It's official, my senior year of high school has begun! I did not have to be at school until 11, but I got up around 7 so that I could have breakfast with my host parents. Around 10:45 I arrived at Druga Gimnazija and thankfully I spotted Luke and Sarah among the throngs of Bosnian teenagers reuniting. Around 11:15 all of the students went inside and the IB diploma kids sat down to hear Tomo explain the program. As soon as the 6 of us YES Abroad students walked into the room all eyes were on us, it was a very strange feeling. Then we were split into our indexes, which are sort of like homerooms. Riley and I are in Index I, so we were the first to separate from the group.
Our homeroom teacher was an older lady who seemed super friendly, but when Riley and I sat down in the classroom the teacher started speaking in rapid Bosnian...and continued to do so for the next hour. All aspects of the IB program are supposed to be in English, but I guess she preferred Bosnian. Riley and I just awkwardly counted the ceiling tiles while she spoke. After she was done she took attendance and handed out the schedules. Get this, I don't have class until 4:15 IN THE AFTERNOON on Mondays, and even then I only have class for an hour and a half! Our timetables are a little funky because there are too many students so some days we have hours and hours of class and other days I barely have anything at all. Everyone in my index was really friendly, though sadly I don't think I'll ever get everyone's name straight. Sorry in advance.
This is my Monday schedule, crazy I know.
After homeroom (we only went to school for an hour!) a bunch of the IB student stuck around to introduce themselves to us. About 15 different people invited me for coffee and for some reason I said yes to all of them! Sarah and I went to a cafe called "Bom Bom" with a large group of students and they chatted with us. It was so nice to chat with Bosnians our age and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Later the group split up and we all went our separate ways. Sarah and I decided to chill at the BBI center and then pick up our student transportation passes from Selma. We had originally planned to go home after that but somehow Sarah and I did what we do best, we impulsively decided to go to some random place.
Today's destination was a fortress in Vratnik.
It was gorgeous! You could see an amazing view of the city from there. Tomorrow I have my first class at 8 so I'm going to go make sure I have everything I need.
On the walk up we saw this strange stage
The view!
AH ITS SO PRETTY
Oh my gosh the amphitheater! Hahaha I love that place- Katie and I went there last spring :)
ReplyDeleteYour story is fascinating, and the pictures gorgeous. But what I really want to know is how you think you're going to manage for the rest of your life without a proper Darien gym credit? And have you considered the example you're setting? What if--because you decided to expand your worldview beyond the borders of Darien--others decide to spend senior year abroad? We'd have an exodus of suburban teenagers who return more enlightened and broadminded. They might realize that a whole planet exists outside southern Connecticut.
ReplyDeleteAnd no one wants that, do we?
You are still my hero.