What are you doing in Bosna i Hercegovina???

Hellow everybody,

I am now in BiH since 28 october 2007. And it seems like yesterday i said goodbye to my parents and all my friends!! Time is flying by! Every day something new happens here: I meet new people or I discover new, incredible places... To come to BiH as EVS volunteer was the best decision I've ever made in my whole life!!!

I get the same question everywhere (in Belgium as in BiH): 'Why did you choose this country?' People in Belgium still think it's dangereous to come to BiH. Someone even asked me if I didn't forgot my bulletfree jacket??? On the other hand people here doesn't understand either. Everybody wants to get out of here and I choose to live here for 9 months!

Well, I don't have an answer on that SOOO important question. I discovered already that this country isn't paradise! There are still a lot of problems and conflicts in this country. But on the other hand people are soo nice and friendly and nature is soo beautiful that it is almoust impossible not to love this country! This atmosphere gives me so much energy and inspiration...

What am I doing here? Well, I work here as volunteer in a centre for drugaddiction. As psychologist I wanted to get some experience in the way people are working here on this topic. It isn't always easy to work with such group of people but I think it's very interesting! I am supposed to work with the parents of drugaddicts but also with drugusers themselves. The problem is very big and certainly in Mostar. A lot of young people can't find a job here and get bored. Using drugs is for a lot of people the only solution to forget their problems... But they are even bigger afterwards...

Like I told you I am here now for 2 months and a bit and I met already a lot of great people... It was great to see my friends again in Travnik and Sarajevo. We had already a great time together! Volim te! But even now I am living here, it's still difficult to see each other a lot!

This EVS gave me also the opportunity to meet so many new people from all over Europe and America! Mostar is full with internationals (just like a disease or something... hahahahah). To find some local friends is a little bit more difficult here in Mostar but that's one of my challenges during my project ;-)

I met also great people on the on-arrival training in Crikvenica (Kroatia). 14 volunteers from Europe who do a project in the Balkans came for 5 days together!!! This was one of my greatest trainings ever!!! This experience connect us in a certain way and of course it's great to have a free place to sleep all over the Balkans (hihi)...

I think I can go on and on to tell you all my experiences here since my arrival but that would bore you I suppose! Take a look at my pictures I made this far and I am sure you will understand the way I feel at this moment...

I hope you enjoy this blog and hopefully you will visit it sometimes...

Greets

Charline - Chica - Seki