The Dedication, Sibenik & Split

Tuesday was the big day, the dedication of the site. Vesna had meetings with us through the weekend and on Monday to get everything arranged for the event, making sure the site was ready, determining the content of the dedication and arranging a performance. A week or so before, Vesna talked to Winterbottom about the dedication and he volunteered a couple people to perform, myself among them. So the morning of the dedication everyone else leisurely went down at 10:15 while I scrambled running into Kampor and back at the last minute to get things for my outfit.

There was a presentation in the administration building by Vesna and a powerpoint narrated by Winterbottom that made us tear up. It covered the whole process from site analysis to future projections of what the plants will look like. Then the whole audience, over 50 people, including press got up and moved down to the site. We stood on the road looking into the garden while a two minute performance to soft relaxing music happened with performers showing the potential uses for the site like reading, playing music, gardening, physical therapy, exercise, talking etc. It was intended to show the audience how the garden will be used by not just the patients but the staff and visitors as well.

As their soft music came to a close I situated myself near the entrance at the front of the crowd and got ready. A moment later a loud reggaeton beat came over the speakers set up in the shelter. Carl moved down into the plaza and did a back flip out of Biruk's hands; the audience on the street started to cheer and on my cue I Cha-Cha'd my way out into the site by the entrance to the boardwalk. The rest of the performance is a blur, I know Carl and I met at the center of the boardwalk, jumped down into the plaza and danced very fast to the very energetic, fun song. Vesna wanted people to understand that the site is multi-versatile, and because dance is therapeutic and exciting she wanted it as an exclamation point at the end of the dedication.

After the bow at the end much of the audience came down into the plaza and learned two salsa steps from Carl then everyone danced in the plaza. All of us students, a lot of the staff, even some patients came down to dance. Then, because it's Croatia and I don't understand a lot of it St. Nicholas came out and gave everyone candy and sticks spray painted gold with ribbons attached. I moved through hugging everyone, Vesna, our volunteers, even the kitchen and laundry staff came out to see what was going on and I hugged them goodbye too.

After the dedication a few of us took one last walk through the site. Seeing it completely finished, shiny and new is surreal. Now we have to hand it over to the users, the people that will love it, hate it, maintain it and vandalize it. I wish we could have stayed just a few days longer to see how it's used; but such is life. The project is finished, our job is done and it's time to move on.
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The next morning we met Marco in the driveway with all of our bags in tow. I think my red backpack developed an attitude problem being used as a dirty clothes hamper for two and a half months, if possible it has become more cumbersome and definitely more heavy even without my work boots and several articles of clothing I'm leaving here. It grumbled and groaned but I eventually got everything into it and it into the van.
Then we drove away, and left our island, the hospital, the project and everyone we've met, off to continue the adventure together for the time being.

Having stayed out very late the night before I slept almost the entire way to Split, which is on the coast, further south than Zadar. On the way we stopped in Sibenik, an old city on a steep hill that has spectacular, steep, mysterious stairways.

 I immediately took off up one of the small twisty ones between two rows of houses, then another and another and another until I reached the gates of the cemetery at the top of the hill (somehow I always end up in graveyards). The cemetery butts up against St. Michele's castle on the very apex of the hill but the road from the city was closed and gated. Over the castle wall I could hear heavy machinery breaking rocks apart. No matter, I hopped the wall and lowered myself down the six or so feet to the path below.

The castle from what I can tell is just the outside wall right now, piles and piles of stones are within it where the construction was happening. I made sure the construction guys saw me before I walked to a part they weren't working on, where the road continued on the outside wall. The view from the castle was spectacular and definitely worth some mild trespassing. From up there I could see all along the coast in either direction, the entire city, new and old town rolling over the hilly landscape. In the bright afternoon sun it looked like a perfect depiction of paradise.

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Another few sleepy hours in the van and we arrived in Split. A biggish city centered around a walled city center complex, Diocletian's Palace.

 At first glance old town Split feels a lot like Venice minus the canals. They used the same kind of stone, the buildings create narrow alleys with the same verticality, and there are small plazas everywhere that have strings of lights across for Christmas.

 All of old town slopes gently down to the water where there was recently a giant renovation project that made the waterfront very comfortable and walkable. There are vendors all along the water selling candy, Christmas decorations, coffee, beer and mulled wine.

Split also for some reason has many many shoe stores and book stores. I had to put on the blinders to keep from going into bookstores because I cannot be trusted in them and my luggage is already over packed.

Winterbottom arranged one last field trip for us out of Split, on Saturday we met Marco at one and drove about fifteen minutes outside of the city to Salona, an awesome Roman ruin, complete with a coliseum.

Split was relaxing, we took it easy, wandered the streets, ate delicious food, drank delicious wine and spent time enjoying each other's company. Our second and final night in Split we were all at the waterfront at one of the shack/bars when Winterbottom told us goodbye. He had to leave the program a few days early and fly to China for another project. I'll see him again in Seattle, but watching him walk away marked the beginning of the end of us as a group, and I think it struck a chord with everyone.