Welcome to Sarajevo.

I made it to Sarajevo! 

Currently I am sitting in an internet cafe with the other two students who have arrived for the GYC program, all of us emailing home with reports of safe arrivals. There is Bosnian music blasting in the background and it's smoky in here--pretty typical, from what I've experienced thus far. There is a heavy Turkish influence in Bosnia: lots of the same decor, etc. It's cool and very unlike any culture I have been in before.

Sarajevo is beautiful. We flew in through a thick white, woolly blanket of clouds, descending through gray-white mist to suddenly emerge right above the mountains which surround the city. Red rooftops of houses are scattered along the hillsides, and the city proper stretches through a valley and sprawls up the base of the surrounding mountains. There are skyscrapers downtown, flanked by a confusing maze of streets full of half-tattered, half-restored buildings still bearing bullet scars from the war years. The city is a perplexing mix of old and new, destroyed and rebuilt. It's beautiful. And somehow kinda sad. Maybe that's just the dismal weather, but there is something melancholy about the city. There are huge cemeteries scattered along hillsides and in the middle of the Old Town, where our hostel is located--very present memorials to the wounds of 15 years ago. I am anxious to spend more time here and get to know Sarajevo better.

I arrived here in the afternoon yesterday, taking a taxi from the airport to the address of our hostel... or so I thought. When I arrived at the front door, the woman working gave me a blank stare when I asked her about my reservation, so I showed her the address I had and was told I was in the wrong place. By then my cab driver was long gone, so I asked if I could walk to the correct hostel (even though it was raining). She gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction, so off I went, trundling down the cobblestone streets with my rolling suitcase bumping along behind me, map in hand, getting soggy from rain. The situation struck me as so funny that I couldn't help but laugh as I walked, which may have contributed to the already-curious looks I was getting from passerby... ha. (I could read it in their faces: stupid tourist girl. Dang.)

But eventually I made it through the confusing maze of streets that is the Old Town and found the correct hostel. (Thanks, Dad, for a good sense of direction!) I settled in and took a little nap, and then met the other student who had arrived early for the program. We went out walking to get food and our bearings, which was great--there are some awesome views of the city from atop hills in Sarajevo. However, I hadn't moved my passport out of my purse yet, which was an admittedly-dumb mistake. I have traveled enough to know better. So we were walking around, and at one point I let go of my purse to look at some monuments. Suddenly I remember looking up and looking at my reflection in a shop window--I think I must have unconsciously noticed getting bumped or something. And then I realized that my passport was missing.

Oops.

But here is the cool thing: although I lost some cash and my passport, my wallet (with my other ID and my debit card) was still safe in my purse. Whew! And, thankfully, the verses I had been memorizing with my campers at SB2W were the very first things to come into my mind, even before I could really react to having my passport stolen. Somehow, my thoughts started with "I have learned the secret to being content in all circumstances, whether in plenty or in want... for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4), followed by "Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5). Man... I am SO thankful a lot of campers had repeated those verses to me last week!

So we went back and contacted the program director and the US embassy, and it's all getting figured out. I should have a new passport by the time we leave Sarajevo for Sanski Most on Friday. (So I even get to replace my old passport picture! Hooray! Not that the new one is any better...). I am bummed to lose my cool Cambodian visa, but I guess now I just have a reason to go back there. (Ha ha.)

I think I want to end with a list of things I'm thankful for.

-I'm in Bosnia! Aaah!
-This happened once I was in Bosnia already, not while I was trying to get here.
-I was pickpocketed, not mugged.
-It happened before everyone else got here, so I don't have to inconvenience 15 other people in trying to figure it out.
-My parents have taken it really well.
-Nothing was taken that was harder to replace, like a debit card.
-It's only money. Honestly, whoever took it probably needs money more than I do.
-People have been really kind and helpful in figuring out what to do next.
-Humility, humility, humility.
-I get the chance to actually live out what I say I believe about joy.

So altogether? I'm actually pretty thankful this happened. Woo! Adventures in Bosnia!