This is crazy, completely, totally crazy: I've been here, in Musala, in UWC, in Mostar for more than a month. This sounds so unreal to me and yet so beautiful. Sometimes it feels like it has been a lot more than a month, other times I have the feeling that I have just arrived here a week ago.
Another thing which amazes me is that I was so busy (sometimes simply doing nothing) that this is my first blog post since my UWC experience started. I need to absolutely write more often because after all of this is over, I want to have an archive, I want to have a place where all the memories, good and bad, are stored. And trust me, there are going to be a lot of them. I mean, after a month I am already completely overwhelmed by well, everything.
Another thing which amazes me is that I was so busy (sometimes simply doing nothing) that this is my first blog post since my UWC experience started. I need to absolutely write more often because after all of this is over, I want to have an archive, I want to have a place where all the memories, good and bad, are stored. And trust me, there are going to be a lot of them. I mean, after a month I am already completely overwhelmed by well, everything.
The funny thing is that I have no idea where to begin. And a thing I learned in my history class is that the beginning you choose for your story can affect its flow and ending greatly. So I should just start with Induction week. It feels like it was ages ago and not just a month. So, so many things happened during it that I don't even remember most of them. The first day we arrived, some second years - their faces were completely new and anonymous to us - brought us up to the Old Bank's rooftop-a place where it is illegal to be but hey, breaking rules sometimes leads to the most beautiful memories. And this was absolutely one of them. From the rooftop we could see the whole city, and the sun was just setting so all the roof were touched by the light pink, orange and reddish light. It felt magical.
I will just leave out the chronological order because all the days just merged in one huge mix, full of emotions.
There was another event from the Introduction Week which really stayed in my mind: it was the second evening and it was Bonding Time. We (or better said, our amazing and lovely second years) put some blankets and pillows in front of Musala and we played some games and talked. The group I was with was playing the weirdest and dirtiest and probably stupidest game ever, Cards Against Humanity. That night I laughed so much - it really was amazing.
One of the days we went to Kravice Waterfalls. That was probably the most chilled day of that week. The whole week was just very fast-paced and full of activities. It was probably done so, so we wouldn't think about our families, maybe even so we wouldn't notice, or care, about the huge change of the environment we were undergoing. I can't really say it worked though, because I spent my first two nights crying my eyes out. But thanks God I had my roomie. Every day that passes I am more and more grateful for this amazing person with whom I share my room. Love you, Oshin.
I will just leave out the chronological order because all the days just merged in one huge mix, full of emotions.
There was another event from the Introduction Week which really stayed in my mind: it was the second evening and it was Bonding Time. We (or better said, our amazing and lovely second years) put some blankets and pillows in front of Musala and we played some games and talked. The group I was with was playing the weirdest and dirtiest and probably stupidest game ever, Cards Against Humanity. That night I laughed so much - it really was amazing.
One of the days we went to Kravice Waterfalls. That was probably the most chilled day of that week. The whole week was just very fast-paced and full of activities. It was probably done so, so we wouldn't think about our families, maybe even so we wouldn't notice, or care, about the huge change of the environment we were undergoing. I can't really say it worked though, because I spent my first two nights crying my eyes out. But thanks God I had my roomie. Every day that passes I am more and more grateful for this amazing person with whom I share my room. Love you, Oshin.
Our main goal for Sarajevo was to firstly eat in a vegan restaurant, then walk to the Sushi Bar just to finish with an Indian Restaurant. The fun thing is that the only thing we really did for the whole day was walk till the certain restaurant, sit down, eat and chat, pay, get up and start walking towards the next restaurant. Mel turned out to be a real GPS, just in a human form - she was never in Sarajevo before and she only had some screenshots from Google Maps and yet we didn't get lost once. So yeah, shout-out to Melanie's amazing guiding skills.
This day was really amazing. Not only that I ate the best food since I've come here and seen some parts of a majestic city but I also got much closer to quite some people. Bajram break really is the right time to make friends, just like my roomie said. Of course also the time I spent over in Sušac was unforgettable. But I must admit that I like Musala much better. Once a Musalan, always a Musalan.
This day was really amazing. Not only that I ate the best food since I've come here and seen some parts of a majestic city but I also got much closer to quite some people. Bajram break really is the right time to make friends, just like my roomie said. Of course also the time I spent over in Sušac was unforgettable. But I must admit that I like Musala much better. Once a Musalan, always a Musalan.
I totally messed up the chronological order but whatever. Quite some time ago we had the UWC Day - Around the World in 80 Minutes. Everyone had a stand which we could decorate however we wanted - as long as it represented our country. We all prepared some traditional dishes and a lot of people wore their pretty national customs. The event was opened for Mostarians and I really think they enjoyed it - especially because everyone was given a Passport with some space for stamps from each country. As every other event organized by the school, this one too was fun and educational. Plus I was able to try food from different countries and everything (or at least most of the things) were extremely delicious! When I reached the part with Asian countries my mouth literally exploded because of all the spices (which I didn't mind, it was just a big change). During the whole event, songs from different countries were being played and when Macarena came on we all started dancing like crazy. I think that was the moment when I really realized how happy I am to be part of this and how grateful I should be for this experience.
With every moment that I spend here, with every single person that walks past me and says hi to me, or just exchanges a smile, I am more and more glad that I made the decision to apply for UWC. With every hour which I pass in this amazing community, I am more and more grateful that I got accepted. Before I got here, the idea of UWC that I had was basically ''super good high school which gives you the opportunity to get into super good universities overseas'' - basically just academics, academics and academics. But once I got here, once I got to know the people and understood how the community breathes...snap if I realized my idea was completely flawed. UWC is so, so, so, much more than just a school. It is a family. The teachers, the students, all the school personal, the lovely and caring housemoms - we are all part of this huge family. Academics are important, I will never deny this, but if you come to UWC and only focus on academics, the whole experience will just fly past you. Everything will be happening around you and yet you will be enclosed in this bubble of studying, studying and studying. And this is not what UWC is. For me, UWC is staying up late in a friend's room, talking and eating German bread with honey. UWC is baking cookise the whole day even if you have a biology test the next morning. It is going out on Fridays and living the teenage life. It is having long, meaningful conversations with your roommate. UWC is having your friends check on you after a rough night. It is waking up to a post-it note with sweet words. UWC is all of this and much, much more. It is the CASes, the lessons and all the weird things that happen during them (like almost setting the bio lab on fire, for example). UWC is something which cannot be described with simple adjectives and not even complex, Shakespearean-like adjectives could describe the beauty and magic and weirdness that UWC is.
There are just too many events to describe. I could sit in Musala's canteen for three days straight and just write of everything that happened and I'm still not sure if I could describe everything. Sometimes it even happens that my mind goes completely blank and I just can't remember anything at all. But still I know that all the memories and feelings that come with them are real - they are here, inside of me, growing like flowers in my lungs, making it sometimes hard to breathe but it is worth the struggle because after all, memories (and experiences) are what make us who we are.
Bajram break - those four, crazy days. Everyone who decided to not go anywhere over night had to move to Sušac (one of the residences, the one which is on the other side of the world basically) for the four days. On Saturday morning the large version of our Squad decided to spend the day in Sarajevo. The previous day we bought train tickets (might I just add that I was actually able to buy train tickets in local!). We had the train at 7 am which meant getting up at 5:30. I spent the night in Melanie's room which was in the attic. Which meant a lot of noise whenever you made a step because the whole attic floor is wooden. So it was a real struggle to get dressed and prepare all the needed stuff without waking up the whole residence.
Somehow, after some smaller complications, we managed to get to the train station and finally we were on our way to the beautiful capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The journey was extremely fun and we even befriended some locals (which probably only happened because they found Ahmed and Iñigo handsome).
There are just too many events to describe. I could sit in Musala's canteen for three days straight and just write of everything that happened and I'm still not sure if I could describe everything. Sometimes it even happens that my mind goes completely blank and I just can't remember anything at all. But still I know that all the memories and feelings that come with them are real - they are here, inside of me, growing like flowers in my lungs, making it sometimes hard to breathe but it is worth the struggle because after all, memories (and experiences) are what make us who we are.
Bajram break - those four, crazy days. Everyone who decided to not go anywhere over night had to move to Sušac (one of the residences, the one which is on the other side of the world basically) for the four days. On Saturday morning the large version of our Squad decided to spend the day in Sarajevo. The previous day we bought train tickets (might I just add that I was actually able to buy train tickets in local!). We had the train at 7 am which meant getting up at 5:30. I spent the night in Melanie's room which was in the attic. Which meant a lot of noise whenever you made a step because the whole attic floor is wooden. So it was a real struggle to get dressed and prepare all the needed stuff without waking up the whole residence.
Somehow, after some smaller complications, we managed to get to the train station and finally we were on our way to the beautiful capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The journey was extremely fun and we even befriended some locals (which probably only happened because they found Ahmed and Iñigo handsome).
There is so much more I could write but I guess you just can't put certain experiences in words. And also my writing is not good enough. What I'm trying to say is that I simply can't use words to portray my feelings in the way I wish I could. There was a time when my writing could actually make me feel. I used words to create worlds I liked better than reality. But...I think I like reality now. It is painful sometimes, I admit, but it is also amazing, funny and most importantly, worth living.
UWC changes you. All the people, all the different opinions, all the experiences and moments you live through - each and every single one of them leaves a mark on you. This is the place where I met the most amazing people, this is the place where I became a vegetarian for a week, this is the place where I had my first drink, the place where I had my first heart-break, the place where I spend the nights talking with friends. And I'm pretty sure this is going to be the place where I'll learn the most. Not only from books but from my co-years, second years and the next year firsties.
This is going to be the place where I will either find myself or lose myself. Let's see where life will lead us all.
UWC changes you. All the people, all the different opinions, all the experiences and moments you live through - each and every single one of them leaves a mark on you. This is the place where I met the most amazing people, this is the place where I became a vegetarian for a week, this is the place where I had my first drink, the place where I had my first heart-break, the place where I spend the nights talking with friends. And I'm pretty sure this is going to be the place where I'll learn the most. Not only from books but from my co-years, second years and the next year firsties.
This is going to be the place where I will either find myself or lose myself. Let's see where life will lead us all.