Živijo. I'm in Bosnia and Herzogovina.
I have wanted to visit Sarajevo since I was 9 or 10 years old and I read a book called Zlata's Diary--Anne Frank Sarajevo style. So I up and took a train to this city with a tragic past and I LOVE it. Last night at the hostel I sat in the kitchen with a Basque and her Northern Irish boyfriend as we discussed the politics of ethnic conflict. Pretty sweet--three of the most prominent ethnic conflicts of recent history converge in a hostel in Sarajevo. Right now I am sitting across from the bridge where Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated, starting the first world war. The city is sooo interesting with a strong Muslim culture. Teenage girls walk around with their head scarves on and I get jealous because they look so pretty. They really do it well. I heard the call for prayers at the mosque right next to me as I ate lunch. Oh and on the train I met a Bosnian Muslim grandma who lives now in Chicago so I promised her I would come visit. She gave me lunch--I left my entire sack of grocery store purchases on the train from Ljubljana when I got the connection in Zagreb. She pretty much saved me; it turned out to be a 6:15 am to 7 pm train ride.
Anyway I just wanted to say Happy Easter. The church doesn't exist here so I'm on my own tomorrow. I have my choice of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian places to visit--this is the "Jerusalem of Europe."
