finally here and loving it.

(WRITTEN DAY 1 IN BOSNIA - took me a while to post it as you can tell :)

Lay over in Austria - 30+ hours with little sleep :0

oh my goodness. It feel like yesterday that I was home, sitting on my bed writing my thoughts for my first post. and now.... I'M IN BOSNIA!!!

my Austrian Airline TV screen showing our plane's flight path.

bit of an over cap of my travel day.

I touched down at about 2:30 Bosnian Time and was let straight out into the sunshine (with my way overstuffed carry-on and backpack). That was our last and final plane ride of the four I traveled on.

After the flight, we went through passport control (which was a breeze besides the LONG lines) and then got out mounds of luggage.

Between the nine students traveling, we had nearly 18 large suitcases and many more backpacks and purses. It was fun watching our driver try and load them all into the much-too-small small van trunk. We were greeted by our coordinators with smiles and a red and white YES Abroad flag.

and then...

We were then transported to a super nice hotel (where I sit writing this now) where we ate a delicious dinner (more on that later), had a quick briefing and were gratefully sent to our rooms to rest up. Apparently snacks will be sent up any minute in case we get 'hungry in the night' as our coordinator put it :)

peace and calm.

Goodbyes (only yesterday though my whole schedule is all messed up) were hard as I knew they would be, but I have had such peace throughout these whole two days of travel.

Thank you oodles and oodles for your prayers. I full confidence Jesus heard them and answered accordingly.

I felt so oddly calm in every flight, terminal and airport chair. I have this overwhelming sense of normalcy. As if I was born to be in Bosnia on September 10 in 2021. It's pretty cool how He orchestrates that. (I know it could only be Holy Spirit because I am running on 2 hrs of sleep in the last 28 hrs ish - I'm not even that tired surprisingly :)

first impressions of Sarajevo, Bosnia.

• it has a smell -- not particularity amazing, but certainly not bad... it smells like home to me (not America-home but ready-for-this-to-be-home type thing)

• the food is good - rich, hearty, different and super yummy

• and speaking of food... I had this dessert with cream and nuts baked inside an apple (or something like that) and it was delicious.

• they even have good cheese... quite good actually!

• tea and coffee both seemed rather beloved here

• the streets are so narrow and the driving seems crazy (thank goodness I'm not allowed to drive)

• the city is in a valley and the surrounded mountain-hills (not sure which exactly) are beautiful

• when I stand out on my balcony the city sounds like cars, buses breaking, and chirping bugs (quite familiar to my highway sounds in America)

• the plugs are different (they're round)

• the door handles are different

• the public bathroom stalls are different (no huge gaps - yay!)

• the light switches are different (little flat boxes instead of 'switches)

• and hey, you'll never guess what?! - the language is different :) it's so pretty to hear all the beautiful Slavic language floating around me (I can even pick out a few simple words in conversations and billboard advertisements)

up next.

Tomorrow I'll attend a short orientation, go to a shopping mall to exchange some money and maybe even a grocery store. I can't wait! Everything is new and exotic (which I'm told wears on a person pretty fast, but optimistically I can't wait for all the new stuff!) Then it will be off to Banja Luka for another COVID test and then to meet my host mama i tata!

: ) : )

*stand by*

Hey, my coordinators just showed up with the promised snacks!

There you have it :) The plazma biscuit things (the red box above) are like vanilla wafers but less sweet. Pretty bland, but good. Turns out everyone here loves them! Cockta is like coca cola but less sweet and more fizzy.

There you have it. First day in Bosnia and if feels like a dream! I hope I never wake up :)

some favorite things.

1. love my cohort members; they are all so sweet and fun!

2. I'M IN BOSNIA!!!!