Zenica Day 2

Yesterday was our first day of home visits and suffice it to say, there were a few glitches. Overall the day was just fine and there is no doubt in my mind that we are so appreciated here. In Bosnia, there is such a different view toward Autism (and all disabilities) than we are used to. Many of the families we are seeing are trying to keep any diagnosis of Autism, or any sign that their child has a disability, a secret. Many of these kids can not attend school on account of their Autism, so they often do not leave the house. The local group of therapists here is trying to find some space to rent for an office/clinic, but no one so far will help them because no one knows/understands/cares about the work they are doing.
That being said, an American on the flight from Pittsburgh to Boston did tell us, "I thought Autism was only in America." Looks like we're all a bit in the dark.

So yesterday my partner and I did two hour (that's a long freaking time to spend doing therapy with one child!) sessions with three different children , while the local therapist, two university students, and the parents watched. Talk about pressure! All went well, and we returned to the hotel for an Fanta.

My highlight of yesterday was sitting on the porch of our hotel as a bus pulled up and let off a whole bus load of traditional Bosnian men and women. The filed onto the porch, even sitting in the empty seats at our table - not like 'oh may I borrow this seat and take it over to where my fellow Bosnians are' but more like 'hello, I am going to sit in this seat at your table, but turn away from you so I can listen to the accordion we brought with us.' So we sipped our Fanta and listened to live accordion music then retreated to our rooms for a shower.

Dinner with the group was at 8, followed by a night out with our Bosnian team.

Bar hopping in Zenica apparently means walking down a dark alley to a hidden staircase, then climbing up 4 flights of stairs to end up in what looks like someone's living room. Now, don't get me wrong, it was amazing - but I sort of wondered when I was going to have to use the secret password to get in.

To fully complete the effect of being in someone's living room, there was a tap that you poured your own beer from. Yep, you just went up, got a glass and poured your beer. Then, at the end told them how much you drank and paid your "bill".

With over thirty of us at the "bar" on a Monday night, we were quite the show, and this resulted in us being allowed to sign our names on the wall and also in them cooking us food. And no, this isn't a restaurant/bar - just a drinking bar. But the owner took it upon himself to whip up some salad and chicken at 1 in the morning to feed us all.

Not that I think people here diet, but if they do, they absolutely don't appreciate the concepts of low-carbs, or not eating within 5 minutes of bedtime. Everything is served with bread (my breakfast this morning is literally a basket of really good bread, and a plate of spreads - butter, jam, cream cheesy stuff, cheese, etc).

So with that, I will finish carbo loading and be off for another day of Bosnian culture training. :)