So I realize I haven't written in, I'm pretty sure, three weeks. Pretty much all that's happened is I've gone back to school and it's snowed a lot. Boring, I'm aware. Hence why I haven't really written anything. Moving along.
Two days ago was my six month anniversary in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. And when you hit that mark, all I can do is think back to my first day here. And believe me when I say it is the weirdest sensation to think back to that moment the plane landed and the two old people sitting beside me refused to let me look out the window to see Bosnia for the first time (I'm not even kidding. They kept giving me dirty looks and then shifted so I couldn't see out. Meanies.). But I'm not going to get all nostalgic right now (ok, I was nostalgic, because I just went back and read all my August blog posts about my first few days. It's. So. Weird.) and instead I'm just going to say that this is a strange feeling. Being so close to the end and feeling like it's all happened so quickly.
Three days ago, though, I brought my dishes downstairs to put in the dishwasher and Nizama was already there. Instead of doing the awkward put-dishes-in-the-sink-and-walk-away move I would constantly do with my own mother, I started helping her load the dishwasher. Nizama seemed to appreciate it and it wasn't that difficult. She then proceeded to ask me about my parents and I was able to tell her that they were currently in India for church. We then launched into a conversation about how her daughter, Nermana, went to India when she was in university and how she loved it there. Moving along, Nizama asked me about university and what I was planning on studying, where I told her that I was planning on English and maybe French. I wasn't sure how to say Cross-Cultural Studies or Journalism, but English and French have always been on my mind, so that's what I mentioned. We talked for awhile about colleges and where I was going to study (start off in the States, move on to Europe later) where Nizama then brought up the American University of BiH. She wouldn't stop hinting that I should go to that school and it made me really happy that she was telling me that I needed to come back to Bosnia and go to school here.
When we finished our conversation, she headed back downstairs and I headed up to my room and I felt really happy as I bounded upstairs, but at first I didn't realize why. Then it hit me. I just spent the last ten minutes talking with my host mom. Simple conversation, but we talked. Not just about how it's snowing outside or something that just appeared on TV, we actually talked about things that I would talk about with my family or friends. True, it was simplified to the nth degree, but it was a real conversation and that made me proud. I've been hating myself because my Bosnian skills have always been lacking. This language has been extremely difficult for me and I just haven't been able to pick it up. But the fact that I was able to converse fully with my host mom makes me proud and I think she enjoys it, too. There have been moments where we've both just given up because we haven't been able to understand each other. We'd have to go grab Irfan or Medina to translate and that would be that. But not then. We found our happy medium and we can actually have conversations with each other. And I'm loving it.
I just find it sad that we figured this out four months before I go back to America.
Then came Valentine's Day, where my mom back in Oregon packed my Valentine's Day gift back in August and sent it along with my Christmas gift.
I laughed at the cutesy Valentine's day card that I would have gotten in elementary school and was extremely excited about my tea, chocolate, and hand lotion. Needless to say, it put me in a great mood before I headed off to school with my own valentine's cards for SHAKE. I wish I had a picture of them, because they were great.
Last night was my teen group's True Love Party, which was very nice. It was all decorated in hearts and ribbons and I met lots of new people as well as met up with some older, familiar faces from past church events. Despite the fact that I couldn't understand half the games we were playing, it was interesting to see me participate in certain things because slowly I was able to decipher some words and say the answer. However, that also led me to blurt out the wrong answer because I completely misunderstood the answer. Oh well.
Needless to say, hanging out with some Bosnian friends and attempting to speak Bosnian with them (even though one girl just kept on saying, "Speak English. I understand English." I'm pretty sure she meant that my Bosnian was terrible that her ears couldn't take it anymore) was lovely.
Anyway, time to go write some more of the story that I'm working on. If anyone cares to read it, go here.
Until my birthday (*coughELEVENDAYScough*) and when Savannah and Anna arrive for movie night,
-Katie
