adventure itself, so was my journey back to Dubrovnik. 

I bought a bus ticket back to Dubrovnik and it was scheduled to leave Travnik at 2:00AM. We called the bus station to confirm the bus was running on Christmas night, we checked online, and we even asked the bus driver on our way to Bosnia. Everyone told us the bus would definitely be running on December 26, 2013 at 2:00AM. Well guess what…they were all wrong. Now I would have stayed in Bosnia a little longer, but I had to catch my flight to London and it was not an option to miss another flight. Monika and her father ended up driving me 3 hours to Mostar to catch the 7:00AM bus to Dubrovnik. Luckily I made that bus and was able to catch my flight. Yes, mom I should have listened to you and I learned that procrastination isn’t always key. 

From now on whenever someone asks me what my favorite/most interesting part of my semester was my answer will always be spending Christmas in Bosnia with one of my new best friends and her lovely family. Yes, at times it was difficult to understand the current situation and it was difficult to adjust to the language barrier, but it was a learning experience. The people are so hospitable. I mean really there was never a time I felt uncomfortable. They eat a lot of meat, so we definitely get along. They also, embraced me as if I was their own family, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. I am so excited to return this summer! 

For all the Gator fans reading this post, you will appreciate the fact that Monika’s dog in Bosnia is named Tebow! Yes he is actually named after Tim Tebow.

Enjoy Every Sunset

One of the smallest lessons I’ve learned this semester is to enjoy every sunset.

The lesson started the first day I arrived in Dubrovnik. I was completely mesmerized by the sunset, so I made it my goal to watch as many as possible during my time in Dubrovnik. We had about 5 different spots around Dubrovnik and we would decide each night where we should go to watch sunset. Most of these spots included sitting on different rocks along the Adriatic.

Everything starts with a sunrise, but it is what you do before it sets that matters. As the days passed by the sun starting setting earlier and earlier. By the end of the semester the sun was setting at 4:15 PM. We tried to enjoy our time in Dubrovnik as much as possible each day before the sun set. Granted we still greatly enjoyed ourselves after sunset.

I found that it is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not appreciate life.

I came to a point where I would anticipate what the sunset would look like every night.

It made me realize that sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it’s a memory. Each sunset sticks in my memory as a reminder that we must appreciate the small things in life.

Sunset is my new favorite color.

                            

Istanbul

“To Travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries”

We all know that the media puts images in our heads of what different cities are supposed to be like. When I told my mom I was going to Istanbul her first reaction was “it’s not safe”. It’s funny how the world imagines every city to be dangerous. I have heard from fellow travelers that Istanbul is one of their favorite cities, and despite the popular opinion of Turkey I decided to experience the city myself. I booked a ticket from Zagreb to Istanbul and flew out the next day.

I arrived in Istanbul at midnight and I was nervous because I thought the city would be very quiet and dark. I was wrong. The airport was like Disney World. You could barley move from the gate to passport control. In order for Americans to enter Turkey we must purchase a visa for $20 or 15€. Luckily someone told me that I could purchase my visa online and pay by credit card. That was one of the best decisions I made. It allowed me to skip lines and walk right up to passport control, get my stamp, and find my shuttle. The hostel sent someone who was holding a sign with my name on it and he drive me straight to the World House Hostel.

The streets were filled with people and lights. It reminded me of NYC. My hostel was located near Taksim Square which is the new part of Istanbul with hundreds of restaurnats and bars. As I was checking into my hostel all of the other guests were just getting ready to go out so the hostel was pretty much empty. I walked into my 10 person dorm room and found 1 other girl laying in bed. She told me I was staying in the “fun” room in the hostel, which is exactly what I wanted.

We started chatting and of course the normal questions were asked, “Where are you from?” “Where are you going?”, “How long are you here?” Her name was Rozeeta and she was teaching English in Israel. Immediately I asked her where in Israel she was living and she said Ashdod. It was time to play Jewish geography. I asked her if she knew one of my sorority sisters, Sara Merson, and she just smiled and said she is my friends roommate. What a small world! Rozeeta invited me to join her and her friend Emily on a cruise down the Bosphorus in the morning. Slowly throughout the night the rest of our roommates stumbled back to the room.

We woke up bright and early, enjoyed the complimentary breakfast, and crossed the bridge to the Old Town to make the ferry. There were many people trying to sell us their tours and when we told them no they were still so friendly. One man even walked us to the ferry we wanted to take after we told him we didn’t want to go on his tour. We walked onto the ferry and went to the top deck where we sat next to an American couple from Chicago. They had children our age and we had a wonderful time talking to them. The total ferry ride took 6 hours. We went up the Bosphorus (which is the physical divider between Europe and Asia) and stopped at a town that is just before the Black Sea called Anadolu Kavağı. It is on the Asian side of Istanbul so technically we spent a couple hours in Asia! It was very cute and quaint. There were fish venders up and down all of the streets selling calamari, mussels, and other sea food. We decided to be brave and try the fried mussels. That was a very bad idea. We ended up getting food poisoning in Asia. The ride back to the Old Town consisted of us sleeping and enjoying the views. We looked over the ledge and saw hundreds of jellyfish riding along the ferry. It was pretty awesome.

 That night I was able to meet everyone else in the hostel and while they were getting ready to go out Rozeeta, Emily, and I stayed in an enjoyed our food poisoning.

The next day was spent exploring in the Old Town, Grand Bazaar, and Egyptian Spice Market. I literally spent hours getting lost, tasting teas, eating Turkish delight, making friends with people in the markets, and hiding from the rain.

With the food poisoning finally gone it was time to experience Istanbul’s nightlife. It was some people’s last night so everyone in the hostel went out together as a final “farewell party.”

For my last full day in Istanbul I wanted to explore the newer side of Istanbul so Rozeeta, Emily, and 2 new friends, Laurie and Katie decided to do just that. We walked around the city and then walked along the Bosphorus and made it to the Dolmabahce Palace. As travelers on a budget we decided not to go inside, but we appreciated the beauty from the outside.

The next morning is where the story gets interesting. Did you think you would get through a blog post without something adventurous happening?

Well I ended up missing my flight back to Croatia the next morning. Apparently traffic in Istanbul is constantly bumper-to-bumper. After buying a new ticket for the next day my friends decided they were going to make my extra day worth the $388 I spent on the new ticket.

What is the difference between a traveler and a tourist?

That was the question posed at the beginning of the week. We came up with many answers, but my favorite was “One of them doesn’t shower at least every other day.”

I went to Istanbul expecting to take a Turkish bath and visit the Blue Mosque. While I didn’t do anything that I “was supposed to do” in Istanbul, I gained much of an appreciation for the locals, the land, and the culture. I stayed in a fantastic hostel and met amazing people.

A fellow traveler, Stylianos from Greece, could not have explained my experience in Istanbul any better than he did with his Facebook status: “So it happens once in a while that a new place can win you. It might be the landscape, the weather, the sound or just the time of the year you arbitrarily chose to land there. But then comes another arbitrary choice of a hostel, a floor, a room and after one week you start missing the smell, the snores, the laughs, the messy clothes, and the occasional night spooning of some unknowns that have become your family for a while. that’s my answer to our question “what’s the difference between a tourist and a traveler”. As a tourist I might have left satisfied, but as a traveler I left richer. Cheers to you all. Loved you.”

It's Official! An Entire Year Abroad!

It is funny how things work out. When I arrived on September 15th I posted a picture on Instagram and the caption was "My back porch leads directly to the ocean...this might turn into a full year abroad."

About 2 months ago I sent my parents and e-mail with the subject "Hypothetically..." At first their reaction wasn't very positive, but after some convincing I started working with Dena, my study abroad advisor, and before I knew it I was applying for my extended student Visa!

Out of the 15 American's studying at DIU, I am the only one staying for the year. It will be very weird to have these Americans (who I have become such great friends with) leave and have a whole new group arrive in February. However, I will still have all my Croatian and foreign friends still in Dubrovnik with me.

I am going home to Florida for winter break to see my family and friends. I am also celebrating my 21st birthday in America which I am really excited about. I will be home for about a month and then I will come back to Dubrovnik in the beginning of February.

It will be very interesting to experience Dubrovnik year-round. When I arrived in September you could not walk down the streets because of all the tourists, whereas now there aren't any people besides locals and students. I'm excited to see Dubrovnik transition into spring and summer.

It took me most of my life to realize that if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen, regardless or money and outside forces.

Gaame of Thrones

This post is dedicated to all of the Game of Thrones fans out there.
Dubrovnik is home to many scenes in the upcoming season 4 of Game of Thrones and my adventurous friends and I went to explore one of the sets, Hotel Belvedere.

During the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, there was the Siege of Dubrovnik. The Siege was a military engagement fought between the Yogoslav People’s Army (JNA) and Croatian forces defending the city of Dubrovnik and its surroundings.

The five-star resort was located on the rocks overlooking Dubrovnik, and began receiving guests in 1986. It was forced to close just six years later, after becoming a JNA target. During the first few months of the war, the hotel had served as a refugee shelter. Former guests and employees remember it as a modern, luxury hotel with 18 levels, its own boat launch, and wide balconies with gorgeous views. Current travelers who stumble upon this abandoned hotel see it very differently.

After walking along the Adriatic for about 2 miles we finally found the hotel or at least what was left of it. Picture massive pools, now empty and full of debris, once beautiful fountains and walls spray-painted, with make shift skate ramps tucked into the lips of pools, alongside the beautiful Adriatic.

Our main goal of exploring the hotel was to find exactly where Game of Thrones was filming in the hotel. After walking down about 150 stairs we stumbled upon where the main scenes were filmed.

While GOT was filming season 4 they posted many sneak peak pictures from the set.

GOT fans should get excited for season 4, especially the scenes shot in Dubrovnik.