haven't updated in a while..

so this is my last night in bosnia, sorry i haven't updated in a while. i haven't really had a lot of internet access. there have been soooo many crazy happenings that i don't know if i can fit them all on here..haha. the past two weeks here in bosnia have been quite a whirlwind. the experience wasn't totally what i was expecting, but it has changed me for the better to say the least. never would i of thought 3 weeks ago that i would be bushwhacking through the wilderness in bosnia or hitchhiking on krupa's main road when a group of us got stranded. the past 3 days here in bosnia have been my favorite because i've been able to work with the children in krupa. they are such sweethearts and love hanging around us, even if most of them don't speak english. we have been doing odd jobs around their school, mostly painting, and interrupting their recess time to play soccer with them..haha. the children are just like any other kids in america; the boys and girls are constantly teasing each other, they like to play games, and all sorts of other things. the children in krupa are SOOOOO responsible for their ages. the 6 year olds know when the bus schedule runs because they don't have school buses and know when to catch it so they can make it home for dinner. probably my favorite moment so far with the children were when these two little girls yelena and anya picked flowers for all of the girls in our group and made us flaunt them in our hair..haha. well i'm off to celebrate my last night in bosnia. tomorrow we leave for croatia by bus...it's a 9 hour ride..ugh! hopefully i'll be able to update more in croatia. please continue to keep our group in your prayers, we feel that we have accomplished a lot here, but a lot of us have become sick and/or exhausted from living a poorer lifestyle. oh and someone PLEASE drink a big, cold, glass of ICE WATER because they don't have ice here, or anywhere in europe for that matter and it's absolutely killing me! haha. have a great day everyone.

love,
anna

party party

so the party tonight in krupa was AWESOME...let's just say that we all probably had too much fun..haha. we were celebrating the end of the rafting tournament with all of the countries. it was fun hanging out with the american team because everyone else in bosnia hates them: i forgot to mention that bosnians aren't the biggest fans of americans because they believe that we betrayed them in the war, but hopefully their view of us will change over time, but anyway back to the party. i danced with men from serbia, croatia, bosnia, uk, and everywhere else, but they don't really know how to dance like americans do though! most of them were pretty sexy though..heh. especially this guy named zach from the uk. we walked drunkinly back in each other arms to where he was staying because it was down the road from me, and he gave me a goodnight kiss, so i can offically say that i've been kissed by a guy from the uk! yaaay..hahah. well tomorrow will be another day of hard work, continue to keep us in your thoughts.

love you all.

banja luka

Hi everyone :). I am currently in Banja Luka, Bosnia at the Center for Environment office and the people graciously let use their computers/internet access. The trip over here was EXHAUSTING. I am still recovering from the 6 hour time difference between Virginia and Bosnia. Thanks everyone for the encouragment and thoughtful messages, it really means a lot to me. I already feel like this is going to be an amazing and life changing trip already. Bosnia is absolutely gorgeous. The stream water is clear and safe to drink as it is free of impurities and the mountians are green and full of trees. Today we had orientation for all that we're going to be doing. Our main purpose is to support the Green Project. We are trying to channel hydroeletric energy so that the Bosnian government will stop building powerplants that are damaging the environment. We will help in building mills and informing the townspeople in Krupa va Nubrusu how important their environment really is. In addition, we are also helping out with the World Rafting Championchip because it is held here in Banja Luka this year. We will be registering teams, putting together rafts, and doing anything else that the competitors need. The last few days of being in Bosnia, we will be spending some time in very poverty stircken areas that were affected in the civil wars during the early 90s. We will come deliever clothing and supplies to their towns from people who donate in Banja Luka, I will be giving away most of my workshirts and shoes more than likely. I am sure that will be very heartbreaking, but I'm glad that we will be helping these people out. As an American, I constantly forget how truly lucky I am to be living a very plentiful life. This view of the world will remind me daily to count my blessings.

Today has been exhausting, it's already 6:00 pm here, and it's only noon at home..haha. Tonight we will be attending a concert because our group leader is in a band! He's the drummer and we're going to go support him and his bandmates :). I just ate some local Bosnian cusine, cevapi, it's a mixture of meat (I don't really know what and don't really want to...) envolped in pita bread. It's a favorite of the locals and I enjoyed it because I was pretty famished from touring the city all day in the sun.

Well, that's all for now. I don't know when I'll be able to access the internet yet. Continue to pray for me please, as this is a wonderful experience it is also very exhausting. I LOVE YOU ALL!

Anna

packing, packing, packing...

Hello Everyone!

Right now I am supposed to be packing, but since I am the biggest procrastinator in the world, I decided to create a blog that will document my travels instead. For those of you that don't know, I am going to Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia) for a month to do volunteer work with International Student Volunteers (ISV). The bulk of my volunteer work will be in Bosnia and I will be in Krupa na Vrbasu (about 20 miles from Banja Luka) working at their Center for Environment. Some of the projects that we are trying to achieve is to preserve the environment after all of the destruction of the civil wars in the 90s, teach the townspeople how important environmental conservation is, build walking trails, bike paths, community centers, and a water purifier for the local school. The ultimate goal is to build a better sense of community for these people because there was a lot of destruction during the civil wars in the 90s. After two weeks of working there, our group will be off to Dubrovnik, Croatia to start the adventure tour! The map shows all of the amazing places that I will be traveling to in the last two weeks of my trip. I will be tourning the cities, rock climbing, caving, rafting, sky diving (if i work up enough courage), biking, beaching it up, and all sorts of other fun things! I will end the adventure tour in Bovec, Slovenia and fly back to the US from there.



So...tomorrow around 8 am I will be leaving my home of Bridgewater, VA to start my long journey to Eastern Europe. Around 11 am I will be taking off from Reagan National airport in DC and flying to JFK airport in NYC to meet up with the rest of my ISV group. Around 5 pm I will be leaving to fly to Munich, Germany and will land around 8 am German time which will be 2 am Eastern time. Then from Munich I will fly into Zagreb, Croatia and land around 12:15 pm (6 am Eastern). From Zagreb I will board a bus to go to Krupa na Vrbasu and after a 3 hour bus ride I will finally be at my destination. SHEW...I am going to be beat after this. I hope the jetlag isn't too terrible...

So that's the outline of tomorrow for me. I don't know how often I will be able to update this blog, especially in Krupa na Vrbasu since it's such a remote location. I do have an international cell phone (my mother insisted) and the number is 1-540-246-5199. It will not cost you a penny to text or call me (just keep in mind the 6 hour time difference!), it will only charge me for the international fees. It's not too expensive though, so feel free to text or call (texting is cheaper for me though)! I will be calling some of you within the first couple of days to let you know I'm alive ;) haha. I would also love to drop you all some snail mail, even though it takes 2 weeks to get to the US, if you'd like a letter, please leave me your address!

Well I better go back to packing before my mom kills me, she's going nuts right now because she's worried about me leaving..haha. Please keep me in your prayers, even though I am excited about this oppertunity, I am incredibly scared as well. Please also pray for the people that we will be helping as they live and have lived through poverty and times of turmoil. I pray that we can really make a difference in the lives of these people who truly need our helping hands. Thank you.

Love,
Anna