Travels

Montenegro

Apart from all the time I had to spend on preparing for my move to DC, I had a very interesting week in Montenegro and my learning curve was probably the steepest ever with my knowledge of what goes into a World Bank negotiation package for a project went from 0% to about 80% and I learned all the details in at least half of the components in this particular project, and I got an overview of the rest. My colleague and I were there to support the Ministry in the writing of a project document that needs to be completed before the project can be approved. I worked basically non-stop from 7:30 in the morning to 23:30 at night with only short breaks for meals. Fortunately, my colleague was also a junior professional and a very nice company, besides being great at updating me on everything that I needed to know, so I enjoyed it both in and outside of work.

Coffee break outside the Ministry of Agriculture

Podgorica is a small but very nice city. Very Mediterranean in terms of the city life. Most of the work we did was there in the capital, but Wednesday, I had a meeting with the Montenegrean Marine Biology Institute in Kotor by the coast, about 2 hours from Podgorica. On the way there, the driver and the translator that came with me told me that the region of Kotor is a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. And it was beautiful. Located on the coast surrounded by steep mountains, it looked almost like the Norwegian fiords, but with a more rough landscape. It was absolutely astonishing and definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in Europe. The old town of Kotor was very picturesque, with small alleys and squares within closed city walls, and with absolutely no cars. In the middle of the town, there is a music school, and through an open window, we could hear a woman doing singing exercises, filling the air with her clear voice. I thought it wonderful!