(Istria)

(Slovenia)

Today the most amazing thing happened…I had time for a nap! I found my way home despite my zombie-esque state, to collapse in my little twin bed for three lovely hours of splendid slumber. I cannot imagine any other way I would rather have celebrated the freedom Friday afternoon. I fully intend on remaining in my pajamas from now until tomorrow afternoon. Erica, a fellow SIT student who has quickly become a dear friend, is coming over tonight for an evening of chocolate, vino (wine), and movies…

Monday we leave for an excursion to Istria and Slovenia where a women’s rights festival will be taking place! I have been counting down the days until this week since I arrived in the Balkans. Do not get me wrong, the last several weeks have been wonderful; but to be quite frank, the material we have studied has been heavy and drab, particularly since I am not the biggest fan of history. I tend to soak it up more like a rock than a sponge. While I recognize it is critical to consider the history of the region before we delve into human rights movements (which is largely why I came), this is a painful undertaking. Just to give you a glimpse into my relationship with our history seminar, I will have you know I have been donned with nickname “Dori,” the fish from Finding Nemo who cannot focus on anything for more than 3 seconds before she gets distracted and forgets everything she knows. I sigh with relief at the opportunity to close my 700 page book on the “Balkans” which will forever remind me of the time I spent in Croatian purgatory.

Today Zagreb was in a huff over the verdicts pronounced by UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for three men convicted of war crimes in 1991. This was concerning their actions in Vukovar, the city in which I will likely be conducting my research (BBC link > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7017758.stm). I bring this story up because I think it is interesting how the information presented by the media is often skewed when their commitment to remaining PC takes president over the truth. The BBC minimized the crimes of these men, and did not even mention their ethnicity. There was a much different story circulating in Zagreb this morning…The Croatian headlines read “SHAME!” Apparently the three men were Serbian, and collectively received less time than any one Croat brought before the Hague. Additionally these men did not kill only one or two individuals, they forced hundreds of innocent civilians into a hospital in Vukovar, where they proceeded to torture and kill them. I feel that I must believe this story because it comes from the months of individuals who lost family members in this massacre. I say all of this only to express the caution I recognize one must approach the media with. This is my first experience personally witnessing an international source telling a story about a people who will straight up tell you that it is wrong.

This week we also visited the Croatian parliament (Sabor) where we met with the youngest member, and on Thursday we visited the HDZ (the leading party) head-quarters. It is amazing how I am able to have experiences here which would likely be inaccessible at home. I had to laugh at our visit to HDZ where we were all given goody-bags with HDZ hats, shirts, lighters, and fanny-packs. A photographer was taking countless pictures of the HDZ party with “America’s youth.” The whole situation was so ridiculous. I had about as much business visiting HDZ as I would have working on Bush’s campaign. They are the party who has ventured past the conservative right, so far right that I am certain they fell off the end and hit their heads…At least they gave me cookies and milk.

Tomorrow is yoga and hiking, then going to the lake with some friends, and Sunday packing for our excursion…expect an update soon. Dovidenja!