Thursday (Day 6): Today I didn’t have any interviews scheduled, so I had the chance to really explore this wonderful city! I feel especially grateful nowadays because I have been able to spend my time here so far with a friend. Let me tell you a bit about her! She recently graduated and is only a year older than me; she is doing a 3 month internship in Sarajevo, and it was such a lucky coincidence that we met through Maja, the director of Wings of Hope. She actually spent a few years in Bosnia when she was in elementary school, so it was also like I was getting to know the city with a (kind of) local!
On our explorations, we saw the eternal flame, a famous landmark here, as well as the Latin Bridge, which is the site of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination and the catalyst of World War I. Near the old town, we passed by a grand Catholic chapel and a short walk away, we saw a historic mosque. In the past places I’ve visited, different religious buildings have often been separately located. Interestingly, I have frequently seen the coexistence of distinct religious buildings in close proximity to each other here. During our walk, I also got to try Baklava from a street vendor, and it was absolutely delicious 😋
One more thing that I noticed today is that there are a LOT of cats in this city. This aspect of Bosnia reminds me of Greece, and I love seeing these cats being taken care of by the local community!
Friday (Day 7): I had an interview today with another psychotherapist at Wings of Hope. My interviewee was involved in peace building projects sponsored by a Catholic organization in Bosnia before he decided to pursue psychotherapy. I really enjoyed hearing the reasons why he decided to become a psychotherapist later in his life. I think before I began my travels, I saw the career path I chose as a definite path – that what I decided to pursue today would be what I would continue to do for the majority of my life. But through my interviews, I have heard so many people discuss how they discovered their passions much later in their lives and still found success and fulfillment in their ‘new’ careers. My interviewee emphasized how his background in peace building projects has helped him to become a better psychotherapist as so many of his clients suffer from war trauma.
So, my interview today inspired me beyond the scope of my research project. His words reminded me how every experience I have in my life carries meaning – even if that meaning is something that may be hard for me to make sense of right now.
After my interview, I met up with my friend again, and we went to a famous restaurant near the old town called: Inat Kuca. This restaurant holds a fascinating history! When the Austro-Hungarian monarchy came to Bosnia, they wanted to construct the new city hall exactly where a Bosnian man lived. However, for a long time, this man did not allow the government to take his house. After MANY attempts, the man finally agreed on the condition that the government move his house, brick by brick, across the river. This house has now been transformed into a charming restaurant!
Next, my friend and I went to the Yellow Fortress. On the way up, we walked past a large cemetery that commemorated many lives that were lost during the war. As I looked down upon Sarajevo from the fortress, I thought about how this cemetery integrated collective trauma and loss into the city’s truly remarkable landscape.
Thanks for reading 💛