A visit to "Stari Grad"

On Sunday, we headed down to Sari Grad ("old town" in Bosnian). This is truly an OLD town (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo#Ancient_times.) Sarajevo has been inhabited for thousands of years, but the "modern" city dates back to the Ottoman invasion. The historic founding date is said to be 1461. When the Ottomans set up shop, one of their first creations was a large outdoor public market, a version of which still exists today. It is called Baščaršija, and there are many sites to see there. We visited "Pigeon Square", had lunch at a cafe, and Liam even got a free wooden flute and his picture taken by a Japanese tourist!

(One of the oldest mosques in Sarajevo)

A view of the market center--Pigeon Square

Liam checking out the birds

Liam chasing the birds

Brave, crazy boys and more birds

  Liam is saying "CHEESE!"

Found a playground!

The weather in Sarajevo has not been very cooperative for time outdoors.  And with the limited amount of toys and books we brought with us on the plane (we hadn't gotten our first shipment of stuff yet) and my lame attempts at "circle time" (learning time at Liam's old a school), we've had one bored little boy.  Geoff and I had seen a playground we wanted to try on our various drives down the hill, but the rain just wouldn't let us try it out (it rained 5 of the first 7 days we were here).  Well, on Saturday, the weather finally broke and we were able to take Liam to said playground.  Despite the graffiti and some missing safety measures, we all had a great time!

Swings with Dada!

Colorful, yet somewhat lacking in safety, playground

Scary rope bridge

Safer rope bridge

Weee slide!

Tunnel!!!!

Beautiful Views!

We are in temporary housing, but WHAT a fantastic temporary house!  It's a 2 story townhouse with 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, heated tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms, and 3 balconies!  The top balcony is more of a rooftop terrace with view of the city and some of the snowy mountains.  It really is a beautiful view, and we will be sorry to lose it.

Here are 2 shots Geoff took from the top balcony.  One is a southward view toward the mountains of Bjelasnica, the sight of the men's alpine ski events in the '84 Olympics.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjelašnica for more info.

The other shot is a westward view where you can see more green hills and the minaret from the nearest of our neighborhood mosques.  From that mosque, we can hear the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, five times a day. More on that amazing experience in another post.

Some things are just plain weird!

European toilets are strange.  First, they have rectangular seats.  Now, I don't mean to sound like an uppity American, but I like to think that most people have common sense.  If a particular body part is roundish in nature, wouldn't it make sense to make a toilet seat roundish to fit said body part?  They are horribly uncomfortable for sitting, especially for those like me with smaller rear ends.  Also, the flushing system is different.  There are two light-switch looking buttons on the wall behind the toilet.  One is for flushing "number 1" and the other is more powerful for bigger messes.  That actually makes sense to me, but there were no labels telling me any of this.  I just had to figure it out.

The washer and dryer are no different.  First, there are actual light switches controlling the power to both machines.  You have to turn on the light switch and then you have to hit the reset button on the outlets before even starting the machines.  The machines themselves were no less a mystery.  Geoff and I struggled with the pictograms on the washing machine to try and figure out which cycles did what.  (We guessed that the butterfly symbolized delicate, for example.)  And the dryer works completely differently.  It doesn't pump heat into the machine, it sucks the moisture out, kind of like a dehumidifier.  We actually have to dump the water after every cycle!

We've definitely had some adjustments, but we are figuring things out, slowly but surely.

And some things are not!

Our trash system is a bit different.  Houses don't have their own cans to take to the curb once or twice a week.  Instead, there are community use metal bins placed at corner and intersections of neighborhood streets where everyone can dump their household trash.  Geoff had been doing most of that, but last night, he bathed Liam while I cleaned up the kitchen and then took out the trash.  As I  was walking back from my duty, I noticed a man in a cream and red sweater walking in front of me.  He was older, clearly a local, but there was something oddly familiar about his sweater.  As I got closer, I HAD to roll my eyes at my discovery.  Across his shoulders in big red letters was "ALABAMA" and below that in the center of his back in smaller letters was "Crimson Tide."  What are the odds of that man wearing that sweater being on that street at the exact moment I was taking out the trash?  I cannot even begin to calculate that.  I took it as a sign that I although I am living in a foreign country, I am really not that far from home after all.

Some things are foreign...

On Friday, our second day here, I made my first trip to the neighborhood market.  My goal was to add to our basics (our sponsors kindly got us some fruit, milk, juice, coffee, etc.) and to get stuff for the day's lunch and dinner.  Liam and I walked about 5 minutes down to the store.  It was small, but had tiny buggies, so Liam was able to ride like normal.  When we walked in, I put my nervousness and intimidation aside and focused on providing for Liam and making Geoff proud.  Nothing was in English, so I had to rely on pictures or see through packaging to figure out what to get.  The first of 5 aisles was a combo of meat, dairy, and frozen items.  I found a whole chicken and some frozen broccoli, and then Liam spotted the hotdogs.  I guess English is not much of a barrier for hotdogs!  I continued on to find olive oil, sugar, rice, and some other items to round out our meals.  When I got to the register, the lady was chatting away, and cooing over Liam, and then she held up my onion and tomato to ask about them.  Uh-oh--I was able to figure out I was supposed to weigh them back in produce.  I apologized in English (next goal--learn "I'm sorry" in Bosnian), and she hurried off to do it for me.  I paid in marks and helped bag so Liam and I could walk back home and enjoy our hotdogs.  I made it and am proud of myself for taking the first small step in acclimating to my new home!  

8 hour flight to Vienna

The flight wasn't too bad, I suppose, as flights go.  I really have nothing to compare it to, but Geoff thought things went very well.  Liam enjoyed himself with free stickers, coloring book, and "colors" from the flight attendant and Toy Story.  After his movie, I changed him into PJs, and he fell asleep almost immediately and stayed asleep the whole time.  What a great little traveller he is-no fussing, no misbehavior, just quietly sitting in his seat or sleeping.  Ah to be a child who can fall asleep anywhere and in any position!  I was quite jealous.  We took a picture of sleeping Liam, but I can't seem to get it uploaded.  I will update when I can!

Good-bye visits

Last weekend, we had 2 lovely visits.  First, Mims and Baba came for a night.  Since the weather was a bit cool and breezy out, the evening was filled with indoor fun: learning how to shoot a dart gun (thanks, Baba!), building towers with blocks, assembling puzzles, and finally walking around in Baba's shoes.  The next morning, we said our good-byes (Liam was NOT pleased about that), and got ready for visit number 2--Granny, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Laureen.  Two new Toy Story toys helped Liam get over his shyness, and a lovely afternoon went by WAY too quickly.  All too soon it was time to say bye to the Gallaghers.

Jax Howard visit--last day

The last morning was spent bundled up in long sleeves due to the unexpected cold, but we still enjoyed the sunshine!  Sidewalk chalk and bubbles were the entertainment of the morning.  There is something so magical about a child with bubbles.  The pure joy they exhibit is contagious, and none of us could stop smiling at how much fun the kids were having.  I tried to capture close-up shots of all the cousins (save Isabelle, of course) blowing bubbles, and I think I did a pretty good job!

After our bubbles, we piled into vehicles to visit Matt and Laura's property.  It is a great space, and we cannot wait to spend future visits in their dream house!  Matt then prepared a tasty pulled pork for our last meal, and then it was off to the airport.  Time flew, but it was a wonderful visit.  Thank you Jacksonville Howards for a great time!

Boy cousins

Liam is a very lucky boy to have so many cousins so close to his age.  He is EXTREMELY blessed to have Caleb and Owen--two boy cousins just half a war younger than him.  Needless to say, it was so great to watch Caleb and Liam play together, especially on Monday morning, when they were wearing their matching Buzz Lightyear pajamas!