I know I should go to bed early because I have to get up at 5am to catch my flight to LA. However, I am way too excited about seeing my husband, my family, and the sun (it’s been a little gloomy here). Maybe writing will help me wind down enough to feel sleepy.
The American quartet was invited by the embassy to see a speech about youth engagement, given by the US ambassador to local high school and college students. Matt and I decided to attend, despite not being sure what to expect or where to go. Our invitation told us that the event would be held at the faculty of mechanical engineering building, and gave an address, so I figured we could just look up how to get there online. The online maps of Sarajevo are terrible. They are all lacking details, range, or both, so I couldn’t find the exact address. I did manage to figure out that the street ran parallel to the tram, about one block south.
Matt and I took the tram and got off at the stop near many of the university buildings. "Hooray", I thought, "we found someone we knew" from the philharmonic walking out of the mathematics building. Matt called after him, but he is a very strange and shy man, so he took one look at us and ran the other way. I guess you have to know the guy, but it was rather funny. So I suggested we find the street name that we were given on the invitation, and walk along it. Fortunately, we only walked one block when we saw the mechanical engineering building.
It’s funny that my method of finding places has completely changed since moving to Sarajevo. Normally, I print out maps, and detailed directions. If all else fails, I ask somebody. Here, there are no good maps, and the directions I get are usually vague, describing landmarks rather than street names or addresses. I can’t ask just anyone for directions either, because my language skills are so limited. So I’ve taken up wandering around until I find what I’m looking for. Fortunately, Sarajevo is small enough that this strategy usually works.
The actual speech given by the ambassador was just okay. He didn’t say anything too unique, inspiring, or controversial, but rather just encouraged the youth he was addressing to stay involved in the political future of their country. However, I didn’t know too much about the political stalemate and economic depression that the Bosnian people are facing, so it was interesting to hear a bit more about it. Apparently, the government has become ineffective because divisive, nationalistic politicians are unwilling to compromise with each other. I am a little bit surprised, because the people that I meet every day on the streets are so open-minded and accepting of other cultures, religions, and backgrounds.
At the end of the speech, the students were allowed to ask our ambassador questions. Many of the students asked direct, complicated, or critical questions that I found to be quite interesting. I could see why they became a bit frustrated, since the ambassador often gave vague, repetitive, and indirect answers to their concerns. I’m not sure how else he could have handled himself though. Sometimes honest answers are discouraging and he was trying to inspire hope that change is possible. Furthermore, the US doesn’t always set the best example when it comes to political compromise, social justice, or economic solvency. Are we really the world leaders that we think we are, or do we just pat ourselves on the back for our rhetoric rather than our actions?
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