There's no place like home

Hello from Ellicott City, MD! While this summer has been an absolutely amazing experience, there is just nothing like driving down Old Annapolis Rd. when the sun is shining, with the windows down listening to Dave Matthews on the radio :-D

I've been home for about a week now and am really enjoying catching up with my family and friends here. We had some relatives in from out of town this weekend and on Saturday I got to show them around DC. After being away so long it was really great getting to see so much of the city in one day. I made sure to include a stop at Georgetown on the tour :)

There are about a million people I want to thank for making my trip this summer possible...I'll be sending out emails later this month but I just wanted you to know that I couldn't have done any of it (the research or all the logistical stuff) without your love and support, so THANK YOU!

And finally, as always, pictures!!


Queen's University


City Hall in Belfast


Stormont (the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly)


One of several political murals in West Belfast


Dunluce Castle

This trip has gone by way too (Bel)fast

Hey there! Can't believe it's actually the last night of my trip...nearly 3 months ago I set out on what has been an absolute whirwind of a summer. While I'm definitely sad that it's over, I'm also extremely excited to finally get home and catch up with my friends and family :)

Despite the everpresent rain (they say there are only 2 types of weather in Northern Ireland: raining and about to rain), the last 2 weeks in Belfast have been just lovely. My hosts, Maria and Fearghal O'Loan, have been unbelievably sweet and I've had a great time getting to know them, their friends, and their crazy dog Daisy.

Research wise, I interviewed several people from both the Nationalist and Unionist communities and found many points of comparison between the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the other countries I've visited this summer. For one, the conflict, which is generally political in nature, is often misrepresented as an ethnic clash between Catholics and Protestants. This phenomenon seemed to affect the Thai and Indian situations as well. Also, while the current political system was created to ensure each group a voice, it often leads to gridlock/stalemate (like in Bosnia-Herzegovina). There's a ton more to say about the research and I'll definitely try and upload my paper somehow when I finish it in December.

While in town, I also managed to fit in some touristy visits to the Giant's Causeway, the parliament building at Stormont, and the famous political murals in West Belfast. I promise more pictures to come once I get home :)

That's all for now so I'm going to finish packing before heading to bed, see you on the other side of the Atlantic!!

A Foggy Day ( in London Town)

Despite the quintessential rainy weather in London, my stay there was actually really enjoyable :) On Sunday my cousin and I visited the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker (built in 1952). I'm a bit of a Cold War junkie so it was super exciting to see where the British government would have relocated in the event of a nuclear blast. On Monday I took the ultra-touristy "Big Bus Tour" of central London. We hit all the major sites and even took a small cruise on the River Thames!

While I didn't catch Harry Potter 6 (I'll be sure to find a theater in Belfast!), I did manage to visit Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. They even had a little trolly cart stuck in the wall for photo-ops :)

Speaking of photos, I realized that despite the tragic loss of the USB stick, I can still upload pictures directly from my camera. Here are some snaps from Sarajevo and London:


A view of old Sarajevo from a hill in Vratnik



Some men playing chess on one of the giant chessboards in the city



The beautiful River Bosna


On my way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!



Tower Bridge in London



In front of Westminster Abbey



Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

East to West

I can't believe it's my last full day in Sarajevo already! This past week has been crazy busy with meetings at the UN Refugee Agency, Office of the High Representative/EU Special Representative, and a host of other local and international groups here in BiH all working towards reconciliation.

Even though there are so many NGOs/independent groups trying to move this country forward, a lot of people have told me that in order for there to be ˝real reconciliation˝ the government needs to get involved. That's been a bit tough considering the country has 3 presidents and 13 different constitutions...

Tomorrow I fly to London to hang out with my cousin Sunny for a few days. As most of you know I'm a huge Harry Potter nut so I'm really looking forward to seeing the 6th film while in town :) From London I'll head to Northern Ireland for the final leg of my research. This trip is going so fast I might need to invest in a time-turner so I can slow things down :-P

Ciao Sarajevo!

I <3 Sarajevo!

Day 7 here in Bosnia-Herzegovina and I think it's safe to say that Sarajevo is now my favorite city of this trip so far :-D My words really can't do justice to its beauty/charm and unfortunately I won't be able to load pictures for a while because I lost my USB stick (actually it wasn't even mine...sorry dad!!) In addition to indulging in the delicious pastries and ice cream (which can be found on practically every corner!), I've also been practicing my Bosnian with the local taxi drivers. Granted I only know about 4-5 words/phrases, but they are usually very encouraging/happy to hear me try. In fact, one of my drivers today was so thrilled he offered me one of his cigarettes in congratulations...I politely declined :)

Interviews are going really well, so far I've met with representatives from the UN Development Program, the Trauma Center, and the British Council, all of which are involved in the reconciliation process in some way or another. One thing everyone is talking about is the persistence of the ¨2 schools under 1 roof¨ model in which there is technically integration but children of different ethnicities still learn in separate classrooms. It has been interesting to compare this phenomenon with what I heard in South Africa about the impact that integrated schools can have on helping a younger generation move past old tensions.

Yesterday Dzenana and I drove out to Vrelo Bosne which is this gorgeous park about 20 minutes from downtown Sarajevo. The shade from the trees and the cool water from the river were a welcome change from the insane heat :)

This week is pretty busy with interviews but I'm really looking forward to my day trip to Zenica tomorrow. I'm meeting with some people from Sezam, an organization that does reconciliation training with teachers. That's all for now but hopefully I'll get a chance to post again before leaving for the UK!

¨The Fields around the Palace¨

Zdravo (hello) from Bosnia-Herzegovina!! I just arrived in Sarajevo yesterday and took a walk around the city with my friend here, Dzenana Pasic. Dzenana and her family run a local grocery store and have also recently opened a motel. Dzenana also works as a camp counselor at PACT (Peace Action Children's Team), a non-profit organization which focuses on educating Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian children about tolerance, peace-building, and reconciliation in the Balkans.

Sarajevo, which takes its name from saray‐ovasi (translation: the fields around the palace), has been the capital of BiH since 1850. The history of this city is amazing, in fact, yesterday I actually walked across the Latin Bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in 1914 by Gavrilo Princip (the event that sparked World War I).

Today and tomorrow I will be trying to set up meetings with local UN/EU officials who are involved in the reconciliation process here. I'm also looking forward to talking to a woman named Zeeba who is the Director for PACT in Sarajevo.

And finally, drumroll please.....pictures!!

The first two are from Rwanda (shots from the July 4th ¨moto-polo¨ match and the hills surrounding Kigali) and the last three are from South Africa (a sleepy lion at the animal observatory, the amazing landscape at Maropang, and a shot of downtown Jo'burg from the Nelson Mandela Bridge)







Ciao for now :)

Last night in Kigali?!

I can't believe that it's my last night in Rwanda and that this trip is 2/3 done...that means I'll be home in less than a month! This past week and a half has been really busy. While I didn't get to do as much site seeing here in Rwanda as in previous countries, the interviews were extremely informative. Some of my interviewees included the Director of the Kigali Memorial Center, a representative from the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, an officer from the Gacaca courts (traditional courts that were reinstated in the late 1990s to help prosecute crimes of genocide), as well as a couple professors from Kigali Independent University. They all had interesting opinions regarding how far Rwanda has come in the past 15 years and while none of them thought that the reconciliation process is complete, they did seem very hopeful for the future.

Today I visited the Kigali Memorial Center as a kind of capstone to my research here in Rwanda. The visit was extremely educational but also very tough emotionally given the history of violence and suffering commemorated in the memorial. For example, the museum building itself is located within a few yards of several mass graves where over 250,000 victims of the genocide are buried. One part of the exhibit that was especially relevant to my project depicted examples of genocide in other countries. It was really useful to refresh my memory of the Balkan conflict as I am flying out to Bosnia-Herzegovina tomorrow (actually my flight to Sarajevo doesn't leave until early Monday morning and I'm really dreading my 10 hour layover in Nairobi...)

BACKTRACK - I realize that I never posted about my time in South Africa so let me give you a quick summary here:

My dad actually joined me for this leg of my trip and we stayed in the Plum Pudding Guesthouse in Westdene (a neighborhood about 15 min. from downtown Jo'burg). The first few days were a little rough because I fell sick in the transit from India (the cold winter weather in South Africa certainly didn't help matters...) I got better within a few days (thanks to all the hot chai from dad!) and got to work. In order to build on my background knowledge of apartheid, I visited the Apartheid Museum as well Constitution Hill (the site of a historical prison where many blacks were jailed/tortured during the apartheid era). This old prison has since been converted into the Constitutional Court - the highest court in South Africa which places a special emphasis on human rights.

Regarding interviews, I spoke mainly with local university students and professors about their perceptions of South African society 15 years after the end of apartheid. I was actually quite surprised to hear how similar the points/issues they raised were to the challenges the US faces regarding race relations in the post-segregation era.

In addition to my research, I also had the chance to visit Maropang, the "Cradle of Humankind". The museum documented evolution with a special emphasis on early life in Africa. The exhibit was fantastic and the museum grounds were absolutely gorgeous. In fact the landscape was like something out of Disney's Lion King :) After visiting the museum, we (me, my dad, and our lovely local hosts - Arvinda and Jay) headed over to the Lion and Rhino game reserve. Unfortunately we arrived just as they were closing for the day, but we were able to get tickets to a smaller animal observatory across the street.

Another highlight of the trip was watching team USA make it to the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup. South Africans are absolutely obsessed with soccer and I've been told that Johannesburg's countdown to next summer's World Cup actually began a year ago...Although I'm not normally a huge soccer fan, the game is definitely growing on me :) Sadly the US ended up losing to Brazil 3-2, but it was really special to watch the game in a local sports bar/restaurant with several foreign service officers from the local US Consulate. I've been thinking about applying for the Foreign Service after graduation so it was so great to have the chance to talk to these people about what their jobs were like on a practical/day-to-day level.

Well that's about it for now and I'll definitely try and post some pictures when I get to Sarajevo!

Rwanda: The Land of a Thousand Hills

Just got to Rwanda a couple days ago! I'm so excited to be here and to be staying with Elspeth Williams, a Georgetown alum who was a Circumnavigators Fellow in 2007. She and her friends all work with amazing NGOs and it's been really great to see what a difference recent college graduates can make.

Yesterday I spent a few hours roaming around "downtown" Kigali. Despite being the nation's capital/business center, Kigali is tiny compared to most other world capitals. However, there were still many interesting shops as well as a spectacular view of the hills surrounding the city. I also got a chance to practice my French with the friendly locals :) I think my accent needs some work though because a group of school children burst into laughter when I tried to ask the name of the local hills...

Today I am busy setting up meetings with people from USAID and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. In this next week I hope to learn whether/how Rwanda has overcome the trauma of genocide. Even from my brief walk downtown, I was amazed at how happy and peaceful society seems. If I can identify the factors that have helped Rwanda move forward since the genocide, that may offer some guidance for countries that are still struggling with communal conflict.

I just realized that tomorrow will be the first time that I'm not in the US for the Fourth of July. I'll definitely miss the annual fireworks show in Baltimore but I'm also really looking forward to the celebration at the US Embassy here. There is also supposed to be a game of "moto-polo" (polo played on motorcyles instead of horses), should be interesting :)

Finally, I'd really like to load some pictures from South Africa but I don't think this internet connection is fast enough :( Will try again later!

Asia to Africa

Hey all!

I just arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa a few days back and realized that it’s been forever since I’ve written. I met some really interesting people in Amritsar and the interviews went well. In addition to the research, I had the chance to visit the Golden Temple as well as Wagah Border. This border between India and Pakistan is famous because every evening at sunset, the Indian and Pakistani armies perform a ceremony in which they lower their respective flags and close the gate between the two countries.

Here are some pictures:

In front of the Golden Temple

A soldier at Wagah Border

Indian and Pakistani soldiers glaring at each other...

From Punjab, I traveled south to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to visit family. It was really great seeing so many relatives after so long (my last trip to India was in 2002). I ended my visit in Hyderabad where I attended my cousin’s wedding. The ceremony was fantastic and so was the food :)

Family

This internet café isn’t too far from the guesthouse where my dad and I are staying so hopefully Ill be able to write again soon!

The Motherland

Namaste everyone! Abhi mai Hindustan me hu (I am now in India). I arrived in New Delhi, the capital, a few days back and have been hanging out with my cousin Bindu, her husband Sekar, and their son Vishvak. Growing up in the US has made it a little tough to get to know my extended family so it's been really great spending so much time with them here.

On Sunday, we visited the historic Red Fort which was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (the same guy that had the Taj Mahal built). We also saw India Gate and the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the president's house) while driving through the city. In addition to site seeing and family, I've also been enjoying the local food! If you're ever in India you have to try a traditional street snack called "pani puri". To be on the safeside you can have this snack in local supermarkets and restaurants, but there is something special about eating on the streets :)

On Monday and Tuesday, I visited the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) as well as the Center for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). The think tank community here in Delhi isn't nearly as large as it is in DC, but it is definitely growing. Speaking with scholars at these institutes has helped me develop my research focus as I begin my study of the Sikh insurgency. The movement for an independent Sikh nation, "Khalistan", reached its height in the 1980s but is now generally peaceful.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Amritsar, a city in Punjab, where I will study the Sikh issue in more detail. I have arranged to meet a few professors at Guru Nanek Dev University and will hopefully make more contacts upon my arrival. After I finish my research in Amritsar I will head south to visit more family (and attend my eldest cousin's wedding!) Will write again soon :-D

My Last Night in Bangkok

This trip is flying by, I can't believe it's already my last night in Thailand! Yesterday I got back to Bangkok after spending about 5 days in the south (Hat Yai and Pattani). The students I met in Pattani stated that the local insurgent/separatist groups often use the province's historical status as an independent sultanate in order to justify the current use of violence against the government.

Many of the people I interviewed believed that in order to move the peace process forward, the collective memory/history of the southern provinces needs to be rewritten. It will be interesting to see how this situation compares with some of the post-conflict societies that I'm visiting later in the trip.

Finally, as promised....pictures!!

Me and the two Thai students who helped me with my research. A HUGE thank you to Nu (left) and Joon (right)!!

Portrait of the current King of Thailand (framed portraits of Thai royalty can be found all over the country)

Part of the Grand Palace (where the royal family used to live)

Another shot of the Grand Palace


View of Hat Yai from inside a "tuk-tuk" (really affordable public transportation)




Landscape in Pattani

Next stop: India!

Running in the Rain

So I normally don't run unless I'm being chased (shout out to Ms. Amena Ali who does daily laps in the fitting rooms at the Columbia Mall Gap), but this afternoon I finished my meetings relatively early and when I got home, the air had this "just about to rain" coolness to it. I decided that the break from the heat was too good to pass up and pulled on my sneakers to go for a quick run. Turns out its monsoon season in Thailand and what started as a light, refreshing drizzle soon transformed into a torrential downpour...luckily the apartment complex where I'm staying is pretty small so I made it back only slightly drenched.

Other than my adventure in the rain, these past couple days have been pretty successful. Yesterday I met with Dr. Imron Maluleem, a former Member of Parliament who is now the head of the Thai Islamic Center. He provided some great insight into the government's policy towards the south. I also had some time to visit the Grand Palace (one of Bangkok's main tourist attractions), which was absolutely gorgeous :) I promise I'll load some pics soon!

Today morning I met with 3 reporters from the Thai Journalists Association who knew a lot about the current situation in the south. After grabbing lunch with the journalists, I met with a local grade-school teacher who had some interesting ideas about how education can shape the way a minority group feels about itself and its place in society.

I'm flying down to Hat Yai in a few hours so I should probably get to bed, but I'll write again soon!

Day One!

Hey everyone! Sawatdeekaa (hello in Thai)! I officially survived my first day in Bangkok :-D I got to see a bit of the city today with two local students, Nu and Joon, who are helping me with my research. For lunch we went to a huge shopping center/mall in the center of the city called Lotus. In addition to great deals (the Baht/Dollar exchange rate is ridiculous) the mall also had a McDonalds with a huge statue of Ronald with his hands folded in prayer (a standard Thai greeting). I was actually pretty surprised at how many western brands are here, it seems like there is a Dunkin Donuts or Pizza Hut on every corner.

After interviewing one of Nu's Buddhist friends we headed to the Thai Islamic Center and talked to some gentlemen there about the current tension/conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Thailand. One of the men, Mr. Niti Hasan, actually visited Georgetown last month where I met him at an event called "Islam in Southeast Asia." At the end of the visit he brought out his photo album from his trip to DC and I found myself in the background of a couple of the pics! Haha it was like Where is Waldo except I didn't have a sweet red and white striped shirt/hat.

K I'm gonna turn in a little early tonight (I thought I could trick jetlag by staying awake on the plane and sleeping last night but it's catching up with me...), will write more soon!

T minus 9 hours!

In about 9 hours I'll be getting on my first flight for the summer! I've got some last-minute packing to do but everything else is pretty much set. This past week has been a whirlwind of making arrangements and saying bye to family/friends . As excited as I am for this trip, I'm also really going to miss everyone back home. I probably won't have regular access to internet but I will try to send updates as often as possible. Also, if you send me your address I'll do my best to send a postcard :)

My first stop is Thailand and I'll be staying with one of my dad's best friends from college who works for the UN's regional disaster relief center. I'm really looking forward to hearing some stories about what my dad was like in school :-P That's all for now but I'll post again when I get to Bangkok!

7 Days...

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last post, finals kind of got in the way...but now I'm home and all is well :) I'm leaving for my trip in a week and I'm super excited but there is a TON to do before then. It's mostly sending out a bagillion emails a day to set up my interviews in each country and figuring out logistics like where I'll be staying etc.

I also have to decide what all I can take with me. Given the number of connecting flights I'll be taking, I've decided to not check any baggage which means I need to fit everything I need into one carry-on...Those of you who have seen me pack (aka Tina and Kathleen) probably think there's no chance I can live out of one backpack for 3 months but I promise I'm up for the challenge! As long as there is room for my straightner I think I'll be okay :-P Luckily my dad is meeting up with me in Johannesburg so he's going to bring some stuff that I won't need until then (i.e. winter clothes because apparently South Africa gets chilly in June).

Regarding my itinerary, I found out a couple weeks ago that while I'm in India my eldest cousin Sunny will be getting married! I'm so excited that I'll be in town for the wedding because since most of my family is still in India, I've missed a lot of weddings over the years. In order to be there for the whole ceremony (Indian weddings can last for days...) I might have to bump my flight to Jo'burg by a day.

K I should probably get back to planning for now but I'll send updates as I get them!

First Post!

So the last time I kept any kind of journal was in the 6th grade and I'm not really sure where to start...how about the title? Where in the world is Sabalabas?

Like any kid who grew up without cable, I probably watched more PBS in a week than most people do in a lifetime. Back in the early 90s, PBS ran a geography game show called "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" Part trivial pursuit, part crime drama, this show was one of my favorites. Each episode ended with the final contestant frantically running around a map trying to get to various locations - an experience somewhat similar to what I'll be doing this summer :-P

As for Sabalabas...this is a nickname given to me by one of my best friends/roommate of the past two years. In a moment of pure genius, she realized that if you combine my first name (sabala), with the first 3 letters of my last name, (baskar), you get a palindrome: sabalabas! I've been given quite a few nicknames over the years (i.e. sabs, sabby, saballer, babala etc.), but I have to say, as a sucker for symmetry, sabalabas takes the cake - thanks Kathleen!

Now that the title is out of the way, why don't I tell you a little bit about the research I will be doing while traveling? After taking a seminar on ethnic conflict last fall, I realized that I wanted to learn more about this field, especially the human side of it. Specifically, I wondered if young people around the world were less likely to hold on to old grudges than their parents and grandparents and, if so, why? By interviewing university students in various countries, as well as their parents and grandparents, I hope to learn how perceptions of ethnic conflict are formed by education and/or family upbringing.

My current itinerary is as follows:

May 18-May 29: Bangkok/Hat Yai/Pattani, Thailand
May 29-June 19: Delhi/Amritsar/Hyderabad, India
June 19-July 1: Johannesburg, South Africa
July 1-July 12: Kigali, Rwanda
July 12-July 25: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
July 25-July 28: London, England
July 28-August 10: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Well that's about all I've got right now, but I'll keep you posted! (literally, haha...)