It's been a while since I last wrote and I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a bit about some new experiences I had this past year*. I've recorded them in a journal but would like to share a few highlights. It's been an awesome privilege to travel around the world and hear stories from people of such diverse backgrounds. I'm still trying to process all the things I've seen, heard and smelt.
I'll begin with an excerpt from my last day in Moscow 07/21/10:
"My last day! It's really been the last week that's left the biggest impression. Spending my last weekend in Vladimir and reliving so many memories there with friends is something I'll cherish forever. What a blessing to have meaningful friendships here that have lasted 10 years! Going to dacha, eating shashlik and swimming in the zagorod lake, dancing the night away...Then switching to my newer friendships in Moscow and getting to spend my last night with fellow colleagues and friends there. I could have walked all night if not for that darn metro closing at 1am!"
Here are excerpts from my Balkans trip immediately following my Moscow departure:
"First impressions of Serbia (well, Belgrade really): dirty, gray and Old World with a burst of color and excitement here and there. Alina and Andrei met me outside our hostel in Belgrade and so began our Balkans journey. I had no idea then how memorable and adventurous this trip would turn out to be...we caught a bus to Novi Sad (New Garden) where we met up with our Slovenian group with the rental car. Andreja and Ales had rented an 8-passenger van for our trip and driven from Slovenia along with Ales' cousin Ana and Andreja's schoolmate Barbara. We drove all afternoon through Serbia and came to Bosnia through the mountains--beautiful countryside! By nightfall we'd arrived in Sarajevo and found a campsite outside the city. With the mountains surrounding us, I can see how pedestrians were sitting ducks for snipers(in Russian I learned the expression goes "prey for wolves") during the Bosnian War.
Sarajevo impressions: places of worship and bullet holes everywhere. I bought a collection of short stories recalling personal histories of people who had lived during the siege here. I still find it hard to imagine the mass slaughter and chaos that happened here 15 years ago. Locals say Sarajevo is at peace again but it's hard to understand how people can move on. During this trip I came to realize my misinterpretation of the Balkan people I met; their seemingly reckless attitude and free-spirited behavior was also probably a coping mechanism during the war. My new Slovenian friends confirmed this idea on a number of occasions. I learned so much from them and the stories they shared about growing up in Yugoslavia and the aftermath..."
Montenegro: "Barbara had suggested climbing Lovchin mountain, the burial site for Njegosh, the famous spiritual and political leader of Montenegro who happened to be a prolific epic poet. Lochin is probably the most beautiful mountain view I've seen EVER. Never have I felt more aware of God's creation as I felt on that mountain top. It brought me to tears! Songs of praise escaped my lips as naturally as breathing in that place. Alina and I then found ourselves in Njegosh's tomb (great acoustics) taking turns singing old Slavonic Orthodox and Protestant hymns."
Croatia: "Barbara and I went for a morning jog near our campsite along the Adriatic coastline at Kupari, 10 km south of Dubrovnik. There we discovered shelled-out hotels and former resorts, long abandoned and rusting into the mountainside. We had watermelon for breakfast and then spent the day touring the colorful and tourist-congested city of Dubrovnik."
Slovenia: "After a day of hiking the Juianski Alps outside Ljubljana we went to visit Andreja's grandfather, Albin Noch, a former alpinist and mountain rescue worker, confined to a wheelchair after years of mountain climbing took their toll on his knees. He told us fascinating stories about World War II; how he dodged the "draft" into the Nazi army that was headed to fight the Soviets and how the partisans in his family had to hide out in the surrounding mountains during the war. The local villagers came over to meet us and we shared a cup of homemade tea and some type of local moonshine that tasted like paint thinner. The next day our group swam across the famous Lake Bled before escorting me to the airport. I'm writing this entry on the plane to London with lake water in my ears and a love for the Balkans in my heart."
*I hope I haven't bored you to death. If not, stay tuned for more stories from India!
