It was day seven.  Day seven of the heat.  Day seven of no air conditioning.  Day seven of constant sweating, of feeling the sticky liquid between my breasts.  Seven days of no wind.  Seven days of inhaling the sour stench of chicken shit and burning trash.  The night gave me the gift of seven more […]

When I stepped off the bus at the Osijek bus station, Igor was waiting with his hand outstretched. “Danielle?” he asked, eyeing my backpack stuffed with everything I would need for the next three months.  He appeared to be in his late twenties, with thinning blond hair and soft blue eyes.  His shoulders slumped forward […]

“Let me tell you young lady,” he paused and peered over his wire rimmed glasses, “war is shit.”  He scrunched his nose in an attempt to push his glasses back to their original position and his face looked eerily disfigured.  His eyes were dark, sunken into his skull as if his body was trying to […]

One of the most magnificent areas to visit in Croatia is the Plitvička jezera National Park established in 1949 (Croatian: Plitvička jezera, pronounced [plitˈvitsɛ]), which lies in the mountainous region of Southern Croatia.  In recognition of its “outstanding natural beauty and undisturbed production of travertine (tufa)” the park was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage […]