Carlos Iniguez, Grade 12
UWC Mostar
There is something in Bosnia trapped decades ago.
Spring memory is transmitted and never inherited.
Recycled energy between year and year.
I toast because old age does not deprive us of this juice.
That is as ours as the heart.
That is as yours as the soul.
Spring memory is transmitted and never inherited.
Recycled energy between year and year.
I toast because old age does not deprive us of this juice.
That is as ours as the heart.
That is as yours as the soul.
At a certain moment, most of the UWCers have come to believe that their UWC is unique. Last month, I had the opportunity of meeting my Mexican co-years from other UWCs and listening to their innovative stories. However, once it was my turn to share, I did not know how to completely put my experience into words. Now it is my moment to do this complex task of portraying the uniqueness of my community in Mostar.
If I could define Mostar with a word, it would most likely be “freedom”. We are not isolated in a golden bubble far from civilization. Our possibilities for planning a day are not defined by the campus, if not by our dreams. We can either go to a café to study for a test, run 15 km around the city, or bike 40 km to visit other towns. Our interaction is not limited to our school members, if not by our will. In Bosnia, I have met a wide range of people in the streets, from homeless that speak fluent Spanish and war veterans that talked about Tito. In UWCiM, you have huge cardboard to paint your experience.
If I could define Mostar with a picture, it would most likely be a bridge. This image does not just come to my mind because of the multiple structures around the city. I relate it to the historical context of the school. UWC Mostar is the only UWC college built into a post-conflict country. The effects of the war are still present in the way local people treat each other based on their ethnicity or religion. In this way, the UWC mission of uniting people through education takes a more realistic setting. The simple act of talking to a student from a different nationality in the street represents a huge step toward changing the status quo.
However, the current global health situation (that seems to last forever) has modified my perspective about my community. Although UWC promotes the union of the world population for a common goal, the restrictions due to the pandemic have increased the borders among the people. Before COVID, I was amazed by the multiple service activities that the students used to do, such as going to refugee camps and teaching English to local kids. Then, my expectations were broken when I arrived at Mostar. Our interaction was limited due to the COVID-19, and it seemed that our hands were chained in my first term. Nevertheless, I have changed my perspective by seeing how UWC students, from a distance, can still change the lives of multiple people. One example of this is the effort of 6 students from UWC Mostar to help their Afghani friend to get out of a conflict area and improve her living conditions.
That is my vision for UWC. A global community in which relations are not restricted due to space and time. I have seen it before, I believe that we can do it even more, and I believe that we can and we will explore new opportunities!
If I could define Mostar with a word, it would most likely be “freedom”. We are not isolated in a golden bubble far from civilization. Our possibilities for planning a day are not defined by the campus, if not by our dreams. We can either go to a café to study for a test, run 15 km around the city, or bike 40 km to visit other towns. Our interaction is not limited to our school members, if not by our will. In Bosnia, I have met a wide range of people in the streets, from homeless that speak fluent Spanish and war veterans that talked about Tito. In UWCiM, you have huge cardboard to paint your experience.
If I could define Mostar with a picture, it would most likely be a bridge. This image does not just come to my mind because of the multiple structures around the city. I relate it to the historical context of the school. UWC Mostar is the only UWC college built into a post-conflict country. The effects of the war are still present in the way local people treat each other based on their ethnicity or religion. In this way, the UWC mission of uniting people through education takes a more realistic setting. The simple act of talking to a student from a different nationality in the street represents a huge step toward changing the status quo.
However, the current global health situation (that seems to last forever) has modified my perspective about my community. Although UWC promotes the union of the world population for a common goal, the restrictions due to the pandemic have increased the borders among the people. Before COVID, I was amazed by the multiple service activities that the students used to do, such as going to refugee camps and teaching English to local kids. Then, my expectations were broken when I arrived at Mostar. Our interaction was limited due to the COVID-19, and it seemed that our hands were chained in my first term. Nevertheless, I have changed my perspective by seeing how UWC students, from a distance, can still change the lives of multiple people. One example of this is the effort of 6 students from UWC Mostar to help their Afghani friend to get out of a conflict area and improve her living conditions.
That is my vision for UWC. A global community in which relations are not restricted due to space and time. I have seen it before, I believe that we can do it even more, and I believe that we can and we will explore new opportunities!
Edited by Jannat Bozulan
www.unitedworldwide.co