Thursday, July 24, 2008

Muscatine Youth Reactions

The youth participants on this trip are staying with host families scattered across Gjakove. When they are not busy rehearsing with their Kosovar counterparts or leading classes and activities we’ve planned for local school youth, they are so busy having a good time with their hosts that it is difficult for them to find time to put their impressions of the trip on paper. I’ve enlisted the help of Taylor Wettach to help capture reactions from our youth. I’ve transcribed just a sample of thoughts below.

“Kosovo is very interesting the second time around. The countryside looks about the same,except far more fields with lush produce and a swimming park outside of Gjakove. The city, however, is very different. There are more cars on the street than I remember and I have only seen three horse-drawn carts. City life is booming and everyway I look there is a new, chic boutique. The entertainment industry is catching up quickly; no one is listening to N’SYNC anymore. There is still, however, no movie theatre and I am anxious to know if they will ever get one.” ----Michaella Calzaretta

“This my first trip to Kosovo, so it has been a real eye opener. I have really enjoyed going into the schools. The kids’ faces light up when we get there. It’s amazing to learn about their culture and experience their ways of life. Our music and time with the kids seems to be making a difference.” ----Kelli Hinrichs

“Coming back to Kosovo for the second time was pretty intense. It’s great to see how people who live in a country with no air conditioning or Wal-Mart can still enjoy life. I love meeting new people here, and do so everyday. Even walking down the streets, complete strangers will come and shake your hand, offering words of wisdom. These words range from, ‘Hello, how are you,’ to ‘Do you know Bill Clinton.” All in all, it seems like I couldn’t spend enough time here.” ----Nick Korpi

“It’s really fun and they have a lot of flowers here. We go shopping almost everyday. The stores here are cool. There are a lot of bees here and they’re everywhere! The birds here fly in ginormous flocks, some over 50, I think. I’ve been switching the house that I sleep at every night so far. There are a lot of dogs here wandering around, but you don’t see a lot of cats. I like the juice here, it tastes like candy.” ----Allison Hartman

Until next time….. Kristin McHugh-Johnston