Camp to Kids in Bosnia
Jim Willis and Mike Houser

June 29 - July 13, 1999

The purpose of this section is to provide a day-to-day journal of the 1999 Camps for Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These journals were kept by two of the volunteers working on the TWI for the Children Camp to Kids Project.  

 June 29, 1999 (DAY ONE):  

Mike Houser and I left his house in Springfield, VA at 3:00 p.m. for Dulles Airport. John Chase coincidentally got right behind us in line.  We had about a seven (7) hour flight to Munich and got in at about 7:00 am on Wednesday, June 30, 1999.  Prior to our departure at 3:00, I had one of the busiest days of my life, which included having to buy a new car, purchase tootsie rolls, buy water shoes, buy a duffel bag to carry toys, buy children’s books, buy Polaroid film, and then come home and pack, all before 3:00 so Mike wouldn’t leave me.

Wednesday, June 30, 1999 (DAY TWO): 

Arrived in Sarajevo from Slovenia with Jim Willis and met at the airport by Vjeko Saje.  John Chase had arrived earlier from Munich and immediately had been taken to an orphanage to work with the children.  We all met together at 1800 and walked into the old city of Sarajevo for a dinner of Che-vop at the best che-vop-che-che restaurant in town. (This is equivalent to going to the best hamburger joint in town.)

We had about a two-hour layover at Munich before catching a flight to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovinia.  John caught a direct flight to Sarajevo.  Our flight was only 45 minutes to Ljubljana where we had a four-hour layover.  We passed the time sitting outside the airport drinking pivo and gawking at an amazing, scarcely clad, young lady.  Speaking of scares, I had one trying to get on the flight where there was no reservation for me.  The computer had me ticketed for the next day.  I could get on the flight only if there were seats available.  Fortunately there were plenty, however, at first they said every seat was booked and I would have to fly out the next day.  Our flight to Sarajevo was 50 minutes on Adria Airlines and the service was great.  We arrived at about 4:00 p.m. local time and had no problem getting through customs.  No one was at the airport to meet and greet us but after about a short wait, Vjeko arrived.  He gave us a nice and scenic car tour on the hillside perimeter of Sarajevo before taking us to our temporary home in Sarajevo.   We saw Bobby, Lisbeth and Nicole walking up the steep hillside steps behind the Holiday Inn to Vjeko’s house so Vjeko drove around, let me out of the car, and I was standing at the top of the steps when the ladies arrived.  Boy were they surprised to see me just standing there – it was like I appeared from nowhere.

After a settling-in period, we all headed to the Old City, walking along this famous “walkers row” where we had a nice tradition dinner at one of Sarajevo’s famous restaurants for cevabdzi. Here we met one of Vjeko’s close friends, Emad, who runs an office shop.  After dinner, several of us stopped on the way home to have a desert and Bosnian coffee.  Vjeko picked us up in his car and drove us home.  Now it was time to get some shuteye.

Accommodations:   SARAJEVO: I slept in the living room of a home in the same building complex as Vjeko and Azra.  Mike and Bobby slept in one bedroom and Lisbeth, Nicole and I slept in the living room on two sofa beds.   The only moment/s that got on my nerves a couple of times was when I was trying to go to sleep at 2:00 am in the morning and Lisbeth and Nicole were still up preparing for the next day. While I admire their enthusiasm and energy, I was nevertheless, trying to get my rest for the next day.  But, in the grand scheme of things, this small inconvenience was just that.  We had washing facilities, a telephone and the shops were within a few seconds walk.

Thursday, July 1, 1999 (DAY THREE): 

Vahid Menic our driver arrived with a new (relatively), blue VW van.  We loaded our equipment for the Mostar orphanage and the Friendship Camp equipment for the Potoci school.  Jim, Lisbeth, John, Nicole and Vjeko left in Vjeko’s car to go rafting on the Nerita river near Konitz.  Roland, Bobby, Azra, and Amenia went in the loaded van and Rick, Mike, Alexa and Julia went in the Mercy Corps vehicle. 

At Jablinska we had a snack and were stopped dead by a massive road block caused by refugee women from Kosovo petitioning for free electricity.  We stayed in this massive traffic jam for about four hours before continuing into Mostar.  The day was quite hot, but we were at the bridge going into Jablinska and I enjoyed walking the city, looking at the river from the bridge and observing the people.  When we finally arrived in Mostar, we went to the Mostar orphanage and gave them school supplies.  The new orphanage is not yet completed and electricity has not been connected.  When we visited the new complex, workmen were installing a driveway around the buildings.  It did not appear to be furnished.  Andrea Link joined us at the orphanage and we went into Mostar to tour the city and eat a snack at the Stari Most (old Bridge) restaurant.  On departure we discovered our van had been robbed of several bags.  The rafting crew arrived at this same time adding to the excitement – police, by-standers, and all of  our 17- team members.  Roland went to a bombed-out building and discovered most of our missing bags. Unfortunately, I lost some money, but Amenia’s passport and Bobby’s make-up bag (most important items) were recovered.  After the police took fingerprints, we were on our way less a window on the van and my cash. 

About 9:00 PM, we stopped for supper at our favorite restaurant on the coast at Mali Ston, Croatia.  (Vahid had been stopped at the Croatian border for not having a BiH sticker (but mainly, just for being from Bosnia).  However, we did get through the first two border crossings without too much problems.)  The gang of 17 ate fish, oysters, shrimp, mussels, squid, spaghetti, and other wonderful dishes and drank excellent local Croatian wine. Closed the restaurant at 2300 and our “convoy” continued to Mlini under a full moon.  We arrived at the B&B – south of Dubrovnik at 2400 and were soon in our rooms and quickly in bed.  What a day!!

 
This was the day for the rafting trip we all heard so much about.  There were five of us that went:  Vjeko, Lisbeth, John, Nicole and me.  We left that morning in Vjeko’s car and drove for about two hours to meet up with an outdoors tour company who was going to take us on a rafting trip.  The trip was wonderful and lasted most of the day. This was a trip that I only wish everyone on the trip could have taken, as it was one of the highlights of the trip.  What a way to start your two week venture.  It was worth every penny we paid.  Here’s who went: Vjeko, Lisbeth, Nicole, John, and me.  We had four guides and one dog that went with us in one big rubber raft and one kayak.  The whole trip lasted about 5-6 hours including several stops to swim along the way and a beach-side lunch which the guides grilled for us.  There were about 10 to 15 rapids that we “shot” although none of them were like the West Virginia rivers where it is real rough.  Here it was just enough to get the adrenaline going. The river itself was so serene and inviting.  It would make a perfect place for a retreat experience for the older kids especially if we camped out one night.

After the trip we headed to Mostar.  It was here that we met up with rest of our team including the CTT group.  It was also here that Vahid had his van vandalized.  Mike had his wallet, briefcase and day planner stolen, Amina had her passport taken and Roland Reed had something taken as well.  Fortunately, Roland captured almost all of the stolen property on the roof of an abandoned building except the majority of Mike’s money.  The local detectives were summoned and they took a full report.  Later that week, thanks again to Roland who caught one of them on his video, some of Mike’s money was recovered.  While all the detective work was going on, I was able to take a quick tour around the old part of Mostar where the famous bridge was blown up.  What a beautiful little place.  I remember wanting to stay much longer at this place.

We all then departed for Mlini, which was at least another two hours away.  We stopped about one hour before getting there to have dinner.  We ate at this great fish restaurant on the coast.  The food was fantastic as was the setting.  We arrived in Mlini late that night (after midnight), had the allocation of the rooms and then did some midnight swimming before turning in. 

Friday, July 2, 1999 (DAY FOUR): 

These wonderful days were spent exploring the islands and pulling together our final plans for the Potoci camp.  The weather was spectacular and our excursions to Dubrovnik and Cavtat are memories of a lifetime.  Keko joined us on Friday and quickly bonded with the team.  Vjeko returned to Sarajevo on 4 July to return the Mercy Corps van but not before enjoying a final day on the boat and in Dubrovnik.

 Time in Mlini  
We started the day with our wonderful Mlini B&B breakfast which I came to relish each morning.  We had a group caucus to decide the events over the next few days.  The majority of us decided that, at least for today, we would take a boat trip over to Lokrum and take up camp all day on the nudist beach.  It’s not really a beach at all, in fact, it’s rocks – but it is nudist.  Those that went included:  Vjeko, (Azra and Keko joined us later) Lisbeth, John, Nicole, Andrea and Amina.  Julia Warden took off earlier that day by herself and went in to Dubrovnik.  Bobby, Mike, Vahid and Roland visited Dubrovnik and Rick and Alexa stayed back at the hotel so she could rest her arm.

We all drove from Mlini to Dubrovnik in Vahid’s van and Vjeko’s car.  We stopped along the way to take pictures and admire the view.  It was stunningly beautiful.  All of us walked around the main street in Dubrovnik taking care of last minute business before we departed and went our separate ways.  Mike had to go to the local bank to get additional funds to replace those that had been stolen.  I went with him to change dollars into German Marks.  We bought some beach towels and then went over to one of the local outdoor restaurants and had some pivos while waiting for the boat to take us to Lokrum.  I met a local restaurateur named Mike as we were walking down the steps and he was trying to talk us into eating at his restaurant that night which we did. Once we got to Lokrum, Vjeko led us on a hike across the island to the spot they always go for rock/cliff diving.

ROCK DIVING: 
This was definitely one of my favorite things to do.  Not only did I enjoy diving myself, but also equally as much, I enjoyed watching everyone dive at whatever level they were comfortable with.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much encouragement among team members as I saw on our last day – it was a great team building experience. As you can imagine, when I saw this spot I was in heaven.  The rocks were perfectly arranged for cliff diving at a height of your choice.  There were three levels of rock platforms to dive from, the highest being about 40 feet high, the middle about the height of a high dive at a swimming pool and the lowest was just a fraction higher than the 1 meter low board.  It took me a while before I got up the nerve to dive off the 40-foot height, but once I got started, I was on a roll.  I felt like I was in the Olympics  with all the cheering going on below me.  I first started with a forwarded 1 ½ somersault in the pike position (or at least what I hope resembled a pike.  You see at 225 pounds its hard to pike like I used to at 155 pounds).   My next dive was a reverse somersault in the tuck position, degree of difficulty 1.7.  But, considering I had not done this in 25 years or at this height, I think the degree of difficulty was over 10.  After a few silent prayers and much encouragement, I was soon soaring like an eagle.  Next the knees came up to form the tuck, I did a quick reverse rotation and then began my decent like a rocket.  I straightened my legs hoping that I would not be leaning too far forwards or backwards which can make life for the next hour somewhat painful.  Much to my surprise and pleasure, I entered the water vertical and lived to tell about it.  The crowd was pleased and gave me very respectful scores.  And so it went the rest of the afternoon with everyone else as well, albeit at lower and much safer heights. 

BOAT TRIPS IN MLINI: 
This was one of the more enjoyable times of the entire trip and I am ready for a repeat.  Everything was perfect – the weather, the islands, the tour guide (Nevin), the cookouts on the boat, the island tours, the scenery, the swimming and diving, the picture taking, the singing, the fellowship, etc.  We took three trips:  (1) Day One (Friday July 2,1999) -  We departed from Mlini and spent the day at Lokrum where we camped out on the nudist beach nestled among some of the most beautiful rock formations you’ve ever seen.  Attendees included: Lisbeth and Jim Willis, Vjeko and Azra Saje, Keko, Amina Sisic, Andrea, John Chase, and Nicole Wilkes.  We spent the day sun bathing and diving and jumping from various rock platforms testing our skills and guts.  It was a great time as each person encouraged one another to “go for it.”  The beautiful Adriatic Sea was our bed of blue.  Later that afternoon, we hiked back to the main port where we caught the boat back to Mlini; (2) Day two (Saturday July 3, 1999) – This was our island hopping day.  The “shuttle” boat took us to Dubrovnik where we switch to the sailing boat.  The crew was ready for us with a guide, drinks and plenty of food.  We visited three different islands.  During this fun-filled day we did everything from diving off the ship, swimming in the bay, playing water sports, touring the islands, having a wonderful cookout on the boat (fresh bar-b-qued fish, squid, eggplant, wine and more), singing on the boat, and then some.  Day three (Sunday July 4, 1999) – there was enough interest to hire the boat pretty much just for ourselves.  We convinced the Skipper to take us back to Lokrum.  Here we trekked to the south side of the island and spent several hours sun bathing and diving off of more rock formations.   This time everyone got into the act and tested their wits and nerve.  In addition to everyone that went on day one, Julia, Alexa and Rick also went.  After Lokrum we had lunch and went to another island where we made a brief stop.  Probably the best part of all the boat trips was the togetherness we all felt.  This was truly wonderful to get to know each other before we started working together in the camps.  We certainly bonded.   

After the day on the rocks, we marched back to the Lokrum port, boarded the shuttle boat and headed back to Mlini.  We changed clothes and drove back into Dubrovnik where, after much soliciting or hounding from all the restaurant salesmen in the area, we settled and had dinner at Michael’s restaurant, the man we met that morning.  He offered us a deal we couldn’t refuse although he tried to refuse it later. The whole gang was there for dinner and we sat outside in an alley like atmosphere and had a wonderful meal.  After the meal we walked through the center of Dubrovnik, had some ice cream, then made our way back to the cars for the return trip to Mlini. 

Keko and I somehow got distracted by a beautiful young Bosnian artist named Danielle and the rest of our group went on ahead of us not even noticing that we had lagged behind.  We were fascinated with her art and her story (Keko her looks) and soon the group realized they were two people short.  Lisbeth and Nicole came back to rescue us.  After we got back to our B&B in Mlini, we once again found our spot for our midnight swim.

Saturday, July 3, 1999 (DAY FIVE):  Breakfast as usual at the B&B followed by a much-awaited cruise of the islands.  We took our now very familiar blue shuttle boat over to Dubrovnik where we had a few minutes before transferring to our cruising boat – a very old sailboat that was used during the war and also sunk in the war.  Julia, Alexa, Roland and Rick decided to go with us on this trip.  Long story short, we visited three islands, swam in some wonderful coves and bays, had the most delicious seafood barbecue you’ve ever had cooked right on the boat, and had more than enough to drink.  We were led by our terrific guide, Nevin, who brought his guitar and serenaded us all day long. I did my best impression of Louis Armstrong, but after a few too many glasses of wine, for some reason had a hard time remembering all the words to the songs.  

Late in the afternoon we headed back to Dubrovnik where we once again boarded our shuttle boat and went back to Mlini.  We changed clothes and drove to Cavtat where we had dinner at a beautiful seaside pizzeria.  After that we went back to Mlini and did our usual midnight swim.

Sunday, July 4^th, 1999 (DAY SIX & INDEPENDENCE DAY):  
This was to be the last day of our vacation before we started our friendship camps and we wanted to make the best and most of it.  After much deliberation amongst the troops, by a majority vote, we decided to embark on yet another boat trip.  This time it was to be a like a private charter with the boat almost all to ourselves.  In fact, outside of a small contingency of French people,  it was - they fit right in though.  We left at mid-morning and started the day.  Nevin agreed to give another day of his time.  He really fell in love with our group.  We first went to Lokrum where we found a different diving spot than on our first day.  At first I was disappointed we did not return to our same spot, but this turned out to be just as much fun, if not more.  Everyone got into the act this time including Alexa as she tried her best to talk her mom and Rick from diving.  Her town-crying style lobbying was to no avail as they had complete disregard for her barking, and they dove anyway.  It was great fun and we’ve got great pictures complete with Hollywood style captions.

We had our routine seafood barbecue once again complete with squid, egg plant, fish, bread and wine.  We then hit one other small island where we had to jump or dive from the boat and swim to shore.  Getting off the boat was one thing but trying to climb back aboard was another.  It was somewhat hysterical watching everyone trying to hoist himself or herself inside the boat having to use a tire as the stepladder.  Our third stop was Cavtat where we had dinner the night before.  We all hiked up this big hill overlooking the bay to visit this mausoleum.  The view was spectacular and on the way down, Nevin, Lisbeth, John, Nicole and I stopped for some coffee and pivo.  Coincidentally, we ran into Mike, Bobby, Roland and Vahid who were having lunch.  We motored back to Dubrovnik by way of Mlini to drop off those who didn’t want to do a tour of the Dubrovnik City walls.  Lisbeth, Nicole, John and I got a personally guided tour of Dubrovnik from Nevin.  After the tour we met up with Vjeko, Azra, Amina, Keko, Andrea, Vahid, Roland and the 11 of us had a wonderful dinner at Vjeko’s favorite restaurant in Dubrovnik.  Vjeko had to leave the dinner early as he had to drive his company car (Mercy Corps) back to Sarajevo so he could go to work the next day.  We then went back to Mlini, had our midnight swim and went to bed.

Monday, July 5th, 1999 (DAY SEVEN): 

I took the CTT team to the Dubrovnik airport at 0530 and returned to Mlini and loaded the team in the van and Vjeko’s personal car for the trip to Potoci, a small village north of Mostar.  We departed at 0600 and arrived at Potoci at 0945 after being stopped by Croatian police at a road block near the border  (Another 200 Kuna).

The camp at Potoci began at 1000 and about 90 children were lined up outside the door.  Our training paid-off as the registration went smoothly and the unstructured play time soon created organized bedlam in the hot gym. I called the children together and we divided into animal circle groups – monkey, elephant, bear, parrot, mice and snakes.  Bobby told the story of the raven who flew to the sun and we then made our animal hats as crafts to reinforce the story.  When the hats were completed, we again gathered around Bobby and participated as animals in the retelling of the story, providing answers to what strengths each animal has and giving the animal’s “call”.

Next we broke into dance games and pantomime groups.  The games included dodge ball, 4-square, and relays.  The other three circle groups went with Nicole and Lisbeth for dancing.  Dr. Roland introduced the children to pantomime and puppets.  At noon we had a delicious lunch and after lunch sang songs.

I left before lunch to go into Mostar with Fatima to see if the police had recovered any of my money from the robbery.  To my amazement, they had captured the young robber (after a fabulous 4 days of good booze, gambling and other sinful delights that a lot of cash can provide).  The police recovered 800 DM so realizing that I had not left any donation for the Mostar Orphanage for food, I gave Fatima 300 DM for food for the children.  I thanked the police and felt blessed.

Back at the school we started our afternoon class which was a story about the “snake and the bunny”.  This was again reinforced by the craft hour in which the children made snakes and bunny finger puppets.  Again we finished the story with the children having finger puppets and asking value questions about the story. The children loved it!!

The game, dance and pantomime period followed. We had switched groups so that all of the children received all the instruction.  The day concluded with the closing ceremony at which we presented the director of the school with an American Flag flown in his honor over the U.S. Capitol.  We gave gifts to the teachers, and left balls for the school and beanie babies with every child.

At 3:30 PM, we departed for Sarajevo, stopping for dinner at a small restaurant beside the river near Jablinska.  The scenery was breath taking and the food was good.  We had a time to review the days activities and just before dark we departed through the mountains to Sarajevo.  Of course our van overheated so we pulled-over and enjoyed the beautiful views.  Just before the village of  Hatachi, we were stopped by the Bosnian police who seemed to home-in on Vahid our driver (27 DM fine).

 We were up and at ‘em at O-dark-early headed to Mostar for our first friendship camp.  Mike left even earlier as he “volunteered” for the responsibility of taking Julia, Alexa and Rick to the Dubrovnik airport where they were leaving for home.  Thank God for Mike, none of the rest of us would have been able to get up that early.  We left around 6:30 am (Mike came back from his airport trip) and we arrived in Mostar around 8:45 only a few minutes behind schedule.  We finished our camp and then headed towards Sarajevo around 5:00 PM.  We stopped at  this really neat restaurant along side this river just outside of Mostar.  We were the only guests there and it was nice sitting outside, basking in the sun having the whole place to ourselves. 

Tuesday, July 6^th, 1999 (DAY EIGHT): 

We were up early preparing for our trip to Gradacac.  Some of the team packed the duffel bags, others counted name tags; some went into town to shop.  Jim and I walked up by the Olympic stadium .  The funicular was working, trees had been planted along the street, and the ice stadium was repaired and operational.  SFOR vehicles were no where in evidence as they had moved from that location and the parking area was re-paved. 

At 2:30 PM, we loaded our  gear and team in the van, also filled Vjeko’s car and we  were off to Gradacac.  We stopped once as the van again overheated.  Jim played with some kids in a local meadow and taught them American football. (Today, somewhere in the mountains of Bosnia, a couple of boys are playing American football with a real football.)  We then went to our favorite restaurant in the mountains on the road to Tuzla and had roast lamb and vegetables for supper.  The view from the restaurant was terrific and we stayed too long.  We arrived in Gradacac late, ate pizza with the school director on the new patio of the Hotel (B&B) in the center of town. Very late, all went to bed.

Tuesday during the day we had free time until 2:00 p.m. when we departed for Gradacac.  During our free time Mike and I walked over with gifts to Borka’s house where he lived for a one-year period in 1996-97.  She was not there so we left our gifts with a young Norwegian girl who was visiting her mom who lives in the house.  Lisbeth, Nicole and Vjeko went to visit a Bosnian Clinic to discuss working with disabled children in our summer camps.  We had about a 3-4 hour trek to Gradacac and it was a beautiful drive traversing some very hilly countryside.  The pain of our long trip was nicely broken into very manageable chunks because the van over heated several times and we had to stop and let it cool down, by dinner which we had at a restaurant cozily perched at the peak of a mountain with a view to die for. I had the chance to teach American football in the side yard of a home to three local children who were out playing their own games.  We had a great dinner including some fresh cherries that Vjeko picked out of the local trees hanging over our heads at the outdoor tables. 

We arrived at our hotel in Gradacac around 9:00 p.m. where the owners were poised to meet us at the door.  Gradacac is primarily a Muslim town, and more orthodox than Sarajevo, so unfortunately no pivo.  The hotel was great but hot.  We all sat outside in this quaint courtyard setting and had coffee and desert.  Later people started to turn in, however, several of us had to continue working to prepare for the camp the next day.  That included John, Nicole, Lisbeth, Amina, Keko and me.  It was hot and we were all so tired but it was fun, nevertheless.

Wednesday, July 7^th, 1999 (DAY NINE): 

Up early and down to breakfast in the new restaurant in the hotel.  Wonderful food and a real nice new restaurant, but  I missed eating in the dining room of the owner’s apartment as we had done in the past.  The changes  the kids had made in the hotel were super and the young couple running the hotel for their parents are extremely nice.  We loaded up the van and were at the school at 0900.  Already, the kids were on line to get in for the camp.  We set up the games, the registration table and met with the director.  The kids were soon filing into the gym and ready for the day.  Again, we started with basic English 1 (Stand-up, Sit-down and How-are-you).  I introduced all of the team members and then turned over the program to Bobby.  Bobby thrilled the kids with the story of the raven who flew to the sun and we broke into animal groups.  The kids then prepared their animal hat kits and we again gathered around Bobby and told her what values each of our animals had and showed the rest of the camp what sounds our animal groups make.  We soon had lots of animal sounds throughout the gym.  After the story, we broke into groups for games and groups for dance.  After relays and dance, we went into lunch.  This year, we had lunch in the school rooms rather than outside.  After lunch, we asked for the children to sing a song and we were serenaded by the school chorus under the direction of the music teacher.  One of the students had been a finalist in the Bosnian school music competition.  Our team and the rest of the kids loved her!  Then into the gym for the story of the snake and bunny and tried to do the finger puppet kits, but the glue would not hold so everyone had pretty pathetic finger puppets to use in answering Bobby’s questions about the baby snake and the baby bunny.  We then did our games, and dance and prepared for our closing ceremony. Things went pretty well, but we discovered that the real hit was Roland’s pantomime and puppets.  This immediately became a third activity at game and dance time.  The closing ceremony was again a hit as we gave all the children beanie babies and the director an American Flag.  At 4:00 PM, we left for Sarajevo with children again running beside the van as we pulled off.  What a great place and how time does fly.

We took the road back to Sarajevo through Serbska and down through Zenica.  Really interesting to see the Cyrillic alphabet being used and to realize that there were no Muslim presence anywhere.  It is like a wall between the cultures.  We stopped at Doboi to buy some CD’s and again at the restaurant the CTT team had used south of Zenica. The waiter knew the team and almost could order for the old members of the CTT team.  We arrived back at our apartments in Sarajevo, at 2130 and prepared again for the next day’s activities.

 
 We started the day with a nice hotel breakfast,  checked out of the hotel and then made our way to the Gradacac school to begin our camp.  After the camp finished we began our long journey home.  For our return home, we decided to take a different route back.  This time we went home by way of Serbska.  Along the way we stopped at a rode side CD shack where the girls and Vjeko went wild looking at CDs.  We stopped 30 minutes outside of Sarajevo to eat dinner at what became everyone’s favorite restaurant.  The food was great and they had live entertainment.  We got home late and retired to bed when we got home.

Interpreters:  
Our chief interpreters were Amina Sisic and Keko Sejdic.  Others that helped were Azra, Vjeko and Irma Saje, Bella Sejdic, the Bosnian kids who spoke some English, and the Bosnian teachers who spoke any English.  Amina and Keko did a magnificent job.  They were perfect for many reasons.  First, the local Bosnian kids loved and respected them, they have just the right personality to do this, they have unyielding patience with us, they never tire of interpreting, they understand English very well, they love doing it, they have a great sense of humor, they love Americans, they love the cause for which they were asked to participate, and they seemed to enjoy working with us.  I had Keko in my circle group and would have been lost without him; he was my savior. I’m sure it was harder for the other circle groups that didn’t have an interpreter and I would suggest that next time each group have their own if at all possible.

TRANSPORTATION: 
The majority of the time we got from one place to another riding either in the van that Vahid drove or in Vjeko’s car – those were our main convoy vehicles that got us from one camp to another and back home.  It was a pretty tight fit most of the time and I don’t think we could have accommodated one more person.  That said, it was not at all uncomfortable as I had imagined it would be, and in fact, I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie that developed with each road trip.  We listened to music together, sang, told jokes and recounted our experiences of each camp we just finished.  These trips in the van were another of my favorite moments of the entire time.  Vahid did an exceptionally great job driving in spite of the numerous times he got stopped by the local police.

Thursday, July 8^th, 1999 (DAY TEN): 

Up early and down to the grocer for bread and bananas.  Made coffee and woke Jim, Lisbeth, Nicole and Bobby.  Carried the bags which Nicole and Lisbeth had prepared after we got home from Gradacac downstairs and we were ready when the van arrived.  Off to Ilidja at 0830 arriving at 0900.  Not too many children at the school and we had to come into the school from another direction as the old road had been changed into a walking mall.  We set up the registration area and the sport activities in the gym.  The children were late arriving, but we were into the stories by 1000 and the activities were extremely well received.  Lots of new children this year.  But, after two years you have to expect the children to grow up and leave the school and new students to attend.  Not too many big kids and where we had many parents in the past, the children were now left on their own.  They are terrific kids and loved the camp.  The lunch was great, as always, and the kids gathered after lunch for the time for them to perform.  I asked for their favorite song and soon all were at attention and singing the BiH National Anthem with great gusto.  They really love their country and are proud to be part of this new nation.  We again went through the story, craft, games, dance, pantomime routines and at 1530, we realized that we had to leave as the school was filling with contestants for a Chess Tournament being held that evening.  We said our good-bye’s and were in for a great surprise.

Our driver, Vahid, took us all to his house nearby and treated us to drinks and a great visit with his dear family, whom we all fell in love with immediately.  We had a great time touring his home, loving his family and visiting the small village in which he lived.  Vahid is very special to us. 

We left Vahid’s home and visited the famous Sarajevo park called Vello Bosnia.  It was a spa for the Romans and has remained one of the famous parks in the former Yugoslavia.  It will become again a place for the world to visit.  We rode the horse carriage to the park and walked through the park to the vans and then home. 

   
Today was our camp in Ilidja, which is just outside of Sarajevo.  They had a big chess tournament going on so we had to finish the camp early – around 2:30-3:00. Next on the itinerary was a trip to Vahid’s home.  This was another one of my high points in the trip.  We met his wife, Zehra, and two daughters, Amra and Zerina, and got a guided tour of his home.  We all sat around a table on the patio and had Bosnian coffee, pivos, socialized and listened as Bella, Azra and Vjeko sang traditional Bosnian songs.  They were a big hit.  We also had the privilege of meeting Vahid’s cow in the barn.  We watched in amazement as Keko’s mom, Bella, did her bean reading for Lisbeth and others.  My fun was when I took my beer bottle and hit Vahid’s beer bottle on the top, which proceeded to overflow without him knowing what was about to happen.  He got a real kick out of this. 

VAHID: 
I hope we never have another driver than Vahid.  To me, he was just as much a part of our team/family as anyone else.  I probably got to know him better than anyone else as well and I certainly enjoyed being around him as much if not more than anyone.  Not only is he a great driver, but he is a great man as well.  At 58 years old, he is as strong as an ox, and as much as I tried to beat him in arm wrestling, each time he took me down.  I now cherish this new Bosnian friend I have.  I have so many found memories of this man: the way he would burst out with his “old Bosnian” while driving the van, drinking pivos and smoking a cigarette together, his laugh, the way he would say “Mr. Jim,” the way he would give other drivers a piece of his mind if they nearly ran him off the road, Amina and Keko trying to interpret what Vahid would say, eating dinners with him, arm wrestling, and most of all the tears in his eyes when we all left.  He came to Vjeko and Azra’s house especially to say goodbye.  There we took pictures of him and gave him some farewell gifts.  He put on the Philadelphia T-shirt we gave him for the photos.  After I returned home, I wrote him a special letter and sent him a picture album of 24 photos we took at his house.  I will never forget us all chanting – VAHID, VAHID, VAHID

From Vahid’s home we drove over to a beautiful park in Sarajevo and took a very interesting horse drawn carriage ride through the park.  It took three carriages to carry us all.  Next we walked a short way and then stopped to drink some of the freshest tasting water I’ve ever had.  Supposedly you will have good luck for the rest of your life if you drink from this fresh stream.  Good luck or not, I was drinking plenty of it because it was so good. 

Friday, July 9^th, 1999 (DAY ELEVEN):

Up early to get the groceries from the local shop – bread, coke and cheese.  Then up to prepare coffee and wake up the troops and get ready for the day’s summer camp at the middle school in Central Sarajevo.  We arrived a bit early at 0900 and it looked like we might have the place to ourselves.  The kids started arriving at 0930, but they sent runners out, and a special radio announcement that “the Americans were at the school for a camp”, to bring in other children.  By 1000, we had a full complement registered.  The stories, crafts, games, dances and pantomime went great.  The lunch was quite tasty and by 1500 we were into the closing ceremony.  The teachers received their gifts and we lined our circle groups up and gave them their tiny beanie babies. We left the remainder of the sports equipment plus all of the remaining inflatable animals at the school.  We needed more time to bond with these children, but we needed to get the group on the road to Zenica to give the presents to the children at the Children’s Home.  We departed at 1530 and the team less Roland and I went on to Zenica.  They must have had a great time as they did not get back to the apartment until after midnight.

    
Today was our last friendship camp of the tour – it was the Sarajevo school.  The camp was a huge success and the kids didn’t want Lisbeth and Nicole to leave, but we had to because we were scheduled to go visit the orphanage in Zenica.  It is only a 45-minute trip to the orphanage but it took us about 2 ½ hours because of a terrible accident on the main road.  We were forced to take back roads all the way which ran us considerably late but the kids were there at the door to greet us all with open hearts and open arms.  We spent about two hours at the orphanage before heading back to Sarajevo.

ORPHANAGES:  
We visited three orphanages, one in Zenica and two in Sarajevo.  Each orphanage had its own special style and characteristics and each left a very special but different lasting impression on me. 

The Zenica orphanage was probably my favorite for a myriad of reasons.   The kids welcomed us with so much enthusiasm it made you feel like the biggest celebrity there ever was.  You could truly feel their love.  We only had about two to three hours to visit with them but we were able to visit each age group before we left.  The younger kids had to go to bed soon after we visited them.  The orphanage seemed to be very well organized and very efficiently run.  I particularly noticed how close all the kids seemed to be and how they took care of each other – it was like they were one big family; and I guess they really are.  We went from one room to another and passed out Beanie Babies to each and every child which we collected from McDonalds. We also took many pictures and talked briefly to the kids.  Although most of them don’t speak English, the few that did were able to translate some.  In reality though, we didn’t need anyone to translate anything.  I found it so amazing to see how there was such a transfer of love and caring without speaking even a single word.  You could transfer your feelings with a smile, a wink, a hug and kiss, a high-five or about with any other way you could think of.  I will never forget the “high” I got just by visiting with the kids and giving them gifts. 

 We stopped again at this special restaurant outside of Sarajevo.

 Dinner after camps:  
I know at times there was some debate whether we should stop and have dinner or just head on back to our base camp in Sarajevo.  Thankfully, we always stopped to have dinner.  These dinners were among my favorite things we did.  It was at these dinners that I achieved one of the things I came for; and that was to find a feeling of family or fellowship with those I would be working with and these dinners accomplished just that.  If I could have a wish come true, it would be to have every dinner from now on out with the people that were at those tables.  It was a time to not only have some of the local Bosnian cuisine which was awesome, but more importantly, it was a time to laugh, rest a little and talk about the great experience we just had at the camp that day.  There are no better dinners than these kinds of dinners.  We shared each other’s food, listened to each other’s stories and really bonded with one another.

Saturday, July 10^th, 1999 (DAY TWELVE): 

Up early to prepare for the after action critique which began in our apartment at 0930.  All the team assembled and we had a most constructive critique of the overall camp and a hour by hour critique on how we could improve the camp next year.  At 1230, we finished and the team went into Sarajevo to shop.   Jim and I went to the Galleria Coffee Shop and met with my former interpreters at MPRI.   Dzenita and Amra are leaving in August 1999 for the United States to attend LSU on a 4-year scholarship.  It was great to see them and our entire group loved the time at the Galleria, drinking coffee and meeting the girls.   After the meeting, Bobby and I went to the MOD restaurant for lunch and then walked back to the apartment.  The day was beautiful, but a bit warm and it was good to get back to the cool of the apartment. 

At 4:30 PM, the team went to visit with Ljela and her family in her new apartment up the street from our apartment.  This apartment was being renovated by the family and they still lived in New Town.  We ate like we had not eaten in a year and drank a little slivavitz. 

At 6:00 PM, we went  to visit with our Bosnian friend Emira and as expected, she had a complete meal for us to eat.  The food was delicious and it was a great treat to be invited for a meal with this wonderful family.  The party broke up about 11:00 PM and I went to bed.  The rest of the team followed Vjeko to the Disco Club for dancing into the wee hours.

   
The camps were over and we were back on a somewhat relaxed schedule.  We had some unfinished business to tend to however.  At 10:00 we all met in our apartment for a “Hot Wrap Session.”  This was a two-hour meeting that was designed to discuss our performance with the friendship camps, make recommendations for next year, talk about a photo swap reunion and basically have an honest critique of the camps.  It went pretty well without any formal agenda. 

At noon everyone was on their own for free time until later that day when we were scheduled to see Ljela’s family.  During this time Mike and I walked down into Sarajevo where we stopped in at one of his favorite restaurants (Roma) that he became found of during his one-year stint in Sarajevo.  We met one of the group leaders from MPRI while we were there and got some free pizza.  It was raining very hard by that time.  We went to the Hotel Bosnia to see if Bobby was there.  She had been there earlier to meet Dr. Seager.  She was not there so we dodged the raindrops as we headed to meet the gang at the Galeria Coffee Shop.  There we had desert and coffee with two of Mike’s interpreters from when he worked for MPRI. The clouds finally broke, the rain stopped and we all left to go to Ljela’s house to visit with her family.  We had a very nice visit with them including some great food and drink.  We exchanged gifts, and listened to her father’s version of the war and the two boys (Amar and Eddie) as they did their elephant impersonations. 

After leaving Ljela’s house, we went to Emira’s house for more food and party.  Emira’s husband was killed during the war and she always helps us out by putting up a team member or two.  Andrea stayed with her on this trip and I’m sure she considered herself very lucky.   When our visit with Emira ended, most of us headed off to one of Sarajevo’s hottest discos where we danced the night away until 3:00 a.m.  Dancers included Vjeko, Azra, Keko, Amina, John, Nicole, Lisbeth, Andrea and me.  Maya and her sister also met us over there.  After closing down the joint, we struggled to get up enough energy to walk all the way home, which included that very high ascent up the stairs.  At times I think we all thought we would pass out from exhaustion, but we made it home safe and sound.  That ended this day, thank God.

Sunday, July 11^th, 1999 (DAY THIRTEEN):

Up and prepared breakfast.  We all had to finish packing all of the bags in preparation for our departure on Monday.  At 1100, Bobby and Vjeko departed to meet Dr. Seager at the airport, and I took the van filled with the rest of the team to Borka’s home to have coffee and cake.  We left Roland, John and Andrea in the van and Lisbeth, Nicole, Jim and I went to have refreshments.  It was great to see the family after so long.  The garden was so pretty and they seem to be doing quite well. We finished our excellent cake and coffee and the van took the entire team to the Catholic Orphanage.

The Catholic Sister Liberia met us at the door and took us on a tour of the new orphanage.  It was all prepared for the children who would be coming in the next week.  After looking at the most impressive Children’s Home we had seen in Bosnia, we went next door to the Sarajevo orphanage and gave tiny beanie babies to each of the sleeping children.  We tried not to wake them, but they were so cute cuddling the little beanie babies.  We promised to come back to do a camp for this Children’s Home next year. 

Vjeko showed up with his car and we went with him down the hill and let the team minus me out at the central park across from WallMart.  I went home with him to finish our preparations for departure. 

About 1730, we went for dinner at Amina’s home in New Town.  We all piled into the cars and one taxi and soon were in the elevator up to her apartment.  Wonderful food and we loved her family.  The apartment is on the 14^th floor and so high you can see Vahid’s village across the airport next to the mountains.  We talked about Amina’s coming to live with us in the States this year and Jim showed the family a few magic tricks.  We finally got home about 2200.

    
Sunday was free time until early afternoon when we headed off to go visit two Sarajevo Orphanages.  Vahid came over that day to say his final good-byes to all of us.  This was the saddest part of the whole trip.  We gave him his Philadelphia T-shirt which he immediately put on.  We also gave him some other gifts for his wife and children.  He had tears in his eyes as we left in a different van driven by a different driver.  It almost seemed like we had been betrayed.  Vjeko hired this new driver for Mercy Corps work.  This moment with Vahid will never be erased from my memory. 

During this time Mike, Lisbeth, Jim and Nicole visited Borka, her daughter Irena and her husband and their two nieces.

SARAJEVO ORPHANAGES: 
The first one was the Catholic Orphanage.  We met Mother Liberia who is the Director.  This facility was recently reconstructed after it was obliterated during the war and it is now an absolutely stunningly beautiful building.  It will be a paradise for the 40 some odd kids that will soon move in.  We got a very informative tour of the facility and I thought Mother Liberia was great.  She is a very smart businesswoman as well as being very devoted Christian.  This was at least a five star orphanage. 

After spending an hour or two there, we went right next door to visit one of the older orphanages.  The director was gone, and at first I didn’t think we would be able to visit, but one of the assistants let us tour the facility.  This orphanage had mostly younger children, and the very youngest, the infants; we were not able to see. Again, we were able to give each child a Beanie Baby which brings me to my high point of the trip.  We were allowed to go into about four rooms of about 10 kids each who were just waking up from their nap time.  We went from bed to bed and placed a beanie baby either on their head, shoulder or chest.  Some had their blankets pulled up over their heads and others just began to open their eyes.  Their eyes are what I will never forget and the smiles that ensued.  When they saw the beanie babies we gave them, their eyes became as big as half-dollars and their smiles were bigger than Jim Cary’s.  They sat up in their beds, and began to show each other their newfound possession with so much pride of ownership.  They couldn’t believe this group of Americans that had come in bearing gifts so wonderful – all for them.  This will be a moment I will hold onto forever and an experience that every human being should be a part of.

 After visiting the orphanages we had another free time period of about three hours.  Lisbeth, John, Nicole, Andrea and I went into the Old City to do some more shopping.  We then met back at 4:30 PM to change and go to Amina’s parents’ house for dinner. 

Monday, July 12^th, 1999 (DAY FOURTEEN): 

At 0600, Lisbeth, Nicole, John and Roland together with all their luggage piled into Vjeko’s car and they were off to the airport. 

Bobby and I  walked down the hill to the Ministry and sat in on the initial meeting of the Ministers and Dr. Seager.  As Dr. Seager was going to do some procedures that day, Bobby did not accompany him to the Central Hospital.  We finished the initial conference about 1000 and walked back to the apartment.  Jim had gone with Keko into the city.  We finished packing and were ready to go to the airport with Irma when Jim returned.  Of course, the police stopped Irma just before the airport as Jim was taking pictures of the damage.  The police were getting ready for President Clinton’s visit in two weeks. 

At 1500, Jim and I were airborne to Slovenia and then to Munich.  Bobby stayed with Dr. Seager. Andrea departed for the States on Tuesday.

   
Our last day, Monday July 12^th, was free time for Mike and I as we didn’t have to fly out until later that afternoon.  Lisbeth, Roland, Nicole and John left early that morning and Vjeko was kind enough to take them to the airport. Bobby and Mike went into downtown Sarajevo for lunch.  Keko came over at noon and we headed off to Skanderia to see where he won the Bosnian National Wrestling Championship.  We then did some last minute picture taking in the Old City and changed some money where he told the bank tellers I was the first cousin to Bruce Willis.  Mike and I had a 2:30 p.m. departure time for the airport and we left almost on time.  Irma drove us there and Bobby and Keko came along.