Beginning the Rroma (Gypsy) Immersion Workshop

I've been spending time looking through my videos and still pictures from Amala School in Serbia. I am reminded how very comfortable I was at the compound and how very strange everything was. Here are three pictures I really like.

Grandmother

Three generations were staying in the houses on the cul de sac up in the hills of Valjevo, this is the grandmother who spoke not one word of English but always said hello somehow. She would sometimes meet me at the gate and talk with me as we walked up the drive to the houses. I never understood a word but that didn't bother her. She would smile and wave as we parted ways. I personally adored her, and her whisk broom. 

Purple Room

This is the room I stayed in for the first week of school. There was no filter used on the photo, it was this color and I loved it! What you can't see in the picture is that the temperature was mostly around 100 degrees with no air conditioning. At night it cooled down to around 75-85 degrees but the windows really didn't open to let the cooler air in. Quite an experience for this Minnesota girl who sleeps with the window cracked open all winter.

Cousins

These young people were staying in the neighborhood and came to visit us during the days at the compound. They spoke a little English and German and were delightful. It saddens me that I did not get their names before they left the area, I think their eyes tell an amazing story.