So I spent this past weekend doing not too much of anything- a little gathering with English-speaking friends on Friday night, and a meeting to consider new living arrangements and a language lesson on Saturday. One of the highlights though was when I decided to venture forth on Sunday to do some exploring. I wasn't really sure where my nose would lead me, but the snow looked so beautiful I couldn't let the day go to waste. I started out towards Old Town and then ventured on a path up the mountain and wherever it might go. I found myself on a little narrow alley winding in between the houses that are nestled on the mountains surrounding the city. I was not the only one taking advantage of the winter weather- I passed a group of children who had brought out their sleds and were racing one another along the path. Their game made me wish for a sled and a companion, so I could do the same. (Gags, remember when we went sledding on trays from the pit and pieces of cardboard, freshmen year?) As I climbed higher and reached a better vantage point, I noticed there was a trail that continued along the river and possibly away from civilization. Praying that this was the case, I made my way back down to the valley towards my hope for some peace and quiet. Sure enough the houses dwindled as I went further and eventually the only sound was the rushing of the river and the crunching of my feet in the snow. I had some company on the path. Other people and families were also out to enjoy the winter day- but I relished the moments when I could see no one ahead of or behind me. It was a very liberating feeling after being in cities for the last 2 months, not living in a space that is truly my own, and traveling around with the group last week. I wanted to expand my whole body to become a part of the mountains, river, snow and sky around me- or at least just plop myself down on the ground to make a good snow angel.

My language may be a bit dramatic here, and it's not that I haven't gotten to experience much natural beauty since being here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the contrary, this is one of the most naturally beautiful places I think I have ever been in my life. For someone who has only lived in regions characterized by "rolling hills," the mountainous landscape is particularly fascinating.

However, up until Sunday, I had not had a chance to consider all this beauty by myself or give it the attention it deserves. My soul was finally free and able to sing as I ambled along that path.

So it was with great difficulty that I finally did turn around and head back towards Sarajevo. Unfortunately I may have over-stayed my welcome outdoors- by the time I got home my boots were soaked and I was exhausted. But it was a good sort of exhaustion; the way you feel after a full day of skiing. I was home by 4, but took several naps before going to sleep early in the evening- my bed felt particularly cozy that night.

This week has been slow, but I have been able to use it to continue taking care of all the basic necessities which still have yet to be pinned down. Also doing a bit more brainstorming for new ideas and projects I can do. Most importantly- getting very excited to go to Belgrade next week for some Christmas celebrations with the Katies! I promise I will eventually write more about the WoC concerts, it still continues to be such a massive event in my brain that writing about it is proving tricky. A simple moment in nature (with photographs to illustrate!) was much more managable.

Recent Happenings

Well, I would love to be writing about how great everything is right now- and there has been a lot of excitment lately with the Winds of Change concerts and Laura Hassler (MwB Int. director) visiting from the Netherlands. However, right now I am just pretty much exhausted from all of it. We had 4 concerts in 4 cities in 4 days (with 4 after-parties) which was all a bit much. That took place from Thursday thru Sunday (6th-9th) leaving me pretty much useless by Monday. I accomplished pretty much nothing, sort of slept in, but then the weather was weird and unusually warm- so my body just really couldn't figure out what was going on. Yesterday, I was on my way to feeling more normal but since Laura, her daughter, Wendy, and Michael were all here there was lots to meet and discuss. Not that I can even really contribute much yet to all the talk, but there was a lot of information that I needed to sit and absorb. This meant that I was fully occupied from 10:30ish when I finally straggled into the office until midnight. And then I needed to get here at 8 AM today in order to let the accountant for the Music Bus into the office. And, as always with any NGO, there are various funding issues right now for our programs. So while that doesn't directly affect me, it does make the atmosphere here rather gloomy.

All the new information is very exciting and seems to offer a lot of new tasks for me to participate in/take charge of/organize. Right now though all I think I really want is a nap- but even last night I couldn't sleep because there was so much going on in my brain with all the new stuff- funding, applications, cross-cultural differences in business, politics between the MwB Int and BiH, requests for me to come work in Alkmaar at some point and requests to come to Srebrenica. Yeah. So. Overload.

On a happier note, the Winds of Change concerts were very successful and a lot of fun. My one particular task was to get people to give us their contact information so we can let them know about other MwB programs and future WoC events. Due to my lack of language skills this was only minimally successful, but it was at least an ok start to something. Hopefully I can expand on what I managed this time in the future. I also did odd-jobs throughout the tour which will probably also increase with the next round of WoC- possibly even receiving the very official title of "Production Manager" but we shall see. I guess it depends on how useful I actually manage to be.

Getting to travel around with the group was a lot of fun- like being on a glorified high-school band trip except this group involved professionals and extremely talented students. Willem van Merwijk (conductor/music arranger/sop. sax player), Jaume Gavilán Agulló (trombone), and Srdjan (singer) all came from the Netherlands to participate and the rest were students from the Music Highschool and Music Academy here in Sarajevo. It was great being around lots of people close to my own age and I often felt like I should probably being doing more "work" and less socializing. I suppose I'll be making up for that now.

Somewhat in a tizzy

Well, I've been here about two weeks now and I'm sorry to report it seems there are still quite a few things I have yet to figure out. My mobile for example. It was all set up just fine and I've been texting and calling away for the past month, making contacts, getting others numbers, etc. Well, now there seems to be some sort of glitch- I bought more prepaid credit (which is how the general system works here) but was baffled by all the numbers and instructions (in Bosnian) so I figured a simple inquiry of a friend would suffice to get everything cleared up. Wrong. I tried to get someone to help me out last night but he too was mystified and said my card has expired- by which I assume he means my SIM card which is not a good thing seeing as thats basically the essence of your phone. So- this is going to take some more detective work and maybe someone who knows a little more about technology- like a teenage boy.

Also issues with my living arrangements. The family is so nice- really they are, I can't complain. But its hard to maintain a certain degree of privacy in the current set-up. I don't have a sink in my room (but do have a stove, counter and fridge), and haven't managed to accumulate much in the way of dishes or utensils yet so all cooking involves me going into the kitchen to find said utensils, wash dishes, etc. This wouldn't be so much of a problem except the kitchen is employed as a sitting room, tv room and bedroom all in one- so the family is always there. always. They don't mind my intruding and I certainly appreciate the use of their things but it still just makes things complicated which I do not need when I get home, am tired and just want to relax. (Entertaining note: my landlady has given me a couple more items for my use over the course of the last week, (1) a mirror, (2) slippers- she knew I already had my own, but apparently felt they were not adequate, and (3) a toaster which is just hysterical and always makes me think of the line, "I don't mean to point of a finger of blame, but, who broke the good toaster?")

One of the latest developments which is particularly terrible is the arrival of a dog somewhere within earshot of my bedroom window. I want to say this creature arrived last Monday and has barked more or less non-stop ever since. In the evenings its annoying, but at 5, 6, and 7 in the morning is when it is particularly painful. I don't think I've been able to sleep well for the last week due to this- which is probably also why some of the above mentioned issues are now grating so seriously on my nerves. A good night's sleep can work wonders...

So, I've come up with a couple resolves in all of this. First on the agenda- earplugs. I need to ask someone how to say that in Bosnian. Second on the agenda- the phone. If I do need a new SIM card I'm not going to be too pleased (especially because someone who I thought was a friend sold me the card in the first place- I will feel rather ripped off if it was actually only good for a month) but it won't be the end of the world and just needs to be taken care of. In regards to living arrangements, it is a problem which will require more patience but in the meantime is manageable. (Although Freddie or Wilma may die before I leave- I thought I left all the cats at home...)

Good news is I start language classes tomorrow! I'm totally psyched (and if you're going to use the word psyched, you better mean it). Also, this week we have all the Winds of Change concerts which is also huge and going to be very exciting. I got to call the Sarajevo BBC correspondant about it on Friday actually- if she and any other English-speaking press members need extra assistance or information, I'm the one for the job. I'm also hoping to take a bunch of pictures for the website and things of that nature. Should be exciting overall and hopefully the concerts will all go well- there's a good deal of pressure due to all the sponsorship and media attention the event is getting. Crossing my fingers...

Another note: Gerardo and I further discussed our experiences with our respective embassies last night. Apparently the Spanish Embassy isn't such a sweet time either. He still hasn't actually gone but had a phone conversation that has served as a deterent. First he was on hold for about 20 minutes, then, rather abruptly someone picked up the phone and began with,
"who are you?" He wasn't exactely sure what they were looking for with that question, so he began to explain his volunteer work. After that they asked him when he was coming to register. Response, "um... I don't know- tomorrow?" "Ok, we'll see you at 10 o'clock tomorrow." And of course that didn't happen, because he still hasn't been. We've also discussed the joys of our landladies (his is convinced his name is Ricardo) and grocery shopping. Its really nice knowing there's someone else here that is bewildered as I am by apparently everyday things.

Sorry this post isn't so exciting, this week hasn't held any super off-the-wall adventures. Hopefully, there will be more to report after the concerts.