Wintertime Outings

            So after three days of staying at home, I finally got myself out of the apartment yesterday afternoon, although just for a walk around Ilidza and Otes.  My first thought was, “what took me so long?”  Even though it’s a bit cold and slushy, my neighborhood is absolutely beautiful in the snow.  Once I got to the park in Ilidza, it was so peaceful and hushed.  There were quite a few people walking along the path, but besides them, the only sounds came from the ravens cackling.  At 2 o’clock, the stereophonic calls to prayer, being played by the surrounding houses, added to the mix.

Park in Ilidza

            My creative neighbors in Otes have invented a new winter sport.  Step 1: tie your sled to the frame of a bicycle.  Step 2: convince a friend to pedal the bicycle through an open field while you hang onto the sled for dear life.  Looks like a lot of fun for the sled-rider, maybe not so much for the bicyclist.  But it seems like a good way to go sledding without any hills. J

            Last night, I went into the city center with the American quartet and our friend Mattia.  We wanted to go back to the nightclub Sloga, but alas, it was closed.  I was happy about this though, because I wanted to check out the Holiday Market.  Since Sloga was closed, I was able to convince my friends to go with me.

            The Holiday Market (“Sponsored by Coca-cola.” It seems like half of Sarajevo is brought to you by the Coca-cola company!) is a series of tents, set up in a square on the west side of Bascarsija.  I think that during the day, there is a lot of Christmas-y stuff, like a tent where you can bring your little kid to see Santa.  However, at night, there is a big tent with food, drinks, and live music.  We were lucky that when we got there, Alisa was already inside with a group of her friends, and an open spot next to them.  So we got to meet Alisa’s friends, and enjoy the band, which was playing traditional (I think) Bosnian music.

At the Holiday Market

            The tent was very warm, maybe too warm.  But I was wearing a t-shirt under all of my winter layers, so it just felt cozy to me.  I did not have any food (nothing vegetarian) but I did have some glogg/mulled wine.  It was hot but not scalding, and had a very strong smell of cloves and other spices.  Yum!  I definitely want to go back before the tents close around the middle of the month.

Enjoying mulled wine

            Things at the Holiday Market started to die down before my group was feeling ready to go home, so we wandered over to Cheers Pub afterward.  I have been only once before, and it was super-crowded and loud, so I was a tiny bit apprehensive about going back without any earplugs. However, since it was a cold Wednesday night, Cheers was neither crowded nor noisy.  We basically had the upstairs room to ourselves, with the exception of an overly-affectionate couple sitting right behind Tim.  They were really going at it!  Public-displays-of-affection seem much less taboo in Sarajevo than they are in the US.

            I am definitely over my cabin fever after going back into the city center again today for a Bosnian lesson.  Every time we have a lesson, I feel more and more confident about speaking the language.  It is much easier for me to read, write, and understand than it is for me to speak, because I usually can’t think fast enough to come up with the words.  And I am a little bit embarrassed about my bad grammar and confusing accent.  But I know that if I don’t try to speak, I will never get any better at it.

            After the lesson, with all of the vocabulary and grammar fresh in my mind, Sara and I went to buy sandwiches at a fast food place.  The guy who works there is very nice, and is beginning to recognize us, but we have trouble ordering from him sometimes because he speaks absolutely no English.  However, today I was able not only to order, but also to have a successful short conversation with him.  It felt quite empowering, even though I was answering very simple questions about where we were from.  Sometimes I feel pretty isolated by not being able speak the same language as everyone else around me.  I can’t wait to learn more, so that I can become increasingly more independent.