English Education at Mostar Orphanage

Our first few days in Mostar have gone really well. We moved in Saturday morning (5/17/08) and spent a few days introducing ourselves to the kids and just having fun before classes started on Monday. We have two classes a day. At 10 am we teach the little kids and we teach the older ones at night. The younger kids classes are going really well - we have taught them the alphabet, numbers, colors and fruits. With every thing we have songs or crafts to help them remember. Today (Wednesday 5/21/08) the kids were still able to sing their "ABCs" that we taught them on Monday. Its great to know that the things we are teaching them are actually sticking. The older kids are more challenging because there is a wide range of ages (11 - 20) and abilities. We have been trying to focus on things they can actually use and on making things fun. Later today we are taking them to get ice cream. We are paying for them, but they have to speak only in English while we are there.

Our class is going very well. The kids are so responsive and they really seem to remember what we are teaching them. It is not uncommon to hear the "ABCs" being sung whenever you walk through the orphanage, and I definitely notice the kids speaking more English. When they see us they ask us how we are and what we are doing in English. Even the kids with whom we have not yet had class (because their school conflicts and does not end until next week) are certainly practicing their English when they talk with us. One thing they all know now is how to talk about swimming. One day we swam in the freezing cold Neretva River, and the next we walked about 15 kilometers in search of a lake that never appeared. Now every time we leave they ask us if we are going swimming and then tell us that we are crazy because the water is cold.

The older kids are a little harder - our classes with them always seem to get cancelled, whether because of scheduling conflicts, the caretakers, or because the soap opera is on tv (the girls refuse to miss it). Still, just spending time with them and hanging out means that they speak English and practice, and we try to get as much teaching in as possible. For example, one of the kids, was reading a Bosnian newspaper, so Laura went over and made him explain to her what every story was about. Listening to music is also a good way to sneak some teaching in.

We are planning a movie night and a dance for the older kids sometime next week. We like to plug in Lauras ipod to speakers and sing and dance with the older ones which is a good way to teach them. We have also been listening to their music and having them translate it. One of the older girls had never spoken a word of English to us. The other day she saw me without Aldin and came over and started talking to me. It turns out her English is pretty good. We have realized that some of the older girls are shy around Aldin, so Laura and I sit with them whenever we can and talk with them. Even when we understand things they say in Bosnian, we make them translate. This week we have definitely gotten to know the teenage girls better and we are having a lot of fun with them. The little kids are still having a lot of fun and classes are going well.

Today we took the older kids to the castle potojle and the waterfall Kraveze. It has been amazing the progress

we are making with the older kids. I hope you will be able to notice. Everything had been amazing here. The caretakers and director have been very nice to us and all the children respect and behave.

I think that the caretakers like us a lot. We have been talking with them (the ones who speak some English) and saying hi to the ones who don't. Aldin talks with them a lot and he has a really good relationship with them. We buy them cookies sometimes when we go to the store and I think they appreciate that. Yesterday we had a check in meeting with Nevresa and Chamil (social worker and director). We were about halfway done so we just wanted to see how they felt about us. We asked for some caretakers to go, but none did - they said they had no problems. Nevresa and Chamil said they were pleased with what we were doing and want us to come back next year. We talked with them for quite a while about life in Mostar and the war - it was nice. We brought cake and sodas for the meeting and they seemed to appreciate it. They said they would give the extra to the caretakers and other workers.

Classes are still going well. We have planned a dance party for next Thursday, our last night, and the director has given us permission to use the van this Thursday to take the older kids to the Potoci castle. We are going to figure out some way of making that an English lesson. You can have the cell phone to use for your camps. Some of the kids who have our number do call us early in the morning. I will tell them that we are leaving so they shouldn't call anymore - if I tell them I am giving the phone to you they will probably call even more. They love "Miss Bobby" and "Lisbeth" so much and talk about you constantly. They are all very excited to see you. I know that some of them will be in Italy when you have your camps and those kids are very disappointed.

The purpose of this page is to provide the itinerary and a journal of events for the Educational Projects held at the orphanage in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period, 13 May - 20 June 2008.