[I
had this saved on a Word Document, but forgot to post it earlier]
Most
everyone in Bosnia who had any kind of Optimism about the future of ethnic
relations in the country gave us really the same basic plan: get the people
talking to each other. All the nasty
stories that each of the groups tell about each other, they say, only survive
in a culture of isolation. Forging
casual, business, academic, or other personal connections is a way to see the
things they have in common, and repudiate the inherited hatred and
distrust. None of them said it would be
easy, but all pretty much agreed on the effectiveness.
We
had a chance, in our last evening in Sarajevo, to test that theory when we had
dinner with some local students [and one transfer student from Libya] from the
American University in Sarajevo. It
pretty much confirmed the idea that college students are the same
everywhere. Our conversation was more on
movies, TV shows, jokes, school, food, and drinks than about international or
inter-ethnic relations, but we all had a good time. I
really wish we’d had more, in fact; they were a great group to hang out with.
The
hospitality of the Balkans was the most unexpected, and most pleasant, surprise
we’d received. We weren’t sure how
people in the group would treat Americans, but everyone was really out to show
their best side, at the very least. We
had a few racial minorities with us as well, who found themselves to be the
most popular among us, perhaps as a result of the attractiveness of the exotic. It was actually kind of funny; we had one
Korean guy with us, and every single club he went to, the DJ would play
“Gangham Style,” and literally everyone would
turn and give him center stage.
We
were all really sad to leave Sarajevo; we eked out a walking tour the morning
we were to bus out, again with the same hosts.
It was really interesting to see the Turkish Quarter; not many European
cities have that. Sarajevo is really a
beautiful city, and for all its tragic history, a rather safe one. There was really only one homicide in recent
memory; and the victim’s face was graffiti’ed everywhere, as a kind of
memorial. I thought that was rather
touching.
Well,
the bus ride was pretty long, though the borders didn’t give us as much trouble
as we anticipated. We passed through
Croatia on the way back to Budapest, and I noticed a difference between that
country, and what we saw in Bosnia and Serbia.
There were no rural villages or huts; all the dwellings looked like a
modern, western Suburb. There were no
hollow, abandoned buildings, though the architecture was similar to what we saw
elsewhere in the Western Balkans. I
guess that’s an indication of Croatia’s readiness to become an EU member this
year.
We
all shared our impressions on the way back; and a couple of us shared some
personal stories about our time here. I
told everyone about how my grandfather had escaped from Cuba, and another
student told a story about managing to re-unite with two Serbian exchange
students whom he met back in High school.
It was all really neat; the professor told us that in terms of getting
along with each other, we were one of the best groups he’d ever taken on this
program.
We
all really did feel like family as we shared one last drink together in the
hotel bar. It was sad to reflect that we
would soon be parting; some of us had booked earlier flights than others, and
wouldn’t get a chance to say goodbye in the morning. I don’t think any of us were quite willing to
leave yet, but classes were starting soon back in the US, and we would be there
come Tuesday.
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