Sorry, sorry, sorry…

Man, blogging in Bosnia really ain’t all that easy. Not in Olovo at least, despite the fact that as of last week sometime, the internet club officially has DSL, or as they seem to call it: ADSL. I pay 1,50 KM for each hour and consequently spend only an hour. I could be going to Sajo’s and typing but even that is kinda hard. After being such an internet junkie for a while, it’s hard to get used to this rationing of it. Even if I were to have my own computer and a DSL connection, I’d have to watch how much memory I spend. But then again, the internet is the least of my problems in terms of getting used to things.

For one, Tito-era showers are a pain in the ass, despite the fact that they’re highly energy-efficient. If you need hot water, you must turn the boiler on, which in my case has to be when electricity is cheaper, otherwise my grandfather will brew up a storm. The electricty is only cheap for an hour or so, I think, in the middle of the day and supposedly Sunday all day. The second problem with the shower is the fact that you can only use one hand to wash your hair because the shower head doesn’t hang from the wall like in the States, but must be held in one hand. An added problem exists in my case since the tiles near the bathtub don’t go high enough and the water can soak the wall, leading to leaks in the apartment below.

Aside from the shower problem, there are a myriad little ones like not being able to find really simple things like the right shampoo, hair bands, and good sunscreen. Sunscreen is damn expensive, and for some reason, the higher the UV factor, the more expensive the sunscreen. I intend to buy some eventually…

Despite all of this, I’m still happy here. The problems I encounter are simply part of my withdrawal period, having gotten used to so many luxuries the States offered.

Here I am allowed different luxuries. Here I can go into the forest any time I want. I can go picking mushrooms. I can go swimming in a river and drink water from a spring. I can go hiking. I can eat fish from the river by my home without being afraid. I can pick wildflowers without being fined. I can learn about plants and trees firsthand. I can do things more involved with the planet than I ever could recycling or taking the train or some such sillyness in which people are trying to be enviromentally conscious.