MUNiM

This weekend we hosted the Model United Nations in Mostar! We invited guests from around the Balkans and the other UWCs. It made the weekend very busy and tired everyone out but it was worth it. We spent a lot of time preparing for the conference but in the end it was a success. Everyone was given a delegation and split into councils - environmental, social economic, security or human rights. I was the delegation of Iraq in the human rights council. Then in each council you had two different topics on the agenda, for me it was the treatment of former dictators bu the International Criminal Court and the treatment of Roma people in the Balkan area. After many discussions and debates with a lot of 'honourable chairs and honourable delegates'each council produced a resolution for each of the topics they discussed. Then on the final day of the conference we had the general assembly where each resolution was presented and speeches made both for and against before voting commenced. It was great but a lot of work!

In the evenings after the formal events there were social events to get to know our guests. One of these events was Earth Hour, where the lights world wide should be turned off for an hour. As part of this we made a giant 60 out of people and candles in front of the school which looked really cool!!

Also this weekend was Global Vision, our interpretation of Eurovision. There were a lot of performances which were either hilarious or spectacular, so it was a great night. I even got up with friends to perform Summer wine for Finland and successfully we came in last!! :)

Great weekend now to catch up on sleep!!

Busy, busy, busy...

This week has been very hectic but very fun. I spent Thursday in Vjetranice and Trebinje, towns a few hours from Mostar. I went as part of the OSCE Peace Olympics I volunteered with last term. It was incredible. Vjetranice is the biggest cave system in Bosnia and is home to many strange and bizarre creatures such as the Human Fish.After that we visited a nearby monastery before heading off to Trebinje to visit the museum of Herzegovina. We finished with vising a very beautiful Russian Orthodox church and food. It was amazing to see.

On Saturday I went to try my hand a bouldering which is rock climbing without ropes. The walls aren't very high though. Its a lot harder than it looks. Sunday I went skiing for the first time. It was amazing and I managed to make it down a run without falling after a few attempts. With a few worthwhile bruises I came back having learnt the basics of skiing!

Now it's Western European culture week and we are busy organising workshops and making food. Its a brilliant way to share your culture with others and take the absolute mick out of your country and its stereotypes.

A very cool week and a few more just as hectic ahead!!

2 Weeks on Sick List ...

For the past 2 weeks I have been on sick list due to Pneumonia. Most likely caused by the numerous viruses that pass around our college as we all live together and also it's quite likely that hiking through ice cold water didn't help either.

This led to an experience I hoped I wouldn't have to try; going to a Bosnian hospital. Unlike in Britain when you get at all ill here you go to the hospital as there are no GP surgery's. So I went to the hospital with our house mother because I had been ill for a few days with a fever. I don't think I have ever been prodded so much in my life. Unfortunately in Mostar the hospital is broken up all over the city so that means you end up getting sent from one place to the next if they suspect something is wrong.

After we had visited several hospitals, which were strangely deserted and very eerie, had blood tests and chest x-rays they diagnosed me with the start of pneumonia and gave me lovely antibiotics. So now I've been in bed for a couple of weeks and have finally recovered. Now I just have to catch up with everything, thats's a sickening thought!

Bijele Rijeke

On Sunday we went for a hike to Bijele Rijeke which translates as White River. It always amazes me how beautiful the scenery is here, the whole landscape shares the atmosphere of being rugged, wild and powerful. It only took us 30 minuted to get to the starting point of the hike and instantly we were surrounded by towering mountains, that loomed ominously over us. The hike led us through a valley, following the course of the river. A real sense of awe runs through the place. It took us about two and a half hours to get to the source of the river and ultimate goal. Unfortunately some of us managed to get lost along the way, loosing track of the markers and having to create our own path up the mountain side. We walked a lot of time along the river bed, across the white stones until we reached the end. The hike itself wasn't too challenging and we all agreed it was worth it.

At the end of the river was a cave. Inside the cave was the waterfall and a beautiful grotto style landscape. The only issue was to get through this cave you had to trek through ice cold water and over rocks. Only the most adventurous dared to enter but we discovered it was well worth the numb feet. Then began the trek back to the bus, with wet trousers on my behalf, which seemed to go on for quite a while. It was really incredible but has left me and a few others in bed trying to recover from colds and flus. After all it is only February!!

Leadership

On Saturday, I attended a training session about being a leader and the skills required. It was twinned together with a moderator meeting in which we discussed the problems in the school that we have to address. In the previous term we saw very little happening, our voices rang out unheard. Hopefully, this term will be very different. More initiatives have been created and a more committed attitude adopted. We all want to see change. As part of this workshop, led by a second year, I learnt a lot of things that we often just regard as common knowledge and disregard.

This morning I held a speech as one of the candidates for the new student representative, I don't have high hopes but it was worth the experience. I'm beginning to feel slightly more confident and putting together more projects on my own. Something, I don't think, I would of even attempted previously. There is so much potential in UWCiM but so far it has been dormant. Soon I hope to see it unleashed!

The Netherlands

This week I left home for the second time and ventured into the flattest place in the world! I arrived on Monday, flying from Bristol to Schriphol where I met my friend. We took the train back to his place in Den Haag, then went for a little tour around the city on the most common mode of transport in the Netherlands, bikes! It was a very pretty city. We got some sleep and the next day headed into Amsterdam where we wandered about, visiting Anne Frank's house and lots of other main tourist spots. In the afternoon I headed up to Friesland to meet my second friend!

After a good nights sleep in the tiny village of Nij Beets, we went out to the town of Sneek, which has a beautiful water gate and is also very typical of old Dutch towns. We spent a lot of time inside due to miserable weather. The next day we went to a nearby city of Drachten, where my friend used to go to school. We visited his school and his grandparents, who were very lovely even though we couldn't speak due to them knowing no English and me not being able to speak any Dutch. They gave me some Stroopwaffles which are delicious. Again a day of miserable weather. We spent the next day in Nij Beets having a little walk around and then doing a lot of studying in preparation for going back to UWCiM. On Saturday we ventured out to the city of Groningen, a beautiful city full of students. We visited the university and many other astounding buildings. Again, miserable weather. Then, before I knew it, we were heading back to Mostar.

My time in the Netherlands was really nice. I got to see bikes, canals, tulips, clogs and windmills but also a lot more. All of a sudden I'm back in my other home and its still maintaining a resounding atmosphere! And the weather is much better here :)


Sneek

Nij Beets

Amsterdam

Ready, Set, Go!

I've been home around 3 weeks and today I leave, again! It went so quickly, with the snow, christmas, new years all passing by in a flash. It is strange being home but at the same time completely natural, I think I have found myself in the in-between state of staying and leaving. But friends and family have been incredible and I really am going to miss them, as I have also missed by college friends! So here I go off to the Netherlands and then on to Mostar. Adios yet again :)