BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Heather Shemery: I really try to carry "ćejf" with me, always! (Part 3/4)

 

1) Dear Heather, you lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a while. From today’s perspective, tell us more about your life there.

Oh! It was really transformative for me. It was the longest I had ever been away from home at any one time. I had always dreamed of living in some new place with a rich culture and BiH was really part of proving to myself that I could do it. Anyone who has ever talked to me about BiH knows how special it is to me and how much I love all the time I have spent there. Enough that I went back again to visit and will certainly be back again! I lived there while I was finishing up my studies in college and it was so bizarre to go back to America for my very last semester and feeling very out of the place suddenly because I felt so radically changed by the people and experiences I had

2) What did you like the most and what the least while you were in BiH? 

I mean when you asked me about my favorite things while taking Bosnian lessons, Belma, I probably said ćevapi… but really, it’s the kajmak because I can never find anything else like it! :) But, really, the people. Some of the best and most special friendships I have are with people I have kept up with from Sarajevo. I gained some really great language skills from a fabulous language teacher.

Least favorite thing? The time is always too short! Honestly, I think the only time I was really frustrated with anything in Bosnia was when I was in a hurry and absolutely nobody else was but I learned a lot about slowing down and enjoying the company (and the coffee)… I learned what it means to ćejf and this is something I really try to carry with me, always.

3) Can you make some comparisons between BiH and Saudi Arabia? Are there some similarities or the difference is huge? Give us some examples!

Oh! It’s quite different! Some of those differences are really difficult to put into words that make sense if you haven’t really experienced it. The most obvious differences are around how conservative the cultures are and how people view religion. In both places, religion is strongly tied with identity. I think this plays out practically in different ways. I think there are some similarities in how people value time with the people they love. It looks so different here, in KSA, than it did in BiH but there is still a lot of value in community with the people who you identify with.

Of course, the combination of European and Turkish influence in BiH makes it such a special and unique place! It is really hard to draw a lot of other comparisons!

4) From this point of view, where would you like to live if you could choose any country and city
in the world?

What a question!! I am asking myself the same thing! I truthfully have no idea. The world is such a big place and there are so many corners I haven’t discovered yet. I could see myself finding happiness in so many different places. My contract here is drawing to a close at the end of the academic year and I am faced with the decision to stay here or to find somewhere new. I could stay in the Middle East or find my way back to Europe, or even South America! Who knows what this time next year will be like for me… or the rest of the world, really.