Facing an impossible choice and doing the right thing

Today I am proud of Israel. And humbled by the right choice made in face of a devastatingly difficult reality. Because today Israel exchanged over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them terrorists, in order to bring home 1 captured Israeli soldier who has been held for the past 5 years.

The criticisms of the deal I have heard from some in the Jewish, pro-Israel right, are chilling. As my mom said in response to those criticisms, “Even if you can't agree it's the right choice, it's an impossible choice. How do you criticize an impossible choice?”

I recommend that reading this piece from Haaretz (Israeli newspaper). I’m quoting a piece of it, but the whole thing is well worth the read:

The deal to bring Gilad Shalit back to his family is painful to Israelis bereaved by terror. It is, by any measure, chillingly dangerous.

And it was the right thing to do.

[…]

The deal for Gilad Shalit is a remnant of a promised land that – to those everyday people who donate their very youth, their very lives, in order to defend it – still believes it important to keep its promises.

The first of those promises is a simple one. When they draft you and process you and inoculate you and arm you and begin to use you, they spell it out, to you and your family both: If you are lost on the field of battle, we will get you back. Whatever it takes.

Whatever it takes. Even if it takes much too much.

The list of the terrorists being released is unendurable. The numbers are beyond understanding. Until you consider that this is how it's always been.

[…]

And this is what I too have said several times today. That no matter what you believe as to the wisdom of the deal, you should be able to rejoice that Gilad Shalit is back with his family. That it is not a new precedent (Israel has been making these kinds of impossible exchanges for decades). And that it was the right thing to do.

Wrapping up research

So, I’m finishing up the research part of my trip, and of my foreseeable travels. (It’s quite possible I’ll be back before the dissertation is done, but this trip ends the currently planned travel for work).

The Croatia trip was less productive than I hoped but more productive than I feared. I learned some interesting new pieces in putting together the puzzle of what is going on in the region, but not much progress on the Croatia case-study itself. That will take more digging and networking from home it seems.

I think in many ways, Bosnia was the most fulfilling part of my travels this year from a dissertation perspective. This is because it was a sort of turning point taking the dissertation topic from something with potential to something I can see developing. It was an aha moment. This thing might actually work. And might actually be important. That is in part because while it was my third stop, it is only the second of the case studies (Serbia was for regional context – the case studies are in Kosovo, BiH, and Croatia). And I learned enough to know that there are going to be some really interesting differences in outcomes here, for a good compare/contrast (rather than just hypothesizing that there might be). There’s still a long road to go, with a number of “bends in the road” as Anne Shirley would say, but I feel like it’s the right road to be on…

Croatian culinary adventures

I've had a few requests for more food posts. Apparently people are enjoying watching me eat my way through the Balkans. Of course, this is only partially true. The vast majority of the local cuisine, at least what would be considered main courses, are meat-based. And besides the fact that I'm not a big meat eater in general, my style of keeping kosher involves eating vegetarian during my travels. However, it turns out there are still plenty of interesting local foods to sample. It's just that most of them are pastry and/or dessert! See for example the ice cream (which is really superb), burek (described in previous posts), and palačinke (crepes), that are popular throughout the region.

And now, without further ado, let me introduce you to three Croatian pastries (complete with pictures!):

Fritule -- these little balls of fried dough remind me of a cross between doughnut holes and fry bread. They are dipped in sugar and cinnamon. They are traditionally a Christmas time treat in Croatia, but are also sold in little paper cones year round at open air markets.

Štrukli -- a traditional Croatian pastry filled with cottage cheese and baked or fried. My Lonely Planet guidebook describes them as "baked cheese dumplings" and the Bradt guidebook says štrukli "is something of a death by cream, doughy-pasta and cottage-cheese experience. It's somewhere between a giant cream-soaked ravioli and a cheese-stuffed dumpling." Personally, I found it to be akin to cheese blintzes, just served with real cream rather than sour cream.

Štrudla -- it's Strudle! This is one pastry influence in Croatia that clearly migrated from further north along with other Austo-Hungarian influences. You can actually find it throughout the Balkans, but in Croatia it's particularly popular.

Sightseeing Zagreb – Arts and Architecture

Zagreb feels very European in a way that makes me think of Vienna and Prague, though I’ve never been to either. It does make me want to visit there as well. This totally makes sense if you look at the growth of the city and the influences on it’s architecture. Sarajevo has three distinct architectural phases – Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Yugoslav (think communist-era utilitarian), expanding outward from the city center. Only a few hours further north, in Zagreb, by way of contrast, there is little Ottoman influence to be seen. The Austro-Hungarian influence, however, is vast. What a difference geography makes.

The Cathedral in Zagreb is magnificent. (Most Croats are Catholic). It made me think of my thrill in visiting the National Cathedral in DC my senior year in high school, while I was studying art history. “Look, Ma – flying buttresses!! How cool!”. So back to Zagreb, the Cathedral is artistically and architecturally gorgeous, and very different in style to the few others I’ve visited -- e.g. the Cathedral in Mexico City which is Mexican baroque with a vengeance (this is not meant as a criticism, I have a very soft spot for the place), very different from the more subtle dynamic at play here. (I don't have pictures that could do any of the above mentioned Cathedral's justice, but do a quick google search if you're interested to get a sense.) One of the things I love about visiting cathedrals is experiencing another culture putting its best foot forward – this is the way it wants to see itself. The other thing I love about it is something that is both intentional and unintentional at the same time. From my perspective, a great Cathedral is truly awe-inspiring, as it was designed to be, but for me the awe has a more human than divine focus. Look what beautiful works mankind can do when energy and talent are put towards building something lofty!

Along the same lines, I have also visited several art museums while in Zagreb. It’s a great city for art galleries as there are many – private collections and public, including collected works from Europe and around the world and local artists. Today I visited Meštrović Atelier, the home and gallery of Croatia’s most famous native sculptor Ivan Meštrović, and it was very much worth while. I can appreciate Greco-Roman sculpture in theory -- it is designed to be aesthetically pleasing --, but it is not very interesting. The people often seem very reserved. Meštrović's sculptures are perhaps less perfectionist of the human form, but more emotional, and I found some of them to be quite compelling, and almost all of them to be interesting.

The long and winding road

On Sunday, I took the bus from Sarajevo to Split. This involved driving through the mountainous BiH countryside westward towards the coast, at which point we entered Croatia, and then up the coast towards Split. (A long narrow strip of Croatia dips down along the Coast most of the length of Bosnia and Hercegovina). All of the highways were at most 1 lane in each direction. Both the mountain roads and coastal roads were very curvy, and this combined with a slightly-to-warm bus on an 8 hour drive left me feeling slightly queasy. This is unfortunate because it was otherwise a lovely way to see beautiful pieces of both countries.

After spending Monday in Split, yesterday (Tuesday) I took a bus inland (north-eastward) across Croatia to Zagreb, the capital. I was worried about this ride after the previous one, especially since my guidebook said the trip would take 5-9 hours. Ultimately, it was smooth sailing, over much better (and wider! 2 lanes in each direction!) roads. And it took just about exactly 5 hours. Yay. Now to explore another Balkan capital city.

View Larger Map

Zoom out a bit on the map to get a better sense of the geography. I can't get google to show you the route itself because it doesn't have enough road data in the region. In fact there is no google maps data for Sarajevo! It's weird living in a pre-google world!

By the seashore: a visit to Split

Yesterday I took the bus from Sarajevo to Split, and tomorrow I take another bus on to Zagreb, but today is my vacation day to visit Split and chill. It’s lovely. I wish I had more than one day to spend exploring the Croatian coast, as it surely deserves. But has nonetheless been lovely to stroll along the water front, and explore the ancient ruins of Diocletian’s palace (the Roman emperor’s retirement home) which coexist and mingle with modern life in Split. This is not like visiting the Palatino in Rome. Inside the palace walls are restaurants, shops, homes, and small hotels, making use of the ancient structure, which is teeming with modern life. It’s pretty cool.

10 years and a lifetime ago…

10 years and lifetime ago, I was a college student. A Californian spending the fall semester living in NYC and working at the UN. I and my classmates, all students of international relations, arrived in NY on September 1st, 2001. Less than the 2 weeks later, the world we studying and came to experience changed in front of our eyes. (Although granted, this is coming from the girl who wrote about the threat of international terrorism on a college admissions essay 3 years earlier). Even now I cannot say exactly how that experience has affected my life, but that it has done so, in ways both subtle and not-so-subtle, is indisputable. I don’t think I’m ready to go into that further in this space, at this time. Suffice it to say, I am remembering.