I've Arrived!

After a day and a half of rest and doctor’s visits I started and finished my journey to Sarajevo without incident or injury. I had a long layover in the Munich International Airport so I got to practice my rudimentary German skills. While I sat at my gate I noticed another girl my age who looked distinctly American, I don’t know why, but I could just tell that she and I were different than the other passengers. Anyway after a bit I got up the nerve to ask her if she was American and lo and behold, I was right! She was a Rotary Student from New England who was also going to live in Sarajevo and even attend my school! We talked about how nervous and excited we were to begin our years here. It was nice to have someone to geek out with since I didn’t get to fly over with the rest of my group. I won’t bore you with more flight details, long story short I got into Sarajevo safe and sound.

Since my arrival I have been super busy and I love it! My usual day starts with breakfast at a pekara (bakery) near my school and then Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian language class with the rest of the YES Abroad students from 9 – 1. Afterwards we sometimes have a planned activity with American Councils or we make our plans with friends or our host families. So far I’ve gone sightseeing, gone to the US Embassy, had pita at a tiny restaurant, and worked on a scavenger hunt that American Councils set up for us.

My breakfast! It's like a cheese sandwich. It costs 1KM or $0.69 USD

Baščaršija

I also have an amazing host family that consists of a host mother, host father, two host brothers (both older than I am) and a host sister in-law, they are very laid back and fun to talk with (though my conversational Bosnian is about as limited as it gets). They also live in one of the coolest neighborhoods I’ve ever seen. It’s basically 2.2 km (around 1.4 miles) up a very steep, almost mountainous hill from the city center and today I trekked up the entire way. I even asked for directions in Bosnian on the way up,  and the lady gave them to me, and I understood them…big things are happening people…big things. Once I successfully found my way to my street I bought myself a coke and some weird chocolate to congratulate myself. 

The view from my house

My reward