Saturday, June 13, 2009

"Fuck Himalayas!"

Today we had our Montenegrin "wrap-up" session where we discussed everything that we've learned here. To summarize, basically we talked about the EU's involvement with "democratizing" Montenegro, specifically related to the corruption that is here. We also talked about the Montenegrin's unsure identity and how Montenegrins who identify as Serbians must be included politically. Finally, we talked about how there is no agreed-upon history here in terms of the conflicts in the 1990s and how steps must be taken to reveal the true histories.

What was special about this session was that we decided to do it in a mountain village called Njeguši where the founder of modern Montenegro was born. It was incredibly beautiful and located in a mountain plateau 40 km from the sweltering capital city of Podgorica. After our conversation we headed into Lovcen Natl park for what I can honestly say were the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. From the top of the mountain we were on, we could see all of Boka Kotorska, the Adriatic, Croatia, and even the feint outline of Italy. I took a panoramic shot, but my computer here isn't fast enough to assemble it. The view of both staggering mountains and sea was incredible. Our group leader\"Academic Director's" reaction to the sight was "Fuck Himalayas..." and I must say I agree with her.

2 comments:

  1. jeremy, this is incredible. the view is breathtaking, and you look incandescently happy. keep the updates coming (and skype me if you get the chance!)

    lovenicole

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Agreed-upon history"??? Isn't that an oxymoron in the Balkans?

    ReplyDelete

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