Today's agenda involved the international judges for war crimes in BiH and the former commander of militia in the former BiH conflicts. Both were very inspiring but very different. The international judges were American and had ties to Northeastern. I found the female judge more interesting, only because she seemed more honest and straightforward in the matters concerning ethnic conflicts in BiH, former war criminals, and present day issues in the Balkans. I felt she said a lot of things people were afraid to say. My favorite line from her (note: out of context) was a "bigot is always a bigot"---- this was in regards to a lot of political positions were made by measures of ethnicities and balanced "quotas." These policies can easily manipulate the political and social scene. Later, I enjoyed a vegetarian dinner with Aly and Keith as well as a delicious dessert. The best part of my day was when Keith and I played soccer with some local kids while we waited for Aly. So much fun. We ended the night with some beers at local bar, that was really funky, down to earth, and fun. There we met some Swiss guys that were really cool and friendly. One of them was formerly from BiH. We continued to bar hop with friends and the night life of Sarajevo was definitely more my style than any other city beforehand. In addition to the Swiss guys, we met people from around the world and learned that many former Bosnian refugees, people who left in the early 90’s, come to vacation here in the summer. Many of the refugee's children who join them, young people our age, don’t see it as their home anymore, but love it all the same.
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