Since arriving in Sarajevo last month for my summer term studying Bosnian with the Balkan Language Initiative (BLI), my days have become organized around a now-familiar routine: classes, meetings with my conversation partner, exploring the city, and spending time with my host family.
During the week, a lot of my time is spent in class: I meet with three teachers one-on-one for a total of 15 hours per week, and although this intense scheduled seemed extremely daunting at the beginning, it’s been both rewarding and fun. Over the course of the past month, I’ve noticed significant improvement in my ability to speak, understand, and read in Bosnian—my vocabulary is expanding, I’m speaking more competently, and when I make mistakes, I’m often able to notice them and correct them myself. My three teachers—Hana, Nalda, and Zerina—are all wonderful and very dedicated to helping me learn. Given that I’m currently doing my PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures, they have begun introducing me to both contemporary and classic Bosnian literature: we read aloud together in class, and last week we visited the Museum of Literature and Performing Arts (Muzej književnosti i pozorišne umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine); we even attended a live conversation with an author at Bookstan, a literary festival held each year in the Skenderija neighborhood of Sarajevo.
My homework assignments serve the dual purpose of developing my language skills and helping me learn about the city, Bosnian history, and current events. For instance, during my first week of class I received an assignment to visit the Museum of Jewish History (Muzej Jevreja Bosne i Hercegovine) and note down five new facts that I learned; during my second week I had an assignment to buy an issue of Oslobođenje, one of Bosnia’s leading newspapers, and report on what I had read the following day. I of course used this task as an excuse to sit outside and read the paper while enjoying a leisurely post-class coffee, which is itself an integral component of cultural life in the city.
At home with my host family, when meeting with my conversation partner, and taking in Sarajevo on my own—coffee is always obligatory. Some of the first new vocabulary words that I learned after arriving in the country had to do with coffee, as my host mother demonstrated for me the traditional Bosnian technique for brewing and drinking one’s coffee. Outside the home, meeting for coffee with a friend can often last for two or three hours, and is a beloved daily ritual across Bosnia. Every café in Sarajevo seems to have its own personality, from traditional ones serving strong Bosnian coffee brewed in a džezva (a small pot with a long handle) to al fresco European-style cafes serving espresso, and even some teahouses too.
With one month left before I depart from Sarajevo, I’m looking forward to perfecting my skills ordering coffee in Bosnian, and continuing to read more literature and news in Bosnian while I’m doing it. After visiting the Museum of Literature and learning about the twentieth century Bosnian author Meša Selimović, I am hoping to read one of his most well-known novels, Tvrđava (The Fortress).
Title VIII Fellowship for Overseas Language Study Recipient
American Councils Study Abroad Alumni Scholarship Recipient
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Summer 2023