Bosnia and Serbia :: history

Bosnia and Serbia Historically and politically, the Bosnians and the Russians are a perfect match.This history started in the middle of the first thousand years A.D. when the tribes called the Southern Slavs migrated into the southeast area of Europe known as the Balkans. The Slav people as they are known, were separated from the Northern Slavs, that is, related Slavs in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, by the non-slavic tribes that settled the lands of Austria and Hungary. The Bosnians original ancestors were the Southern Slavs. They raided areas throught the Balkans including what is now modern day Serbia.This tribe eventually split up, mostly for religious and political reasons but also because the geography of the region is such that large groups of Slavs became separated and isolated from one another because of the difficult terrain. When religion came to the Balkans, where you were physically had as much to do with what religion you grew up with as other reasons. The Serbs who were closest to the Byzantine Empire geographically, took up the Eastern Orthodox Religion. The peoples in what is now Croatia, Slovinia and Bosina were infuenced by Rome and took up Roman Catholicisim. However, the Bosnians, who were alwasys being threathned politically by the Orthodox Christian Serbs as well as their Roman Catholic neighbors, by the fifteenth century had made apolitical decision to align themselves with the rising power of the Ottoman Empire, and converted to Islam. Russia, the country where most of the Southern Slavs came from had accepted the Eastern Orthodox religion at around the time the Serbs did. This religious bond between Russians and Serbs was very strong and the two groups supported one another for virtually their entire history up to and including modern times. The Serbs supported the Russians in almost all their wars and helped the Russians gain control of part of the Eastern Mediterraen from the Turks. This is why the Russians are deeply interested in this area and feel they have a special role to play in the current conflict. The Balkans are the reason that World War I had started. The Serbs of 1914 was as determined then, as they were for centuries, of preserving their independence in the Balkans. A wider war in the Balkans could risk the security of Europe, and possibly draw Moslen nations into the war. On a more imeadiate level, the reason for peace in

Community Service Experience Essay

My community service experience was a very interesting experience because I had to work with elderly people at Brookdale Hospital: The Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation. The Schulman and Schachne Institute are located at Brookdale Plaza. The Schulman and Schachne Institute for Nursing and Rehabilitation is a voluntary, non-profit, residential healthcare facility dedicated to providing the highest quality of medical care in a homelike environment. This supportive atmosphere is created by the Schulman and Schachne Institute’s dedicated team of healthcare professionals, who are devoted to helping each individual regain health and strength while respecting individuality, dignity and autonomy. My duties were taking care of the elderly, Answering phones with proper greeting, and filing reports and certain patient information. From often time to time, they moved me from floor to floor where as I dealt with different people every day. Every day I came in with a good positive attitude. I prepared their meals and gave them their daily supplies. They also showed me the parts to the hospital, they taught me the little things that I can learn how to do now such as, Wheel and Lock a Wheelchair, Take Patients in and out of there wheel cheer, etc. Every day I spent in the hospital I learned something new I learned what community service really is. I have learned responsibilities that it is not easy to do as to what the nurses do on the regular, and trust me there job is not easy. I truly now know the value of community service, which is providing a service to the community. This type of service gives me a chance to gain working experience, so that I can develop and improve on my working skills, something I lack. I am also able to build on my self-confidence. Community service gives me the opportunity to learn more about myself and my abilities. Doing community service makes me feel complete because I’m doing something that is meaningful to my community where I live. In conclusion, I truly believe that doing community service, is not only doing God’s work, but given back to the community and helping someone less fortunate than me. Working with the elderly, is not easy at all it took time and patience. You have to be patient and encourage them that there is a way and God can make it happen. I love to see the smiles on their little faces every day because this gave me a feeling that I was doing something right not just for my community but for myself. Doing this community service, I felt like I bettered myself in so many ways.

Motorcycle & Sweetgrass Journal

Journal 2 â€Å"Motorcycle & Sweetgrass† brought up two major conflicts at the very end of the novel. The first conflict was based on a battle between John and the raccoons (Person vs. Nature) John was in the forest having a talk with the raccoons and giving them food. The raccoons were all surrounded around the bushes, resemble in ready to have a fight with the Nanabush. The animals reproached John and he was so furious. The clash with the raccoons shows the mysterious hidden relationship between them.John even wanted them to disappear, he burnt the forest and the creatures began to melt into the forest background. This conflict appeared the wicked and wild behaviour of the spiritual creature. The second conflict was the combat between John and Wayne. (Person vs. Person) A cousin of Virgil, Dakota, was missing and Virgil believed she went to find John for a talk. He was worried about Dakota since John was a Nanabush, she might fall into trouble. Soon or later, Virgil and Wayn e went to find John and to see if Dakota was with him or not.Meanwhile, they witnessed the fight of the raccoons and the Nanabush. Wayne was fearful that the Nanabush would hurt Dakota and everyone in the community and he was dangerous, so, he decided to have a fight with the creature. Wayne defiled his motorcycle and they started their battle. He was injured so seriously, the Nanabush even threw a raccoon towards his face. Of course, John won the battle. This conflict was the most incredible part of the novel, the writer portrayed every scene of their fight and it showed the courage and confidence of this character.The first significant quote of the novel was (1) â€Å"Who is this man? Nobody in his family was cool enough to know this guy like this, Virgil thought† (p. 47). This was the situation when the white man, John, came to the Otter Lake and visited Virgil’s grandmother, Lillian. John was white and he was different from everyone of them in the community. The wr iter described the word, â€Å"cool† as the character of the white man. This compared the differences of the white community and the native community.The native community was more old fashioned and traditional, but the white community was more modern. This quote shows that the natives believed they had a lower status by comparing the whites. The two communities couldn’t be connected together. John was a symbol of the white man attacking the native community, it was hard to believe that a white man could have a close relationship with a native woman. This quote showed a theme of an interracial relationship. The second quote of this novel was (2)â€Å"He was dancing! He was a blur of movement one minute, and almost still the next.At times John was silhouetted against the almost full moon. Virgil was mesmerized. This wasn’t any type of dancing he’d seen on television, or at powwows. It had an ancient, tribal quality, and yet at the same time, a modern, inno vative style. And just about everything in between. † (p. 130) In this quote, the writer described the unique character of John. He was not only a normal white man, but a man dancing in a strange style. I believed the writer would like to use this as implying the readers that John was not a normal human, but a Nanabush.He used different abnormal behavior and actions of him as well as his style of dancing, â€Å"ancient and modern†, to let the readers predict the character of John. The writer illustrates the creepiness of John, on how perilous he would affect on Maggie and the whole Otter Lake community. The last quote of this novel was (3) â€Å"Dakota might be in trouble, thought Virgil. With John, since nobody really knew his game, that was a strong possibility. Virgil weighed his options and decided Dakota’s situation was the most important. † (p. 85) When Virgil noticed Dakota, his cousin, was lost, he knew the most important thing for him to do was to find his cousin, not to go to school. Although skipping classes was not a good example, he knew that finding his cousin is more important. The writer depicted the matured attitude of Virgil. At the beginning of the story, he was a rebellious kid who always skipped classes, however, after the arrival of John, he started to become a grown up child. I believed John is a symbol to Virgil’s maturity and this quote showed a theme of growth and self discovery.