I finished Finals in December and my program didn’t begin until March 4. With all that free time, I decided to do what any logical and self-respecting person would do:
I went to Bosnia.
My first welcome into Bosnia was on-board the barely functional flight from Belgrade to Banja Luka, in Bosnia, where I was treated to a delicious lunch of bread, dried meat, and sour cream — the 3 essential vitamins. After surviving, which I wasn’t sure I would, we were ushered through Bosnian customs, which I believe doubled for someone’s garage.
From there, my uncle drove me to the home he shares with my grandparents, and for the next 3 weeks, I got to live like a Bosnian. Here are some of the sights you see as you pull into my grandparents’ property
:
Not pictured are the chickens. Chickens are everywhere in the country. At first it was cool. The first time I woke up to the cuckooing of a chicken was really fun, since I’ve never woken up to that before. That lost its authenticity really quickly.
My family also took me around the country, to see some local attractions.
This is a local ski resort/hiking trail. Due to the unseasonably warm weather there was no snow. Look at the architecture! I find that building to be really cool, and also beautiful inside! But I didn’t take pictures of the inside, for fear of looking like a tourist (which they don’t get many of in Bosnia so that would have turned some heads).
Next my aunt took me to Banja Vrucica, a multi-million euro spa resort for people suffering or recovering from cardiovascular diseases.
Only problem is half the country is in Cyrillic, so I had to learn a bit of Cyrillic:
I went to Bosnia to see my family, not to sight-see. Truth be told, however, there aren’t too many touristy sights in the country. Bosnia doesn’t have money to rebuild after the war like Germany, nor does it have money to build grand palaces, museums, and attractions like most developed countries.
That’s not to say there’s nothing in Bosnia. The experience lies not in museum tours and sight-seeing, but in walking down the streets, talking to people, and actually experiencing the culture. I got a better view of the country’s history, culture, and mentality from speaking with my family and walking around than I ever would have in a museum.
I mean, Bosnia may be ailing, but it’s a beautiful country:
I mean no disrespect to my family, but I am very happy I live in America. I have so many opportunities in America than my family has in Bosnia, the most important and potent of them being my education. I think we have a tendency to forget how lucky we are to be receiving the education we are; this is hardly an opportunity for most people around the world.
But there is one opportunity in America that is severely lacking:
Cevapi should not be so difficult to come by in the US. Also, Fanta Shockata is the best soda ever, and I’ve only ever seen it in Bosnia. These are Banja Luka style cevapi, by the way.
Banja Luka is the second biggest city in Bosnia. Population: 200,000.
Well, I’m currently in Berlin and have been for a month, so I’ll be posting about that soon!
Bis sp�ter!
Location: Teslić, Bosnia
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Ivana,
I really enjoyed reading about your trip to Bosnia. It was very interesting to read about how you experienced the your family’s life there. Although you said there are not many touristy sites, the green landscape looks beautiful. It is really cool how you can look deeper into a culture. A culture without gigantic monuments and buildings in plain view and really see what all it has to offer. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of your semester in Germany!