{"id":1003,"date":"2012-05-17T11:29:06","date_gmt":"2012-05-17T11:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rebeccadavisdance.com\/?p=772"},"modified":"2015-09-24T22:07:41","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T02:07:41","slug":"returning-to-mostar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/2012\/05\/17\/returning-to-mostar\/","title":{"rendered":"Returning to Mostar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was exactly seven months ago that I was getting on a plane leaving Mostar and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) after launching a long-term program serving children.\u00a0 Now I am back here to see exactly what has transpired in my absence and what the future might hold for me, these children and our program.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My not-for-profit, USA-based organization, Rebecca Davis Dance Company (RDDC), started to work in Mostar when we partnered with the local association, RINGO Mostar.\u00a0 I was impressed with the skills of RINGO\u2019s President, Tanja Raic Tarcuki, and she became the Country Director for RDDC\/BiH.\u00a0 Together, we have built an ongoing dance program for underserved children living at Egipatsko Selo and International SOS.\u00a0 These daily dance workshops focus on developing social skills (collaboration, team-work, memory capacity) of children while improving self-esteem and confidence.\u00a0 The sessions are taught by a team of youth assistants that are trained by RDDC.<\/p>\n

Given the extent of programming RDDC has carried out since my departure, I was anxious to return to Mostar.\u00a0 This time, I found myself surprised by three things: the desire for further knowledge, the rhythm of life, and\u2026the new McDonald\u2019s!<\/p>\n

Desire for Knowledge.\u00a0 <\/em>My first day back teaching at Egipatsko Selo was filled with hugs as I greeted children that I had taught back in September 2011.\u00a0 Since then, Sanja Elezovic, Lejla Maric and Matea Jevic have been teaching the classes as part of the RDDC program.\u00a0 However, after a few minutes, all of the kids started demanding one thing: \u201cwe want to learn new dance steps.\u201d\u00a0 They didn\u2019t want to show-off what they remembered, chat about life, or play around; they wanted to learn.\u00a0 They were awaiting my return \u2013 not because they were so enthusiastic to see an old friend or teacher \u2013 but because they knew my presence meant access to information for them.\u00a0 This brought a huge smile to my face because, after all, new dance steps are definitely something I can give these eager children.<\/p>\n

I was particularly struck by the change I had seen in one of our children in the Egipatsko Selo program.\u00a0 This is a young girl that I taught here before.\u00a0 However, she was a difficult student then because she would insist that you look at her for each and every movement; if you did not, she would get frustrated and give up.\u00a0 When I taught the same little girl this year, I saw how far her behavior had progressed.\u00a0 Now, she rarely says anything in dance class; instead, she stands at the front of the class and is quiet as she follows each and every movement precisely.\u00a0 In fact, she has become one of our class \u201cexperts\u201d as she can demonstrate and name almost every dance movement we have taught.\u00a0 I could clearly conclude that the continuity of our program had partially reformed her social behavior and improved her disposition after seven months.\u00a0 This is exactly the purpose of the RDDC\/RINGO program in Mostar.\u00a0 This girl and some of her peers are ready to absorb more knowledge and continue to learn dance while improving their lives.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rhythm of Life.\u00a0 <\/em>I had lived in Brcko and in Mostar before, so the general lifestyle of BiH is not something new to me.\u00a0 However, on this particular trip, I came directly from RDDC\u2019s program in Guinea, a country in West Africa.\u00a0 The joke about West African life is funny because it\u2019s true: \u201cWhy are you sitting here underneath a tree not working?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cBecause all the other spots are taken.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 That goes to show how slow the rhythm of life is in parts of Africa.\u00a0 There are lots of hard working, industrious people \u2013 like those in the RDDC field offices \u2013 but there is also massive unemployment, which results in loitering.<\/p>\n

Thus, when I arrived in Mostar, I was ready to spring back into action and fill my days with multi-tasking, running around doing all the tasks that needed to be finished and engage in deep conversation about the strategic direction of RDDC\u2019s work here.\u00a0 Instead, I was surprised to detect only a slight modification in the pace of daily life.\u00a0 Here, there is also the problem of unemployment, especially for those that are highly-educated or career-oriented.\u00a0 Many are left adrift as they search for an outlet to utilize the skills and knowledge they have acquired through their life and education.\u00a0 Mostar isn\u2019t New York, which is, I suppose, why people love it.\u00a0 Yet, the thrill of accomplishing a great deal in a short period of time is a trait of the former and not the latter \u2013 for better or for worse.<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s.\u00a0 <\/em>Seven months ago, I would have never expected to find McDonald\u2019s in Mostar.\u00a0 I had seen the new fast-food shop heavily visited in Sarajevo, but it didn\u2019t occur to me that the Golden Arch would make its mark in Mostar.\u00a0 What can I say?\u00a0 Globalization is here to stay.<\/p>\n

For me and my work, I am happy to see the mixing of cultures at any level \u2013 even the fast-food level.\u00a0 Yet, the point of mixing cultures is simply to open one\u2019s mind to his own work, not to assimilate into something else or be under the impression that the other culture is right or wrong.\u00a0 I have learned more about myself and what it means to be Canadian-American by working in Russia, the Balkans and Africa than I ever did living in North America.\u00a0 The presence of a program like RDDC, a fast-food restaurant like McDonald\u2019s, or a cartoon about Obama makes us think about what it means to be here \u2013 wherever \u201chere\u201d is.\u00a0 To that end, we might continue to desire further knowledge of others just so that we can learn about ourselves.<\/p>\n

I wonder what surprises I will find when I get off the plane next time?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It was exactly seven months ago that I was getting on a plane leaving Mostar and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) after launching a long-term program serving children.\u00a0 Now I am back here to see exactly what has transpired in my absence and what the future might hold for me, these children and our program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bh-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindleaps.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}