Hello!

Greetings from Austria! I’m in Vienna and heading home tomorrow afternoon. I can’t believe that it’s already been 3 weeks since I left, it went by so fast. I’ve traveled with my group through Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and now Austria. Most of the trip was by bus but we also took a ferry overnight to travel up the Croatian coast.

I’ve enjoyed all the cities we’ve visited but Sarajevo in BiH was definitely my favorite. We started there and spent the first five days going to speakers and seeing the city. Over the centuries, Sarajevo has absorbed the cultural trademarks of all the groups that live there and has long been considered a major ‘melting pot’ in Europe.

Sarajevo’s older sections have cobblestone paving, beautiful mosques and cathedrals. Busy coffee shops and stores line the roads and in the more touristy sections hawkers sell ‘turkish coffee’ sets, postcards and scarves. The lingering signs of the four year siege that devastated the city - damaged buildings in strange juxtaposition to newly remodeled ones, the pink painted ‘Sarajevo roses’ on sidewalks and bullet holes in cemetery gravestones are faint reminders of the war that occurred in Bosnia.

Outside of the city the scars are much more visible. Driving through the Bosnia-Herzegovinian country side there are remnants of many burned out homes. Depending on the area, they were once the residencies of Serbs, Croats or Moslems who fled the violence or were killed. It was very difficult for me to make myself believe that they weren’t just abandoned buildings like the ones I sometimes see driving home from school or around my town. I’m not sure that even now I really grasp the reality that those empty homes represent.

Coming from my own perspective, it’s been very difficult for me to understand the connection between ethnicity and religion that has so much significance in the area. Genetically, all three groups are indistinguishable and some individuals from older generations identify not as Serb, Croat or Moslem but as Yugoslav. Additionally there are many mixed marriages and some children grow up without a strong connection to any ethnic identity. A major part of this trip for me has been learning how to better understand these identities and how the people I’ve met relate to them. While I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relate to it completely, I do have a better understanding now than before.

I’ve also been able to gather a lot of information for my research paper! I’m focusing on the situation of the elderly in post-conflict situations and many speakers have touched on relevant issues, for example pension reform. I’ve also had a one-on-one interview with a woman who works specifically with the elderly, so that was extremely helpful.

All in all, it’s been an amazing experience and I’d love to come back for a longer period at some point. Most people have been very open and honest in their responses to our questions and the entire region is just so beautiful! If I can figure out how to post pictures to the blog I will try to do so after I return.

Good luck to all the students leaving soon for their trips abroad!

-Kathleen