Oh, The People...

Yesterday the 'Fugee and I took a field trip to Konjic, a town about 75 minutes away from Sarajevo. It was a nice bus ride albeit a little hairy on the way back which was downhill and winding.

When we hit town, the 'Fugee asked this woman for recommendations as far as where to eat and drink coffee. She was pretty funny as she told the 'Fugee that we were NOT going to drink coffee in just one place. She also said that if she didn't have groceries, she would join us.

Konjic

After consulting with the advisor, we went to check out this wood shop and a wood museum then we headed across the bridge to a restaurant and that's how we spent our day in Konjic -- eating, drinking coffee, admiring the scenery and changing vantage points.

Mulicev Rekord

Enough food for...

On the way back, we asked another woman what was the best way to get back to the bus stop. She was hilarious... I asked her, as if she spoke English (with an expectation that the 'Fugee would interpret), had she lived in Konjic all of her life and she responded "yes" then said that she had studied English. She had difficulty speaking but understood most of what I was saying.

P.M. sun hitting the "Old Bridge."

When we got to the bus stop, I asked the 'Fugee where was the official sign and she chuckled and said This is not America -- people just know...

Sun hitting the mountains on the way back.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that today is World Refugee Day. What to say? The hashtag that sums it up is #WithRefugees.

World Refugee Day Sign in Sarajevo

The Better Version

The 'Fugee is not on Instagram and neither is my cousin, Chiquita, for that that matter so I often send them 'grams that I find moving. The 'Fugee's response to the one below. My friend...loves this. She's right. I love "this" kind of stuff...

“I was born in a refugee camp in Nepal and grew up there until I was 12. A lot of people in the camp weren’t super wealthy, but we had to do whatever it took to figure it out. You’d go to school where there were no teachers. You’d go to hospitals where there weren’t enough doctors. One thing I see here is that people are so focused on being dependent or independent. But there, it was more about how can we be interdependent and how we can work together to accomplish one goal. That is one thing I still try to focus on. The view was, society does not have to dictate and condition who I am. I want to define for myself what is real and okay and go with my gut. The real fight is not about you versus society or you versus nature. The real fight is you versus the better version of you."

A photo posted by Humans of St. Louis (@humans_of_stl) on Oct 13, 2016 at 11:57am PDT

I had no biking companion today so I decided to go to Zumba then to the bra shop because I couldn't make it to the bra shop during the week.

Went home and took a shower then headed out. Knew that it wasn't a good sign when I saw a note on the door. The owner had closed the store earlier than the dates she'd posted on her Facebook page. That was disappointing.

Found myself remembering the words of my play mother who happened to be at the airport as my aunt and I were headed to Las Vegas one year. My play mother lost her daughter in a freak accident and I will never forget what she said at the airport -- We're all going through something; I just try to keep my face off the floor...

Just an hour earlier, post-Zumba high intact, I had been quite happy. Situations don't always align the way that you want them to and that's that...

All Smiles After Zumba

And here's one more 'gram.

embracing your weirdness:  my daughter mentioned to her mimi (my mom) that sometimes the kids at school call her weird. char has always marched to the beat of her own drum, so i wasn't surprised when she said "but i don't care. because i am unique and different and people love me for who i am, anyway." so, may we all learn from my almost 9 year old that staying weird is cool. and having confidence about being different is a positive, not a negative. because there are people who'll take you as you are and love you anyway.

A photo posted by alexandra (@alex_elle) on Oct 14, 2016 at 10:25am PDT

Running Around

Met Alison for yoga on Sunday and told her that I'd been looking for clothes. She immediately suggested Lane Bryant, reached into her car to get me a Bryant coupon then started listing a whole host of resale shops. I had forgotten how refugees and immigrants explore every nook and cranny in a town.

After work yesterday, hightailed it to one resale store since they close at 6 and went to another store during my lunch break today. I'm looking for something for my aunt's memorial service.

Sometimes being in love with super casual attire can get you in trouble. I do have a black blazer and a Jones of New York blouse that's really nice but I wear it whenever I'm dressing up and I need a back-up.

I did see two blazers that I like. One was brown with pink flecks but I don't really have anything to go with it and the one that I really liked was a tad bit too tight. The snug blazer came from Chico's so maybe I need to head there.

Looks Much Nicer Than Picture