Simply Part 1

Mostar, Bosnia - six months ago I could not have located this city on a map, and now it is my second home, I don't believe that it is a coincidence that I am here, too many pieces of this crazy puzzle that we call life have fallen together in perfect order.  This first month at the United World College in Mostar has come full circle.  I started out in a completely new place, meeting entirely new and different people from all over the world, memorizing so many names and places back on August 28^th the first day of our official introduction week, and now I just greeted my co-year from Iraq named Hussain Aziz, who just arrived here in Mostar from Baghdad several hours ago.  First, I came here with no idea what to expect, and now I am introducing another individual to life here in Mostar.

On one hand my time here thus far seems like the blink of an eye, but on the other looking back so much has happened that it is incredible that it has been squeezed into the space of only a little more than a month.

Before I begin to relate all the amazing adventures, struggles, challenges, and new friendships, I am going to tell you a little bit about our specialized vocabulary here at UWCiM.  Since there is such an assortment of languages, we start to use a little bit of everything.  (Unfortunately, my English vocabulary and writing skills are decreasing, because the majority of people here do not speak English fluently, so their vocabulary is limited, but everybody is learning)

UWCiM Dictionary

            UWCiM – United World College in Mostar

1^st year (firsty) – students who are in their first year of the college

            2^nd year – students who are in their second year of the college

Note: If somebody refers specifically to “their” first or second year, it means from their own country.  My second years are Andy Hemphill and Leah Reynolds from the US.

Co-year – somebody who is the same grade as you

            Note: My co-years from the US are two girls named Ingrid Fiedler and Dane Jones.

Local – the language that we speak within the college.  Here in Bosnia and Herzegovina there are technically three national languages, Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian but they are the same except for a few exceptions.  We refer to it as local to avoid bias for one language.  Holding on to the minor differences between their languages is one example of the divisions that still exist between the ethnic groups here even so many years after the war.

Musala – one of the two college residences (my home) It is located next to Musala square, only two blocks away from the Neretva River on the East Bosniak side of Mostar.  It is approximately a seven-minute walk from school, which is very convenient with so many different activities happening at all hours of the day.  In addition, it is about a ten-minute walk to Old Town.  About half of the students live here, in a three-story building.    

Susac – the other college residence (with the blue roof, which is visible from almost every high point in Mostar) A long walk from school and from Musala, almost 25 minutes, but it has a great atmosphere.  Also a great destination for runs in the evening.  (On average, it takes about 11 minutes to run there, 30 minutes of socializing, then 10 minutes to run home before you are late for curfew)

Curfew - During the week, all students have to be in their rooms by 11 o’clock, on the weekends people over 18 can stay out until midnight.

Canteen – we have three canteens, one in each of the residences, and one at school, where we eat our meals and general centers of social life.  In Musala, especially people are always in the canteen cooking, eating, talking, playing music, chess, or studying.

Spanish Room – the center of college life, when the school first began four years ago all classes were held in this one room.  Now that we have expanded, it is our assembly room and the main study room during the school day.  It is on the third floor of the school.  Everybody goes in and out of the Spanish Room at least four times per day.  It is the heartbeat of academics and activities at the school.

The Library – It just opened a few weeks ago for the first time, and it is my oasis for studying and quiet solitude.  It was just remodeled and it is a beautiful, but small space in the attic of the Gymnasium.  Skylights let in streams of natural soothing light, and the big desks and study spaces allow me to spread out all my stuff, collect my thoughts and work hard.  Nobody dares to say a word above a whisper for fear of breaking the hallowed silence in the room.  The bookshelves are half-empty, but soon they will be filled.  All three schools in the Gymnasia share the library, but it is still a well-kept secret because very few people take advantage of the study space.

Velic – a house converted into more classrooms and office space right across the street from the Gymnasia.  All languages are taught there as well as some psychology and history classes.

         Gimnazija Mostar – Officially titled the Mostar Gymnasium.  This one building houses three separate schools.  UWCiM on the top floor and the labs on the second floor, and two national schools, one Croatian, and one Bosniak (Muslim).  Just as this country has three official languages, it also has three separate school systems – each learning according to their own individual curricula.  UWCiM is the first integrated school system in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina – teaching students in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian.  The building itself was just refurbished last year by a generous grant from the Council of Europe Development Bank to restore it to prewar conditions.  The building architecture is a classic example of Austro-Hungarian influence in the decades before World War I.    

Neretva – the river that flows through Mostar.  When the city was originally built, the river was necessary for trade in the southern region of Bosnia (back then referred to as the Ottoman empire) It also flows through Sarajevo from the snowcapped mountains to the north.  Now, it provides hydroelectric power – but it is quickly becoming polluted from sewage waste.  Protecting the Neretva River and its environment needs to become a priority.  During the first weeks of hot weather, it was a refreshing treat to go swimming.    

Croat – Hrvati are one the ethnic groups within the Balkans, and one of three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  They speak Croatian and are primarily Roman Catholic.  The western side of the Neretva River is known as the Croatian side.  (The school is located on the front line of the fighting during the war.  Susac is also on the Croatian side.)     

Serb – are another of the ethnic majorities within the Balkans.  They are traditionally Orthodox Christian, speak Serbian, and write principally in Cyrillic.  They are not a majority in Herzegovina in southern Bosnia, but are a majority in the Republica Srpska in northern Bosnia near the Serbian border. 

Bosniaks – are the third primary ethnic group in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  They are characterized by their connection to Bosnia historically and their Islamic faith.  Bosniaks live primarily on the eastern side of the Neretva river, where Mosques are abundant.  Musala is also located on this side.  The differences between the two sides of the river are subtle until you become aware, and then they are startlingly obvious.

Bosnian – refers to the overall national identity of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  When people formally introduce themselves, they first say their ethnicity (Croat, Serb, or Bosniak) and then say that they are Bosnian.

Roma – The Roma people are known in the US as gypsies.  They live throughout most of Eastern Europe as primarily nomadic people, moving from camp to camp depending on the seasons and resources.  In Bosnia and Herzegovina many Roma are treated very badly, because during the war many of their identification papers and proofs of citizenship were destroyed, so they are denied many of the basic rights that are available to citizens, such as education, housing, financial aid, healthcare, and jobs.  Throughout the city, mostly around Old Town, some of them beg tourists and the people of Mostar for money.   

IB – International Baccalaureate, the curricula that all UWC schools follow.  www.ibo.org for more information J   

CAS – Creativity, Action, Service – part of the IB diploma requires all students to do at least one activity in each of these categories and log a certain number of hours over the two years.  I am doing as many CAS activities as possible; if it were possible, I would really enjoy doing all of them.  There is not a single activity not worth doing.  My core CAS activities are creativity: Model United Nations, MUN, action: Futbol, service: ecology group.   

House Mom – Her name is Sheila and she takes care of our residence.  She is strict and does not understand very much English – but we are all alive so far ;)

Head Teacher – Mr. Paul Regan is the head teacher of UWCiM.  His role is similar to a principal, and he makes all executive decisions about the college.  He is a very distinguished and intelligent man, who is very supportive of us as students and truly wants to keep building our college.    

Boom!  Roasted! – a phrase used when somebody gets majorly burned

BiH – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Roomies – roommates, mine are the best in the entire world (Shaked from Israel, Milica from BiH, and Maida also from BiH)

University vs. College – here University refers to that period of school after high school, College is the equivalent of high school

Futbol – soccer, as you probably know Futbol is a huge deal in Europe, and especially here in BiH and even more so in Mostar.  In Mostar we have two teams, Zrinjski and Veles, and the two support groups are the Ultras and the Red Army.  Zrinjski is the Croatian team from the West side (and they were league champions last year.)  Veles is from the East Bosniak side.  Tonight they had a match against each other and it is considered dangerous to go near the stadium because fighting regularly breaks out, and there are swat teams on the streets.  People here take their Futbol seriously!  (Don’t worry it sounds more dangerous than it actually is.)

Celsius, Kilograms, Liters, Meters (cm, km) – all the units that I need to use here, because nobody knows about Fahrenheit, pounds, gallons, and miles