Summer-end Wrap up

Well, I never actually assumed that I would survive long enough to write this email. In other ways, I always thought that this point was so far off, that to think of it would be foolish. I kept saying this week, "A week from now I'll be in Germany, or on a train or in the air", much the same as I was before I came here, "A week from now I'll be in Bosnia, or in the air, or in bed or all three!". At the same time this week, I kept telling myself that now was the time that mattered, and thinking about the future will only keep me from thinking about now.

So, I put off thinking about what was happening next week, with the result that I somewhat feel unprepared. There are a couple CDs I need to burn, of pictures and such, I need to write this, I need to make sure everything is going to go well when I get to Prague and I need to pack. I packed half of my backpack for Europe today, I fit a fair amount in. I have an ingenious idea to wash my clothes in the bath of our hotel room. All I need is some hot water, some detergent, a stirring pole and confidence. I'll be so clean! If it doesn't work, I have a bunch of clothes I can just through out, raggy shirts and underwear, that kind of stuff.
The rest of my clothes will easily fit my other suitcases. My small suitcase is packed full of clothes, my big one is sitting empty right now, I'll put the rest of my stuff in it by Sunday.

Well, what has changed in these three months? I honestly don't know. I certainly understand this little part of the world a lot better, and I have a new understanding of conflict. I really think it's impossible for me to understand how I'm different, because I really don't remember being any different than I am right now, so comparisons are difficult.

I hope that you have all learned a bit about Bosnia, as it's a complicated place. I know I have. I've really enjoyed the support that I received from everyone, it was great knowing that people were interested in what I was doing. I can't wait to see the before and afters of the people who go away for Intercordia next year. I think that will be a really cool experience for me.

As for everything else, I'm only going to be home for a little bit, there is a reintegration seminar for all the Intercordia students on the 22nd. I have a feeling the whole thing will be lame, but I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends. My good friend Dave will be headed to UT to do his Masters, so I won't get to see him much next year, I'll see him on the 22nd though.

I start Don Training on the 26th, summer's over I suppose then. I'm looking forward to school and all that, but I have no idea how I'll ever be able to get down to work. Writing papers and all that stuff just seems so weird.

At any rate, I hope you all have a fantastic August. I'll try to keep this blog up to date when I'm travelling in Germany, so check back by Wednesday or Thursday, I'll at least try to have a note here saying I'm not lost in Bohemia. I'll likely be changing the name and address of the site to something like Mike in Canada . Blogspot.com, but that's in the future.

And as we say here in Bosnia-Herzegovina Vidimo Se!