Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Settle In, It's a Long Post

I guess you could say that this is a bit of a catch-up entry because there were things I should’ve blogged about earlier but didn’t.

Re: the jet lag, I’ve never really had it before, and when I woke up at 1 am Friday morning, terror struck. What am I doing here? What am I going to do? What if we run out of money? What if I can never understand the language? What if it takes us weeks to find an apartment? Wiley was very understanding once he hit me over the head and told me to shut up (kidding, kidding), saying that he also went through this the first time he was in Austria, and so while I freaked out a bit, he didn’t. It’s nice to have someone who’s constantly grounded, though I have to say sometimes it’s a little fun to have a fellow drama queenwho can commiserate and jump off the deep end with you for a bit.

And now for the big news: we found an apartment, and it's fully functional!!! You can view pictures here. We won't get Internet for hopefully just a week, but the way things work here, I have no idea, really.

Today has been rather successful - we are legal for three months. We tried to get an extention, but they want to see some more paperwork and suggested we come back tomorrow to talk to someone who knows their shyt. So we'll be traipsing back to the policija station. (Lookie, another word!)

Today's other word is zelimo, which is "We want." I ordered us some chicken tacos for lunch. Apparently I said it funny because Wiley laughed at me, and the waiter looked at him to confirm what I said was true.

Living in Sarajevo is an art....it will definitely thicken your skin. When we walk, I wear my sunglasses, which means I can also gape at people, and do it somewhat privately. They don't seem bothered by the fact that I can see them staring at me. And stare stare stare. Not to mention at the grocery store last night, they all seemed to be scowling. The big difference between their grocery stores and ours are that ours don't require you to come into contact with people unless you want to - the aisles are big enough that you don't have to run into each other. Not so here. My arse isn't all that big, but it sure seemed to be in everyone's way. Dinner last night consisted of tortellini courtesy of Barilla, as well as some bread and cheese and blueberry tea. This morning, Wiley had some (yucky-looking) meat paste with his bread and yogurt. Tonight's dinner will be small since we had more Mexican for lunch (using their Internet).

Well, time to find some curtains for the bedroom. It's still too bright, even being on the 6th floor. Who would've figgured? Hope life in the States is going well for everyone. You are missed!

6 comments:

John and Jennifer said...

Great to see that you guys are getting your feet on the ground! Keep the posts coming...

Anonymous said...

I told my friend Zelma that y'all had found a great Mexican restaurant in Sarajevo and she thot that was quite hilarious. She says "Ola", Melinda. AuntTex

Melinda said...

Its very good, but only once a week will we go there...must practice self-restraint!

Anonymous said...

so happy you are settling in! send your address asap. does the apt. come furnished w/kitchen stuff? i have a million questions, so i will write a real letter.we are fine; wandering around WI in the little car, shoveling leaves, cursing boxelder bugs, etc. auntie em

Melinda said...

We had to buy a pan and a spatula and a water cooker and a peeler, but it came with an oven, small fridge and microwave, not to mention a few pieces of silverware and plates, so it´s good.

Dr. Beers said...

Hi guys! The place looks great! And I am enjoying the tag-team blogging. :) I can't believe how difficult it is to travel between major cities in this area, but I am still hoping to make my way for a visit. More soon, Dan