Mostar

Little Feet

This morning was our presentation to UNICEF. This afternoon we submitted the report. Hooray! Many meetings, classroom observations, discussions with directors, 3rd grade dance performances and cups of coffee later we are ready to return home. We spoke with the EU and OSCE, parents and teachers, community members, little ones, and so many others. I have certainly gotten a good taste of lovely Sarajevo and leave with more questions, ideas and an a much deeper appreciation for post-conflict education reconstruction. There have been so many layers to my experience here and I would like to come back. But one last team meeting, one last dinner and I am home. Summer in DC awaits! See you soon...

Aimee

PS I just love all these little shoes. The children leave them by the door each day as they enter the classroom and then spend the day wearing slippers!

Dubrovnik

And Then You Remember...

That this is a town that was ravaged by war. That these hills rained bullets and bombs and heavy artillery. Landmines sit just under the skin of the land. Ten years later the scars are still fresh, wounds still visible. The land is being rebuilt, yes. The people go on with life, and the streets smell sweet with coffee and orange blossoms, but divisions are deep and this was a war zone. All it takes is a closer look.

Sarajevo Snapshots

Sarajevo Snapshots

Sarajevo holds a few of my favorite things! (Top to bottom: Fresh produce markets, cups and cups of Turkish coffee - here coffee pots being sold in the old town, and houses in the hillsides)