Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina is a crossroads of many cultures. In many countries in Eastern Europe, the influences of their past invasions are not felt as much as they are here. Looking in the faces of passersby, you can see remnants of the Austria-Hungary invasion, people with strong jaws and bright blue eyes and children with blond hair. Other residents resemble the Turks with olive skin and dark hair. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Muslim, Croat, or Serb, you see this in all of its citizens. Tiny streets made of cobblestone line the downtown area of Sarajevo with sections for all types of wares such as jewelry and metal ware. Many shops sell items that look straight out of India and Turkey. The Turkish influence is seen in street names, rugs, décor of restaurants and in the many souvenirs sold here. Within the city lies the Olympic Stadium, which residents are proud to point out. Another important tourist spot is where the Emperor Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot by a disgruntled Serb which eschewed in the First World War.
The temperature is hot in the summer and most residents don’t have air conditioning, so they leave work early and stroll the downtown at night when the air cools off meeting friends and eating wonderful European ice cream. Many, especially the young people, get together until quite late hours. The outdoor coffee shops are decorated with wicker benches and tented coverings which spray a fine mist to cool you off while you enjoy being outside.
I arrived in Sarajevo on Friday and dined with a Cultural Affairs officer, Sunshine Ison from Kentucky and her husband. We ate her favorite dish called, Klepe which was pasta swimming in a divine sauce that consisted of cheese and cream. The next day I was given a tour of the old part of town and filled in about the history from another person from the Embassy, Elisabeta, who is from Korcula, Croatia, but has lived in Bosnia for many years. She loves working for the Embassy, trying to bring the people of Bosnia together and truly believes that can be done through the teaching and training of English since the other cultures and languages divide Bosnia. Bosnia is divided into separate districts called cantons and two regions: one in which the Bosniaks, Muslims, and Croats, Catholic, co-exist, and the other district is held by the Serbs who rarely leave or co-mingle with the first two groups. The U.S. Embassy sincerely hopes that this seminar, now in its third year, will bring together teachers from all of these different factions in Bosnia to try to unit them in friendship and common good. Sixteen or seventeen teachers from the Srpska territory, Serbs, had signed up to attend the seminar, but only one showed up and the remainder canceled at the last minute. While the Embassy was disappointed, they hope that the one who did attend will spread the word about how worthwhile our conference is and encourage them to attend next year.
I arrived in Tuzla, the designation for our conference yesterday afternoon and met with the medresa Director, Asmir Doric, and the other trainers, whom I had been corresponding with for the last two weeks. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. In attendance also was Dr. Loucas Petroniculos, the Fulbright Scholar, working here in Tuzla, Alma Doric, a former English Language Fellow, and her brother Almin, who is the current ELF in Kosovo. The Muslim teachers at the medresa seem shyer than the other teachers but they are very friendly and kind towards us.
Tuzla is about two and a half hours from Sarajevo. The town was known for its salt mines in the past and its large lake in the city which is the destination of many people to cool off in the summer. The lake is a natural salt lake. Because of extensive mining in the past the city is caving in, in many parts because of the underground mines and experts from others countries are being called in to remedy the situation.
Today we began our first day of sessions with opening ceremonies by the Mufti of this canton and the Political Affairs Officer of the Embassy, Thomas Mesa. Mr. Mesa is Cuban born and came here when he was three years old. His wife who he met on his first post in Chile is Chilean. He told me she calls their children Cuchileas. We had breakfast at the Medresa which serves only food prepared here for the students. The Medresa is a Muslim high school which also houses students who come from out of town.
Contrary to what many Americans think, these Muslim girls do their best to look pretty. Although they wear scarves, longer sleeves, and longer skirts, their clothes are also stylish, colorful, and the girls wear make-up. I asked Elisabeta why this is so, and she said different cultures have ideas about what is modest and in the Muslim culture covering your skin is considered modest.
My first workshop was on brain-based learning and was working with a group of eight mostly high school teachers. The second workshop was on performing skits and playing games with your students. They said they have the same issues language teachers have in the U.S., their students learn to read, write, and the grammar of the second language, but cannot speak it, so we learned fun ways to encourage speaking in class. The third workshop was on writing as was the fourth workshop.
In the English Specialist program we are given $200 to buy books and materials for us to use in preparing for our workshops. Since I didn’t need any materials, I purchased items like children’s books to bring with me to show the teachers. Other items were sentence strip holders and sentence strips, the Writing Process to hang on the wall, blueprints on sheets of paper from the builders of our neighborhood for a game, teacher’s pointers, and writing materials. The teachers here had never seen any of these things and were so curious about the things we use in America. I’m leaving these to put in the America’s Corners Library for teachers here to check out. They now have their own set of my favorite books, Henry and Mudge.
To be Continued.
