Above is a picture of me at the church in Sarajevo with Hanna, a missionary from Sweden I met while there (I'm on the left)...all the Bosnians swore we looked like identical twins. I am half Swedish so I guess there's a remote chance we're related! Hanna and I really connected last summer, so it's unfortunate that she's no longer there.

Git 'er Dun'!

So my Bosnia adventure begins. My supporters have already generously contributed to the mission, enabling me to purchase my airfare and a laptop. Because of the convenience of a laptop and wireless internet at my flat, I will be updating my blog regularly and with pictures.

Almost exactly one month to go--it looks like I fly out Monday March 21st, lay over in Munich, and land in Sarajevo, befuddled and exhausted, on March 22nd, 22 hours later.

In all the busyness of preparation these past few weeks, I often find myself wondering insignificant things like what kind of shampoo and toothpaste and cleaning supplies I can get there. What are Bosnian apartment kitchen roaches like? Are they friendly or are they biters?

"Burial alive...it's such a stuffy death!"

Between 2PM today and early tomorrow morning we are to be "buried" under 8 inches to a foot of snow. Rachel and I hopped-to this morning for a pre-snow/Saturday stock-up, and had one of those shopping days where everything you need and more seems to magically land in your cart. Among the delightful items we've scored upon predictions of 8 inches to a foot of snow are a mammoth two-bags-per-box thing of Kellogg's Red Berries, 2 dozen Eggland's Best eggs, and a 750 count bottle of Ibuprofen, 2 handbags: one for knitting, one for just carrying, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 books and a box of $1 clearance Christmas Cards of DC in the snow.

Maybe it was merely the delicious Einstein bagels and muffins and hot coffee in our bellies that made us so pleased with ourselves...but it is only 1PM, the snow still hasn't hit, and we're feeling rather triumphant with our purchases.

Sarajevo

I'm moving to Sarajevo in March. It's very cold there now. According to my friend Devin who's been living there now for over 2 months, all of Eastern Europe has been in a deep freeze since early December. The beautiful snow, he says, that fell until New Years', now has either been melted by the sun or is so dirty now it barely looks like snow except up in the mountains.

Over the summer I took a van ride up one of the mountains, where at the top water naturally bubbles out of one of the rocks. They call it the "spring of life." Crystal, pristine, wonderful water. One can drink and drink and never get tired of that water.

The flat where I'll be living is a stone's throw from the old part of the city; one can see the minarets from the balcony and clearly hear the Muslim call to prayer echoing throughout the day from the loudspeakers. There are old tattered billboards that haven't been torn down since the war; every other vendor sells soft ice cream--exotic flavors like kiwi and black walnut and hazelnut. And everyone walks around as though they're on vacation...slow and purposeless.