Excursion

Yesterday was a crazy long day. We visited I don't know how many different sites in Southern BiH (in the Hercegovina part of BiH).



So wherever we (the conference people) go, we have a police escort. It makes us feel important (haha). We also have an ambulance which travels with us.

We make quite a spectacle (on the way to Srebrenica we had 1 "executive van," 11 buses, 2 police cars, and an ambulance--today only the van, 3 buses and the normal detail of police/ambulance). People come out of their houses and lean far out the windows, quizzical expressions on their faces, trying to figure out what we are up to.

Actually on the way to Srebrenica the other day (the cemetery/mass grave), some people were not quizzical; they were a bit hostile. There is a Serb nationalist hand gesture which is the thumb and first 2 fingers extended-- this is very offensive to the Bosnians and Croats-- and many of the people we passed made this sign at the buses and cars passing on the way to the cemetery (because it is located in the Serb part of Bosnia). Some of them smiled and waved. So it was a mixed bag. Also on thw way t Srebrenica, there were Serb soldiers stationed on small bridges and outside houses and businesses to protect property and people from any angry and upset mourners who might take revenge or take out their grief on the Serbs living in the vicinity of Srebrenica... but back to today...

Here is me on the bus (where I have spent countless hours in the past few days).

I got to visit Mostar for a second time and I was elated to stand on the bridge once again.


Here is a photo of my friend Sarah (a sociology and demographics PhD student at Berkeley doing her dissertation in Bosnia and Rwanda) and I on the Old Bridge of Mostar. You can see in the background the minaret of the mosque I climbed last time I was here in Mostar.

After the brief stop in Mostar (where I bought local honey with almonds and wine and a small replica of the bridge which I regretted not buying last time I was here), we went to visit an old dervish monastery on the Buna river.


Here are some things you can't do in the monastery. My favorite is "no love" on the bottom right (which is not what they meant, but it looks like that, doesn't it?

You have to cover your hair with a scarf (which they kindly let you use for free) when you go inside and I saw a woman dashing ahead with her hair uncovered. I said, "I think you're supposed to cover your hair." She rolled her eyes, sucked her teeth and said (in the manner of a 4-year old or a spoiled teen), "Do we have to?" I repeated that I thought we were supposed to and then I added, "it is respectful to cover your hair." This elicited another eye roll and teeth suck and she sprinted up the stairs. She was then stopped by a man who had seen this whole interaction and told she could not enter with her hair uncovered. I couldn't believe how obnoxious she was. We are guests in this country and the least we can do is to follow what they ask of us in terms of basic respect and not desecrating their most holy places.

Anyway, the best part of the monastery for me were the views out the windows of the beautiful Buna river. there were also a few balconies where you could walk out and see the vistas. A man was praying in one room, and another room had a whole bunch of copies of the Koran. I tripped over a pile of prayer beads on the floor. oops!








Also there was a stairway leading down to the water where you could wash your face and even drink from the icy water (it was 10 degrees C, so "icy" is a very accurate description). There was an ornate silver cup that you could use to scoop up the water which I happily filled several times.


After touring the monastery, we had a wonderful lunch on the banks of the river. They gave us each 2 fish (and tried to convince the few vegetarians at the table that the chicken soup and the fish lunch were vegetarian). the fish were whole with heads on and they seemed to be looking right at you. I took the head off mine (a first time experience for me) and after I didn't feel it's fishy eyes staring me down, it was quite tasty!



It was sooo hot (nearly 100 degrees F), so periodically during lunch we would stick our feet in the icy Buna river. The water was so cold that it kind of hurt at first but it was such a relief from the heat that we kept doing it until our feet went numb. Here you can see me talking with a girl to whom i gave a copy of my book. She was telling me how much she enjoyed it and Sarah snapped a photo. You can see how my feet are only partway in the water and the beverages are not refridgerated-- they are just stached up in the river in a special stone part that was built up to the fast current doesn't taje the beer, juice, and water with it as it flow onward. OH SO COLD! My feet were numb for at least 30 minutes in th ebus after this, but it was so refreshing after such a hot, sunny day.


Here is my friend Rowan (from melbourne, Australia) with his "sun parasol." I gave him some sunscreen and he was very happy.