We Do Adventure

Funny old night tonight; one of contrasts, as is so often the case with life here. After an evening spent hanging out with young people from a variety of backgrounds I was driving some of them home. We headed out of town in the dark and the rain. One stop was for those who live on a rubbish dump. I’ve dropped people home here several times before but tonight I was really struck by the strangeness of what I was doing. Next stop was the gas station, to fill up the battered old Toyota van. The forecourt was bright and modern, not exactly like the ones in England but a lot like the fancy new ones you see on the Autoroutes in France. Except someone comes to pump your fuel. My friend jumped out to tell the attendant how much we wanted, all the while continuing a conversation on his mobile phone! Meanwhile the Scissor Sisters blasted over the forecourt speakers informing us that they ‘don't feel like dancing!’ It was at this point I decided I had to write about this. Not because I have a ...

One year ago today it was our first day back in England after a weekend in Sarajevo. That was our first trip to Bosnia Herzegovina. Rowan had been waiting half her life for it, my main association with Sarajevo was Miss Sarajevo – the Passengers (U2) song. It was a year ago this week Rowan first made contact with Novi Most , beginning a process that would see us making, what was to many, perhaps our most surprising decision yet. As years go 2008 has been a pretty full one for us. That’s good. There’s no way we can look back and question just what happened to the last twelve months. We’ve started an adventure; another chapter of our lives. You can’t compare what was with what is now and it’d be wrong to say one or other is better. We had a good life in England; we now have a good life in Bosnia Herzegovina. 2009 is just around the corner and who knows what we’ll be writing this time next year!