Scrambling

It's easier to dislike something then like something. To find flaws and faults then pros. Maybe because it seems repetitious to gloat about something. I can speak wonders of Tuzla, how there's always kids outside playing, how it's incredibly green that they don't plant fake grass, how beautiful the people are. There really is a lot but the thing I find the most bothersome about this place is that there are so many defaults. It's not to say that Tuzla or the rest of Bosnia is super different from my home in Ventura (even though it seems my Bosnian family think I'm going through a cuture shock), but many things that I've seen just are over exemplified and over excreted to the point that what becomes a nuisance is plan just disgusting. Like I said before, I love Tuzla and Bosnia but here are some things that just twist me the wrong way.

- The Amount of Graffiti:
I'm actually in awe of graffiti, when it's done well on empty walls and it's done to symbolize a meaning of sorts. It's expression, it's art. Though the problem is that when graffiti is in certain places it shouldn't be. Like schools, every single school here is covered in graffiti- meaning Universities, Elementary schools, High school, all of it. It's just sick, instead of having a clean environment for kids, graffiti is plastered on the walls. Also homes, this is where people LIVE, if it's a fence or a random wall then yes I understand but when there is graffiti underneath your very own window it's just absolutely degrading. There is so much graffiti that I know it's meant to not faze people, but when it becomes over powering and hateful and whatever else it can be, it's just not right. It's not morally right, in my opinion. I believe graffiti should be kept to bridges and empty walls and fences, not schools.

- How Men Dress here:
Yes, in Europe when people go out for the evening, they dress much more sheek and classier here then in America. Europeans have style, which we presumably don't as much. Sure everyone looks the same during the day time to us but what really annoys me here is that most men/boys wear sweatpants, pajama pants, bad pants. I don't know why but, in America or anywhere I have been, the majority of men wear jeans, pants that fit or that actually look as though they were making an effort. I have no idea why this bothers me so much but it just does.

- Animal Treatment:
Okay so this is one instance but it really bothered me and I still can't forget it. When we drove to a town where there is a big Bingo store (It's basically a walmart + ross + vons), we went into the Bingo store, wandered and then drank some coffee, then left. When we entered the parking lot to head home, there was a man with his car, in the middle of the parking lot, with his dog sitting in the trunk. At first, I wasn't sure what the purpose of this was but then the dog started whining and this dog was huge. The dog started to try to get out of the trunk but it's owner kept pushing the dog in a small little trunk, with groceries in it to squish into this trunk so that he can slam the trunk door shut. Eventually, the dog was tightly compacted into the trunk and they drove off. This should not be done, at all especially for such a big dog. I could imagine if for some reasn this dog was claustrophobic, it had a heart attack a million times over.

So I know, me ranting about what I dislike is not the greatest topic to cover but when something itches the skin, you need to scratch it, even if it's not good for you. Remember, I love Tuzla and Bosnia and my family and everyone here, but once in awhile it's not as dandy and romantic as it sounds.

Today, July 5th, we are heading to Croatia to the Island of Korcula. I'm extremely excited because returning to ocean for some reason just makes me think of home and I'm automatically more relaxed. It's interesting to think that when I'm at home I don't notice the smell of the ocean until I'm right next to it, but when I haven't been around the sea in awhile and I'm in a town near the sea - I smell it right away. Time to swim in the prettiest, bluest water and then dine on fish and shrimps. Maybe I'll meet some English speaking people.