All Good Things Must Come to an End... For Now!

Our last night together in Mostar at Mateo's house for a pool party.

Saying goodbye is always hard to do. Knowing you have some amazing new friends halfway around the world makes it a little easier though!

Before the party I had a chance to finally meet Nikola's parents and uncle at the cafe they own/operate. It was great meeting them and hope to hang out with them more the next time I'm back!

Our last night in Mostar was spent at Mateo's house, where we had a pool party with the friends we've made through this exchange from INTERA Technology Park, the University of Mostar, and the University of Džemal Bijedić.

The students got Ana a painting from local artist Alića to say thank you for everything she did to put this trip together.

Ana got me a picture of the bridge after the end of the exchange in Dayton, so I got her a picture of Dayton to remember us by!

Pool party fun...

We had ćevapi and other cookout food from the fire... all of it was great. Thanks to Mateo and his family for hosting!

The next day was our last one. We spent the morning getting packed, then went out for a few more excursions before heading to Dubrovnik. The night before at the party Ana asked if there was anything left we wanted to see, and Bri mentioned that she'd like to see the city from the perspective of the giant cross on the hill overlooking the city, so we started there.

It's a lot bigger in person when you get to the top. The Stations of the Cross line the road leading up to the top.

The view from the top...

...with us in it.

One more selfie at the top!

I wanted to take the kids next to Blagaj, a small village where you can find a huge spring that is the beginning of the Buna River, which feeds into the Neretva. There's a house there that sits right next to the cave where the spring comes out from under a mountain, and it's one of the most peaceful spots I've ever visited. We went into the tekke, or Dervish monastery house, and walked around a bit.

The Dervish tekke used to be the seat of power for the region when the Ottomans were in power here. It's still active, and the first night we were here we arrived too late, but were there in time to hear the call to break the fast for Ramadan that day. It's still a practicing monastery.

We had to cover up and take off our shoes before heading into the house.

It's easy to see why people would choose this spot for introspection and prayer.

Our last stop for the day was at the school where everyone in the group attended high school. We didn't actually visit the high schools (Croat, Bosniak, and United World College) schools housed here, but instead stopped at the American Corner, an extension of the State Department that is open to everyone in the community.

The Mostar Gymnasium is the building that houses the three schools I mentioned above. There's an interesting article from Balkan Insights about education in Mostar if you're interested in learning more about what makes this school unique within Mostar (and BiH).

Heading into the American Corner... it's pretty evident that they have a lot of great student work!

Some cool quotes and projects, including a photoshop project where students put themselves in spots all over the US. Still waiting for some of them to visit Dayton some day for a real photo!

The students checking out the STEAM tools and books at the American Corner.

The director, Inga Kotlo, gave us an overview of the programming at the center, which is open for students and people of all ages. They have a book club and are going to have a discussion about Americanah soon, which my book club here in Dayton just recently read.  There are a lot of opportunities to collaborate too, so I'll have to talk to Jenn and Pablo about some of them over the summer!

Unfortunately after the visit to the American Corner it was time to leave to get the van loaded and head to Dubrovnik. Saying goodbye was really hard and there were lots of tears, but I'm sure we'll all see each other again!

It was hard holding back the tears!

After saying our goodbyes, we got to stay with Ana and Mateo a little longer as they took us to Dubrovnik, where we were staying for one more night before beginning our journey home. We spent one last night on the town for food and shopping after making sure our luggage wasn't too heavy (we got just a few souvenirs while we were there!) The next morning we had a pretty uneventful and smooth journey home, where all of our families greeted us at the airport around midnight.

Stopping for pizza in Dubrovnik.

We all sat in one row on the way to Finland, unbelievable!

We had a little more adventure in Finland during our three-hour layover, which included some reindeer pizza and pasta and some raw haddock. All of it was really good! Definitely a change from the food in BiH though...

Today when I got back Amanda and I took a ride over to the Holbrook Plaza. I'd definitely recommend checking it out, although I have to admit it has a new significance for me knowing all of the friends we have now in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hopefully you'll visit as well and see what makes it such a special place!

Go take some time and check out the history at the Holbrook Plaza, where you can see a piece of the original Stari Most bridge!

Making this entire experience possible wasn't easy, but there were so many great partners, supporters, and sponsors who helped in both countries that worked together to make it possible. I'll do my best to thank them (and I hope I don't leave anyone out)!

On the Dayton side, we had help in a variety of ways from the following organizations:

Ascend 
Carillon Historical Park
City of Dayton
Cubester
Corner Kitchen Takeaway
Dayton Downtown Partnership
Dayton Council on World Affairs
Fronana
Liftoff Entertainment
Material Resources LLC
Mile 2
Nucleus Coshare
Obi
Pedal Wagon
Proto Build Bar
Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University
Real Art
POCCO
Second Street Market 
Southpark Pizza Tavern
South Slavic Club of Dayton
The Deli
The Entrepreneurs Center
The Rotary Club of Kettering
The Dayton Art Institute
The Dayton Society of Natural History
The Wright Cup
Wright Brothers Institute

On the Mostar side, the following organizations helped out:

AirRec
Alfa Therm
Bljesak
Center for Technical Education
Ćićak
City of Mostar
Faculty of Economics, University of Džemal Bijedić
Facutly of Economics, University of Mostar
FAEL
Four Game Studio
EZ Training
Guma M
INTERA Technology Park
Minores
Paintball Mostar
Reunion Magazine
Telemach

In addition to the organizations listed above, there were also many families and individuals who helped out in many ways, including by taking us on tours, purchasing food, taking our students to various locations (in both countries), supporting us financially, and even housing our students in Dayton and in Mostar, including the following people:

Ana Bogdanović and family
Arch and Tammie Grieve
Carolyn and Mike Rice
Ernest and Omalee Agnor
Gorana Coric
Liam and Jackie Anderson
Lori and Bob Parks 
Mateo Ćubela
Matt and Irena Joseph
Mayor Nan Whaley
Merle Wilberding
Mladen Kostic
Monica Schultz
Rich Hopkins
Rod and Martha Darrah
Sara and Michael Collins
The Campos Family
The Kelly Family
The Saliwanchik Family
Vedran and Jelena Šimunović 
Vesna Lovrić

To everyone who was involved on an individual and/or personal basis, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU for making this experience possible!

*Update at 6:46PM, check out this story from the Dayton Daily News about our internship exchange!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this trip possible, both in Dayton and in Mostar!

If you are interested in helping to support this experience next year, please contact me at arch.grieve@wright.edu to learn more about how to get involved, including through making a tax-deductible donation, hosting students, or by providing in-kind support!

Embedded Internship Experiences in Mostar

Bethany and Gloria hard at work learning to use CAD.

Beginning on Monday, students began the embedded part of their internship as they were paired with local companies at INTERA and in Mostar that align with their career interests. Ana went to great length to find out what they wanted to do after they graduate from DRSS and find local companies that aligned with those career interests.

Bethany and Gloria are at Alfa Therm, which is headquartered at INTERA. There, they're working with Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings to learn how to read building plans and turn them into 3D drawings. Given their shared interest in engineering, it's a perfect fit!

Their task consists of taking drawings and turning them into 3D visual representations.

Victoria is interning at Reunion magazine, a local print and digital magazine company that does news stories. She wrote an awesome guest article for their online magazine on her first day, which was published on Tuesday. Check out Changing my Perspective here!

Victoria and her mentor at Reunion.

Austin is at Four Game Studio, where he's working on designing a video game! He couldn't be happier, and video game design is what he hopes to go into one day, so it's a great experience.

Austin hard at work on his video game at Four Game Studio, one of the companies located at INTERA.

His game has something to do with cats and dogs that have human heads... beyond that I'm kind of in the dark.

And finally, Bri is at Bljesak, a local news company with a lot of digital presence and online stories. During her visit, she's had the opportunity to write two stories already and sit in on a press conference that included representatives of the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two entities that make up the country (the second being Republika Srpska).

Bri has her own press credentials!

One of her articles (which have been translated into Croatian) is about her rafting trip, while a second is about her time in Mostar and how her perspective has changed since being here. It's worth including the translation below:

Mostar - a city known most for a war that ended nearly twenty years ago. Before leaving for Bosnia and Herzegovina, I knew very little that had been taught in world history. We had a lesson over wars and genocides, but I specifially had the Cambodian genocide. Sadly, knowing that a war happened in Mostar was the only thing I really knew. When people think of Mostar, they usually think of this devastating time. Howevevr, when I think of Mostar, I think of kind people, amazing scenery, and outstanding food. 

Since arriving in Mostar, I have made new friends all around the city, from my homestay family to others I met in a small cafe near Old Town. Everyone is welcoming, even to someone from a small city in Ohio who can only say "hvala" [thank you]. Even when we can't always understand each other, the smiles never stop.

 A lot of learning has also taken place since being here. From learning how to use an Arduino board and fly a drone to learning simple words in Croatian. Thanks to INTERA Technology Park and the friends I have met here, all of this learning will follow me back to Ohio.

Waking up to the mountains every morning has also been a new experience for me. The highest elevation we have in Ohio is a hill about one meter high, so getting to see beautiful mountains whenever I look outside has been one of the best things. Of course, Stari Most and Sarajevo were also gorgeous. And every place we go, getting to hear the backstories and the history of some of the historical spots gives more depth and meaning to even the smallest of statues. In America, finding a nice place to eat can be very hard. In Mostar, nearly every place to eat has had the best food. I've also tried new foods that I thought I would never try, such as eel, squid, and river lobster. However after all this amazing food, the best meal I've had since being in Mostar was food that my homestay family made. Even though I'm not exactly sure what it was, it was the best food I've ever tasted. 

Now when I think of Mostar, I don't think of war - I think of a beautiful city with beautiful people, and I hope to return in the near future.

Also on Monday, June 12, it was Austin's birthday! We celebrated with cake during our visit to Kravice, the beautiful waterfalls near Mostar. It was cold, but some of the kids went swimming anyways! Afterwards they took us to a very nice restaurant called Prirodni vodeni park "Koćuša", where everything was delicious and the neaby waterfalls provided excellent scenery.

Happy birthday, Austin!

At Kravice waterfalls! Thanks again to Telemach for sponsoring our trip, and for the shirts!

The water was chilly, but that didn't stop Gloria, Bri, and Bethany from jumping in!

I forgot to get a group picture here, but I think the food is more impressive anyways. It was really, really good.

The next day internships continued, and I should mention that I got to take the students around in an electric car that we were given to use by Guma M, a local car dealership that sells Renault and Nissan. They allowed us to use this new Renault Z.E., an all-electric car with zero emissions, during our final days here in the city. It's been a lot of fun to drive. I can't even tell when it's on, it's so quiet!

Riding to work in style!

Thanks to Guma M for letting us use the Renault Z.E. during our visit!

During the second internship day, Ana and I were interviewed by local TV for a story about our internship, along with Bethany and Gloria. Looking forward to sharing the story when it's posted!

Ana talking to Naša TV about the internship experience.

I hate being interviewed... I never say the right things. Hopefully all of my mistakes are lost in translation!

Bethany and Gloria talk about what they're doing and why they love Mostar!

After internships the next day we traveled to Herzeg ethnic park, which has an amazing restaurant attached to it. It's actually the one at which Amanda and I ended our trip last year, as we had to leave before everyone else, so it was great to be able to stay longer and see the park.

The students enjoyed the playground after dinner... you could be forgiven for forgetting I'm chaperoning high schoolers :) Glad they had fun though!

Chickens! And other birds too... but chickens!

Taking a stroll through the ethno village.

Up next we visisted Medjugorje, a Catholic church that is a pilgrimmage site for many (which is high up in the hills). 

There's also this statue of Jesus.

Mass was going on during our visit, and it seemed like a large one as there was a Cardinal visiting.

As I finish this post, the students are going into the last few hours of their internship experiences at local companies. Later today we'll go to a pool party at Mateo's house with our friends from INTERA Technology Park for one last night together before we leave for Dubrovnik tomorrow evening (after some activities during the day). It seems like just yesterday that we began this experience, and while everyone is tired, we're all energized by everything we've done and seen and experienced through this exchange. I'll have at least one more post about the trip, but now it's time to start getting packed and getting ready to go home!

Sarajevo, Široki, Konjic, and other excursions

A beautiful day in Sarajevo!

The past few days have been a whirlwind, starting off with our visit to Sarajevo, Dayton's Sister City. Our first stop was the fountain pictured above, where legend has it that those who drink from it will return to the city. I think it's safe to say that that's probably going to be true for all of the DRSS students.

Our first stop was the spring-fed fountain in the bazaar in the Turkish part of Sarajevo. Legend has it that if you drink from the fountain, you'll return to Sarajevo. For me, that was true (and it was less than a year ago).

After that, it was time for some ćevapćići. Our friends took us to Željo, their favorite ćevapćići place, where they finally let us have some! They had been telling us not to try it anywhere else but in Sarajevo, although some of us may have cheated a couple of times! After that we did a really quick tour of the city because we had a few important places to get to in the afternoon.

Our first stop was in the covered market next to Hotel Europe.

And of course, Mr. Nuñez will be pleased to know that we stopped by the spot where where, on June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, sparking the events that led to WWI. History! Perhaps a smile wasn't the most appropriate pose, but it was interesting standing in a spot that had such a tremendous impact on world history.

Up next was a visit to Markale Market, which is the spot of an infamous massacre that took place in 1995, whereby Bosnian Serbs launched shells into the market, killing 43 people and wounding 75 others. Though tragic, the incident pushed US decision-makers to act and (eventually) ended in the Dayton Peace Accords. Today, there's a monument and you can see the spot where the shells hit. It's a great place to buy fresh produce, and the cherries and rasberries we bought there were really great.

Up next was the Old Synagogue, which was created back in the late 15th century as Jews were fleeing Spain after the Spanish Expulsion of Jews and Muslims in 1492. The local Muslim leaders of Sarajevo allowed them to settle and build a synagogue there. Last time I didn't get to go inside, so it was nice to finally see it. We also stopped to see the main Catholic church and the Herzeg-beg Mosque during our visit, so we hit all of the Abrahamic faiths we could!

Up next was a visit to Telemach, one of our sponsors on this trip. Ana, Bethany, and I were all interviewed about our program by the local press as well, so look for us on N1 Sarajevo!

We toured Telemach next, where we had the opportunity to learn about the services they provide, as well as ask and answer some questions from those who work there. We were guided by Edina Kurić Zorlak. During our visit I was able to say to the Telemach employees who asked us about our visit that this is one of the most amazing trips that I and my students have ever been on before, and that I can't wait to return. We're so grateful for Telemach's support as well! Vedran was an excellent translator too!

Up next was a visit to the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we met with two diplomats, John Silson and Drew Giblin. It was a unique opportunity to learn about the US mission in BiH and ask questions of diplomats who are on the ground in a foreign country. We also had the opportunity to meet with Ambassador Cormack after our briefing and ask her some questions. Afterwards we got a group photo!

Our meeting with Ambassador Cormack at the US Embassy in Sarajevo. During their visit, the students talked about innovative solutions for local economic development, entrepreneurship, and ways to improve the role of youth in society. It was a great visit and we're grateful to Ambassador Cormack for taking the time to meet with us!

On our way we found what appeared to be a meat market named for Dayton. I'm not sure what that means, but we thought it was pretty funny.

Up next we climbed up to the tallest building in Sarajevo, which has a 360 degree view of the city. It was an amazing view and a great spot for a group photo!

The group right after our briefing at the US Embassy.

Afterwards we had some snacks and espresso (in my case) with an amazing view of the city.

Bri, Bethany, Nikola, and Gloria enjoying a break at the top.

Much of the ride there and back was through the Dinaric Alps, which are like the "Grand Canyon of Europe" according to Vedran. I have to agree!

Traffic was kind of crazy coming home, so we didn't have much time to make it to Blagaj before they closed, but we got there in time to hear the call to prayer for the end of fasting for today, as we are visiting during Ramadan. We didn't get to go in this time, but we had an amazing view and dinner by the spring!

Our next day was really special as we got the opportunity to visit FEAL, a large aluminum company that is doing work around the world (even in the United States now). They specialize in taking aluminum and creating a variety of "profiles," which eventually become everything from windows, to doors, to facades. The tour was led by Marko Novak, head of the marketing department, and he was very not only an extremely generous and knowledgeable tour guide, but he also came to do the tour for us on his day off and spent three hours talking with us, showing us everything they do, and taking us around the entire plant. The kids (and I) were amazed to see the process of how they take the raw material and turn it into so many different products!

Our tour guide and head of the marketing department, Marko Novak, greeted us as we began the tour. He was such a great guide!

We started off in the showroom to see what they mean by "profiles." We saw many of the examples of what their business produces, and Marko explained to me that they essentially provide the entire country with its aluminum needs (in addition to exporting a lot more, including in countries like the UK, Germany, and Iran!)

After the tour of the showroom and screening a short film explaining what the business does, Marko gave us some snacks and we had a chance to talk with him about everything from what his company does to what his job looks like and what life in Široki is like.

After that it was time to visit the factory, but before then we saw a picture of the factory today... it's HUGE! They have over 600 employees, and they're working seven days per week in three shifts year-round. Truly amazing in scale.

One of the coolest things was seeing the extrusion process up close. This is where they heat the aluminum up to 500 degrees celsius and press it through dies to make profiles, such as an aluminum metal stud or bicycle wheel.

Bethany was trying hard to contain her excitement, but when Marko gave her a profile from one of their plant buildings she about lost it!

We also had a tour of the facilities where they treat the aluminum in order to make it meet certain conditions needed by their customers.

Visiting the guys who are responsible for bending the aluminum that becomes a bicycle tire.

At the end of the day, we were given some very nice gifts by Marko and the folks from FEAL. We are so grateful for the tour and the three hours we spent there truly flew by. I think Bethany may be filling out her application to work there as I write this!

After FEAL we traveled into the countryside to see a beautiful park, Blidinje. It felt like we had been transported to Ireland with all of the greenery, sheep, and stacked stone fences lining the mountains.

Up next we traveled to a park called Blidinje, which is within the mountains here.

On the way up we stopped at a small shrine to St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things. He's also associated with travelers, Without going into religion, I can definitely say that we have been treated very well by those who cherish him!

This part of BiH felt like Ireland, thanks in large part to all of the beautiful hills and sheep. Of course there were also some sheep herding dogs, and they're very friendly!

Before the park, we stopped at a really nice restaurant owned by a friend of Ana's for a light lunch of bread and cheese and cured meats. It was delicious. The restaurant is known as Hajdučke vrleti, or "Bandit's house," so named for Hadjuk Mijat Tomić, a local bandit who led a band of outlaws. I think (maybe) he's kind of like the Croatian version of Robin Hood.

Up next we visited this beautiful church that sits in Blidinje.

The whole church was full of amazing artistry, as evidenced here with the Last Supper on the altar piece. This Franciscan Church will soon house a monastery.

We stopped for a picture in front of the hills as well before exploring the area on foot for a while...

...and visited this natural spring for a drink before a short hike into the woods.

Quick selfie with the church we visited in the background.

Finally, after a fun day, we spent the evening at a "BBQ under the stars" at Mateo's house out in the countryside. Vedran and Mladen put together an awesome spread that included some delicious hamburgers and ćevapi (which I even got to take a turn grilling!) and we had a fun time helping prepare the hamburgers as well.

Our best impression of the no-smile BiH photo pose. We're weird here because we smile in all of our photos!

Some other Americans who are visiting BiH were at the BBQ as well, and the students had a good time hanging out with them and playing cards and chatting about their experiences in BiH.

Finally on Sunday we went rafting to round out the weekend, which was a great way to experience the natural beauty of the area. It was also just a lot of fun!

Getting ready to launch into the Neretva River.

The view from the river was beautiful.

Victoria and her "homestay mom," Ana, enjoying a break on the river.

After the rafting we had an amazing lunch at the rafting place. We had burek again (meat pie), although this time served more traditionally. It may be my new favorite food from BiH! Many thanks to Ana and her friends Gorana and Mateo for organizing this excursion for us, and to Dario for joining us. It was a great way to end the weekend before the students begin the embedded part of their internship experiences on Monday with local companies that align with their career interests.

Chicken and potatoes... somehow they just taste better in BiH.

Burek, a meat pastry, is probably my new favorite food. Not sure how I missed this last time!

Glad Dario could join us for lunch!

Only three and a half days left in Mostar, and none of us are ready to go home! As I finish this blog, the students are halfway through the first day of their embedded internships with local companies here in Mostar and learning what it's like working in a foreign country. More to come soon!