The UWCiM Experience: Making the Most of it ...

A piece of advice I was given before I came here was to embrace the opportunity and make every second count. I really think I am trying to achieve this.

This week has been pretty hectic. I have had school during the week apart from Friday when I went on a physics field trip to a power plant on the Neretva. Then I helped out with the Flea Market which was raising money for the refugee camp. Congratulations go to all involved as we raised a nice sum of money for the camp.

Saturday I visited the refugee camp for the first time. I was preparing myself for the worst, I expected to be treated with coldness and to face destroyed people. I am so glad I was wrong! The people were welcoming and kind, they are so resilient. Their homes were run down and all of the facilities were poor. To begin with there weren't many people around and as a non-native speaker I was going to work mainly with the kids as there isn't so much of a language barrier. Me and Maja found to young girls, they were very shy. After a long time we managed to get them to draw and play, a truly amazing feeling. As time wore on more people arrived and the camp seemed to come to life. I ended up juggling for a little crowd, playing football and being chased around by kids with water balloons. It was very fun but so tiring! Time flew by and it was time to return to Mostar. The kids are waiting for our return... with more water bombs so I'm told!

Then on Sunday I went on a hike, the first of the year. It was a very tiring climb but well worth it. It took us 4 hours to reach our final viewing point. It was breathtaking, truly breathtaking! We spent a while at the top before descending the mountain. We sang silly songs, pretended to be Indians charging down the mountain and decided to see how many UWCers you can fit in a tree. It was an awesome day that left us all very tired but very happy.

Survivors ...