Good bye Sarajevo

My days in Sarajevo are coming to end. I am leaving for Belgrade, Serbia tomorrow, where another field office of our project is located.

On Thursday night, I had an opportunity to experience the “night life” of Sarajevo. One of my local colleagues is a singer, and she was signing jazz in a newly opened bar. One other staff brought me to the bar, which was very nice with a great ambiance and excellent décor. They even had sushi on their menu (though it was with feta-cheese, guess it is a Balkan roll.) I had so much fun. I had Baileys’ and also tried local beer. Let’s put it this way: I haven’t drunk like that for a while. The music was great, and it was nice to chat and get to know my colleagues in a different setting other than the office. Later in the evening, a group of old friends of my colleague joined us, and the guys bought us drinks. Then, we went to another club, which was around the corner from my hotel. I am too old to pull an all-nighter now, so I left about 2pm (!)

Work-wise, it could have been little better. I felt that I was not as productive and organized as I wished. It was good to participate in a meeting, tele-conference and another meeting with heads of a local public health institution. (One great thing about International Development work is you get to work with senior government officials in the country.) I got a better feel of the project, and I guess that itself is worthwhile to come all the way. One week was just not enough to get used to the local office, write a report and collect information that I was required. I did my best and I will do some more work to make it more complete. I have a same mission in Serbia, so I feel more prepared for this one.

Purchase

Look what I bought today!!  Joy of traveling....  Just under 30$ of damage, but they are beautiful!!

More from Sarajevo

I am on a field visit, but this is far from a field trip that I am used to. No bumpy and dusty roads or no sleeping under a mosquito net in a sub-standard hotel. It is a country in a transition, but it is Europe after all.

The field office and the building that houses the office are lot more modern than where I work in Canada. It has very nice boutiques and a cafeteria downstairs. A wireless internet connection both at the hotel and the office make it easier to do work and stay in touch with people in Canada and Japan. The hotel even has an OK gym where I did some exercise last night.

The city is really beautiful with a mixture of different architecture styles. I am staying in the old part of the town filled with exotic stores selling silver jewelries, carpets and other crafts. I can see the influence of Turkish culture.

Over and above the beauty and charm of the city, what struck me the most was the legacy of the long history of war and conflict in the region. I see bullet marks on building all over the town. The hotel where I stay is around the corner from where the Austrian prince got assassinated that triggered the World War I.

I am usually a good traveler, and I get adapted to a new environment pretty quickly. However, this time around, I am having a bit of a hard time. I can’t sleep very well at night. It is not because of the local strong coffee. For the past two nights, I am having a bad nightmare that wakes me at night. I am tired and sleepy, but I feel scared of falling sleep. I get what we call in Japanese “Kanashibari”. I guess there is no equivalent in English, but it is a state where you can’t move your body. Some say it is because of a ghost or spirit, and others say it is just your brain playing a trick on you (sort of a more scientific explanation.) I am not really inclined to believe either one, but whenever this happens it is frightening. Especially, when I am in a foreign country and sleeping in the middle of what used to be a battlefield until quite recently. I am not sure if I am simply being too sensitive and imagining things. I am not superstitious normally, but I can’t help it this time….

Last night I had to scream in my dream, which I thought was a reality, to wake myself up. In my dream, I was lying on a bed in the hotel room, and I can see some images (one was a bicycle!) passing by. I could feel a heavy weight on my chest and my heart was pouncing. It feels like there is an invisible but enormous pressure on my body.

On more positive note, I am enjoying the stay in general. I love taking a walk in these little alleyways to window shop. I bought a pair of silver earring in a shape of a leaf yesterday. I have tried some regional specialties, such as cevapcici, a filo pastry cheese pie, nice chocolate and local cheese (a bit like feta cheese but less salty). The exchange rate to the local currency, KM is about $0.80 CAD, and generally things are cheaper here. For example, the gigantic cheese pie that I bought for dinner at a bakery cost me only 1.5MK, which is just above 1-dollar Canadian. I will do some more shopping before I move to Belgrade on Sunday.

Arrived in Sarajevo

I arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina safe and sound. I checked into a hotel, and everything looks good so far. I walked around the old town this afternoon. The city is really beautiful with a mixture of different styles of architecture. I tried their typical food, called "cevapcici", which is a sandwich of meat balls, lots of onion in a pita bread. It was very good, but sure was a lot of meat!

スキー

週末に久々にスキーに行ってきた。すごく楽しかった！

職場の同僚のお誘いで、オタワからだと車で３０分もかからないCamp　Fortuneというスキー場に行ってきた。夕方からはスキーパスも安くなるということで、板やら１式借りて、リフトパスも入れて２０ドルという破格の安さで２時間半ほど楽しんできました。段々と日が暮れてきてゲレンデにライトが付いてすごくきれいだった。そんなに込んでもいなかったし、初心者ヒルを一度に滑り降りるのは本当に気持ち良かった。少し中級のゲレンデで１回こけたけどね。スキーに行くとリフトに乗っている時に友達と色々おしゃべりできるのも楽しい。休憩で甘いココアを飲むのも勿論、醍醐味の一つ。

長いカナダの冬はウィンタースポーツしてこそだな。３年程はスキーしていなくて（雪の無いところにいたので）今年の冬はこれで最初で最後なので残念だけど、堪能しました。

Trip to the Balkans・バルカンへ初出張

Having worked for this project for 10 months, I finally get to go to the field! I will be flying to Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina next weekend. I will be also in Belgrade, Serbia. The timing is not the best, since I am working on something really interesting on a side. But, I have never been to Eastern or Southern Europe, so I am very excited. I hope my Macbook will arrive before my departure. I will bring my camera, and hopefully I will update this site with photos during my two week stay.

I hope when I come back to Canada in April there will be spring....

Radio Interview

先週に初めてラジオのインタビューを受けた。

土曜日が国際女性の日、International Women's Day で、私の勤務するNGOは開発においてジェンダーを推進するキャンペーンをやっていた。 私は直接関わっていないが、オタワ在住のジェンダー系の仕事をしていた元ボランティアということで頼まれたのだ。インタビューなんてあんまり正直得意じゃないけど、折角なのでと思い引き受けた。

番組はCBCラジオのオタワの朝の番組。前日に録音すると言われ、ダウンタウンにあるCBCのスタジオまで出向いた。テレビ局の中に入るのは初めてなので物珍しかった。テレビ出演の後なのかアメリカ大使が他のスタッフと話たりしていて、さすがナショナルテレビ局だなと感心。

インタビューは１０分程で、私は用意しておいた言いたかったことが全部言えなかった。話した内容は、ジェンダーの仕事の大切さ、マラウイで女生徒の就学率の低さの理由、カナダにおけるジェンダー問題との関連ともちろんキャンペーンの宣伝。

リポーターの女性はとても優しくて、私もリラックスして話せた。でも何だか聞かれた質問に知ったか振りで答えているような気もあり、あとでなんであんなこと言ったのだろうとかこう言えば良かったとか、考えたらそれだけで悶絶しそうだった。

放送は金曜の６時４０分で私は聞き逃してしまった。職場で一人たまたま聞いた人がいて、その日わざわざ私に言いに来てくれた。週末に国際女性の日のイベントというか学会に行った時に、知り合った女性も私のインタビューを聞いてくれてということで、あれあなただったの？と驚いていた。うーん、朝早いので誰も聞いていないだろうと思っていたのに。

でもポジティブな感想を聞くと嬉しいし、とてもよい経験になった。また機会があれば是非、挑戦したい。

MacBook

ついに．．．．新しいラップトップを注文した。それも、MacBook！　

使い慣れているPCにするつもりだったけど、周りに熱心なMac　Userがいて、彼らに勧められたので試してみることに。人間的だとかこれに慣れたらPCは使えないとか色々言われて、興味を持ったので。幸運にも先週新しいモデルが出たばかり。

届くのが楽しみ。

大昔に買ったDellのラップトップには本当にお世話になった。卒論を書くため、たまたまもらえた２千ドルの奨学金で買ったんだっけ。大学院時代の当時は私の友人達はほとんど持っていなかったので、卒論の口頭試問にパワーポイントでプレゼンをする為に、何人の友達にかしてあげたことか。私はスライドのページめくり役までやっていたなあ。あー懐かしい。ガイアナにも持って行って、あの湿度と気温にも負けずに働いてくれた。It has served me so well. なんだか切り替えるのが悪いような気もする。