A day out today. At least it was billed as a day out to the boys and they believed what Mummy said as they (a) saw a train (a bit of a rarity in Tuzla) AND (b) we went through a tunnel. Sometimes I wish I was their age and could be satisfied with such snippets.
We actually went to a village were I am doing some research. I was meeting a women's group which is supposed to have a drop in centre for children. When we arrived it was very obvious that the only 2 children present were mine, and they were firmly attached to my legs and not going to go and play nicely next door.
It really was quite fun. The boys soon warmed up especially as the biscuits and sweets appeared. The women all played with them and appeared charmed, particularly when they decided to practice their 3 Bosnian phrases. It was difficult to conduct a sane conversation though; you'd get a certain way down an avenue and be disrupted by a green ball flying through the air, or I'd be trying to ascertain the exact meaning of what had been said and have to break it off to stop Adam climbing over Luke. I missed the bulk of the most interesting part of the conversation as Adam announced he 'had to go for a poo right now Mummy' - the translator filled me in later.
Having the children there was interesting. It changed the atmosphere of the room, stopped anything getting too serious and opened up many of the women. I'm not sure I could totally concentrate on what they were saying and I'm not totally sure of the ethics of using your children as a research tool, but as far as I could tell everyone was enjoying themselves. The key was to remove the toddlers from the room before the sugar from the amazing quantities of biscuits they put away kicked in.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
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3 comments:
I am enjoying your blog SO MUCH. Thank you for sharing your experiences! Your humor and candor are such fun. I'm an American about to marry a Bosnian man - from Tuzla in fact! Living in BiH is a very real possibility in the not too distant future for me, and I'm gleaning every bit I can from your experiences. I would love to learn more about what took you to BiH initially, and what work you and your husband are doing there this time around.
Thank you again. September is here - best wishes in finding a good nursery!
Dude, use em, whatever, they owe you. By the way, I'm so proud of you already getting your research started when the boys aren't even in nursery yet. mmmmwah.
American Girl - congratulations, good luck and do get in touch if you want to know anything about living in BiH. It's different, but not so much. You'll have a great time!
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